Hof

Old Norse Dictionary - hof

Meaning of Old Norse word "hof" in English.

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

hof Old Norse word can mean:

hof
n. [in A. S., Hel., and O. H. G. hof means a hall, Lat. aedes, (whence mod. Germ. hof = a farm, answering to Icel. bær or Norse ból,) and spec. the court or king’s household, (in the old Scandin. languages this sense is unknown); Ulf renders ναός and ἱερόν by alhs; in Danish local names -vé prevails, but in Norse and Icel. Hof still survives in many local names, Hof, Hof-garðr, Hof-staðir, Hofs-fell, Hofs-teigr, Hofs-vágr, Landn., Munch’s Norg. Beskriv.; and as the temple formed the nucleus of the old political life (see goði and goðorð), all these names throw light on the old political geography; cp. Hofland near Appleby in Engl.]:—a temple; distinction is made between hof, a temple (a sanctuary with a roof), and hörgr, an altar, holy circle, or any roofless place of worship: passages referring to hof and worship are very numerous, e. g. for Norway, Hkr. Yngl. S. ch. 12, Hák. S. Aðalst. ch. 16, Ó. T. ch. 76 (by Odd Munk ch. 41), Ó. H. (1853) ch. 113–115, O. H. l. ch. 36, Fær. ch. 23, Nj. ch. 88, 89, FaS. i. 474 (Hervar. S.); for Iceland, Landn. 1. ch. 11, 21, 2. ch. 12, 3. ch. 16 (twice), 4. ch. 2, 6 (interesting), 7, 5. ch. 3 (p. 284), 8 (interesting), 12, Eb. ch. 3, 4, 10, Glúm. ch. 25, Harð. ch. 19, 37, Vd. ch. 15, 17, Hrafn. ch. 2, Eg. ch. 87, Gullþ. ch. 7, Vápn. pp. 10, 11, Dropl. pp. 10, 11, Kristni S. ch. 2, etc.; cp. also Vsp. 7, Vþm. 38, Hkv. Hjörv. 4: poët., orð-hof, the word’s sanctuary = the mouth, Stor.
hof
2. a hall (as in Germ. and Saxon), Hým. 33 (απ. λεγ.)
hof
COMPDS:
hof
I. with gen., hofs-dyrr, n. pl. temple-doors, FmS. i. 97. hofs-eiðr, m. a temple-oath, Glúm. 388. hofs-goði, a, m. = hofgoði, Eg. 754. hofs-helgi, f. = hofhelgi. hofs-hurð, f. a temple-door (janua), FmS. i. 302. hofs-höfðingi, a, m. a temple-lord, Post. 645. 90. hofs-mold, f. temple-earth, holy mould, see Landn. 254. hofs-teigr, m. a strip of temple-land, glebe, Landn. 241.
hof
II. hof-garðr, m. a temple-yard, a local name, Landn. hof-goði, a, m. a temple-priest (see goði), Landn. 254, Hkr. i. 6, Eb. 12, 14, 16 new Ed. hof-grið, n. pl. asylum in a sanctuary, Landn. 80, v. l. hof-gyðja, u, f. a priestess, Vápn. 10, Landn. 265, v. l. hof-helgi, f. a temple-holiday, feast; halda h., Ísl. ii. 15: the sanctity of a hof, Bret. 38, Eg. 251. hof-prestr, m. a temple-priest, Stj. hof-staðr, m. a ‘temple-stead,’ sanctuary, Eb. 26, FmS. ii. 73. hof-tollr, m. a temple-toll, rate, Vápn. 10, Eb. 6, 12 new Ed., BS. i. 6, Gullþ. 11, answering to the modern church-rate.
hof
B. A court, almost solely in compds, and not earlier than the 14th century, from Romances: hof-ferð, f. pride, pomp, BS. ii. 122. hof-ferðugr, adj. proud. hof-fólk, n. pl. courtiers, Thom. 322, 479, Grett. 161, Karl. 51, PasS. 21. 8. hof-frakt, n. pomp, FaS. i. 46, Snót 86. hof-garðr, m. a lordly mansion, Thom., Bév., Rétt. hof-list, f. pomp, Thom. 479. hof-lýðr, m. = hoffólk, Clar. hof-maðr, m. a courtier; in pl. hofmenn, lords; hertogi greifi ok aðrir hofmenn, Ann. 1303; gentry, chiefly in the ballads of the Middle Ages, Ungan leit eg hofmann, Fkv. In the old dancing parties the leader of the gentlemen was styled hofmann (cp. Germ. Hoffmann). Before dancing began, men and maids having been drawn up in two rows, he went up to the ladies, and the following dialogue ensued: Hér er Hofmann, hér eru allir Hofmanns sveinar.—Hvað vill Hofmann, hvað vilja allir Hofmanns sveinar?—Mey vill Hofmann, mey vilja allir Hofmanns sveinar. Then each dancer engaged his lady for the dance; það var hlaup, og það var hofmanns hlaup, Safn i. 689. A plain in the neighbourhood of the alþingi, where the people met, is still called Hofmanna-flöt, f. ‘Gentry’s Lea.’ hof-móðugr, adj. haughty, PasS. 18. 5. hof-tyft, f. urbanity, Clar. hof-verk, n. a great feat, Safn i. 71. hof-þénari, a, m. a court servant, FaS. iii. 408.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.
Anglo-Saxon.
ch.
chapter.
cp.
compare.
e. g.
exempli gratia.
Engl.
English.
etc.
et cetera.
Germ.
German.
gl.
glossary.
Hel.
Heliand.
Icel.
Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
l.
line.
L.
Linnæus.
Lat.
Latin.
m.
masculine.
mod.
modern.
n.
neuter.
O. H. G.
Old High German.
pl.
plural.
poët.
poetically.
S.
Saga.
Scandin.
Scandinavia, Scandinavian.
spec.
specially.
v.
vide.
þ.
þáttr.
απ. λεγ.
απαξ. λεγόμενον.
f.
feminine.
gen.
genitive.
v. l.
varia lectio.
adj.
adjective.

