Björn
Old Norse Dictionary - björnMeaning of Old Norse word "björn" (or bjǫrn) in English.
As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:
björn Old Norse word can mean:
- björn (bjǫrn)
- m., gen. bjarnar; dat. birni, pl. n. birnir; acc. Björnu, mod. birni, [an enlarged form, cp. Goth, biari, by which word Ulf. renders the Gr. θηρίον, Titus i. 12; A. S. bera; Engl. bear; Germ. bär; but Swed. and Dan. björn]:—a bear; hvíta-Björn, the white bear or ice-bear; and skóg-Björn, híð-Björn, við-Björn, the black bear or wood-bear, Germ. wald-bär; the ice-bear was unknown in Europe till the discovery of Iceland at the end of the 9th, and Greenland at the end of the 10th century. The very first ice-bear was brought to Europe by Ingimund the Old as a gift to the king of Norway about A. D. 900, Landn., FS. (Vd.) 27; Isleif, the first bishop of Iceland, also brought one as a present to the German emperor about A. D. 1050, BS. i. 61, Hv. ch. 2; cp. the little story of Audun in FmS. vi. 297–307, SkS. 186, Sturl. iii. 82, Grág. ii. 181, Am. 17, where a hvítaBjörn is mentioned, FS. (Flóam. S.) 148; as to the black bear, vide esp. Grett. ch. 23, Finnb. ch. 11, Glúm. ch. 3, FaS. i. 50; cp. an interesting paper, ‘Waldbär und Wasserbär,’ by Konrad Maurer, upon this subject; winter is called ‘the bear’s night;’ hence the saying, ‘löng er bjarnar-nótt;’ cp. langar eigu þeir bersi nætr, Mkv. Björn and Bjarni are freq. pr. names; also in compd. names, ÞorBjörn, ÁsBjörn; and as a prefix, Bjarngrímr, Bjarnhéðinn, etc.; vide Landn. (gl.)
- björn (bjǫrn)
- COMPDS: bjarnarbroddr, bjarnarhamr, bjarnarhíð, bjarnarhold, bjarnarhrammr, bjarnarslátr.
Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, björn may be more accurately written as bjǫrn.
Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛒᛁᚢᚱᚾ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements
Abbreviations used:
- acc.
- accusative.
- A. D.
- Anno Domini.
- A. S.
- Anglo-Saxon.
- ch.
- chapter.
- compd.
- compound.
- cp.
- compare.
- Dan.
- Danish.
- dat.
- dative.
- Engl.
- English.
- esp.
- especially.
- etc.
- et cetera.
- f.
- feminine.
- freq.
- frequent, frequently.
- gen.
- genitive.
- Germ.
- German.
- gl.
- glossary.
- Gr.
- Greek.
- l.
- line.
- m.
- masculine.
- mod.
- modern.
- n.
- neuter.
- pl.
- plural.
- pr.
- proper, properly.
- S.
- Saga.
- Swed.
- Swedish.
- Ulf.
- Ulfilas.
- v.
- vide.
Works & Authors cited:
- Am.
- Atla-mál. (A. II.)
- Bjarni
- Bjarni Thorarinson.
- Björn
- Biörn Halldórsson.
- Bs.
- Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)
- Fas.
- Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)
- Finnb.
- Finnboga Saga. (D. V.)
- Flóam. S.
- Flóamanna Saga. (E. I.)
- Fms.
- Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
- Fs.
- Forn-sögur. (D. II.)
- Glúm.
- Víga-Glúms Saga. (D. II.)
- Grág.
- Grágás. (B. I.)
- Grett.
- Grettis Saga. (D. II.)
- Hv.
- Hungr-vaka. (D. III)
- Landn.
- Landnáma. (D. I.)
- Mkv.
- Málshátta-kvæði. (A. III.)
- Sks.
- Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)
- Sturl.
- Sturlunga Saga. (D. I.)
- Vd.
- Vatnsdæla Saga. (D. II.)
Also available in related dictionaries:
This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.