såstein

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From så +‎ stein. Literally, “sowing stone”. May be coined by ethnographs or archaeologists, as the most of such stones known today were originally not called såstein, while most of the oldest ones have no known purpose.

Noun

såstein m (definite singular såsteinen, indefinite plural såsteinar, definite plural såsteinane)

  1. (folklore) a phallic stone smeared with butter at a certain day of spring as a part of sowing ritual (after the Christianization of Norway)
  2. (archaeology) any phallic stone, which could be used for such ritual, even before the Christianization

See also

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