Aheiti (Old Norseheiti[hɛitɪ],Modern Icelandic[heiːtɪ], pl.heiti "name, appellation, designation, term"[1]) is asynonym used inOld Norse poetry in place of the normal word for something. For instance, Old Norse poets might usejór "steed" instead of the prosaichestr "horse".
In the modern sense, heiti are distinguished fromkennings in that a heiti is a simple word, whereas a kenning is a circumlocution in the form of a phrase or compound word; thusmækir is a heiti for "sword" (the usual word in prose issverð), whereasgrand hlífar "bane of shield" andben-fúrr "wound-fire" are kennings for "sword".
However,Snorri Sturluson, writing in the 13th century, understood heiti in a broader sense that could include kennings. Snorri termed simple words, poetic or otherwise,ókend heiti "unqualified terms". These he distinguished from circumlocutions,kend heiti "qualified terms" (i.e., kennings).[2]
Some heiti are words not normally found outside verse, e.g.fírar, one of numerous synonyms formenn "men, people". Others are common enough in prose but used by the poets in some specialised sense, such assalt "salt" to meansjár "sea".
Heiti had a variety of origins. Some were archaic words:jór "steed", some loanwords:sinjór "lord" (from Latinsenior, probably viaOld Frenchseignor). Several kinds ofsynecdoche andmetonymy were employed:barð "part of the prow of a ship" for "ship" as a whole;gotnar "Goths" for "men" or "people" in general;targa "targe" (a type of shield) for "shield" in general;stál "steel" for "weapons, warfare". A few heiti were metaphorical:hríð "storm" for "attack, (onset of) battle". Some were originally proper names:Hrotti,Laufi,Mistilteinn andTyrfingr were all swords owned by legendary heroes. There were also heiti for specific individuals, especially gods (e.g.Grímnir,Fjölnir,Viðrir and many more forOdin).
There were a great many heiti for certain concepts which the poets often dealt with, such as "man", "woman", "leader", and terms for weapons. Names ofsækonungar "sea-kings" (legendary pirate leaders) constitute another large category. From these were formed kennings for "sea" and "ship", e.g.Rakna bifgrund "Rakni's shaking ground" = "the sea";Þvinnils dýr "Thvinnil's beast" = "ship".
Analogous, and in some casescognate terms, are found in the poetic traditions of other early Germanic languages, e.g.Old Englishguma,secg: Old Norsegumi,seggr "man"; Old Englishheoru,mēce: Old Norsehjǫrr,mækir "sword". Many other languages, ancient and modern, have possessed a specialised poetic vocabulary more or less removed from everyday speech, often derived in similar ways to Old Norse heiti.