giedd

Etymology
There are no exact cognates, though the shape of the word points to a *gadją. This would make the ⟨ie⟩ from fronting of *a, palatal diphthongization and i-umlaut, and the geminate ⟨d⟩ from West Germanic gemination which was eventually leveled into the nominative/accusative singular, a development which happened to almost all ja-stems with light root syllables (see ).

Noun

 * 1)  story, tale, song, poem

Usage notes

 * Tolkien, in his notes on , says: “Gyd (Early West Saxon giedd, other dialects gedd) is a word of wide or vague application in Old English verse. It seems able to be used of any formal utterance, discourse, or recitation. Thus Hrothgar calls his discourse or sermon a gydd, while Beowulf's formal words when handing over the gifts to Hygelac are called gyd (‘appointed words’). But from various uses, and connexion with gléo (as gidd ond gléo), it is plain that it can mean what we would call a lay.”