Hvat er íslendska orðið naumur?

Abstract

In an article in Arkiv for nordisk filologi, 1890, vol. 6, p. 305, Adolf Noreen suggested an etymology for Úie Icelandic adj. naumr, deriving it from a postulated Proto-Norse *narwumaR and relating it, inter alia, to English »narrow«. Some scholars (Torp, Alexander Jóhannesson etc.) accept this etymology, but others (Kluge, Persson, Hellquist) assume that the word comes from the same root as occurs in Icel. nauð f. The present essay suggests that naumr is, in fact, identical with Norw. nauv and Far. neyvur, with change of / > m, likewise attested in Fa. oman »down« (Icel. ofan) and in Mod. Icel. skúmur m. »skua« from Older Icel. skúfr, cf. Far. skúvur or skúgvur.