Skafl

Old Norse Dictionary - skafl

Meaning of Old Norse word "skafl" in English.

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

skafl Old Norse word can mean:

skafl: n. [from skafa], a snow-drift, a mass of snow, Fas, i. 116; standa sumir á skaflinum, Sturl. ii. 118; skafl var lagðr af hamrinum niðr á jöfnu, Þórð. 44; var kominn snjár á jörð í skafla á fjöllin, Fbr. 36; hann tók spjót sín ok rak í skaflinn, Sd. 163; snjó-skafl, passim; metaph. of waves white as drifted snow, báru-skafl, Hallfred; sjóvar-skaflar þeir sem brökuðu öllu megin at skipinu, Fas. ii. 76.

skafl: II. the pointed end of a sharp horse-shoe: skafla-járn, n. a sharp shoe: skafla-járna, að, to sharpen a shoe: skafla-járnaðr, adj. sharp-shod: hence the metaph. phrase, beygja skaflinn, to turn up the mouth in the shape of a horse-shoe, make a wry mouth, hence to cry (in mod. popular phrase, gera skeifu = make a horse-shoe, of children), Fb. i. 566, beygja af; skafl beygjattu skalli, þótt skúr á þik falli, Sturl. iii. (in a verse); hence,

skafl: 2. the tusk of wild beasts; sökk tann-skaflinn djúpt, og reif með sér mikit af holdinu, Od. xix. 451.

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

Abbreviations used:

l.: line.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

n.: neuter.

adj.: adjective.

mod.: modern.

Works & Authors cited:

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Fbr.: Fóstbræðra Saga. (D. II.)

Sd.: Svarfdæla Saga. (D. II.)

Sturl.: Sturlunga Saga. (D. I.)

Þórð.: Þórðar Saga hreðu. (D. V.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Od.: Odysseifs-kvæði, prose, 1829.

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.