Both Uses of
Old English
in
Howards End
- It is so thoroughly Old English.
Part 17Old English = English as it was spoken long ago
- Though no more Old English than the works of Kipling, it had selected its reminiscences so adroitly that her criticism was lulled, and the guests whom it was nourishing for imperial purposes bore the outer semblance of Parson Adams or Tom Jones.
Part 17 *
Definitions:
-
(1)
(Old English) English as it was spoken and written long ago -- formally, prior to about 1100 (before and immediately after the Norman Conquest of Britain), but sometimes used informally for English that is less old
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) Less commonly, old English can refer to anything that is old and English; and sometimes more specifically to a decorative style of a font or of furniture.