ǫld
See also: old, öld, øld, and 'old
Old Norse
Etymology
From Proto-Germanic *aldiz (“age, lifetime”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌻𐌳𐍃 (alds).
Pronunciation
- (9th century West Norse) IPA(key): /ˈɒld/
- (12th century Icelandic) IPA(key): /ˈɒld/
Noun
ǫld f (genitive aldar, plural aldir)
- time, age
- Vǫluspá, verse 3, lines 1-2, in 1867, S. Bugge, Norrœn fornkvæði: Sæmundar Edda hins fróða. Christiania, page 1:
- Ár var alda / þar er Ýmir bygði, […]
- In early ages, / when Ymir lived […]
- Vǫluspá, verse 3, lines 1-2, in 1867, S. Bugge, Norrœn fornkvæði: Sæmundar Edda hins fróða. Christiania, page 1:
- cycle, period
- Stjorn 95, in 1834, F. Magnússon, C.C. Rafn, Fornmanna sögur. Volume VIII. Copenhagen, page 15:
- […] ok at greina daga, uikur ok manadi, aar ok aldir
- and to distinguish days from weeks and months, years and centuries
- Stjorn 95, in 1834, F. Magnússon, C.C. Rafn, Fornmanna sögur. Volume VIII. Copenhagen, page 15:
- (poetic, in the singular) people
- Kate Heslop (ed.) 2017, ‘Skúli Þorsteinsson, Poem about Svǫlðr 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 362.
- […] nú fiðr ǫld, at eldumk […]
- […] now people find I grow old […]
- Kate Heslop (ed.) 2017, ‘Skúli Þorsteinsson, Poem about Svǫlðr 2’ in Kari Ellen Gade and Edith Marold (eds), Poetry from Treatises on Poetics. Skaldic Poetry of the Scandinavian Middle Ages 3. Turnhout: Brepols, p. 362.
- (poetic, in the plural) men, mankind
- Hávamál, verse 12, lines 1-3, in 1867, S. Bugge, Norrœn fornkvæði: Sæmundar Edda hins fróða. Christiania, page 44:
- Era sva gott, / sem gott qveþa, / öl alda sona; […]
- Is not so good, / as they say it is, / ale for the sons of men; […]
- Hávamál, verse 12, lines 1-3, in 1867, S. Bugge, Norrœn fornkvæði: Sæmundar Edda hins fróða. Christiania, page 44:
Declension
Declension of ǫld (strong i-stem)
feminine | singular | plural | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
indefinite | definite | indefinite | definite | |
nominative | ǫld | ǫldin | aldir | aldirnar |
accusative | ǫld | ǫldina | aldir | aldirnar |
dative | ǫldu, ǫld | ǫldunni, ǫldinni | ǫldum | ǫldunum |
genitive | aldar | aldarinnar | alda | aldanna |
Descendants
- Icelandic: öld f
- Faroese: øld f
- Danish: old c (archaic)
References
- ǫld in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, R. Cleasby and G. Vigfússon, Clarendon Press, 1874, at Internet Archive.
- ǫld in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.