Etymology

A Norwegian fjord

One etymology derives víking from the feminine vík, meaning "creek, inlet, small bay".[10] Various

theories have been offered that the word viking may be derived from the name of the historical

Norwegian district of Viken (or Víkin in Old Norse), meaning "a person from Viken". According to this

theory, the word simply described persons from this area, and it is only in the last few centuries that it

has taken on the broader sense of early medieval Scandinavians in general. However, there are a few

major problems with this theory. People from the Viken area were not called 'Viking' in Old Norse

manuscripts, but are referred to as víkverir (Modern Norwegian: vikvær), 'Vík dwellers'. In addition, that

explanation could explain only the masculine (Old Scandinavian víkingr) and ignore the feminine (Old

Norse víking), which is a serious problem because the masculine is easily derived from the feminine but

hardly vice versa.[11][12][13] The form also occurs as a personal name on some Swedish runestones.

The stone of Tóki víking (Sm 10) was raised in memory of a local man named Tóki who got the name Tóki

víking (Toki the viking), presumably because of his activities as a viking.[14] The Gårdstånga Stone (DR

330) uses the phrase "ÞeR drængaR waRu wiða unesiR i wikingu" (These men where well known i

viking),[15] referring to the stone's dedicatees as vikings. The Västra Strö 1 Runestone has an inscription

in memory of a Björn, who was killed when "i viking".[16] In Sweden there is a locality known since the

middle ages as Vikingstad. The Bro Stone (U 617) was risen in memory of Assur who is said to have

protected the land from vikings (SaR vaR vikinga vorðr með Gæiti).[17][18] There is little indication of

any negative connotation in the term before the end of the Viking Age.