wælceasega

Old English

Etymology

By surface analysis, wæl (“slaughter, the slain”) +‎ ċēosan (“to choose”), literally 'chooser of the slain.' Compare Old English wælcyrġe and Old Norse valkyrja, which are constructed similarly.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈwælˌt͡ʃæ͜ɑː.se.jɑ/, [ˈwælˌt͡ʃæ͜ɑː.ze.jɑ]

Noun

wælċēaseġa m

1. (poetic) a raven

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “wæl-ceásiga”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.