For the most accurate lexical information for Old English, you had better turn to the Dictionary of Old English (currently developed by University of Toronto A-G are available behind a paywall) or Clark-Hall’s Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary (4th edn., 1960). One: The dictionary is slightly outdated. Although there is a freely available online version of this dictionary at, I rather prefer the app version: you can use it offline the app has a custom Old English keyboard that includes the runic character æ and þ and it is much easier to do a full text search to look up words mentioned in definitions (by using the grey search bar on the top).Īlthough I am quite happy with this app, there are two minor downsides. The entries do not only contain definitions, but also quotations and references to texts where the word is used. Northcote Toller’s An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, combined with Toller’s Supplement, published in 1921. Shandruk, is essentially a digital version of the 1889 edition of Joseph Bosworth and T. The Old English Dictionary app, developed by Walter M. Who wouldn’t want a nifty, portable Old English dictionary that you can use in the train, while walking your dog or being too lazy to pick up a hard copy dictionary (which would cost you at least ten times as much)? #2 Old English Dictionary Old English Dictionary app For vocabulary, you can go up to level 170 for verbs and nouns you can select specific verbs or noun declensions, or simply select ‘All Verbs: All Forms’ or ‘All Declensions’.įor the polyglots, Liberation Philology also has apps for Gothic, Old Norse and a range of other languages. Where is my ‘You have answered “–um indicates dative plural five times in a row”-badge!? Also, you have to ‘level up’ manually, rather than advancing to the next level after answering a certain number of questions correctly. The only slight disadvantage to this app I can find is that there is no reward system, other than its keeping track of your average score. What better way to keep your brains in good shape, improve your grammar skills and master the basic vocabulary of Old English? This app allows you to spend hours and hours answering multiple-choice questions concerning the parsing of Old English verbs, nouns or pronouns or the translation of words from Old English to Modern English or vice versa. Why not spend that time more wisely and train your knowledge of Old English in this quiz app by a company called ‘Liberation Philology’? #3 Liberation Philology: Old English Liberation Philology: Old English app įlappy Bird, Bejeweled, Sewer Run, 2048, Candy Crush… one of the things people use their smartphones for is to play games. This means you can read along and listen to what the text may have sounded like. This app provides access to various Old English, Middle English and Early Modern English texts with translations, minimal explanatory notes and, more importantly, sound files of Professor Smith reading these texts out to you. Readings in Early English was developed by Brian Aitken of the University of Glasgow and was originally intended as a companion piece to the book Essentials of Early English (1999) by Professor Jeremy J. If you want to practice your Old English pronunciation or you just love the idea of having someone read to you from The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle or the works of Ælfric of Eynsham, this is the app for you! #4 Readings in Early English Readings in Early English app I have not been able to find an iTunes link Despite its potentially interesting functionality of switching between Old English – English and English – Old English, this silly app should be avoided. No source is indicated for these words and their basic definition, but some of them seem to be derived from Old English Wikipedia pages (such as the one for the Chief Justice of the United States). This app is rather clumsily put together – its definition are brief and its list of entries seems rather haphazardly collected (it does have entries for both ‘take a crap’ and ‘take a shit’). What are the Old English words for ‘Chief Justice of the United States’, ‘coffee’ and ‘taekwondo’? If we are to believe this ad-supported dictionary app, the early medieval inhabitants of England would have said: hēahdēmere þāra Geānlǣhtra Rīca, caffiȝ and tæȝcƿondo. #5 English Old English Dictionary English Old English Dictionary app Let’s get early medieval on your smartphone! I am not in any way connected to the developers of these apps. In this blog post, I review five apps that bring the early medieval magic of Old English to your 21st-century smartphone.

Middle english word translator