kván

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• kvæn

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *kwēniz, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷénh₂s (“woman”). Cognate with modern English queen.

Noun

kván f (genitive kvánar, plural kvánir)

1. wife

Declension

Declension of kván (strong i-stem)

feminine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	kván	kvánin	kvánir	kvánirnar
accusative	kván	kvánina	kvánir	kvánirnar
dative	kván	kváninni	kvánum	kvánunum
genitive	kvánar	kvánarinnar	kvána	kvánanna

Derived terms

• kvánarefni n (“future wife”)
• kvánarmundr m (“sum paid by a man for his wife”)
• kvánbœnir f pl (“wooing”)
• kvánfang n (“taking a wife”)
• kvánga (“to make a man marry”)
• kvángan (“taking a wife”)
• kvánlauss (“wifeless”)
• kvánríki n (“the domineering of a wife”)
• kvæna (“to make a man marry”)
• kvændr (“a married man”)
• kvæning f (“marriage”)

See also

• kona f (“woman”)

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “kván”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 252; also available at the Internet Archive