Höll
Old Norse Dictionary - höll
Meaning of Old Norse word "höll" (or hǫll)
As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:
Old Norse word höll can mean:höll
- höll (hǫll)
- f., gen. hallar, often spelt hall without umlaut, Fb. i. 212, 1. 26, FaS. iii. 42, 87, FmS. viii. 191, v. l.; as also rhymed so in poets, e. g. Geisli 11; [A. S. heal, gen. healle; Engl. hall; Hel. halla; but not found in old and mid. H. G., the mod. Germ. halle being a borrowed word, Grimm’s Gr. iii. 427]:—a hall, but in the Norse only of a king’s or earl’s hall, whereas a private dwelling is called skáli, eldhús, q. v.; and thus ‘hall’ never could be used of an Icel. dwelling. In earlier times it seems to have had a more general sense, which remains in a verse of Kormak, Korm. 42:—in the mythology and old poems ‘hall’ is also used of the hall of gods, giants, Vþm., Hým., Lv.; Val-höll, Valhalla, the hall of the slain, of Odin, Gm., Edda: as also Guðs höll, God’s hall = the heaven, Geisli; dags höll, days’ hall, the sky; höll fjalla, mountain hall, the sky; lífs höll, life’s hall, the breast, Lex. Poët.:—in prose constantly, konungs-höll, a king’s hall, or hall simply, passim. For the building, structure, seats of a hall, see the Sagas passim, Fagrsk. ch. 219, 220, Hrólfs S. Kr. ch. 34, 40, Jómsv. S. ch. 5, 22, VölS. S. ch. 3, Hálfs S. ch. 12, Eg. S. ch. 8, Edda 2, 30–33, 82. As all heathen Scandinavian buildings were of timber, the hall of stone of Nj. ch. 6 is no doubt an anachronism.
- höll (hǫll)
- COMPDS: hallar-búnaðr, -búningr, m. the hangings of a hall, FmS. x. 235, xi. 16. hallar-dyrr, n. pl. hall-doors, Edda 2, FaS. i. 15, Al. 70. hallar-gólf, n. a hall-floor, Edda 31, FmS. iii. 188, vii. 157, FaS. i. 284. hallar-veggr, m. the wall of a hall, FmS. iv. 189, SkS. 709: Höll, name of an Icel. farm, Skáld H., whence Hallar-Steinn, a pr. name.
Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, höll may be more accurately written as hǫll.
Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚼᚢᛚᛚ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements
Abbreviations used:
- A. S.
- Anglo-Saxon.
- ch.
- chapter.
- e. g.
- exempli gratia.
- Engl.
- English.
- f.
- feminine.
- gen.
- genitive.
- Germ.
- German.
- gl.
- glossary.
- Gr.
- Greek.
- Hel.
- Heliand.
- Icel.
- Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
- id.
- idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation
- l.
- line.
- m.
- masculine.
- mid. H. G.
- middle High German.
- mod.
- modern.
- n.
- neuter.
- q. v.
- quod vide.
- S.
- Saga.
- v.
- vide.
- v. l.
- varia lectio.
- pl.
- plural.
- pr.
- proper, properly.
Works & Authors cited:
- Edda
- Edda. (C. I.)
- Eg.
- Egils Saga. (D. II.)
- Fagrsk.
- Fagrskinna. (K. I.)
- Fas.
- Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)
- Fb.
- Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)
- Fms.
- Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
- Gm.
- Grímnis-mál. (A. I.)
- Hálfs S.
- Hálfs Saga. (C. II.)
- Hým.
- Hýmis-kviða. (A. I.)
- Jómsv. S.
- Jómsvíkinga Saga. (E. I.)
- Korm.
- Kormaks Saga. (D. II.)
- Lex. Poët.
- Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.
- Lv.
- Ljósvetninga Saga. (D. II.)
- Nj.
- Njála. (D. II.)
- Vþm.
- Vafþrúðnis-mál. (A. I.)
- Völs. S.
- Völsunga Saga. (C. II.)
- Al.
- Alexanders Saga. (G. I.)
- Skáld H.
- Skáld Helga-rímur. (A. III.)
- Sks.
- Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)