Kván

Old Norse Dictionary - kván

Meaning of Old Norse word "kván" in English.

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

kván Old Norse word can mean:

kván: f. (kvæn, LS. 26, 56, Þkv. 8, Am. 6, Gkv. 3. 7), [see kona; Goth. quêns; A. S. cwên; Engl. queen; Scot. quean; Hel. quân]:—a wife, but never used in the general sense = a woman; an obsolete and poetical word, a ‘queen,’ wife, nú færit mér Freyju at kván, Þkv. 22; honum var brúðr at kván of kveðin, Fsm. 42, 46; svá beið hann sinnar kvánar, Vkv. 5; kván frjá sína, Skv. 3. 8; Héðins kván, the queen of Hedin = Hilda, Korm. 4, Ó. H. (in a verse); Óðs kván, the queen of Od, Hkr. i. (in a verse); kván Niðuðar, N.’s queen, Vkv. 28; bróðir hans kvanar = his wife’s brother, brother-in-law, Am. 28; ok kynvið kvánar minnar, Stor. 20: plur. kvánir, Skv. 3. 14; bið kván, a beloved wife, Lex. Poët.; ósk-kván, id.; Viðris kvæn, Odin’s wife, LS. 26; Byggvis kvæn, 56; kvæn konungs, a king’s queen, Gkv. 3. 7; nema færi mér Freyju at kvæn, Þkv. 8, but kván, 11, 22; kvæn var hón Högna, Am. 6.

kván: COMPDS: kvánarefni, kvánarmál, kvánarmundr.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

gl.: glossary.

Goth.: Gothic.

Hel.: Heliand.

id.: idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

plur.: plural.

S.: Saga.

Scot.: Scottish.

v.: vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Am.: Atla-mál. (A. II.)

Fsm.: Fjölsvinns-mál. (A. II.)

Gkv.: Guðrúnar-kviða. (A. II.)

Hkr.: Heimskringla. (E. I.)

Korm.: Kormaks Saga. (D. II.)

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

Ls.: Loka-senna. (A. I.)

Ó. H.: Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)

Skv.: Sigurðar-kviða. (A. II.)

Stor.: Sona-torrek. (A. III.)

Vkv.: Völundar-kviða. (A. II.)

Þkv.: Þryms-kviða. (A. 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.