List of English words of Old Norse origin

Words of Old Norse origin have entered the English language, primarily from the contact between Old Norse and Old English during colonisation of eastern and northern England between the mid 9th to the 11th centuries (see also Danelaw). Many of these words are part of English core vocabulary, such as egg or knife. There are hundreds of such words, and the list below does not aim at completeness.

To be distinguished from loan words which date back to the Old English period are modern Old Norse loans originating in the context of Old Norse philology, such as kenning (1871), and loans from modern Icelandic (such as geyser, 1781). Yet another class comprises loans from Old Norse into Old French, which via Anglo-Norman were then indirectly loaned into Middle English; an example is flâneur, via French from the Old Norse verb flana "to wander aimlessly".

A

 * ado: influenced by Norse at ("to", infinitive marker) which was used with English "do" in certain English dialects
 * aloft:
 * á ("=in, on, to") + lopt ("=air, atmosphere, sky, heaven, upper floor, loft")
 * English provenance = c 1200 AD
 * anger:
 * angr ("=trouble, affliction"); root ang (="strait, straitened, troubled")
 * English provenance = c 1250 AD
 * are: merger of Old English (earun, earon) and Old Norse (er) cognates
 * auk: A type of Arctic seabird.
 * awe:
 * agi ("=terror")
 * English provenance = c 1205 AD (as aȝe, an early form of the word resulting from the influence of Old Norse on an existing Anglo-Saxon form, eȝe)
 * awesome: From the same Norse root as "awe".
 * awful: From the same Norse root as "awe".
 * awkward: the first element is from Old Norse ǫfugr ("=turned-backward"), the '-ward' part is from Old English weard
 * awn: From Old Norse ögn
 * axle: May be a combination of Old English eax and Old Norse öxull (="axis")

B

 * bag: baggi
 * bait: beita
 * band: band (="rope")
 * bank (geography): from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse banki, Old Danish banke (="sandbank").
 * bark: bǫrkr
 * bash: From Old Norse *basca (="to strike")
 * bask: baðask reflex. of baða "bathe" (baðast, baða sig)
 * bat (animal): probably related to Old Swedish natbakka, Old Danish nathbakkæ "night bat," and Old Norse leðrblaka "bat," literally "leather flapper".
 * berserk: berserkr, lit. 'bear-shirt', (alt. berr-serkr, 'bare-shirt') frenzied warriors
 * billow: bylgja
 * birth: byrðr
 * blather: Probably from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse blaðra (="mutter, wag the tongue")
 * bleak: bleikr (="pale")
 * blend: Possibly from Old Norse blanda (="to mix")
 * blister: From a Scandinavian source via Old French
 * bloat: From a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse blautr (="soaked, soft from being cooked in liquid")
 * bloom: "blossom of a plant," c. 1200, a northern word, from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse blomi "flower, blossom".
 * blunder: blundra (="shut one's eye")
 * boast: Probably from a Scandinavian source via Anglo-French
 * bole: From Old Norse bolr (="tree trunk")
 * both: baðir
 * boon: bon (="a petition, prayer")
 * booth: From Old Danish boþ (="temporary dwelling"), from East Norse *boa (="to dwell")
 * boulder: from a Scandinavian source akin to Swedish dialectal bullersten "noisy stone" (large stone in a stream, causing water to roar around it), from bullra "to roar" + sten "stone".
 * brink: Possibly related to Danish brink (="steepness, shore, bank, grassy edge")
 * brisket: perhaps from Old French bruschet, with identical sense of the English word, or from Old Norse brjosk "gristle, cartilage" (related to brjost "breast") or Danish bryske
 * brunt: Likely from Old Norse brundr (="sexual heat") or bruna =("to advance like wildfire")
 * bulk: bulki
 * bull: boli
 * bump: Perhaps from Scandinavian, probably echoic
 * bur: From a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse burst (="bristle")
 * bylaw: bylög ('by'=village; 'lög'=law; 'village-law')

