fjǫr

See also: fjor, fjór, fjör, and fjør

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ferhwą, *ferhwō. Cognates with the Old English feorh, Old Saxon ferh and Old High German ferh. Obsolete in modern English, German, Swedish and Danish. Confer the German Leib (“body”) and leben (“to live”).

Noun

fjǫr n

life
(poetic) the vital parts; the body
- Egill Skallagrímsson, Hǫfuðlausn (“Head's Ransom”, sometimes referred to as “Head-Ransom”):
  
  Fleinn hitti fjǫr.
  A pike struck the body.
vigour, spirit, energy

Usage notes

Especially frequent in alliterative phrases such as eiga fótum fjǫr at launa and fjǫr ok fé.
Often used in compounds in poems, especially when denoting loss of life e.g. fjǫrbann, fjǫrgrand and fjǫrlát.

Derived terms

Terms derived from fjǫr

eiga fótum fjǫr at launa
fjǫrbann
fjǫrbaugsgarðr
fjǫrbaugsmaður
fjǫrbaugssekt
fjǫrbaugssök
fjǫrbaugur (life money, a legal term referring to a fee to be paid by a convict to the executive court, if this was not paid the convict was henceforth a full outlaw)
fjǫrfiskr

fjǫrgrand
fjǫrkálfr (one bounding with life as a young calf)
fjǫrlag
fjǫrlauss (lifeless, listless)
fjǫrlot
fjǫrlát
fjǫrmaðr (a vigorous man)
fjǫrmikill (full of life)

fjǫrnám
fjǫr ok fé
fjǫrrán
fjǫrsegi
fjǫrspell
fjǫrtál
með fullu fjǫri, vera með fullu fjǫri (to be in the full vigour of life)

Descendants

Icelandic: fjör

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