vǫlva
See also: volva, völva, and vølva
Old Norse
FWOTD – 28 April 2017
Etymology
From Old Norse vǫlr (“staff”), an apparent characteristic of the vǫlva.
Pronunciation
- (9th century West Norse) IPA(key): /ˈwɒl.wa/
- (12th century Icelandic) IPA(key): /ˈvɒl.va/
Noun
vǫlva f (genitive vǫlu, plural vǫlur)
- völva; prophetess, seeress, witch
- Baldrs draumar, stanza 4:
- Þá reið Óðinn / fyrir austan dyrr,
þar er hann vissi / vǫlu leiði;
nam hann vittugri / valgaldr kveða,
unz nauðig reis, / nás orð of kvað.- Then rode Odin / before the eastern door:
there, he knew, was / the seeress’ grave;
He began (wise in witchcraft) / to sing a spell to wake the dead,
until reluctantly she rose / and spoke a dead woman's words.
- Then rode Odin / before the eastern door:
- 13th century, Eiríks saga rauða, chapter 4:
- Sú kona var þar í bygð er Þorbjǫrg hét; hon var spákona, ok var kǫlluð lítil vǫlva.
- There was a woman there in the settlement named Thorbjorg; she was a prophetess, and was known as the little völva.
- Baldrs draumar, stanza 4:
Declension
Declension of vǫlva (weak wōn-stem)
feminine | singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | vǫlva | vǫlvan | vǫlur | vǫlurnar |
accusative | vǫlu | vǫluna | vǫlur | vǫlurnar |
dative | vǫlu | vǫlunni | vǫlum | vǫlunum |
genitive | vǫlu | vǫlunnar | vǫlna | vǫlnanna |
Coordinate terms
- seiðkona
- spákona
Derived terms
- Vǫluspá
Descendants
- → Icelandic: völva
- → Faroese: vølva
- → Norwegian Nynorsk: volve, volva
- → Norwegian Bokmål: volve
- → Swedish: völva, vala
- → Danish: vølve
- → English: völva