Horn

Old Norse Dictionary - horn

Meaning of Old Norse word "horn" in English.

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

horn Old Norse word can mean:

horn: n. [A. S., Engl., O. H. G., Germ., Dan., and Swed. horn; Lat. cornu; Gr. κέρας]:—a horn (of cattle), antler (of deer), Gm. 26, Hkv. 2. 36, Sól. 55, Barl. 135, Ld. 120, FaS. ii. 506, Grág. ii. 122, n. G. l. i. 41, passim: metaph. phrases, vera harðr í horn at taka, to be hard to take by the horns, hard to deal with, FæR. 159, FmS. viii. 435, xi. 221, HkR. ii. 91, Fb. i. 411; hlaupa um horn e-m, to leap round or by one’s horns, i. e. to evade, metaph. from a bull-fight, Sturl. iii. 256, Boll. 346; setja (hafa) horn í síðu e-m, to put one’s horn into a person’s side, i. e. to treat him spitefully, Gd. 49, passim: the phrase, gefa þræli frelsi frá horni ok knappi, to release a thrall from horn and clasp, i. e. to set him free, n. G. l. i. 228, prob. from the thrall’s neck-collar being of horn: horna-brækla, u. f. = brák, q. v., Finnb. ch. 29; horna-fláttr, m. flaying a hide with the horns, Fb. iii. 400; horna-tog, n. tow round the horns, Fb. i. 320.

horn: II. the back-fin of a whale, SkS. 128; skera hval frá horni ok aptr í síðu, n. G. l. i. 252, Gþl. 463.

horn: III. a drinking horn, FS. 152, Eg. 206, Edda 32; drekka horn, HkR. i. 35; horna skvol, a bout, Eb. 28, and passim in the Sagas, see Worsaae, NoS. 319, 320.

horn: IV. a horn, trumpet; horna blástr, horna þytr, the blowing, sound of a born, Stj. 621.

horn: B. A corner, nook, angle; lands-horn, the outskirts of a county, Grág. ii. 223; fara lands-horna á milli, to run from one corner of the land to the other:—a nook in a house or building, Lv. 61, FmS. vii. 230, Anal. 186: mathem. an angle, 415. 18, Rb. 470; rétt horn, a right angle.

horn: 2. phrases, skjóta í tvau horn, ‘to shoot between two horns,’ of a wide difference; skauzk mjök í tvau horn um búnað þeirra, Eb. 32, Band. 11 new Ed., FmS. vi. 202, Mag. 39; eiga í mörg horn að líta, to have many nooks to look at, have many things to heed.

horn: β. when parents get old and infirm, and yield up their fortune and estate to one of their children, they are in popular Icel. phrase said ‘to go into the corner,’ to take their seat in the chimney-corner, fara upp í hornið hjá syni sínum, (dóttur sinni); many sayings refer to this, eigi munu vér eiga úvænna en horn-ván, if the worst happens, we shall have a ‘corner-chance,’ Sturl. iii. 279, cp. Eg. ch. 83 (begin.), and the Sagas passim; Grimm R. A. 489 mentions the same in the Germ. law, and it is touchingly introduced in the Märchen, No. 78; horna-kerling (q. v.) refers prob. to the same.

horn: II. freq. in local names, Horn, Cape Horn; Horn-strandir, Horna-fjörðr (whence Hornfirðingar), see Landn.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

ch.: chapter.

Dan.: Danish.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

Gr.: Greek.

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

Lat.: Latin.

m.: masculine.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

n.: neuter.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

prob.: probably.

q. v.: quod vide.

S.: Saga.

Swed.: Swedish.

v.: vide.

begin.: beginning.

cp.: compare.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

R.: Rimur.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

Works & Authors cited:

Barl.: Barlaams Saga. (F. III.)

Boll.: Bolla-þáttr. (D. V.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Finnb.: Finnboga Saga. (D. V.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Fær.: Færeyinga Saga. (E. II.)

Gm.: Grímnis-mál. (A. I.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Hkr.: Heimskringla. (E. I.)

Hkv.: Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)

Ld.: Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)

N. G. L.: Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)

Sól.: Sólarljóð. (A. III.)

Sturl.: Sturlunga Saga. (D. I.)

Gþl.: Gulaþings-lög. (B. II.)

Sks.: Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)

Eb.: Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

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

Fs.: Forn-sögur. (D. II.)

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. I.)

Anal.: Analecta. (D. II.)

Lv.: Ljósvetninga Saga. (D. II.)

Rb.: Rímbegla. (H. III.)

Band.: Banda-manna Saga. (D. II.)

Mag.: Magus Saga. (G. II.)

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. I.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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