(old+woman)

(dat. höfði, gen. pl. höfða), n.

1) head (höggva höfuð af e-m);

láta e-n höfði skemmra, to behead one;

strjúka aldrei um frjálst höfuð, to be never free, never at ease;

skera e-m höfuð, to make a wry face at one;

heita í höfuð e-m, to be called after a person;

hætta höfði, to risk one’s life;

leggja við höfuð sitt, to stake one’s head;

fœra e-m höfuð sitt, to surrender oneself to an enemy;

drepa niðr höfði, to droop the head;

þoku hóf af höfði, the fog lifted;

stíga yfir höfuð e-m, to overcome one;

hlaða helium að höfði e-m, to leave one dead on the spot;

ganga milli bols ok höfuðs e-s or á e-m, to hew of one’s head, to kill outright;

senda e-n til höfuðs e-m, to send one to take another’s head;

leggja fé til höfuðs e-m, to set a price on one’s head;

leggjast e-t undir höfuð, to put aside, neglect (Þ. lagðist eigi þessa ferð undir höfuð);

vera höfði hærri, to be taller by a head;

2) head, chief (höfuð lendra manna);

Þrándheimr hefir lengi verið kallaðr höfuð Noregs, the chief district of Norway;

3) ornamental prow of a ship (skip með gyltum höfðum);

ornamental head on a bridle (slitnaði sundr beizlit, ok týndist höfuð, er á var).

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n., dat. höfði; gen. pl. höfða, dat. höfðum; in Norse MSS. often spelt hafuð, Anecd. 4 (without umlaut); the root-vowel seems in very early times (8th century) to have been a diphthong; thus Bragi uses the rhymes, laufi—haufði, and rauf—haufuð, Edda; the old ditty with a half rhyme, höfðu vér í haufði, Hkr. i. 104, wou’d be faulty unless we accept a diphthong in the latter word: in good old MSS. (e. g. Sæm. Cod. Reg.) the word is always spelt with ꜹ or au, never o, and probably never had a diphthongal sound; the Norse spelling havuð however points to a short vowel; and later Icel. MSS. spell o or , e. g. Hb. in Vsp. l. c. It is probable that the short vowel originated in the contracted form, as haufði sounds hard; [cp. Goth. haubiþ; A. S. heâfod; Engl. head; Hel. hôbid; O. H. G. houpit; mid. H. G. houbet; mod. G. haupt; Dan. hôved; Swed. hufvud; Ormul. hæfedd (the single f marks a preceding long vowel); thus all old Teut. languages except the Icel. agree in the length of the vowel, whereas Lat. căput, Gr. κεφαλή have a short root vowel.]

A. A head, Vsp. 38, Sdm. 14, Vþm. 19, Þkv. 16, 19, Skm. 23, Nj. 19, 275, Grág. ii. 11, Fms. x. 381, Eg. 181, Edda 59, passim; mátti svá at kveða, at náliga væri tvau höfuð á hverju kvikendi, Hrafn. 22 (of a great increase in stock); Grímr rakaði bratt fé saman, vóru tvau höfuð á hvívetna því er hann átti, Ísl. ii. 14.

