Beowulf

Learned borrowing from Old English Bēowulf, probably equivalent to bee +‎ wolf, though the first element is uncertain.

• IPA^(key): /ˈbeɪ.əˌwʊlf/

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Beowulf (plural Beowulfs)

1. An Old English epic poem written circa 1025.

   John Gardner’s retelling of Beowulf is titled Grendel.

2. (poetic) An Anglo-Saxon personal name, usually with reference to the hero of the poem, or to the poem itself.

   Beowulf is as great a hero as Sigmund.

   • 1965, Myra Waldo, “Japan”, in Travel Guide to the Orient and the Pacific, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Collier-Macmillan Limited, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 157:

     The highest rank attainable is yokozuna, or grand champion. They are the heroes of the Japanese, the Rolands, the Beowulfs, the Siegfrieds of the Cherry Blossom Empire.

• Beowulfian

• Bīowulf

Uncertain; perhaps from bēo (“bee”) +‎ wulf (“wolf”), literally “bee-hunter”, used as a kenning for “bear” or “woodpecker”.^[1][2][3] Compare also the alternative form Beadowulf, from beadu (“battle”) +‎ wulf, which may be the original. Probably cognate with Old Norse Bjólfr (from earlier *Bíolfr, *Béolfr).

• IPA^(key): /ˈbe͜oːˌwulf/, [ˈbe͜oːˌwuɫf]

Bēowulf m

1. (poetic) Beowulf

Strong a-stem: