[1] svǫrr: This bird has not been identified. The name is possibly related to the weak verb svarra ‘roar, make noise’. Alternatively it may be interpreted as ‘roaming one’ (der umherstreifende, AEW: svarr; cf. New Norw. svarra ‘soar, wander’). The heiti occurs in kennings for ‘raven’ (LP: svǫrr).
References
- Bibliography
- AEW = Vries, Jan de. 1962. Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch. 2nd rev. edn. Rpt. 1977. Leiden: Brill.
- LP = Finnur Jónsson, ed. 1931. Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis: Ordbog over det norsk-islandske skjaldesprog oprindelig forfattet af Sveinbjörn Egilsson. 2nd edn. Copenhagen: Møller.