Troll

Old Norse Dictionary - troll

Meaning of Old Norse word "troll" in English.

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

troll Old Norse word can mean:

troll: n., the later but erroneous form is tröll; the rhymes require it to be troll; thus, troll and ollu, FmS. vi. 339; troll and kollr, Sturl. ii. 136 (a ditty); troll and sollinn, Rekst., Landn. 212 (in a verse); and so spelt in old vellums, trollz, Vsp. (Kb.) 39; in later vellums tröll, Mar. 1055; and so rhymed, tröll, öll, Mkv.: [Dan.-Swed. trold; Low Germ. droll, whence the mod. Dan. drollen; cp. also trylla and Dan. trylde = to charm, bewitch]

troll: A. A giant, fiend, demon, a generic term. The heathen creed knew of no ‘devil’ but the troll; in mod. Dan. trold includes any ghosts, goblins, imps, and puny spirits, whereas the old Icel. troll conveys the notion of huge creatures, giants, Titans, mostly in an evil, but also in a good sense; Þórr var farinn í Austrveg at berja troll, Edda; þar mátti engi maðr úti vera fyrir trolla-gangs sakir ok meinvætta, Ó. H. 187; et mat þinn, troll, FaS. iii. 178; trolla þing, ii. 131; trolla-þáttr, FmS. x. 330; maðr mikill sem troll, Eg. 408; hann var mikill vexti sem troll, Gísl. 132; hár sem tröll að líta, Ülf. 7. 13.

troll: 2. a werewolf, one possessed by trolls or demons, = eigi einhamr, cp. hamr, hamramr; ef konu er tryllska kennd í héraði þá skal hón hafa til sex kvenna vitni at hón er eigi tryllsk, sykn saka ef þat fæsk, en ef hón fær þat eigi, fari brott or héraði með fjár-hluti sína, eigi veldr hón því sjólf at hón er troll, n. G. l. i. 351 (Maurer’s Bekehrung ii. 418, foot-note), see kveklriða and Eb. ch. 16; mun Geirríð, trollit, þar komit, G. that troll! Eb. 96, cp. the Dan. din lede trold; troll, er þik bíta eigi járn, troll whom no steel can wound! Ísl. ii. 364; þá þykki mér troll er þú bersk svá at af þér er fotrinn—nei, segir Þorbjörn, eigi er þat trollskapr at maðr þoli sár, 365; fjölkunnig ok mikit troll. Þiðr. 22; Sóti var mikit tröll í lífinu, Ísl. ii. 42; kosti ok skeri troll þetta, this fiendish monster, Eb. 116 new Ed. v. l.; trolli líkari ertú enn manni, þik bita engi járn, Háv. 56; mikit troll ertú, Búi, sagði hann, Ísl. ii. 451, Finnb. 264; þótti líkari atgangr hans trollum enn mönnum, 340; fordæðu-skap ok úti-setu at vekja troll upp (to ‘wake up a troll,’ raise a ghost) at fremja heiðni með því, n. G. l. i. 19.

