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hǫnk

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Etymology and origin of the Old Norse word hǫnk

Confidence
Probable
Formation
Borrowing
First attested
1275 Morkinskinna More words from the 13th century
Borrowed from
Middle Low German hank
Etymology tree
inherited borrowed derived
Old Norse hǫnk
English hank

Forms

hǫnk f (genitive hankar, plural henkr)[1][2]

Etymology

It is probably borrowed from Middle Low German hank (“handle”).[3][4] De Vries notes that the native form should have been *hǫkk, which makes a loan possible, or perhaps an East Scandinavian form.[5] Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon and Torp compare Lithuanian kéngė (“hook, handle”);[4][6] Torp calls that very uncertain and prefers to connect it with the verb “to hang”.[6] Old Norse also has hanki (“handle”).[7]

It was borrowed as Middle English hanc (“loop”), the English word hank.[5]

Earliest recorded meaning

ONP's first dated citation is from Morkinskinna (1275), a dream of a tug-of-war: mer þotti sem vit S. k. fyndimc oc helldim a einni hꜹnc oc togaþim oc dro hann af mer hꜹncina “it seemed to me that King Sveinn and I met and held one loop and pulled, and he drew the loop from me”.[2][8]

Semantic evolution

The word names a loop or ring of rope or withy.[2][1] Pulling on one hǫnk was a trial of strength,[9][10] and a sword could have a loop on its grip to hang it from the wrist.[9] In the Norwegian laws henkr are the twisted withies that fasten the rails of a fence to the posts.[11][2]

It continues as Icelandic hönk, with Faroese honk, Norwegian Nynorsk honk, Swedish hank and Danish hank.[4]

Timeline

  • 1275 – hꜹnc in Morkinskinna.[2]
  • 1276–1300 – hǫnk, henkr and hǫnkum in the law manuscript Holm perg 34 4to.[12]
  • 1320 – hankum of the withies of a fence in Landsl.[2]
  • 1320–1350 – hǫnk on a sword's grip in Egils saga in AM 132 fol.[13]

Meanings

Noun

  1. a hank, loop or strap, as on a rope or sword grip.[2][1][10]
  2. a ring or clasp.[1][9]
  3. (law) a twisted withy band fastening the rails of a fence.[11][14]

Descendants

  • hanki

References

  1. ^ a b c d Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. hönk
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. hǫnk
  3. ^ Fischer, Frank (1909), Die Lehnwörter des Altwestnordischen, Palaestra 85, Berlin, p. 32
  4. ^ a b c d e f Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. hönk
  5. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 281
  6. ^ a b Torp, Alf (1909), Wortschatz der germanischen Spracheinheit (Fick, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Sprachen, 4th ed., vol. 3), Göttingen, p. 66
  7. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. hǫnk
  8. ^ Wallenberg, Joel C.; Ingason, Anton Karl; Sigurðsson, Einar Freyr; Rögnvaldsson, Eiríkur, Icelandic Parsed Historical Corpus, version 0.9
  9. ^ a b c Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. hönk
  10. ^ a b Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 300
  11. ^ a b Hertzberg, Ebbe (1895), Glossarium, in Norges gamle Love indtil 1387, vol. 5, Christiania, p. 315
  12. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. Holm perg 34 4to
  13. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 132 fol
  14. ^ Hægstad, Marius; Torp, Alf (1909), Gamalnorsk ordbok med nynorsk tyding, Kristiania: Det norske samlaget, p. 200
Cite this entry

“Hǫnk.” Etymologically, 13 Nov. 2026, etymologically.com/non/h%C7%ABnk. Accessed 13 Nov. 2026.

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