birna

From Old Norse birna, from Proto-Germanic *bernijǭ, from *berô.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪrtna/

  Rhymes: -ɪrtna

  Homophone: Birna

birna f (genitive singular birnu, nominative plural birnur)

1. female bear, she-bear
   • 2 Kings 2:23-24 (English and Icelandic)

     Þaðan hélt hann til Betel. Og er hann gekk upp veginn, gengu smásveinar út úr borginni, hæddu hann og kölluðu til hans: „Kom hingað, skalli! Kom hingað, skalli!“ Sneri hann sér þá við, og er hann sá þá, formælti hann þeim í nafni Drottins. Þá komu tvær birnur út úr skóginum og rifu í sundur fjörutíu og tvo af drengjunum.

     From there Elisha went up to Bethel. As he was walking along the road, some youths came out of the town and jeered at him. "Go on up, you baldhead!" they said. "Go on up, you baldhead!" He turned around, looked at them and called down a curse on them in the name of the LORD. Then two bears came out of the woods and mauled forty-two of the youths.