English
ganfer
Ganfer comes from Old Norse gandferð ‘gand-journey’, and goes back to gandr ‘evil spirit’.
- Old Norsec. 800–1350gandr‘evil spirit’
- Old Norse, derivedc. 800–1350gandferð‘gand-journey’
- Englishearliest quotation 1879ganfer
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Earlier history not traced here.
Lineage
- Old Norsec. 800–1350gandr‘evil spirit’
- Old Norse, derivedc. 800–1350gandferð‘gand-journey’
- Englishearliest quotation 1879ganfer
Earliest quotation: 1879, George Low, A tour through the islands of Orkney and Schetland: “[…] by Ghosts here called Ganfers, in all which…”
The story
Thought to ultimately derive from Old Norse gandferð (‘gand-journey’), with the first element connected to Old Norse gandr (‘evil spirit’).
Every English word from Old Norse gandr
Today it means
noun A kind of ghost found in the folklore of Orkney and Shetland.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old Norse gandr / ganfer