erce

See also: ērcē, ērce, Ercé, and Èrce

Old English

Etymology

Attested in the 11th-century Æcerbot ("field-remedy") charm. The triple invocation erce, erce, erce is compared to the Latin sanctus, sanctus, sanctus, and interpreted as derived from a vocative form of eorcnan "true, genuine; holy", or a proper name Erce, from an earlier *Eorce for a fertility goddess addressed as "mother of earth".

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈer.ke/, [ˈerˠ.ke]

Interjection

erce

1. (magic) holy
   • A Spell to promote the Fertility of Land rendered sterile by Witchcraft. From M. S. Cott. Caligula, A. 7., in: A Grammar of the Anglo-Saxon Tongue from the Danish of Erasmus Rask. By Benjamin Thorpe, 2nd edition, London, 1865, p. 148ff., excerpt from p. 151:

     Erce, erce, erce, / eorðan módor, / geunne ðe se alwealda / éce drihten / æcera wexendra / and wriðendra, / eácniendra and elniendra! […]

     Erce, erce, erce, mother of earth, may the all-wielder grant thee, the great Lord, acres waxing and covering, increasing and strengthening! […]

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛr.t͡sɛ/
• Rhymes: -ɛrt͡sɛ
• Syllabification: er‧ce

Noun

erce

1. dative locative singular of erka