geirr

See also: Geirr

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• ᚴᛅᛁᛦ (kaiʀ) — runic
• gæiʀʀ — Old East Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gaizaz, from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰoysós (“throwing spear”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵʰey- (“to drive, move, fling”). Cognate with Old English gār, Old Frisian gēr, Old Saxon gēr, Old High German gēr, Low German gere, Dutch geer.

Noun

geirr m

1. spear
   • verse 16 of the Hávamál

     Ósnjallr maðr / hyggsk munu ey lifa,
     ef hann við víg varask;
     en elli gefr / hánum engi frið,
     þótt hánum geirar gefi.

     A cowardly man / believes he will live forever
     if he keep himself away from battle:
     but old age gives / him no peace
     though spears would.

Declension

Declension of geirr (strong a-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	geirr	geirrinn	geirar	geirarnir
accusative	geir	geirinn	geira	geirana
dative	geiri	geirinum	geirum	geirunum
genitive	geirs	geirsins	geira	geiranna

Descendants

• Danish: ger
• Icelandic: geir
  • ⇒ Icelandic: geiri
• Norwegian:
  • Norwegian Bokmål: geir
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: geir
• Old Swedish: göir, geir, ger, gir
  • Swedish: ger, gir
    • ⇒ Swedish: gere, gir
    • ⇒ Swedish: gering

Further reading

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