Mörk

Old Norse Dictionary - mörk

Meaning of Old Norse word "mörk" (or mǫrk) in English.

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

mörk Old Norse word can mean:

mörk (mǫrk)
1. f., gen. sing. merkr, pl. merkr, [a word common to all Teut. languages]:—a mark, in weight equal to eight ounces or half a pound; twenty merkr make a fjórðung, q. v.; eighty merkr = a vætt; þat er lögpundari at átta fjórðungar eru í vætt, en tuttugu merkr skolu í fjórðungi vera, Grág. i. 499.
mörk (mǫrk)
2. a mark, by weight or value, of gold and silver, eight ounces (átta aurar) go to a mark, 732. 16; mörk silfrs, mörk gulls, þrim mörkum gulls, Fms. v.i. 235, Grág., Sagas passim; mörk vegins silfrs, O. H. l. 23; gullhringa ok stóð mörk hvárr, Eg. 464: often used absol. so that the standard can only be seen from the context, verðr hann útlagr þrem mörkum, Grág. i. 16, 132; varðar honum þat sex merkr, tólf merkr, 319; varðar þat þriggja marka sekð, 499; hversu mikit fé er þetta? hann sagði hundrað marka, Nj. 4; Áðalsteinn vill gefa skilling manni hverjum frjálsbornum, en mörk sveitar-höfðingja hverjum, Eg. 280; hann skal gjalda hálfa mörk fyrir eyri, Grág. i. 208; þrjú hundruð hundraða eptir forngildu marka-tali, Dipl. v. 20; svá mikit ofa-fé at trautt kom marka-tali á, Fær. 11; hann var svá auðigr af gulli at engi vissi marka-tal, Fms. v.. 176; merkr-kaup, a purchase to the amount of a mörk, Gþl. 497; merkr-þjófr, a theft to the value of a mark, n. G. l. i. 326; merkr stykki, a piece amounting to a mark, H. E. ii. 188. As to the standard, the value of a mörk varied at different times and in different countries, see esp. Mr. Dasent’s Essay in Burnt Njal. In Icel. the confusion was made still greater, by the fact that (as remarked S. v. eyrir) the word mörk was also used of the wadmal standard (the ell of wadmal), and so the law speaks of a mörk vaðmála, Grág. i. 500; mörk sex … álna aura, etc., K. Þ. K. 70, 172, but this is a contradiction in terms, for mörk is a weight, not a measure: the real meaning is often only to be made out by the context, e. g. in questions of weregild the weighed mark is no doubt meant.
mörk (mǫrk)
II. of fluid, a pint, viz. half a pottr; in mod. usage all fluids and vessels holding fluids are thus measured, tveggja, þriggja … marka askr.
mörk (mǫrk)
2. f., gen. markar, but merkr, FaS. ii. 512; dat. mörk: pl. markir, FS. 100, Ó. H. 80, 142, Hkr. i. 55; later merkr, Fb. i. 134, Fms. v.ii. 31; [akin to mark, q. v.]:—a forest; (prop. a march-land, border-land, see mark, marka; in olden times vast and dense forests often formed the border-land between two countries; cp. for Scandinavia, Sverr. S. ch. 12, 13; fóru þeir nú austr á markirnar, FS. 100; austr um markir ok svá til Gautlands, Ó. H. 80; hann ruddi markir ok bygði þar sem nú heitir Jamtaland, 142); eyða annars manns mörk Gþl. 79; þeir er mörk eigu saman, 445; markar spell or spjöll, damage done to a forest, 368, Jb. 235; gengu þeir til merkrinnar, FaS. ii. 512; varð fyrir þeim mörk stór, Edda 28; á mörkinni, Fb. iii. 403; er þér ok heimil vár mörk sem þú villt höggva láta, FS. 27; ryðja markir, ryðja mörkina ok brenna, to clear forests, Hkr. i. 55; fundusk þá víða í mörkunum skóglaus lönd, … brjóta vegu um markir, mýrar ok fjallvegu, id.; þá lagðisk hann út á merkr ok veiddi dýr, Fb. i. 134; stórar mýrar ok þröngar merkr, Fms. v.ii. 31; Sverrir konungr skyldi fara yfir mikit vatn í einni mörk, … á inni mestu mörkinni, 32; eyði-mörk, a wilderness.
mörk (mǫrk)
II. the word is freq. in Northern names of places; Mörk is used of Finnmarken, Finn-mörk, Eg. ch. 14; Þórólfr fór víða um Mörkina, Eg. 41; Þórólfr fór þenna vetr enn um Mörkina ok átti kaupstefnu við Finna, 56; eru víða fjallbygðir upp á Mörkina 58: Markir, f. pl. the Markland between Sweden and southern Norway, Fb. iii; whence Marka-menn, Marchmen, FmS. passim; cp. the Marcomanni of Tacitus, Die Mark in Germany. When the woodlands were cleared and turned into fields the name remained, thus in Danish mark means a field, open space:—in local names, Dan-mörk Þórs-mörk, a woodland in southern Icel. sacred to Thor; a few farms in southern Icel. are called Mörk, Nj., Landn., different from Holt: in Norse counties, Heið-mörk, Þela-mörk, Vingul-mörk, Finn-mörk. marka-menn, m. pl. robbers, outlaws (cp. Icel. skógarmaðr), Grett 118 A.

Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, mörk may be more accurately written as mǫrk.

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

Abbreviations used:

f.
feminine.
gen.
genitive.
l.
line.
n.
neuter.
pl.
plural.
q. v.
quod vide.
sing.
singular.
Teut.
Teutonic.
v.
vide.
absol.
absolute, absolutely.
e. g.
exempli gratia.
esp.
especially.
etc.
et cetera.
Icel.
Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
L.
Linnæus.
s. v.
sub voce.
mod.
modern.
viz.
namely.
ch.
chapter.
cp.
compare.
dat.
dative.
id.
idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation
prop.
proper, properly.
S.
Saga.
freq.
frequent, frequently.
m.
masculine.

Works & Authors cited:

Grág.
Grágás. (B. I.)
Dipl.
Diplomatarium. (J. I.)
Eg.
Egils Saga. (D. II.)
Fms.
Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Fær.
Færeyinga Saga. (E. II.)
Gþl.
Gulaþings-lög. (B. II.)
H. E.
Historia Ecclesiastica Islandiae. (J. I.)
K. Þ. K.
Kristinn-réttr Þorláks ok Ketils = Kristinna-laga-þáttr. (B. I.)
N. G. L.
Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)
Nj.
Njála. (D. II.)
O. H. L.
Ólafs Saga Helga Legendaria. (E. I.)
Edda
Edda. (C. I.)
Fas.
Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)
Fb.
Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)
Fs.
Forn-sögur. (D. II.)
Hkr.
Heimskringla. (E. I.)
Jb.
Jóns-bók. (B. III.)
Ó. H.
Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)
Sverr. S.
Sverris Saga. (E. I.)
Landn.
Landnáma. (D. 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.

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