II. phrases and sayings, láta höfði skemra, to make one a head shorter, behead, Hým. 15, Fm. 34; strjúka aldrei frjálst höfuð, to stroke never a free head, be never free, never at ease; (sagði) at þeir mundi aldrei um frjálst höfuð strjúka, er vinir hans væri, meðan Þórðr væri höfðingi í Ísafirði, Sturl. ii. 124; eg má aldrei um frjálst höfuð strjúka, I never have any time to spare; sitja aldrei á sárs höfði, to be always quarrelling; skera e-m höfuð, to make a wry face at one, Grett. 17; heita í höfuðit e-m, to be called after a person; hón jós sveininn vatni ok kvað hann skyldu heita í höfuð föður sínum, ok var hann kallaðr Gestr, Bárð. 24 new Ed.: the mod. usage distinguishes between heita í höfuð á e-m, when a person is alive when the child was born, and heita eptir e-m, when that person is dead; halda höfði, to hold one’s head up, Flóv. 43, Og.; bera hátt höfuð, to bear one’s head high, Sturl. iii. 147, Sighvat; hefja höfuðs, to lift one’s head, Thom. 535; drepa niðr höfði, to droop one’s head, Bs. i. 625; þoku hóf af höfði, the fog lifted, Ld. 74; búa hvárr í annars höfði, to be at loggerheads, Sks. 346; fara huldu höfði, to go with a hidden head, in disguise, to hide oneself, Fms. vi. 12; færa e-m höfuð sitt, to surrender oneself to an enemy, Eg. ch. 62, 63, Fms. x. 261; stíga yfir höfuð e-m, to pass over one’s head, overcome one, 304; er á engri stundu örvænt nær elli stígr yfir h. mér, Eb. 332; hlaða hellum at höfði e-m, to leave one dead on the spot, Dropl. 18; ganga milli bols ok höfuðs, ‘to gang between bole and head,’ i. e. to kill outright, Eb. 240; hætta höfði, to risk one’s head, Hm. 106; leggjask e-t undir höfuð, to lay under one’s pillow, to put aside; leggjask ferð undir höfuð, Fær. 132, Orkn. 46; þú munt verða fátt undir höfuð at leggjask ef ek skal við þér taka, Sturl. i. 27; vera höfði hærri, to be a head taller, Fms. x. 381; setja höfuð á höfuð ofan, to set head upon head, Bs. i. 73, (viz. to consecrate a second bishop to a see, which was against the eccl. law); cp. kjósa annan konung í höfuð Davíð, Sks. 801.

III. in a personal sense, in poets, a person, = Lat. caput, Gr. κάρα, κεφαλή; fárgjarnt höfuð, thou fearful woman! Fas. ii. 556; hraustara höfuð, a bolder man, 315; berjask við eitt höfuð, 49; heiptrækt höfuð, Ýt. 25; andprútt höfuð, high-minded man! Sighvat; tírar h., glorious man; leyfðar h., id., Geisli 56; vina höfuð = cara capita, Bm. 2; frænda höfuð, kinsmen, Skáld H. 3. 40; hvarfúst h., thou fickle woman! Hel. 2.

2. a number, tale, head, of animals; fádygt höfuð, of a fox, Merl. 1. 39: head, of cattle, þeir eiga at gjalda þingfarar-kaup, er skulda-hjóna hvert hefir höfuð, kú skuldalausa eða kúgildi, Grág. (Kb.) i. 159, referring to the old way of taxation, which is still the law in Icel., that a freeholder has to pay tax (skattr) only if he has more head of cattle (kúgildi, q. v.), than persons to support.

IV. a head, chief; höfuð lendra manna, Fms. vii. 273; h. ok höfðingi, Stj. 457; Þrándheimr er h. Noregs, Fms. vi. 38; höfuð allra höfuð-tíða (gen.), Leiðarvís. 23.

V. of head-shaped things:

1. a beak, of a ship; með gylltum höfðum, Fms. viii. 385, x. 10, 417, passim; dreka-höfuð, q. v.: the beak was usually a dragon’s head, sometimes a bison’s, Ó. H.; a steer’s, Landn. 5. ch. 8; or it was the image of a god, e. g. of Thor, Fms. ii. 325, (Ó. T. ch. 253); or of a man, Karl-höfði, Ó. H., the ship of St. Olave; cp. the interesting passage, þat var upphaf enna heiðnu laga, at menn skyldu eigi hafa höfuðskip í hafi, en ef þeir hefði, þá skyldi þeir af taka höfuð áðr þeir kæmi í lands-sýn, ok sigla eigi at landi með gapandum höfðum eðr gínandi trjónum, svá at landvættir fældisk við, Landn. (Hb.) 258, Fms. vi. 180 (in a verse), vii. 51 (in a verse). 2. the capital of a pillar, Al. 116, Fb. i. 359 (of tent poles): of carved heads in a hall, sér þú augun útar hjá Hagbarðs-höfðinu? Korm. ch. 3: heads of idols carved on chairs, Fbr. ch. 38: carved heads on high-seats, Eb. ch. 4: that these figures sometimes represented fairies or goddesses is shewn by the word brúða (q. v.) and stólbrúða; heads of bedsteads seem to have been carved in a similar way; cp. also Korm. 86, see tjasna.

