Vetr

Old Norse Dictionary - vetr

Meaning of Old Norse word "vetr" in English.

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

vetr Old Norse word can mean:

vetr: m., gen. vetrar, dat. vetri; pl., nom. and acc. vetr, gen. vetra, dat. vetrum: it was an assimilated form anciently written vettr or vittr, qs. vintr; vitrar or vittrar (gen.), Post. (Unger) 233; vettr is freq., esp. in n. G. l.; double consonants are in vellums difficult to distinguish from single, and so tt may well have been the current form, although the Edd. give the mod. form (vetr): in poets we find, mitt sextigu vittra, Glúm, (in a verse): vintr occurs in Icel. ballads of the 15th century, see Þryml., VölS. R., Skáld H.R., but here it is merely an imitation of Danish originals, for the word in Icel. always took the assimilated form: [Ulf. wintrus = χειμών and ἔτος; A. S., Engl., and Germ. winter; Dan.-Swed. vinter, for the assimilation of nt into tt did not prevail in the south of Scandinavia, see Gramm. p. xxx, col. 1.]

vetr: A. A winter; winter, like summer (see sumar), is a calendary period, containing 180 days, or six months of thirty days; the winter begins on the Saturday next before St. Luke’s day (old style), or on St. Luke’s day, if a Saturday. In the Gregorian style, for 1872 and 1873, vetrar-dagr fyrsti, the first winter day = Saturday, the 26th of Oct.; miðr vetr, mid-winter, the 24th of Jan.; síðasti vetrar dagr, the last winter day = Wednesday, the 23rd of April; Laugardagr skal fyrstr vera í vetri, en þaðan skal vera sex mánuðr þrjátigi nátta til sumars, K. Þ. K. 166; vetr kemr laugardaginn er næstr er fyrir Lúkas-messu, en hana sjálfa ef hlaupár ferr eptir, Rb. 490; Drottins-dagr inn fyrsti í vetri skal vera inn þriði frá messu-degi Cosmi ok Damiani, Rb. 434: as a general term, í vetr, this winter, Nj. 4; hafa blót hvern vetr, Ó. H.; Miðr vetr, Mid-winter, see above; miðs vetrar skeið, mid-winter time, Fb. i. 204; miðs vetrar blót, a sacrificial feast at mid-winter, see miðr B; á vetri, or í vetri, see prepp. á and í; mikill vetr, a cold winter, BS. i. 873; harðr, kaldr, Kominn er kaldr vetr, initial words of a hymn.

vetr: II. = a year; as in A. S. days were reckoned by nights (see nótt), so years were counted by winters; in Ulfilas (Matt. ix. 20, Luke ii. 42, viii. 42) ἔτος is rendered by wintrus; and so at present in Icel., a person is so many ‘winters’ old; tólf vetra gamall, K. Þ. K. 134; sextán vetra gamall, Grág. i. 197; and ellipt. leaving out gamall, tólf vetra, FmS. i. 8; tíu vetrum síðarr, 61; sex tigi vetra konungr, Eg. 367; sjau vetr ena ársömu, VeR. 17 (of king Pharaoh’s dream); þeirra var vetrar-munr, difference in age of one year, Dropl. 7; for more references, see tigr B.

vetr: III. mythol., Vetr, a giant, the son of Vindsvalr or Vindlóni, Vþm., Edda i. 82.

vetr: COMPDS: vetrarblót, vetrarbók, vetrarbraut.

vetr: 2. astron. the milky way, in Icel. called vetrar-braut, undoubtedly from old heathen times, although the word happens not to occur in old writers; Icel. weather-prophets use in the autumn to forecast the course of the winter, by the appearance of the milky-way; this is evidently a very old custom, whence probably the name, for in old times fortune-telling used to take place at the great autumnal feasts and sacrifices, see the references S. v. völva. vetrar-dagr, m. a winter day, n. G. l. i. 348; á vetrardag, in the winter, FmS. viii. 50, BS. i. 324, v. l.; fyrsti vetrardagr, D. n. vi. 143, Icel. Almanack. vetrar-far, n. the course of winter; sagði hón (the Sibyl) mönnum forlög sín ok vetrar-far ok aðra hluti, FaS. ii. 506; blótuðu þeir þá til friðar ok vetrarfars góðs, FmS. iv. 235. vetrar-höll, f. the winter hall, D. n. ii. 409. vetrar-langt, n. adj. the winter long, FmS. vii. 25. vetrar-megn, n. the depth of winter;þá var vetrarmegn ok treystisk hann eigi á haf at halda, Eb. 6. vetrar-messa, u, f. ‘winter-mass’ = Oct. 14, D. n. vetrar-myki, f. winter-muck, manure, Gþl. 342. vetrar-nauð, f. ‘winter-need,’ a severe winter, Ísl. ii. 155, Lv. 206. vetrar-nótt, f. a winter’s night; þar skaltú sofa í ina fyrstu v., FmS. xi. 4. vetrar-ríki, n. = vetrarnauð, a severe winter, Eb. 290, FbR. 41, v. l. vetrar-rúgr, m. winter rye, Gþl. 343. vetra-stefna, u, f. a winter term; nú vill hann til vetrar-stefnu jörð selja, fimmtán vetr, n. G. l. i. 92. vetra-tal, n. a number of winters, Rb. 508: years, fyrr rosknir at afli en vetra tali, FmS. i. 30, x. 230, 419. vetrar-tíð, f. winter-tide, Bb. 3. 34. vetrar-tími, a, m. winter-time, Stj. 69, 97, BS. i. 324. vetrar-tungl, n. the winter moon, the moon when winter sets in, Icel. Almanack (Nov. 1, 1872).

vetr: B. REAL COMPDS: vetrbeit, vetrbjörg, vetrgamall, vetrgata, vetrgemlingr, vetrgestr, vetrgrið, vetrhagi, vetrhluti, vetrhringr, vetrhús, vetrliði, vetrligr, vetrlægr, vetrmessa, vetrnætr, vetrrúgr, vetrseta, vetrseti, vetrtaka, vetrtökumaðr, vetrvist.

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

Abbreviations used:

acc.: accusative.

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

Dan.: Danish.

dat.: dative.

Engl.: English.

esp.: especially.

f.: feminine.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

gen.: genitive.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

m.: masculine.

mod.: modern.

n.: neuter.

nom.: nominative.

pl.: plural.

qs.: quasi.

R.: Rimur.

S.: Saga.

Swed.: Swedish.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

ellipt.: elliptical, elliptically.

mythol.: mythology, mythologically.

adj.: adjective.

astron.: astronomy, astronomically.

s. v.: sub voce.

v.: vide.

v. l.: varia lectio.

Works & Authors cited:

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

Post.: Postula Sögur. (F. III.)

Skáld H.: Skáld Helga-rímur. (A. III.)

Bs.: Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

K. Þ. K.: Kristinn-réttr Þorláks ok Ketils = Kristinna-laga-þáttr. (B. I.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Ó. H.: Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)

Rb.: Rímbegla. (H. III.)

Dropl.: Droplaugar-sona Saga. (D. II.)

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

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Ver.: Veraldar Saga. (E. II.)

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Vþm.: Vafþrúðnis-mál. (A. I.)

Bb.: Búnaðar-bálkr.

D. N.: Diplomatarium Norvagicum. (J. II.)

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

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Fbr.: Fóstbræðra Saga. (D. II.)

Gþl.: Gulaþings-lög. (B. II.)

Lv.: Ljósvetninga Saga. (D. II.)

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. 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.