hē is fæger
To say 'someone is beautiful' in Old English, use hē is fæger.
This phrase is used to describe a person who has a pleasing physical appearance.
What does it mean word for word?
The adjective fæger literally means 'fair', 'pleasing' or 'pleasant'. It is the linguistic root of the modern English word 'fair'.
How does it change in a sentence?
The adjective fæger serves as the base form used to describe someone as beautiful or fair. While hē is fæger specifically uses the masculine pronoun hē (he) to say 'he is beautiful', you must change the pronoun to the feminine hēo to say 'she is beautiful' (hēo is fæger).
Did you know?
- The word fæger could be used to describe a 'fair' person regardless of their skin tone, as it referred to harmony and proportion rather than just pale coloring.
- In Old English, beauty was often associated with 'light' and 'brightness', so fæger was frequently used to describe things that literally shimmered or glowed.
- The word fæger is related to the Old Norse fagr, meaning that a Viking and an Anglo-Saxon would have used almost the same word to call someone beautiful.
Examples in context
- Hē is fæger.He is beautiful.
- Ic sēo þæt hē is fæger.I see that he is beautiful.
Example conversation
Mildryth and Æthelstan are discussing a young nobleman.
- MildrythHwæt þyncþ þē be þǣm guman?What do you think of that man?
- ÆthelstanIc wēne þæt hē is fæger.I think that he is beautiful.
- MildrythGēa, his andwlita is swīðe fæger.Yes, his face is very beautiful.
- ÆthelstanHē is sōðlīce fæger.He is truly beautiful.
Sources
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries fæger, is, CC BY-SA 4.0.
