Fjórðungr

Old Norse Dictionary - fjórðungr

Meaning of Old Norse word "fjórðungr" in English.

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

fjórðungr Old Norse word can mean:

fjórðungr: m., generally the fourth part, quarter, D. I. i. 470, Grág. i. 144; f. héraðsmanna, n. G. l. i. 352; f. rastar, the fourth part of a mile, Fms. viii. 63; fjórðungr vísu, the fourth part of a verse-system or stanza, = two lines, Edda (Ht.); hence fjórðunga-lok, n. the last quarter of a verse, Fms. vi. 387: a coin (cp. Engl. farthing), n. G. l. iii. ch. 13.

fjórðungr: 2. a liquid-measure = ten pots or twenty ‘merkr;’ fjórðungs-fata, a vat holding a quarter.

fjórðungr: 3. a weight = ten pounds or twenty ‘merkr,’ Jb. 375, Grág. Kb. 232, Dipl. iii. 4, Grág. ii. 362: the law allows a person to bequeath the fourth part of his property, this is called fjórðungs-gjöf, f., Gþl. 270, cp. Jb., Dipl. v. 1.

fjórðungr: 4. the Icel. tithe (tíund) was divided into four shares, each of them called ‘fjórðungr,’—to the poor, bishop, church, and priest, Grág., Tl., passim.

fjórðungr: II. in Norway counties were divided into fjórðungar quarters (þriðjungar ridings, sextungar sextants, áttungar octants, etc.), vide D. n.; hence fjórðungs-kirkja, a quarter church, parish church, n. G. l.; fjórðungs-maðr, a man from the same quarter or parish; fjórðungs-prestr, the priest of a fjórðungs-kirkja; fjórðungs-þing, the meeting of a f.; fjórðungs-korn, corn due to the priest, D. n., n. G. l., the statutes passim; fjórðungs-ból, a farm yielding a certain rent, and many others. Again, in Icel. the whole land was politically divided into quarters or fjórðungar (this division seems to have taken place A. D. 964, and exists up to the present time), thus, Austfirðinga-, Vestfirðinga-, Norðlendinga-, Sunnlendinga-fjórðungr, or east-, west-, north-, and south quarters; each of the quarters had three or four shires or þing, and each had a parliament called Fjórðungs-þing or Fjórðunga-þing, and a court called Fjórðungs-dómar, Quarter-courts, Eb. ch. 10, Landn. 2. 12; (it is uncertain whether the writer Eb. l. c. intended to make a distinction between Fjórðunga-þing and Fjórðungs-þing, denoting by the latter a ‘general quarter parliament,’ cp. also Landn. 150.)

fjórðungr: COMPDS: fjórðungamót, fjórðungaskipti, fjórðungshöfðingi, fjórðungsmenn, fjórðungssekt, fjórðungsúmagi.

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

Abbreviations used:

ch.: chapter.

cp.: compare.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

gl.: glossary.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

pl.: plural.

v.: vide.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

A. D.: Anno Domini.

etc.: et cetera.

l. c.: loco citato.

Works & Authors cited:

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

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Ht.: Hátta-tal. (C. I.)

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

Dipl.: Diplomatarium. (J. I.)

Gþl.: Gulaþings-lög. (B. II.)

Jb.: Jóns-bók. (B. III.)

Kb.: Konungs-bók. (B. I, C. I, etc.)

Tl.: Tíundar-lög. (B. I.)

D. N.: Diplomatarium Norvagicum. (J. II.)

Eb.: Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. 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.