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Definition 2024

erce

erce

See also: ērcē and ērce

Old English

Interjection

erce

  1. (magic) holy!
    • Erce, erce, erce eorþan modor, geunne þe se alwealda, ece Dryhten æcera weaxendra and wriðendra, eacniendra and elniendra ("Erce, erce, erce, mother of earth, may the all-wielder grant thee, the great Lord, acres waxing and covering, increasing and strengthening.")

Etymology

Attested in the 11th-century Æcerbot ("field-remedy") charm. The triple invocation erce, erce, erce is compared to the Latin sanctus, sanctus, sactus, 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".

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