BJÖRN
nafnorðkarlkyn
m., gen. bjarnar; dat. birni, pl. n. birnir; acc. björnu, mod. birni, [an enlarged form, cp. Goth, biari, by which word Ulf. renders the Gr. θηρίον, Titus i. 12; A. S. bera; Engl. bear; Germ. bär; but Swed. and Dan. björn]:—a bear; hvíta-björn, the white bear or ice-bear; and skóg-björn, híð-björn, við-björn, the black bear or wood-bear, Germ. wald-bär; the ice-bear was unknown in Europe till the discovery of Iceland at the end of the 9th, and Greenland at the end of the 10th century. The very first ice-bear was brought to Europe by Ingimund the Old as a gift to the king of Norway about A. D. 900, Landn., Fs. (Vd.) 27; Isleif, the first bishop of Iceland, also brought one as a present to the German emperor about A. D. 1050, Bs. i. 61, Hv. ch. 2; cp. the little story of Audun in Fms. vi. 297–307, Sks. 186, Sturl. iii. 82, Grág. ii. 181, Am. 17, where a hvítabjörn is mentioned, Fs. (Flóam. S.) 148; as to the black bear, vide esp. Grett. ch. 23, Finnb. ch. 11, Glúm. ch. 3, Fas. i. 50; cp. an interesting paper, ‘Waldbär und Wasserbär,’ by Konrad Maurer, upon this subject; winter is called ‘the bear’s night;’ hence the saying, ‘löng er bjarnar-nótt;’ cp. langar eigu þeir bersi nætr, Mkv. Björn and Bjarni are freq. pr. names; also in compd. names, Þorbjörn, Ásbjörn; and as a prefix, Bjarngrímr, Bjarnhéðinn, etc.; vide Landn. (Gl.)
COMPDS: bjarnarbroddr, bjarnarhamr, bjarnarhíð, bjarnarhold, bjarnarhrammr, bjarnarslátr.