hran

See also: hrán

Czech

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɦran]

Noun

hran f

1. genitive plural of hrana

Old English

Etymology 1

Origin unknown, cf. Épinal Glossary hran (c. 700) and Futhorc ᚻᚱᚩᚾᚫᛋ (hrónæs) (gen. sg.) on the Franks Casket (early 8th c.). Perhaps related to Proto-Germanic *harzaz (“a kind of fish”). Compare Norwegian harr (“grayling”), Swedish harr (“grayling”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xrɑn/, [r̥ɑn]

Noun

hran m

1. a small whale or large delphinid

   (gloss) ballaena

   • 7~8th c., Glossa in Psalmos; Vatican Library MS. Pal. lat. 68, folio 12v:

     ... VII fiscas sēlaes fyllu, sifu sēlas hronaes fyllu, sifu hronas hualaes fyllu.

     ... seven fish fill a seal, seven seals fill a "hran", seven "hrans" fill a whale.

Usage notes

This word, especially as part of the well-known poetic compound hranrād, has long been translated as just "whale", as if fully synonymous with hwæl; however, Tolkien argues that the term better refers to some kind of porpoise or dolphin. Another article addresses this more directly; concluding that hran likely refers to the larger members of the family Delphinidae, such as the Orca and Pilot whale, but not any much smaller than the Risso's dolphin.

Declension

Declension of hran (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	hran	hranas
accusative	hran	hranas
genitive	hranes	hrana
dative	hrane	hranum

Alternative forms

• hron, ran

Derived terms

• hranfisċ

Collocations

• mereswīn
• seolh

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “hran”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary‎^[1], 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Angus Cameron, Ashley Crandell Amos, Antonette diPaolo Healey, editors (2018), “hran”, in Dictionary of Old English: A to I ⁠‎^[2], Toronto: University of Toronto, →OCLC.

Etymology 2

Calque of Old Norse hreinn, as if from Proto-West Germanic *hrain, ultimately from Proto-Germanic *hrainaz. At the time, Old Norse and Old English were sufficiently close that the correspondance between ā and ei was transparent, as in words like stān (“stone”) and steinn (“id.”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /xrɑːn/, [r̥ɑːn]

Noun

hrān m

1. reindeer
   • late 9th century, translation of Orosius’ History Against the Pagans

     Þā dēor hī hātaþ hrānas...

     They call those animals reindeer...

Declension

Declension of hrān (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	hrān	hrānas
accusative	hrān	hrānas
genitive	hrānes	hrāna
dative	hrāne	hrānum

Derived terms

• stælhrān

References

• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898) “hrán”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
• Angus Cameron, Ashley Crandell Amos, Antonette diPaolo Healey, editors (2018), “hrān”, in Dictionary of Old English: A to I ⁠‎^[3], Toronto: University of Toronto, →OCLC.

Tircul

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hàɴ/

Noun

1. eight.