skelmir

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse skelmir.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈscɛlmɪr/

Noun

skelmir m (genitive singular skelmis, nominative plural skelmar)

  1. trickster, rogue, rascal
    Synonyms: prakkari, hrekkjalómur

Declension

Declension of skelmir (masculine)
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative skelmir skelmirinn skelmar skelmarnir
accusative skelmi skelminn skelma skelmana
dative skelmi skelminum skelmum skelmunum
genitive skelmis skelmisins skelma skelmanna

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *skalmjaną, an umlauted derivation of *skalmaną (“epidemic, plague, death”), of uncertain origin, but possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)kelH- (“to split, part, divide”) or *(s)kelh₁- (“to parch, wither”).[1]

Compare German Schelm (“rogue”) and Middle Low German schelm (“scoundrel, rogue”).

Noun

skelmir m (genitive skelmis, plural skelmar)

  1. rogue
  2. devil

References

  1. ^ van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “schelm1”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute

Further reading

  • Richard Cleasby; Guðbrandur Vigfússon (1874), “skelmir”, in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, 1st edition, Oxford: Oxford Clarendon Press
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