Úlfr

Old Norse Dictionary - úlfr

Meaning of Old Norse word "úlfr" in English.

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

úlfr Old Norse word can mean:

úlfr: m., úlf-gi, LS. 39; [Ulf. wulfs; A. S. and Hel. wulf; Engl.-Germ. wolf; North. E. Ulf-, in pr. names, Ulpha, Ulverston; Dan.-Swed. ulv; cp. Lat. lupus and vulpes; Gr. λύκος]:—a wolf, Grág. ii. 122; lýsa þar vígi, … kallask hvárki úlfr né björn nema svá heiti hann, n. G. l. i. 6l; úlfa þytr mér þótti íllr vera hjá söngvi svana, Edda (in a verse); úlfa hús, wolf-pits, Gþl. 457: freq. in poets, where ‘to feed the wolf,’ ‘cheer the wolf’ are standing phrases, see Lex. Poët.: a warrior is hence called úlf-brynnandi, -gæðandi, -grennir, -nestir, -seðjandi, -teitir, i. e. the refresher, cheerer, … gladdener of the wolf; úlf-vín, wolf’s wine, i. e. blood, Lex. Poët.

úlfr: 2. sayings, fæðisk úlfr í skógi, the wolf is born in the wood, Mkv.; etask af úlfs munni, and úlfar eta annars eyrindi, see eta (2. δ); eigi hygg ek okkr vera úlfa dæmi, at vér mynim sjálfir um sakask, Hðm. 30; fangs er ván at frekum úlfi, see fang (III. 4); auðþekktr er úlfr í röð; þar er mér úlfs ván er ek eyru sé’k, I know the wolf when I see the ears, Fm. 35, Finnb. 244; hafa úlf undir bægi, evidently from the fable of the wolf in sheep’s clothes; sem úlfr í sauða dyn, Sd. 164; ala e-m úlfa, to breed wolves to one, brood over evil; spyr ek þat frá, at Danir muni enn ala oss úlfa, FmS. viii. 303, Kormak; sýna úlfs ham, to appear to a person in a wolf’s skin, i. e. savagely; eigi heldr þykkisk eg honum eðr öðrum fátækum prestum þann úlfs ham sýnt hafa, at þeir megi eigi mér opinbera neyð sína, H. E. iii. 438 (in a letter of bishop Gudbrand); hafa úlfs hug við e-n, má vera at Guðrúnu þykki hann úlfs hug við okkr hafa, FaS. i. 211; skala úlf ala ungan lengi, Skv. 3. 12; annas barn er sem úlf at frjá, Mkv.; úlfr er í ungum syni, Sdm. 35: for legends of were-wolves cp. VölS. S. ch. 8.

úlfr: 3. úlfa þytr, howling; þær báðu honum ílls á móti, var inn mesti úlfa þytr (wailing) til þeirra at heyra, Grett. 98; finnr Sigmundr menn ok lét úlfs röddu, FaS. i. 131; úlfum líkir þykkja allir þeir sem eiga hverfan hug, Sól. 31.

úlfr: II. in poets, wolves are the ‘steeds’ on which witches ride through the air during the night, Edda. At nightfall wizards were supposed to change their shape, hence the nickname kveld-úlfr, evening wolf, of a were-wolf; in Icel. the fretful mood caused by sleepiness in the evening is called kveld-úlfr; thus the ditty, Kveldúlfr er kominn hér | kunnigr innan gátta | sólin líðr sýnisk mér | senn er mál að hátta, Icel. Almanack 1870; or, Kveldúlfr er kominn í kerlinguna mína, the evening wolf has entered my child, a lullaby, Sveinb. Egilsson’s Poems, cp. en dag hvern er at kveldi kom, þá görðisk hann styggr, svá at fáir menn máttu orðum við hann koma; hann var kveld-svæfr, þat var mál manna at hann væri mjök hamramr, hann var kallaðr Kveldúlfr, Eg. ch. 1. In the mythology there is the wolf Fenrir, Edda; whence Úlfs-bági, the ‘Wolf’s foe’ = Odin, Stor.; Úlfs-faðir, the Wolf’s father = Loki, LS.: mock suns were imagined to be wolves persecuting the sun, Gm. 37; hence in popular Icel., úlfa-kreppa, u, f. ‘wolf-strait,’ when the sun is surrounded by four mock suns (sól í úlfa kreppu), Ísl. ÞjóðS. i. 658.

úlfr: III. freq. in pr. names, Úlfr, Úlfarr, Úlf-hamr, Úlf-héðinn, Úlf-ljótr, Úlf-kell; women, Úlf-hildr, Úlf-eiðr, Úlf-rún; esp. as the latter part in men’s names, being then sounded (and often spelt) -ólfr, Ás-ólfr, Auð-ólfr, Bót-ólfr, Brynj-ólfr, Björg-ólfr, Eyj-ólfr, Grím-ólfr, Ing-ólfr, Ís-ólfr, Herj-ólfr, Þór-ólfr, Þjóð-ólfr, Stein-ólfr, Rún-ólfr, Ljót-ólfr, Örn-ólfr, Móð-úlfr, etc.: contracted are, Snjólfr = Snæ-úlfr, Hrólfr = Hróð-úlfr, Sjólfr = Sæ-úlfr, Bjólfr = Bý-úlfr = A. S. Beowulf (Bee-wolf, i. e. honey-thief, a name of the bear, from popular tales, in which the bear, being fond of honey, is made to rob hives; the name has of late been thus explained by Mr. Sweet).

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

cp.: compare.

Dan.: Danish.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

Gr.: Greek.

Hel.: Heliand.

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

Lat.: Latin.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

North. E.: Northern English.

pr.: proper, properly.

S.: Saga.

Swed.: Swedish.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

ch.: chapter.

v.: vide.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

esp.: especially.

etc.: et cetera.

Works & Authors cited:

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Gþl.: Gulaþings-lög. (B. II.)

Lex. Poët.: Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.

Ls.: Loka-senna. (A. I.)

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

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

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

Fm.: Fafnis-mál. (A. II.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Hðm.: Hamðis-mál. (A. II.)

H. E.: Historia Ecclesiastica Islandiae. (J. I.)

Mkv.: Málshátta-kvæði. (A. III.)

Sd.: Svarfdæla Saga. (D. II.)

Sdm.: Sigrdrífu-mál. (A. II.)

Skv.: Sigurðar-kviða. (A. II.)

Völs. S.: Völsunga Saga. (C. II.)

Grett.: Grettis Saga. (D. II.)

Sól.: Sólarljóð. (A. III.)

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

Gm.: Grímnis-mál. (A. I.)

Ísl. Þjóðs.: Íslenzkar Þjóðsögur.

Stor.: Sona-torrek. (A. III.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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