Viking

See also: viking, víking, and vîkîng

English

Alternative forms

Variant spellings

• α-forms (<r>-terminal):
  • Vikinger, vikinger
  • Vikingir, vikingir
  • Vikingr, vikingr
• β-forms (<v>-initial, [ŋ]-terminal):
  • Viking, viking
• γ-forms (<w>-initial):
  • Wicking, wicking
  • Wiking, wiking

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse víkingr (“Viking”). Already in Old English as wīċing and Old Frisian wītsing, but assumed extinct in Middle English and borrowed anew in the 19th century; any survivals in dialect through the Middle Ages are unknown.

Old Norse víkingr itself is from Old Norse vík (“inlet, cove, fjord”) + -ingr (“one belonging to, one who frequents”) (the -r is the nominative desinence). Thus, “one from or who frequents the sea’s inlets”.

The Old English and Anglo-Frisian form, existing since at least the eighth century, could also have been derived from or influenced by Old English wīc (“camp”), on account of the temporary encampments which were often a prominent feature of the Vikings’ raids.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvaɪkɪŋ/

• Audio (Berkshire, UK)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪkɪŋ

Noun

Viking (plural Vikings)

1. (historical) One of the Scandinavian or other Northern European seafaring warriors that raided (and then settled) the British Isles and other parts of Europe in the 8^th to the 11^th centuries and, according to many historians, were the first Europeans to reach North America.
2. (by extension, fantasy) A stock character common in the fantasy genre, namely a barbarian, generally equipped with an axe or sword and a helmet adorned with horns.
3. (colloquial) A Norseman (medieval Scandinavian).
4. (colloquial, humorous, mildly offensive) An ethnic Swede, Norwegian, Dane, Icelander or Faroe Islander.
5. (American football) A player on the Minnesota Vikings NFL team.

Derived terms

• vike (jocular verb)
• Viking Age
• viking (in attributive use)
• Vikingism
• Viking ship

 

Translations

One of the Scandinavian seafaring warriors

• Arabic: أُرْدَمَانِيّ‎ m (ʾurdamāniyy) (historical or obsolete)

  Hijazi Arabic: فايكنق‎ (fāyking), ڤايكنق‎ (vāyking)

• Armenian: վիկինգ (hy) (viking)
• Bulgarian: викинг m (viking)
• Catalan: víking (ca) m or f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 維京人 (zh), 维京人 (zh) (wéijīngrén)

• Danish: viking c
• Dutch: viking (nl) m
• Esperanto: vikingo
• Estonian: viiking
• Faroese: víkingur m
• Finnish: viikinki (fi)
• French: viking (fr) m
• Galician: viquingo m
• Georgian: ვიკინგი (ka) (viḳingi)
• German: Wikinger (de) m
• Greek: Βίκινγκ (el) m or f (Víkingk)
• Hebrew: וִיקִינְג‎ (he) m
• Hungarian: viking (hu)
• Icelandic: víkingur (is) m
• Irish: Uigingeach m, Lochlannach m
• Italian: vichingo (it) m
• Japanese: ヴァイキング (ja) (vaikingu)
• Korean: 바이킹 (baiking)
• Kurdish:

  Northern Kurdish: vîkîng (ku)

• Lithuanian: vikingas m
• Low Saxon: Wikingers (in plural)
• Marathi: व्हाय्किंग m (vhāykiṅga)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: viking (no) m

  Nynorsk: viking m

• Old English: wicing m
• Old Norse: víkingr m
• Polish: wiking (pl) m
• Portuguese: viquingue (pt) m, viking (pt) m or f
• Russian: ви́кинг (ru) m (víking)
• Scottish Gaelic: Lochlannach m
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: викинг m

  Latin: viking m

• Slovak: Viking m
• Spanish: vikingo (es) m
• Swahili: Mvikingi
• Swedish: viking (sv)
• Thai: ชาวไวกิง (chaao wai-ging)
• Turkish: viking
• Vietnamese: người Viking
• Volapük: viken
• West Frisian: wytsing
• Yiddish: וויקינג‎ m (viking)

Proper noun

Viking

1. A sea area between Scotland and Norway
2. A town in Alberta, Canada
3. A city in Minnesota

Anagrams

• Kinvig

---

Czech

Etymology

From Old Norse víkingr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈvɪkɪŋk]

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

Viking m

1. Viking

Declension

Declension

	singular	plural
nominative	Viking	Vikingové
genitive	Vikinga	Vikingů
dative	Vikingovi	Vikingům
accusative	Vikinga	Vikingy
vocative	Vikingu	Vikingové
locative	Vikingovi	Vikinzích
instrumental	Vikingem	Vikingy

---

Dutch

Alternative forms

• Wiking (dated, superseded)

Etymology

From Old Norse víkingr. This etymology is incomplete. You can help Wiktionary by elaborating on the origins of this term.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvi.kɪŋ/

• Audio

  (file)

• Hyphenation: Vi‧king

Noun

Viking m (plural Vikingen)

1. A Viking.

---

French

FMIB 47769 Batiment de Guerre des Vikings (Scandinavie, viiie et ixe siecles) (Musee de Marine)

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse víkingr (“Viking”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /vi.kiŋ/

• Audio (Belgium)

  (file)

Noun

Viking m or f by sense (plural Vikings)

1. (historical) Viking

Further reading

• “Viking”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

---

Slovak

Etymology

From Old Norse víkingr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvikiŋɡ/

Noun

Viking m (genitive singular Vikinga, nominative plural Vikingovia, genitive plural Vikingov, declension pattern of chlap)

1. Viking

Declension

Declension of Viking

	singular	plural
nominative	Viking	Vikingovia
genitive	Vikinga	Vikingov
dative	Vikingovi	Vikingom
accusative	Vikinga	Vikingov
locative	Vikingovi	Vikingoch
instrumental	Vikingom	Vikingmi

References

• Viking in Slovak dictionaries at slovnik.juls.savba.sk

---

Swedish

Etymology

Originally a nickname, appearing in runestones, from Old Norse víkingr (“a Viking”). Revived as a given name since 1829.

Proper noun

Viking c (genitive Vikings)

1. a male given name from Old Norse

Anagrams

• knivig