valr
Old Norse
FWOTD – 24 December 2013
Etymology 1
From Proto-Germanic *walaz (“corpse, body, battlefield”). Cognate with Old English wæl, Old Saxon wal, Old High German wal. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- (“wound, injure”).
Pronunciation
- (12th century Icelandic) IPA(key): /ˈwɑlr̩/
Noun
valr m (genitive vals)
- (uncountable, in the singular) the dead, slain in battle
- Sögubrot af Fornkonungum 8, in 1829, C. C. Rafn, Fornaldar sögur Nordrlanda, Volume I. Copenhagen, page 380:
- […] ok allan þann val, sem fellr á þeima velli, gef ek Óðni.
- […] and all those slain, who shall fall at that field, I shall give unto Odin.
- Sögubrot af Fornkonungum 8, in 1829, C. C. Rafn, Fornaldar sögur Nordrlanda, Volume I. Copenhagen, page 380:
Declension
Declension of valr (strong a-stem, singular only)
| masculine | singular | |
|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | valr | valrinn |
| accusative | val | valinn |
| dative | vali | valinum |
| genitive | vals | valsins |
Derived terms
Terms derived from valr
- falla í val (“to fall in battle”)
- valblóð (“blood, gore”)
- valbráð (“venison”)
- valdreyri (“blood, gore”)
- valdreyrugr (“gory with blood of the slain”)
- valdýr (“carrion-beast”)
- valdǫgg (“blood”)
- valfall (“fall of the slain”)
- valfrekr (“greedy for carrion”)
- Valfǫðr (“Odin”)
- valgaldr (“charms”)
- valgammr (“carrion-bird”)
- valgjarn (“greedy for carrion”)
- valglaumr (“swarm of the slain”)
- valgrind (“gates of Valhalla”)
- Valhǫll (“Valhalla”)
- valkeri (“sword”)
- valkjósandi (“chooser of the slain”)
- valkyrja (“valkyrie”)
- valkǫstr (“heap of slain”)
- valmær (“valkyrie”)
- valrauðr (“blood-red”)
- valrauf, valrof (“spoils”)
- valsinni (“company of the slain”)
- Valtafn (“offering of the slain”)
- Valtamr (“Odin”)
- valtívi (“god of the slain”)
- Valtýr (“Odin”)
Descendants
- Icelandic: valur m
- Norwegian: val m
Etymology 2
Probably a contracted form of *valhaukr (“carrion-hawk”), from valr (“the slain”) + haukr (“hawk”).
Noun
valr m (genitive vals, plural valir)
- falcon, hawk
- Grágás, in 1829, J. F. W. Schlegel, Hin forna lögbok islendinga sem nefnist Gragas, Volume II. Copenhagen, page 346:
- Vali scal eigi veiþa oc alptir oc gæs oc andir; […]
- It is forbidden to hunt neither falcons nor swans nor geese nor ducks; […]
- Staraya Ladoga, in 840:
- [E]s Œfi of variðr hali valr Hríms fránmanna grand fimbulsinni plóga.
- Grágás, in 1829, J. F. W. Schlegel, Hin forna lögbok islendinga sem nefnist Gragas, Volume II. Copenhagen, page 346:
Declension
Declension of valr (strong a-stem)
| masculine | singular | plural | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
| nominative | valr | valrinn | valar | valarnir |
| accusative | val | valinn | vala | valana |
| dative | vali | valinum | vǫlum | vǫlunum |
| genitive | vals | valsins | vala | valanna |
Derived terms
Terms derived from valr
- valhverfa (“to roll the eyes in the forehead”)
- valklif (“hand”)
- valkoka (“to roll the eyes in the forehead”)
- valveiðr (“hawking”)
Descendants
- Icelandic: valur m
References
- “valr”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
- valr in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, R. Cleasby and G. Vigfússon, Clarendon Press, 1874, at Internet Archive.
- valr in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.