BA016 Viking Words in English

baðir

Words umboðsmaðrof Viking husbondi vindauga Origin rangr heiðinn berserkr in the skulle gæslingr English knifr tjörn Language hreindyri skaða

rannsaka bylög

Viking words in English.indd 1

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Viking words in English.indd 2

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The Old Norse spoken by the Vikings was, in many ways, very similar to the Old English of the Anglo-Saxons. Both languages are from the same Germanic family and could be considered as distant but related dialects. The myth is that, rather like the Breton onion seller and the Welsh customer, an Anglo-Saxon could basically understand a Viking when the two met.

This closeness of language makes the identification of Scandinavian elements in English a difficult task, but there are areas where the Vikings certainly had an impact on English. Some of these are quite surprising because they are words that we take for granted nowadays.

Perhaps the best known words that often come from Old Norse are those which, like place names, begin with sk-, such as ‘sky’ and ‘skin’. Other words from Old Norse are to do with law and legal proceedings, such as ‘hustings’, ‘wrong’ and the word ‘law’ itself (Old Norse lagu, Old English æ).

These types of words illustrate the influence that the Vikings had in the setting up of a legal system in the Danelaw. The way that these words gradually filtered into English shows the importance of this aspect of the Viking settlements.

A

aloft

á + lopt (=air, atmosphere, sky, heaven, upper floor, loft)

anger

angr (= trouble, affliction); root ang (= strait, straitened, troubled); related to anga, plural öngur (= straits, anguish)

bait

beita[10]

ball

bǫllr (= round object)

band

band (= rope)

bark

bǫrkr

bask

baðask reflex. of baða “bathe” (baðast, baða sig)

berserk

berserkr, lit. ‘bear-shirt’, (alt. berr-serkr, ‘bare-shirt’) frenzied warriors

awkward the first element is from Old Norse öfugr (= turnedbackward), the ‘-ward’ part is from Old English weard

billow

bylgja

birth

byrðr

bleak

bleikr (= pale)

axle

blunder

blundra (= shut one’s eye)

both

baðir

bug

búkr (= insect within tree trunks)

awe

agi (= terror)

are

merger of Old English (earun, earon) and Old Norse (er) cognates

öxl (= ox tree)

B

bag

baggi

bulk

bulki

bairn

barn (= child)

bull

boli

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bylaw

C

bylög (‘by’= village; ‘lög’=law; ‘village-law’)

cake

kaka (= cake)

call

kalla (= cry loudly)

cast

kasta (= to throw)

clip

klippa (= to cut)

club

klubba (= cudgel)

crawl

krafla (= to claw)

crook

krokr (= hook-shaped instrument or weapon)

cur

kurra (= to growl)

D

die

deyja (= pass away)

dirt

drit (= feces)

dregs

dregg (= sediment)

E

egg

egg (= egg)

F

fellow

felagi

flat

flatr

flit

flytja (= cause to fit)

fog

from Old Norse fok through Danish fog, meaning “spray”, “shower”, “snowdrift”

forcasten forkasta (= to cast away, reject) freckle

G

gad

gaddr (= rod, long stick)

gap

gap (= chasm)

garth

garðr (= garden)

gauntlet vǫttr (= armored glove)(“let” denotes “little”) gawk

from Middle English gawen, from Old Norse ga (= to heed)

get

geta, gat (> got), gittan (> gotten)

geyser

from Icelandic geysir, from Old Norse geysa (= to gush)

gift

gift (= dowry)

girth

gjörð (= circumference, cinch)

give

gefa (= to give)

glitter

glitra (= to glitter)

gosling

gæslingr (= goose)

guest

gestr (= guest)

gun

from Old Norse Gunnhildr (female name, both elements of the name, gunn and hildr, have the meaning “war, battle”)

gust

gustr (= gust)

H

haggle

haggen (= to chop)

hail

heill (= health, prosperity, good luck)

happy

happ (= chance, good luck, fate)

heathen

heiðinn (= not Christian or Jewish)

freknur (= freckles)

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Hell

May be in part from Old Norse Hel, the daughter of Loki and ruler of the underworld in Norse mythology

hit

hitta (= to find)

how

haugr (= barrow, small hill) Usage preserved mainly in place names

husband husbondi (= master of the house) hustings husthing (= house + thing, assembly)

I

ill

illr (= bad)

irk

yrkja (= to work)

