edy

Middle English

FWOTD – 11 December 2025

Alternative forms

• hedy
• eadi, eædi, eddi, edi (Early Middle English); ædiȝ (Ormulum)

Etymology

Inherited from Old English ēadiġ, from Proto-West Germanic *audag, from Proto-Germanic *audagaz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛ̝ːdiː/, /ˈɛdiː/

Adjective

edy (Kent, Southern, West Midland, poetic)

1. (of people) lucky, favoured:
   1. blessed, sanctified
      • a. 1333, “Poem 7: Ave maris stella; Fol. 207r-v”, in William Herebert, transl., Opera (British Library MS. Add. 46919)‎, Hereford; republished as The Works of William Herebert, OFM (Corpus of Middle English Prose and Verse), [Ann Arbor]: University of Michigan, a. 2018:

        Hayl, Leuedy, se-stœrre bryht, / Godes moder, edy wyht, / Mayden euer vurst and late, / Of heueneriche sely ʒáte.

        Hail, Lady, bright sea-star, / God's mother, blessed being, / maiden always [from] first to last, / the Kingdom of Heaven's holy gate.

   2. prosperous, wealthy
2. (of people) virtuous, worshipful

References

• “ēdī, adj.”, in MED Online, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan, 2007.