Gálgi
Old Norse Dictionary - gálgi
Meaning of Old Norse word "gálgi"
As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:
Old Norse word gálgi can mean:gálgi
- gálgi
- a, m. [Ulf. renders σταυρός by galga; A. S. gealga; Engl. gallows; Hel. galgo; Germ. galgen; Dan.-Swed. galge]:—the gallows; in olden times they were worked by a lever, and the culprit was hauled up (spyrna gálga), FmS. vii. 13; hence also the phrase, hengja á hæsta gálga, festa upp, and the like, vide Gautr. S. ch. 7; an old Swed. allit. law phrase, á gálga ok gren, on gallows and green tree (Fr.), as trees were used for gallows (cp. the Engl. ‘gallows-tree’); reisa, höggva gálga, Orkn. 436, Ó. H. 46, Am. 37, 55, Grett. 128: in poetry (vide Lex. Poët.) the gallows are called the horse of Sigar, from the love tale of the Danish hero of that name: the cross is now and then called gálgi, e. g. Mar. S., and even in mod. eccl. writers (Vidal.), but very rarely, and only in rhetorical phraseS.
- gálgi
- COMPDS: gálgafarmr, gálgagramr, gálgatré.
Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚴᛅᛚᚴᛁ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements
Abbreviations used:
- allit.
- alliteration, alliterative.
- A. S.
- Anglo-Saxon.
- ch.
- chapter.
- cp.
- compare.
- Dan.
- Danish.
- eccl.
- ecclesiastical.
- e. g.
- exempli gratia.
- Engl.
- English.
- f.
- feminine.
- Fr.
- French in etymologies.
- Germ.
- German.
- gl.
- glossary.
- Hel.
- Heliand.
- l.
- line.
- lit.
- literally.
- m.
- masculine.
- mod.
- modern.
- n.
- neuter.
- S.
- Saga.
- Swed.
- Swedish.
- Ulf.
- Ulfilas.
Works & Authors cited:
- Am.
- Atla-mál. (A. II.)
- Fms.
- Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
- Fr.
- Fritzner’s Dictionary, 1867.
- Gautr.
- Gautreks Saga. (C. II.)
- Grett.
- Grettis Saga. (D. II.)
- Lex. Poët.
- Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.
- Mar.
- Maríu Saga. (F. III.)
- Orkn.
- Orkneyinga Saga. (E. II.)
- Ó. H.
- Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)