Old English · noun
garsecg
Normalised gārseċġ
- Part of speech
- noun, masculine
- Declension
- strong a-stem
- IPA
- /ˈɡɑːrˌsejj/[ˈɡɑːrˌsed͡ʒ]
- Syllables
- ˈɡɑːr · ˌsejj (2 syllables)
- Modern English
- ocean
Meaning
-
ocean, sea
his ƿuldres ƿord: ƿīddra ⁊ sīddra þonne befæðman mæᵹe: fōldan sceattas eorðan ȳmbhƿȳrft: ⁊ ūp-rodor ᵹārsecᵹes ᵹīn: ⁊ þeos ᵹeomre lȳft His glory's word: f
ocean's expanse,: and this murmuring air.
10th century, “Exodus” in the Junius manuscript. Transcribed and translated in 1832, Thorpe, Benjamin (ed.), Cædmon's Metrical Praphrase of Parts of the Holy Scriptures, London: Society of Antiquaries of London; page 204–205, ll. 30–33, 1–4.
Declension
All forms (3)
Etymology
Uncertain. Almost always analyzed as a compound of gār + seċġ, but there is significant disagreement about how to interpret these elements. Gār is usually glossed as “spear”, but the sense “tempest” has been suggested, and Holthausen dubiously connected it to Old English gānian (“to gape”), Sanskrit विहायस् (vihāyas, “atmosphere”). Seċġ may be glossed several ways: * The word seċġ meaning "sword" is feminine, making this etymology unlikely. * “Sedge” has been suggested (e.g. by Grimm), but the sense development would be unusual. * “Man; warrior” is perhaps most popular; in this case the sense …
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