3. the head-piece of a bridle; týndi maðr höfði á beisli því er görsema-vel var gört, Bs. i. 314, v. l.; the head of a rake, hrífu-h., etc.

COMPDS: höfðabúza, höfðafjöl, höfðalag, höfðaskip, höfðatal, höfðatala, höfuðband, höfuðbani, höfuðbein, höfuðburðr, höfuðbúnaðr, Höfuðdagr, höfuðdúkr, höfuðfaldr, höfuðfatnaðr, höfuðfetlar, höfuðgerð, höfuðgjarnt, höfuðgull, höfuðhlutr, höfuðhögg, höfuðlausn, höfuðlauss, höfuðleðr, höfuðlín, höfuðmein, höfuðmikill, höfuðmundr, höfuðórar, höfuðrót, höfuðsár, höfuðskél, höfuðskip, höfuðskjálfti, höfuðsmátt, höfuðsnauðr, höfuðsótt, höfuðsteypa, höfuðsundl, höfuðsvími, höfuðsvörðr, höfuðtíund, höfuðverkr, höfuðvíti, höfuðvörðr, höfuðþváttr, höfuðþyngsl, höfuðærr, höfuðærsl.

B. Chief, capital, found like the Gr. ἀρχι- in countless COMPDS: höfuðatriði, höfuðá, höfuðárr, höfuðátt, höfuðbarmr, höfuðbaðmr, höfuðbarmsmaðr, höfuðbaugr, höfuðbenda, höfuðbiti, höfuðbitarúm, höfuðblót, höfuðborg, höfuðból, höfuðbæli, höfuðbær, höfuðdrottning, höfuðefni, höfuðengill, höfuðfaðir, höfuðfirn, höfuðfól, höfuðgersemi, höfuðgjöf, höfuðglæpr, höfuðgoð, höfuðgrein, höfuðgæfa, höfuðhátíð, höfuðhetja, höfuðhof, höfuðinnihald, höfuðísar, höfuðíþrótt, höfuðkempa, höfuðkennimaðr, höfuðkirkja, höfuðklerkr, höfuðkonungr, höfuðkostr, höfuðkvöl, höfuðlist, höfuðlýti, höfuðlæknir, höfuðlærdómr, höfuðlöstr, höfuðsmaðr, höfuðmeistari, höfuðmerki, höfuðmusteri, höfuðnafn, höfuðnauðsyn, höfuðniðjar, höfuðprestr, höfuðráð, höfuðráðgjafi, höfuðskáld, höfuðskepna, höfuðskutilsvein, höfuðskömm, höfuðskörungr, höfuðsmiðr, höfuðspekingr, höfuðstaðr, höfuðstafn, höfuðstafr, höfuðstjarna, höfuðstóll, höfuðstólpi, höfuðstyrkr, höfuðsynd, höfuðsæti, höfuðtunga, höfuðvápn, höfuðveizla, höfuðvél, höfuðvindr, höfuðvinr, höfuðþing, höfuðætt.

(gen. manns, pl. menn, with the art. menninir), m.

1) man (irrespective of sex), human being (guð skapaði síðarst menn tvá, er ættir eru frá komnar);

sýndi maðr manni, one showed it to another, it went from from hand to hand;

fjöldi manns, a great number of people;

múgr manns, crowd of people;

2) degree in kinship;

vera at þriðja, fjórða, fimta manni, to be related in the third, fourth, fifth degree;

hann var manni firr en systrungr Bárðar, he was the son of a cousin of B.;

3) man, opp. to kona( síðan fór hann til manna sinna).

