Old English

Alternative forms

• hwalf

Noun

hwealf f

1. vault, arch
   • 10th century, Anonymous, Beowulf, line 576:

     under heofenes hwealf

     under heaven’s vault

Declension

Adjective

hwealf

1. arched, vaulted, hollow, concave, bent
   • 10th century, Anonymous, Judith XI 214, Nowell Codex:

     bordum beðeahte, / hwealfum lindum,

     with bucklers protected, / With their hollow shields, ^[1]

     warded with bucklers, / Linden-shields curved, ^[2]

Related terms

• hwealfian

References

1. ↑ 1902, J. Lesslie Hall, Judith, Phœnix and other Anglo-Saxon poems, Silver Burdett and Company, New York, p.12
2. ↑ 1888, Albert S. Cook, Judith, an Old English epic fragment, D.C. Heath & Co, Boston 1888, pp. 17-19

• hwealf in John R. Clark Hall, A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary for the Use of Students, The Macmillan Company, New York 1916, p. 170
• hwealf in Bosworth-Toller Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (digital edition)