Bjórr

Old Norse Dictionary - bjórr

Meaning of Old Norse word "bjórr" in English.

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

bjórr Old Norse word can mean:

bjórr: 1. m. [O. H. G. pior or bior; Low Germ. and mod. Germ. bier; Fris. biar; A. S. bior; Engl. beer], no doubt a word of German extraction, öl (öldr), ale, being the familiar word used in prose:—bjór hardly ever occurs, vide however Hkr. iii. 447, Bk. 48, 89, 96 (Norse); and is a foreign word, as is indicated even by the expression in the Alvismál—öl heitir með mönnum, en með Ásum bjór, ale it is called by men, by gods beer: bjór however is very current in poetry, but the more popular poems, such as the Hávamál, only speak of öl or öldr, Hm. 11, 13, 65, 80, 132, 138.

bjórr: 2. m. [Lat. fiber; A. S. beofar], a beaver, esp. the beaver’s skin, D. I..)">Eg. 71, in the phrase, b. ok savali.

bjórr: 2. a triangular cut off piece of skin, [cp. provincial Swed. bjaur]; þat eru bjórar þeir er menn sníða ór skóm sínum fyrir tám eðr hael, Edda 42; still used in Icel. in that sense.

bjórr: II. metaph. a small piece of land (an απ. λεγ. as it seems); bjór lá ónuminn fyrir austan Fljót, Landn. 284.

bjórr: 3. m., must be different from the preceding word, synonymous with brjóstþili, a wall in a house, a party wall, but also in the 13th and 14th centuries freq. a costly tapestry used in halls at festivals and in churches; hrindum hallar bjóri, let us break down the wall of the hall, Hálfs S. FaS. ii. (in a verse); eingi var bjórrinn milli húsanna, there was no partition between the houses, Sturl. iii. 177; gengu þeir í stofuna, var hón vel tjölduð ok upp settir bjórar, 229; annarr hlutrinn stökk útar í bjórinn, svá at þar varð fastr, Háv. 40.

bjórr: β. of a movable screen between choir and nave, of cloth or costly stuff, different from tjöld (hangings) and reflar; hann lét Atla prest penta allt ræfr innan, ok svá allan bjórinn, BS. i. 132; kirkja á tjöld umhverfis sik með tvennum bjórum, Vm. 153; kirkja tjölduð sæmiligum tjöldum ok þrír bjórar, 171, D. I. i. 402; bjórr framan um kór, tjöld um alla kirkju, Pm. 103; b. slitinn blámerktr yfir altari, 108, BS. ii. 476, 322; vide bjórþili.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

Engl.: English.

Fris.: Frisian.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

mod.: modern.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

S.: Saga.

esp.: especially.

Lat.: Latin.

cp.: compare.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

Swed.: Swedish.

απ. λεγ.: απαξ. λεγόμενον.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

n.: neuter.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

v.: vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Hkr.: Heimskringla. (E. I.)

Hm.: Hává-mál. (A. I.)

Eg.: Egils Saga. (D. II.)

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. I.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Hálfs S.: Hálfs Saga. (C. II.)

Háv.: Hávarðar Saga. (D. II.)

Sturl.: Sturlunga Saga. (D. I.)

Bs.: Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)

D. I.: Diplomatarium Islandicum. (J. I.)

Pm.: Pétrs-máldagi. (J. I.)

Vm.: Vilkins-máldagi. (J. 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.