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m., qs. mann-r, which form also occurs in old poets, engi mannr und ranni, Vellekla, (for the change of nn before r into ð see the introduction to letter N); gen. manns, dat. manni, acc. mann, plur. menn, qs. menn-r; with the article, menninir, so always in old writers, but in mod. mennirnir erroneously, as if from mennir: the plur. meðr, answering to the sing. maðr, occurs in old poets—meðr vituð öðling æðra, Fms. vii. 87 (in a verse); Norð-meðr róa naðri, vi. 309 (in a verse); meðr fengu mikit veðr, Edda 102; hirð-meðr, veðja, Rekst., all verses of the 11th and 12th centuries; er meðr Myrkvið kalla, Akv. 5: meðr hlutu sár, Fbr. 75 new Ed. (in a verse): gen. pl. manna, dat. mönnum, acc. menn. In Ballads and Rímur after the 15th century, and hence in eccl. writers of later times, a nom. mann is now and then used, esp. in compds influenced by Germ. and Engl., e. g. hreysti-mann, Skíða R. 58; or for the sake of rhyme, ætla þú ekki, aumr mann | af komast muni strafflaust hann, Pass. 14. 17: [Ulf. manna = ἄνθρωπος; in other Teut. languages spelt man, or better mann.]

B. A man = Lat. homo, Gr. ἄνθρωπος, also people; eigi vil ek segja frá manninum þvíat mér er maðrinn skyldr, þat er frá manni at segja, at maðr er vel auðigr at fé, Nj. 51; mennskr maðr, a manlike man, a human being, opp. to giants or beings of superhuman strength, Gm. 31; menn eru hér komnir ef menn skal kalla, en líkari eru þeir þursum at vexti ok sýn en mennskum mönnum, Eg. 110; flýjum nú! ekki er við menn um at eiga, Nj. 97; þat hafa gamlir menn mælt, at þess manns mundi hefnt verða ef hann félli á grúfu, Eg. 107; þeir ungu menn ( the young people) elskask sín í millum, Mar.; þótt nökkut væri þústr á með enum yngrum mönnum, Ld. 200; fjöldi manns, múgr manns, Fms. ii. 45, 234, xi. 245; þykkir mönnum nökkur várkunn til þess, 192; var þat margra manna mál, at …, Eg. 537, Fms. i. 45; er þat íllt manni? Eg. 604; sá maðr, that person, K. Þ. K. 4; manna beztr, fríðastr …, the best, fairest … of men, passim; allra manna bezt, beyond all men, best of all men, Bs. i. 67; kona var enn þriði maðr, Hkr. iii. 184; hvárr þeirra manna, each of the wedded fair, Grág. i. 476; góðir menn, good men! in addressing, passim: allit., Guði ok góðum mönnum, to God and all good men, Bs. i. 68: sayings, maðr skal eptir mann lifa, man shall live after man (as a consolation), Eg. 322: maðr er manns gaman, man is man’s comfort, Hm. 46; whence huggun er manni mönnum at, Pass. 2. 10: maðr eptir mann, man after man, in succession; or, maðr af manni, man after man, in turn: sýndi maðr manni, man shewed it to man, it went round from hand to hand, Fms. vi. 216; nú segir maðr manni þessi fagnaðar-tíðendi, Bs. i. 181, Þiðr. 142; kunni þat maðr manni at segja at Bróðir felldi Brján, Nj. 275.

2. phrases, þat veit menn (the verb in sing., the noun in plur.), every one knows that! to be sure! Art. 31, 62, Karl. 48; meðr of veit, Sighvat: mod. viti menn! with a notion of irony; thus also menn segja, men say, (in old poët. usage elliptically, kveða = Lat. dicunt, Vþm. 24, 26, 28, 30, Gm. 13, Hdl. 42, Hm. 11; kváðu, people said, Vm. 33): the sing. maðr = Fr. on, mod. Dan. man (in Dan. man siger), is not vernacular.

3. in compds. kvenn-maðr, a woman; karl-maðr, a man: of families, Mýra-menn, Síðu-menn, Landn.: inhabitants, people, Norð-menn, Norsemen; Noregs-menn, the men of Norway; Athenu-menn, Athenians; Korintu-menn, Corinthians; of condition of life, leik-menn, laymen; kenni-menn, clergymen; búand-menn, peasants; valds-menn, rulers; kaup-menn, merchants; sjó-menn, seamen; vinnu-menn, labourers.

