dauði
masculine
The Old Norse word for "death" is dauði.
dauði is the most general and neutral noun used to describe the cessation of life in Old Norse.
Meaning: cessation of life (noun)
What does it mean word for word?
The word dauði is a cousin of the English word "death" and the ancestor of the modern Scandinavian word "død".
How does it change in a sentence?
dauði is a masculine noun. It changes form depending on its role in a sentence: it is a weak noun, so the accusative, dative and genitive singular are all dauða. With the definite article it becomes dauðinn.
Did you know?
- In some Norse legal contexts, the term dauði could be linked to 'outlawry', where a person was treated as legally dead to the community even if they were still breathing.
- While dauði is the standard noun, Old Norse-speaking cultures often used different euphemisms or descriptive phrases to avoid speaking the name of death directly.
Example sentences for Old Norse are not verified yet.
Example conversation
Ivar and Gunnhild are discussing the fate of a fallen warrior.
- IvarSá var hræddr við dauðann.That one was afraid of death.
- GunnhildEkki allir eru djarfir, Ivar.Not everyone is brave, Ivar.
- IvarEn dauðinn kemr til hvers manns.But death comes to every man.
- GunnhildSatt er þat, minn vinr.That is true, my friend.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “death” translations and entries dauði, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
