Middle English Dictionary Entry
osmund n.
Entry Info
| Forms | osmund n. Also osmond, osemund, osemond & (Latinate) osmundus; pl. osmund(es. |
| Etymology | Prob. ON; cp. OSwed. osmundes. MLG osemunt & MDu. osemont are borrowings from Swedish. |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
A kind of iron, made chiefly in Sweden; also a standard-size piece of such iron; fals ~, a counterfeit piece of such iron; trencher ~, a knife made of such iron.
Associated quotations
- (1324-5) in Gras Eng.Cust.Syst.379 : Idem Petrus pro ferro de osmund.
- (1348) Close R.Edw.III433 : [The small pieces of iron called] bakyren, wymond [and] osmond.
- (1376) RParl.2.328a : Qe quant a les ditz xvii nobles & feer appelle Osmond.
- (1397) Inquis.Miscel.(PRO)6.74 : [Iron called] Spaynissh irne [and] osmund.
- (1397) Inquis.Miscel.(PRO)6.91 : [A] bareyle [of] osemond [worth 10 s.].
- (a1399) Oath Bk.Colchester8 : Osemund, j barel, j d.
- (1400) Comp.R.in Frost Hullapp.18 : ix bar. osmond.
- (1417) J.Dernell in Nrf.Archaeol.15133 : Dies Mercurii, Dies Jovis comyng homwarde with vj Osmonde Barell, price iij s.
- (1428) Doc.in Sur.Soc.851,2 : John Burn..cutted aboute xxvj peces of fals Inglysh iryn..and made yam in shappe of osmundes..and yay war made to blend with gude osmundes.
- (1428) Doc.in Sur.Soc.853 : He was empeched of forgeyng of fals osmundes of drosse and of landyren.
- (1428) Doc.in Sur.Soc.855 : John Lyllyng..graunted his trespas of forgeyng and utteryng of fals osmunds.
- (1430) Plea & Mem.R.Lond.Gildh.260 : [4 barrels of] osmond, [2 lasts of linen, etc.].
- c1436 Ipswich Domesday(2) (Add 25011)191 : Of osmond [ID(1): osemund] be the custum takyn as of brasse.
- a1450-a1500(1436) Libel EP (Warner)308 : Now bere and bacone bene fro Pruse ibroughte Into Flaundres..Osmonde, coppre.
- c1450 Treat.Fish.(Yale 171)147/13 : Ye schall make your hokes of steyl & of osmonde, som for þe to dub & som for þe flote.
- (1451) Will York in Sur.Soc.30152 : iiij barells de osmundes.
- (1459) *Will Tentirden (Somerset Ho.) [OD col.] : Trenchours Osmond.
- (1465) Acc.Howard in RC 57301 : My mastyr paid for iij sheffe Osmond bout be Pakwode ffor to make arow hedes ij s.
- a1500(a1451) Commodities Eng.(LdMisc 593)553 : What merchandyse and rychese come..owte of the Northe est Contrey be all Merchanndes of the londe, whiche lond spekyn all maner Duche tonge..10 Osmond, 11 Yron, 12 all maner Copprue.
- a1500 Weights in RHS ser.3.41 (Vsp E.9)18 : Osmundus is sold by the barrell..xij barrell Osmond is a last in byenge and sellynge, and xiij barrell is a schyppe laste to freyte.
Supplemental Materials (draft)
Note: "'Osmund' iron (strictly speaking, any iron derived from bog ore, but in the Middle Ages particularly applied to Swedish iron) was imported for hardening the edges of tools and weapons, and later on for wire-drawing. It had a low phosphorus content which allowed it to absorb carbon readily. It was brought to London by the Hansa." - Jane Geddes, "Iron," in English Medieval Industries (1991), p. 168.
Note: Quot. 1324 is taken by the Anglo-Norman Dictionary as an Anglo-Norman word (a possibility entertained also by OED.) AND cites two additional quotations, both spelt 'osmond.'
Note: "Cf. [E. Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok 2:dra uppl. (Lund, 1935-1939)], s.v. osmundsjärn. For a detailed discussion of the word we may refer to von Friesen's paper "Osmundsjärnet i språklig belysning," published in Jernkontorets annaler of the year 1922." -- M.T.Löfvenberg, Contributions to ME Lexicography and Etymology (Lund, 1948), p. 73.
Supplemental Materials (draft)
- (1295) Acc.Shipbuilding in Ant.J.7428 : In..viii. garbis ferri quod dicitur Osemund.
- (1479) Worcester Itineraries (Corp-C 210)192 : Rye [i.e. Riga]..ibi est coper, osmond, gold, syluer.
- 1488 *Act 3 Hen.VII [OD col.]c. 9 sect.1 : Other Stuff as Lynen Cloth..osmonde Iren Flax and Wax.
Note: Add combination: ~ iren.
Note: Antedates word.
Note: New form (osmonde).
Note: Ult. etymology presumably from a Norse personal (and place-) name in -mundr. Cp. wimond.