4. degree in a lineage: at þriðja, fjórða, fimta … manni, in the third, fourth, fifth … degree, Grág. i. 321; manni firnari en systrungr …, one degree remoter than …, used of odd degrees (e. g. four on one side and three on the other), ii. 172; hann var manni firr en systrungr Bárðar, he was an odd second cousin of B., Bárð. 165; hence tví-menningar, þrí-menningar, fjór-menningar …, a second, third, fourth … cousin, passim.

II. a man. Lat. vir; vér höfum þrjú skip ok hundruð manna á hverju, Fas. ii. 521; síðan fór hann til manna sinna, Fms. v. 514; greiða eyri gulls hverjum manni, 178; hann fór með of manns yfir landit, iv. 146; and so in countless instances: Sigurðar-menn, the followers of S.; Tuma-menn, konungs-menn, Krist-menn, kross-menn, vii. 293, 299, Ó. H. 216.

2. a husband; Guð er Kristinnar andar maðr er honum giptisk í trú, Greg. 31: freq. in mod. usage, maðrinn minn, my husband! dóttur-maðr, a son-in-law.

3. metaph., vera maðr fyrir e-u, to be man enough for it, able to do it; eg er ekki maðr fyrir því, maðr til þess, id.; hann sýndisk eigi maðr til at setjask í svá háleitt sæti, Bs. i. 743; mikill, lítill, maðr fyrir sér, to be a great, strong, weak man, and the like.

