Takk skal De or Thank you, if my Norse is wrong.
Scott Catledge
From:
norse_course@yahoogroups.com [mailto:
norse_course@yahoogroups.com ] On Behalf Of Brian M. Scott
Sent: Tuesday, February 09, 2010
12:11 PM
To: Scott
Subject: Re[2]: [norse_course] ON
Diminutive Personal Names
At 10:56:26 AM on Tuesday, February 9, 2010, Scott
wrote:
> Someone mentioned "Bikki" as a Norse name but I do not
It occurs in 'Guðrúnarhvöt', which in Guðni Jónsson's
> recall seeing it. Is it a diminutive of some name?
edition can be found at
<http://www.heimskri ngla.no/wiki/ Gu%C3%B0r% C3%BAnarhv% C3%B6t>,
and in 'Völsunga saga', available as edited by G.J. and
Bjarni Vilhjálmsson at
<http://www.heimskri ngla.no/wiki/ V%C3%B6lsunga_ saga>,
as the
malicious adviser of Jörmunrekr. The OE <Becca> in
'Widsith' is apparently the same character, and I gather
that there is a corresponding character in 'Þiðreks saga af
Bern ' who is
named <Sifka>, corresponding to MHG <Sibeche>,
<Sibich>. According to de Vries, <Bikki> is generally
understood to be derived from the German name. The OE name
is also in record as <Bicca>.
In principle <Bikki> could also be an original byname, a
masculine form of <bikkja> 'bitch'; I believe that this
would work for OE as well (masc. *bicca beside fem. <bicce>
'bitch').
Brian