víkingr

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Old Norse

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Etymology

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From Proto-Germanic *wīkingaz. Cognate with Old English wīċing and Old Frisian wītsing.

May be equivalent to Vík +‎ -ingr, or the more general vík (bay, inlet) +‎ -ingr. Others proposals were made, like e.g. deriving víkingr from the root related to the verb víkja (or its Proto-Germanic equivalent). [1]

Pronunciation

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  • (9th century West Norse) IPA(key): /ˈwiːkinɡɹ̝/, [ˈwiː.cɪ̃ŋɡ̊ɹ̻̊˔]
  • (12th century Icelandic) IPA(key): /ˈwiːkinɡr/

Noun

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víkingr m (genitive víkings, plural víkingar)

  1. opportunistic seafaring adventurer out to raid and pillage, explore and settle new lands or conduct trading voyages
  2. pirate raider, freebooter, viking

Usage notes

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  • Unlike in modern English, this term only refers to a person out on the denoted activity, not to all Norse people of the time.

Declension

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Descendants

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All descendants are learned borrowings.

References

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  1. ^ Eldar Heide (2005) Viking — ‘rower shifting'?