Barn

Old Norse Dictionary - barn

Meaning of Old Norse word "barn" in English.

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

barn Old Norse word can mean:

barn: n. pl. börn, [Ulf. barn; O. H. G. parn; A. S. bearn; Scot. and North. E. bairn; cp. bera and Lat. parère]:—a bairn, child, baby. This word, which in olden time was common to all the Teut. idioms, was lost in Germany as early as the 13th century (Grimm, S. v.); in the South of England it went out of use at an early time, and was replaced by ‘child;’ even the Ormulum uses barn only four times, else always ‘child.’ In North. E. bairu is still a household word, and freq. in popular Scottish writers, Burns, Walter Scott, etc. In the whole of Scandinavia it is in full and exclusive use; the Germ. ‘kind’ is in Icel. entirely unknown in this sense, v. the funny story Ísl. Þjóð. ii. 535; (‘kind’ in common Icel. means a sheep.) In Danish barn is the only word which, like the Icel., changes the radical vowel in pl. into ö (börn). Proverbs referring to barn; barnið vex en brókin ekki; þetta verðr aldri barn í brók; bráð er barnslundin (barnæskan); nema börn hvað á bæ er títt; allir hafa börnin verið; því læra börnin málið að það er fyrir þeim hatt; tvisvar verðr gamall maðrinn barn; bragð er at þá barnið finnr; snemma taka börn til meina; Guð gefr björg með barni, cp. Eggert (Bb.) 1. 14; sex born, dætr þrjár ok þrjá sonu, Nj. 30, Ísl. ii. 198, Vsp. 36; eiga þrjá sonu barna, FmS. xi. 43; og svíkjast um að eiga börn, Eggert (Bb.) 1. 14; vera með barni, to be with child, FmS. ii. 212, i. 57, 68, Ísl. ii. 197; fara með barni, to go with child, Nj. 130; frá blautu barni, from a child, FmS. iii. 155; unni honum hvert barn, every child, i. e. every living creature, loved him, i. 17; hvert mannsbarn, every man: metaph. (rare), offspring, Niðrst. 10: barn, barnið gott, börn, barnið mitt (τέκνον, τέκνα) is with many a favourite term of endearment in talking with another. Látum líða og bíða, börn, Pál Vid. in a popular ditty: eptirlætisbarn, a pet, spoilt child; olbogabarn, a hard-treated child; óskabarn, a child of adoption; sveinbarn, a boy; meybarn, a girl; ungbarn, a baby.

barn: COMPDS: barnabörn, barnaeign, barnafæri, barnagaman, barnakarl, barnakensla, barnaleikr, barnamessa, barnadagr, barnamold, barnamosi, barnaskap, barnaspil, barnavipr, barnaþáttr, barnsaldr, barnsbein, barnsfarir, barnsfull, barnsfylgja, barnsgrátr, barnshafandi, barnshúfa, barnslík, barnsmál, barnsskírsl, barnssótt, barnsútkast, barnsverk.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛒᛅᚱᚾ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

cp.: compare.

etc.: et cetera.

f.: feminine.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

Germ.: German.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

id.: idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

Lat.: Latin.

m.: masculine.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

n.: neuter.

North. E.: Northern English.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

pl.: plural.

S.: Saga.

Scot.: Scottish.

s. v.: sub voce.

Teut.: Teutonic.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

v.: vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Bb.: Búnaðar-bálkr.

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Niðrst.: Niðrstigningar Saga. (F. III.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Vsp.: Völuspá. (A. I.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

Also available in related dictionaries:

This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.