SAGA-BOOK - Viking Society Web Publications

The Laneuages of Aloissmdl
'growth, vegetation', is used by the Vanir for 'seed,
corn'; miQor (34), really 'mead', is the word for 'ale' i
heliu; sumbl (34), usually meaning 'carousal, feast', is
the word for 'ale' among "Suttung's sons".
A further group are epithets and similar expressions,
e.g. igrce« (ro), 'greenish', the giants' word for 'earth',
gr6andi (ro), 'growing, verdant', the elves' word for
'earth', alskir (r6), 'all-glowing', the word for 'sun' among
dsa synir, eygl6 (r6), presumably a substantivized feminine
adjective with the meaning 'the ever bright one', the giants'
name for the sun (d. fli60s ens fagrgl6a in stanza 5),
hlyrnir (rz). 'that provided with sun and moon', the gods'
word for 'sky', skyndir (14), 'the swift one', the giants'
word for 'moon', apir (20), 'the shouter', the giants' word
for 'wind',jorbrennir (26), 'the one who destroys byfire' , the
dwarves' word for 'fire', artali (r4), 'the year teller', the
elves' word for 'moon', dynfari (20), 'the noisy traveller',
the elves' word for 'wind', frekr or freki (26), 'the greedy
one', the giants' word for 'fire'.
In this context I would like to mention a group of
nomina agentis ending in -uor, that are quite characteristic
of the poem. They are four in number. Three are
words for wind (20): vdfuor from the verb oa]«, 'to hover',
here perhaps with a meaning 'to sway, wander about',
gneggjuor from gneggja, 'to neigh', a verb of onomatopoeic
origin, and hviouor, related to the noun hoisa, 'gust of
wind' (hviolil1rshouldmean 'the gusty one', 'one who moves
in gusts', not "fuld af, med, vindsted", the gloss for it
found in Lexicon Poeticum). The fourth example is
hrQouor, the word used by the inhabitants of Hel for 'fire'
(26), formed from the verb hrana, 'to hasten, hurryon'.
Such nomina agentis as these belong exclusively to the
poetic language, and it is perhaps not so remarkable that
hviouor is hapax legomenon and gneggjuor and hrf!olior
only appear elsewhere in a pula in Snorri's Edda. In
addition vafuor is only otherwise known as a name for
Odin (as in Grimnismdl, Bragi, etc.). This secondary