þjófr

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• *þiūβʀ — Old East Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Norse *ᚦᛖᚢᛒᚨᛉ (*þeubaʀ) (attested in ᛗᚨᚱᛁᚦᛖᚢᛒᚨᛉ (mariþeubaʀ)), from Proto-Germanic *þeubaz.

Pronunciation

• (9th century West Norse) IPA^(key): /θe͜oːβɹ̝/
• (12th century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /θjoːvr̩/

Noun

þjófr m (genitive þjófs, plural þjófar)

1. thief

Declension

Declension of þjófr (strong a-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	þjófr	þjófrinn	þjófar	þjófarnir
accusative	þjóf	þjófinn	þjófa	þjófana
dative	þjófi	þjófinum	þjófum	þjófunum
genitive	þjófs	þjófsins	þjófa	þjófanna

Derived terms

• þjófa (“to call one a thief”)
• þjóflaun f (“thievish concealment of a thing”)
• þjófligr (“thievish”)
• þjófnaðr m (“theft”)
• þjófsaugu n pl (“thief's eyes”)
• þjófskapr m (“theft”)
• þjófsnafn n (“the name of a thief”)
• þjófsnara n (“thief's halter”)
• þjófsnautr m (“a partaker with thieves”)
• þjófstolinn (“stolen (by a thief / thieves)”)
• þjófsǫk f (“a charge or accusation of theft”)

Descendants

• Icelandic: þjófur
• Faroese: tjóvur
• Norwegian Nynorsk: tjov, tjuv; (dialectal) tjóv’e, tju, tjyv
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: tjuv
• Elfdalian: tjuov
• Old Swedish: þiūver
  • Swedish: tjuv, tjuf, tiuf
• Old Danish: thiūf, (Scanian) þiufær
  • Danish: tyv
    • Norwegian Bokmål: tyv
  • Scanian: tjúv
• Old Gutnish: þiaufr
  • Gutnish: töiv

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “þjófr”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 513; also available at the [https://archive.org/stream/concisedictionar001857

1. page/513 Internet Archive]