Old English

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noun

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

Printing. a style of black letter.

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QUIZ

ARE YOU A TRUE BLUE CHAMPION OF THESE "BLUE" SYNONYMS?

We could talk until we're blue in the face about this quiz on words for the color "blue," but we think you should take the quiz and find out if you're a whiz at these colorful terms.

Question 1 of 8

Which of the following words describes “sky blue”?

navy

beryl

azure

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Origin of Old English

First recorded in 1845–50

Words nearby Old English

Old Dominion, Old Dutch, olden, Oldenbarneveldt, Oldenburg, Old English, Old English pattern, Old English sheepdog, older, old-established, olde-worlde

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2021

How to use Old English in a sentence

So here I am in my requisite Lululemon pants, grunting along to an old hip-hop song at a most ungodly hour.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It would became one of the first great mysteries in the United States of America, as it was only then 23 years old.
New York’s Most Tragic Ghost Loves Minimalist Swedish Fashion|Nina Strochlic|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
To borrow an old right-wing talking point, these people are angry no matter what we do.
Harry Shearer on The Dangerous Business of Satire|Lloyd Grove|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
He plays an aging punk rocker and I play the drummer from his old band.
Coffee Talk with Fred Armisen: On ‘Portlandia,’ Meeting Obama, and Taylor Swift’s Greatness|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST

Twelve-year-old dance prodigy Maddie Ziegler has suffered the wrath of Dance Moms tyrant Abby Lee Miller.
See Burly Shia LaBeouf Interpretive Cage Fight Lil Sia in the Singer’s Fantastic New Music Video|Marlow Stern|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Davy looked around and saw an old man coming toward them across the lawn.
Davy and The Goblin|Charles E. Carryl
His wife stood smiling and waving, the boys shouting, as he disappeared in the old rockaway down the sandy road.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories|Kate Chopin
Old Mrs. Wurzel and the buxom but not too well-favoured heiress of the house of Grains were at the head of the table.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
Vicars' wives had come and gone, but all had submitted, some after a brief struggle, to old Mrs. Wurzel's sway.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills
But with all her advantages Miss Solomonson failed with the old lord, and she abuses him to this day.
The Pit Town Coronet, Volume I (of 3)|Charles James Wills

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

Cultural 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.

notes for Old English

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.