Wordhoard
/ˈwɜːrd.hɔːrd/noun
A store or treasury of words, especially a person’s vocabulary or a poet’s verbal resources.
Did you know?The compound appears in the Old English epic Beowulf, where the poet describes “unlocking” his word-hoard before speaking.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*werdʰom
“A word or spoken expression; the ancestral source of Germanic word and Latin verbum.”
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*wurdan
“Word or utterance.”
Old English
Old English
word
“A spoken statement, promise, command, or piece of language.”
Old English
Old English
hord
“A hoard, treasure, or concealed store; related to the idea of hiding valuables.”
8th–11th Century
Old English
wordhord
“Literally a “word-hoard,” a poet’s or speaker’s stored vocabulary; famously used in Beowulf.”
Modern English
English
word-hoard
“A treasury of words or vocabulary, often used poetically or in discussions of Old English literature.”