Gífr

Old Norse Dictionary - gífr

Meaning of Old Norse word "gífr" in English.

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

gífr
n. pl. [A. S. gîfre = rapacious, used as an epithet of the devil, wildfire, etc., and as noun, a glutton, vide Grein]:—witches, fiends, = Germ. unhold, Vsp. 52, Hkv. Hjörv. 15; freq. in poetry, al-gífri, pandemonium, Bragi; gífrs grand, ‘witch-bane’ = the god Thor, Eb. (in a verse); wolves are gífrs hestar, ‘witch-horses,’ Jd., and hræ-gífr, carrion beasts, Gkv. 2. 29, Lex. Poët.: the simple word is never used in prose, but in compds; it however remains in prose in the following adv.

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

Abbreviations used:

adv.
adverb.
A. S.
Anglo-Saxon.
etc.
et cetera.
freq.
frequent, frequently.
Germ.
German.
l.
line.
m.
masculine.
n.
neuter.
pl.
plural.
S.
Saga.
v.
vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Eb.
Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)
Gkv.
Guðrúnar-kviða. (A. II.)
Hkv.
Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)
Hkv. Hjörv.
Helga-kviða Hjörvarðssonar. (A. II.)
Jd.
Jómsvíkinga-drápa. (A. III.)
Lex. Poët.
Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.
Vsp.
Völuspá. (A. 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.

Back