III. the Rune m, see introduction.

C. COMPDS, manns- and manna-: manns-aldr, m. a man’s life, generation, 623. 10, Fms. viii. 240, Fas. i. 406. manns-bani, a, m. ‘man’s bane,’ a man-slayer, Js. 49, Ni. 119. manns-barn, n. a ‘man’s bairn;’ in the phrase, hvert m., every child of man, Sturl. i. 47. manna-bein, n. pl. human bones, Fms. i. 230. manns-blóð, n. human blood, Nj. 59, Fms. iii. 125. manna-búkar, m. pl. corpses of slain, Fms. iii. 7, xi. 355. manna-bygð, f. human abodes, opp. to the wilderness, Fms. i. 215. manna-bær, m. dwelling-houses, Ann. 1390. manns-bætr, f. pl. weregild, Eg. 259. manns-efni, n. a man to be; gott-m. (see efni), Eg. 368, Fms. i. 174, Fær. 231. manna-farvegr, m. a foot-path, Gþl. 539. manns-fingr, m. a human finger. manna-forráð, n. ‘man-sway,’ rule, dominion; the godord or priesthood is often in the Laws and Sagas so called, Hrafn. 21, Nj. 149, Grág., Ísl. ii. 402, Fms. x. 45. manna-forræði, n. = mannaforráð, Nj. 231, Ld. 310. manns-fótr, m. a human foot, Hkr. ii. 114. manna-fundr, m. a meeting of men, Grág. i. 420. manns-fylgja, u, f., or manna-fylgjur, f. pl. fetches of men, Lv. 69, Fs. 68; see fylgja. manna-för, n. pl. men’s footprints, Eg. 578. manna-grein, f. distinction of men, Fms. viii. 21. manns-hauss, m. a human skull, Þorf. Karl. 242. manns-hár, n. human hair, Edda 4, Fas. iii. 266. manns-hold, n. human flesh, Fms. xi. 235. manna-hugir, m. pl., see hugr III. 2, Háv. 55, Þórð. 17 new Ed. manna-hús, n. pl. men’s houses, Fbr. 77: human abodes. manns-höfuð, manna-höfuð, m. (he human head, K. Á. 1, Fms. x. 280, Nj. 275. manns-hönd, f. a human hand, Fas. i. 66. manns-kona, u, f. a man’s wife, married woman, Grág. i. 335, 337, 341, 344, 380, Bs. i. 777, Sks. 340. manna-lát, n. the loss of men, loss of life, death, Nj. 248, Eg. 585, Orkn. 296. manns-lát, n. a person’s death, decease; heyra mannslát, to hear of a person’s death. manns-líf, n. man’s life, Hom. 6. manns-líki, n. human shape, Edda 9. manna-lof, n. praise of men, Hom. 83. manna-mál, n. human voices, human speech, Nj. 154; or manns-mál, id., in the phrase, það heyrist ekki mannsmál, no man’s voice can be heard, of a great noise. manna-missir, m. the loss of men, Sturl. iii. 7, Fas. ii. 552. manns-morð, n. murder, N. G. L. i. 256. manna-mót, n. = mannfundr, Grág. i. 343. manns-mót, n. manly mien, ‘manfulness,’ Fms. i. 149, xi. 86; þat er mannsmót að honum, he looks like a true man. manna-munr, m. distinction, difference of men, Bs. i. 855. manna-múgr, m. a crowd of people, Fær. 12. manns-mynd, f. the human shape, Stj. 147. manna-reið, f. (a body of) horsemen, Nj. 206. manna-samnaðr, m. = mannsafnaðr, Ísl. ii. 83. manna-seta, u, f. men staying in a place, Ld. 42. manna-skipan, f. the placing of people, as at a banquet, in battle, Korm. 62, Sturl. i. 20, ii. 237. manna-skipti, n. pl. exchange of men, Germ. auswechselung, Hkr. i. 8. manna-slóð, f. ‘man’s sleuth,’ a track of men, Sturl. i. 83. manna-spor, n. pl. men’s footprints. Sturl. ii. 90, Eg. 578, Landn. 191. manna-styrkr, m. help, Þórð. 74. manna-sættir, m. a daysman, peacemaker, Fms. x. 51, Eb. manna-taka, u, f. a reception of men, strangers, Fb. ii. 194. manna-tal, n. = manntal, Hkr. ii. 340. manns-váði, a, m. danger of life, Fms. viii. 224. manna-vegr, m. a road where men pass, opp. to a wilderness, Grett. 115 A, Ld. 328. manna-verk, n. pl. = mannvirki, man’s work, work by human hands, Fb. i. 541. manns-verk, n. work to be done by a person, N. G. L. i., 38, Gþl. 114. manna-vist, f. a human abode. Fms. i. 226, Jb. 9, Orkn. 434. manns-vit, n. ‘man’s wit,’ human understanding, reason, Nj. 106. manna-völd, n. pl.; in the phrase, e-t er af manna-völdum, it is due to human causes, not by natural causes, e. g. of a fire, the disappearance of a thing, or the like, Nj. 76, Fms. ii. 146, iii. 98. manns-vöxtr, m. a man’s stature, Fas. ii. 508, Hom. 112. manna-þengill, m. king of men, the name of Njörð, Gm. 16, Edda 104. manns-æði, n. human bearing, behaviour. manns-æfi, f. man’s lifetime; mart kann skipask á mannsæfinni, a saying, Fms. vii. 156; mart verðr á mannsætinni, útítt var þat þá er vér vórum ungir, Fær. 195.

* * *

1) love, affection; hafa á. á e-m to feel a love for; fella á. til e-s or við e-n, to take a fancy to or for one;

2) pl. ástir, love between man and woman, esp. affection between man and wife (vel er um ástir okkrar, sagði hón).

* * *

f., old form ́st, [Ulf. ansts = χάρις; A. S. est or æst; O. H. G. anst; old Fr. enst; cp. unna (ann), to love]:—love, affection; mikla ást hefir þú sýnt við mik, Eg. 603; fella ást til e-s, to feel love to, Sturl. i. 194, Fms. x. 420; líkamleg ást, 656 A. ii. 15, Ver. 47: with the article, ástin, or ástin mín, my dear, darling, pet, love, a term of endearment used by husband to wife or parents to child; her er nú ástin mín, Sighvatr bóndi, Sturl. ii. 78.

β. in pl. love between man and woman, the affection between man and wife; vel er um ástir okkar, sagði hón, Nj. 26; takast þar ástir miklar, Ld. 94 (of a newly-wedded pair), 298: love of a woman, þá mælti Frigg, ok spurði hverr sá væri með Ásum er eignast vildi ástir hennar ok hylli, Edda 37: metaph. the white spots on the nails are called ástir, since one will have as many lovers as there are spots, Ísl. Þjóðs., Fél. ix; vide elska, which is a more common word.

