Norðr-ljós

Old Norse Dictionary - norðr-ljós

Meaning of Old Norse word "norðr-ljós" in English.

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

norðr-ljós: n. [Dan. nordlys], the northern lights, polar light, aurora borealis, in mod. usage only in plur.: an ancient description of the northern lights is given in the Sks. ch. 19 (by a Norwegian writer). From the words—eða þat er Grænlendingar kalla norðrljós, Sks. 74—it appears that the Icel. settlers of Greenland were the first who gave a name to this phenomenon; the author of the Sks. also describes the northern lights as they appeared in Greenland.

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

Abbreviations used:

ch.: chapter.

Dan.: Danish.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

l.: line.

mod.: modern.

n.: neuter.

plur.: plural.

Works & Authors cited:

Sks.: Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. 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.