Jöfurr

Old Norse Dictionary - jöfurr

Meaning of Old Norse word "jöfurr" (or jǫfurr) in English.

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

jöfurr Old Norse word can mean:

jöfurr (jǫfurr): m., dat. jöfri, pl. jöfrar:

jöfurr (jǫfurr): I. [A. S. eofor; O. H. G. epar; Germ. eber; Lat. aper]:—a wild boar; but it occurs in this sense only twice or thrice in poetry, Merl. 1. 39, Gkv. 2. 24.

jöfurr (jǫfurr): II. metaph. a king, warrior, prob. from the custom of wearing boar’s heads as helmets, cp. A. S. eofor-cumbol and Hildigöltr; jöfurr in this sense is not used in prose, but is freq. in old poetry, even in poems as old as the Ýt., see Lex. Poët. Sense I. is unknown to the Scandin., and sense II. to the Teut. languageS.

Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, jöfurr may be more accurately written as jǫfurr.

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

Abbreviations used:

dat.: dative.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

pl.: plural.

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

Germ.: German.

Lat.: Latin.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

S.: Saga.

v.: vide.

cp.: compare.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

n.: neuter.

prob.: probably.

Scandin.: Scandinavia, Scandinavian.

Teut.: Teutonic.

Works & Authors cited:

Gkv.: Guðrúnar-kviða. (A. II.)

Merl.: Merlinus Spa. (A. III.)

Lex. Poët.: Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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