manþeof

Etymology
Equivalent to. Compare, which is formed similarly.

Noun

 * 1) kidnapper
 * 2) a fine for kidnapping

Usage notes

 * The word for "to kidnap" is the verb used with a noun denoting a person (Sunu mīn, īeðre is þæt man wīf forstele þonne hē hīwiġe = "My son, it's easier to kidnap a woman than to marry one"), or generically with the noun  (Hwæt ġif iċ menn forstele for þām ānum þe iċ wille frīend ġewyrċan? = "What if I only kidnap [literally " steal people "] because I want to make friends?"). This usage and manþēof imply that the word for kidnapping was probably *manþīefþu (lit. “person theft”), though such a noun is unattested. Compare Icelandic   and.


 * It is likely that a kidnapper was simply called a "thief" when used with a noun or pronoun denoting the person kidnapped: Hēo spǣtte hire þēofe on þæt nebb ("She spat in her kidnapper's [lit. "her thief's "] face"). So also with *manþīefþu, if it existed: Ġīet ǣne hē þōhte ymb his þīefþe, hū hē losian meahte ("Once again he thought about his kidnapping [lit. "his theft "], and how he could escape"). This is how is used in surviving texts, as well as the analogous words  and , which literally mean "person-killing" and "person-killer." In a statement such as "he is a murderer," manslaga was used in full, while in the phrase "his/her murderer, murderer of someone,"  was used.