Jökull

Old Norse Dictionary - jökull

Meaning of Old Norse word "jökull" (or jǫkull) in English.

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

jökull Old Norse word can mean:

jökull (jǫkull): m., dat. jökli, pl. jöklar, prop. a dimin. from jaki, q. v.; [A. S. gicel, i. e. îs-gicel, whence Engl. icicle; Low Germ. jokel]:—an icicle; gékk inn í sal, glumdu jöklar, var karls er kom kinnskógr frörinn, Hým. 10, of the icicles in the giant’s beard; síðan tóku þeir jöklana ok bræddu, FmS. ix. 155: so also in poët. phrases, where silver is called jökull handar or mund-jökull, the icicle of the hand, Hallfred, Lex. poët.: as also böðvar-j., the war-icicle = the sword, or sár-j., the wound-icicle, see Lex. poët.

jökull (jǫkull): II. a metaph. sense, ice, gener.; vatnið snýsk í jökul, SkS. 196; settu þeir þat upp með öllum sjánum sem í var ok jöklinum, en þat var mjök sýlt, i. e. they launched the ship with all the ice in it, Grett. 125: snjór ok jökull, SkS. jökla-gangr, m. an ice-drift, Grett. 132 new Ed.

jökull (jǫkull): 2. in specific Icel. sense, a glacier; this sense the Icelanders probably derived from the Norse county Hardanger, which is the only county of Norway in which Jökul appears as a local name, see Munch’s Norg. Beskr.; in Icel. it is used all over the country both as an appellative and in local names, whereas the primitive sense (icicle) is quite lost, FS., Fb., Eg. 133, Nj. 208, passim.

jökull (jǫkull): 3. in local names, Ball-jökull, Eyjafjalla-j., Snæfells-j., Vatna-j., Mýrdals-j., Öræfa-j., Dranga-j., Langi-j., Eireks-j., etc., see the map of Icel.; the glaciers of the Icel. colony in Greenland are also called jökuls: of rivers, Jökuls-á, f. Ice-water; Jökuls-dalr, m. Ice-water-dale; Jökla-menn, m. pl. the men from the county Jökul (i. e. Snæfells-jökull), Sturl. ii. 158; Jöklamanna-búð and goðorð, see búð and goðorð.

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

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

dat.: dative.

dimin.: diminutive.

Engl.: English.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

pl.: plural.

poët.: poetically.

prop.: proper, properly.

q. v.: quod vide.

S.: Saga.

v.: vide.

gener.: generally.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

etc.: et cetera.

f.: feminine.

Works & Authors cited:

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Hým.: Hýmis-kviða. (A. I.)

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

Grett.: Grettis Saga. (D. II.)

Sks.: Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)

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

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Fs.: Forn-sögur. (D. II.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Sturl.: Sturlunga Saga. (D. 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.