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Get to know Kennings better with 10+ real example sentences, the meaning.

Rare word

Kennings in a sentence

Related words

Kennings | Kenning

Kennings meaning

plural of kenning

Using Kennings

  • The main meaning on this page is: plural of kenning
  • In the example corpus, kennings often appears in combinations such as: kennings for, in kennings, kennings are.

Context around Kennings

  • Average sentence length in these examples: 25.7 words
  • Position in the sentence: 5 start, 6 middle, 0 end
  • Sentence types: 11 statements, 0 questions, 0 exclamations

Often before:

various 1× norse 1×

Sentence patterns with Kennings

These short patterns come directly from the example sentences and show how the word is often embedded:

are many kennings in beowulf 1× edda several kennings for höðr 1× frequently in kennings for the 1× kennings are also 1× kennings are strongly 1× occur in kennings and the 1× old norse kennings are relatively 1× poetry with kennings such as 1×

Sentence openings and endings

Common sentence openings:

chapter 7 follows 1× descriptive epithets are 1× geri is referenced 1× kennings are also 1× kennings are strongly 1× skaldic poetry snorri 1×

Common sentence endings:

anglo saxon poetry 1× glorious all ruler 1× höðr are related 1× is heavily formulaic 1× myths or legends 1× of a kenning 1×

Words around Kennings

Just before it in the word index:

kenning 16 kennie 3 kennicott 5 kennick 2 kenni 4 kennford 2

Just after it in the word index:

kennington 21 kennis 8 kennison 4 kennon 16 kenny 846 kennys 2

Similar in corpus frequency:

aab 14 aamer 14 aave 14 abadan 14 abdelmadjid 14 abdulkarim 14

Corpus analysis for Kennings

  • In this selection, "kennings" usually appears in the middle of the sentence. The average example has 25.7 words, and this corpus slice is mostly made up of statements.
  • Around the word, various and norse stand out and add context to how "kennings" is used.
  • Recognizable usage signals include are many kennings in beowulf and edda several kennings for höðr. That gives this page its own corpus information beyond isolated example sentences.
  • By corpus frequency, "kennings" sits close to words such as aab, aamer and aave, which helps place it inside the broader word index.

Example types with kennings

The same corpus examples are grouped by length and sentence type, making it easier to see the contexts in which the word appears:

Short example sentences

Kennings are also a significant technique in Beowulf. (8 words)

In the Skáldskaparmál section of the Prose Edda several kennings for Höðr are related. (14 words)

Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry. (14 words)

Longer example sentences

Geri is referenced in kennings for "blood" in chapter 58 of Skáldskaparmál ("Geri's ales" in a work by the skald Þórðr Sjáreksson ) and in for "carrion" in chapter 60 ("Geri's morsel" in a work by the skald Einarr Skúlason ). (41 words)

Skaldic poetry Snorri's note that a shield can be called Ullr's ship is borne out by surviving skaldic poetry with kennings such as askr Ullar, far Ullar and kjóll Ullar all meaning Ullr's ship and referring to shields. (41 words)

The Old English cognate wuldor means "glory" but is not used as a proper name, although it figures frequently in kennings for the Christian God such as wuldres cyning "king of glory", wuldorfæder "glory-father" or wuldor alwealda "glorious all-ruler". (41 words)

Example sentences (11)

Chapter 7 follows and provides various kennings for Freyr, including referring to him as the son of Njörðr.

Descriptive epithets are a common literary device in many parts of the world, whereas kennings in this restricted sense are a distinctive feature of Old Norse and, to a lesser extent, Old English poetry.

Geri is referenced in kennings for "blood" in chapter 58 of Skáldskaparmál ("Geri's ales" in a work by the skald Þórðr Sjáreksson ) and in for "carrion" in chapter 60 ("Geri's morsel" in a work by the skald Einarr Skúlason ).

In the Skáldskaparmál section of the Prose Edda several kennings for Höðr are related.

Kennings are also a significant technique in Beowulf.

Kennings are strongly associated with Old Norse and later Icelandic and Anglo-Saxon poetry.

On the other hand, the names of many gods occur in kennings and the poets might not have been particular in using any god name as a part of a kenning.

Skaldic poetry Snorri's note that a shield can be called Ullr's ship is borne out by surviving skaldic poetry with kennings such as askr Ullar, far Ullar and kjóll Ullar all meaning Ullr's ship and referring to shields.

The Old English cognate wuldor means "glory" but is not used as a proper name, although it figures frequently in kennings for the Christian God such as wuldres cyning "king of glory", wuldorfæder "glory-father" or wuldor alwealda "glorious all-ruler".

There are many kennings in Beowulf, and the device is typical of much of classic poetry in Old English, which is heavily formulaic.

While some Old Norse kennings are relatively transparent, many depend on a knowledge of specific myths or legends.

Common combinations with kennings

These word pairs occur most frequently in English texts:

Frequently asked questions

How do you use "kennings" in a sentence?
An example: "Chapter 7 follows and provides various kennings for Freyr, including referring to him as the son of Njörðr." This page contains 10+ example sentences with the word "kennings" from authentic English texts.
What does "kennings" mean?
Kennings means: plural of kenning
How many example sentences with "kennings" are there?
Voorbeeldzinnen.info contains at least 10+ example sentences with "kennings", drawn from a database of millions of English sentences.