How to Say “Star” in Old English
The English word star is steorra in Old English. In an astronomical context, steorra refers to a luminous celestial body made of plasma.
About Old English
Old English, also called Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest form of English. It was spoken in England from about the 5th century until the 12th century, when it gradually turned into Middle English after the Norman Conquest. It is the language of Beowulf and it is no longer spoken as anyone's first language.
An English speaker today cannot read Old English without study. It had grammatical cases and three genders, and it used letters that modern English has lost: þ (thorn) and ð (eth) for the th sound, æ (ash) for the a in "cat" and ƿ (wynn) for w. Many basic words survive in a changed form, such as mōdor (mother) and hūs (house). Old English was written in many regional varieties, so the forms in these guides can differ from one textbook to another.
| Family | Indo-European, Germanic (West Germanic) |
|---|---|
| Spoken | England, about 450 to 1150 |
| Status | historical language, no native speakers |
| Script | Latin alphabet with extra letters, earlier runes |
| Code | ang (ISO 639-3) |
Classification: Wikidata. Retrieved 26 September 2026.
How to Say “Today” in Old English
The Old English phrase for “today” is tō dæġe. tō dæġe is an adverb used to mean “on the current day”.
How to Say “Chicken” in Old English
The word for chicken in Old English is cicen. This term refers to the bird.
How to Say “Aunt” in Old English
The English phrase “aunt” translates to Old English as mōdriġe or faþu. Both terms refer to a parent’s sister or sister-in-law.
How to Say “The” in Old English
The English phrase ‘the’ is translated into Old English as sē.
How to Say “Ugly” in Old English
The Old English word for ugly is unfæġer. unfæġer is an adjective used to describe something that is displeasing to the eye or not aesthetically pleasing.
How to Say “Ready” in Old English
The Old English word for ready is gearo. The adjective gearo describes someone or something that is prepared for immediate action or use.
How to Say “Hand” in Old English
The English word hand is hand in Old English. hand refers to the part of the fore limb.
How to Say “Score” in Old English
Old English had no word for a score of points in a game. The nearest word is ġetæl, “number, count”.
How to Say “Abyss” in Old English
The Old English word for an abyss, a bottomless depth, is neowelnes. neowelnes is used for the deep places of the earth and the sea.