Mús
Old Norse Dictionary - mús
Meaning of Old Norse word "mús"
As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:
Old Norse word mús can mean:mús
- mús
- f., pl. mýss, acc. mýs, mod. mýs; [A. S. mûs, pl. mýs; Engl. mouse, pl. mice; O. H. G. mûs; Germ. maus, pl. mäuser; Dan. muus; Lat. mus; Gr. μυς]:—a mouse, H. E. i. 482, Al. 169, Stj. 23; spilltu mýss kornum ok ökrum, var þar víða jörð hol ok full af músum, BS. i. 293; mús hljóp áðan á kinn mér, FS. 140; sér köttrinn músina? Ísl. ii. 309; svá hræddr sem mús í skreppu, FmS. vii. 21; hlaupa hingat ok þangat sem mýss í holur, viii. 39; veiða mýs, to catch mice; mýss svá stórar sem kettir, Ó. H. 109 (rats?); þá sá hann mýs tvær aðra hvíta en aðra svarta, Barl. 56; mýss Valkar, Welsh mice, strange mice = rats, FmS. xi. 279; whence mod. Icel. valska, q. v.; flæðar-mús, skógar-mús, a wood-mouse, mus sylvaticus, Eggert Itin.: allit., maðr og mús, thus in Danish if a ship is lost, ‘med mand og muus,’ i. e. with all hands. In tales mice are said to pass over rivers on cakes of cow-dung (skán), steering with their tails, see Eggert Itin. ch. 329, and Ísl. ÞjóðS., which reminds one of the witch who sails ‘like a rat without a tail’ in Shakespeare’s Macbeth. For the fabulous tales of wizards keeping a flæðar-mús that it may always provide them with money see Maurer’s VolkS.; when the wizard dies, the mouse breaks loose into the sea and a tempest arises, called Músar-bylr, mouse-tempest; that a similar superstition existed in olden times may be inferred from the name Músa-Bölverkr, Landn.
- mús
- 2. the name of a mouse-gray young cow, Ísl. ii. 401.
- mús
- COMPDS: músarbragð, músarbróðir, músarrindill, músareyra, músagangr, músagildra.
- mús
- B. Metaph. the biceps muscle in the arm; þá flaug ör ein ok kom í hönd Hákoni konungi upp í músina fyrir neðan öxl, Hkr. i. 159; kom ein ör í handlegginn í músina, BS. i. 781: mûs in A. S. and O. H. G. is used in a similar sense; cp. also Lat. musculus = a little mouse, whence muscle: the chief muscles of the body were named from lively animals, thus fiskr of the cheek (kinn-fiskr), mús of the arm, kálfi (calf) of the leg.
Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛘᚢᛋ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements
Abbreviations used:
- acc.
- accusative.
- allit.
- alliteration, alliterative.
- A. S.
- Anglo-Saxon.
- ch.
- chapter.
- Dan.
- Danish.
- Engl.
- English.
- f.
- feminine.
- Germ.
- German.
- gl.
- glossary.
- Gr.
- Greek.
- Icel.
- Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
- i. e.
- id est.
- l.
- line.
- Lat.
- Latin.
- lit.
- literally.
- m.
- masculine.
- mod.
- modern.
- n.
- neuter.
- O. H. G.
- Old High German.
- pl.
- plural.
- q. v.
- quod vide.
- S.
- Saga.
- v.
- vide.
- cp.
- compare.
Works & Authors cited:
- Al.
- Alexanders Saga. (G. I.)
- Barl.
- Barlaams Saga. (F. III.)
- Bs.
- Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)
- Fms.
- Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
- Fs.
- Forn-sögur. (D. II.)
- H. E.
- Historia Ecclesiastica Islandiae. (J. I.)
- Itin.
- Itinerarium or Travels of Eggert Ólafsson, 1772.
- Ísl. Þjóðs.
- Íslenzkar Þjóðsögur.
- Landn.
- Landnáma. (D. I.)
- Ó. H.
- Ólafs Saga Helga. (E. I.)
- Stj.
- Stjórn. (F. I.)
- Hkr.
- Heimskringla. (E. I.)