Preposition
būtan
- without, except for, besides (+ dative)
Hū biþ middanġeard būtan ūs?- What will the world be like without us?
- c. 992, Ælfric, "The Greater Litany"
Būtan þām ǣhtum, ġelīċe sind þā þe biddaþ and þā þe hīe æt biddaþ.- Apart from possessions, beggars are the same as the people they beg from.
- outside of (+ dative)
- c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English
Suburbānus: sē þe sitt būtan þǣre byrġ.- Suburbanus: someone who lives outside the city.
- c. 992, Ælfric, St. Benedict, Abbot
Hwæt cwist þū, sweostor? Ne mæġ iċ nāteshwon būtan mynstre nihtes wunian.- What are you saying, sister? Ain't no way I can stay outside the monastery at night.
- for all, despite, in spite of, notwithstanding (+ dative)
- Synonym: for
Conjunction
būtan
- (with the subjunctive) unless
- c. 992, Ælfric, "The Universal Faith"
Būtan ġē hit ġelīefen, ne magon ġē hit understandan.- Unless you believe it, you can't understand it.
- c. 992, Ælfric, "Midlent Sunday"
On ōðre wīsan wē sċēawiaþ mētinge and on ōðre wīsan stafas. Ne gǣþ nā māre tō mētinge būtan þæt þū hit ġesēo and herie. Nis nā ġenōg þæt þū stafas sċēawiġe būtan þū hīe ēac rǣde and þæt andġiet understande.- We look at pictures in one way and letters in another. You don't do anything with a painting except see it and praise it. Looking at letters is not enough unless you also read them and understand the meaning.
- except for, but
Hwæt is līf būtan swefn?- What is life but a dream?
- except
- c. 992, Ælfric, "Midlent Sunday"
On ōðre wīsan wē sċēawiaþ mētinge and on ōðre wīsan stafas. Ne gǣþ nā māre tō mētinge būtan þæt þū hit ġesēo and herie. Nis nā ġenōg þæt þū stafas sċēawiġe būtan þū hīe ēac rǣde and þæt andġiet understande.- We look at pictures in one way and letters in another. You don't do anything with a painting except see it and praise it. Looking at letters is not enough unless you also read them and understand the meaning.
Adverb
būtan
- (usually with a negative) merely, only, just
Þā næs iċ būtan ċild.- I was only a child then.
Hwæt mæġ iċ dōn? Iċ neom būtan ān mann.- What can I do? I'm just one person.
- late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans
Æfter þām hīe ġesetton tictātor þæt hē sċolde bēon hearra ofer þā consulas, sē wæs hāten Decius Iūnius. Hē næs būtan seofontīenewintre.- After that, they chose a dictator to rule over the consuls, whose name was Decius Junius. He was only seventeen years old.
