þunnr

þunnr is an Old Norse word meaning "thin" or "slender." It can be used to describe physical objects, such as a thin piece of wood or a slender waist. The word is related to the English word "thin" and the German word "dünn," both of which share the same Proto-Germanic root.

In Old Norse literature, þunnr appears in various contexts. For example, in the Eddic poem Hávamál, it is used to describe the thinness of the wolf's legs. In the sagas, it might be used to describe a character's lean physique or the thinness of a shield. The word's usage reflects the literal meaning of lacking thickness or substance.

The etymological lineage of þunnr traces back to the Proto-Germanic *\*þunnuz*, which itself likely derives from an even older Proto-Indo-European root. This shared ancestry highlights the long history of the concept of "thinness" in Indo-European languages. The word's direct descendants in modern Scandinavian languages are also very similar, such as Icelandic þunnur, Norwegian tynn, Swedish tunn, and Danish tynd. These cognates demonstrate the word's enduring presence and consistent meaning across the Germanic language family.