<P> Beowulf (/ ˈbeɪəˌwʊlf /; Old English: Bēoƿulf (ˈbeːo̯wʊlf)) is a legendary Geatish hero in the epic poem named after him, one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the English language . </P> <P> A number of origins have been proposed for the name Beowulf . </P> <P> Henry Sweet, a philologist and early linguist specializing in Germanic languages, proposed that the name Bēowulf literally means in Old English "bee - wolf" or "bee - hunter" and that it is a kenning for "bear". This etymology is mirrored in recorded instances of similar names . Biuuuwulf is recorded as a name in the AD 1031 Liber Vitae . The name is attested to a monk from Durham and literally means bee wolf in Northumbrian . The 11th century English Domesday Book contains a recorded instance of the name Beulf . A scholar named Sarrazin also suggested that the name Beowulf was derived from a mistranslation of Böðvarr where - varr was interpreted as vargr meaning "wolf". However, this etymology was questioned by Sophus Bugge, who instead suggested that the personage Böðvarr Bjarki was derived from Beowulf . </P> <P> In 2005, Andy Orchard theorized an etymology on the basis of the common Old Norse name Þórólfr (which literally translates to "Thor Wolf"), stating in parallel that a "more likely" meaning for the name would be the "wolf" of the Germanic god Beow . </P>

What is the meaning of the word beowulf