--- In norse_course@yahoogroups.com, "arnurdth" <telario@...> wrote:

>
> I was wondering if anyone knows the word for badger (the animal, not
> the verb). I am thinking that it would be close to the modern
> word "Grevling" in Norweign. The closest that I found in Zoëga was
> gröf but that refers more to ditches and graves. Thinking of the modern
> term, I am thinking that the animal is called a 'little digger'. Has
> anyone come across the word? We're wanting to use it as a nickname for
> one of my friends daughters because she likes badgers and is so very
> tenatious.

Hi,

There's a Modern Icelandic word 'greifingi' (pl. 'greifinjar')
"badger". It's not in the big Cleasby-Vigfússon dictionary of Old
Icelandic, but goes back at least as far as the 16th century. A quote
from the 18th century identifies it as synonymous with 'brokkur' which
would match Old Icelandic/Norse 'brokkr'. CV does have an entry for
this word, but can't say for sure whether it was used with this
meaning in early times: "a badger? (cf. German, Scottish, English);
name of a dwarf; trotter, of a horse." The latter sense is presumably
related to the verb 'brokka' "to trot". The English word 'brock' < OE
'broc' is thought to be one of the few early loanwords from Welsh.
Modern Welsh, Cornish 'broch', Breton 'broc'h, Old Irish 'brocc'
(could this be the source of Old Norse 'brokkr'?), Irish and Scots
Gaelic 'broc' < Celtic *broccos, cognate with Greek FORKOS "grey,
white", related to English 'grey'.

LN