ymbhwyrft

Alternative forms

• ymhwyrft, ymbehwyrft

Etymology

From ymb- +‎ hwyrft.

Noun

ymbhwyrft m

1. globe
   • late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans

     Ūre yldran ealne ðysne ymbhwyrft ðyses middanġeardes, cwæþ Orosius, swā swā Oceanus ymbliġeð ūtan, ðone man gārsecg hāteð, on þrēo tōdǣldon....

     Our elders, said Orosius, divided into three parts, all the globe of this mid-earth, as it is surrounded by the ocean, which we call Garsecg...

2. turn, regular course
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The First Sundayin September, when Job is read"

     Sē wer wæs swīðe mǣre betwux eallum Ēasternum, and his suna fērdon and ðēnode ǣlc ōðrum mid his gōdum on ymhwyrfte æt his hūse, and þǣrto heora swustru ġelaðodon.

     The man was very great among all the Easterns, and his sons went and served each other with his goods in turn at his house, and thereto invited their sisters.

3. a circular course, circuit, orbit
4. surrounding space, extent
5. a bend or turn

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “ymb-hwyrft”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.