Morð

Old Norse Dictionary - morð

Meaning of Old Norse word "morð" in English.

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

morð Old Norse word can mean:

morð: n. [Ulf. maurþr = φόνος; A. S. morð and morðar; Engl. murther, murder; Germ. and Dan. mord; cp. Lat. mort-is]:—a murder, Fær. 187; in ancient times murder (morð) and manslaughter (víg) are distinguished; if the killer, after the deed, had immediately, at the next or at least at the third house, confessed what he had done (lýsa vígi, víg-lýsing, n. G. l. i. 6l), the deed was manslaughter (víg), and the doer was liable to indictment according to the law, but the deed might, with the consent of the prosecutors and relations of the slain, be atoned by weregild. On the other hand, if the víg-lýsing either did not take place or was stealthily performed (Glúm. ch. 27), the deed was murder; and the killer was called morð-vargr, and was out of the pale of the law; en þat er morð ef maðr leynir eða hylr hræ ok gengr eigi í gegn, Grág. (Kb.) i. 154; drepa mann á morð, n. G. l. i. 158; hence the phrase to kill a man and then murder him, i. e. conceal the deed. In one instance the distinction is made threefold, viz. víg, laun-víg, and morð, i. e. laun-víg or secret manslaughter, if no víg-lýsing took place, but the perpetrator left the weapon in the wound or some other evidence that he was the culprit, en þat vóru kölluð launvíg en ekki morð, er menn létu vápn eptir í beninni standa, Gísl. 22. To slay a man asleep or feloniously was also called morð; so also to put a man to death during the night, nátt-víg eru morð-víg, Eg. 417; kallit ér þat eigi morð-verk at drepa menn um nætr? Ó. H. 117; heiti þat níðings verk eða morð ef menn drepask um nætr, FmS. vii. 296: burying alive also was morð, K. Þ. K. 26, passim. For the formula of the víg-lýsing see Grág. Vsl. ch. 20. In poets morð is used = slaughter, thus, morð-álfr, -bráðr, -heggr, etc. = warriors; morð-bál, -linnr, -röðull, -ský, etc. = weapons, Lex. Poët.

morð: COMPDS: morðseiðr, morðför, morðgjarn, morðgyðja, morðjárn, morðráð, morðvargr, morðverk, morðvíg.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

ch.: chapter.

cp.: compare.

Dan.: Danish.

Engl.: English.

etc.: et cetera.

f.: feminine.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

Lat.: Latin.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

S.: Saga.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

viz.: namely.

Works & Authors cited:

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

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Fær.: Færeyinga Saga. (E. II.)

Gísl.: Gísla Saga. (D. II.)

Glúm.: Víga-Glúms Saga. (D. II.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Kb.: Konungs-bók. (B. I, C. I, etc.)

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

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

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

Ó. H.: Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)

Vsl.: Vígslóði. (B. 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.