Herja

Old Norse Dictionary - herja

Meaning of Old Norse word "herja" in English.

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

herja Old Norse word can mean:

herja
að, [A. S. hergian; Scot. to herry or harry; Dan. hærge]:—to go harrying or freebooting, Nj. 127, Eg. 78, 228, FmS. i. 10, Grág. i. 135, passim.
herja
II. tranS. with acc. to harry, despoil, waste; Haraldr konungr herjaði landit ok átti orrostur, FmS. i. 5; herja land, Mirm.; at herjuðu helvíti, having harried hell, Karl. 279; borgir ok þorp er aðrir höfðu herjað (harried, taken by force) af hans eign, FmS. x. 231; (whence the mod. phrase, h. e-ð út úr e-m, to harry a thing out of one, press him till he yields it up); herja mönnum til Kristindóms, to harry, drive people to Christianity, n. G. l. i. 344; Fjandinn herjar menn ór Kristninni, Rb. 400.
herja
III. reflex., herjask á, to harry (wage war on) one another, Hkr. ii. 75.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.
Anglo-Saxon.
Dan.
Danish.
m.
masculine.
n.
neuter.
S.
Saga.
Scot.
Scottish.
acc.
accusative.
l.
line.
L.
Linnæus.
mod.
modern.
trans.
transitive.
reflex.
retlexive.

Works & Authors cited:

Eg.
Egils Saga. (D. II.)
Fms.
Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Grág.
Grágás. (B. I.)
Nj.
Njála. (D. II.)
Karl.
Karla-magnús Saga. (G. I.)
Mirm.
Mirmants Saga. (G. II.)
N. G. L.
Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)
Rb.
Rímbegla. (H. III.)
Hkr.
Heimskringla. (E. 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.

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