todælan

Old English

Etymology

From tō- +‎ dǣlan.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /toːˈdæː.lɑn/

Verb

tōdǣlan

  1. to divide, separate, distribute, disperse
    • "The Wife's Lament"
      Ongunnon þæt þæs mannes māgas hyċġan þurh dierne ġeþōht þæt hīe tōdǣlden unc.
      The person's relatives began to think of a secret plan to separate us.
    • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
      Þā cwæð sē Ælmihtiġa tō Moysen, "Āstreċe ðīne hand ofer ðā sǣ, and tōdǣl hī." And Moyses ðā slōh þǣre sǣ ofer mid his ġyrde, and sēo sǣ tōēode on twā, and eal þæt Israhela folc ēode ofer ðā sǣ bē drīum grunde, and þæt wæter stōd him on twā healfa swilċe ōðer stānweall.
      Then the Almighty said to Moses: "Stretch forth thy hand over the sea, and divide it." And then Moses struck the sea with his staff, and the sea divided in two, and all the Israelites crossed over the sea on dry ground, and the water stood in two halves like stone walls.
    • c. 1154, Peterborough Chronicle[1]:
      Þā wæs Engla land swīðe tōdǣled.
      Back then, England was very divided.

Conjugation

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Middle English: todelen