Viking

English

/ˈvaɪkɪŋ/

noun
Definitions
  • (historical) One of the Scandinavian or other Northern European seafaring warriors that raided (and then settled) the British Isles and other parts of Europe in the 8 centuries and, according to many historians, were the first Europeans to reach North America.
  • (by extension) A stock character common in the fantasy genre, namely a barbarian, generally equipped with an axe or sword and a helmet adorned with horns.
  • (colloquial) A Norseman mediaeval Scandinavian.
  • (colloquial) An ethnic Swede, Norwegian, Dane, Icelander or Faroe Islander.
  • (American football) A player on the Minnesota Vikings NFL team.

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse víkingr (rover, pirate, a freebooter, a Viking), vík (inlet, bay, cove, fjord) derived from Old English wīc (abode, dwelling place, camp, dwelling-place, dairy farm).

Origin

Old English

wīc

Gloss

abode, dwelling place, camp, dwelling-place, dairy farm

Concept
Semantic Field

The house

Ontological Category

Person/Thing

Emoji

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms