Spjörr

Meaning of Old Norse word "spjörr" (or spjǫrr)

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

Old Norse word spjörr can mean:spjörr

spjörr (spjǫrr)

f., only in pl. spjarrar, mod. spjarir:—swathing-bands, used instead of hose or stockings; Auðr kona þín er í brókum ok vafit spjörrum mjök í skúa niðr, A. thy wife dresses in breeks (like a man), winding swathes round her legs almost down to the shoes, Ld. 136; hvítar brækr ok vafit at neðan spjörrum, því var hann vaf-spjarra Grímr kallaðr, swathing the legs (instead of stockings), for which he was called ‘swaddle-leg’ Gullþ. 14.

spjörr (spjǫrr)

2. mod. a rag, tatter; þat sem áðr er slitið ok at spjörum orðit, Fas. iii. 7: the phrase, spyrja e-n ór spjörunum, to examine one without his hose on, i. e. to strip and examine him closely, Snót: in mod. usage also sing., hann á ekki eina spjör, not a scrap of clothing on his back.

Orthography: The Cleasby & Vigfusson book used letter ö to represent the original Old Norse vowel ǫ. Therefore, spjörr may be more accurately written as spjǫrr.

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