Nefst

Meaning of Old Norse word "nefst"

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

nefst

f. (nepst), [Swed. näfst], a penalty, chastisement; undir Heilagrar kirkju nefst ok refsing, Munk. 72, D. n. v. 785: en er verra, þat er vita þykkjumk, niðja stríð um nept, my mind bodes me still worse things, a sore retribution to thy sons (a bitter fratricidal strife), Skv. 2. 8, for this must be the true sense of this contested passage; nept for nepst may be right by analogy of heipt and heipst; the word is altogether obsolete in Iceland, but is still in use in Sweden.

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