bædling

Old English edit

Etymology edit

Of unclear origin. Perhaps related to bedd (“bed”), suggesting "a delicate fellow, tenderling, one who lies much in bed",^[1] or perhaps to bæddel.^[2]

Pronunciation edit

IPA^(key): /ˈbæd.linɡ/, [ˈbæd.liŋɡ]

Noun edit

bædling m

a word of uncertain precise meaning, variously interpreted as delicate man, effeminate man, or hermaphrodite

References edit

^ Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “bædling”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
^ David Clark, Between Medieval Men (2009), especially pages 62-65

[1] Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “bædling”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.

[2] David Clark, Between Medieval Men (2009), especially pages 62-65

[1]

[2]