Kván

Old Norse Dictionary - kván

Meaning of Old Norse word "kván"

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

Old Norse word kván can mean:kván

kván
f. (kvæn, LS. 26, 56, Þkv. 8, Am. 6, Gkv. 3. 7), [see kona; Goth. quêns; A. S. cwên; Engl. queen; Scot. quean; Hel. quân]:—a wife, but never used in the general sense = a woman; an obsolete and poetical word, a ‘queen,’ wife, nú færit mér Freyju at kván, Þkv. 22; honum var brúðr at kván of kveðin, Fsm. 42, 46; svá beið hann sinnar kvánar, Vkv. 5; kván frjá sína, Skv. 3. 8; Héðins kván, the queen of Hedin = Hilda, Korm. 4, Ó. H. (in a verse); Óðs kván, the queen of Od, Hkr. i. (in a verse); kván Niðuðar, N.’s queen, Vkv. 28; bróðir hans kvanar = his wife’s brother, brother-in-law, Am. 28; ok kynvið kvánar minnar, Stor. 20: plur. kvánir, Skv. 3. 14; bið kván, a beloved wife, Lex. Poët.; ósk-kván, id.; Viðris kvæn, Odin’s wife, LS. 26; Byggvis kvæn, 56; kvæn konungs, a king’s queen, Gkv. 3. 7; nema færi mér Freyju at kvæn, Þkv. 8, but kván, 11, 22; kvæn var hón Högna, Am. 6.
kván
COMPDS: kvánarefni, kvánarmál, kvánarmundr.

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

Abbreviations used:

A. S.
Anglo-Saxon.
Engl.
English.
f.
feminine.
gl.
glossary.
Goth.
Gothic.
Hel.
Heliand.
id.
idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation
l.
line.
m.
masculine.
plur.
plural.
S.
Saga.
Scot.
Scottish.
v.
vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Am.
Atla-mál. (A. II.)
Fsm.
Fjölsvinns-mál. (A. II.)
Gkv.
Guðrúnar-kviða. (A. II.)
Hkr.
Heimskringla. (E. I.)
Korm.
Kormaks Saga. (D. II.)
Lex. Poët.
Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.
Ls.
Loka-senna. (A. I.)
Ó. H.
Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)
Skv.
Sigurðar-kviða. (A. II.)
Stor.
Sona-torrek. (A. III.)
Vkv.
Völundar-kviða. (A. II.)
Þkv.
Þryms-kviða. (A. I.)
➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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