lareow

Middle English

Noun

lareow

  1. alternative form of larew

Old English

Alternative forms

Etymology

From lār (teaching; doctrine) +‎ *ēow, a word or suffix of uncertain origin and meaning, yet apparently found also in Old Saxon lērio, lēreo (teacher, prophet).

Some authorities believe the second element to be a corruption of Old English þēow (servant; minister), which shows up in later forms of the word, e.g. Old English lārþēaw (for *lārþēow), Middle English lorthew, etc., yet this might be assimilation in retrospect caused by confusion or folk-etymology.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈlɑːrˌe͜oːw/

Noun

lārēow m

  1. teacher
    • late 9th century, King Alfred's translation of Pope Gregory's Pastoral Care
      lārēow sċeal bēon eallum mannum efnþrōwiende.
      A teacher should be sympathetic to everyone.
    • c. 9-10th century, Bede, "Preface"
      Ǣrest mē wæs fultumiend 7 lārēow se ārwurða abbad Albinus, sē wæs wīde ġefaren 7 gelǣred, 7 wæs betst ġelǣred on Angelcynne.
      My first supporter and teacher was the venerable abbot Albinus, a man who was widely travelled and educated, and was the best educated in England.

Declension

Strong a-stem:

singular plural
nominative lārēow lārēowas
accusative lārēow lārēowas
genitive lārēowes lārēowa
dative lārēowe lārēowum

Coordinate terms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Middle English: larew