Hamarr

Old Norse Dictionary - hamarr

Meaning of Old Norse word "hamarr" in English.

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

hamarr Old Norse word can mean:

hamarr: m., dat. hamri, pl. hamrar, [A. S. hamor; Engl. hammer; O. H. G. hamar; Germ. and Dan. hammer; Swed. hammare]:—a hammer; h. töng, steði, Edda 9, Vkv. 18, Landn. 212 (in a verse); the thunderbolt was in the northern mythology represented as a hammer,—the hammer Mjölnir, Edda (Sksm.) 15, 26, 28–30, 58, 70, passim, Þkv. passim, Hbl. 47; hann (the idol) var merkðr eptir Þór ok hefir hamar í hendi, Ó. H. 108, O. T. 44; Þrúð-hamarr, the mighty hammer, LS. 57, 59, 61, 63: the hammer was the holy sign with the heathens, answering to the cross of the Christians, hann görði hamar yfir, he made the sign of the hammer over it, FmS. i. 35; Þórr tók hamarinn Mjölni ok brá upp ok vígði hafr-stökurnar, Edda 28, cp. also Þkv. 30, where the bride and bridegroom were to be marked with the holy sign; hence Þórs-hamarr = the character RUNE which occurs on a few of the earliest heathen Runic stones (e. g. Thorsen, pp. 17, 329), cp. also Ísl. ÞjóðS. i. 446; this RUNE is evidently an imitation of the thunderbolt.

hamarr: β. the back of an axe, Eg. 769.

hamarr: COMPDS: hamargangr, hamarshögg, hamarsmuðr, hamarskalli, hamarskapt, hamarspor.

hamarr: II. metaph. a hammer-shaped crag, a crag standing out like an anvil; þar stendr hamarr mikill fyrir þeim, BS. i. 601; þeir leggja skip sín millum hamra tveggja, Grett. 83, FaS. iii. 257; þrítugr, fertugr … hamarr, a crag thirty, forty … fathoms high, i. 159: so in the saying, kljúfa þrítugan hamarinn til e-s, to split a thirty fathoms’ rock, to make great efforts, to make Herculean efforts in a thing, metaph. from cutting roads through rocks: in pl. hamrar, crags; fluga-hamrar, sjávar-hamrar, sea-crags; ogres were believed to live in crags, hence the phrase, sem genginn út úr hömrum, i. e. looking as wild as a crag-ogre, svá ílliligr sem genginn sé út ór sjávar-hömrum, Nj. 182.

hamarr: COMPDS: (hamar- and hamra-), hamar-tröll, n. a crag-ogre, Grett. (in a verse). hamar-dalr, m. a ravine, Karl. 292. hamar-gnípa, u, f. the peak of a crag, Stj. 134, FmS. v. 323, Þorf. Karl. 414. hamar-klettr, m. a crag (isolated), FmS. ii. 92, Nj. 264, v. l. hamar-klif, n. a craggy cliff, Gísl. 137. hamar-rifa, u, f. a rift in a crag, Fb. iii. 447. hamar-skarð and hamra-skarð, n. a scaur, cleft or ravine, Grett. 132, Gísl. 51, Grág. i. 17. hamar-skúti, a, m. a jutting crag, Nj. 264; gjá-h., q. v.: esp. freq. in local names in Icel. and Norway, Hamarr, Hamrar, Hamra-endar, Hamars-á: in compds, Smá-hamrar, Ein-hamarr, a single crag, Gísl., etc., vide Landn., FmS. xii, Fb. iii.

hamarr: 2. a kind of mark on sheeps’ ears, prob. of heathen origin, denoting the holy mark of the hammer of Thor: cutting the top of the ear thus UNCERTAIN is called hamar, whence hamar-skora, u, f. a cleft hamar UNCERTAIN; cp. the ditty of Stef. Ól., Hamarinn mér í greipar gékk | það gæfu-markið fína, and hamar-skoru og gloppu-gat | görðu í hægra eyra.

hamarr: 3. a kind of fish, Edda (gl.): prop. a false reading for humarr (q. v.), a lobster.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

cp.: compare.

Dan.: Danish.

dat.: dative.

e. g.: exempli gratia.

Engl.: English.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

pl.: plural.

S.: Saga.

Swed.: Swedish.

v.: vide.

i. e.: id est.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

esp.: especially.

etc.: et cetera.

f.: feminine.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

q. v.: quod vide.

s. v.: sub voce.

v. l.: varia lectio.

prob.: probably.

prop.: proper, properly.

Works & Authors cited:

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Hbl.: Harbarðs-ljóð. (A. I.)

Ísl. Þjóðs.: Íslenzkar Þjóðsögur.

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. I.)

Ls.: Loka-senna. (A. I.)

Ó. H.: Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)

Sksm.: Skáldskapar-mál. (C. I.)

Vkv.: Völundar-kviða. (A. II.)

Þkv.: Þryms-kviða. (A. I.)

Eg.: Egils Saga. (D. II.)

Bs.: Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Grett.: Grettis Saga. (D. II.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Gísl.: Gísla Saga. (D. II.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Karl.: Karla-magnús Saga. (G. I.)

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. I.)

Þorf. Karl.: Þorfinns Saga Karlsefnis. (D. II.)

Stef. Ól.: Stefán Ólafsson.

➞ 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.