dæg

See also: daeg

Old English

Alternative forms

deġ — Vespasian Psalter Mercian, late Kentish
deag, dæiġ, daig, dag, daġ

Etymology

Inherited from Proto-Germanic *dagaz. Cognate with Old Frisian dei, Old Saxon dag, Old Dutch dag, Old High German tag, Old Norse dagr, Gothic 𐌳𐌰𐌲𐍃 (dags).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /dæj/

Noun

dæġ m (nominative plural dagas)

day, (usually) as a period from sunrise to sunset and (scientifically) as a 24-hour period from sunrise to sunrise
- The Dialogues of Solomon and Saturn
  Saga mē, on hū fela daga God ġeworhte ealle ġesċeafta?'
  Tell me, in how many days did God create all creatures?
- c. 992, Ælfric, "The First Sunday in the Lord's Advent"
  Ēac is gehwilcum men his endenēxta dæġ nēar and nēar; and sē ġemǣnelīca dōm dæġhwomlīċe ġenēalǣhð, on ðām underfehð ānra ġehwilc be ðām ðe hē ġeearnode on līchaman, swā gōd swā yfel.
  Also to every man is his last day nearer and nearer; and the common doom approaches daily, at which every one will receive according to what he has merited in body, whether good or evil.
- c. 994, Ælfric, The Seasons of the Year:
  Wē hātaþ ānne dæġ fram sunnan upgange oþ ǣfen, ac swā þēah is on bōcum ġeteald tō ānum dæġe fram þǣre sunnan upgange oþ þæt hēo eft becume þǣr hēo ǣr upp stāg. On þām fæce sind ġetealda fēower and twentiġ tīda.
  To us a day means from sunrise to sunset, but in books, one day is considered to last from when the sun rises to when it returns to where it started from. In that interval there are considered to be 24 hours.
- The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
  ⁊ þǣre ilcan dæġe rād Æþelmund ealdormann of Hwiċċum ofer æt Cynemǣresford. Ðā ġemette hine Wīhstān ealdormann mid Wilsǣtum, ⁊ þǣr wæs myċel ġefeoht, ⁊ þǣr bēġen ofsleġene wurdan þā ealdormenn, ⁊ Wilsǣte naman siġe.
  And on that same day Alderman Aethelmund rode from Hwicce to Kempsford. There he encountered Alderman Wihstan, who was with men of Wiltshire. And there was a great battle, and both aldermen were slain, and the men of Wiltshire won a victory.
(Runic alphabet) name of the rune ᛞ (d)

Usage notes

A weak genitive plural dæġena and an irregular dative plural dæġum are also attested.

Declension

Strong a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	dæġ	dagas
accusative	dæġ	dagas
genitive	dæġes	daga
dative	dæġe	dagum

Synonyms

Derived terms

Descendants

Middle English: day, dai, daye, dey, daȝȝ, daiȝ, dæi, dæȝ, dei (Early Middle English)
- English: day
- Scots: day, dey, dei, dy
- Yola: die, daie, dei, dey