æsce

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *askā, from Proto-Germanic *askǭ. Cognate with Old Frisian *eske, Old Saxon aska, Old High German asca, Old Norse aska, Gothic 𐌰𐌶𐌲𐍉 (azgō).

Alternative forms

• asċe, axe, acse, ahse, axse, æxe

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæʃ.ʃe/

Noun

æsċe f

1. ash (combustion residue)
   • c. 730–740, Felix, Life of St. Guthlac, 5:

     Ġē syndon dust and acsan and ysela.

     Ye are dust and ash and cinder.

   • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church

     Æfter ðisum ġebede, hē ābād on ðām leġere āne fēawa dagas, mid fefore ġewǣht, þurh wacolon ġebedum, on flōre liċġende, bestrēowod mid axum, on stīðre hǣran, upāhafenum ēagum and handum tō heofenum, and ne ġeswāc his ġebeda ōðþæt hē sawlode.

     After this prayer, he remained in sickness for a few days, weakened by fever, in watchful prayer, lying on the floor, bestrewn with ashes, in stiff sackcloth, with eyes and hands turned up toward heaven, and he did not stop his prayers until he passed away.

Usage notes

• The declension table shows the inherited forms of æsċe, with palatalization before a front vowel and a-restoration before a back vowel. This distinction was often leveled in both directions, producing alternative forms such as asċe and æscan.

Declension

Weak:

	singular	plural
nominative	æsċe	ascan
accusative	ascan	ascan
genitive	ascan	ascena
dative	ascan	ascum

Descendants

• Middle English: asshe, axe, aske, ash, assche, aysshe, asche, aisshe, asske, acxe, ass, esche, esk, eshe
  • English: ash
  • Scots: ess, asch, ais, as, askis
  • Yola: ashen, oaskean (plural)

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæʃ.ʃe/

Noun

æsċe m

1. dative singular of æsċ

Etymology 3

From Proto-West Germanic *aiskijā.

Alternative forms

• ǣxe

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæːʃ.ʃe/

Noun

ǣsċe f

1. examination, interrogation, inquisition; inquiry, question
2. (law) A search for something stolen

Declension

Weak n-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	ǣsċe	ǣsċan
accusative	ǣsċan	ǣsċan
genitive	ǣsċan	ǣsċena
dative	ǣsċan	ǣsċum

Derived terms

• ġeǣsċe

Related terms

• āscian
• unġeǣsċe

Descendants

• Middle English: axe
  • English: ask