Old English

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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þīestre +‎ -u

Pronunciation

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Noun

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þīestru f

  1. darkness
    Hē ātēah eft his sweord, and eft hit līehte on þīestrum þurh hit self.
    He took out his sword again, and again it flashed in the dark by itself.
    • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Boethius' The Consolation of Philosophy
      Sē heofon bringþ lēohte dagas and eft behileþ þæt lēoht mid þīestrum.
      The sky brings bright days and then hides the light with darkness.
    • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Genesis 1:2
      Sēo eorðe sōðlīċe wæs īdlu and ǣmtegu, and þīestra wǣron ofer þǣre neowolnesse brādnesse, and Godes gāst wæs ġefērod ofer wætru.
      The Earth was void and empty, and darkness was over the face of the deep, and the spirit of God moved over the waters.
  2. gloom

Usage notes

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  • Most often used in the plural, with no change in meaning: Ondrǣtst þū þē þīestra? (“Are you afraid of the dark?”), Wit ġemētaþ on þǣre stōwe þǣr nāna þīestra ne sind ("We shall meet in the place where there is no darkness").

Declension

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Antonyms

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References

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