Old English is the earliest stage of the English language, used in England from the Anglo-Saxon period until soon after the Norman Conquest. In poetry, it names the language of works such as Beowulf and The Dream of the Rood, which were written in a strongly accented, alliterative style very different from later English verse.
Example
Hwæt, winter wind lifted
black rain over the battlefield;
shield by shield, the sailors stood
silent under the storm.
Related Definitions
[n] English prior to about 1100