Fjöl-

Old Norse Dictionary - fjöl-

Meaning of Old Norse word "fjöl-" (or fjǫl-) in English.

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

fjöl- Old Norse word can mean:

fjöl- (fjǫl-)
[akin to Gr. πολύς; Ulf. filu = πολύς; A. S. fela; O. H. G. filu; Germ. viel; lost in Engl. and mod. Dan.; in Icel. freq., esp. as a prefix in poetry, but never used as an independent adj.]:—much, manifold.
fjöl- (fjǫl-)
I. in a bad sense: fjöl-beiðni, f. begging, intruding, Al. 91. fjöl-breytinn, adj. false, whimsical, Edda 18. fjöl-kunnigr (fjöl-kundr, Barl. passim), adj. [kunna], skilled in the black art, Grett. 150, 153, Eg. 119, 179, Nj. 17, 272, FmS. i. 18, ii. 134, Hm. 114, passim. fjöl-kyngi (fjöl-kyndi, Barl. passim), f. the black art, witchcraft, FmS. i. 10, Korm. 222, Landn. 84, Grett. 151, Rb. 408, Stj. 647; galdrar ok fjölkyngi, K. Þ. K. 76, Grett. 155, etc., passim; fjölkyngis-bækr, f. pl. magical books, Post. 645. 61; fjölkyngis-fólk, n. wizard-folk, Hkr. i. 267; fjölkyngis-íþrótt, f. magic art, 623. 31, FmS. x. 307; fjölkyngis-kona, u, f. a sorceress, FaS. ii. 273; fjölkyngis-liga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), with sorcery, Gísl. 31; fjölkyngis-list, f. magic art, Stj. 73; fjölkyngis-veðr, n. a gale produced by sorcery, FmS. iv. 44. fjöl-lyndi, f. looseness, Lv. 78. fjöl-lyndr, adj. fickle, loose, Sturl. i. 225. fjöl-máligr, adj. tattling, Karl. 439, 686 B. 2. fjöl-mæli, n. tittle-tattle, slander, FmS. ix. 250, Hkr. ii. 35, Gþl. 195, n. G. l. i. 57, H. E. i. 479. fjölmælis-maðr, m. a tatler, slanderer,l. 197. fjöl-orðr, adj. = fjölmáligr, FS. 36, FmS. ix. 277, v. l. fjöl-ráðr, adj. fickle, loose, Fb. ii. 701. fjöl-ræði, n. fickleness, looseness, 655 ix. C. 2. fjöl-ræðinn, adj. too intimate, FmS. vi. 109. fjöl-skrúðigr, adj. dressy, showy, Eb. 256.
fjöl- (fjǫl-)
II. in the simple sense of many: fjöl-auðigr, adj. very rich, wealthy, Landn. 79. fjöl-bygðr, part. thickly peopled, Landn. 168, 270, 321 (App.) fjöl-menna, t, to crowd, meet in crowds, Nj. 75: become peopled, Rb. 392, Edda (pref.) fjöl-menni, n. many people, a crowd, Nj. 2, Eg. 38, 271, FmS. i. 54, ii. 152, passim: the common people, bændr ok f., Anecd. 6, SkS. 5. fjöl-mennr, older form fjöl-meðr, adj. with many people, FmS. i. 37; rikr ok f., BS. i. 651; riðu menn fjölmennir til þings, Ísl. ii. 254; far sem fjölmennastr, FmS. vii. 221: peopled, fjölmennt þing, veizla, etc., Nj. 167; gildi f., Eg. 22, 46, Ísl. ii. 259, FmS. vii. 265: neut., vera, hafa fjölmennt, Eg. 5, Sturl. ii. 245; fjölmennt ok góðmennt, many people and good, Eg. 201. fjöl-skylda and fjöl-skyld, f., Rd. 293; fjöl-skyldi, n., n. G. l. ii. 9, FmS. xi. 68, Hom. i, Grág. i. 225: much business, many duties, with a notion of toil and trouble, FmS. i. 53, iv. 179, vi. 60, xi. 68, 429, Hom. 135, BS. i. 90, 686 (of debt); mæðing ok f., SkS. 569; álög né f. (duties), FmS. xi. 224; annask um f., to be very busy, Rd. l. c.; eiga f. um at vera, id., n. G. l. l. c.: in Hom. 1. Lat. occupatio is rendered by fjölskyldi; hvárki fé né fjölskyldi, neither in money nor in work, Grág. i. 225:—in mod. usage, encumbrance with many people (children), a large family, household, but this scarcely occurs in old writerS. fjöl-skyldr (-skyldugr, Mar. 232), adj. busy; f. embætti, SkS. 38, 257 B.
fjöl- (fjǫl-)
III. poët. as a prefix to adj. as an ornamental epithet, e. g. fjöl-blíðr, -dyggr, -dýrr, -errinn, -gegn, -góðr, -kostigr, -kænn, -mætf, -nenninn, -snerrinn, -sviðr, -varr, -vitr, denoting exceeding good, wise, valiant, etc. fjöl-höfðaðr, adj. many-headed,m. fjöl-margr, adj. very many, GS. 20; vide Lex. poët.

Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, fjöl- may be more accurately written as fjǫl-.

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

Abbreviations used:

adj.
adjective.
A. S.
Anglo-Saxon.
Dan.
Danish.
Engl.
English.
esp.
especially.
f.
feminine.
freq.
frequent, frequently.
Germ.
German.
gl.
glossary.
Gr.
Greek.
Icel.
Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
l.
line.
m.
masculine.
mod.
modern.
n.
neuter.
O. H. G.
Old High German.
S.
Saga.
Ulf.
Ulfilas.
adv.
adverb.
etc.
et cetera.
L.
Linnæus.
pl.
plural.
v.
vide.
v. l.
varia lectio.
id.
idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation
Lat.
Latin.
l. c.
loco citato.
neut.
neuter.
part.
participle.
pref.
preface.
e. g.
exempli gratia.
poët.
poetically.

Works & Authors cited:

Al.
Alexanders Saga. (G. I.)
Barl.
Barlaams Saga. (F. III.)
Eb.
Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)
Edda
Edda. (C. I.)
Eg.
Egils Saga. (D. II.)
Fas.
Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)
Fb.
Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)
Fms.
Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Fs.
Forn-sögur. (D. II.)
Gísl.
Gísla Saga. (D. II.)
Grett.
Grettis Saga. (D. II.)
Gþl.
Gulaþings-lög. (B. II.)
H. E.
Historia Ecclesiastica Islandiae. (J. I.)
Hkr.
Heimskringla. (E. I.)
Hm.
Hává-mál. (A. I.)
Karl.
Karla-magnús Saga. (G. I.)
Korm.
Kormaks Saga. (D. II.)
K. Þ. K.
Kristinn-réttr Þorláks ok Ketils = Kristinna-laga-þáttr. (B. I.)
Landn.
Landnáma. (D. I.)
Lv.
Ljósvetninga Saga. (D. II.)
N. G. L.
Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)
Nj.
Njála. (D. II.)
Post.
Postula Sögur. (F. III.)
Rb.
Rímbegla. (H. III.)
Stj.
Stjórn. (F. I.)
Sturl.
Sturlunga Saga. (D. I.)
Anecd.
Anecdoton. (H. II.)
Bs.
Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)
Grág.
Grágás. (B. I.)
Hom.
Homiliu-bók. (F. II.)
Mar.
Maríu Saga. (F. III.)
Rd.
Reykdæla Saga. (D. II.)
Sks.
Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)
Gs.
Grótta-söngr. (A. II.)
Lex. Poët.
Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.
Vþm.
Vafþrúðnis-mál. (A. I.)
➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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