Feldr
Old Norse Dictionary - feldr
Meaning of Old Norse word "feldr"
As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:
- feldr
- m., gen. feldar, pl. feldir, a cloak worn by the ancients, esp. one lined with fur; hvítr-f., a white cloak, Fbr. 145 sqq.; rauð-f., a red cloak, Landn. (a nickname); grá-f., a grey cloak, Hkr. i. 176; skinn-f., a skin cloak, Orkn. 326 (in a verse); bjarn-f., q. v., a bear-skin cloak; röggvar-f., a woollen cloak, Grett. 114; varar-f., a common cloak; loð-f., a shaggy cloak, a fur cloak, = loði; blá-f., a blue cloak, n. G. l. i. 74; feldr fimm alna í skaut, a cloak measuring five ells square, Korm. 86; a feld four ells long and two ells broad, Grág. i. 500, was in trade the usual size, but here the ell is a ‘thumb ell,’ measuring only about sixteen inches; stutt-f., a short cloak, FmS. vii. 152 (a nickname); feldr, kápa, and skikkja seem to be synonymous, cp. LS. ch. 14, 15, Glúm. ch. 3, 8, Grett. ch. 23, Lv. ch. 17. Tac. Germ. ch. 17—‘tegumen omnibus sagum, fibulâ, aut, si desit, spinâ consertum;’ the cloaks were often made of (or lined with) costly furs, Glúm. ch. 6; breiða feld á höfuð sér, to wrap the head in a cloak, Nj. 164, Kristni S. ch. 11, FmS. vi. 43 (Sighvat), as a token of deep thinking: feldar-dálkr, m. a cloak-pin, Hkr., vide dálkr; feldar-röggvar, f. pl. the patches or ‘ragged’ hairs on the outside of a cloak, Lv. 55, cp. Grág. i. 500; feldar-skaut, n. (-blað, n., Finnb. 342), a cloak’s skirt, Fb. i. 416; feldar-slítr, n. pl. the tatters of a cloak, Grett. The etymology of feldr is uncertain, scarcely from Lat. pellis, but rather from falda, to fold, wrap; even Tacitus, l. c., makes a distinction between the ‘sagulum’ (= feldr) and ‘ferarum pelles,’ the latter being a mark of more savage habits, such as that of the berserkers; feldr is never used of a woman’s cloak (möttull, skikkja); the passage Fm. 43 is corrupt: the phrase, það er ekki með feldi, it is not right, something is wrong, is a corrupt form instead of með felldu, part. from fella, q. v.
Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚠᛁᛚᛏᚱ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements
Abbreviations used:
- ch.
- chapter.
- cp.
- compare.
- esp.
- especially.
- f.
- feminine.
- gen.
- genitive.
- Germ.
- German.
- l.
- line.
- L.
- Linnæus.
- Lat.
- Latin.
- l. c.
- loco citato.
- m.
- masculine.
- n.
- neuter.
- part.
- participle.
- pl.
- plural.
- q. v.
- quod vide.
- S.
- Saga.
- v.
- vide.
Works & Authors cited:
- Fb.
- Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)
- Fbr.
- Fóstbræðra Saga. (D. II.)
- Finnb.
- Finnboga Saga. (D. V.)
- Fm.
- Fafnis-mál. (A. II.)
- Fms.
- Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
- Glúm.
- Víga-Glúms Saga. (D. II.)
- Grág.
- Grágás. (B. I.)
- Grett.
- Grettis Saga. (D. II.)
- Hkr.
- Heimskringla. (E. I.)
- Korm.
- Kormaks Saga. (D. II.)
- Kristni S.
- Kristni Saga. (D. I. III.)
- Landn.
- Landnáma. (D. I.)
- Ls.
- Loka-senna. (A. I.)
- Lv.
- Ljósvetninga Saga. (D. II.)
- N. G. L.
- Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)
- Nj.
- Njála. (D. II.)
- Orkn.
- Orkneyinga Saga. (E. II.)