besma

Old English

Alternative forms

• besema
• bisme, bysm — possibly f

Etymology

From Proto-West Germanic *besmō (“branch, rod, broom”); the forms bisme, bysm may come from a feminine byform *bismijā, *bismiju.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbes.mɑ/, [ˈbez.mɑ]

Noun

besma m

1. broom, besom
2. rod

Declension

Weak:

	singular	plural
nominative	besma	besman
accusative	besman	besman
genitive	besman	besmena
dative	besman	besmum

Descendants

• Middle English: besme, beseme, besome, bisme, beesme, besm, besom, bysme (Late Middle English), besum (Lincolnshire), besume, besumme (Catholicon Anglicum), besowme (Promptorium Parvulorum)
  • English: besom
  • Middle Scots: bissome, bussome
    • Scots: besom, bissom, bussom

References

• Angus Cameron, Ashley Crandell Amos, Antonette diPaolo Healey, editors (2024), “besma, bisme”, in Dictionary of Old English: A to Le ⁠, Toronto: University of Toronto, →OCLC.

See also

• brōm