Byldynge

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. An archaic term for a built structure such as a house or hall ; the process of putting together materials to erect such a structure
2. A Middle English word for an edifice or dwelling erected by people ; the labor and act of raising walls and framework to make one
3. An obsolete noun meaning a constructed house or other structure ; the action of erecting or assembling something solid from parts

Etymology: "Byldynge" is a Middle English spelling of "building," the noun for the act of constructing or for the finished structure. It shows the medieval habit of spelling words by ear: the "y" stands in for the vowel we now write as "i," and the "ynge" ending is the ancestor of "-ing." The surprise lies further back. Old English had a noun "bold," meaning a dwelling or house, and the verb "byldan" grew from it, so to build originally meant to provide oneself with a house. The verb came from the noun, not the other way round. The same root "bold" survives in Scots and northern English "bield," meaning shelter shelter. Old English "bold" is related to the word "bower," a word for a private chamber, which shows how the idea of an enclosed living space ran through the family of words.