husl

Old English

Alternative forms

• hūsel, hūsul

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *hunsl, from Proto-Germanic *hunslą (“offering, sacrifice”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱwen- (“holy”). Cognate with Old Norse húsl (“Eucharist”), Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌽𐍃𐌻 (hunsl, “offering, sacrifice”), Proto-Slavic *svętъ (“holy, sacred”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xuːsl/, [huːzl]

Noun

hūsl n

1. (Christianity) the Eucharist
   • late 10th century, Ælfric, "Pastoral Letter for Wulfsige"

     Þæt hūsl is Cristes līchama, nā līchamlīċe ac gāstlīċe.

     The Eucharist is the body of Christ, not physically but spiritually.

2. (religion, originally) offering, sacrifice

Declension

Declension of husl (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	hūsl	hūsl
accusative	hūsl	hūsl
genitive	hūsles	hūsla
dative	hūsle	hūslum

Derived terms

• hūslian (“to administer the sacrament”)

Descendants

• Middle English: housel, hoosyl, hosel, hosil, hosill, hosol, housil, housul, housyl, housyll, howsel, howsell, howsill, husel, husell, husul
  • English: housel (archaic)
  • Scots: hoozle, ouzle (obsolete)

References

• (Eucharist): Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “husl”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• (sacrifice): Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “husl”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[2], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.