lengu

Old English

Alternative forms

• lenġo, lenċġu, lenċġo, lænġo
• lenġe, lenċġe, lænġe, lenġ
• lenġeo, lenġio — diacritical e/i

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *langį̄. Cognate with Old Frisian lendze, lentze, Old High German lengi, Gothic 𐌻𐌰𐌲𐌲𐌴𐌹 (laggei). Equivalent to lang +‎ -u.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈlen.ju/, [ˈlen.d͡ʒu]

Noun

lenġu f

1. length; distance, duration
   • Ælfric's De Temporibus Anni

     Eft is beboden on þām regole ... þæt nǣfre ne sȳ sē hālga ēasterdæġ gemǣrsod ǣr ðan ðe sēo lenctenlīċe emniht sȳ agān, & ðæs dæġes lenċġe oferstīġe þā niht

     It is again commanded in the canon ... that the holy Easter Day never be celebrated before the spring equinox is past, and the day's length exceeds the night

   • Ælfric's Catholic Homilies: the Second Series

     Ðā becōme wyt tō ānre dene sēo wæs ormǣtlīċe dēop and wīd, and fornēan on lenġe unġeendod

     Then we came upon a valley that was immensely deep and wide, and in length nearly endless

2. height, stature
   • 12th century, The Dialogues of Solomon and Saturn

     Saga mē: hū lang wæs Adam on lænġe ġeseapen^[sic]?

     Tell me, how tall in stature was Adam made?

Declension

Strong īn-stem:

	singular	plural
nominative	lenġu	lenġu, lenġe
accusative	lenġu, lenġe	lenġu, lenġe
genitive	lenġu, lenġe	lenġa
dative	lenġu, lenġe	lenġum

Synonyms

• lenġ
• lengþ

Derived terms

• handlenġu

Related terms

• lang

Descendants

• Middle English: lēnge, lengh, længe

References

• Joseph Bosworth; T. Northcote Toller (1898), “lengu”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, second edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Angus Cameron, Ashley Crandell Amos, Antonette diPaolo Healey, editors (2018), “lengu, lenge noun, leng”, in Dictionary of Old English: A to Le ⁠, Toronto: University of Toronto, →OCLC.