Norse means belonging or relating to Scandinavian countries in medieval times.
In Norse mythology the moon is personified as male.
2. uncountable noun
Norse is the language that was spoken in Scandinavian countries in medieval times.
Norse in British English
(nɔːs)
adjective
1.
of, relating to, or characteristic of ancient and medieval Scandinavia or its inhabitants
2.
of, relating to, or characteristic of Norway
noun
3.
a.
the N group of Germanic languages, spoken in Scandinavia; Scandinavian
b.
any one of these languages, esp in their ancient or medieval forms
See also Proto-Norse, Old Norse
4. the Norse
Norse in American English
(nɔrs)
adjective
1.
Scandinavian; specif., medieval Scandinavian
2.
West Scandinavian (Norwegian, Icelandic, and Faeroese)
noun
3.
the Scandinavian group of languages
4.
the West Scandinavian group of languages
5.
Norwegian
Old Norse, Icelandic
Idioms:
the Norse
Word origin
prob. < Du Noorsch, a Norwegian, var. of Noordsch < noord, north + -sch, -ish
Word lists with
Norse
Language Groups, European peoples
; see mythology
language note:
English was brought into contact with Old Norse through Viking invasions which took place between the 9th century and the Norman Conquest. Old Norse was closely related to Old English, and extensive borrowing took place in all areas of language, including vocabulary, place names, and personal names. Unusually, part of the grammatical system of English was also affected, with the Old Norse personal pronouns `they', `them', and `their' ousting the Old English forms. In contrast to loan words from Latin and French in English which tend to be of a higher register with several syllables, Norse contributed everyday, general words like leg, sky, skirt, and cake. Some of the most common verbs in English came from Old Norse, such as get and give. One borrowing which describes a unique part of Scandinavian culture is saga. Literally `narrative', a saga is a story written in Iceland in the Middle Ages recounting the adventures of a hero or the history of a family. The term is also applied to modern literature which has some of the characteristics of a saga, particularly a novel or series of novels depicting a family over several generations. Those describing the English middle classes have humorously been tagged Aga sagas. Informally, saga can also mean any story stretching over a long period, or the recounting of a long, boring, involved story, e.g. the continuing saga of the leadership contest.