1. From Middle English Addlen, from Old English edlēan ("reward, pay-back"), edlēanian ("to reward, recompense"); or of North Germanic origin, from Old Norse ǫðlask ("to gain possession of property"), from ōðal ("owndom, property").

2. The buckle bears a runic inscription on its front, incised after its manufacture: aigil andi aïlrun iltahu (or elahu) gasokun Linguistic analysis of the inscription reveals that it was composed in early Old High German and is thus considered the oldest preserved line of alliterative verse in any West Germanic languages (while the Golden horns of Gallehus inscription, roughly one century older, is considered the oldest example of a North Germanic metrical line).