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How do you say "fun" in old English?
I heard somewhere that "toye" is old english for fun, and that's where the middle English "toye" meaning "toy" came from. Is this correct, or is it a different word?
3 Answers
- Anonymous9 years agoFavourite answer
It seems not to be anything like "toye".
The Oxford English Dictionary says that "toye" (= fun, dalliance) first comes into widespread citation in the mid-1500s (that is, early modern English). But the problem is that the only data for "toye" prior to that is a single Middle English citation for 1303, and there's no trail back to Old English. The OED says:
=quote=
"It is difficult to conceive how such a word in use c1300 should thus disappear for two centuries, and then should all at once burst into view with a wide sense-development. The etymology is equally problematic, and, in spite of current conjectures, must still be considered unascertained.
=unquote=
Source(s): OED - Anonymous9 years ago
ye olde fun