eldertongue

Old English · adjective

scearp

Normalised sċearp

Part of speech
adjective
IPA
/ʃæ͜ɑrp/
[ʃæ͜ɑrˠp]
Syllables
ʃæ͜ɑrp (1 syllable)
Modern English
sharp

Meaning

  1. sharp

    ⁊ hæfdon ġeleornad mā cræfta hū hīe þā elpendas beswīcan mehton, mid þǣm þæt hīe nāmon trēowu, ⁊ slōgon on oþerne ende moniġe sċearpe īsene næġlas, ⁊ hīe mid flexe bewundon, ⁊ onbǣrndon hit, ⁊ beþyddan hit þonne on þone elpend hindan...

    And they had learned more tricks through which they could ensnare the elephants; they took stakes and drove into the other end many sharp iron nails, and wrapped them in flax, and set them on fire, and then thrust them into the elephant from behind...

    late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans

Declension

All forms (10)

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *skarp, from Proto-Germanic *skarpaz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kerb-, from *(s)ker- (“to cut”). Cognate with Old Frisian skarp, skerp, Old Saxon skarp, Old Dutch skarp, Old High German scarf, Old Norse skarpr.

Descendants

sharp

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