Man

Old Norse Dictionary - man

Meaning of Old Norse word "man" in English.

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

man Old Norse word can mean:

man: n., does not occur in plur. unless it be in gen. pl. mana, StoR. 13 (mͣ in MS.); [man is an ancient word only used in old laws and poetry, it remains in the compd man-sal, and in the Icel. local name Man-heimar; ‘man’ (ἀνδράποδον), being neuter and having but one n, is prob. of different origin from mann (ἄνθρωπος, ἀνήρ), which is masc. and has a double final n. The etymology of this word is lost in the remotest antiquity; it appears in the O. H. G. mana-houbit = a bondman’s head, a ‘serf’s head;’ (Grimm in R. A. expresses a doubt as to the current etymology of Lat. man-cipium from manu-capere; perh. man and caput?). In early Swed. law the word occurs twice or thrice, næmpnæ man, næmpnæ quicfæ, Schlyter i. 134; in Gutalagen—kauper tu mans man i garth thin (i. e. mans-mann = a bondman, cp. mans-manna and mans-maðr, see Schlyter’s Glossary).]

man: B. A bondman, prob. originally of prisoners of war who were sold as slaves (Irish in the west, Finns and Slaves in the east), see Ld. ch. 12, Ó. T. (FmS. i. ch. 92); svá ok ef hann vill í mani gjalda, tva aura fyrir einn, ok á hann lausn á maninu en næstu misseri ef hann hefir upp alit, Grág. i. 396; kaupa man ok gefa frelsi, n. G. l. i. 5, 6; ok þat fé skal hálft vera í gulli ok í silfri en hálit í mani hérrænu (native bondmen) eigi ellra en fertogu, né yngra en fimmtán vetra, SS; mans leiga, 224; ok heimta hann sem annan mans-mann, K. Þ. K. 58; mani austrænu, eastern slaves, Hornklofi; máttkar meyjar at mani hafðar, GS. 1, 15; er þú man keyptir, 8; hálfa aðra alin fyrir frjálsgjafa, penning veginn fyrir man-manna, n. G. l. i, 347; næst kirkju-garði skal grafa man-manna, 345; maðr manna, no doubt false for man-manna, 388; er hann réttlauss við hann ok hans konu ok man hans allt, 36, Am. 66; þar kom mart man falt, þar sá Loðinn konu nokkura er seld hafði verit mansali, FmS. i. 185: allit., mold ok man, n. G. l. iii. 92, v. l.

man: II. a girl, maid, as also in a worse sense, a mistress, for bondwomen often became their master’s mistresses (see Ld. ch. 12), so that this sense grew out of the preceding one; líki leyfa ens ljósa mans, Hm. 91; í myrkri skal við man spjalla, 81; et horska man, 101; et manunga man, 163; þat et unga man, þat et mjallhvíta man, Alm. 6, 7; bjarthaddað man, Skv. 1. 33; harðúðigt man, 27; fóstr-man, a bondwoman nurse, 3. 67; mans at kosta, Hbl. 16; hvé ek at andspilli komumk ens unga mans, Skm. 11; hve ek fyrir-banna manna glaum mani, manna nyt mani, how I ban her from all concourse with men, 34; Ylfinga man, Hkv. 2. 3; Yggjar man, the beloved of Ygg (Odin) = the Earth, Lex. Poët.; Héðins man = Hilda, the beloved of Hedin, FmS. ix. (in a verse); bjarnar man, a giantess, StoR. 13. It is probable that in some law phrases the obso- lete ‘man’ has been replaced by the common ‘mann,’ e. g. in gefa manni frelsi (mani? cp. manfrelsi), n. G. l. i. 5: as also in mana-kaup in the Swed. law, see Schlyter’s introd. to the 10th vol. of SveR. Gamla LagaR.

man: COMPDS: mansfólk, manfrelsi, Manheimar, mankynni, manmanna, manrúnar, mansal, mansalsmaðr, mansmaðr, mansöngr, mansöngsdrápa.

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

Abbreviations used:

cp.: compare.

gen.: genitive.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

Lat.: Latin.

masc.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

perh.: perhaps.

pl.: plural.

plur.: plural.

prob.: probably.

R.: Rimur.

S.: Saga.

Swed.: Swedish.

allit.: alliteration, alliterative.

ch.: chapter.

L.: Linnæus.

lit.: literally.

m.: masculine.

v.: vide.

v. l.: varia lectio.

e. g.: exempli gratia.

Works & Authors cited:

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

Am.: Atla-mál. (A. II.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Gs.: Grótta-söngr. (A. II.)

K. Þ. K.: Kristinn-réttr Þorláks ok Ketils = Kristinna-laga-þáttr. (B. I.)

Ld.: Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)

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

Ó. T.: Ólafs Saga Tryggvasonar. (E. I.)

Alm.: Alvís-mál. (A. I.)

Hbl.: Harbarðs-ljóð. (A. I.)

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

Hm.: Hává-mál. (A. I.)

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

Skm.: Skírnis-mál. (A. I.)

Skv.: Sigurðar-kviða. (A. II.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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