færbu

Old English

Etymology

This word is the result of a mistaken division of words. The OE passage in the Bosworth-Toller dictionary reads: "Hí habbað blióh and fær bú ungelíce (cf. hí sint swíþe ungelíces híwes and ungelíce faraþ" -- the former sentence translates as "he has colour and mode of going both unlike", i.e. he differs both in his colour and in his mode of going (of Jesus). This quote is part of an alliterative verse line, and for metrical reasons the caesura must fall between fær and bū.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈfær.bu/, [ˈfærˠ.bu]

Noun

færbu f

colour
- Habbaþ færbu ungelīce and mǣgwlitas ― they have colour and species unlike