gerefa

English

Noun

gerefa (plural gerefas)

1. (historical) A reeve or official with local jurisdiction under the king; the chief magistrate of a district.

Old English

Alternative forms

• groefa

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *garāfijō. By surface analysis, ġe- +‎ rēfa.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /jeˈreː.fɑ/, [jeˈreː.vɑ]

Noun

ġerēfa m

1. a reeve or official with local jurisdiction under the king; the chief magistrate of a district
   • Laws of King Ine

     Ġif ġesīþcund mon fare, þonne mōt hē habban his ġerēfan mid him ⁊ his smiþ ⁊ his ċildfestran.

     If a noble man should move, then he may keep his reeve and his smith and his children's nurse with him.

   • Homilies of the Anglo-Saxon Church

     Sumes ġerēfan dohtor hē āhredde fram fefore þurh his ǣrendġewrit, þe hēo ādliġ underfeng.

     He freed a certain reeve's daughter from a fever with his written letter, which she received while sick.

Declension

Weak:

	singular	plural
nominative	ġerēfa	ġerēfan
accusative	ġerēfan	ġerēfan
genitive	ġerēfan	ġerēfena
dative	ġerēfan	ġerēfum

Derived terms

• hēahġerēfa
• portġerēfa
• rēfa
• scīrġerēfa
• swānġerēfa
• tunġerēfa
• wicġerēfa

Descendants

• Middle English: reve (via rēfa)
  • English: reeve