Melr

Old Norse Dictionary - melr

Meaning of Old Norse word "melr" in English.

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

melr Old Norse word can mean:

melr: m., pl. melar, a kind of wild oats, esp. bent-grass, arundo arenaria, growing in sandy soil; it is esp. found in Skaptafells-sýsla and in Mýra-sýsla (near to Hitarnes and Akrar), cp. Bjarn. 22, which probably refers to cutting this grass, cp. Eggert Itin. §§ 490, 813; þeir leiddu hesta sína undir melbakka ok skáru fyrir þá melinn at þeir dæi eigi af sulti, Nj. 265; átta tigir mels í Hátuninga mcl, D. I. i. 199.

melr: II. a sand-hill grown with bent-grass (such hills are called dunes or denes in E. Anglia, links on the n. E. coast); then, generally, a sand-bank, whether overgrown or bare; ríða eptir melunum, fram melana; á melunum með ánni; þar eru melar brattir ok lausgrýttir, … ok hrundu þeim af melunum, Glúm. 394, 395; ok er hann kom á mela þá … þá settisk hann á melinn … þá hratt Lambi honum fyrir melinn ofan á sandinn, Eg. 746, 748; ganga fram á mel nokkurn, Ld. 62; þá ríðr hann undir melinn, Gísl. 19; á sandmel þeim er þar verðr, Ó. H. 226; þar sem sandmelar tveir rauðir stóðu, … undir enum syðra melnum, Landn. 77, Gísl. 23.

melr: III. freq. in Icel. local names, Melr, Melar, Mela-hverfi, Mela-sveit, whence Mela-menn or Mel-menn (Nj. 151), Rauði-melr; Rauðmelingar, the men from Mel and R., Landn.

melr: COMPDS: melasól, melbakki, meldýna, melgras, melkarl, melrakki, melrakkabelgr, melrakkaveiðr, Melrakka-dalr, -nes, -slétta, Landn., FbR., melteigr, meltorfa.

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

Abbreviations used:

cp.: compare.

esp.: especially.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

pl.: plural.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

R.: Rimur.

Works & Authors cited:

Bjarn.: Bjarnar Saga. (D. II.)

D. I.: Diplomatarium Islandicum. (J. I.)

Itin.: Itinerarium or Travels of Eggert Ólafsson, 1772.

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

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

Gísl.: Gísla Saga. (D. II.)

Glúm.: Víga-Glúms Saga. (D. II.)

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. I.)

Ld.: Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)

Ó. H.: Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)

Fbr.: Fóstbræðra Saga. (D. II.)

➞ 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.