nevetavl

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• nevatavl

Etymology

neve (“fist”) +‎ tavl (“board game”); from Old Norse hnefatafl, from hnefi +‎ tafl. Cognate with Faroese nevatalv and Icelandic hnefatafl.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²nɛːvətavl/, /²nɛːvətavɽ/

Noun

nevetavl n (definite singular nevetavlet, uncountable)

1. hnefatafl (a Northern European board game known from the Viking Age)
   • 1912, Ola Røkke, transl., Soga um Grette Aasmundsson, page 181:

     Det var ein gong at Torbjørn ongul sat og spela tavl. Daa gjekk stykmor hans burtaat og saag at han spela nevetavl.*) Det var stort haletavl. Ho tykte han spela daarleg og sa det aat honom, men han svara illsleg. Ho greip ein tavlbrikke og klemde til kinnbeinet hans Torbjørn, og raaka auga, so det spratt ut. Han sprang upp og treiv henne so hardt at ho lagdest sjuk og døydde av det. Folk segjer ho hadde vore med barn.

     There was a time Thorbiorn Angle sat playing tables. Then his stepmother passed by and saw that he was playing the hnefatafl.*) It was the large tail-game. She thought he played poorly and said it to him, but he answered angrily. She caught up one of game pieces, and pushed it into Thorbiorn’s cheek-bone, and touched his eye, so that it popped out. He sprang up and handled her so roughly that she took to her bed ill and died thereof. Folk say that she was then big with child.