A Concise Dictionary of Middle English | Page 2

columns. The idea suggested itself that it would be highly desirable to bring the very useful information thus already collected _under one alphabet_, and this has now been effected. At the same time, a reference has in every case been carefully given to the particular Glossarial Index which registers each form here cited, so that it is perfectly easy for any one who consults our book to refer, not merely to the particular Index thus noted, but to the references given in that Index; and so, by means of such references, to find every passage referred to, with its proper context. Moreover the student only requires, for this purpose, a small array of the text-books in the Clarendon Press Series, instead of a more or less complete set of editions of Middle-English texts, the possession of which necessitates a considerable outlay of money. By this plan, so great a compression of information has been achieved, that a large number of the articles give a summary such as can be readily expanded to a considerable length, by the exercise of a very little trouble; and thus the work is practically as full of material as if it had been three or four times its present size. A couple of examples will shew* what this really means.
At p. 26 is the following entry:--
'~Bi-heste~, sb. promise, S, S2, C2, P; ~byheste~, S2; ~beheste~, S2; ~byhest~, S2; ~bihese~, S; ~biheest~, W; ~bihese~, pl., S.--AS. _be-h?|*s_.'
By referring to the respective indexes here cited, such as S (=Glossary to Specimens of English,

Part I), and the like, we easily
expand this article into the following:--
'~Bi-heste~, sb. promise, S (9. 19); S2 (I a. 184); C2 (B37, 41, 42, F 698); P (3. 126); ~byheste~, S2 (18 b. 25); ~beheste~, S2 (14 a. 3); ~byhest~, S2 (12. 57, 18 b. 9, [where it may also be explained by _grant_]); ~bihese~, S (where it is used as a plural); ~biheest~, W (promise, command, Lk. xxiv. 49, Rom. iv. 13; pl. _biheestis_, Heb. xi. 13); ~bihese~, S (pl. behests, promises, 4 d. 55).--AS. _beh?|*s_'
In order to exhibit the full meaning of this--which requires no further explanation to those who have in hand the books denoted by S, S2, &c.--it would be necessary to print the article at considerable length, as follows:--
'~Biheste~, sb. promise; "dusi _biheste_" a foolish promise, (extract from) Ancren Riwle, l. 19; "and wel lute wule hulde ??e biheste ??at he nom," (extract from) Robert of Gloucester, l. 184; "holdeth your _b??heste_," Chaucer, Introd. to Man of Law's Prologue, l. 37; "biheste is dette," same, l. 41; "al my _biheste_" same, l. 42; "or breken his _biheste_" Chaucer, sequel to Squieres Tale, l. 698; "??orw fals _biheste_," Piers Plowman, Text B, Pass. iii, l. 126; "to vol-vulle (fulfil) ??at _byheste_" Trevisa (extract from), lib. vi. cap. 29, l. 25; "the lond of promyssioun, or of _beheste_," Prol. to Mandeville's Travels, l. 3; "wi?? fair _by-hest_," William and the Werwolf, l. 57; "??e byhest (promise, or grant) of o??ere menne kyngdom," Trevisa, lib. vi. cap. 29, l. 9; "y schal sende the biheest of my fadir in-to 3*ou," Wyclif, Luke xxiv. 49; "not bi the lawe is biheest to Abraham," Wycl. Rom. iv. 13; "whanne the biheestis weren not takun," Wycl. Heb. xi. 13; "longenge to godes _bihese_" Old Eng. Homilies, Dominica iv. post Pascha, l. 55.'
We thus obtain fifteen excellent examples of the use of this word, with the full context and an exact reference (easily verified) in every case. And, in the above instance, all the quotations lie within the compass of the eleven texts in the Clarendon Press Series denoted, respectively, by S, S2, S3, C, C2, C3, W, W2, P, H, and G.
The original design was to make use of these text-books only; but it was so easy to extend it by including examples to be obtained from other Glossaries and Dictionaries, that a considerable selection of interesting words was added from these, mainly for the sake of illustrating the words in the Clarendon text-books. These illustrative words can be fully or partially verified by those who happen to possess all or some of the works cited, or they can safely be taken on trust, as really occurring there, any mistake being due to such authority.
A second example will make this clearer. '~Brant~, adj. steep, high, MD, HD; ~brent~, JD; ~brentest~, superl. S2.--AS. _brant (bront)_; cp. Swed. _brant_, Icel. brattr.'
Omitting the etymology, the above information is given in two short lines. Those who possess the 'Specimens of English' will easily find the example of the superl. brentest. By consulting M?¤tzner's, Halliwell's, and Jamieson's Dictionaries, further information can be obtained, and the full article will appear as follows:--
'~Brant~, adj. steep, high, MD [~brant, brent~, adj. ags. _brand_, arduus, altus, altn. _brattr_, altschw. _branter_, schw. _brant, bratt_, d?¤n,