The Anglo-Saxon and Old Norse traditions have a word for a compound expression with a metaphorical meaning: kenning. Simply put, in poetry, a kenning is when you take two words and combine them as a mild translation or metaphor for something else.

So, as you’re sitting by the fire one night, enjoying an anthology of Scandinavian poetry, you might come across poem about five brave men aboard a wave-floater (a ship). Kennings were often used to describe everyday people, animals, and objects.

To no surprise, they were used to brighten up an author’s prose. Why say “a ship” when you can use something more illustrious like “wave floater”? Let’s enjoy further examples of kenning.

Make-the-welkin-ring meaning

Origin of make-the-welkin-ring

From Wiktionary

Related articles

Also Mentioned In

Words near make-the-welkin-ring in the Dictionary

Filter