Vargr

Old Norse Dictionary - vargr

Meaning of Old Norse word "vargr" in English.

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

vargr Old Norse word can mean:

vargr: m. [A. S. wearg; Hel. warag; the root-word is preserved in Germ. er-würgen, whence virgull, q. v., and Engl. worry; vargr and úlfr are said to be from the same root]:—a wolf; berr björn, bítr vargr, N. G. l. i. 341; riða á vargi, Hkv. Hjörv.; trollkona sat á vargi, FmS. vi. 403; marga varga, Nj. 95; vaða vargar með úlfum, a saying, FaS. i. 11; sem menn viðast varga reka (prop. allit. varga vreka), as wide as wolves are hunted, Grág.: sem vargr í sauða-dun, Sd. 164: poët. of any beast of prey, varga vinr, Hkv. 1. 6 (of ravens); hann barg fjörvi varga, Vellekla: the saying, sjaldan vægir vargrinn, the wolf spares not; vargarnir etask þar til er at halanum kemr, Band.; vargs-hamr, -hár, -hold, a wolf’s skin, hair, flesh, Str. 32, FaS. i. 199, FmS. i. 273; vargs-líki, -rödd, Edda 8, FaS. i. 130; varga flokkr, a flock of wolves, iii. 77; varga matr, i. 139; varga-þytr, a howling of wolves, 205: varga leifar, a ‘wolf’s homestead’(see leif), i. e. the wood, the wilderness, Gkv. 2. 11: in Icel. vargr is used of the fox.

vargr: II. a law phrase, metaph. an outlaw, who is to be hunted down as a wolf, esp. used of one who commits a crime in a holy place, and is thereon declared accursed; hann hafði vegit í véum ok var hann vargr orðinn, Eg. 259; vargr í véum, a wolf in the sanctuary, FmS. xi. 40 (goð-vargr): also of a truce-breaker, hann skal svá víða v. heita sem veröld er bygð, Grág. (cp. grið-vargr); armr er vára vargr, Sdm.; eyða vörgum, to destroy miscreants, FmS. xi. (in a verse); úvísa-vargr, see p. 667.

vargr: 2. in mod. usage, a violent, ill-tempered person; hón er mesti vargr, a fury of a woman; geð-vargr, skap-vargr, a fury: poët. compds, varg-fæðandi, -fæðir, -hollr, -nistir, -teitir, a feeder, … cheerer of the wolf, i. e. a warrior, Lex. poët.

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

Abbreviations used:

allit.: alliteration, alliterative.

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

Engl.: English.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

Hel.: Heliand.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

lit.: literally.

m.: masculine.

poët.: poetically.

prop.: proper, properly.

q. v.: quod vide.

S.: Saga.

v.: vide.

cp.: compare.

esp.: especially.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

mod.: modern.

Works & Authors cited:

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

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Gkv.: Guðrúnar-kviða. (A. II.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Hkv.: Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)

Hkv. Hjörv.: Helga-kviða Hjörvarðssonar. (A. II.)

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

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Sd.: Svarfdæla Saga. (D. II.)

Str.: Strengleikar. (G. II.)

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

Sdm.: Sigrdrífu-mál. (A. II.)

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

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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