hyþ

Old English

Etymology

Uncertain. Possibly from Proto-Germanic *hunþjō- (“landing place”), which could have originally meant "place for transfer, transshipment," related to *hunþu (“plunder”) and the strong verb *hinþaną (“to reach for”).^[1]

Cognate with Old Saxon hūþ, Old High German -hude (in place-names).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xyːθ/, [hyːθ]

Noun

hȳþ f (nominative plural hȳþa or hȳþe)

1. a harbour or landing-place, a hithe
   • Guthlac of Crowland (674–715):

     Comon ðær þry men to ðære hyðe.

     Three men came to the landing-place.

Descendants

• Middle English: hythe
  • English: hythe, hithe
  • Scots: hyth, hythe

References

1. Vaan, M. d. (2017). The Dawn of Dutch: Language Contact in the Western Low Countries Before 1200. Netherlands: John Benjamins Publishing Company, p. 442