C

 * cake: kaka (="cake")
 * call: kalla (="cry loudly")
 * cart: From Old Norse kartr or a similar Scandinavian source
 * cast: kasta (="to throw")
 * chubby: Perhaps influenced by Old Norse kumba "log", kumben "stumpy".
 * clip: klippa (="to cut")
 * club: klubba (="cudgel")
 * clumsy: From a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse klumsa (="make speechless, palsy; prevent from speaking")
 * cog: Probably a Scandinavian borrowing, related to Norwegian kugg
 * cozy: Likely of Scandinavian origin via Scots, perhaps related to Norwegian kose seg
 * crawl: krafla (="to claw")
 * craze: Possibly from Old Norse krasa (="shatter") via Old French crasir
 * creek: kriki ("corner, nook") through ME creke ("narrow inlet in a coastline") altered from kryk perhaps influenced by Anglo-Norman crique itself from a Scandinavian source via Norman-French
 * crochet: from Old Norse krokr "hook" via French crochet "small hook; canine tooth"
 * crocket: from the same Norse root as "crochet" via French.
 * crook: krokr (="hook-shaped instrument or weapon")
 * crotch: from Old North French croche "shepherd's crook," variant of croc "hook," from Old Norse krokr "hook".
 * crotchet, crotchety: from Old Norse krokr "hook" via Old French crochet.
 * crouch: from the same Norse root as "crochet" via French.
 * cur: kurra (="to growl")
 * cut: Possibly from North Germanic *kut-

D

 * dangle: Probably from Scandinavian, related to Danish dangle, Swedish dangla (="to swing about") and Norwegian dangla
 * dank: Related to Swedish dank (="moist place") and dänka (="to moisten")
 * dash, dashing: Probably from a Scandinavian source (compare Swedish daska, Danish daske "to beat, strike")
 * dastard, dastardly: Probably from *dast, "dazed," past participle of dasen "to daze" or the equivalent past participle in Old Norse + deprecatory suffix -ard.
 * daze, dazed: Perhaps from Old Norse *dasa
 * die: deyja (="pass away")
 * dirt: drit (="feces")
 * down (feathers): "first feathers of a baby bird; soft covering of fowls under the feathers, the under-plumage of birds," used for stuffing pillows and feather-beds, mid-14c., from Old Norse dunn, which is of uncertain origin.
 * doze: Probably from a Scandinavian source (compare Old Norse dusa "to doze," Danish døse "to make dull," Swedish dialectal dusa "to sleep").
 * dregs: dregg (="sediment")
 * droop: From Old Norse drupa (="to drop, sink, hang (the head)")
 * dump: Possibly related to Danish dumpe (="fall hard"), Norwegian dumpa (="to fall suddenly"), and Old Norse dumpa (="to beat"). Not found in Old English.

E

 * egg: egg (="egg")
 * eider: a type of duck.
 * equip, equipment: skipa (="organize, arrange, place in order") through Middle French équiper, from Old French esquiper "fit out a ship, load on board", itself from Norman-French esquipper, eschiper

F

 * fell (geography): from Old Norse fiall "mountain"
 * fellow: félagi
 * filly: Possibly from Old Norse fylja, fem. of foli (="foal")
 * fir: from Old Norse fyri- "fir" or Old Danish fyr.
 * firth: From Old Norse fjörðr via Scottish
 * fjord: From Norwegian fiord, from Old Norse fjörðr (="an inlet, estuary")
 * flag: Probably from Old Norse flaka (="to flicker, flutter, hang loose")
 * flaneur: flana ("to wander aimlessly") + French suffix -eur through (19th cent.) French flâneur, itself from Norman-French flaner, flanner
 * flat: flatr
 * flaunt: Related to Swedish flankt (="loosely, flutteringly") and flakka (="to waver")
 * flaw: From Old Norse flaga (="stone slab, layer of stone")
 * fleck: Probably from Old Norse flekka (="to spot, stain, cover with spots")
 * fling: Probably from Old Norse flengja
 * flit: flytja (="cause to fit")
 * floe: From Norwegian flo (="layer, slab") from Old Norse flo
 * flounder: From Old Norse flydhra via Anglo-French floundre
 * fluster: Probably from a Scandinavian source related to Icelandic flaustr (="fluster")
 * fog: from Old Norse fok through Danish fog, meaning "spray", "shower", "snowdrift"
 * fro: from Old Norse fra (="from)
 * freckle: freknur (="freckles")

