heiðr

Heiðr is a term from Old Norse with multiple onomastic and lexical uses. In its primary sense, heiðr denotes heath or heathland—an open, barren landscape. It is a common landscape word in Old Norse and appears in poetry and place-name contexts, where it evokes wild, undomesticated terrain. The word is related to other Germanic terms for heath, such as Old English hēath and the modern words Heide or Heide in Germanic languages, and is typically written with the Old Norse letter ð (eth) as heiðr.

Etymology and forms. Heiðr is commonly explained as a native Norse noun from a Proto-Germanic root referring to heath or barren land. In transliteration, medieval texts sometimes render it as "heid" or "heith," reflecting phonetic variants of the same root. Beyond its landscape sense, heiðr also appears as a component in personal names, illustrating its productive role in Norse onomastics. It can occur as a standalone element in given names or as the first element in compound names.

Onomastic and mythological usage. As an element of personal names, heiðr occurs in Old Norse sources and in later Icelandic naming practice, where it can appear in feminine given-name formations. A well-known modern example is Heiðrún (often rendered Heidrun in English), a compound name that appears in mythological and literary contexts and demonstrates how heiðr functions within name-forms. In addition, the presence of heiðr in mythic or poetic compounds underscores its cultural resonance as a formative element in Norse names.

In modern scholarship, heiðr is treated as a historical Old Norse word with a primarily landscape sense and as a component of onomastics, rather than as a standalone modern term.