spelc
Old English
Alternative forms
- spilċ
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *spelkǭ, *spilkiz, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pelg-, from Proto-Indo-European *(s)pel- (“to split”). Cognate with Old Norse spelka, spjalk.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /spelk/, [speɫk]
Noun
spelc ?
- a splint; splinter
Usage notes
- The precise gender of spelc is unknown. Clark-Hall surmises that it is masculine.
- There may have been a pronunciation variant spelċ, or a related word spilċ with /t͡ʃ/.
Related terms
- spilċan
Descendants
- Middle English: spelk, spelke
- English: spelk
- Scots: spelk
References
- John R. Clark Hall (1916), “spelc”, in A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York: Macmillan