weoh

Old English

Alternative forms

• wīh, wīoh, wīġ

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *wīh (“sacred place or thing”). Compounds with wīġ- or weoh (short vowel) use the noun from *wīhą (“idol”), while those with wēoh- (long vowel) derive from the adjective *wīhaz (“holy”). More at witch, Weihnachten and victim.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /we͜oːx/

Noun

wēoh n

1. idol, image

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	wēoh	wēoh
accusative	wēoh	wēoh
genitive	wēohes	wēoha
dative	wēohe	wēohum

Derived terms

• wēofod (“altar”) ← *wīohbēod
• wēohsteall (“altar stand”)
• wēohweorþung (“idol worship”)
• wēohsmiþ (“idol carver”)