klubba

Forms

klubba f (weak)^[1]

Etymology

Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon explains it as a stem with a doubled consonant, *kluƀƀ-, which he relates to kólfr “bolt, clapper” and kylfa “club”, and traces it inherited from Proto-Germanic to the Germanic roots *kleƀ-, *kelƀ-.^[2] de Vries compares the same words and the variant klumba.^[3] Kroonen leaves the etymology of the Germanic word behind that noun open.^[4]

Earliest recorded meaning

Menota's first record is klubbu in the Legendary Saga of St Olaf, DG 8 II, of 1225–1250.^[5] ONP dates the passage to 1237: þa tok biorn ser klubbu mikla Oc laust þore hund “then Bjǫrn took a great club and struck Þórir hundr”, after the king has told him to beat those whom swords would not bite.^[6]

Semantic evolution

ONP has seven citations for “club, cudgel”, mostly in historical works and romances, and one, of 1350, for the constellation Clava in Hercules.^[6] Zoëga and Fritzner give it as a synonym of klumba and kylfa.^[7][8] In Icelandic it is obsolete, while Norwegian klubbe, Swedish klubba and Danish klubbe live on.^[2]

The English word club, from about 1200, comes from it or a similar Scandinavian word.^[9][3]

Timeline

• c. 1200 – English club “cudgel”, from Norse.^[9]
• 1225–1250 – klubbu in the Legendary Saga of St Olaf, DG 8 II.^[5]
• 1270 – klubbunni in Elis saga.^[6]
• 1350 – the constellation Clava.^[6]

Meanings

Noun

1. a club, cudgel.^[6][10]
2. (astronomy) the Club, part of the constellation Hercules.^[6]

Word family

• apaldrsklubba

Descendants

• Norwegian Nynorsk klubbe^[2]
• Swedish klubba^[2]
• Danish klubbe^[2]
• Middle English clubbe (→ English club)^[3][9]

Related words

• klumba
• kylfa
• kólfr

References

1. ^ Köbler, Gerhard, Altnordisches Wörterbuch, online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary database copy), p. s.v. klubba
2. ^ a b c d e Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. klubba
3. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 318
4. ^ Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic, Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series 11, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 309
5. ^ a b Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. DG 8 II
6. ^ a b c d e f Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. klubba
7. ^ Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. klubba
8. ^ Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. klubba
9. ^ a b c Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
10. ^ Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 330