Dictionary.com
definitions

Old English

|

noun

Also called Anglo-Saxon. the English language of a.d. c450–c1150. Abbreviation: OE
Printing. a style of black letter.

RELATED CONTENT

Old School Latin Phrases We’re Still Using in Everyday English
These may be phrases you throw out all the time in casual conversation ... but are you using the correctly? Find out what they really mean.
READ MORE
Is English Leaving Space?
Earlier this week, NASA announced that it is looking for new astronauts. Though NASA has sent its last shuttle into space, it will continue to send astronauts to the International Space Station through a collaboration with the Russian Federal Space Agency. NASA has promised to help staff the International Space Station (ISS) through at least 2020. So the ISS will continue to host astronauts from around …
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

Anglian, OE
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for old english

Historical Examples of old english

British Dictionary definitions for old english

Old English

noun

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 AnglianAbbreviation: OE Compare Middle English, Modern English
printing a Gothic typeface commonly used in England up until the 18th century
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Culture definitions for old english

Old English

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.

Note

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.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.