On an idiosyncratic type of an Old English simile

ABSTRACT This paper describes a manner of expressing similarity through an Old English construction employing the noun gelicnes “likeness” (or its variants) as a comparison marker. The constructions in question are scrutinised with regard to their structure and their semantics, and these turn out to show direct interdependency and interconnectedness. The result is a detailed description of two major structural types of simile in Old English with the gelicnes component, distinguishable by their number of verbalised components, their positioning, and grammatical expression. The uniqueness of this structure is its capability to create similes without an explicitly expressed, but undefined tenor, which is no longer the case in Modern English. A simile with a non-verbalised undefined tenor is closer to metaphor than other poetic comparisons.