manþeof

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Old English

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Etymology

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Equivalent to mann (person) +‎ þēof (thief). Compare Icelandic mannræningi, which is formed similarly.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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manþēof m

  1. kidnapper
  2. a fine for kidnapping

Usage notes

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  • The word for "to kidnap" is the verb forstelan (to steal) used with a noun denoting a person (Sunu mīn, īeðre is þæt man wīf forstele þonne hē hīwiġe = "My son, it's easier to kidnap a woman than to marry one"), or generically with the noun mann (Hwæt ġif iċ menn forstele for þām ānum þe iċ wille frīend ġewyrċan? = "What if I only kidnap [literally "steal people"] because I want to make friends?"). This usage and manþēof imply that the word for kidnapping was probably *manþīefþu (lit. “person theft”), though such a noun is unattested. Compare Icelandic ræna mann and mannrán.
  • It is likely that a kidnapper was simply called a "thief" when used with a noun or pronoun denoting the person kidnapped: Hēo spǣtte hire þēofe on þæt nebb ("She spat in her kidnapper's [lit. "her thief's"] face"). So also with *manþīefþu, if it existed: Ġīet ǣne hē þōhte ymb his þīefþe, hū hē losian meahte ("Once again he thought about his kidnapping [lit. "his theft"], and how he could escape"). This is how forstelan is used in surviving texts, as well as the analogous words mansliht (murder) and manslaga (murderer), which literally mean "person-killing" and "person-killer." In a statement such as "he is a murderer," manslaga was used in full, while in the phrase "his/her murderer, murderer of someone," slaga was used.

Declension

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References

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