Gýgr

Old Norse Dictionary - gýgr

Meaning of Old Norse word "gýgr" in English.

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

gýgr: m. an abyss; eld-gýgr, a crater of a volcano: to this perhaps belongs the saying, vinna fyrir gýg, to labour in vain, answering to the Lat. ‘oleum et operam perdere;’ hvað gagnar svo fyrir gýg ad vinna, Bb. 3. 98; og vann ei fyrir gýg, and got his reward, Snót 319 (Ed. 1866); or is gýg (qs. gýgi), to labour for an ogre or witch, the metaphor being taken from popular tales ?

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

Similar entries:

Gýgr (II)

Abbreviations used:

Lat.: Latin.

m.: masculine.

qs.: quasi.

Works & Authors cited:

Bb.: Búnaðar-bálkr.

Snót: Snót, poems.

➞ 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.