Húfr

Meaning of Old Norse word "húfr"

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

Old Norse word húfr can mean:húfr

húfr

m., an older form hófr, Fms. i. 176 (in a verse), as also in hófregin (q. v.), and in the phrase, eiga mikið í hófi (below):—the hulk or hull of a ship; hann þrífr upp fork ok rekr út í húfinn á skipi þeirra, hann færði forkinn í þann húf skipsins er seglit hafði ofan farit ok seglit hallaðisk áðr, Fær. 165; upp í naustið ok settu undir húfinn á skipi Orms, Ísl. ii. 81; kjöl eða stafna, húf eða hálsa, n. G. l. i. 100, freq. in Lex. Poët.; skeiðar-húfr, a ship’s hull, Arnór; stíga fyrir húf, to go overboard, Jd.; hafskips húfar, Fms. vi. (in a verse); héldir húfar, the frosted ships, Jd.; skörum hveldr húfr, Arnór; svelldr húfr; breið-húfaðr, broad-hulled.

húfr

COMPDS: húflangr, hófregin.

húfr

II. metaph. phrases, vera heill á hófi, to be ‘hale in hull,’ i. e. to be safe and sound; eiga mikit í hófi (húfi), to own much in a ship, to have much at stake, metaph. of a merchant.

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