Old Norse Dictionary Entry

FLEY

Old Norse Dictionary Entry

Definitions

1 definitions

1 FLEY

n. a kind of swift ship (= snekkja, q. v.); only found in poets, as Thiodolf calls the sea fleyja flatvöllr, the flat-field of the fleys, cp. Hkv. 2. 4; fley ok fagrar árar, a fley and beautiful oars, Egill; used by poets also in many compds, as fley-braut, fley-vangr, the road-field of the fleys, etc.; never in prose, except in pr. names, as Gesta-fley, Fms. viii, Sverr. S.; but fley-skip occurs not only in verse, Fb. i. 528, but also in a deed of the year 1315, N. G. L. iii. 112:—also used of merchant ships, Ann. The Span. flibóte, Engl. fly-boat (Johnson) point to a form fley-bátr = fley-skip, though that form has not been found; from the Span. flibóte prob. came the Ital. flibustiero, Anglo-American filibuster: perh. also the Germ. freibeuter, Engl. freebooter, Dutch vrijbuiter represent the same word, altered so as to give an intelligible sense in the respective languages.

Similar Words

Runic Inscription

FLEY

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark

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

Abbreviations Used

Common Abbreviations

ch: chapter.
cp: compare.
cp.: compare.
Engl: English.
Engl.: English.
esp: especially.
etc.: et cetera.
Germ: German.
Germ.: German.
gl: glossary.
gl.: glossary.
Ital.: Italian.
l.: Linnæus.
m.: masculine.
n.: neuter.
p.: page.
perh.: perhaps.
pr.: proper.
prob: probable, probably.
prob.: probable, probably.
q. v.: quod vide.
S.: South, Southern.
Span.: Spanish.
v.: vide, verb.

Works & Authors

Ann.: Íslenzkir Annálar. (D. IV.)
Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)
Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Hkv.: Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)
N. G. L.: Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)
Sverr. S.: Sverris Saga. (E. I.)

View All Sources →