COMPDS: ástafundr, ástalauss, ástarandi, ástarangr, ástaratlot, ástaraugu, ástarákefð, ástarband, ástarbrími, ástarbruni, ástareldr, ástarfundr, ástargyðja, ástarharmr, ástarhirting, ástarhiti, ástarhót, ástarhugi, ástarhygli, ástarilmr, ástarkveðja, ástarkveikja, ástarlogi, ástarmark, ástarorð, ástarpallr, ástarreiði, ástarsamband, ástarsigr, ástarsætleikr, ástarvárkunn, ástarvekka, ástarverk, ástarvél, ástarvili, ástarvængr, ástarþjónusta, ástarþokki, ástaræði.

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(feld; félt, féldura; faldinn), v. to array with a woman’s hood (f. e-n or e-m e-u, or með or við e-u); f. sik motri, með or við motri, to hood oneself with a motr; Brandr var faldinn, Brand had on a woman’s headgear; hjálmi faldinn, wearing a helmet.

(að), v.

1) to hood (see prec.);

2) to fold; fá mer skyrtu þína, en ek skal f. hana saman, I shall fold it up; falda aptr, to unfold.

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in old writers this word (if used in sense II) always follows the strong form and is declined like halda, viz. pret. félt, Landn. 166, vide Lex. Poët. passim, pl. féldu; pres. sing. feld; imperat. falt; pret. subj. féldi, Orkn. (in a verse); part, faldinn; but in signf. I ( to fold) it is weak (faldar, faldaði), though it seldom occurs in old writers in this sense: in mod. usage the weak form only is used: [Ulf. falþan = πτύσσειν in Luke iv. 20. to fold or close the book; A. S. fealdan; Engl. to fold; Germ. falten; Dan. folde; Swed. fålla; Fr. fauder; cp. Lat. plicare]:—to fold, with acc.:

I. gener. to fold; ek skal f. hana saman, I shall fold her up, Str. 9; tók hón þá skyrtuna ok faldaði saman, id.; sem hón hafði saman faldat, id.; f. fald eptir, to unfold a fold, id.; at engi mundi þann fald aptr f., id.; ef hón gæti aptr faldat skyrtu þína, 13.

β. to hem; falda dúk, klút, etc., to hem a towel, kerchief, or the like; cp. faldaðr, ófaldaðr.

II. esp. to hood or cover the head, chiefly used of ladies wearing the fald, q. v.:

α. with acc. of the person, dat. of the dress; ek mun falda þik með höfuðdúki, Nj. 201; at hón hefði nú faldit sik við motrinum, Ld. 210; Brandr var faldinn, B. was hooded as a lady, Fs. 109; Hildr Eyvindar-dóttir félt honum, H. hooded him, 194 (Ed. fylgði wrongly); at hón hefði nú faldit (Ed. wrongly faldat) sik við motrinum, that she had hooded herself with the motr, Ld. 210; mundi Guðrún ekki þurfa at falda sik motri til þess, at sama betr en allar konur aðrar, id.; hennar höfut er faldit þremr skautum, her head is hooded in three sheets (hence skauta-faldr), Mar. 48 (Fr.)

β. with dat. of the person; þá segir Hrefna, at hón vill falda sér við motrinn (better motrinum), Ld. 192; ef maðr feldr sér til vélar við konu, eðr ferr hann í kvennklæði, if a man hoods his head wilily mocking a woman, Grág. i. 338 (liable to the lesser outlawry); f. þér við höfuðdúki, Nj. l. c., v. l.; aldri hefi ek frétt at konur féldi höfuðdúkum, Orkn. (in a verse); ek félt hjálmi, I covered my head in a helmet, Sighvat.

