Old English

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In the two older surviving manuscripts, preserved in Cambridge and St Petersburg, the poem is written mainly in Latin, with the Old English lines added later in the margins or at the end.

From Science Daily • May 17, 2026

Tolkien, a scholar of Old English, studied the “theory of courage” found in poems such as the ancient epic “Beowulf,” redeeming what he called the “noble northern spirit” from the fascists who would pervert it.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026

Lal wrote back with superlatives of his own about Lawson, borrowing another word that Gandhi’s grandfather had often used, an Old English term for advocate, or follower:

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 15, 2024

For teachers, it can assist with curriculum writing or be a creative classroom aide, for instance creating introductions in Old English during a class on medieval times.

From Reuters • Nov. 16, 2023

It becomes poikos, then gafaihaz in Germanic and gefab in Old English, signifying “foe.”

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas