I am reading (or more accurately translating because the dictionary is overused when I "read" Irish) a book about vikings called An Bóna Oír. Not sure if anyone has read it but there is a word that comes up occasionally that I can't find anywhere. Tokig. I'm guessing its a proper noun but I was wondering if anyone can tell me what it is.

Thanks
-Seán

Hi a Sheáin, I believe it means crazy in Swedish. By the way did you know that the word Viking never existed. It actually made up of the roman numeral VI and Kings.. The six kings

Asarlaí, you are wrong on the vikings. The word vik or vík I think it is means "bay" in Old Norse.

My recollection is that Tokig is a given name in that book.

vik is in deed a bay/harbour, there are a few in Ireland

Heilbhic, for example
http://www.logainm.ie/49599.aspx



Or Smerwick (The bay of Butter, Ard na Caithne in Irish)

http://www.logainm.ie/22598.aspx

The Irish for Viking is Lochlannach or Uigingeach so Heilbhic must be just an Irish version of the English Helvick which doesn't prove the word Viking isn't an English word. All countries with red, white and blue in their flags are basically all controlled from the same source, but that's a whole other discussion. :0)

What you said was that the word Viking never existed, not that it was an English word.

The German word is Wiking;

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/viking?&qsrc=

1800–10; < Scand; cf. ON vīkingr; cf. OE wīcing pirate; etym. disputed

http://www.hurstwic.org/history/articles/text/word_viking.htm

Lochlannach is the Irish for a person from Lochlann; Scandanavia.

DIL finds "Gall" "Danar" and "Ucing" for viking

http://www.dil.ie/results-list.asp?mode=BAS&Fuzzy=0&searchtext=viking&findlet=+& findcol=&sortField=ID&sortDIR=65602&respage=0&resperpage=10&bhcp=1

uiginge is listed as an alternative for ucing.

Maidir le Tokig, it is given here as mad

http://www.woxikon.com/swe/tokig.php

I don't have the book: but my recollection is that Tokig was the leader of a band of Vikings in the novel, and that the name was due to his berserk (another fine Norse word) fighting.

quote:

By the way did you know that the word Viking never existed. It actually made up of the roman numeral VI and Kings.. The six kings

The etymology is debated, but the one given above is folk etymology to the extreme. It is completely anachronistic. The Old English word was wicing, but the word for king was cyning, so VI cyningas would have been the form, and most certainly attested as such or a form very close. It's like mushroom comes from mush + room. If etymology was that easy!

quote:

I don't have the book: but my recollection is that Tokig was the leader of a band of Vikings in the novel, and that the name was due to his berserk (another fine Norse word) fighting.

Or a salad spinner?

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60148678

Vegetarian Sinn Féin/Na Saladaigh might have something to say about that.

Appreciate the input chaps, even yours Seán ;o) (always knew you were a fun guy). I'd be interested to see if any of the older works like the anglo-saxon chronicles mentions by name these Scandinavian raiders. These kind of queries require deep research since officially sanctioned books won't always give the correct historical answer. (The Bible for instance).
This could be the second time I've put a tangent on one of your threads, Paploo, apologies for that.