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A Concise Anglo‑Saxon Dictionary for the Use of Students is a scholarly reference work rather than a narrative text. The opening entry illustrates its method: under the headword “mūs” the editor notes variant spellings, inflected forms, and cross‑references, while explaining the typographic conventions used throughout, italics for emphasis, small capitals for special markings, and symbols such as + for the prefix ge‑ or † for words found only in poetic texts. The preface to the second edition outlines the revisions made since the first printing, including a shift from strict spelling order to a more flexible head‑form system, the introduction of extensive citations to the New English Dictionary, and a richer set of textual references. The book therefore serves as a compact yet detailed guide to Old English vocabulary, complete with notes on grammar, manuscript sources, and scholarly abbreviations.
The diction is formal and instructional, reflecting early‑20th‑century philological practice. Hall’s voice is that of a meticulous lexicographer, attentive to the needs of students and to the evolving standards of Anglo‑Saxon scholarship. Readers who are studying Old English, working on medieval texts, or interested in historical linguistics will find the systematic layout, exhaustive abbreviation list, and careful cross‑referencing especially useful. Its emphasis on precise spelling, variant forms, and textual citations makes it a valuable tool for anyone needing reliable lexical data rather than a literary reading experience.
The opening · free to read
under “mūs” The referenced word is either a secondary entry or a parenthesized alternative spelling in the form “mūs (ȳ)”. headword spelled “mūs” Minor difference, generally an added or omitted macron or a predictable vowel variation such as ī for ȳ. form of “mūs” The referenced word is an inflected form. A few very common patterns such as adverbs in “-līce” listed under adjectives in “-lic” are not individually noted. redirected to “mūs” The cross-referenced form leads to further cross-references.
To avoid empty cross-references, a few entries, clearly identified, were restored from the first edition.
In the original book, shorter entries--chiefly cross-references--were printed two or three to a line. They have been separated for this e-text. All [single brackets], asterisks* and question marks? are in the original.
In the body of the Dictionary, italics are shown conventionally with lines, while small capitals are marked as #text#. Boldface in headwords is unmarked; elsewhere it is shown as =text=. Superscript numerals (“small superior figures”) are shown with a caret; braces are used when necessary to avoid ambiguity.
āwrēon^1,2 = strong verb, class 1 or 2 bærnett (y^2) = second syllable also spelled with y 234^1 = page 234, line 1
Typographical errors are listed at the end of the e-text. To avoid confusion with original brackets, anything added by the transcriber is shown in [[double brackets]].
The New English Dictionary (NED) is now known as the Oxford English Dictionary (OED).]
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