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Definition 2025

earfoþe

earfoþe

Old English

Alternative forms

Noun

earfoþe n ‎(nominative plural earfoþu)

  1. work; labour
  2. suffering; hardship
  3. labour; pains; trouble; childbirth
  4. disease

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Middle English: earfeþ, earveþ, avfeþ

Adjective

earfoþe

  1. difficult; laborious; full of hardship

Declension

Weak Strong
case singular plural case singular plural
m n f m n f m n f
nominative earfoþa earfoþe earfoþe earfoþan nom. earfoþe earfoþe earfoþu earfoþe earfoþu, -e earfoþa, -e
accusative earfoþan earfoþe earfoþan acc. earfoþne earfoþe earfoþe earfoþe earfoþu, -e earfoþa, -e
genitive earfoþan earfoþra, earfoþena gen. earfoþes earfoþes earfoþre earfoþra
dative earfoþan earfoþum dat. earfoþum earfoþum earfoþre earfoþum
instrumental earfoþe

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *arbaidiz ‎(“hardship”), from a verb *arbijaną, *arbāną ‎(“be orphaned”). Compare Old English ierfa. See also Proto-Indo-European *h₃órbʰos, whence Ancient Greek ὀρφανός ‎(orphanós), Latin orbus, Old Church Slavonic рабъ ‎(rabŭ, “slave”) and perhaps the Albanian ethnonym arbën/arbër. Cognate with Old Frisian arbēd, Old Saxon arƀed, arvēd, Old Dutch arbeit (Dutch arbeid), Old High German arbeit (German Arbeit ‎(“work, labour”)), Old Norse erfiði (Swedish arvode ‎(“salary”)), Gothic 𐌰𐍂𐌱𐌰𐌹𐌸𐍃 ‎(arbaiþs).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈæɑrfoθe/, [ˈæɑrvoðe]

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