skjǫldr

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”). Cognate with Old English sċield, sċeld, sċild, sċyld, Old Frisian skeld, Old Saxon skild, Old High German skild, skilt, Gothic 𐍃𐌺𐌹𐌻𐌳𐌿𐍃 (skildus). The different case and number forms show various sound changes: breaking (e > ja), u-umlaut (ja > jǫ), and i-umlaut (e > i).

Pronunciation

• (9th century West Norse) IPA^(key): /skeɒ̯ldɹ̝/, [s̠cøɵ̯lˠd̥ɹ̻̊˔]
• (12th century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /ˈskjɒldr̩/

Noun

skjǫldr m (genitive skjaldar, dative skildi, plural skildir)

1. shield
   • Sverris saga konungs 95, in 1834, F. Magnússon, C.C. Rafn, Fornmanna sögur. Volume VIII. Copenhagen, page 232:

     Þeir skutu skildi undir líkit, ok hófu upp í skutina þá, er konúngr var á.

     They put a shield under the corpse, and lifted it up into the ship where the king was.

Declension

Declension of skjǫldr (strong u-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	skjǫldr	skjǫldrinn	skildir	skildirnir
accusative	skjǫld	skjǫldinn	skjǫldu	skjǫlduna
dative	skildi	skildinum	skjǫldum	skjǫldunum
genitive	skjaldar	skjaldarins	skjalda	skjaldanna

Derived terms

• skjaldarband (“shield-strap”)
• skjaldarbukl (“shield-boss”)
• skjaldarfetill (“shield-strap”)
• skjaldarrǫnd (“shield-rim”)
• skjaldarsporðr (“lower part of a shield”)
• skjaldaskirfl (“old worn-out shields”)
• skjaldborg (“wall of shields”)
• skjaldfimr (“dexterous with a shield”)
• skjaldhvalr (“a kind of whale”)
• skjaldjǫtunn (“war-engine”)
• skjaldmær (“amazon”)
• skjaldrim (“shield-rim”)
• skjaldsveinn (“shield-bearer”)
• skjaldþili (“wainscotting”)

Related terms

• skjalda (“to cover with a shield”)
• Skjǫldr (legendary hero)
• skjǫldungr (“sheldrake”)

Descendants

• Icelandic: skjöldur
• Faroese: skjøldur
• Norwegian Nynorsk: skjold m or n; (dialectal) skjøld m or n
• Elfdalian: stjöld
• Old Swedish: skiolder, skiølder
  • Swedish: sköld
• Old Danish: skiold
  • Danish: skjold
    • Norwegian Bokmål: skjold n
• Gutnish: skiåld

Further reading

• Richard Cleasby; Guðbrandur Vigfússon (1874), “skjǫldr”, in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, 1st edition, Oxford: Oxford Clarendon Press, page 553
• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “skjöldr”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 379; also available at the Internet Archive