scield

Old English

Alternative forms

• sċeld — Anglian, Kentish
• sċild, sċyld

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *skelduz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ʃi͜yld/, [ʃi͜yɫd]
• Rhymes: -i͜yld

Noun

sċield m (West Saxon)

1. shield
   • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church

     Đā andwyrde Martinus unforht ðām cāsere, "Iċ wille ðurhgān orsorh ðone here, mid rōde tācne ġewǣpnod, nā mid rēadum sċylde, oððe mid hefeġum helme, oððe heardre byrnan." Đa hēt sē hǣðena cyning healdan Martinum, þæt hē wurde āworpen unġewǣpnod ðām here. Þā nolde sē Hǣlend his ðeġen forlǣtan, ac ġesibbode þæt folc sōna þǣs on merien, þæt hī tō þǣs cāseres cyneġyrde ġebugon.

     Then the bold Martinus answered the emperor "I will go fearlessly through the army, armed with a crucifix, not with a red shield, nor with a heavy helmet, nor a hard corselet." So the heathen king ordered that Martinus be held so he could be thrown unarmed into the army. But the Savior would not abandon his servant, and in the morning soon pacified the people so that they submitted to the emperor's scepter.

   Synonyms: bord, campwudu, gūþbord, rand (all poetic)

2. protection

Declension

Strong u-stem/a-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	sċield	sċielda, sċieldas
accusative	sċield	sċielda, sċieldas
genitive	sċielda, sċieldes	sċielda
dative	sċielda, sċielde	sċieldum

Derived terms

• sċieldweall (“shield wall”)
• sċildan (“to protect”)

Descendants

• Middle English: scheld, schild, sheld, shild, shelde
  • Scots: scheld, scheild
  • English: shield

References

• John R. Clark Hall (1916), “scield”, in A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, New York: Macmillan