Norn

Old Norse Dictionary - norn

Meaning of Old Norse word "norn" in English.

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

norn: f., pl. Nornir:—the weird sisters of the old mythology; nornir heita þær er nauð skapa, Edda 113; þessar meyjar skapa mönnum aldr, þær köllu vér nornir, 11, Sdm. 17: sundr-bornar mjök hygg ek at nornir sé, eigut þær ætt saman, Fm. The three heavenly Norns, Urðr, Verðandi, Skuld, dwelt at the well Urðar-brunn, ruled the fate of the world, but three Norns were also present at the birth of every man and cast the weird of his life; nótt var í bæ, nornir kómu, þaer er öðlingi aldr um skópu, Hkv. 1. 2; cp. the Norna Gest Þ., Fb. i. 358; góðar nornir skapa góðan aldr, en þeir menn er fyrir úsköpum verða, þá valda því íllar nornir, Edda 11; rétt skiptu því nornir, the Norns ruled it righteously, Orkn. 18; norna dómr, the doom of the Norns, the weird, Fm. 11; íllr er dómr norna, Fas. i, 508 (in a verse); njóta norna dóms, to fill one’s days, die, Ýt.; norn erumk grirnm, the weird is cruel to me, Eg. (in a verse); norna sköp = norna dómr, fár gengr of sköp norna, a saying, Km. 24: in popular superstition severe hereditary illnesses are called norna sköp, Fél. x. s. v.: norna grey, the Norns’ hounds = wolves, Hm. 30; norna-stóll, a Norn’s chair, Sól. 51 (a dubious passage): in Akv. 16—láta nornir gráta nái, to let the Norns bewail the dead—norn seems to be = fylgju-kona, q. v., as also perh. in Gh. 13: in mod. usage in a bad sense, a hag, witch, álfar ok nornir, ok annat íllþýði, Fas. i. 37; hún er mesta norn, she is a great Norn, of an angry, bad woman; arkaðú á fætr, öldruð norn, Úlf. 1. 73; galdra-norn, a witch: poët., nistis-norn, auð-norn, hlað-norn, = the Norn of these jewels = a woman, Lex. poët.

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

Abbreviations used:

cp.: compare.

f.: feminine.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

mod.: modern.

n.: neuter.

perh.: perhaps.

pl.: plural.

poët.: poetically.

q. v.: quod vide.

s. v.: sub voce.

v.: vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Akv.: Atla-kviða. (A. II.)

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

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

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Fél.: Félags-rit.

Fm.: Fafnis-mál. (A. II.)

Gh.: Guðrúnar-hefna. (A. II.)

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

Hm.: Hává-mál. (A. I.)

Km.: Kráku-mál. (A. III.)

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

Orkn.: Orkneyinga Saga. (E. II.)

Sdm.: Sigrdrífu-mál. (A. II.)

Sól.: Sólarljóð. (A. III.)

Úlf.: Úlfars-rímur.

➞ 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.