Þul Bjarnar 1III/9 — fetviðnir ‘fetviðnir’
Bjǫrn, bersi, bolmr, bera, elgviðnir,
blájaxl, ísolfr ok breiðvegi,
bestingr, bassi, balti, hlébarðr,
úfr, frekr, vilnir, jórekr, mǫsmi,
fetviðnir, húnn, fress, vetrliði,
íugtanni, jalfuðr, ifjungr, vilskarpr.
Bjǫrn, bersi, bolmr, bera, elgviðnir, blájaxl, ísolfr ok breiðvegi, bestingr, bassi, balti, hlébarðr, úfr, frekr, vilnir, jórekr, mǫsmi, fetviðnir, húnn, fress, vetrliði, íugtanni, jalfuðr, ifjungr, vilskarpr.
Bear, little bear, mighty one, she-bear, elk-forest-dweller, dark molar, ice-wolf and broad-fighter, haltered one, bassi, heavy-stepper, hlébarðr, gruff one, greedy one, vilnir, horse-powerful one, mǫsmi, fetviðnir, bear-cub, snarler, winter-survivor, greedy-toothed one, roarer, hooded one, bowel-sharp one.
notes
[9] fetviðnir (m.): The meaning of this heiti is not clear, and the length of the second vowel is uncertain. The name either translates as ‘step-forest-dweller’, i.e. ‘forest-walker’ (from fet n. ‘pace, step’ and viðr m. ‘forest’; so SnE 1998, II, 272) or as ‘wide-walker’, which may refer to the swinging gait of the beast (if so, the second element is derived from the adj. víðr ‘wide’ and the root vowel is long). Like the other terms for ‘bear’ recorded in ll. 9-12, fetviðnir is also listed among the bjarnar heiti in Skm (SnE 1998, I, 88), but the word does not occur elsewhere. See also elgviðnir ‘elk-forest-dweller’ in l. 2 and Note there.