oxa

See also: oxa-, oxå, and øxa

Old English

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *ohsō.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈok.sɑ/

Noun

oxa m

1. ox
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "Sermon on the Nativiity of Our Lord"

     "Sē oxa oncnēow his hlāford, and sē assa his hlāfordes binne."

     "The ox knows his master, and the ass his master's bin."

     Þā ġeseah hēo þæt cild licgan on binne, ðǣr sē oxa and sē assa ġewunelīce fōdan sēcað.

     Then saw she the child lying in the bin, where the ox and the ass usually seek food.

   • late 10th century, Ælfric, the Old English Hexateuch, Deuteronomy 28:31

     Man slihþ þīnne oxan beforan þē, and þū his ne ābītst.

     Your ox will be slaughtered in front of you, and you won't get to taste it.

Usage notes

• Anglian dialects preserve the zero-grade suffix in the nominative plural, so it is œxen in the Mercian dialect and exen in the Northumbrian dialect.

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	oxa	oxan
accusative	oxan	oxan
genitive	oxan	oxena, oxna
dative	oxan	oxum

Derived terms

• oxanhierde (“oxherd”)
• Oxnaford (“Oxford”)

Descendants

• Middle English: oxe, hox, nox, occe, ocxe, okse, ox, oxhe, oxse
  • English: ox (see there for further descendants)
  • Scots: ox