Old Norse Dictionary Entry

EIK

Old Norse Dictionary Entry

Definitions

2 definitions

1 EIK

gen. eikar, pl. eikr, [O. H. G. eik; Germ. eiche; A. S. âc; Engl. oak; North. E. aik; Swed. ek; Dan. eg]:—an oak, Skálda 151.

2 EIK

2. used in Icel. (where are no trees) in the general sense of tree, Lat. arbor; and wherever found it is a sure test of Icel. authorship; brotna eikrnar fyrir því, Fb. i. 133; í skóg við eik eina, Fs. 69; hann reist á honum kviðinn ok leiddi hann um eik, Nj. 275, Fms. xi. 9, 12 (Jómsv. S.), (an ‘oak’ with apples); átu hverjar aðrar því eikrnar með skyndi, Núm. 2. 98; ‘saepius ventis agitatur ingens pinus’ (of Horace) is by Stefan Olafsson rendered, opt vindar ‘eik’ þjá ef að hún er mjög há, Snót 87: but in the oldest proverbs the sense is probably that of oak, e. g. þat hefir eik er af annari skefr, cp. one man’s meat, another man’s poison, Hbl. 22, Grett. 53 new Ed.; or, þá verðr eik at fága sem undir skal búa, Eg. 520;—this last proverb seems to refer to an old custom of building houses under an old oak as a holy tree.

Similar Words

Runic Inscription

EIK

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark

The runic text above represents the Old Norse word "EIK" as it might appear in runic inscriptions from the Viking Age (c. 800-1100 CE).

Abbreviations Used

Common Abbreviations

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.
ch: chapter.
cp: compare.
cp.: compare.
Dan: Danish.
Dan.: Danish.
e. g.: exempli gratia.
Engl: English.
Engl.: English.
gen.: genitive.
Germ: German.
Germ.: German.
gl: glossary.
gl.: glossary.
Icel: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
id: idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation
l.: Linnæus.
Lat: Latin.
Lat.: Latin.
m.: masculine.
n.: neuter.
North. E.: Northern English.
O. H. G.: Old High German.
p.: page.
pl.: plural.
prob: probable, probably.
S.: South, Southern.
Swed: Swedish.
Swed.: Swedish.
v.: vide, verb.

Works & Authors

Eg.: Egils Saga. (D. II.)
Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)
Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Fs.: Forn-sögur. (D. II.)
Grett.: Grettis Saga. (D. II.)
Hbl.: Harbarðs-ljóð. (A. I.)
Jómsv. S.: Jómsvíkinga Saga. (E. I.)
Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)
Skálda: Skálda. (H. I.)
Snót: Snót, poems.

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