Fimt

Old Norse Dictionary - fimt

Meaning of Old Norse word "fimt" in English.

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

fimt Old Norse word can mean:

fimt: or fimmt, f. a number of five: fimtar-tala, u, f. a set of five or multiple of five (as fifteen, fifty, etc.), Bs. i. 190.

fimt: 2. [Swed. femt = a kind of court], a law phrase, a summoning before a court with a notice of five days: a standing phrase in the Norse law, so that the verb fimta means to summon: so, fimtar-grið, n. pl. a truce during a fimt, n. G. l. i. 342, 351; fimmtar-nafn, n. a citation with a fimt’s notice, 86; fimmtar-stefna, u, f. a citation before a court with a fimt’s notice, K. Á. 184: the phrase gera e-m fimt simply means to summon, n. G. l. i. 346, passim; one fimt is the shortest notice for summoning, five fimts the longest,—fimm fimtum hit lengsta, ef hann veit nær þing skal vera, 21:—the law provides that no summoning shall take place on Tuesday, because in that case the court-day would fall on Sunday, the day of summoning not being counted, n. G. l., Jb., and K. Á. passim.—This law term is very curious, and seems to be a remnant of the old heathen division of time into fimts (pentads), each month consisting of six such weeks; the old heathen year would then have consisted of seventy-two fimts, a holy number, as composed of 2 × 36 and 6 × 12. With the introduction of the names of the planetary days (vide dagr) and the Christian week, the old fimt only remained in law and common sayings; thus in Hm. 73,—‘there are many turns of the weather in five days (viz. a fimt), but more in a month,’ which would be unintelligible unless we bear in mind that a fimt just answered to our week; or verse 50,—‘among bad friends love flames high for five days, but is slaked when the sixth comes;’ in a few cases, esp. in ecclesiastical law, sjaund (hebdomad) is substituted for the older fimt, n. G. l. passim; it is curious that in Icel. law (Grág.) the fimt scarcely occurs, as in Icel. the modern week seems to have superseded the old at an early time.

fimt: COMPDS: Fimtardómr, Fimtardómseiðr, Fimtardómslög, Fimtardómsmal, Fimtardomsstefna, Fimtardómssök, fimtarþing.

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

Abbreviations used:

etc.: et cetera.

f.: feminine.

esp.: especially.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

pl.: plural.

Swed.: Swedish.

viz.: namely.

Works & Authors cited:

Bs.: Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Hm.: Hává-mál. (A. I.)

Jb.: Jóns-bók. (B. III.)

K. Á.: Kristinn-réttr Árna biskups. (B. III.)

N. G. L.: Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)

➞ 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.