varg i veum

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse vargr í véum, literally "wolf in a sacred place". From vargr (“wolf; criminal, evildoer”), from Proto-Germanic *wargaz, and véum, dative plural of vé (“sanctuary”), from Proto-Germanic *wīhą.

Noun

varg i veum

1. (idiomatic, Norse period) an outcast
2. (idiomatic, by extension) persona non grata

References

• i veum “varg i veum” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Etymology

A literary loan from Old Norse vargr í véum, literally ”criminal in a sacred place”. From vargr (“criminal, evildoer”), from Proto-Germanic *wargaz, and véum, dative plural of vé (“sacred place”), from Proto-Germanic *wīhą. The word varg is used here in its older sense ”criminal, evildoer”, but is identical to its general meaning ”wolf”, originally a taboo replacement word for ulv.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /varj ɪ ²veːɵm/

Noun

varg i veum c

1. (archaic) an outcast, a lawless criminal
2. (archaic, by extension) an unwanted person, persona non grata
   • 2008, Andreas Nyblom, Ryktbarhetens ansikte, page 218:

     Strindberg hade plötsligt blivit Gud för folket efter att länge ha varit varg i veum.

     Strindberg had suddenly become God for the people after having long been an outcast.

   • 2019 March 6 [c. 1894], Annica Albertsson, “Borgarflickan som blev bolsjevik [The bourgeois girl who became a Bolshevik.]”, in Proletären:

     Själv skrev hon: ”Med ens brände jag mina skepp och stod oåterkalleligen bland samhällsomstörtarna, jag visste att jag nu var Varg i Veum inom mitt eget hem trots att jag älskade min man men starkare än alla hänsyn drev mig lusten att kämpa med i deras led. Glömma sig själv för idéerna. Hur oändligt härligt!”

     She wrote herself: "Suddenly, I burned my bridges and stood irreversibly among the revolutionaries. I knew that I was now an outcast in my own home, even though I loved my husband. But stronger than all considerations, the desire to fight alongside them compelled me. To forget oneself for the ideals. How infinitely splendid!"

References

• varg in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• varg in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• varg in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)