Sverfa

Old Norse Dictionary - sverfa

Meaning of Old Norse word "sverfa" in English.

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

sverfa: sverf; pret. svarf, pl. surfu: part. sorfinn; [Ulf. af-swairban = ἐξαλείφειν, ἐκμάσσειν; Engl. swerve; Dutch swerven; Swed. swerfva]:—to file; járn sorfit, Stj. 160; sverfr hann, 158; svarf hann með snarpri þél, Bs. i. 237; sverfa til stáls, to ‘file to the steel’ to the core, i. e. to fight it out to the last; kvað þá verða at s. til stáls með þeim, Fms. vii. 244; láta þá til stáls sverva með þeim, Ó. H. 41; ok láta s. til stáls með ykkr bræðrum, Fb. ii. 122, Orkn. 234, 428: sverfr at, it presses hard; er í kreppingar kemr ok at sverfr, Fms. iv. 147.

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

Abbreviations used:

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

gl.: glossary.

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

n.: neuter.

part.: participle.

pl.: plural.

pret.: preterite.

Swed.: Swedish.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

v.: vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Bs.: Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

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

Ó. H.: Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. I.)

➞ 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.