English Explanatory Dictionary

ganfer

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. A kind of ghost found in the folklore of Orkney and Shetland.

Word forms

ganfer ganfers

Etymology

Originally a dialectal term from Shetland and Orkney, also denoting certain negative atmospheric phenomena. Thought to ultimately derive from Old Norse gandferð (“gand-journey”), with the first element connected to Old Norse gandr (“evil spirit”). Compare dialectal Norwegian gannfar, gandferd

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