Kenning
Overview
Circumlocution
Circumlocution is an ambiguous or roundabout figure of speech...
, in the form of a compound
Compound (linguistics)
In linguistics, a compound is a lexeme that consists of more than one stem. Compounding or composition is the word formation that creates compound lexemes...
(usually two words, often hyphenated) that employs figurative language in place of a more concrete single-word noun
Noun
In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition .Lexical categories are defined in terms of how their members combine with other kinds of...
. Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic
Icelandic language
Icelandic is a North Germanic language, the main language of Iceland. Its closest relative is Faroese.Icelandic is an Indo-European language belonging to the North Germanic or Nordic branch of the Germanic languages. Historically, it was the westernmost of the Indo-European languages prior to the...
and Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon
Anglo-Saxon may refer to:* Anglo-Saxons, a group that invaded Britain** Old English, their language** Anglo-Saxon England, their history, one of various ships* White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, an ethnicity* Anglo-Saxon economy, modern macroeconomic term...
poetry. For example, Old Norse poets
Old Norse poetry
Old Norse poetry encompasses a range of verse forms written in Old Norse, during the period from the 8th century to as late as the far end of the 13th century...
might replace sverð, the regular word for “sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
”, with a more abstract compound such as “wound-hoe” (Egill Skallagrímsson
Egill Skallagrímsson
Egill Skallagrímsson was a Viking Age warrior and skald. Egill is one of the great anti-heroes of the Icelandic sagas.-Life:...
: Höfuðlausn
Höfuðlausn
Höfuðlausn or the "Head's Ransom" is a skaldic poem attributed to Egill Skalla-Grímsson in praise of king Eirik Bloodaxe.It is cited in Egils Saga , which claims that he created it in the span of one night. The events in the saga that lead up to the composition and recitation of the poem can be...
8), or a genitive phrase
Phrase
In everyday speech, a phrase may refer to any group of words. In linguistics, a phrase is a group of words which form a constituent and so function as a single unit in the syntax of a sentence. A phrase is lower on the grammatical hierarchy than a clause....
such as randa íss “ice of shields” (Einarr Skúlason
Einarr Skúlason
Einarr Skúlason was an Icelandic priest and skald. He was the most prominent Norse poet of the 12th century.He was descended from the family of Egill Skallagrímsson, the so called Mýramenn. For most of his life he lived in Norway, with the kings Sigurðr Jórsalafari, Haraldr gilli and the sons of...
: ‘Øxarflokkr’ 9).
Unanswered Questions
