When was a r s e first used in the English language. Not arce-hoole, but a r s e?

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When was a r s e first used in the English language. Not arce-hoole, but a r s e?

2006-08-20 03:07:04 · 2 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Languages

2 answers

@rse is reconstructible to Proto-Germanic, so its occurrence in the English language is ancient, before there was an English language. Its first written attestation in English was about the year 1000 in a glossary by Aelfric.

EDIT: A note about @rse-hole versus @rse. The first is a compound and, thus, includes @rse. Compounds are composed of words that already exist in the language, so the fact that @rsehole exists means that @rse was already in existence before it. This is axiomatic within linguistics.

2006-08-20 03:20:55 · answer #1 · answered by Taivo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋

Check The Oxford English Dictionary -- it has a complete listing of all words and their etymologies.

2006-08-20 03:12:00 · answer #2 · answered by ? 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