Hams

Old Norse Dictionary - hams

Meaning of Old Norse word "hams" in English.

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

hams Old Norse word can mean:

hams: m. (= hamr), a snake’s slough; ormar skríða ór hamsi á vár, Mkv.; kalla sverðit orm, en fetlana ok umgörð hams hans, Edda (Ht.) 123: metaph., góðr (íllr) hams er á e-m, one is in a good (bad) frame of mind; hams er góðr á fljóðum, Hallfred: Icel. say, vera í góðum, vondum hamsi, id.: allit. phrases as, hafa hold og hams, ‘to keep up flesh and skin,’ i. e. to be hale and hearty, to be in a good state.

hams: II. in plur. hamsar means particles of suet. In Norway hams means the husks of beans and grains: in Dan. a kind of beetle is called gjedehams. ☞ The s in hams is curious; it is kept throughout all cases; it is either a remnant of the old masc. mark s for r as in Gothic, or perhaps the s answers to the inflex. d as in O. H. G. hamedi, Germ. hemd; but still more closely to the inflex. final s in Ital. camisa, Fr. chemise.

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

Abbreviations used:

allit.: alliteration, alliterative.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

id.: idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

lit.: literally.

m.: masculine.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

v.: vide.

Dan.: Danish.

Fr.: French in etymologies.

Germ.: German.

inflex.: inflexive.

Ital.: Italian.

masc.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

plur.: plural.

Works & Authors cited:

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Ht.: Hátta-tal. (C. I.)

Mkv.: Málshátta-kvæði. (A. III.)

Fr.: Fritzner’s Dictionary, 1867.

➞ 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.