Middle English Dictionary Entry
awẹ̄sten v.
Entry Info
| Forms | awẹ̄sten v. Forms: p. aweste; ppl. awest. |
| Etymology | OE āwēstan |
Definitions (Senses and Subsenses)
1.
To lay waste (a country, a town), devastate.
Associated quotations
- a1225(?OE) Lamb.Hom.(Lamb 487)13 : Lond heo eou awesteð, and eower burh heo forbernað.
- c1275(?a1200) Lay.Brut (Clg A.9)6452 : Tunes hit aweste.
- c1275(?a1200) Lay.Brut (Clg A.9)20970 : Heo velledden þa castles, þat lond heo awæsten.
- c1275(?a1200) Lay.Brut (Clg A.9)29336 : Þus wes Chirenchestre and his londes aweste.
- c1300 Lay.Brut (Otho C.13)8349 : Mi lond he haueþ al awest.