Did you know that ban-gār in Old English means ‘deadly spear’ and reference to it can be found in Beowulf (the text, not the movie with Angelina Jolie)?

You can find other fascinating old English words in the Dictionary of Old English. The DOE (as it is affectionately known to insiders) covers old English from 600 – 1150 A.D. The DOE complements the Middle English Dictionary which covers 1100 – 1500 A.D. and the Oxford English Dictionary. Together, these three works will comprise a comprehensive English vocabulary once the DOE is completed. Entries in the DOE have links to the OED. The DOE has over 12,000 headwords.