K

keel

kjóll

kid

kið (= young goat)

knife

knifr

knot

knutr

L

loft

lopt (= an upper room or floor : attic, air, sky)

loose

lauss (= loose/free)

low

lagr

M

mire

myrr (= bog)

mistake

mistaka (= miscarry)

muck

myki (= cow dung)

mug

mugge

muggy

mugga (= drizzle, mist)

O

oaf

alfr (= elf)

odd

oddi (= third number, the casting vote)

Odin

Óðinn

ombudsman from Old Norse umboðsmaðr through Swedish ombudsman, meaning “commissary”, “representative”, “steward” outlaw

lad

ladd (= young man)

lathe

hlaða (= to load)

law

lagu

leg

leggr

likely

líkligr

link

hlenkr

litmus

litmose (= lichen for dying, lita = to stain)

loan

lán (= to lend)

Viking words in modern English

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utlagi

P

plough

R

plogr

race

rás (= to race, to run, to rush, “to move swift)

raft

raptr (= log )

raise

reisa

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ransack

rannsaka (= to search thoroughly)

reindeer hreindyri rid

rythja (= to clear land)

rive

rífa (= to scratch, plow, tear)

root

rót

rotten

rotinn (= decayed)

rugged

rogg (= shaggy tuft)

run

renna (= to run)

S

saga

saga (= story, tale)

sale

sala

same

same, samr (= same)

scale

(for weighing) from skal (= bowl, drinking cup, or in plural “weighing scale” referring to the cup or pan part of a balance) in early English used to mean “cup”

seat

sæti (= seat, position)

seem

sœma (= to conform)

shake

skaka (= to shake)

skate

skata (= fish)

skid

probably from or related to Old Norse skið (= stick of wood) and related to ski (= stick of wood”, or in this sense “snowshoe”)

skill

skil (= distinction)

skin

skinn (= animal hide)

skip

skopa (= to skip, run)

skirt

skyrta (= shirt)

skull

skulle (= head)

sky

ský (= cloud)

slant

sletta, slenta (= to throw carelessly)

slaughter slahtr (= butchering) slaver

slafra (= slaver)

sledge

sleggja (= sledgehammer)

sleight

slœgð

sleuth

sloð (= trail)

scant

skamt & skammr (= short, lacking)

scare

skirra (= to frighten)

sly

sloegr (= cunning, crafty, sly)

scarf

skarfr (= fastening joint) (interestingly, “scarf” and “scarves” have been reintroduced to modern Swedish in their English forms)

snare

snara (= noose, snare)

snub

snubba (= to curse)

sprint

spretta (= to jump up)

stagger

stakra (= to push)

stain

steina (= to paint)

scathe

skaða (= to hurt, injure)

score

skor (= notch; twenty)

scrape

skrapa (= to scrape, erase)

scrap

skrap (= scraps, trifles) from skrapa

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stammer stemma (= to hinder, damn up) steak

steik, steikja (= to fry)

sting

stinga (= to sting)

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sway

sveigja (= to bend, swing, give way)

T

take

taka

tarn

tjörn, tjarn

their

þierra

they

þeir

thorp

þorp

though

from Old English þēah, and in part from Old Norse þó (= though)

thrall

þræll

Thursday Þorsdagr (= Thor’s day) thrift

þrift (= prosperity)

thrust

þrysta (= to thrust, force)

thwart

þvert (= across)

tidings

tíðindi (= news of events)

tight

þéttr (= watertight, close in texture, solid)

till

til (= to, until)

troll

troll (= giant, fiend, demon; further etymology is disputed)

trust

traust (= help, confidence)

U

ugly

uggligr (= dreadful)

until

from Old Norse und (= as far as, up to) and til (= until, up to)

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V

valley

vǫllr (= field)

viking

vikingr (= one who came from the fjords)

W

wale

val (= choice)

wand

vondr (= rod)

want

vanta (= to lack)

weak

veikr (= weak, pliant)

whirl

hvirfla (= to go around)

whisk

viska (= to plait)

wight

vigr (= able in battle)

wile

vél (= trick, craft, fraud)

window vindauga (= wind-eye) - although gluggi was more commonly used in Old Norse wing

vængr (= a wing)

wrong

rangr (= crooked, wry, wrong)

Y

yule

jol (A heathen feast upon the winter solstice, later appropriated

by Christianity)

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Viking place names in England There are four main categories of Viking place names in England.

• Place names ending in -by, such as Selby or Whitby. These -by endings are generally places where the Vikings settled first. In Yorkshire there are 210 -by place names. The -by has passed into English as ‘by-law’ meaning the local law of the town or village.

• Place names ending in -thorpe, such as Scunthorpe. The -thorpe names are connected with secondary settlement, where the settlements were on the margins or on poor lands. There are 155 place names ending in -thorpe in Yorkshire.

• Place names as a mixture of Anglo-Saxon and Viking words. These are known as ‘Grimston hybrids’, because -ton is an Anglo-Saxon word meaning town or village, and Grim is a Viking name. The idea is that a Viking took over an Anglo-Saxon place and called it after himself. (Women’s names are very rare in place names).

There are 50 ‘Grimston hybrid’ names in Yorkshire.

• Changes in pronunciation. The Anglo-Saxon place name Shipton was difficult for the Vikings to say, so it became Skipton.

Viking infuenced place names Name

First Element (Meaning)

Second Element (Meaning)

Full Meaning

Allithwaite

Eilifr (Eilifr)

Thwaite (Meadow)

Eilifr’s Meadow

Annaside

Einarr (Einarr)

Side (Sheiling)

Einarr’s Sheiling

Arnabost

Arna (Arni’s)

Bost (Homestead)

Arni’s Settlement

Asgardby

Asgard (Asgar)

By (Homestead)

Asgar’s Homestead

Askam

Askum (Ash Trees)

Place of Ash Trees

Askival

Aski (Ash)

Val (Valley)

Valley of Ashes

Bagshot Heath

Bag (Animal)

Shot (Corner)

Corner for Animals

Barham

Bar (Bear)

Ham (Village)

Bear Village

Beaumont

Beau (Fine)

Mont (Hill)

Beautiful Hill

Beckingham

Becking (Becca)

Ham (Village)

Becca’s Village

Ben Loyal

Ben (Mountain)

Loyal (Law)

Lawmakers Hill

Bernisdale

Bernis (Bjorn or Bear)

Dale (Valley)

Bjorn’s or Bear’s Valley

Braedownie

Brae (Broad Neck)

Downie (Hill)

Broad and Hilly Neck of land

Brigsteer

Brig (Bridge)

Styr (Styr)

Styr’s Bridge

Busbridge

Bus (Shrub)

Bridge (Bridge)

Bridge with Shrubs

Caldbergh

Cald (Cold)

Bergh (Hill)

Cold Hill

Cantsfield

Cant (Cant)

Feld (Field)

Field nr River Cant

Carleton

Karla (Free Men)

Ton (Town)

Town of the Free Men

Cawdor

Caw (Cool or Hazel)

Dor (Valley)

Cool or Hazel Valley

Cawston

Caws (Kalf)

Ton (Town)

Kalf’s Town

Clarborough

Clar (Clover)

Borough (Town)

Town where Clover Grows

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Name

First Element (Meaning)

Second Element (Meaning)

Claughton

Klakkr (Small Hill)

Ton (Town)

Town on a Small Hill

Clitheroe

Kliora (Song Thrush)

Haugr (Hill)

Hill of Song Thrush

Coleby

Cole (Koli)

By (Homestead)

Koli’s Homestead

Copmanthorpe

Copman (Chapman)

Thorpe (Farm)

Farm of Chapmen

Corby Glen

Corby (Kor’s Town)

Glen (Valley)

Valley near Kori’s Town

Crownthorpe

Crown (Crooked Tree)

Thorpe (Farm)

Farm near Crooked Trees

Dembleby

Demble (Ravine)

By (Homestead)

Homestead by Ravine

Dounie

Dounie (Hill)

Hill

Durham

Dun (Hill)

Holm (Island)

Island with a Hill

Faceby

Face (Fat)

By (Homestead)

At One’s” Home

Fishguard

Fiskp (Fish)

Gardr (Yard)

Yard for Fish

Formby

Forni (Forni)

By (Homestead)

Forni’s Homestead

Garrigill

Gerard (Gerard)

Gill (Valley)

Gerard’s Valley

Goathland

Goath (Goda/good)

Land (Land)

God’s Land/goodland

Grimethorpe

Grim (Grim)

Thorp (Village)

