geirr

See also: Geirr

Old Norse

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gaizaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰoysós (throwing spear), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰey- (to drive, move, fling). Cognate with Old English gār, Old Frisian gēr, Old Saxon gēr, Old High German gēr, Low German gere, Dutch geer.

Noun

geirr m

  1. spear
    • verse 16 of the Hávamál
      Ósnjallr maðr / hyggsk munu ey lifa,
      ef hann við víg varask;
      en elli gefr / hánum engi frið,
      þótt hánum geirar gefi.
      A cowardly man / believes he will live forever
      if he keep himself away from battle:
      but old age gives / him no peace
      though spears would.

Declension

Declension of geirr (strong a-stem)
masculine singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative geirr geirrinn geirar geirarnir
accusative geir geirinn geira geirana
dative geiri geirinum geirum geirunum
genitive geirs geirsins geira geiranna

Descendants

  • Danish: ger
  • Icelandic: geir
  • Norwegian:
    • Norwegian Bokmål: geir
    • Norwegian Nynorsk: geir
  • Old Swedish: göir, geir, ger, gir

Further reading

  • Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “geirr”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive