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vocab_drabbles2023-03-31 01:34 am
mxcatmoon) wrote in vocab_drabbles2023-03-31 01:34 am
Entry tags:
#056 - Uhtceare
This week's word is
UHTCEARE
(n.) Pronounced- oot-key-are-a
An Old English word meaning ‘lying awake before dawn and worrying.’
The old English term 'uhtceare' refers to the anxiety one experiences right before dawn. More specifically, it is the anxiety experienced by a person when they wake up too early and can't get back to sleep.
From Mark Forsyth’s – The Horologicon:
That wretched uhtceare,
that torments our peace
and will not leave rest unassaulted.
Note: this old English word isn't even in the dictionary. Although it's rare, I thought it was such a fun word and might inspire some interesting fic.
Edited to add: There are alternate spellings, although there seem to be different opinions on them. For the purposes of this challenge, you're welcome to use whichever one you want. Here are some of the ones I found:
Wiktionary:
UHTCEARE
(n.) Pronounced- oot-key-are-a
An Old English word meaning ‘lying awake before dawn and worrying.’
The old English term 'uhtceare' refers to the anxiety one experiences right before dawn. More specifically, it is the anxiety experienced by a person when they wake up too early and can't get back to sleep.
From Mark Forsyth’s – The Horologicon:
That wretched uhtceare,
that torments our peace
and will not leave rest unassaulted.
Note: this old English word isn't even in the dictionary. Although it's rare, I thought it was such a fun word and might inspire some interesting fic.
Edited to add: There are alternate spellings, although there seem to be different opinions on them. For the purposes of this challenge, you're welcome to use whichever one you want. Here are some of the ones I found:
Wiktionary:
ūhtċeare: inflection of ūhtcaru:
1. accusative/genitive/dative singular
2. accusative plural
Reddit discussions:
"The difference between ċearu and ċeare is that ċearu or caru was used for the nominative case and ċeare was used for the other cases."
"Depends on how you want to use it, I guess. A morning-grief bothers me: uhtcearu. Morning-griefs ruin my life: uhtceara. I have lots of morning griefs: uhtceare. (also, I hate morning-griefs) My breakfast has been spoiled by morning-griefs: uhtcearum."
Reddit discussions:
"The difference between ċearu and ċeare is that ċearu or caru was used for the nominative case and ċeare was used for the other cases."
"Depends on how you want to use it, I guess. A morning-grief bothers me: uhtcearu. Morning-griefs ruin my life: uhtceara. I have lots of morning griefs: uhtceare. (also, I hate morning-griefs) My breakfast has been spoiled by morning-griefs: uhtcearum."
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I'm not sure having a word for it will help with the thing itself, but it's still worth knowing and might help a little.
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