TLS 846

[pcoles]

Last one!

6 across. It's easily located in fifteenth-century literature (4)

-T-E

[yellow11]

ethe=easily-archaic

[JDOvengloves]

I've just done this crossword

Ethe - a word meaning easy - used by Edmund Spenser

[pcoles]

Thank you. I'm quite surprised the OED online does not give this definition for "ETHE", only two verb forms.It is in Chambers.

Edmund Spenser, however, lived from 1552 to 1599 so could not have used the word in 15th Century literature.

[JDOvengloves]

I use a word finding programme called TEA and this is what it says

Ethe, a. [See Eath.] Easy. [Obs.] Spenser.

[NC4BBQ]

"ythe" may qualify and does fit the time.

[NC4BBQ]

OED does cite one text from 15th century: c1460 Towneley Myst. 193 Oone worde myght thou speke ethe.

( = "easily" )