G

 * gab: gabbnna (="to mock") through Northern England dialect, Scottish or Norman-French
 * gable: from Old French gable "facade, front, gable," from Old Norse gafl "gable, gable-end" (in north of England, the word probably is directly from Norse).
 * gad: gaddr (="spike, nail")
 * gag: Perhaps influenced by Old Norse gag-hals (="with head thrown back")
 * gain: from Germanic and from Old Norse via Old French.
 * gait: Related to Old Norse gata (="way, road, path")
 * gale: Perhaps from Old Norse gol (="breeze") or Old Danish gal (="bad, furious")
 * gang: gangr (="act of going, a group of men")
 * gap: gap (="chasm")
 * gape: From an unrecorded English word or from Old Norse gapa (="to open the mouth wide, gape")
 * gasp: geispa (="to yawn")
 * gaunt: Perhaps from a Scandinavian source
 * gawk: from Middle English gawen, from Old Norse ga (="to heed")
 * gear: from Old Norse gørvi (="apparel, gear")
 * geld: from Old Norse gelda (="to castrate")
 * gelding: from Old Norse geldingr (="wether; eunuch")
 * get: geta, gat (got), gittan (gotten)
 * geyser: from Icelandic geysir, from Old Norse geysa (="to gush")
 * gift: gift (="dowry")
 * gill: Possibly related to Old Norse gjölnar
 * girth: gjörð (="circumference, cinch")
 * give: gefa (="to give")
 * glitter: glitra (="to glitter")
 * gloat: From a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse glotta (="to grin, smile scornfully and show the teeth")
 * gosling: gæslingr (="goose")
 * grovel: Shakespearean term originating from Old Norse grufe
 * guest: gestr (="guest")
 * gun: from Old Norse Gunnhildr (female name, both elements of the name, gunn and hildr, have the meaning "war, battle")
 * gust: gustr (="gust")

H

 * haggle: haggen (="to chop")
 * hail: heill (="health, prosperity, good luck")
 * hank: Probably from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse hönk (="a hank, coil")
 * hap, happy: happ (="chance, good luck, fate")
 * harness: From Old Norse *hernest (="provisions for an army") via Old French harnois
 * harsh: probably from Middle English harske "rough, coarse, sour" (c. 1300), a northern word of Scandinavian origin.
 * haunt: heimta (="to bring back home") through Anglo-Norman haunter (="to reside", "to frequent"), (Old) French hanter from Norman hanter.
 * haven: From Old Norse höfn (="haven, harbor")
 * head: From Old Norse hǫfuð (="head")
 * hit: hitta (="to find")
 * how (or howe): haugr (="barrow, small hill") Usage preserved mainly in place names
 * husband: husbondi (="master of the house")
 * hug: Possibly from Old Norse hugga (="to comfort")

I

 * ill: illr (="bad")
 * irk: yrkja (="to work")

J

 * jökulhlaup: from Icelandic jökulhlaup from Old Norse jǫkull and hlaup.
 * jarl: From Old Norse jarl

K

 * kedge: Probably from a Scandinavian source or related to "cadge"
 * keg: From a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse kaggi (="keg, cask")
 * keel: kjölr
 * kenning: a descriptive phrase used in Germanic poetry, a modern learned word from Old Norse kenning in a special sense.
 * kick: Of uncertain origin, perhaps from Old Norse kikn (="bend backwards, sink at the knees")
 * kid: kið (="young goat")
 * kidnap: From kid + a variant of nab, both of which are of Scandinavian origin.
 * kilt: From Middle English kilten, from a Scandinavian source
 * kindle: kynda
 * knife: knífr

L

 * lad: ladd (="young man (unlikely)")
 * lag: Possibly from a Scandinavian source, related to Norwegian lagga (="go slowly")
 * lass: From a Scandinavian source related to Old Swedish løsk kona (="unmarried woman") or Old Norse löskr (="idle, weak")
 * lathe: hlaða (="to load")
 * law: *lagu
 * leg: leggr
 * lemming: From Old Norse lomundr via Norwegian lemming
 * lift: lypta (="to raise")
 * likely: líkligr
 * link: *hlenkr
 * litmus: litmose (="lichen for dyeing", lita ="to stain")
 * loan: lán (="to lend")
 * loft: lopt (="an upper room or floor : attic, air, sky")
 * loose: lauss (="loose/free")
 * lope: From Old Norse hlaupa (="to run, leap, spring up")
 * low: lagr
 * lug: From Scandinavian, related to Swedish lugga and Norwegian lugge (="to pull by the hair")

