wapentake
/ˈwɒp(ə)nteɪk
/ /ˈwap(ə)nteɪk/noun historical
(In the UK) a subdivision of certain northern and midland English counties, corresponding to a hundred in other counties.The shire was divided into wapentakes rather than hundreds, and many of the place-names - Ingarsby, Scraptoft, and Barkby Thorpe - are of Scandinavian origin....
- Where Scandinavian influence was strongest, such as Yorkshire and the Five Boroughs, the equivalent sub-division was the wapentake.
- The first step was to divide the shires into hundreds (in Danish areas, the term wapentake was used), a reorganisation which probably occurred during the reigns of Edward the Elder and Athelstan.
Origin
Late Old English wǣpen(ge)tæc, from Old Norse vápnatak, from vápn 'weapon' + taka 'take', perhaps with reference to voting in an assembly by a show of weapons.
- wrist pin
- wrist shot
- wristwatch
- wristwork
- wristy
- writ
- writable
- write
- write-back
- write-down
- write-in
- write-off
- write-once
- write one's (own) ticket
- write-protect
- writer
- writer-in-residence
- writerly
- writer's block
- writer's cramp
- writer to the Signet
- write someone in
- write something down
- write something off
- write something up