troll: 3. phrases; at tröll standi fyrir dyrum, a troll standing before the door, so that one cannot get in, Fbr. 57; troll milli húss ok heima, FmS. viii. 41, cp. the Engl. ‘between the devil and the deep sea;’ troll brutu hrís í hæla þeim, trolls brake fagots on their heels, beat them on their heels, pursued them like furies, Sighvat; glápa eins og troll á himna-ríki, to gaze like a troll on the heavens (to gaze in amazement): in swearing, troll hafi þik! FmS. vi. 216; troll hafi líf! Korm. (in a verse); troll hafi þik allan ok svá gull þitt! 188; hón bað troll hafa hann allan, Art. 5; troll hafi þá skikkju! Lv. 48; troll (traull) hafi þína vini! Nj. 52; troll hafi þitt hól! 258; troll vísi yðr til búrs! BS. i. 601; þykki mér því betr er fyrr taka troll við þér, the sooner the trolls take thee the better! Band. 37 new Ed., FS. 53; þú munt fara í trolla-hendr í sumar! Ld. 230, FmS. v. 183; þú munt fara allr í trollindr (= trolla hendr), Band. (MS.); munu troll toga, yðr tungu ór höfði, the evil one stretches your tongue, some evil demon speaks through your mouth, Fb. i. 507; honum þótti helzt troll toga tungu ór höfði honum er hann mælti slíkt, Rd. 276; þú ert fól, ok mjök toga troll tungu ór höfði þér, Karl. 534; the verse in Korm. 210 is corrupt; trautt man ek trúa þér, troll, kvað Höskollr, Sturl. ii. 136, from an ancient ballad. In one single instance the trolls, strange to say, play a good part, viz. as being grateful and faithful; trolls and giants were the old dwellers on the earth, whom the gods drove out and extirpated, replacing them by man, yet a few remained haunting lonely places in wildernesses and mountains; these trolls, if they meet with a good turn from man, are said to remain thankful for ever, and shew their gratitude; hence the phrases, tryggr sem tröll, faithful as a troll; and trygða-tröll, hann er mesta trygða-tröll, a faithful soul, faithful person; trölla-trygð, ‘trolls-trust,’ faithfulness to death; troll eru í trygðum bezt is a saying; these milder notions chiefly apply to giantesses (troll-konur), for the troll-carles are seldom well spoken of: for trolls and giants as the older dwellers on earth, see the interesting tale in Ólafs S. Trygg. by Odd, ch. 55, 56 (FmS. x. 328–332).

troll: II. metaph. usages, a destroyer, enemy of; þess hlutar alls er troll sem þat má fyrir fara, Edda ii. 513; bryn-tröll, q. v.

troll: III. in local names; Trolla-botnar = the Polar Bay, between Greenland and Norway, believed to be peopled by trolls, A.A.; Trolla-dingja, Trolla-gata, Trolla-háls, Trolla-kirkja, Ísl. ÞjóðS. i. 142: [cp. Troll-hættan in Sweden.]

troll: B. COMPDS: trollagangr, trollagrös, trollshamr, trollsháttr, trollahlað, trollsliga, trollsligr, trollslæti, trollasaga, trollaslagr, trollaurt, trollaþáttr, trollaþing.

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

Abbreviations used:

cp.: compare.

Dan.: Danish.

Germ.: German.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

mod.: modern.

n.: neuter.

Swed.: Swedish.

v.: vide.

f.: feminine.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

ch.: chapter.

L.: Linnæus.

v. l.: varia lectio.

Engl.: English.

gl.: glossary.

S.: Saga.

s. v.: sub voce.

viz.: namely.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

q. v.: quod vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Kb.: Konungs-bók. (B. I, C. I, etc.)

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. I.)

Mar.: Maríu Saga. (F. III.)

Mkv.: Málshátta-kvæði. (A. III.)

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

Vsp.: Völuspá. (A. I.)

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

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

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Gísl.: Gísla Saga. (D. II.)

Ó. H.: Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)

Eb.: Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)

Finnb.: Finnboga Saga. (D. V.)

Háv.: Hávarðar Saga. (D. II.)

N. G. L.: Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)

Þiðr.: Þiðreks Saga. (G. I.)

Art.: Artus-kappa Sögur. (G. II.)

Band.: Banda-manna Saga. (D. II.)

Bs.: Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Fbr.: Fóstbræðra Saga. (D. II.)

Fs.: Forn-sögur. (D. II.)

Karl.: Karla-magnús Saga. (G. I.)

Korm.: Kormaks Saga. (D. II.)

Ld.: Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)

Lv.: Ljósvetninga Saga. (D. II.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Rd.: Reykdæla Saga. (D. II.)

Ísl. Þjóðs.: Íslenzkar Þjóðsögur.

➞ 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.