eala gif

Old English

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈæ͜ɑː.lɑː jif/

Phrase

ēalā ġif

1. if only
   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Saints Alexander, Eventius, and Theodosius"

     Ēalā ġif þū wǣre hund!

     If only you were a dog!

   • c. 995, Ælfric, Extracts on Grammar in English

     Ēalā ġif iċ hæfde feoh.

     If only I had money.

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Passion of the Blessed Martyr Lawrence"

     Ēalā ġif iċ mōste þām ēadigan Laurentium ġeefenlǣċan!

     If only I could imitate the blessed Lawrence!

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The Nativity of St. Andrew the Apostle"

     Ēalā ġif þū witan wolde þǣre hālgan rōde ġerȳnu.

     If only you knew the sacred mysteries of the cross.

   • c. 992, Ælfric, "The First Sunday in September"

     Iōb cwæþ, "Ēalā ġif mīna synna and mīn iermþu þe iċ þoliġe wǣren āweġena on ānre wǣgan, þonne wǣren hīe swǣrran ġesewena þonne sandcorn on sǣ."

     Job said, "If only my sins and the misery I suffer were weighed on a scale; then they would appear heavier than the sandgrains in the sea."