viking
viking Lexical Profile
viking Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Relating to the Vikings, their seafaring culture, or the historical period of Scandinavian expansion between the 8th and 11th centuries.
"The museum exhibition featured a remarkably preserved Viking longship alongside silver coins from distant trading posts."
• noun
Any of the Scandinavian seafaring explorers, traders, and warriors who raided, traded, and settled across wide areas of Europe and the North Atlantic from the late 8th to the 11th century.
"Archaeological excavations in York have revealed extensive evidence of how the Vikings lived as peaceful craftsmen and merchants."
Word Nuance & Usage
In historical scholarship, 'Viking' specifically denotes a Scandinavian who participated in overseas raiding, trading, or exploration rather than an entire ethnic group, whereas 'Norse' or 'Norsemen' refers more broadly to all medieval Scandinavian peoples and their culture.
• Rhymes for viking
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from Old Norse 'víkingr' (maritime raider or pirate), which was also attested in Old English as 'wīcing', likely derived from 'vík' meaning 'inlet, fjord, or bay' (referring to one who frequents coastal inlets) or from the Viken region of southern Norway.