kolfr

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kulbaz (“round object”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *gel- (“to form into a ball”). Perhaps related to Middle Low German kolve (“bulb”).

Noun

kolfr m

1. clapper, tongue of a bell
2. a kind of bolt
   • svá skjótt (snart) sem kólfi skjóti (skyti)
   • swift as an arrow

Derived terms

• kolfskot
• bakkakolfr
• hjúkolfr

Descendants

• Icelandic: kólfur
• Faroese: kúlvur
• Norwegian Nynorsk: kolv; (dialectal) kóv’e, køłv, kæłv, kałv, kvolv, kvøłv
• Norwegian Bokmål: kolv
• Elfdalian: kuov
• Old Swedish: kolver
  • Swedish: kolv (dialectal)
• Danish: kolv (dialectal)

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “kolfr”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 248; also available at the [https://archive.org/stream/concisedictionar001857

1. page/248 Internet Archive]