▪ I. † inˈseil, n. Obs.
In 1 inseᵹel, -seᵹl, -siᵹle, 2–3 inseil, 3 Orm. innseȝȝel.
[OE. inseᵹel = OFris. insigel, -il (MDu. inzēgel), OHG. insigili (MHG. insigele, -gil, Ger. insiegel), ON. innsigli (Da. indsegl), all str. neut. Cf. also (without in-) Goth. sigljo wk. neut., MHG. sigel, Ger. siegel, MDu. zeghel, Du. zegel.
The stem of the word evidently represents L. sigill-um ‘little sign, figure, or token, seal’ (dim. of L. signum ‘sign, mark, token’), whence OF. seel, Eng. seal; but the origin of the prefix in- in the Teutonic forms is obscure, since no late or med.L. insigillum appears. Franck (Etym. Woorden-bk. Nederl. T. s.v. Zegel) suggests that it may have been taken over in some way from L. insigne ‘mark, sign’, used also in med.L. in sense ‘seal’. In the verb, the prefix raises less difficulty; a med.L. insigillare actually occurs (though sometimes as a rendering of OE. inseᵹlian), and enseeler is common in OF. (see enseal v.).]
A seal; app. orig. the impression made in wax with which a letter, etc. is sealed; also the signet or engraved instrument with which the impression is made.
| a 1000 in Thorpe Charters (1865) 173 He..brohte insiᵹle to me..Ða ageaf ic ðæt insiᵹle ðe. c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 126/2 Sigillum, uel bulla, inseᵹel. a 1100 Ags. Voc. ibid. 330/16 Sigillum, inseᵹl. a 1100 O.E. Chron. an. 1048 Ða com Sparhafoc..to him mid þæs cynges ᵹewrite and inseᵹle. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 127 Þet inseil þe þe deofel ne mei nefre to breocan þet is þet [loc] þe ðe deofel ne con unlucan. c 1200 Ormin Ded. 260 Sannt Johan sahh upp inn heffne an boc Bisett wiþþ seffne innseȝȝless. a 1225 [see inseil v.]. |
▪ II. † inˈseil, v. Obs.
[OE. inseᵹlian = OHG. insigilen, ON. innsigla; med.L. insigillāre (Du Cange): see prec.]
trans. To seal, to impress or secure with a seal, to seal up.
| ? a 1000 Dom be hatan isene c. 5 in Schmid Gesetze 414 And ga he to and in-seᵹliᵹe man þa hand, and sece man ofer þæne þriddan dæᵹ, swa hwæðer swa heo beo ful swa clæne binnan þam in-seᵹle. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxvii. 66 Soþlice hiᵹ ferdon..and inn seᵹlodon þone stan mid þam weardum. c 1160 Hatton G. ibid., And inseȝȝledon þænne stann. a 1225 St. Marher. 5 He haueð his merk on me inseilet wið his inseil. |