valr

Old Norse
FWOTD – 24 December 2013

Etymology 1

From Proto-Germanic *walaz (“corpse, body, battlefield”). Cognate with Old English wæl, Old Saxon wal, Old High German wal. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *welh₃- (“wound, injure”).

Pronunciation
  • (12th century Icelandic) IPA(key): /ˈwɑlr̩/

Noun

valr m (genitive vals)

  1. (uncountable, in the singular) the dead, slain in battle
    • Sögubrot af Fornkonungum 8, in 1829, C. C. Rafn, Fornaldar sögur Nordrlanda, Volume I. Copenhagen, page 380:
      […] ok allan þann val, sem fellr á þeima velli, gef ek Óðni.
      […] and all those slain, who fell at that field, I give unto Odin.
Declension
  Declension of valr (strong a-stem, singular only)
masculine singular
indefinite definite
nominative valr valrinn
accusative val valinn
dative vali valinum
genitive vals valsins
Derived terms
Terms derived from valr
  • valblóð (“blood, gore”)
  • valbráð (“venison”)
  • valdreyri (“blood, gore”)
  • valdreyrugr (“gory with blood of the slain”)
  • valdýr (“carrion-beast”)
  • valdǫgg (“blood”)
  • valfall (“fall of the slain”)
  • valfrekr (“greedy for carrion”)
  • Valfǫðr (“Odin”)
  • valgaldr (“charms”)
  • valgammr (“carrion-bird”)
  • valgjarn (“greedy for carrion”)
  • valglaumr (“swarm of the slain”)
  • valgrind (“gates of Valhalla”)
  • Valhǫll (“Valhalla”)
  • valkeri (“sword”)
  • valkjósandi (“chooser of the slain”)
  • valkyrja (“valkyrie”)
  • valkǫstr (“heap of slain”)
  • valmær (“valkyrie”)
  • valrauðr (“blood-red”)
  • valrauf, valrof (“spoils”)
  • valsinni (“company of the slain”)
  • Valtafn (“offering of the slain”)
  • Valtamr (“Odin”)
  • valtívi (“god of the slain”)
  • Valtýr (“Odin”)
Descendants
  • Norwegian: val m

Etymology 2

Probably a contracted form of *valhaukr (“carrion-hawk”), from valr (“the slain”) + haukr (“hawk”).

Noun

valr m (genitive vals, plural valir)

  1. falcon, hawk
    • Grágás, in 1829, J. F. W. Schlegel, Hin forna lögbok islendinga sem nefnist Gragas, Volume II. Copenhagen, page 346:
      Vali scal eigi veiþa oc alptir oc gæs oc andir; […]
      It is forbidden to hunt neither falcons nor swans nor geese nor ducks; […]
Declension
  Declension of valr (strong a-stem)
masculine singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative valr valrinn valar valarnir
accusative val valinn vala valana
dative vali valinum vǫlum vǫlunum
genitive vals valsins vala valanna
Derived terms
Terms derived from valr
  • valhverfa (“to roll the eyes in the forehead”)
  • valklif (“hand”)
  • valkoka (“to roll the eyes in the forehead”)
  • valveiðr (“hawking”)
Descendants

References
  • valr in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • valr in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, R. Cleasby and G. Vigfússon, Clarendon Press, 1874, at Internet Archive.
  • valr in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.
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