Old English eth and thorn

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1. Old English eth and thorn

Middle and Old English had two sounds for "th", the "eth" as "ð" and the "thorn" as "þ". The distinct "thorn" and "eth" sounds eventually merged. The thorn as "the" looked like and was the source of "ye" for "the".

French monks (after the Norman conquest of Britain from France) substituted the Latin diphthong "th" for the sound.

What do devout monks say before fumigating the monastery?

Let us spray.

2. Eth

The "ð" or "Ð" is called "eth" and has a "th" sound.

3. Thorn

The "þ" or "Þ" is called "thorn" and has a "th" sound.

The thorn character could be confused with the "p" character (as in "pig").

The thorn character still exists in Icelandic though it is usually written as the "eth" (above).

The phrase "Ye Old Inn" is actually "The Old Inn" or "Thee Old Inn" where the abbreviation for "þe" (thee) looked like a "ye".

4. Other Old English characters

Middle and Old English have some unique characters that have disappeared over time.

"œ" or "Œ" is called "ethel" and was replaced with the diphthong "oe".
"æ" or "Æ" is called "ash" and was replaced with the diphthong "ae".

5. Table

Character	Decimal	Hex
ð	#240	xF0
Ð	#208	xD0
Þ	#222	xDE
þ	#254	xFE
œ	#339	x153
Œ	#338	x152
æ	#230	xE6
Æ	#198	xC6

6. End of page

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