Gífr
Old Norse Dictionary - gífrMeaning 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.)
Also available in related dictionaries:
This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.