wæps

Old English

Alternative forms

• wæsp, wæfs
• ƿæps — wynn spelling

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *wepsō, from Proto-Indo-European *wobʰseh₂ (“wasp”), from *webʰ- (“weave”), referring to the insect's woven nests. Germanic cognates include Old Frisian *waps (West Frisian waps), Old Saxon waspa (Low German Wösp), Old Dutch wespa (Dutch wesp), Old High German wefsa (German Wespe). The Indo-European root is also the source of Old Burmese guohi, Latin vespa, Lithuanian vapsvà. The word is also related to English web and weave.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /wæps/

Noun

wæps f

1. a wasp

   Dūnstān wēpþ for þon hē wearþ fram ānre wæpse ġestungen.

   Dunstan is crying because he got stung by a wasp.

Declension

Declension of wæps (strong ō-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	wæps	wæpsa, wæpse
accusative	wæpse	wæpsa, wæpse
genitive	wæpse	wæpsa
dative	wæpse	wæpsum

Descendants

• Middle English: wasp, wappes, waps, waspe
  • English: wasp, waps
    • Sranan Tongo: waswasi (reduplicated)
  • Scots: wasp, wesp