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Perhaps from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse *hniggw, possibly via French [188] Norman, Normandy from Old Norse through Old French, meaning "northman", due to Viking settlement in Normandy region [189] nudge Perhaps from Scandinavian, related to Norwegian nugge/nyggje (="to jostle, rub") and Icelandic nugga (="to rub, massage") [190]
Runestone raised in memory of Gunnarr by Tóki the Viking. [17] The etymology of the word Viking has been much debated by academics, with many origin theories being proposed. [18] [19] One theory suggests that the word's origin is from the Old English wicing 'settlement' and the Old Frisian wizing, attested almost 300 years prior. [20]
The English name "Normans" comes from the French words Normans/Normanz, plural of Normant, [17] modern French normand, which is itself borrowed from Old Low Franconian Nortmann "Northman" [18] or directly from Old Norse Norðmaðr, Latinized variously as Nortmannus, Normannus, or Nordmannus (recorded in Medieval Latin, 9th century) to mean "Norseman, Viking".
The Old Frankish word Nortmann ("Northman") was Latinised as Normannus and was widely used in Latin texts. The Latin word Normannus then entered Old French as Normands. From this word came the name of the Normans and of Normandy, which was settled by Norsemen in the tenth century. [11] [12]
Generally, words coming from French often retain a higher register than words of Old English origin, and they are considered by some to be more posh, elaborate, sophisticated, or pretentious. However, there are exceptions: weep , groom and stone (from Old English) occupy a slightly higher register than cry , brush and rock (from French).
Houlme, Hom(me) or -homme, from the Old Norse word holmr, meaning "islet". The appellative, homme, is identical to the French word meaning, "man", but is pronounced differently: French (l'homme) versus Norman or (le homme). It is found in place-names such as Le Houlme, Robehomme, Saint-Quentin-sur-le-Homme, and les Échommes.
The development of Norman French was also influenced by Norse. Through Norman, to a smaller extent, so was modern French. Written modern Icelandic derives from the Old Norse phonemic writing system. Contemporary Icelandic-speakers can read Old Norse, which varies slightly in spelling as well as semantics and word order.
The Norse people traveled abroad as Vikings and Varangians. As such, they often named the locations and peoples they visited with Old Norse words unrelated to the local endonyms . Some of these names have been acquired from sagas , runestones or Byzantine chronicles.