hætt

See also: hätt

Old English

Alternative forms

• hæt

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hattu, from Proto-Germanic *hattuz, whence also Old Norse hattr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xætt/, [hæt]

Noun

hætt m

1. hat
   • late 9th century, Old English adaptation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans

     Rōmāne hæfdon þā nīewlīċe ġesett þæt þā þe hætt beran mōston, þonne hīe hwelċ folc oferwunnen hæfdon, þæt þā mōston ǣġðer habban ġe feorh ġe frēodōm.

     The Romans had recently passed a law that whenever they conquered a people, anyone who was allowed to wear a hat could keep both their life and their freedom.

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	hætt	hættas
accusative	hætt	hættas
genitive	hættes	hætta
dative	hætte	hættum

Derived terms

• hættian

Descendants

• Middle English: hat
  • English: hat
  • Scots: hat
  • → Irish: hata
• → Welsh: het

References

• Joseph Bosworth, T. Northcote Toller (1898) “hætt”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.