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.

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