dvergr

Old Norse

FWOTD – 1 December 2013

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *dwergaz (“dwarf”). Cognate with Old English dweorg, Old Frisian dwerch, Old Saxon dwerg, Old High German twerg, twerc.

Pronunciation

• (12th century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /ˈdwerɣr̩/

Noun

dvergr m (genitive dvergs, plural dvergar)

1. (Norse mythology) a dwarf
   • Vǫluspá, verse 9, lines 5-6, in 1860, T. Möbius, Edda Sæmundar hins fróða: mit einem Anhang zum Theil bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig, page 2:

     […] hverr skyldi dverga / dróttir skepja […]

     […] who shall the dwarves' / lord shape […]

2. a short support pillar
   • Old Icelandic Homily Book, in 1872, T. Wisén, Homiliu-bók: Isländska homilier efter en handskrift från tolfte århundradet. Gleerup, page 100, lines 37-38:

     Þuertre es scorþa staflǽgior oc upphalda dvergom, […]

     Crosstrees that prop the beams and upholding pillars, […]

3. a brooch, stud, dress pin
   • Rígsþula, verse 16, lines 7-8, in 1860, T. Möbius, Edda Sæmundar hins fróða: mit einem Anhang zum Theil bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig, page 78:

     […] dúkr var á hálsi, / dvergar á öxlum; […]

     […] studs on her shoulders, / and scarf on her neck; […]

Declension

Declension of dvergr (strong a-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	dvergr	dvergrinn	dvergar	dvergarnir
accusative	dverg	dverginn	dverga	dvergana
dative	dvergi	dverginum	dvergum	dvergunum
genitive	dvergs	dvergsins	dverga	dverganna

Derived terms

• dvergasmíði (“work of a dwarf”)
• dvergasóleyg (“glacier crowfoot”)
• dverghagr (“skillful”)
• dvergmál, dvergmali (“echo”)
• dvergmála (“to echo”)
• dyrgja (“female dwarf”)

Descendants

• Icelandic: dvergur
• Faroese: dvørgur
• Norwegian Nynorsk: dverg; (dialectal) verg, tverg
• Old Swedish: dværgher
  • Swedish: dvärg
• Danish: dværg
  • Norwegian Bokmål: dverg
• Gutnish: dvärg, värg

Further reading

• Richard Cleasby, Guðbrandur Vigfússon (1874) “dvergr”, in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, 1st edition, Oxford: Oxford Clarendon Press, page 110
• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “dvergr”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 98; also available at the Internet Archive