m., old gen. herjar, pl. herjar, herja, herjum; later gen. hers, dropping the characteristic j and without pl.; the old form however often occurs in ancient poets, herjar, Hkr. i. 343 (in a verse), Fms. xi. 311 (in a verse), Fas. ii. 38 (in a verse); eins herjar, Hm. 72; as also, allt herjar, Hom. 39; herjum, in herjum-kunnr. famous, Háttat. R.; in prose the old j has been preserved in alls-herjar, Fms. v. 106, see pp. 16, 17; the pl. -jar occurs in Ein-herjar, see p. 121: in compd pr. names with initial vowel, Herj-ólfr (A. S. Herewulf), Herjan; [Goth. harjis, by which Ulf. renders λεγεών, Luke viii. 30, and στρατιά, ii. 13; A. S. here; O. H. G. and Hel. heri; Germ. heer; Dutch heir; Swed. här; Dan. hær]:—prop. a host, multitude:

1. a host, people in general, like στρατός in Homer; herr er hundrað, a hundred makes a herr, Edda 108; allr herr, all people, Fms. i. 194, vi. 428 (in a verse); allr herr unni Ólafi konungi hugástum, vi. 441; whence in prose, alls-herjar, totius populi, general, universal, passim; dómr alls-herjar, universal consent, v. 106; Drottinn alls-herjar, Lord of Sabaoth (hosts), Stj. 428, 456; allt herjar, adv. everywhere; lýsti of allt herjar af ljósinu, Hom. 39; Sænskr herr, the Swedish people; Danskr herr, the Danish people; Íslenzkr herr, the Icelandic people, Lex. Poët.; land-herr (q. v.), the people of the land; en nú sé ek hér útalligan her af landsfólki, a countless assembly of men, Fms. xi. 17; þing-herr, an assembly, Sighvat; Einherjar, the chosen people (rather than chosen warriors); þegi herr meðan, Eb. (in a verse); herjum-kunnr, known to all people, Lex. Poët.; and in compds, her-bergi (q. v.), etc.

2. a host; með her manns, with a host of men, Eg. 71, 277; úvígr herr, an overwhelming host, Fms. viii. 51; himin og jörð og allr þeirra her, Gen. ii. 1, passim; cp. her-margr, many as a host, innumerable.

β. an army, troops, on land and sea, Fms. i. 22, 90, Nj. 245, and in endless instances; cp. herja, to harry, and other compds: of a fleet, þrjú skip þau sem hann keyri ór herinum, Fms. x. 84; cp. hers-höfðingi: so in the phrase, hers-hendr, leysa e-n ór hers-höndum, to release one out of the hands of war, N. G. L. i. 71; vera í hers höndum, komast í hers hendr, to come into a foe’s hands.

3. in a bad sense, the evil host, the fiends, in swearing, Gþl. 119; herr hafi e-n, fiends take him! Fms. vi. 278; herr hafi hölds ok svarra hagvirki! Ísl. ii. (in a verse); hauga herr, vide haugr; and in compds, her-kerling, her-líki.

II. in pr. names:

1. prefixed, of men, Her-brandr, Her-finnr, Her-gils, Her-grímr, Herj-ólfr, Her-laugr, Her-leifr, Her-mundr, Her-rauðr, Her-steinn, Hervarðr; of women, Her-borg, Her-dís, Her-gunnr, Her-ríðr, Her-vör, Her-þrúðr, Landn.: in Har-aldr (Harold) the j is dropped without causing umlaut. Herjan and Herja-föðr, m. the Father of hosts = Odin, Edda, Hdl.

2. suffixed, -arr, in Ein-arr, Agn-arr, Ótt-arr, Böðv-arr, Úlf-arr, etc., see Gramm. p. xxxii, col. 1, signif. B. 1.

B. COMPDS: herbaldr, herbergi, herblástr, Herblindi, herboð, herborg, herbrestr, herbúðir, herbúinn, herbúnaðr, herdrengr, herdrótt, herfall, herfang, herfenginn, herferð, herfjöturr, herflokkr, herfloti, herforingi, herfólk, herfórur, herfærr, Herföðr, herför, hergammr, herganga, Hergautr, hergjarn, herglötuðr, hergopa, hergrimmr, herhlaup, herhorn, herkastali, herkerling, herklukka, herklæða, herklæði, herkonungr, herkumbl, herland, herleiða, herleiðing, herleiðsla, herlið, herliki, herlúðr, hermaðr, hermannliga, hermannligr, hermargr, hermegir, Hermóðr, hernaðr, hernam, hernumi, hernæma, heróp, hersaga, hersöguör, herskapr, herskari, herskár, herskip, herskjöldr, herskrúð, herspori, herstjóri, herstjórn, hersveitir, hertaka, hertaka, hertekning, hertogi, hertogadómr, hertogadæmi, hertogaefni, hertogainna, hertoganafn, herturn, hertygð, hertýgi, hertýgja, herváðir, hervápn, hervegir, herverk, hervígi, hervíkingr, hervæða, herþing, herþurft, herör.