herað

See also: herad and hérað

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hīwą (“marriage”). Related to the first element of Gothic 𐌷𐌴𐌹𐍅𐌰𐍆𐍂𐌰𐌿𐌾𐌰 (heiwafrauja, “master of the house”).

Noun

herað n (dative herði, plural heruð)

1. district
2. country (countryside)

Declension

  Declension of herað (strong a-stem)

neuter	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	herað	heraðit	herǫð, heruð	herǫðin, heruðin
accusative	herað	heraðit	herǫð, heruð	herǫðin, heruðin
dative	herði	herðinu	herðum	herðunum
genitive	heraðs	heraðsins	herða	herðanna

Descendants

• Icelandic: hérað
• Faroese: herað
• Norwegian Nynorsk: herad; (dialectal) hørå
• Old Swedish: hæraþ
  • Swedish: härad
• Danish: herred
  • Norwegian Bokmål: herred
• → Scottish Gaelic: Hearadh

References

• herað in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.