wapentake

[ wop-uhn-teyk, wap- ]

noun

(formerly in N England and the Midlands) a subdivision of a shire or county corresponding to a hundred.

Origin of wapentake

before 1000; Middle English <Old Norse vāpnatak (compare Old English wǣpen-getæc) show of weapons at public voting, equivalent to vāpna (genitive plural of vāpnweapon) + tak taking; see take

Words Nearby wapentake

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use wapentake in a sentence

Each tree is covered with the coats of arms of the great families of that time in the wapentake.
Yorkshire Painted And Described | Gordon Home
"I am a man of the north country, from the town of Beverley and the wapentake of Holderness," he answered.
The White Company | Arthur Conan Doyle
Then again, in several cases we find that the land-lord or land-rca shares the proceeds of a fine with the hundred or wapentake.
Domesday Book and Beyond | Frederic William Maitland
In Martinesleie wapentake there is a hundred in which there are 12 carucates for geld and there can be 48 teams.
Domesday Book and Beyond | Frederic William Maitland
The wapentake of Bulmer is, as respects minute and accurate information, part of the terra incognita of Yorkshire.
Pope: His Descent and Family Connections | Joseph Hunter

British Dictionary definitions for wapentake

wapentake

/ (ˈwɒpənˌteɪk, ˈwæp-) /

noun

English legal history a subdivision of certain shires or counties, esp in the Midlands and North of England, corresponding to the hundred in other shires

Origin of wapentake

Old English wǣpen (ge) tæc, from Old Norse vāpnatak, from vápn weapon + tak take

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

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