alda bǫrn
Old Norse edit
Etymology edit
From genitive plural of ǫld + plural of barn. Has parallels in Old English ielda bearn and Old Saxon eldibarn, possibly stemming from a Proto-Germanic *aldijǫ̂ barnō.
Noun edit
alda bǫrn n pl (genitive alda barna)
- (poetic, kenning) "sons of men"; mankind
- Vǫluspá, verse 20, in 1867, S. Bugge, Norrœn fornkvæði: Sæmundar Edda hins fróða. Christiania, page 4:
- Þaðan koma meyjar / margs vitandi
þrjár, ór þeim sal / er und þolli stendr;
Urð hétu eina, / aðra Verðandi,
skáru á skíði, / Skuld ina þriðju;
þær lög lögðu, / þær líf kuru
alda börnum, / örlög seggja.- Thence come maidens / much knowing
three from the hall / which under that tree stands;
Urd hight the one, / the second Verdandi,
on a tablet they graved, / Skuld the third;
Laws they established, / life allotted
to the sons of men, / destinies pronounced.
- Thence come maidens / much knowing
- Vǫluspá, verse 20, in 1867, S. Bugge, Norrœn fornkvæði: Sæmundar Edda hins fróða. Christiania, page 4:
Declension edit
Declension of alda bǫrn, (strong a-stem, plural only)