Historical Tidbit Thursdays - Vikings - Old Norse Language - #TidbitThursday

Howdy! Last week we took a quick look at Old Norse and Scandinavian place names throughout the United Kingdom. This week we'll learn some Old Norse. Hope you enjoy digging in!



Old Norse geographical words:

• ey - "island"
• staup - "steep"
• meols - "sandbank or sand dunes"
• -by, -byr - "settlement or farm"
• stein - "stone"

Old Norse food and drink words:

• bjórr - "beer"
• blymingr - "bread"
• porskr - "cod"
• skadd - "herring"

Old Norse common words:

• dorg - "fishing line"
• geit - "goat"
• kirk - "church"
• skyrta - "shirt"
• brók - "trousers"
• knappr - "button"
• rannsaka - "ransack"

Old Norse ship-related words:

• skip - "ship"
• skeid - "warship"
• dreki - "dragon ship"

Anglo-Saxons borrowed many Old Norse words which eventually became English. Examples include their, they, them, die, egg, cast, knife and window.

References:

"Everyday Life in Viking Times" by Michael Gibson, ISBN#0-7500-1472-5

Cultural Atlas of the Viking World	American Archaeology Uncovers the Vikings
What Life Was Like When Longships Sailed: Vikings Ad 800-1100	National Geographic Kids Everything Vikings: All the Incredible Facts and Fierce Fun You Can Plunder
Leif Eriksson: Viking Explorer of the New World (Great Explorers of the World)	The Oxford Illustrated History of the Vikings (Oxford Illustrated Histories)
The World of the Vikings	Encyclopaedia of the Viking Age
The Vikings: Voyagers of Discovery and Plunder (General Military)	The Vikings (Journey into civilization)
Vikings, a Dark History	Vikings: Warriors, Raiders, and Masters of the Sea (Oxford People)
The Vikings
Historical Atlas of the Viking World	Cultural Atlas of the Viking World