Old English

American  

noun

1. Also called Anglo-Saxon.  the English language of a.d. c450–c1150. OE, O.E.

2. Printing. a style of black letter.

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Old English British  

noun

1.  OE.  Also called: Anglo-Saxon.  the English language from the time of the earliest settlements in the fifth century _ad to about 1100. The main dialects were West Saxon (the chief literary form), Kentish, and Anglian Compare Middle English Modern English

2. printing a Gothic typeface commonly used in England up until the 18th century

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Old English Cultural  

1. The English language from the fifth century until about 1150. In the fifth century, the Angles and Saxons of Germany settled in Britain and established their language in the southern part of the island — the region that was called “Angle-land,” or “England.” After 1150, the Norman French language introduced after the Norman Conquest influenced Old English, and Middle English developed.

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Discover More

Old English resembles the language spoken in Germany in the same period and is impossible for a present-day user of English to read without training. Beowulf is written in Old English.

Etymology

Origin of Old English

First recorded in 1845–50

Compare meaning

How does old-english compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Old English vs. Middle English

Example Sentences

It was written in Old English, the language spoken in England during the early Middle Ages.

From Science Daily • May 17, 2026

Though John Ronald Reuel Tolkien’s books are in no way a retelling of “Beowulf,” echoes of the Old English epic occur throughout.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 12, 2025

For teachers, it can assist with curriculum writing or be a creative classroom aide, for instance creating introductions in Old English during a class on medieval times.

From Reuters • Nov. 16, 2023

Kingsland, a set dresser, walked with Jennine Beltran, a production designer who held the leashes of Luke, another Old English sheepdog mix, and Betty, a tiny poodle and schnauzer mix.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 22, 2023

One is dbghem, meaning earth; this became guman in Germanic, gumen in Old English, then homo and humanus in Latin, from which we have both “human” and “humus.”

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas