Old Norse

Noun

fjǫr n

1. life
2. (poetic) the vital parts; the body
   • Egill Skallagrímsson, Hǫfuðlausn (“Head's Ransom”, sometimes referred to as “Head-Ransom”):

     Fleinn hitti fjǫr.‎

     A pike struck the body.

3. vigour, spirit, energy

Derived terms

Descendants

• Icelandic: fjör

Usage notes

• Especially frequent in alliterative phrases such as eiga fótum fjǫr at launa and fjǫr ok fé.
• Often used in compounds in poems, especially when denoting loss of life e.g. fjǫrbann, fjǫrgrand and fjǫrlát.