váttr

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *wahtaz (“speech”).

Older theories tentatively connected the word to vitni (“witness”), from a different root.

Noun

váttr m (genitive váttar, plural vættir)

  1. a witness, eyewitness

Declension

Declension of váttr (strong u-stem)
masculine singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative váttr váttrinn vættir vættirnir
accusative vátt váttinn vætti, váttu vættina, váttuna
dative vætti, vátt vættinum, váttinum váttum váttunum
genitive váttar váttarins vátta váttanna

Descendants

  • Icelandic: vottur
  • Old Swedish: vātter

Further reading

  • Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “váttr”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive
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