Tunga

Meaning of Old Norse word "tunga"

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

Old Norse word tunga can mean:tunga

tunga

u, f., gen. pl. tungna; [Goth. tuggo; common to all Teut. languages; cp. Lat. lingua]:—a tongue, Sól. 44, Grág. ii 11, passim: metaph. usages, hraðmælt tunga, Hm. 28; skæðar tungur, evil tongues, Nj. 264; hafa tungu fyrir e-m, to have tongue for a person, be the spokesman, Fms. vi. 223; harðr í tungu, Hallfred; skáldskapr var honum svá tiltækr, at hann kvað af tungu fram sem annað mál, Ó. H. 171; hann sá eld mikinn í tungna líkjum, Hom. 91; lof-tunga, ‘praise-tongue,’ flatterer, a nickname.

tunga

2. sayings; tunga er höfuðs-bani, ‘tongue is head’s bane,’ is the ruin of a man, Hm. 72; e-t leikr á tveim tungum, n. G. l. i. 211 (see leika II. 4); tungan leikr við tanna sar, the tongue touches sores of the teeth, Mkv.; hann hefir tönn og tungu á öllu, of a ready tongue; gæti hann, at honum vefisk eigi tungan um hófuð, let him beware lest his tongue winds round his head, i. e. let him beware of loose talk, (a long tongue being = inconsiderate tongue that works evil), Nj. 160, Þorst. Síðu H. 178; also, e-m vefsk tunga um tönn, to be disconcerted: a person endowed with poetical gifts is believed to have a tongue longer than other men (the tongue-tip reaching to the nostrils), Ísl. Þjóðs. ii. 557; to this refers the legend of Hallbjörn hali, síðan togar hann á honum tunguna, ok kvað vísu þessa, then be stretched his tongue and said, Fb. i. 215; on the other hand, of words spoken in an evil hour, it is said that fiends have stretched (pulled) a man’s tongue, troll toga tungu ór höfði e-m (see troll): in nursery talk, swearing is said to leave a black spot on the tongue, blótaðu ekki, það kemr svartr blettr á tunguna á þér!

tunga

II. a tongue, language; Dönsk tunga, the Danish (Norse) tongue, see Danskr; tungan er vér köllum Norrænu, Fms. xi. 412; vitr maðr ok kunni margar tungur, 298; þar eru tungur sjau ok tuttugu, 414; hverega tungu er maðr skal ríta annarrar tungu stöfum, þá verðr sumra stafa vant, af því at eigi finnsk þat hljóð í tungunni sem stafirnir hafa þeir er af ganga, … nú eptir þeirra dæmum, alls vér erum einnar tungu, … or vóru teknir þeir (stafir) er eigi gegna atkvæðum várrar tungu, Thorodd; ein var þá tunga á Englandi, sem í Noregi ok í Danmörku, en þá skiptusk tungur í Englandi er Vilhjálmr bastarðr vann England, Ísl. ii. 221; Danskir, Sœnskir eða Norrænir ór þeirra konunga veldi þriggja er vár tunga er … af öllum tungum öðrum enn af Danskri tungu, Grág. ii. 72; tungna-grein, tungna-skipti, division of tongues, Stj.

tunga

III. metaph. of tongue-formed things, a tongue of land at the meeting of two rivers (= Gr. μεσοποταμία); í tungu einni milli gilja tveggja, Valla l. 223, Sd. 141; Önundr nam tungu alla milli Hvítár ok Reykjadalsár, Landn. 60; frá Flókadalsár-ósi til Reykja-dalsár-óss, ok tungu þá alla er þar var á milli, Eg. 186; very freq. in Icel, local names, Tunga, Tungur, Tungna-jökull, Tungna-fell, Tungu-á, Tungu-heiðr, Hróars-tunga, Biskups-tungur, Stafholts-tungur, Skaptár-tunga, Landn., map of Icel.: Tungu-goði, a, m. a nickname: Tungu-menn, m. pl. men from T., Landn., Sturl.

tunga

2. the tongue of a balance, in tungu-pundari; in the poets, a sword is slíðr-tunga, hjalta-tunga, slither-tongue, hilt-tongue, and the like, Lex. Poët.

tunga

B. COMPDS: tungubragð, tungufimi, tunguhapt, tunguhvass, tungulauss, tungumjúkr, tunguníð, tungupundari, tungurætr, tungnaskipti, tunguskorinn, tunguskæði, tunguskæðr, tungusnjallr, tungusótt, tungusætr, tunguvarp.

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