wapentake

W4A1P3E1N1T1A1K5E1
/ˈwɒp.ən.teɪk/

noun

An administrative subdivision in northern English counties, developed under Norse influence, and corresponding to hundreds in the rest of England.

OriginMiddle English wapentake ← Old English wǣpenġetæc ← Old Norse vápnatak →
Scrabble 18
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Meanings

nounwapentake (plural wapentakes)

plural wapentakes

  1. An administrative subdivision in northern English counties, developed under Norse influence, and corresponding to hundreds in the rest of England.

    Hollanders, Zelanders, Scots, French, Weſterne men, Northren men, beſides all the hundreds and wapentakes nine miles compaſſe, fetch the beſt of their viands and mangery from her market.

    1599, [Thomas] Nashe, Nashes Lenten Stuffe, […], London: […] [Thomas Judson and Valentine Simmes] for N[icholas] L[ing] and C[uthbert] B[urby] […], →OCLC, page 6

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
hundred

Origin

  1. Old Norsevápnatak
  2. Old Englishwǣpenġetæc
  3. Middle Englishwapentake
  4. Englishwapentake

From Middle English wapentake, wepentake, wapentache, wapentac, from Old English wǣpenġetæc, from Old Norse vápnatak, from vápn (“weapon”) + taka (“take”), equivalent to weapon + take.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Old Norse

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

wapentake. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wapentake

MLA

“wapentake.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wapentake. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “wapentake,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/wapentake.

Source: wapentake on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.