*Nerþuz

Runic: ᚾᛖᚱᚦᚢᛉ Pronunciation: /ˈner.θuz/

proper noun · masculine · u-stem

Meanings

A Germanic god or goddess: Njord, Nerthus.

Etymology

Unknown. Possibly a derivative of Proto-Indo-European *h₂nḗr (‘power, vitality, force’). Compare Old Irish nert (‘strength’), Sanskrit सूनृत (sūnṛtá) (sūnṛtá, ‘pleasant’) (< *Hsu-Hnr̥tás), Old English (ġe-)neorð (‘contented’); for the suffix, see *-þuz. More at Njörðr, Njörun, and Nerthus.

Note

Attested as feminine (Tacitus's dea Nerthus), but the reconstructed PGmc u-stem form and the later masculine Norse reflex (Njörðr) leave the original grammatical gender disputed; recorded here as masculine.

Declension

CaseSingularPlural
Nom.Nerþuz–
Acc.Nerþų–
Gen.Nerþauz–
Dat.Nirþiwi–
Inst.Nerþū–
Voc.Nerþu–

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Descendants

  • Njǫrðr (Old Norse)
    • Njørd, Njord (Danish)
    • Njorth, Njord (English)
    • Njørður (Faroese)
    • Njörður (Icelandic)
    • Njord, Njor (Norwegian Nynorsk)
    • Njärd, Njord (Swedish)
  • Nerthus (Latin)

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