Víf

Old Norse Dictionary - víf

Meaning of Old Norse word "víf" in English.

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

víf
n. [A. S. wîf, wîf-man = woman; Engl. wife; Germ. weib; supposed to have originally meant a weaver, from vefa, vífiðr]:—a woman, but only in poetry; for in Icel. prose, old as well as modern, the word is quite obsolete, Rm. 22; er vaknaði víf ór svefni, Skv. 1. 16; þá varð hilmi hugr á vífi, Hkv. 2. 13; hafða ok þess vætki vífs, Hm. 102; víf en fögru, FmS. vii. 61 (in a verse); vant er stafs vífi, Am. 12; velskúfaðra vífa, Orkn. (in a verse); hamra víf, the wife of the rocks, a giantess; gjörninga víf, a witch; ósk-víf, a ‘wish-wife,’ chosen, wedded wife; geir-víf, spear-wife, = Bellona, Lex. Poët.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.
Anglo-Saxon.
Engl.
English.
Germ.
German.
gl.
glossary.
Icel.
Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
l.
line.
m.
masculine.
n.
neuter.
S.
Saga.
v.
vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Am.
Atla-mál. (A. II.)
Fms.
Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Hkv.
Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)
Hm.
Hává-mál. (A. I.)
Lex. Poët.
Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.
Orkn.
Orkneyinga Saga. (E. II.)
Rm.
Rígsmál. (A. II.)
Skv.
Sigurðar-kviða. (A. II.)
➞ 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.

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