eldertongue

Old English · adverb

swelce

Part of speech
adverb
IPA
/ˈswel.t͡ʃe/
[ˈsweɫ.t͡ʃe]
Syllables
ˈswel · t͡ʃe (2 syllables)

swelce1 · adverb

Senses

  1. also, likewise

  2. about (approximately)

  3. like, as

    An. DCLXXVIII Hēr atēowede comēta se steorra on Auguste ⁊ sċān III monðas ælċe morgen swilċe sunne bēam.

    Year 678 In this year a comet star appeared in August and shone like a sunbeam each morning for three months.

    The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle

  4. expletive: like, as it were

swelce2 · conjunction

Senses

  1. like

    Þonne weorold endaþ, þonne biþ hit swelċe hēo nǣfre nǣre.

    When the world ends, it will be like it never existed.

  2. as if

    Drusiana þa ārās swilce of slǣpe āwreht, and, carfull be ðæs apostoles hæse, hām ġewende.

    Drusiana then arose as if from sleep awakened, and, mindful of the apostle's command, returned home.

    c. 992, Ælfric, "The Assumption of St. John the Apostle"

Etymology

Equivalent to swelċ + -e.

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