víkingr

Old Norse

Etymology

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

Noun

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
  • 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
  Declension of víkingr (strong a-stem)
masculine singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative víkingr víkingrinn víkingar víkingarnir
accusative víking víkinginn víkinga víkingana
dative víkingi víkinginum víkingum víkingunum
genitive víkings víkingsins víkinga víkinganna

Descendants

All descendants are learned borrowings.

  • Icelandic: víkingur
  • Faroese: víkingur
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: viking
  • Norwegian Bokmål: viking
  • Old Swedish: ᚢᛁᚴᛁᚴᚱ (vīkingʀ) (Runic Swedish)
  • Danish: viking
  • → English: Viking
  • → German: Wikinger
  • → Middle Irish: ucing
    • Irish: uiging
    • ⇒ Middle Irish: *ucingech
      • Irish: Uigingeach
      • Manx: Wiggynnagh
      • Scottish Gaelic: Uiginneach

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