a. or acc., accusative.
adj., adjective.
adv., adverb.
anom., anomalous verb.

card. num., cardinal number.
comp., comparative.
conj., conjunction.

d. or dat., dative.
def. art., definite article.
demon., demonstrative.

em., emendation, emended.

f., feminine.

g. or gen., genitive.
ger., gerund.

i. or inst., instrumental.
imp., imperative.
inf., infinitive.
interj., interjection.
is., instrumental singular.

m., masculine.
MS, manuscript

n., neuter.
n. or nom., nominative.
neg., negative.

p., plural.
pp., past participle.
pref., prefix.
prep., preposition.
pres., present tense.
pres. ptc., present participle.
pret., preterit.
pret-pres., preterit-present verb.
pron., pronoun.

ref., reference, referring.
rel., relative, used as conjunction.
rest., restoration, restored.

s., singular.
S1, Scribe 1, through 172v3:1942.
S2, Scribe 2, from 172v4:1942.
subj., subjunctive.
subst., substantive.
supl., superlative.
st. 1-7, strong verb, followed by class number.

uninfl., uninflected.
usu., usual, usually.

v. or voc., vocative, direct address.
vb., verb

wk., weak, used with nouns and adjectives.
wk. 1-3, weak verb, followed by class number.

For alphabetization, the ge- prefix and infix are ignored. Æ is treated as a single letter following A, and K is understood to be equivalent to C.

Headwords, where possible, conform to spellings found in the manuscript or, in cases of multiple occurrence, to predominant spellings.

When no form of the word is supplied before a line reference, the form is understood to be identical to the headword, or to the form immediately preceding it in the entry. Where no grammatical information is supplied before the line reference, the form is understood to be the same as the headword (nominative singular for nouns, masculine nominative singular for adjectives, and infinitive for verbs), or the same as the form that precedes it in the entry. In cases where multiple senses are supplied in an entry, additional forms are not given if they are identical to preceding grammatical forms (e.g., "inf." before a line reference means that the form is the same as the headword).

In line references, the numbers before the colon refer to the manuscript folio and line; numbers following the colon are verse lines in the electronic edition. The lineation in the electronic edition differs from previous editions in that it does not include interpolated half-lines and does not treat MS lines at 1162-1170, 1707-1710, 2296-2298 as hypermetrical. Correspondences between the different lineations are summarized in the table below.

lines 1-389: same as previous editions.

at line 390, previous editions add two interpolated half lines (389B and 390A).

lines 390-1161: add 1 for line number of previous editions (391-1162).

at lines 1162-1170, previous editions have six hypermetrical lines (1163-1168).

lines 1171-1706: subtract 2 for line number of previous editions (1169- 1704).

at lines 1707-1710, previous editions have three hypermetrical lines (1705-1707).

lines 1711-2230: subtract 3 for line number of previous editions (1708- 2227).

at line 2231, erased portions at bottom of 179r and top or 179v have been treated as three lines in previous editions (2228- 2230).

lines 2232-2995: subtract 1 for line number of previous editions (2231- 2994).

at lines 2296-2298, previous editions have two hypermetric lines (2995-2996).

lines 2999-3184: subtract 2 for line number of previous editions (2997- 3182).

Lines 389-390 in previous editions.

interpolation supplied by Klaeber:
Deniga leodum. [Þa to dura eode
widcuð hæleð,] word inne abead:

interpolation supplied by Wrenn-Bolton and by von Schaubert:
Deniga leodum! [Þa to dura healle
Wulfgar eode,] word inne abead:

interpolation supplied by Wyatt-Chambers:
Deniga leodum. [Þa wið duru healle
Wulfgar eode,] word inne abead;

gan under gyldnum beage þær þa godan twegen
sæton suhtergefæderan; þa gyt wæs hiera sib ætgædere,
æghwylc oðrum trywe. Swylce þær [U]nferþ þyle
æt fotum sæt frean Scyldinga; gehwylc hiora his ferhþe treowde,
þæt he hæfde mod micel, þeah þe he his magum nære
arfæst æt ecga gelacum. Spræc ða ides Scyldinga:

Lines 1705-1707 in previous editions:

ðin ofer þeoda gehwylce. Eal þu hit geþyldum healdest,
mægen mid modes snyttrum. Ic þe sceal mine gelæstan
freo[d]e, swa wit furðum spræcon. Ðu scealt to frofre weorþan

Lines 2228-2230 in previous editions.

hwæðre (earm)sceapen ..................
......................................sceapen
...............(þa hyne) se fær begeat.

