sweora

Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *swerhô. Cognate with Old Norse svíra.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈswe͜oː.rɑ/

Noun

swēora m

  1. neck
    • late 9th century, translation of Orosius' History Against the Pagans
      Hē oft wȳsċte þæt ealle Rōmāne hæfden ānne swēoran, þæt hē hraðost forċeorfan meahte.
      He often wished that all of Rome had one neck, so he could cut off all their heads with one blow.
    • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church
      Sum hǣðen man wolde hine ācwellan mid ātogenum swurde, and sē hālga ālēat, and āstrehte his swūran under ðām scīnendan brande.
      A certain heathen man wanted to kill him with a drawn sword, and the holy man bent down and stretched out his neck under the shining brand.
  2. (of water) the part where the distance between two shores is the least

Declension

Weak:

singular plural
nominative swēora swēoran
accusative swēoran swēoran
genitive swēoran swēorena
dative swēoran swēorum

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • English: swire
  • Scots: swire
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