Öx

Old Norse Dictionary - öx

Meaning of Old Norse word "öx" (or ǫx) in English.

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

öx Old Norse word can mean:

öx (ǫx)
i. e. øx, f., gen. öxar, dat. and acc. öxi, pl. öxar, preserving the ö throughout; declined like heiðr, öx standing for öx-r; also spelt eyx and ex: in mod. usage declined like höfn, nom. öxi, gen. axar, dat. and acc. öx or öxi, pl. axir: [Goth. aqwisi; a word common to all Indo-European languages]:—an axe. Am. 39, Nj. 19, 70, Sturl. i. 63, Eg. 180, 183, Ld. 112, K. Þ. K. 170, and passim: öxar-egg, f., -skapt, n. the edge, haft of an axe, Sturl. ii. 91, Fms. vi. 212, Fær. 111: öxar-hamarr, m. the back of an axe, Nj. 253, Grág. ii. 14, Fær. 221: öxarhamars-högg, n. a blow with the back of an axe, Fms. ix. 469, Gþl. 177, Orkn., Lv. 86: öxar-hyrna, u, f. the hooked beak of an axe, such as a bill, halberd, or Lochaber-axe, Fær, 111, Fms. ii. 82, Lv. 82: öxar-stafr, m. a nickname, Lv. 86: öxar-talga, u, f. masonry, Stj.: öxa-tré, n., Sturl. i. 158: öxar-þæri, n., Grág., see þæri. The axe, rather than the sword, was the favourite national weapon of the old Norsemen and Danes, cp. the Nj.; Hel was the axe of king Magnus, and for various names of axes, see Edda (Gl.); breið-öx, bol-öx, hand-öx, tapar-öx, skegg-öx, tálg-öx, skar-öx; the ‘öx snaghyrnd’ or snaga (see p. 573) is prob. the same as the Scottish Lochaber-axe, see Sir Walter Scott, Waveriey, i. ch. 17, used for climbing walls, and compare the feat related in Fær. l. c., Eb. 310.
öx (ǫx)
II. in local names, Öxar-á, f. the Axe water, in Icel., the origin of the name is told in Sturl. i. 202: Öxar-fjörðr, m. Axefirth, Landn.: Öxfirðingar, m. pl. the men from Axefirth, Nj. 219, 223: Öxarár-þing, n. the assembly at Öxará = alþingi, Jb.

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

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

Abbreviations used:

acc.
accusative.
ch.
chapter.
cp.
compare.
dat.
dative.
f.
feminine.
gen.
genitive.
Goth.
Gothic.
i. e.
id est.
l.
line.
l. c.
loco citato.
m.
masculine.
mod.
modern.
n.
neuter.
nom.
nominative.
pl.
plural.
prob.
probably.
v.
vide.
Icel.
Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

Works & Authors cited:

Am.
Atla-mál. (A. II.)
Eb.
Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)
Edda
Edda. (C. I.)
Eg.
Egils Saga. (D. II.)
Fms.
Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Fær.
Færeyinga Saga. (E. II.)
Grág.
Grágás. (B. I.)
Gþl.
Gulaþings-lög. (B. II.)
K. Þ. K.
Kristinn-réttr Þorláks ok Ketils = Kristinna-laga-þáttr. (B. I.)
Ld.
Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)
Lv.
Ljósvetninga Saga. (D. II.)
Nj.
Njála. (D. II.)
Orkn.
Orkneyinga Saga. (E. II.)
Stj.
Stjórn. (F. I.)
Sturl.
Sturlunga Saga. (D. I.)
Jb.
Jóns-bók. (B. III.)
Landn.
Landnáma. (D. I.)
➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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