Hams

Old Norse Dictionary - hams

Meaning of Old Norse word "hams"

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

Old Norse word hams can mean:hams

hams
m. (= hamr), a snake’s slough; ormar skríða ór hamsi á vár, Mkv.; kalla sverðit orm, en fetlana ok umgörð hams hans, Edda (Ht.) 123: metaph., góðr (íllr) hams er á e-m, one is in a good (bad) frame of mind; hams er góðr á fljóðum, Hallfred: Icel. say, vera í góðum, vondum hamsi, id.: allit. phrases as, hafa hold og hams, ‘to keep up flesh and skin,’ i. e. to be hale and hearty, to be in a good state.
hams
II. in plur. hamsar means particles of suet. In Norway hams means the husks of beans and grains: in Dan. a kind of beetle is called gjedehams. ☞ The s in hams is curious; it is kept throughout all cases; it is either a remnant of the old masc. mark s for r as in Gothic, or perhaps the s answers to the inflex. d as in O. H. G. hamedi, Germ. hemd; but still more closely to the inflex. final s in Ital. camisa, Fr. chemise.

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

Abbreviations used:

allit.
alliteration, alliterative.
Icel.
Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
id.
idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation
i. e.
id est.
l.
line.
lit.
literally.
m.
masculine.
metaph.
metaphorical, metaphorically.
v.
vide.
Dan.
Danish.
Fr.
French in etymologies.
Germ.
German.
inflex.
inflexive.
Ital.
Italian.
masc.
masculine.
n.
neuter.
O. H. G.
Old High German.
plur.
plural.

Works & Authors cited:

Edda
Edda. (C. I.)
Ht.
Hátta-tal. (C. I.)
Mkv.
Málshátta-kvæði. (A. III.)
Fr.
Fritzner’s Dictionary, 1867.
➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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