Old English

Alternative forms

• hƿæt

Pronoun

hwæt n

1. what
2. anything

Declension

Descendants

• English: what

Interjection

hwæt

1. what!, listen!, hark!, lo!

Quotations

• Hwæt! Wē Gār-Dena in ġēar-dagum / þēod-cyninga þrymm ġefrūġnon / hū þā æþelingas ellen fremedon. (Beowulf lines 1-3, edited and translated by Mountebank1)

  Listǃ We, of the gar-danes, in the days of yore, have heard of thede-kings' thrim, how those athelings did ellen(-deeds).

  Listen hereǃ We, the Spear-Danes, have heard the stories from time immemorial about the nation-kings' glory, about how those nobles performed courageous deeds.

Adverb

hwæt

1. now, indeed

References

• The status of hwæt in Old English, George Walkden