English
garefowl
Garefowl comes from Icelandic geirfugl ‘great auk’, and goes back to Old Norse geirfugl.
- Old Norsec. 800–1350geirfugl‘great auk’
- Icelandicmodernsame form‘great auk’
- Englishearliest quotation 2020garefowl
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Old Norsec. 800–1350geirfugl‘great auk’
- Icelandicmodernsame form‘great auk’
- Englishearliest quotation 2020garefowl
Earliest quotation: 2020, Tim Ecott, The Land of Maybe: “The Faroese men were able to catch more than…”
Every English word from Old Norse geirfugl
Today it means
noun The great auk.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Old Norse geirfugl / garefowl