eldertongue

Old English · adjective

feaw

Normalised fēaw

Part of speech
adjective
IPA
/fæ͜ɑːw/
Syllables
fæ͜ɑːw (1 syllable)
Modern English
few

Meaning

  1. few

    Æfter ðisum ġebede, hē ābād on ðām leġere āne fēawa dagas, mid fefore ġewǣht, þurh wacolon ġebedum, on flōre liċġende, bestrēowod mid axum, on stīðre hǣran, upāhafenum ēagum and handum tō heofenum, and ne ġeswāc his ġebeda ōðþæt hē s̄awlode.

    After this prayer, he remained in sickness for a few days, weakened by fever, in watchful prayer, lying on the floor, bestrewn with ashes, on stiff sackcloth, with eyes and hands turned up toward heaven, and he did not stop his prayers until he passed away.

    Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church

Declension

Strong declension of feaw
MasculineFeminineNeuter
Singular
Nominative fēawfēawfēaw
Accusative fēawnefēawefēaw
Genitive fēawesfēawrefēawes
Dative fēawumfēawrefēawum
Instrumental fēawefēawrefēawe
Plural
Nominative fēawefēawafēawefēaw
Accusative fēawefēawafēawefēaw
Genitive fēawrafēawrafēawra
Dative fēawumfēawumfēawum
Instrumental fēawumfēawumfēawum
Weak declension of feaw
MasculineFeminineNeuter
Singular
Nominative fēawafēawefēawe
Accusative fēawanfēawanfēawe
Genitive fēawanfēawanfēawan
Dative fēawanfēawanfēawan
Instrumental fēawanfēawanfēawan
Plural
Nominative fēawanfēawanfēawan
Accusative fēawanfēawanfēawan
Genitive fēawrafēawenafēawrafēawenafēawrafēawena
Dative fēawumfēawumfēawum
Instrumental fēawumfēawumfēawum

All forms (10)

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *fau, in turn from Proto-Germanic *fawaz, from Proto-Indo-European *peh₂w-. Cognate with Old Norse fār (Danish få, Swedish få), Old High German fō, fōh; Further cognates via the Proto-Indo-European root include Latin paucus, pauper, puer (“boy”); Ancient Greek παῖς (paîs, “child”).

Descendants

few

Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · en.wiktionary.org/wiki/feaw · CC BY-SA 4.0 licence · Attribution