LEXICAL EXPLICATION OF THE CONCEPT «POWER» IN OLD ENGLISH (LEXICAL AND-SEMANTIC STUDIES)

The paper deals with a group of Old English lexemes the meaning ʻpowerʼ, namely: wald/weald, mund, rīki/rīce, dōm. use dōm in genre-variegated original texts gives grounds for referring them to semantic field «Law», i.e., very important cluster vocabulary ancient Angles and Saxons. Working words expressing concept «power», authors set goal analyzing nuances that differentiate OE wald, etc., which they solve several research tasks: 1) find out sources semantics ʻpowerʼ; 2) determine conditions sememe ʻpowerʼ developed on basis other meanings (contexts and, one case, possibly result influence Latin as language law). analysis material reason assume contexts, where actual connections single word are traced, do not always prove fact appeared precisely period, because Germanic languages etymological analogues close relationship known. This indicates probability Proto-Germanic age shift.