galdr

English

Etymology

Borrowed fromOld Norsegaldr(“witchcraft, sorcery, magic arts”),akin toOld Englishġealdor(“incantation, magic”).Related toEnglishgale,yell.

Noun

galdr(pluralgaldrarorgaldrs)

1. An ancient form ofshamanicchanting,animprovisationalmagicalsong,especially for aprotectiveeffect. Compare the custom of thejoikand other chanting traditions among theSámishamanicnoaidiwho shares mutual influence with theNorseshamanicvǫlvaand other Norse magical customs.
2. A similar style of chanting that is a modern reinvention of Norse and later magical traditions.
   • 2012,Raven Kaldera, Galina Krasskova,Neolithic Shamanism: Spirit Work in the Norse Tradition:

     There are different kinds ofgaldr;the most common isrunegaldr,which consists of singing the various names of a single rune with Intent.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Verb

galdr

1. imperativeofgaldra

Old Norse

FWOTD – 17 January 2017

Etymology

FromProto-Germanic*galdraz,whence alsoOld Englishġealdor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):/ˈɡaldr̩/

Noun

galdrm

1. magicalchanting,especially relating to theLjóðatal,genderedmasculineand forprotectiveeffects
2. a term formagicgenerally;spell,incantation,charm,wizardry,witchcraft

Declension

Declension ofgaldr(stronga-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	galdr	galdrinn	galdrar	galdrarnir
accusative	galdr	galdrinn	galdra	galdrana
dative	galdri	galdrinum	gǫldrum	gǫldrunum
genitive	galdrs	galdrsins	galdra	galdranna

Derived terms

• galdramaðr
• galdrakona
• galdrabók

Related terms

• gala
• seiðr
• gjalla

Descendants

• Icelandic:galdur
• Faroese:galdur
• Norwegian Nynorsk:galder
• Old Swedish:galder,ᚵᛆᛚᚦᚽᚱ
  • Swedish:galder
• →?Irish:goldar

References

• “galdr”,inGeir T. Zoëga (1910)A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic,Oxford: Clarendon Press