M

 * meek: From a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse mjukr (='soft, pliant, gentle')
 * midden: Of Scandinavian origin, related to Danish mødding
 * mink: From a Scandinavian source, related to Swedish menk (="a stinking animal in Finland")
 * mire: myrr (='bog')
 * mistake: mistaka (="miscarry")
 * muck: myki (="cow dung")
 * mug: mugge
 * muggy: mugga (="drizzle, mist")

N

 * nab: Probably a variant of dialectal nap "to seize, catch, lay hold of", which possibly is from Scandinavian.
 * nag: Probably ultimately from a Scandinavian source, related to Old Norse gnaga (="to complain," literally "to bite, gnaw")
 * narwhal: From Danish and Norwegian narhval, probably a metathesis of Old Norse nahvalr, literally "corpse-whale," from na "corpse"
 * nay, naysayer: From a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse nei
 * niggard, niggardly: Perhaps from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse *hniggw, possibly via French
 * Norman, Normandy: from Old Norse through Old French, meaning "northman", due to Viking settlement in Normandy region
 * nudge: Perhaps from Scandinavian, related to Norwegian nugge/nyggje (="to jostle, rub") and Icelandic nugga (="to rub, massage")

O

 * oaf: alfr (="elf")
 * odd: oddi (="third number", "the casting vote")
 * ombudsman: from Old Norse umboðsmaðr through Swedish ombudsman, meaning "commissary", "representative", "steward"
 * outlaw: utlagi

P

 * peen: Probably from a Scandinavian source, related to Norwegian penn and Old Swedish pæna
 * plough, plow: plogr
 * prod: From Old Norse broddr (="shaft, spike")

Q

 * queasy: Possibly from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse kveisa (="a boil") (Middle English Compendium compares Old Norse iðra-kveisa "bowel pains").

R

 * race: rás (="to race", "to run", "to rush", "to move swift")
 * raft: raptr (="log")
 * rag: Probably from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse rögg (="shaggy tuft, rough hair")
 * ragged: Related to "rag", perhaps from or reinforced by Old Norse raggaðr (="shaggy").
 * ragtag: From rag + tag, both component words being of Scandinavian origin.
 * raise: reisa
 * ransack: rannsaka (="to search the house")
 * reef: Likely from Old Norse rif (="ridge in the sea; reef in a sail") via Dutch riffe
 * regret: gráta ("to weep, groan") + French prefix re- through Old French regreter, itself from Old Norman-French regrater, regreter, influenced by Old English grætan
 * reindeer: hreindyri
 * rid: Possibly from Old Norse ryðja (="to clear (land) of obstructions")
 * rift: Related to Old Norse ripa/rifa (=""to tear apart, break a contract")
 * rig: Probably from a Scandinavian source. May be related to Danish/Norwegian rigge (="to equip") and Swedish rigga (="to rig, harness")
 * rive: rífa (="to scratch, plow, tear")
 * root: rót
 * rotten: rotinn (="decayed")
 * rug: rogg (="shaggy tuft")
 * rugged: rogg (="shaggy tuft")
 * rump: From a Scandinavian source related to Danish/Norwegian rumpe and Swedish rumpa

