dómr

Dómr is a noun found in Old Norse and Old Icelandic that denotes judgment, a verdict, or a decree. It carried both secular and sacred meanings, referring to a court’s decision and to divine or fated decrees. In saga literature and legal codes, the term described the outcome of inquiry, the pronouncement by a judge or assembly, and sometimes the inexorable fate laid down by the gods or by Christian eschatology.

Etymology: Dómr is derived from a Proto-Germanic root connected with the concept of judgment or fate and is cognate with other Germanic terms such as Old English dōm. The modern Icelandic noun dómur or dómur is related, reflecting the same semantic field.

Usage: In Old Norse texts, dómr appears in contexts of law, governance, and moral consequence, and in poetry to evoke the seriousness or inevitability of a decision. The word also appears in religious writings to denote divine decree or the Last Judgment in a Christian frame.

Modern language: In contemporary Icelandic, the common term for a court verdict is dómur; the older form dómr survives in historical texts and scholarly works and in the etymology of related words in English (doom) and other Germanic languages. The concept continues to appear in discussions of Norse law, poetry, and religion as a historical term rather than a living everyday word.