bodeword

Middle English

FWOTD – 29 February 2024

Alternative forms

• bodword, bodewurd, bodworde, bowdword, bodeworde, bode-word, bodwurd, bodd-word, boodword

Etymology

Calque of Old Norse boðorð; equivalent to bod +‎ word.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈboːdˌwurd/, /ˈboːdˌwoːrd/

Noun

bodeword (chiefly Northern)

1. commandment, directive (especially divine)
2. news, tidings (especially divine)
   • 15th c., “Pharao [Pharaoh]”, in Wakefield Mystery Plays; Re-edited in George England, Alfred W. Pollard, editors, The Towneley Plays (Early English Text Society Extra Series; LXXI), London: […] Oxford University Press, 1897, →OCLC, page 69, lines 141–145:

     A, lord! pardon me, Wyth thy leyf, / that lynage luffis me noght; / Gladly thay Wold me greyf, / if I sych bodworde broght.

     Ah, Lord! Pardon me, by your leave. That bloodline does not love me; they would gladly hurt me if I brought such news

3. (rare) pledge

References

• “bōde-wǒrd, n.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007, retrieved 27 February 2020.