S

 * saga: saga (="story, tale")
 * sale: sala
 * same: same, samr (="same")
 * scale: (for weighing) from skal (="bowl, drinking cup", or in plural "weighing scale" referring to the cup or pan part of a balance) in early English used to mean "cup"
 * scalp: From a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse skalli (="a bald head") or skalpr (="sheath, scabbard")
 * scant: skamt and skammr (="short, lacking")
 * scare: skirra (="to frighten)
 * scarf: skarfr (="fastening joint") ("scarf" and "scarves" have possibly been reintroduced to modern Swedish in their English forms as slang, but Swedes almost always use the compound "neck-cloth" (hals-duk).
 * scathe: skaða (="to hurt, injure")
 * scoff: From a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse skaup, skop (="mockery, ridicule")
 * scofflaw: From scoff + law, both of which are of Old Norse origin.
 * scold: From Old Norse skald (="poet")
 * scorch: Perhaps from Old Norse skorpna (="to be shriveled"). It was previously thought to be from Old French, but this is now considered unlikely.
 * score: skor (="notch"; "twenty")
 * scowl: Probably from a Scandinavian source, related to Norwegian skule (="look furtively, squint, look embarrassed") and Danish skule (="to scowl, cast down the eyes")
 * scrag: Related to Norwegian skragg "a lean person;" dialectal Swedish skraka "a great, dry tree; a long, lean man," skragge "old and torn thing," Danish skrog "hull of a ship; carcass," Icelandic skröggr, a nickname of the fox
 * scrap: skrap (="scraps, trifles") from skrapa
 * scrape: skrapa (="to scrape, erase")
 * scrawny: Of uncertain origin but probably from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse skrælna (="to shrivel")
 * scree: From Old Norse skriða (="landslide")
 * scuff: Probably from a Scandinavian source related to Old Norse skufa, skyfa (="to shove, push aside"), via Scottish
 * seat: sæti (="seat, position")
 * seem: sœma (="to conform")
 * shrimp: Probably from or related to Old Norse skreppa (="thin person")
 * shrivel: Perhaps from a Scandinavian source and related to Swedish skryvla (="to wrinkle, to shrivel")
 * shrug: perhaps connected to Danish skrugge "to stoop, crouch."
 * silt: Probably from a Scandinavian source, related to Norwegian and Danish sylt (="salt marsh") and Old Swedish sylta (="mud")
 * skate: skata (="fish")
 * skeet: ultimately from Old Norse skjota (="to shoot")
 * skerry: From Old Norse sker
 * skewer: Possibly from Old Norse skifa (="a cut, slice")
 * ski: From Norwegian ski, related to Old Norse skið (="long snowshoe")
 * skid: Probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse skið (="stick of wood")
 * skill: skil (="distinction")
 * skin: skinn (="animal hide")
 * skip: skopa (="to skip, run)
 * skit: Perhaps ultimately from Old Norse skjuta (="to shoot, move quickly")
 * skitter, skittish: Perhaps relate to Old Norse skjota
 * skirt
 * skyrta (="shirt")


 * skive: From a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse skifa (="to cut, split")
 * skrike: skríkja (="to scream")
 * skua: from Faroese skugvur, related to Old Norse skufr (="seagull, tuft, tassel"), and possibly to skauf (="fox's tail").
 * skull: skulle (="head")
 * sky: ský (="cloud")
 * skyscraper: From sky + scrape, both of which originate from Old Norse
 * slam: From a Scandinavian source, ultimately of imitative origin.
 * slant: sletta, slenta (="to throw carelessly")
 * slaughter: *slahtr (="butchering")
 * slaver: slafra (="slaver")
 * sledge: sleggja (="sledgehammer")
 * sleight: slœgð
 * sleuth: sloð (="trail")
 * slight: Probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse slettr (="smooth, sleek")
 * sling: From Old Norse slyngva
 * slob: From a Scandinavian source via Irish
 * slouch: Related to Old Norse slokr ("lazy fellow")
 * slump: Probably from a Scandinavian source such as Norwegian and Danish slumpe (="fall upon,") Swedish slumpa; perhaps ultimately of imitative origin.
 * slush: Perhaps from a Scandinavian source, related to Norwegian and Danish slask (="slushy ground")
 * sly: sloegr (="cunning, crafty, sly")
 * smithy: From Old Norse smiðja
 * snag: From a Scandinavian source, related Old Norse snagi (="clothes peg")
 * snare: snara (="noose, snare")
 * snape: sneypa (="to outrage, dishonor, disgrace")
 * snipe: From Old Norse -snipa
 * sniper: From English snipe, which was derived from Old Norse
 * snub: snubba (="to curse")
 * snug, snuggle: Perhaps from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse snoggr (="short-haired")
 * spike: perhaps from or related to a Scandinavian word, such as Old Norse spik "splinter," Middle Swedish spijk "nail".
 * sprint: spretta (="to jump up")
 * squabble: probably from a Scandinavian source and of imitative origin
 * squall: Probably from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse skvala (="to cry out")
 * stack: From a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse stakkr (="haystack")
 * stagger: stakra (="to push")
 * stain: steina (="to paint")
 * steak: steik, steikja (="to fry")
 * stern (nautical): probably from a Scandinavian source, such as Old Norse stjorn "a steering," related to or derived from styra "to guide".
 * stoup: From a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse staup (="cup")
 * stumble: Probably from a Scandinavian source, may be related to Norwegian stumla, Swedish stambla (="to stumble")
 * swag: From a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse sveggja (="to swing, sway")
 * swain: from Old Norse sveinn "boy, servant, attendant".
 * sway: sveigja (="to bend, swing, give way")

