skald

See also: skáld

English

Alternative forms

• scald

Etymology

From Old Norse skald. Doublet of scold.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skɔːld/, /skæld/
• Rhymes: -ɔːld, -æld
• Homophone: scald

Noun

skald (plural skalds)

1. (historical) A Nordic poet of the Viking Age.
   • 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter I, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume III, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 28:

     The fire was spreading rapidly through all parts of the castle, when Ulrica, who had first kindled it, appeared on a turret, in the guise of one of the ancient furies, yelling forth a war-song, such as was of yore chaunted on the field of battle by the scalds of the yet heathen Saxons.

   • 1913, Henry Bedford-Jones, Flamehair the Skald: A Tale of the Days of Hardrede: passim:
   • 2010, Myra Gross, Archie Gunn, The Star of Valhalla, Wildside Press, →ISBN, page 335:

     Command Egil the Skald to stand forth and stir our viking blood with his songs of thee.

Derived terms

• skaldic

Translations

Nordic poet of the Viking Age

• Armenian: սկալդ (hy) (skald)
• Danish: skjald
• Esperanto: skaldo
• Faroese: skald
• Finnish: skaldi
• German: Skalde (de)
• Icelandic: skáld (is)
• Italian: scaldo (it)
• Marathi: स्काल्ड (skālḍa)
• Northern Sami: skald
• Norwegian: skald
• Old Norse: skald
• Polish: skald (pl) m
• Russian: скальд (ru) (skalʹd)
• Serbo-Croatian: skald (sh), скалд
• Slovak: skald m
• Spanish: escaldo (es) m
• Turkish: skald

Anagrams

• dalks

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse skald.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skalt/

Noun

skald n (genitive singular skalds, plural skald or skøld)

1. poet, composer

Declension

n3	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	skald	skaldið	skald	skaldini
accusative	skald	skaldið	skald	skaldini
dative	skaldi	skaldinum	skaldum	skaldunum
genitive	skalds	skaldsins	skalda	skaldanna

n5	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	skald	skaldið	skøld	skøldini
accusative	skald	skaldið	skøld	skøldini
dative	skaldi	skaldinum	skøldum	skøldunum
genitive	skalds	skaldsins	skalda	skaldanna

Hyponyms

• tónaskald

Related terms

• skaldanavn, skaldaverk, skaldkona, skaldskapur, skaldsøga

Further reading

• "skald" at Sprotin.fo

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Old Norse skald, skáld.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skɑld/

Noun

skald m (definite singular skalden, indefinite plural skaldar, definite plural skaldane)

1. (historical) a skald

References

• “skald” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
• “skald”, in Norsk Ordbok: ordbok over det norske folkemålet og det nynorske skriftmålet, Oslo: Samlaget, 1950-2016

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• skáld

Etymology

Uncertain, but possibly from Proto-Germanic *skeldaną, from Proto-Indo-European *skeldʰ-. Compare German schelten and Dutch schelden.

Noun

skald n

1. poet, skald

Declension

Declension of skald (strong a-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	skald	skaldit	skǫld	skǫldin
accusative	skald	skaldit	skǫld	skǫldin
dative	skaldi	skaldinu	skǫldum	skǫldunum
genitive	skalds	skaldsins	skalda	skaldanna

Derived terms

• hǫfuðskald (“chief skalds”)
• Skaldatal (“traditional list of skalds and the kings they served”)
• skaldmær (“skald-maiden, poetess”)
• skaldskapr (“skaldship; poetry”)
• skaldstǫng (“a “skald-pole”; pagan ritual object”)

Related terms

• skeldinn (“versed in poetry”)

Descendants

• Icelandic: skáld
• Faroese: skald
• Old Swedish: skald, skol
  • → Swedish: skald
• → Norwegian Nynorsk: skald
• → Norwegian Bokmål: skald
• → Danish: skald, skjald
• → English: skald, scold
• → Russian: скальд (skalʹd)
• → Serbo-Croatian: skȁld, skȃld, skȁlda
• → Slovak: skald

Polish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Old Norse skald.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈskalt/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -alt
• Syllabification: skald

Noun

skald m pers

1. (historical, poetry) skald (Nordic poet)

   Hypernyms: poeta, śpiewak

Declension

Declension of skald

	singular	plural
nominative	skald	skaldowie
genitive	skalda	skaldów
dative	skaldowi	skaldom
accusative	skalda	skaldów
instrumental	skaldem	skaldami
locative	skaldzie	skaldach
vocative	skaldzie	skaldowie

Further reading

• skald in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Serbo-Croatian

Alternative forms

• skȁlda m or f

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse skald.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skâld/, /skâːld/

Noun

skȁld or skȃld m anim (Cyrillic spelling ска̏лд or ска̑лд)

1. skald (poet in Old Norse)

Slovak

Etymology

Derived from Old Norse skald.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skaɫt/

Noun

skald m pers

1. skald

Declension

Declension of skald
(pattern chlap)

	singular	plural
nominative	skald	skaldi, skaldovia
genitive	skalda	skaldov
dative	skaldovi	skaldom
accusative	skalda	skaldov
locative	skaldovi	skaldoch
instrumental	skaldom	skaldmi

Derived terms

• skaldský
• skaldický

Further reading

• “skald”, in Slovníkový portál Jazykovedného ústavu Ľ. Štúra SAV [Dictionary portal of the Ľ. Štúr Institute of Linguistics, Slovak Academy of Science] (in Slovak), https://slovnik.juls.savba.sk, 2003–2025

Swedish

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Old Norse skald. The inherited form would be *skåll.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /skald/
• Rhymes: -ald

Noun

skald c

1. (historical) skald
2. (higher register) poet

   Synonym: poet

   • 1897 December 7, August Strindberg, edited by Torsten Eklund, August Strindbergs brev. 12. December 1896–augusti 1898 (letter), Till Emil Kléen, page 231:

     Skalden, hvilken har journalismen som näringsfång borde medan han är jemförelsevis ung göra en studieresa till Europens hufvudstad, Paris; t.ex. under pretext studera journalism och telegrambyråkratism.

     The poet, who has journalism as a livelihood, while he is comparatively young, should make a study trip to the capital of Europe, Paris; for example under the pretext of studying journalism and telegram bureaucracy.

Declension

Declension of skald

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	skald	skalds
	definite	skalden	skaldens
plural	indefinite	skalder	skalders
	definite	skalderna	skaldernas

Derived terms

• nationalskald (“national poet”)

References

• skald in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• skald in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• skald in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)