Svefn-þorn

Old Norse Dictionary - svefn-þorn

Meaning of Old Norse word "svefn-þorn" in English.

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

svefn-þorn: m. a ‘sleep-thorn;’ the popular notion was that charmed sleep is produced by putting the ‘sleep-thorn’ into the sleeper’s ears, then he will not awake until the thorn falls out; stinga e-m svefnþorn, to stick one with the sleeping-thorn, Fas. i. 18, 19; or, stinga e-n svefnþorni, Ísl. ii. 183, iii. 303, (cp. Fm. 43, Hrafnag. 13.)

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

Abbreviations used:

cp.: compare.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

Works & Authors cited:

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Fm.: Fafnis-mál. (A. II.)

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Also available in related dictionaries:

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