tobregdan

Old English

Etymology

By surface analysis, tō- +‎ breġdan

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /toːˈbrej.dɑn/

Verb

tōbreġdan

  1. to pull to pieces, pull apart
    • late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans
      ⁊ ēac þætte þrīe wulfas on ānre niht brōhton ānes dēades monnes līchoman binnan þā burg, ⁊ hiene þær siþþan styċċemælum tōbrugdon, oþ þā men onwōcan, ⁊ ūt urnon, ⁊ hīe siþþan aweġ flugon.
      And on one night, three wolves brought the body of a dead man into the city, and then tore it to pieces bit by bit, until the people awoke and ran out, and they ran away.
  2. (intransitive) to separate
  3. to distract

Conjugation

References