Gör-tœki

Meaning of Old Norse word "gör-tœki" (or gǫr-tœki)

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

gör-tœki (gǫr-tœki)

n. a law term, any unlawful seizure or holding of another man’s property without positive intention of stealing, therefore not felony: it is thus defined, ef maðr tekr þat er annarr maðr á, ólofat, ok á maðr at færa þat til görtœkis er pennings er vert eðr meira, Grág. ii. 188; þjófsök and görtœkis-sök are distinguished in 190; the penalty was the payment of twice its value, as fixed by the neighbours, and a fine of three marks, i. 401, ii. 188, 396: pilfering could be prosecuted either as theft or as görtœki, i. 430, ii. 295, and passim.

Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, gör-tœki may be more accurately written as gǫr-tœki.

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