Þorp

Old Norse Dictionary - þorp

Meaning of Old Norse word "þorp" in English.

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

þorp Old Norse word can mean:

þorp: n. [Ulf. þaurp = ἀγρός, once in Nehem. v. 16; A. S. and Hel. þorp; Old Engl. thorp; O. H. G. and Germ. dorf; Lat. turba is taken to be the same word: this word, we think, was originally applied to the cottages of the poorer peasantry crowded together in a hamlet, instead of each house standing in its own enclosure, like the ‘tún’ or ‘bær’ or ‘garðr’ of the ‘búandi,’ hence þorpari = a churl (see below); the etymological sense being a crowd, throng, as seen in þyrpast, þyrping (qq. v.), as also in Lat. turba]:

þorp: I. a hamlet, village, rarely of an isolated farm; fóru þau um kveldit í annat þorp skamt þaðan, … Þorsteinn hét þar bóndi, Hkr. i. 189 (in East-Norway), FmS. x. 219; margir vóru búendr þar í þorpinu, Ó. H. 151; til Níðaróss, þar var þorp nokkut sett ok kaupstaðr, FmS. x. 294; um þorp ok um bæi (Scotland), Orkn. 78; in Edda 108, þorp ef þrír eru, …

þorp: 2. when used of foreign countries it means a thorp or village; borgir, kastalar, þorp, FmS. vii. 94; þorp ok tún, SkS. 631; Írar hlaupa saman í eitt þorp, Ld. 78; borg eða þorp, Stj. 96, 183; þar (in Frisland) varð brátt fyrir þeim þorp eitt ok bygðu þar margir bændr, Eg. 528: Lat. villa is rendered ‘þorp,’ Róm. 132, Hom. (St.), (= Matt. xxii. 5); þorpin stóðu á bryggjunum ok mikit fjölmenni í þeim þorpum (of London), O. H. l. ch. 10: metaph., þrætu-þorp, the abode of quarrel, i. e. the mouth, FmS. vi. (in a verse).

þorp: 3. the word occurs twice in poets in the same sense as in the Goth., a land; hrörnar þöll sú er stendr þorpi á, hlýrat henni börkr né barr, Hm. 49 (here ‘þorp’ seems to mean a field, fenced place, or garden, as opp. to the ‘wood’); þrjár þjóðár falla þorp yfir meyja Mögþrasis, three great rivers fall over the field of the Norns, Vþm. 49.

þorp: II. very freq. as the second compd of Dan. local names, as -trup, or -rup dropping the t, Hos-trup, Kra-rup, Kolde-rup, Vins-trup, Sverd-rup; but in early Dan. -torp or -thorp, thus Bukke-thorp, Thume-thorp, Ny-thorp = mod. Dan. Nyrup, and in many names of places, see Dipl. Thorkel. passim; so also Engl. -thorp and Germ. -dorf: in Norway such local names are rare, in Iceland still more so, yet a Þorpar, f. pl., occurs in western Iceland, in Stranda-sýsla, called ‘í Þorpum.’ The reason is that in flat countries cottages lie closer together than in a mountainous country.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

Hel.: Heliand.

l.: line.

Lat.: Latin.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

q. v.: quod vide.

S.: Saga.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

v.: vide.

ch.: chapter.

i. e.: id est.

L.: Linnæus.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

Goth.: Gothic.

opp.: opposed.

Dan.: Danish.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

mod.: modern.

pl.: plural.

Works & Authors cited:

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Hkr.: Heimskringla. (E. I.)

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

Ó. H.: Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)

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

Hom.: Homiliu-bók. (F. II.)

Ld.: Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)

O. H. L.: Ólafs Saga Helga Legendaria. (E. I.)

Róm.: Rómverja Saga. (E. II.)

Sks.: Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. I.)

Hm.: Hává-mál. (A. I.)

Vþm.: Vafþrúðnis-mál. (A. I.)

Dipl.: Diplomatarium. (J. I.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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