wapentake en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /ˈwɒp.ən.teɪk/
Etymology
From Middle English wapentake, wepentake, wapentache, wapentac, from Old English wǣpenġetæc, from Old Norse vápnatak, from vápn (“weapon”) + taka (“take”), equivalent to weapon + take.
Meanings
-
An administrative subdivision in northern English counties, developed under Norse influence, and corresponding to hundreds in the rest of England.
Hollanders, Zelanders, Scots, French, Weſterne men, Northren men, beſides all the hundreds and wapentakes nine miles compaſſe, fetch the beſt of their viands and mangery from her market.
1599, [Thomas] Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe, […], London: […] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] […], →OCLC, page 6:
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| wapentakes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |