Old English

Alternative forms

• hrēowe

Adjective

hrēow

1. sad
2. repentant

Etymology 2

From Proto-Germanic *hrewwō.

Noun

hrēow f

1. grief
   • Beowulf

     Þæt wæs Hroðgare hreowa tornost

     For Hrothgar that was the heaviest sorrow

2. repentance

Declension=

Derived terms

• hrēowiġ
• hrēowlīc

Descendants

• Middle English: rewe, reowe
• Modern English: rue