Hamla

Meaning of Old Norse word "hamla"

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

Old Norse word hamla can mean:hamla

hamla

u, f. an oar-loop made of a strap or withe fastened to the thole-pin (hár), into which the oar was put, the oarsman pulling the oar against the thole, as is still done in the fjords of Norway; hence is called láta síga á hömlu, to pull slowly towards the hamla, i. e. stern foremost, Fms. i. 172, vii. 213; láta skip síga á hömlum, Hkr. iii. 336; á hömlo, Mork. l. c.; lét hann leggja fimm skipum fram í sundit svá at mátti þegar síga á hömlu, Grett. 83 A; hömlur slitnuðu, háir brotnuðu, the h. were torn, the tholes broken, Am. 35; leggja árar í hömlur, they put the oars in the loops, Fms. iii. 57. In Norway the levy or conscription was counted by the hömlur, cp. Ó. H. 227, where one hamla (i. e. man) was to be levied from every seven males over five years old, and so ‘til hömlu’ means naut. = per man, per oar, Gþl. 99, N. G. l. i. 98; thus, gera mat í hömlu, to contribute provisions by the head, 201, cp. D. N. passim and Fritzner’s remarks s. v.: the metaph. phrase, ganga e-m í hömlu um e-t, to go into one’s hamla, take one’s place, to be one’s match; sem Sigvalda myni fæst til skorta, at ganga mér í hömlu um ráða-gerðir ok dæma hér um mál manna, bæði fyrir vizku sakir ok ráðspeki, Fms. xi. 98.

hamla

COMPDS: hömluband, hömlubarði, hömlufall, hömlumaðr.

hamla

II. mod. a short oar with which the boatman paddles, leaning the body forwards and with his face towards the stem, using the oar partly instead of a rudder; hence stýris-hamla, a ‘rudder-oar.’

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

Similar entries:

• Hamla (I)