sped

Forms

spēd f (strong i-stem; genitive singular spēde, nominative plural spēde)^[1] Early spoed in the Épinal and Erfurt glosses.^[2]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-West Germanic *spōdi (“prosperity, success”), from Proto-Germanic *spōdiz.^[1][3] Its cognates are Old Saxon spōd, Middle Dutch spoed and Old High German spuot.^[4][5] Kroonen explains it as a ti-stem made to the root of the strong verb Proto-Germanic *spōaną, continued by spōwan (“to succeed”).^[4][6]

That verb continues Proto-Indo-European *speh₁-, the root of Latin spēs (“hope”).^[7] Köbler gives the root as "to stretch, thrive, succeed" (Pokorny 983), and Holthausen compares Lithuanian and Slavic verbs meaning "to have time, to succeed".^[3][8]

The oldest glosses spell it ⟨spoed⟩, where West Saxon has ⟨spēd⟩.^[2][1] It is a feminine i-stem.^[9]

Earliest recorded meaning

The word is among the oldest recorded in English: the Épinal Glossary (s. vii ex. or vii/viii) glosses Latin prouentus "outcome, success" with spoed, and the Erfurt Glossary has the same gloss and also successus spoed.^{[10][11][2][12]}

Semantic evolution

Bosworth and Toller give six senses: speed, quickness (in the dative plural spēdum "quickly"); success; means, substance, wealth; power, faculty; opportunity; and, doubtfully, offspring.^[13] Clark Hall later deleted "offspring".^[14] The prefatory letter of the Pastoral Care wants the free-born young men ðara ðe ða speda hæbben "who have the means" set to learning.^[15][11] In the Orosius a man is rich in the possessions þe heora speda on beoð "in which their wealth consists", that is, in wild animals.^[16][11] The sense "quickness" is found in poetry, in Genesis.^[13] It glosses Latin facultas, praesidium, proventus, substantia and successus.^[3]

The word became Middle English sped, and in English speed the sense of quickness came to prevail.^[5]

Timeline

• s. vii ex. or vii/viii – spoed glossing prouentus in the Épinal Glossary.^[10][11]
• s. ix¹ – spoed glossing praesidium “help” in the Corpus Glossary.^[17][11]
• 890×897 – speda “means” in the prefatory letter of the Pastoral Care.^[15][11]
• s. x¹ or x²/⁴ – speda “wealth” in the Old English Orosius.^[16][11]
• s. x² – spēdum “quickly” in Genesis (Junius 11).^[18][13]

Meanings

Noun

1. success, prosperity;^[13][6] on spēd successfully.^[13][6]
2. means, substance, wealth, abundance.^[13][19]
3. power, faculty; opportunity.^[13]
4. (poetic) speed, quickness;^[13][20] spēdum quickly.^[13][20]

Word family

• spēdiġ
• spēdan
• wanspēd
• feohspēd
• herespēd
• wīġspēd

Descendants

• Middle English sped (→ English speed; Middle Scots sped; Middle Scots spede)^[1]

Related words

• spōwan

Usage notes

The page also covers a rare word sped "phlegm, rheum", found only in glosses (pituita, glaucoma); Holthausen calls it of unknown origin.^[13][21]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b c Pheifer, J. D. (1974), Old English Glosses in the Épinal-Erfurt Glossary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 132
3. ^ a b c Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Altenglisches Wörterbuch, 4th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling, p. s.v. spœ̄d
4. ^ a b Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 469
5. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
6. ^ a b c Fulk, R. D.; Bjork, Robert E.; Niles, John D., eds. (2008), Klaeber's Beowulf and The Fight at Finnsburg, 4th ed., Toronto: University of Toronto Press (glossary), p. s.v. spēd
7. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 468
8. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 312
9. ^ Hogg, Richard M.; Fulk, R. D. (2011), A Grammar of Old English, vol. 2: Morphology, Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, p. § 2.67
10. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 610
11. ^ a b c d e f g Healey, Antonette diPaolo; Price Wilkin, John; Xiang, Xin, eds. (2009), Dictionary of Old English Web Corpus, Toronto: Dictionary of Old English Project
12. ^ Pheifer, J. D. (1974), Old English Glosses in the Épinal-Erfurt Glossary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 138
13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Bosworth, Joseph; Toller, T. Northcote (1898), An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press; Toller, T. Northcote (1921), Supplement, p. 899
14. ^ Clark Hall, J. R. (1960), A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th ed., with a supplement by H. D. Meritt, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 424
15. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 499
16. ^ a b Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 249
17. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 76
18. ^ Gneuss, Helmut; Lapidge, Michael (2014), Anglo-Saxon Manuscripts: A Bibliographical Handlist of Manuscripts and Manuscript Fragments Written or Owned in England up to 1100, Toronto: University of Toronto Press, p. 513
19. ^ Clark Hall, J. R. (1960), A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th ed., with a supplement by H. D. Meritt, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, p. 315
20. ^ a b Sweet, Henry (1896), The Student's Dictionary of Anglo-Saxon, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 180
21. ^ Holthausen, Ferdinand (1934), Altenglisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg: Carl Winter, p. 309