hreaþemus

Old English

Alternative forms

• hræþemūs, hrēaþemūs, hrǣþemūs
• hreaðemūs, hrēaðemūs — edh spelling

Etymology

Origin obscure. Perhaps from Proto-West Germanic *hraþamūs (literally “fleet-mouse, swift-mouse”), equivalent to hræd +‎ mūs. Compare Old Saxon hradamūs (“bat”), Old High German rodamūs (“bat”).

Alternatively, first element from Proto-Indo-European *krew- (“to shake, wave around”), related to Tocharian A kru (“reed”), Tocharian B kärwats, Lithuanian krutéti (“to move”); second element from mūs (“mouse”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈxræ͜ɑ.θeˌmuːs/, [ˈr̥æ͜ɑ.ðeˌmuːs]

Noun

hreaþemūs f

1. bat (flying mammal)

   Synonyms: cwieldhræþe, hrēremūs

Declension

Declension of hreaþemus (strong consonant stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	hreaþemūs	hreaþemȳs
accusative	hreaþemūs	hreaþemȳs
genitive	hreaþemȳs, hreaþemūse	hreaþemūsa
dative	hreaþemȳs	hreaþemūsum

Descendants

• Middle English: rethemous, ratmose, remous