Basmir

Old Norse Dictionary - basmir

Meaning of Old Norse word "basmir"

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

basmir
f. pl. an απ. λεγ. in a verse in Hervar. S. (Ed. 1847), p. 56; bauð ek þér bróðir basmir óskerðar, fé ok fjöld meiðma; a dub. word, cp. Germ. besem, Engl. besom; mod. Germ. besen, North Germ. besemer, Dan. bismer (Icel. reizla), which are all connected. Ivar Aasen records a Norse word basm or basma; the Norse basm means twenty threads of the warp (basm here means loom?):—the Ed. in FaS. i. 207 gives a wrong spelling óskir tvær (qs. óskertar), and skips the word basrnir.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛒᛅᛋᛘᛁᚱ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements

Abbreviations used:

απ. λεγ.
απαξ. λεγόμενον.
cp.
compare.
Dan.
Danish.
dub.
dubious.
Engl.
English.
f.
feminine.
Germ.
German.
gl.
glossary.
Icel.
Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
l.
line.
m.
masculine.
mod.
modern.
n.
neuter.
pl.
plural.
qs.
quasi.
S.
Saga.

Works & Authors cited:

Fas.
Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)
Hervar. S.
Hervarar Saga. (C. II.)
Ivar Aasen
Ivar Aasen’s Dictionary, 1850.
➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

Back