skald - Definitions from Dictionary.com

4 results for: skald

Browse Nearby Entries

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

skald

Audio Help [skawld, skahld] Pronunciation Key

–noun

one of the ancient Scandinavian poets.

Also, scald.

[Origin: 1755–65; < ON skāld poet

]

—Related forms

skaldic, adjective

skaldship, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
skald

To learn more about skald visit Britannica.com

American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

skald also scald Audio Help (skôld, skäld) Pronunciation Key
n. A medieval Scandinavian poet, especially one writing in the Viking age.

[Old Norse skāld; see sek^w-³ in Indo-European roots.]

skald'ic adj.

(Download Now or Buy the Book)

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
skald

1763, "Scandinavian poet and singer of medieval times," from O.N. skald "skald, poet" (9c.), of unknown origin, perhaps from PIE base *sekw- "to say, utter." The modern word is an antiquarian revival. "Usually applied to Norwegian and Icelandic poets of the Viking period and down to c 1250, but often without any clear idea as to their function and the character of their work." [OED]

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

skald

Scald\ (sk[a^]ld or sk[add]ld; 277), n. [Icel. sk[=a]ld.] One of the ancient Scandinavian poets and historiographers; a reciter and singer of heroic poems, eulogies, etc., among the Norsemen; more rarely, a bard of any of the ancient Teutonic tribes. [Written also skald.]

A war song such as was of yore chanted on the field of battle by the scalds of the yet heathen Saxons. --Sir W. Scott.

Browse Nearby Entries: