Fyrd
//fɝd// noun
noun ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 In early Anglo-Saxon times, an army that was mobilized from freemen to defend their shire, or from select representatives to join a royal expedition. historical
"Below the king were the eoldermen, the ruling nobility. The eolderman was the king's 'viceroy' in a shire, responsible for administration and justice, for calling out the fyrd and leading its forces in the field."
Example
More examples"Below the king were the eoldermen, the ruling nobility. The eolderman was the king's 'viceroy' in a shire, responsible for administration and justice, for calling out the fyrd and leading its forces in the field."
Etymology
Learned borrowing from Old English fyrd.
Related phrases
More for "fyrd"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.