Eik

Old Norse Dictionary - eik

Meaning of Old Norse word "eik" in English.

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

eik Old Norse word can mean:

eik: gen. eikar, pl. eikr, [O. H. G. eik; Germ. eiche; A. S. âc; Engl. oak; North. E. aik; Swed. ek; Dan. eg]:—an oak, Skálda 151.

eik: 2. used in Icel. (where are no trees) in the general sense of tree, Lat. arbor; and wherever found it is a sure test of Icel. authorship; brotna eikrnar fyrir því, Fb. i. 133; í skóg við eik eina, FS. 69; hann reist á honum kviðinn ok leiddi hann um eik, Nj. 275, FmS. xi. 9, 12 (Jómsv. S.), (an ‘oak’ with apples); átu hverjar aðrar því eikrnar með skyndi, Núm. 2. 98; ‘saepius ventis agitatur ingens pinus’ (of Horace) is by Stefan Olafsson rendered, opt vindar ‘eik’ þjá ef að hún er mjög há, Snót 87: but in the oldest proverbs the sense is probably that of oak, e. g. þat hefir eik er af annari skefr, cp. one man’s meat, another man’s poison, Hbl. 22, Grett. 53 new Ed.; or, þá verðr eik at fága sem undir skal búa, Eg. 520;—this last proverb seems to refer to an old custom of building houses under an old oak as a holy tree.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

Dan.: Danish.

Engl.: English.

gen.: genitive.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

North. E.: Northern English.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

pl.: plural.

S.: Saga.

Swed.: Swedish.

cp.: compare.

e. g.: exempli gratia.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

Lat.: Latin.

v.: vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Skálda: Skálda. (H. I.)

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

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Fs.: Forn-sögur. (D. II.)

Grett.: Grettis Saga. (D. II.)

Hbl.: Harbarðs-ljóð. (A. I.)

Jómsv. S.: Jómsvíkinga Saga. (E. I.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Snót: Snót, poems.

➞ 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.