vargr

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• *wargʀ — Old East Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *wargaz, from Proto-Indo-European *werǵʰ-. Compare Old English wearh, wearg.

Noun

vargr m

1. evildoer, outlaw
2. wolf

Usage notes

• Unlike ulfr (“wolf”), which is frequently found in names and thus seems to have had some positive connotations, this is not the case with vargr, suggesting its sense was thoroughly negative.

Declension

Declension of vargr (strong a-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	vargr	vargrinn	vargar	vargarnir
accusative	varg	varginn	varga	vargana
dative	vargi	varginum	vǫrgum	vǫrgunum
genitive	vargs	vargsins	varga	varganna

Derived terms

• vargdropi m (“son of an outlaw”, literally “wolf-dropping”)
• varghamr m (“wolf-skin”)
• vargljóð n pl (“wolf-songs, the howling of wolves”)
• vargtré n (“outlaw-tree; gallows”)
• vargr í véum (“someone who commits violence in a religious shrine”)
• morðvargr m (“someone outlawed for murder”)
• goðvargr m (“someone who offends the gods; a blasphemer”)
• griðvargr m (“truce-breaker; someone outlawed for breaking a truce”)

Descendants

• Icelandic: vargur
• Faroese: vargur
• Norn: varg
• Norwegian Nynorsk: varg
• Elfdalian: warg
• Old Swedish: vargher
  • Swedish: varg
• Danish: varg
  • Norwegian Bokmål: varg
• → English: warg (learned)

Further reading

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