Jökull
Old Norse Dictionary - jökull
Meaning of Old Norse word "jökull" (or jǫkull)
As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:
Old Norse word jökull can mean:jökull
- jökull (jǫkull)
- m., dat. jökli, pl. jöklar, prop. a dimin. from jaki, q. v.; [A. S. gicel, i. e. îs-gicel, whence Engl. icicle; Low Germ. jokel]:—an icicle; gékk inn í sal, glumdu jöklar, var karls er kom kinnskógr frörinn, Hým. 10, of the icicles in the giant’s beard; síðan tóku þeir jöklana ok bræddu, FmS. ix. 155: so also in poët. phrases, where silver is called jökull handar or mund-jökull, the icicle of the hand, Hallfred, Lex. poët.: as also böðvar-j., the war-icicle = the sword, or sár-j., the wound-icicle, see Lex. poët.
- jökull (jǫkull)
- II. a metaph. sense, ice, gener.; vatnið snýsk í jökul, SkS. 196; settu þeir þat upp með öllum sjánum sem í var ok jöklinum, en þat var mjök sýlt, i. e. they launched the ship with all the ice in it, Grett. 125: snjór ok jökull, SkS. jökla-gangr, m. an ice-drift, Grett. 132 new Ed.
- jökull (jǫkull)
- 2. in specific Icel. sense, a glacier; this sense the Icelanders probably derived from the Norse county Hardanger, which is the only county of Norway in which Jökul appears as a local name, see Munch’s Norg. Beskr.; in Icel. it is used all over the country both as an appellative and in local names, whereas the primitive sense (icicle) is quite lost, FS., Fb., Eg. 133, Nj. 208, passim.
- jökull (jǫkull)
- 3. in local names, Ball-jökull, Eyjafjalla-j., Snæfells-j., Vatna-j., Mýrdals-j., Öræfa-j., Dranga-j., Langi-j., Eireks-j., etc., see the map of Icel.; the glaciers of the Icel. colony in Greenland are also called jökuls: of rivers, Jökuls-á, f. Ice-water; Jökuls-dalr, m. Ice-water-dale; Jökla-menn, m. pl. the men from the county Jökul (i. e. Snæfells-jökull), Sturl. ii. 158; Jöklamanna-búð and goðorð, see búð and goðorð.
Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, jökull may be more accurately written as jǫkull.
Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛁᚢᚴᚢᛚᛚ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements
Abbreviations used:
- A. S.
- Anglo-Saxon.
- dat.
- dative.
- dimin.
- diminutive.
- Engl.
- English.
- Germ.
- German.
- gl.
- glossary.
- i. e.
- id est.
- l.
- line.
- m.
- masculine.
- n.
- neuter.
- pl.
- plural.
- poët.
- poetically.
- prop.
- proper, properly.
- q. v.
- quod vide.
- S.
- Saga.
- v.
- vide.
- gener.
- generally.
- metaph.
- metaphorical, metaphorically.
- Icel.
- Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
- etc.
- et cetera.
- f.
- feminine.
Works & Authors cited:
- Fms.
- Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
- Hým.
- Hýmis-kviða. (A. I.)
- Lex. Poët.
- Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.
- Grett.
- Grettis Saga. (D. II.)
- Sks.
- Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)
- Eg.
- Egils Saga. (D. II.)
- Fb.
- Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)
- Fs.
- Forn-sögur. (D. II.)
- Nj.
- Njála. (D. II.)
- Sturl.
- Sturlunga Saga. (D. I.)