heimr

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• haimr — Old Gutnish
• hæimr

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *haimaz (“home, house, village”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱóymos (“village, home”), *(t)ḱoimos (“settlement, dwelling”).

Cognate with Old English hām, Old Frisian hām, hēm, Old Saxon hēm, Old Dutch hēm, Old High German heim, Gothic 𐌷𐌰𐌹𐌼𐍃 (haims). See also Finnish heimo.

Pronunciation

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

Noun

heimr m (genitive heims, plural heimar)

1. realm, region within walking distance to a þing parliament, land
2. world
   • Vǫluspá, verse 2, line 5:

     níu man ek heima

     I remember nine worlds

   1. (in particular) this world, the world of humans

      liggja milli heims ok Heljar ― to lie between this world and Hel (i.e. between life and death)

      koma í heiminn ― to come into this world (i.e. be born)

      • Old Norwegian Homily Book, in 1864, C. R. Unger, Gammel Norsk Homiliebog. Christiania, page 72, line 30:

        En þat er vitanda, at þriar ero tiðer hæims. Æin fyrir log. en onnur undir logum. en þriðia undir miskun.

        But it is known that there are three times in the world. One before the law, another under the law, the third under mercy.

3. a village, ham (especially in placenames)
4. a home, abode

Declension

Declension of heimr (strong a-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	heimr	heimrinn	heimar	heimarnir
accusative	heim	heiminn	heima	heimana
dative	heimi	heiminum	heimum	heimunum
genitive	heims	heimsins	heima	heimanna

Derived terms

• eiga ekki heimangengt (“to be bound to stay at home”)
• goðheimr (“home of the gods”)
• gullheimr (“golden world”)
• heim (“homewards”)
• heima (“at home”)
• heima (“to have a home”)
• heimaból (“homestead”)
• heimafólk (“household”)
• heimahestr (“stallion”)
• heimaland (“home estate”)
• heimalíð (“household”)
• heiman (“from home”)
• heimanferð (“journey from home”)
• heimanfylgja (“bride's dowry”)
• heimanfǫr (“journey from home”)
• heimaprestr (“parson”)
• heimaríkr (“tyrannical at home”)
• heimasæta (“unmarried (of women)”)
• heimboð (“invitation”)
• heimbǫllr (“the globe”)
• Heimdallr (“Heimdall”)
• heimdragi (“laggard”)
• heimferð (“return home”)
• heimfriðr (“home security”)
• heimfúss, heimfýsi (“longing for home”)
• heimfǫr (“return home”)
• heimhamr (“one's own skin”)
• heimila (“to give a title or a right”)
• heimild (“title, right”)
• heimili (“house, homestead”)
• heimleiðis (“homewards”)
• heimligr (“worldly”)
• heimolleikr (“intimace”)
• heimolliga (“privately”)
• heimolligr (“intimate, private”)
• heimreið (“ride home, inroad”)
• heimsbygð (“the peopled world”)
• heimska (“folly, nonsense”)
• heimskr (“foolish, dumb”)
• heimsslit (“the end of the world”)
• heimssól (“sun”)
• heimstǫð (“homestead”)
• heimsvist (“living”)
• heimsókn (“visit, inroad”)
• heimsœkja (“to visit”)
• heimván (“prospect of salvation”)
• þingheimr (“assembly”)

Descendants

• Icelandic: heimur m, heim n
• Faroese: heimur m, heim n
• Norn: hem
• Norwegian Nynorsk: heim m
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: heim m
• Elfdalian: iem
• Old Swedish: hēmber m, hēm n
  • Swedish: hem n
    • Finnish: hima
• Old Danish: hēm, hiem
  • Danish: hjem n
    • Norwegian Bokmål: hjem n
• Old Gutnish: haimr
  • Gutnish: haim

Further reading

• Richard Cleasby, Guðbrandur Vigfússon (1874) “heimr”, in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, 1st edition, Oxford: Oxford Clarendon Press, page 251
• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “heimr”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 192; also available at the Internet Archive