íviðja

Old Norse

FWOTD – 18 August 2013

Etymology

Of obscure origin and meaning. Some sources propose derivation from *í-viðr, thus meaning "one in the woods", while others suggest connection to Old Saxon inwid (fraud, wickedness).

Pronunciation

  • (9th century West Norse) IPA(key): /ˈĩːˌwiðja/
  • (12th century Icelandic) IPA(key): /ˈiːˌviðja/

Noun

íviðja f (genitive íviðju, plural íviðjur)

  1. (Norse mythology) a word of unclear meaning, often taken to mean giantess or ogress
    • Vǫluspá, stanza 2, lines 5-6:
      Níu man ek heima,
      níu íviði [...] (In Codex Regius: iviþi, which Bugge normalizes to íviði; in Hauksbók, uidiur, which Björnsson normalizes to íviðjur.)
      Nine worlds I remember,
      nine giantesses [...]

Declension

Synonyms

See also

This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.