eldertongue

Old English · conjunction

oþþe

Part of speech
conjunction
IPA
/ˈoθ.θe/
Syllables
ˈoθ · θe (2 syllables)

Meaning

  1. or

    Sind foxas hundas oþþe cattas?

    Are foxes dogs or cats?

  2. either... or

    Oþþe on bōclande oþþe on folclande... Either in bookland or in folkland...

    late 9th century, https://earlyenglishlaws.ac.uk/law/iiiii-eg The Laws of Edgar

Etymology

Probably an alteration of earlier ofþe (“or”), from Proto-Germanic *efþau (“or”). Cognate with Old Frisian jeftha, joftha (“or”), Old Saxon eftha, Old High German odo; compare different ablaut-grades in Old English eþþa, Old Norse eða. Ultimately thought to be a Germanic suffixed dual form of the base of if.

Descendants

or

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