hugr

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hugiz, whence also Gothic 𐌷𐌿𐌲𐍃 (hugs), Old English hyġe, Old High German hugu, Dutch heug.

Noun

hugr m

1. thought, mind
   • Hávamál 95 (tr. W. H. Auden and P. B. Taylor):

     Hugr einn þat veit, · er býr hjarta nær,
     einn er hann sér of sefa;
     ǫng er sótt verri · hveim snotrum manni
     en sér engu at una.

     The mind alone knows what is near the heart,
     Each is his own judge:
     The worst sickness for a wise man
     Is to crave what he cannot enjoy.

2. heart (in the sense of "courage")

Declension

Declension of hugr (strong i-stem, ar-genitive)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	hugr	hugrinn	hugir	hugirnir
accusative	hug	huginn	hugi	hugina
dative	hug	huginum	hugum	hugunum
genitive	hugar	hugarins	huga	huganna

Derived terms

• hugarkorn n (“heart”, literally “kernel of strength”)

Descendants

• Icelandic: hugur
• Faroese: hugur
• Norwegian Nynorsk: hug
• Old Swedish: hugher, hogher
  • Swedish: hug c, håg c
• Old Danish: hugh
  • Danish: hu c, (dialectal) hov c

Further reading

• “hu” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog
• håg in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)

Further reading

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