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.