T

 * tag: Probably from a Scandinavian source, related to Norwegian tagg (="point, prong, barb") and Swedish tagg (="prickle, thorn")
 * tangle: From a Scandinavian source, possibly related to Old Norse þongull
 * take: taka
 * tarn: tjǫrn, tjarn
 * tatter: From a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse töturr (="rags, tatters, tattered garment")
 * teem: tœma (="to empty")
 * tern: From a Scandinavian source akin via East Anglian dialect
 * tether: Probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse tjoðr (="tether")
 * their: þeirra
 * they: þeir
 * though: from Old English þēah, and in part from Old Norse þó (="though")
 * thrall: þræll
 * thrift: þrift (="prosperity")
 * thrive: From a Scandinavian source akin to þrifask (="to thrive", originally "grasp to oneself")
 * thrust: þrysta (="to thrust, force")
 * thwart: þvert (="across")
 * tidings: tíðindi (="news of events")
 * tight: þéttr (="watertight, close in texture, solid")
 * till: til (="to, until")
 * toft: From Old Norse topt (="homestead")
 * toom: tóm (="vacant time, leisure")
 * toss: Of uncertain origin, possibly from a Scandinavian source
 * trash: Perhaps from Old Norse tros (="rubbish, fallen leaves and twigs")
 * troll: troll (="giant, fiend, demon"; further etymology is disputed)
 * trust (verb): traust (="help, confidence")
 * tryst: from Old French tristre (="waiting place, appointed station in hunting"), probably from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse treysta (="to trust, make firm").
 * tyke: From a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse tik (="bitch")

U

 * ugly: uggligr (="Dreadfull, repulsive")
 * until: from Old Norse und (="as far as, up to") and til (="until, up to")

V

 * valkyrie: from Old Norse valkyrja, literally "chooser of the slain," from valr (="those slain in battle") + kyrja (="chooser"), from ablaut root of kjosa (="to choose")
 * viking: vikingr (="one who came from the fjords", vik = small and not deep fjord)
 * vole: Probably from Old Norse völlr (="field")

W

 * wad: from Old Norse vaðmal
 * wag: Probably from a Scandinavian source related Old Norse vagga (="a cradle")
 * waif: Probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse veif (="waving thing, flag") via Anglo-French waif
 * wail: From Old Norse væla (="to lament")
 * waive, waiver: from Anglo-French weyver "to abandon, waive" (Old French guever "to abandon, give back"), probably from a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse veifa "to swing about".
 * walrus: A loanword from Dutch, but probably ultimately an alteration of a Scandinavian word.
 * wand: vondr (="rod")
 * want: vanta (="to lack")
 * wapentake: From Old Norse vapnatak
 * wassail: From Old Norse vas heill (="be healthy")
 * weak: veikr (="weak, pliant")
 * wheeze: Probably from a Scandinavian source such as Old Norse hvoesa (="to hiss")
 * whirl: hvirfla (="to go around")
 * whisk: viska (="to plait")
 * wicker: From a Scandinavian source, related to Danish viger and Middle Swedish viker
 * wicket: vík (="bay") + French suffix -et through Anglo-Norman wicket, itself from Old Norman-French wiket, Norman-French viquet > French guichet
 * wight: vigr (="able in battle") – the other wight meaning "man" is from Old English
 * wile: vél (="trick, craft, fraud")
 * windlass: vindáss (= "windlass", literally "winding-pole"), through Old Norman / Anglo-Norman windas, from vinda ("to wind") + áss ("pole").
 * window: vindauga (="wind-eye") – although gluggi was more commonly used in Old Norse
 * wing: vængr (="a wing")
 * wreck: From a Scandinavian source akin to Old Norse *wrek (="wreck, flotsam"), via Anglo-Norman wrec
 * wrong: rangr (="crooked, wry, wrong")

Y

 * yaw: Perhaps ultimately from Old Norse jaga