nót

Forms

nót f (genitive nótar, plural nœtr) (strong consonant stem)^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *nōtō (“large net”).^[2][3][1] It is an ablaut form beside net “net”,^[4][5][6] and was at first a consonant stem, as the old plural ⟨nœtr⟩ shows.^[4]

Orel and de Vries compare Latin nōdus (“knot, loop, band”), which would make the word Italic and Germanic only.^[2][7] Köbler sets it under a root Proto-Indo-European *ned- (“to twist, knot”).^[3]

The Norse word was borrowed into the Finnic languages, as Finnish nuotta, and into Sami.^[7][5]

Earliest recorded meaning

ONP's earliest dated citation, of 1265, is on seals caught on a holy day: Drepa scal sel helgan dag ef i not liɢr en taka eigi or “A seal is to be killed on a holy day if it lies in the net, but not taken out of it”.^[8] Larsson finds the dative nótını in one of the oldest Icelandic manuscripts.^[9]

Semantic evolution

The word names a large net drawn through the water, for seals and fish, beside the general net.^[10][11] It is most frequent in the laws and charters, which regulate fishing and sealing rights.^[8] A proverb, er því langa nót at at draga, “there is a long net to draw for that”, says that a matter needs careful preparation.^[8][12] A joking skaldic kenning for herring is built on langra nóta “of long nets”.^[13]

The word lives on as Icelandic nót, Faroese nót, Norwegian not, Swedish not and Danish not.^[7][4]

Timeline

• 1265 – not, of a seal in the net, ONP's earliest dated citation.^[8]
• 1276 – nót in ONP's citation of 1276.^[8]
• 1300 – með fvllom notom “with full nets”, of a catch after prayer to Bishop Þorlákr.^[8]
• 1312 – the proverb er því langa nót at at draga.^[8]
• 1320–1350 – nót in the Njáls saga of AM 132 fol.^[14]

Meanings

Noun

1. (fishing) a large net, a seine or drag-net, especially for seals and fish.^[8][15][10]

Word family

• selanót

Descendants

• Icelandic nót^[1]
• Faroese nót^[1]
• Norwegian Nynorsk nót^[1]
• Norwegian Bokmål not^[1]
• Old Swedish nōt^[1]
• Swedish not^[1]
• Danish not^[1]

Related words

• net

References

1. ^ a b c d e f g h i Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 289
3. ^ a b Köbler, Gerhard (2014), Germanisches Wörterbuch, 5th ed., online, koeblergerhard.de/wikiling
4. ^ a b c Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. nót
5. ^ a b Hellquist, Elof (1922), Svensk etymologisk ordbok, Lund, p. s.v. not
6. ^ Falk, Hjalmar; Torp, Alf (1910–1911), Norwegisch-dänisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, Heidelberg, p. s.v. not
7. ^ a b c de Vries, Jan (1977), Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch, 2nd ed., Leiden: Brill, p. 412
8. ^ a b c d e f g h Ordbog over det norrøne prosasprog / A Dictionary of Old Norse Prose, Copenhagen, onp.ku.dk (CC BY-SA 4.0), p. s.v. nót
9. ^ Larsson, Ludvig (1891), Ordförrådet i de älsta islänska handskrifterna, Lund: Ph. Lindstedt, p. 242
10. ^ a b Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 458
11. ^ Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. nót
12. ^ Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 447
13. ^ Finnur Jónsson (1931), Lexicon Poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis, 2nd ed., Copenhagen: S. L. Møller, p. 430
14. ^ Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 132 fol
15. ^ Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. nót