Sperber, Hans. Etymology of the Verb Sock

• Author: Sperber, Hans.
• Title: Etymology of the Verb Sock
• Published in: Language 28/1
• Year: 1952
• Pages: 109-11
• E-text:
• Reference: Sperber, Hans. "Etymology of the Verb Sock." Language 28/1 (1952): 109-11.

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• Key words: language and style (mál og stíll)

Annotation

The verb ‘sock’ has two distinct meanings: a heavy blow and a blow or thrust by which a weapon enters the body. A number of Old Norse examples (from Egils saga, Snorra Edda and Völsunga saga) show that ON ‘sökkva’ is used where a sword sinks (‘sökkur’) into an opponent’s body. The English verb likely derives from ON ‘sökkva’; further evidence for this can be found in dialectal words in the Shetland and Orkney Islands.

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