Vargr
Old Norse Dictionary - vargr
Meaning of Old Norse word "vargr"
As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:
Old Norse word vargr can mean:vargr
- vargr
- m. [A. S. wearg; Hel. warag; the root-word is preserved in Germ. er-würgen, whence virgull, q. v., and Engl. worry; vargr and úlfr are said to be from the same root]:—a wolf; berr björn, bítr vargr, N. G. l. i. 341; riða á vargi, Hkv. Hjörv.; trollkona sat á vargi, FmS. vi. 403; marga varga, Nj. 95; vaða vargar með úlfum, a saying, FaS. i. 11; sem menn viðast varga reka (prop. allit. varga vreka), as wide as wolves are hunted, Grág.: sem vargr í sauða-dun, Sd. 164: poët. of any beast of prey, varga vinr, Hkv. 1. 6 (of ravens); hann barg fjörvi varga, Vellekla: the saying, sjaldan vægir vargrinn, the wolf spares not; vargarnir etask þar til er at halanum kemr, Band.; vargs-hamr, -hár, -hold, a wolf’s skin, hair, flesh, Str. 32, FaS. i. 199, FmS. i. 273; vargs-líki, -rödd, Edda 8, FaS. i. 130; varga flokkr, a flock of wolves, iii. 77; varga matr, i. 139; varga-þytr, a howling of wolves, 205: varga leifar, a ‘wolf’s homestead’(see leif), i. e. the wood, the wilderness, Gkv. 2. 11: in Icel. vargr is used of the fox.
- vargr
- II. a law phrase, metaph. an outlaw, who is to be hunted down as a wolf, esp. used of one who commits a crime in a holy place, and is thereon declared accursed; hann hafði vegit í véum ok var hann vargr orðinn, Eg. 259; vargr í véum, a wolf in the sanctuary, FmS. xi. 40 (goð-vargr): also of a truce-breaker, hann skal svá víða v. heita sem veröld er bygð, Grág. (cp. grið-vargr); armr er vára vargr, Sdm.; eyða vörgum, to destroy miscreants, FmS. xi. (in a verse); úvísa-vargr, see p. 667.
- vargr
- 2. in mod. usage, a violent, ill-tempered person; hón er mesti vargr, a fury of a woman; geð-vargr, skap-vargr, a fury: poët. compds, varg-fæðandi, -fæðir, -hollr, -nistir, -teitir, a feeder, … cheerer of the wolf, i. e. a warrior, Lex. poët.
Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚢᛅᚱᚴᚱ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements
Abbreviations used:
- allit.
- alliteration, alliterative.
- A. S.
- Anglo-Saxon.
- Engl.
- English.
- Germ.
- German.
- gl.
- glossary.
- Hel.
- Heliand.
- Icel.
- Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
- i. e.
- id est.
- l.
- line.
- L.
- Linnæus.
- lit.
- literally.
- m.
- masculine.
- poët.
- poetically.
- prop.
- proper, properly.
- q. v.
- quod vide.
- S.
- Saga.
- v.
- vide.
- cp.
- compare.
- esp.
- especially.
- metaph.
- metaphorical, metaphorically.
- mod.
- modern.
Works & Authors cited:
- Band.
- Banda-manna Saga. (D. II.)
- Edda
- Edda. (C. I.)
- Fas.
- Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)
- Fms.
- Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
- Gkv.
- Guðrúnar-kviða. (A. II.)
- Grág.
- Grágás. (B. I.)
- Hkv.
- Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)
- Hkv. Hjörv.
- Helga-kviða Hjörvarðssonar. (A. II.)
- N. G. L.
- Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)
- Nj.
- Njála. (D. II.)
- Sd.
- Svarfdæla Saga. (D. II.)
- Str.
- Strengleikar. (G. II.)
- Eg.
- Egils Saga. (D. II.)
- Sdm.
- Sigrdrífu-mál. (A. II.)
- Lex. Poët.
- Lexicon Poëticum by Sveinbjörn Egilsson, 1860.