hreindýri

Forms

hreindýri n^[1]

Etymology

It is a compound from Old Norse hreinn (“reindeer”) + dýr (“animal”).^[1][2] The first part, hreinn, is the usual Old Norse word for the reindeer, from Proto-Germanic *hrainaz;^[1][3] it is cognate with Old English hrān,^[1] and de Vries, after K. F. Johansson, explains it as “the horned animal”.^[4] Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon connects it with Ancient Greek κριός (kriós, “ram”) and a root *ḱ(e)rei-, an extension of the root of horn.^[5] The second part, dýr, is the general word for an animal, especially a wild one.^[1]

Earliest recorded meaning

ONP's earliest citation is from Konungs skuggsjá (Kgs), in a manuscript of about 1275, describing a northern land: Þar er heri margr oc vargar oc mikill fiolðe reindyra “There are many hares and wolves and a great number of reindeer”.^[6][7]

Semantic evolution

The compound is rare beside the simple hreinn: ONP has only three citations, from a learned work, a law and the Færeyinga saga manuscript of 1391.^[6] In a law manuscript of about 1350 it stands in a list of game with hiørt “hart”, where another manuscript has plain hrein.^[6] The modern Icelandic word is hreindýr.^[5]

English reindeer, Middle English reindere from about 1400, comes from a Scandinavian source of this kind; the MED explains it as Norse hreinn with Middle English dẹ̄r “animal”.^[8][9][4]

Timeline

• 1275 – mikill fiolðe reindyra “a great number of reindeer” in Konungs skuggsjá (Kgs).^[6]
• 1350 – hreindyre in a list of game in a manuscript of Grágás.^[6]
• 1391 – hafde hreindyre a baki “had a reindeer on his back”, of a man coming in, in the Færeyinga saga text (Fær).^[6]
• c. 1400 – Middle English raindere, reynder, whence English reindeer.^[9][8]

Meanings

Noun

1. a reindeer.^[10][11][6]

Descendants

• Middle English reynder (→ English reindeer)^[1]

Related words

• hreinn
• dýr

References

1. ^ a b c d e f Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 272
3. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. hreinn
4. ^ a b de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 253
5. ^ a b Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. hreinn
6. ^ 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. hreindýri
7. ^ Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. hreindýri
8. ^ a b Kurath, Hans; Kuhn, Sherman M.; Lewis, Robert E., eds. (1952–2001), Middle English Dictionary, Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press; online edition ed. Frances McSparran et al. (2000–2018)
9. ^ a b Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. hreindýri
11. ^ Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 283