▪ I. † bergh, berȝe, berwe, v. Obs.
Forms: 1 beorᵹan, 2–4 berȝe(n. Also 2–3 bereȝen, bireȝen, bureȝen (ü), buruwen, Orm. berrȝhenn, 3 berwen. pa. tense 1 bearᵹ, 2–3 barȝ, 3 barw. pa. pple. 1 borᵹen, 2–4 borȝen, 3 Orm. borrȝhenn, boreȝen, iboreuwen, iboruwen, iborhen.
[Common Teut.: OE. beorᵹan (:—bergan) = OS. (gi)bergan (MDu. berghen, Du. bergen), OHG. bergan (MHG. and mod.G. bergen), ON. bjarga, Goth. bairgan:—OTeut. *berg-an to protect, shelter, to shut in for protection or preservation.]
To give shelter; to protect, preserve; to deliver, save. (Orig. with dat., which was afterwards treated as direct obj.).
| a 1000 Andreas (Grein) 1540 Weras..woldon feore beorᵹan. c 1000 Ags. Psalter xvi[i]. 8 Beorh me, swa swa man byrhð þam æplum on his eaᵹum. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 39 Þenne bureȝest þu here saule..from þan ufele deaðe. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 61 Min red is þat we berȝen us wið ech of þese þre duntes. c 1200 Ormin 4394 Þu ne mihht nohht borrȝhenn ben. a 1225 Ancr. R. 162 Tu schal beon iboruwen. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1330 Oc angel..barȝ ðe child fro ðe dead. a 1300 Havelok 697 Betere us is..to fle, And berwen bothen ure liues. Ibid. 2022 God self barw him wel. 1340 Ayenb. 251 He þet him wille berȝe. |
¶ The weak pa. tense and pa. pple. beryhed, so frequent in the Northern Psalter, are ascribed by Mätzner to a distinct vb. beryhien, berȝien, which he compares with ON. byrgja (= Eng. bury), but this appears to be very doubtful: ON. bjarga has itself weak inflexions from an early period in Norway (Vigf.).
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter xliii. [iv]. 4 Ne þar arme beryhed þam ai. Ibid. xxxii[i]. 17 Swikel hors..of his might noght beryhed es. |
▪ II. † bergh, n. Obs.
[OE. beorᵹ, beorh ‘protection, shelter,’ only in compounds as sc{uacu}r-beorᵹ; f. the verb.]
Protection, shelter. Hence ˈberghless a., shelterless, unprotected.
| [c 1000 Ags. Ps. xlv[i]. 1 Dryhten ys ure ᵹebeorh.] c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 926 Ðin berȝ and tin werȝer ic ham. Ibid. 3048 Al ðat it fond Berȝles, it sloȝe in ðat lond. |
▪ III. bergh
obs. form of barrow n.1 a hill.