Searching OE dictionaries – general tips:

try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be-

Searching OE dictionaries – general tips: try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be- ð (eth) and þ (thorn) are interchangeable in OE, but some authors prefer to systematize their use

Searching OE dictionaries – general tips: try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be- ð (eth) and þ (thorn) are interchangeable in OE, but some authors prefer to systematize their use similarly Ȝ (yogh) may be interchangeable with g and some authors choose to replace it with g completely

Searching OE dictionaries – general tips: try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be- ð (eth) and þ (thorn) are interchangeable in OE, but some authors prefer to systematize their use similarly Ȝ (yogh) may be interchangeable with g and some authors choose to replace it with g completely vowels may be “less important” when looking up words, especially because of no single standard in OE – if you can’t find a word, you may try varying the vowels (this does not mean that the vowels are unimportant in other aspects!)

Searching OE dictionaries – general tips: try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be- ð (eth) and þ (thorn) are interchangeable in OE, but some authors prefer to systematize their use similarly Ȝ (yogh) may be interchangeable with g and some authors choose to replace it with g completely vowels may be “less important” when looking up words, especially because of no single standard in OE – if you can’t find a word, you may try varying the vowels (this does not mean that the vowels are unimportant in other aspects!) watch out for compounds (there is a great deal of them in OE), if you can identify the parts of a compound, try looking them up separately

Searching OE dictionaries – general tips: try looking up the words with/out the most frequent prefixes: ge- / be- ð (eth) and þ (thorn) are interchangeable in OE, but some authors prefer to systematize their use similarly Ȝ (yogh) may be interchangeable with g and some authors choose to replace it with g completely vowels may be “less important” when looking up words, especially because of no single standard in OE – if you can’t find a word, you may try varying the vowels (this does not mean that the vowels are unimportant in other aspects!) watch out for compounds (there is a great deal of them in OE), if you can identify the parts of a compound, try looking them up separately pay attention to possible paradigm membership to deduce the lema (basic dictionary form) – see UVA’s Magic Sheet of OE Inflections

A simple fact about English historical dictionaries & handbooks: Invariably, their target language is ModE To find an etymon of a specific period, you have to find the ModE etymon first.

A simple fact about English historical dictionaries & handbooks: Invariably, their target language is ModE To find an etymon of a specific period, you have to find the ModE etymon first For example: if you want to know a ME or IE etymon of OE lēas, you have to first find the ModE etymon in BT or Hall, which is loose and then you can use an etymological dictionary to find the respective ME or IE etymon. ModE is thus a natural reference point for our study of earlier stages of English.

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from?

1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice?

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE)

“Mouse” - The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology. Ed. T. F. Hoad

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE?

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE)

Wright, Joseph, Wright, Elizabeth Mary (1925): Old English Grammar

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE) preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.)

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE) preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.) 3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE?

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE) preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.) 3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE? consult: etymological dictionary (OED - spellings) and look for ME form

The Oxford English Dictionary OnLine

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE) preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.) 3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME)

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE) preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.) 3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME) in ME a major split between spoken & written language:

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE) preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.) 3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME) in ME a major split between spoken & written language: for development in spoken l. consult: ME grammar or handbook (Vachek, Lass, CHEL, etc.) and look for vowel shift ū > au & ī > ai (pronunciation!)

Vachek, Josef (1991): Standard English in Historical Perspective.

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE) preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.) 3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME) in ME a major split between spoken & written language: for development in spoken l. consult: ME grammar or handbook (Vachek, Lass, CHEL, etc.) and look for vowel shift ū > au & ī > ai (pronunciation!) Great Vowel Shift produces exactly these changes (again wealth of additional info can be obtained in CHEL or Lass)

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE) preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.) 3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME) in ME a major split between spoken & written language: for development in spoken l. consult: ME grammar or handbook (Vachek, Lass, CHEL, etc.) and look for vowel shift ū > au & ī > ai (pronunciation!) Great Vowel Shift produces exactly these changes (again wealth of additional info can be obtained in CHEL or Lass) for development in writing, consider what the final –e does synchronically

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE) preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.) 3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME) in ME a major split between spoken & written language: for development in spoken l. consult: ME grammar or handbook (Vachek, Lass, CHEL, etc.) and look for vowel shift ū > au & ī > ai (pronunciation!) Great Vowel Shift produces exactly these changes (again wealth of additional info can be obtained in CHEL or Lass) for development in writing, consider what the final –e does synchronically open syllables, the final –e in fact indicates the change in pronunciation

Where does the irregular plural in MOUSE / MICE come from? 1. What is the OE etymon of mouse / mice? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) OE: mūs / mȳs 2. How did these irregular forms come to OE? consult OE grammar (Wright) using index (mūs) or contents (phonological change prior to OE) preOE forms were regular: mūs / mūsiz & the change ū > ȳ has been triggered by an “i-umlaut” (see Vachek, Lass or CHEL for more info.) 3. How did the OE forms develop into ModE? consult: etymological dictionary (OED, CDOEE) and look for ME form mūs (mous) / mīs (ou is a “French” spelling of ū in ME) in ME a major split between spoken & written language: for development in spoken l. consult: ME grammar or handbook (Vachek, Lass, CHEL, etc.) and look for vowel shift ū > au & ī > ai (pronunciation!) Great Vowel Shift produces exactly these changes (again wealth of additional info can be obtained in CHEL or Lass) for development in writing, consider what the final –e does synchronically open syllables, the final –e in fact indicates the change in pronunciation s > c is an artificial change of small consequence signaling an irregular plural

Using this approach, you can not only explore earlier forms of words or regular & irregular changes these forms went through, but also:

find out whether a word is a borrowing and when the borrowing happen follow the regular changes and when a change does not seem to have affected the word without any obvious reason, the chance is that it is a borrowing e.g. if ModE mint (OE mynet) is originally from L. monēta through primOE munit, the i-umlaut must have happened and the word had to have been adopted by that time (ca 7 th century AD)

Using this approach, you can not only explore earlier forms of words or regular & irregular changes these forms went through, but also: find out whether a word is a borrowing and when the borrowing happen follow the regular changes and when a change does not seem to have affected the word without any obvious reason, the chance is that it is a borrowing e.g. if ModE mint (OE mynet) is originally from L. monēta through primOE munit, the i-umlaut must have happened and the word had to have been adopted by that time (ca 7 th century AD) trace the etymons in other languages using etymological dictionaries of English & other languages, or dictionaries of a common stage of language (IE roots)

Using this approach, you can not only explore earlier forms of words or regular & irregular changes these forms went through, but also: find out whether a word is a borrowing and when the borrowing happen follow the regular changes and when a change does not seem to have affected the word without any obvious reason, the chance is that it is a borrowing e.g. if ModE mint (OE mynet) is originally from L. monēta through primOE munit, the i-umlaut must have happened and the word had to have been adopted by that time (ca 7 th century AD) trace the etymons in other languages using etymological dictionaries of English & other languages, or dictionaries of a common stage of language (IE roots) follow semantic change and the social change possibly with it e.g. OE biddan (to ask) adopted for L. precāre by early English Christians only to be replaced by Normans Christians with preecher and thus returned to its semantic origin in ModE bid