Works & Authors cited:

Dropl.
Droplaugar-sona Saga. (D. II.)
Eb.
Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)
Eg.
Egils Saga. (D. II.)
Fas.
Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)
Fær.
Færeyinga Saga. (E. II.)
Glúm.
Víga-Glúms Saga. (D. II.)
Gullþ.
Gull-Þóris Saga. (D. II.)
Hák. S.
Hákonar Saga. (E. I.)
Hervar. S.
Hervarar Saga. (C. II.)
Hkr.
Heimskringla. (E. I.)
Hkv.
Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)
Hkv. Hjörv.
Helga-kviða Hjörvarðssonar. (A. II.)
Hrafn.
Hrafnkels Saga. (D. II.)
Kristni S.
Kristni Saga. (D. I. III.)
Landn.
Landnáma. (D. I.)
Nj.
Njála. (D. II.)
O. H. L.
Ólafs Saga Helga Legendaria. (E. I.)
Ó. H.
Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)
Ó. T.
Ólafs Saga Tryggvasonar. (E. I.)
Stor.
Sona-torrek. (A. III.)
Vápn.
Vápnfirðinga Saga. (D. II.)
Vd.
Vatnsdæla Saga. (D. II.)
Vsp.
Völuspá. (A. I.)
Vþm.
Vafþrúðnis-mál. (A. I.)
Yngl. S.
Ynglinga Saga. (C. II.)
Hým.
Hýmis-kviða. (A. I.)
Fms.
Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Post.
Postula Sögur. (F. III.)
Bret.
Breta Sögur. (G. I.)
Bs.
Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)
Stj.
Stjórn. (F. I.)
Ann.
Íslenzkir Annálar. (D. IV.)
Clar.
Clarus Saga. (G. II.)
Fkv.
Forn-kvæði.
Grett.
Grettis Saga. (D. II.)
Karl.
Karla-magnús Saga. (G. I.)
Pass.
Passiu-Sálmar.
Rétt.
Réttarbætr. (B. II.)
Safn
Safn til Sögu Islands.
Snót
Snót, poems.
➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.

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