wapentake

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 vapn WEAPON) + tak taking; see TAKE]

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▪ English government
from Old Norse  vápnatak 

      an administrative division of the English counties of York, Lincoln, Leicester, Nottingham, Derby, and Rutland, first clearly referred to in 962/963 and corresponding to the “ hundred” in other parts of England. The term wapentake is of Scandinavian origin and meant the taking of weapons; it later signified the clash of arms by which the people assembled in a local court expressed assent. Danish influence was strong in those English counties where wapentakes existed.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • 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 — 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 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 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 — 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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