Grim’s Village

Haverigg

Hafri (Oats)

Hryggr (Ridge)

Ridge where Oats are Grown

Hawksworth

Hawks (Hafoc)

Worth (Village)

Hafoc’s Village

Hilderthorpe

Hilder (Hildiger)

Thorpe (Farm)

Hildiger’s Farm

Holdenby

Holden (Halfdan)

By (Village)

Halfdan’s Village

Immingham

Imming (Imma)

Ham (Village)

Village Of Imma’s People

Keswick

Kesewic (Cheese Farm)

Kexby

Kex (Ketil)

By (Homestead)

Ketil’s Homestead

Kilmorack

Kil (Church)

Morack (St. Morac)

Church of St.morac

Leirinmore

Leirin

More (Mountain)

Loch Brittle

Loch (Lake)

Brittle (Broad Dale)

Lake In Broad Dale

Lofthouse

Lofthus (House With Loft)

House With an Upper Storey

Luddington

Ludding (Luda)

Ton (Town)

Town Of Luda’s People

Lusby

Lus (Lut’s)

By (Village)

Lut’s Village

Malham

Maljen (Gravel)

Place with Gravel Soils

Melfort

Mel (Sandbank)

Fort (Bay)

Bay With Sandbank

Methwold

Meth (Middle)

Wold (Wood)

Middle Wood

Nateby

Nate (Nate)

By (Homestead)

Nate’s Homestead

Nethybridge

Nethy (Mixies)

Bridge (Bridge)

Bridge of Mixies

Newby

Neowa (New)

By (Homestead)

New Homestead

Norwick

Nor (Northern)

Wick (Inlet)

Northern Inlet

Oldham

Old (Old)

Holme (House)

Old House

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Full Meaning

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Name

First Element (Meaning)

Second Element (Meaning)

Ormskirk

Orm (Orm)

Kirk (Church)

Orm’s Church

Papa Stour

Papa (Priest)

Stour (Great)

Great Isle of Priest

Ravenfield

Raven (Raven or Hraefn)

Field (Field)

Raven’s/hraefn’s Field

Ravenscar

Raven (Raven)

Scar (Rock)

Raven’s Rock

Rawcliffe

Raw (Red)

Cliffe (Slopes/cliff)

Red Cliffs

Scarborough

Scar (Scarth’s)

Borough (Town)

Scarth’s Town

Scargill

Skrake (Merganser)

Gill (Valley)

Merganser Valley

Sedbergh

Set (Flat)

Berg (Hill)

Flat topped Hill

Shawbost

Shaw (Sea)

Bost (Place)

Sea Settlement

Skirlaugh

Skir (Shire)

Laugh (Glade)

Glade belonging to Shire

Skokholm

Stokkr (Channel)

Holm (Island)

Island In The Channel

Stainfield

Stain (Stony)

Field (Field)

Stony Field

Stanghow

Stang (Pole)

How (Hill)

Hill Boundary Mark

Stowbridge

Stow (Place)

Bridge (Bridge)

Place with Bridge

Susworth

Sus (Southern)

Worth (Village)

Southern Village

Swansea

Sveinn (Sveinn)

Sea (Place)

Sveinn’s Place

Sydenham

Syden (Cippa)

Ham (Town)

Cippa’s Town

Thirlby

Thirl (Serf)

By (Homestead)

Homestead of Serfs

Tholthorpe

Thol (Thorulf)

Thorpe (Farm)

Thorulf’s Farm

Thorgill

Thor (Thorald’s)

Gill (Valley)

Thorald’s Valley

Thurso

Thurso (Bull River)

Bull River

Tithby

Tith (Tith)

By (Homestead)

Tith’s Homestead

Ugadale

Uga (Owl)

Dale (Valley)

Owl’s Valley

Utterby

Utter (Outer)

By (Village)

Outer Village

Walney

Vogn (Grampus)

Eg (Island)

Grampus Island

Westerdale

Wester (Western)

Dale (Valley)

Western Valley

West Ray

West (West)

Ray (Island)

Western Island

Wetherby

Wether (Sheep)

By (Farm)

Sheep Farm

Winscales

Win (Wind)

Scali (Shelter)

Shelter against wind

Wroxham

Wrox (Wroc)

Ham (Village)

Wroc’s Village

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Full Meaning

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Viking words in modern English

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