Wapentake

Wapentake
Wapentake Wap"en*take (?; 277), n. [AS. w?penge??c, w?pent[=a]c, from Icel. v[=a]pnat[=a]k, literally, a weapon taking or weapon touching, hence an expression of assent (``si displicuit sententia fremitu aspernantur; sin placuit frameas concutiunt.'' --Tacitus, ``Germania,'' xi.). See {Weapon}, and {Take}. This name had its origin in a custom of touching lances or spears when the hundreder, or chief, entered on his office. ``Cum quis accipiebat pr[ae]fecturam wapentachii, die statuto in loco ubi consueverant congregari, omnes majores natu contra eum conveniebant, et descendente eo de equo suo, omnes assurgebant ei. Ipse vero, erecta lancea sua, ab omnibus secundum morem f[oe]dus accipiebat; omnes enim quot-quot venissent cum lanceis suis ipsius hastam tangebant, et ita se confirmabant per contactum armorum, pace palam concessa. W[ae]pnu enim arma sonat; tac, tactus est -- hac de causa totus ille conventus dicitur Wapentac, eo quod per tactum armorum suorum ad invicem conf[oe]derati sunt.'' --L L. Edward Confessor, 33. D. Wilkins.] In some northern counties of England, a division, or district, answering to the hundred in other counties. Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, and Nottinghamshire are divided into wapentakes, instead of hundreds. [Written also {wapentac}.] --Selden. Blackstone. [1913 Webster]

The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • wapentake — A local division of a shire or county in old English law; the term used north of the Trent River for the territory called a hundred in other parts of England. Dictionary from West s Encyclopedia of American Law. 2005. wapentake …   Law dictionary

  • wapentake — division of certain English counties (equivalent to a hundred in other places), O.E. wæpengetæc, from O.N. vapnatak, from vapna, genitive plural of vapn weapon (see WEAPON (Cf. weapon)) + tak touching, from taka to take, grasp. Perhaps it… …   Etymology dictionary

  • wapentake — [wäp′ən tāk΄, wap′ən tāk΄] n. [ME < OE wapentac < ON vapnatak, lit., a weapon taking (< vapn, WEAPON + tak, a taking, commandeering < taka, to TAKE): prob. used territorially from ceremony in which vassals touched the raised spear of… …   English World dictionary

  • wapentake — noun Etymology: Middle English, from Old English wǣpentæc, from Old Norse vāpnatak act of grasping weapons, from vāpn weapon + tak act of grasping, from taka to take; probably from the brandishing of weapons as an expression of approval when the… …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • wapentake — /wop euhn tayk , wap /, n. (formerly in N England and the Midlands) a subdivision of a shire or county corresponding to a hundred. [bef. 1000; ME < ON vapnatak (cf. OE waepen getaec) show of weapons at public voting, equiv. to vapna (gen. pl. of… …   Universalium

  • Wapentake — Term used in the *Danelaw for a division or subdivision of a *county; also the court of such a division; equivalent to a southern English *hundred. Wapentake = literally a weapon take , i.e. a place to which arms were not taken, only being taken… …   Dictionary of Medieval Terms and Phrases

  • wapentake — noun /ˈwɒp.ən.teɪk/ An administrative subdivision in northern English counties, developed under Norse influence, and corresponding to hundreds in the rest of England …   Wiktionary

  • wapentake — [ wɒp(ə)nteɪk, wap ] noun historical a subdivision of certain northern and midland English counties, corresponding to a hundred in other counties. Origin OE wpen(ge)tæc, from ON vápnatak, from vápn weapon + taka take , perh. with ref. to voting… …   English new terms dictionary

  • Wapentake — In northern England and the Midlands, a subdivision of a shire; the equivalent of a hundred. ♦ Equivalent of a hundred in the Danelaw. (Wood, Michael. Domesday: A Search for the Roots of England, 214) Related terms: Hide …   Medieval glossary

  • wapentake — wap·en·take …   English syllables

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