| Webster's Online Dictionary |
Date "HEMPE" was first used in popular English literature: sometime before 1350. (references) |
| Domain | Definition | ||
| Literature | Hempe (1 syl.). When hempe is spun England is done. Lord Bacon says he heard the prophecy when he was a child, and he interpreted it thus: Hempe is composed of the initial letters of H enry, E dward, M ary, P hilip, and E lizabeth. At the close of the last reign "England was done," for the sovereign no longer styled himself "King of England," but "King of Great Britain and Ireland." (See Notarica.). Source: Brewer's Dictionary. | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | Top | ||