seax
/sæ͜ɑks/neuter
The Old English word for knife is seax.
seax refers to a utensil or tool designed for cutting.
Meaning: utensil or tool designed for cutting (noun)
How does it change in a sentence?
seax is a neuter noun.
How do you pronounce it?
/sæɑks/
Did you know?
- While seax refers to the tool, the word 'Saxon' is the Latinized version of the same root. To the Romans, a 'Saxon' was essentially 'a person of the knife'.
- Archaeological finds show that the seax came in many sizes, from small utility knives to the 'long seax' which functioned more like a single-edged sword.
- The Old English seax comes from the same ancient root as English 'saw' and Latin secāre, 'to cut'.
Example sentences for Old English are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Eadric and Eadgyth are preparing food in a kitchen.
- EadricEadgyth, gief me seax.Eadgyth, give me the knife.
- EadgythHit is hēr on borde.It is here on the table.
- EadricIc ne seah seax.I did not see the knife.
- EadgythLōca under þone hlaf.Look under the bread.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “knife” translations and entries seax, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries seax, CC BY-SA 4.0.