Lines 2995-2996 in previous editions.

landes 7 locenra beaga; ne ðorfte him ða lean oðwitan
mon on middangearde, syðða[n] hie ða mærða geslogon.

Lines 3101-3102 in previous editions.

Uton nu efstan oðre [siðe],
seon 7 secean searo[gimma] geþræc,

The glossary consists of a primary layer and a secondary layer of entries, with each headword in the primary layer linked to an entry in the secondary layer.

Primary layer entries include a summary of forms as they occur in the poem. The infinitive of verbs and the nominative, singular of nouns and adjectives, if not otherwise listed, are understood to be the same as the headword and are not repeated in the summary of forms. The primary layer also includes linked cross-references for variant spellings and for the various grammatical forms of a word.

Secondary layer entries include a complete index of manuscript and edition line numbers. All variant forms are listed with these lines numbers (including variation between þ and ð), and in cases of significant variation between Scribes 1 and 2, the work of each scribe is identified by the abbreviation (S1) or (S2). Secondary layer entries also include linked cross-references to compound and prefixed forms of words. The abbreviations usu. em. and usu. rest. are followed by examples of how specific words have been emended or restored in previous editions. For specific information about these emendations and restorations, including their origins, see Kelly ASE 11, ASE 12.

Bosworth, Joseph, and T. N. Toller, eds. An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2 vols. with a Supplement by T. N. Toller. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1898, 1921.

Cameron, Angus, Ashley Crandell Amos, Antonette diPaolo Healey, et al., eds. Dictionary of Old English, A-E. Toronto: PIMS, 1986-1996.

Clark Hall, J. R. and Herbert D. Meritt, eds. A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 4th ed., with a Supplement by Herbert D. Meritt. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1960

Bessinger, Jess B. A Concordance to the Anglo-Saxon Poetic Records. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1978.

Healey, Antonette diPaolo and Richard L. Venezky. A Microfiche Concordance to Old English. Toronto: PIMS, 1980.

Brunner, Karl. Altenglische Grammatik. Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 1965.

Campbell, Alistair. Old English Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1959.

Mitchell, Bruce. Old English Syntax, 2 vols. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985.

Dobbie, E. V. K., ed. Beowulf and Judith. New York: Columbia University Press, 1953.

Heyne, M., L. Schücking, and E. von Schaubert, eds. Beowulf. Paderborn: Verlag Ferdinand Schöningh, 1963.

Jack, George, ed. Beowulf, a Student Edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1994.

Klaeber, Fr., ed. Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburg, 3rd edition. Boston: Heath, 1950.

Malone, Kemp, ed. The Nowell Codex (British Museum Cotton Vitellius A. XV, Second MS). Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile 12. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde and Bagger, 1963.

Wrenn, C. L. and W. F. Bolton, eds. Beowulf with the Finnesburg Fragment. 3rd edition. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1973.

Wyatt, A. J. and R. W. Chambers, eds. Beowulf and the Finnsburg Fragment, new edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1914.

Zupitza, Julius, ed. Beowulf, 2nd edition ed. Norman Davis, EETS OS 245. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1959.

Kelly, Birte. "The formative stages of Beowulf textual scholarship: part I." Anglo-Saxon England 11 (1983): 247-274.

Kelly, Birte. "The formative stages of Beowulf textual scholarship: part II." Anglo-Saxon England 12 (1984): 239-275.

Kiernan, Kevin S. Beowulf and the Beowulf Manuscript, revised edition. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1996.

Kiernan, Kevin S. "The state of the Beowulf manuscript 1882-1983." Anglo- Saxon England 13 (1985): 23-42.

Kiernan, Kevin S. The Thorkelin Transcripts of Beowulf. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde and Bagger, 1986.

Malone, Kemp, ed. The Thorkelin Transcripts of Beowulf. Early English Manuscripts in Facsimile, vol 1. Copenhagen: Rosenkilde and Bagger, 1951.