HREINN

Old Norse Dictionary Entry

HREINN

Old Norse Dictionary Entry

Definitions

1 HREINN

1. adj. [Ulf. hrains = καθαρός; A. S. hrân; lost in Engl., except in the verb to rinse; O. H. G. hreini; Germ. rein; Dan.-Swed. ren]:—clean; h. líndúkr, Hom. 138, Fs. 1; hrein klæði, Fms. vi. 207; gott korn ok hreint, Sks. 326; hreint vatn, Gd. 22; h. lögr, Alm. 35; hrein munnlaug, H. E. i. 489; h. mjöll, fresh snow, Rm. 26.

2 HREINN

β. bright; hreinir kyndlar, bright candles, Sól. 69; hreint bál, a bright flame, Lex. Poët.; h. sól, the bright sun, id.; h. ok gagnsær, Hom. (St.) 15. 13; hreint sverð, hrein vápn, Fms. x. 360, Rétt. 120; h. rönd, a bright shield, Lex. Poët.

3 HREINN

γ. eccl., hrein kvikendi, clean beasts, Hom. 29.

4 HREINN

II. metaph. clean, pure, sincere; hreint hjarta, h. hugr, hrein iðran, hreint líf, Bs. i. 270, Sól. 7, Barl. 93, N. T., Vídal., Pass. passim.

5 HREINN

β. = Gr. καθαρός in the N. T. of the cleansed leper; ú-hreinn, unclean; tá-hreinn, quite clean.

6 HREINN

2. m. [the word is prob. of Finnish origin. From the words of king Alfred, (þa deor he hâtað hrânas, Orosius i. 1, § 15, Bosworth’s Ed.), it seems that the king knew the name only from Ohthere’s tale; and when Egil in his poem on king Athelstân (if the verse be genuine) calls Northern England hreinbraut, the reindeers’ track, the phrase is prob. merely poët. for a wilderness. There is however a curious passage in Orkn. (448) where the hunting of reindeer in Caithness is recorded; the Icel. text is here only preserved in a single MS.; but though the Danish translation in Stockholm (of the year 1615) has the same reading, it is probably only a mistake of the Saga; for it is not likely that the Norsemen carried reindeer across the sea; the present breed was introduced into Icel. by the government only a century ago]:—a reindeer, Hm. 89, K. Þ. K. 132, Fas. iii. 359; hreins fit, Hkr. ii. 250; hreins horn, Ann. Nord. Old. 1844, 1845, p. 170; hreina hold, Sks. 191. The finest deer were called stál-hreinar (the stæl-hrânas of king Alfred), cp. tálhreinn, Haustl. In northern poetry, ships are freq. called hreinn, see Lex. Poët., byr-hreinn, haf-h., hún-h., unnar-h., hlýrvangs-h., Gylfa-h., all of them meaning ships, Lex. Poët.: a giant is called gnípu-h. = ‘crag-rein,’ Þd.: the wilderness is myrk-rein hreins = the mirk-field of the reindeer, Haustl. Hreinn is an old pr. name, Landn.

7 HREINN

COMPDS: hreinbraut.

Runic Inscription

ᚼᚱᛁᛁᚾᚾ

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark

Abbreviations Used

Common Abbreviations

A. S.
Anglo-Saxon.
adj
adjective.
adj.
adjective.
cp
compare.
cp.
compare.
Dan
Danish.
Dan.
Danish.
eccl
ecclesiastical.
eccl.
ecclesiastical.
Engl
English.
Engl.
English.
f.
feminine.
Fr
French in etymologies.
freq
frequent, frequently.
freq.
frequent, frequently.
Germ
German.
Germ.
German.
gl
glossary.
gl.
glossary.
Gr.
Greek.
Icel
Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
Icel.
Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
id
idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation
id.
idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation
l.
Linnæus.
m.
masculine.
metaph.
metaphor, metaphorical.
n.
neuter.
O. H. G.
Old High German.
orig
original, originally.
p.
page.
poët.
poetical, poetically.
pr.
proper.
prob
probable, probably.
prob.
probable, probably.
S.
South, Southern.
sing
singular.
Swed
Swedish.
Swed.
Swedish.
transl
translation, translated.
Ulf.
Ulfilas.

Works & Authors

Alm.
Alvís-mál. (A. I.)
Ann.
Íslenzkir Annálar. (D. IV.)
Barl.
Barlaams Saga. (F. III.)
Bs.
Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)
Fas.
Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)
Fms.
Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Fs.
Forn-sögur. (D. II.)
H. E.
Historia Ecclesiastica Islandiae. (J. I.)
Haustl.
Haustlöng. (A. I.)
Hkr.
Heimskringla. (E. I.)
Hm.
Hává-mál. (A. I.)
Hom.
Homiliu-bók. (F. II.)
K. Þ. K.
Kristinn-réttr Þorláks ok Ketils = Kristinna-laga-þáttr. (B. I.)
Landn.
Landnáma. (D. I.)
Lex. Poët.
Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.
N. T.
New Testament.
Orkn.
Orkneyinga Saga. (E. II.)
Pass.
Passiu-Sálmar.
Rétt.
Réttarbætr. (B. II.)
Rm.
Rígsmál. (A. II.)
Sks.
Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)
Sól.
Sólarljóð. (A. III.)
Vídal.
Vídalíns-Postilla.
Þd.
Þórs-drápa. (A. I.)

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