Aptan
Old Norse Dictionary - aptan
Meaning of Old Norse word "aptan"
As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:
- aptan
- and aftan, s, m., dat. aptni, pl. aptnar, sometimes spelt apni and apnar, [Hel. aband; Germ. abend; Engl. even, evening; in Ulf. we only find andanahti = Gr. οψέ, οψία; Swed. afton, Dan. aften,—as it is often spelt], evening; not very freq. in prose, where kveld is the common word. It prop. meant the time from 3 till 9 o’clock, like the Old English ‘even;’ miðraptan (middle-eve) is 6 o’clock; at 9 o’clock the night sets in, v. náttmál: a distinction is made between aptan and kveld, einn aptan at kveldi, an afternoon when the kveld (twilight) sets in, Edda 35: but gener. = kveld, um aptaninn síð er myrkt var orðit, Fms. iv. 308, viii. 228, xi. 113; at aptni, 623. 55, Fms. viii. 201, Grág. i. 146; of aptna (apna), Grág. ii. 224; á öptnum, Bjarn. 23; miðraptan, Hrafn. 9, Nj. 153; aptans bíðr óframs sök, a laggard’s suit bides till even (a proverb).
Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛅᛒᛏᛅᚾ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements
Similar entries:
Abbreviations used:
- Dan.
- Danish.
- dat.
- dative.
- Engl.
- English.
- f.
- feminine.
- freq.
- frequent, frequently.
- gener.
- generally.
- Germ.
- German.
- gl.
- glossary.
- Gr.
- Greek.
- Hel.
- Heliand.
- l.
- line.
- m.
- masculine.
- n.
- neuter.
- pl.
- plural.
- prop.
- proper, properly.
- Swed.
- Swedish.
- Ulf.
- Ulfilas.
- v.
- vide.
Works & Authors cited:
- Bjarn.
- Bjarnar Saga. (D. II.)
- Edda
- Edda. (C. I.)
- Fms.
- Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
- Grág.
- Grágás. (B. I.)
- Hrafn.
- Hrafnkels Saga. (D. II.)
- Nj.
- Njála. (D. II.)