Leikr

Old Norse Dictionary - leikr

Meaning of Old Norse word "leikr" in English.

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

leikr Old Norse word can mean:

leikr
m., dat. leiki is freq. in poetry and old prose, but mod. leik; plur. in old usage always leikar, even in late MSS. such as Fb. iii. 405; but in mod. usage leikir, acc. leiki: the phrase ‘á nýja leik’ seems to point to a lost feminine leik: [Ulf. laiks = χορός, Luke xv. 25; A. S. lâc; North. E. laik; O. H. G. leik; Dan. leg; Swed. lek]:—a game, play, sport, including athletics, Eg. 147, Edda 31–33, FS. 60; ok eigi var sá leikr er nokkurr þyrfti við hann at keppa, Nj. 29; sjá skulum vér leika þína (not leiki), Fb. iii. 405; leika ok gleði, Fagrsk. ch. 26; slá leik, to set up a game (cp. slá danz), Sturl. ii. 190 (of a game of ball): of a dance, Bret. 42; hann hendi gaman at aflraunum ok leikum, … knattleikar vóru þá tiðir, Eg. 187; leikr var lagiðr á Hvítár-völlum allfjölmennr, 188; sveinninn var á leiki með öðrum ungmennum, FmS. i. 78; fara at (með) leik sínum, to roam about, Boll. 336, FmS. x. 159; hverir eiga hér leik svá újafnan? Nj. 125: of a ceremony, Fbr. 7: of capping verses, BS. i. 237; cp. streng-leikr, a ‘string-play,’ lay.
leikr
2. metaph. a game, sport, Grett. 50 new Ed.; hann segir þeim um hvat leika (gen. pl.) var, he told them what the game was, Fb. i. 325, FmS. ii. 49; sagði hvat í leikum var, Sd. 152; tók leikrinn ekki at batna af þeirra hendi, FmS. vi. 212: the phrase, á nýja leik, anew, Íb. 10, n. G. l. i. 334, SkS. 234, FmS. ix. 274, 284, 370, 401, 409, 511, xi. 62; nýjan leik is a modernized form not found in good old vellums; eptir e-s leik, after one’s good pleasure, Stj. 148: the phrase, leikr er gjörr til e-s, a person is aimed at, is the mark of an attack; þvíat til hans var leikr görr, Ld. 152; göra sér leik til e-s, to act wantonly:—poët. phrase, Hildar leikr, Öðins leikr, sverða, járna leikr, etc., the play of Hilda, of Odin, of swords, of iron = battle, Lex. poët.; the Freys leikr, the play of Frey, by Hornklofi, Fagrsk. 4 (in a verse), is by the older Grundtvig ingeniously identified with our Yule play, see the connection in which the word stands in the verse. The ancients used to assemble for athletic sports (leik-mót), and during that time they lived in booths or sheds (leik-skáli), even women used to be present as spectators, Eb. ch. 43, Lv. ch. 9, Gísl., Sturl. i. 23. ☞ An interesting description and account of modern games is given by Jón Ólafsson in his Collectanea towards an Icel. Dictionary, S. v. leikr (in the Additam. to the Arna-Magn. Collection in Copenhagen); thus, brúar-leikr, skolla-l., risa-l., húfu-l., felinga-l., and many otherS. leiks-lok, n. pl.; at leikslokum, finally.

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

Similar entries:

Abbreviations used:

acc.
accusative.
A. S.
Anglo-Saxon.
ch.
chapter.
cp.
compare.
Dan.
Danish.
dat.
dative.
f.
feminine.
freq.
frequent, frequently.
l.
line.
m.
masculine.
mod.
modern.
n.
neuter.
North. E.
Northern English.
O. H. G.
Old High German.
plur.
plural.
S.
Saga.
Swed.
Swedish.
Ulf.
Ulfilas.
v.
vide.
etc.
et cetera.
gen.
genitive.
Icel.
Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
L.
Linnæus.
metaph.
metaphorical, metaphorically.
pl.
plural.
poët.
poetically.
s. v.
sub voce.

Works & Authors cited:

Boll.
Bolla-þáttr. (D. V.)
Bret.
Breta Sögur. (G. I.)
Bs.
Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)
Edda
Edda. (C. I.)
Eg.
Egils Saga. (D. II.)
Fagrsk.
Fagrskinna. (K. I.)
Fb.
Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)
Fbr.
Fóstbræðra Saga. (D. II.)
Fms.
Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Fs.
Forn-sögur. (D. II.)
Nj.
Njála. (D. II.)
Sturl.
Sturlunga Saga. (D. I.)
Arna-Magn.
Arna-Magnacanus.
Eb.
Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)
Gísl.
Gísla Saga. (D. II.)
Grett.
Grettis Saga. (D. II.)
Íb.
Íslendinga-bók. (D. I.)
Ld.
Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)
Lex. Poët.
Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.
Lv.
Ljósvetninga Saga. (D. II.)
Magn.
Magnús Saga jarls. (E. II.)
N. G. L.
Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)
Sd.
Svarfdæla Saga. (D. II.)
Sks.
Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)
Stj.
Stjórn. (F. I.)
➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

Back