γ. the phrases, falda sítt, to hood the head so that the eyes and face cannot be seen; far á meðal kvenna, ok falt þér sítt, at ekki verðir þú kend, Post. 656 B. 11; brúðirnar falda sítt, svá at úgerla má sjá þeirra yfirlit, Fms. xi. 106; enn fyrsta aptan hafa brúðirnar síð-faldit, Jv. 29 (Ed. 1824); sú (kona) hafði sítt faldit, Fms. vii. 161, cp. Gen. xxxviii. 14; falda hátt, to wear a tall fald, cp. Eb. 136 (in a verse); falda blá, or svörtu, to hood the head in black, to mourn, Ísl. ii. 351 (in a verse): the metaph. phrase, f. rauðu, to hood the head in red, to die a bloody death, Landn. l. c.

2. part. faldinn, used as adj. hooded, mod. faldaðr, hooded, bordered, hemmed, etc., in compds, eld-faldinn, hooded with flames, poët. epithet of the foaming waves, Lex. Poët.; hjálmi faldinn, hooded with a helmet (poët.), Hkv. 1. 47; járn-faldinn, iron-hooded, helmed, Eb. 208 (in a verse): hag-faldin, hooded with hedges, poët. epithet of the goddess Earth, Fms. vi. 140 (in a verse); hvít-faldin, white-hooded, of glaciers or foaming waves, Snót 12, 16.

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(gen. pl. augna), n.

1) eye;

lúka (bregða) upp augum, bregða augum í sundr, to open (lift up) the eyes;

lúka aptr augum, to shift the eyes;

renna (bregða, leiða) augum til e-s, to turn the eyes to;

leiða e-n augum, to measure one with the eyes;

berja augum í e-t, to take into consideration;

koma augum á e-t, to set eyes on, become aware of;

hafa auga á e-u, t have, keep, an eye upon;

segja e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, right in the face;

unna e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls;

e-m vex e-t í augu, one has scruples about;

náit er nef augum, the nose is neighbor to the eyes;

gløggt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp;

mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes;

eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot hide it if a woman loves a man;

2) hole, aperture in a needle (nálarauga), in a millstone (kvarnarauga) or an axe-head;

3) pit full of water.

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n., gen. pl. augna, [Lat. oculus, a dimin. of an obsolete ocus; Gr. οφθαλμός (Boeot. οκταλμός); Sanskr. aksha: the word is common to Sanskrit with the Slavonic, Greek, Roman, and Teutonic idioms: Goth. augo; Germ, auge; A. S. eâge; Engl. eye; Scot. ee; Swed. öga; Dan. öje, etc. Grimm s. v. suggests a relationship to Lat. acies, acutus, etc. The letter n appears in the plur. of the mod. northern languages; the Swedes say ‘ögon,’ oculi, the Danes ‘öjne;’ with the article ‘ögonen’ and ‘öjnene;’ Old Engl. ‘eyne;’ Scot. ‘een’]

I. an eye. It is used in Icel. in a great many proverbs, e. g. betr sjá augu en auga, ‘two eyes see better than one,’ i. e. it is good to yield to advice: referring to love, unir auga meðan á sér, the eye is pleased whilst it can behold (viz. the object of its affection), Fas. i. 125, cp. Völs. rím. 4. 189; eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot bide it, if a woman love a man, i. e. they tell their own tale, Ísl. ii. 251. This pretty proverb is an απ. λεγ. l. c. and is now out of use; it is no doubt taken from a poem in a dróttkvætt metre, (old proverbs have alliteration, but neither rhymes nor assonance, rhyming proverbs are of a comparatively late date): medic., eigi er sá heill er í augun verkir, Fbr. 75; sá drepr opt fæti ( slips) er augnanna missir, Bs. i. 742; hætt er einu auganu nema vel fari, he who has only one eye to lose will take care of it (comm.); húsbóndans auga sér bezt, the master’s eye sees best; glögt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp; mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes, i. e. what is to be hidden must not be done in broad daylight, Hm. 81; náið er nef augum, the nose is near akin to the eyes (tua res agitur paries quum proximus ardet), Nj. 21; opt verðr slíkt á sæ, kvað selr, var skotinn í auga, this often happens at sea, quoth the seal, when he was shot in the eye, of one who is in a scrape, Fms. viii. 402. In many phrases, at unna ( to love) e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls, Nj. 217; þótti mér slökt it sætasta ljós augna minna, by his death the sweetest light of my eyes was quenched, 187: hvert grætr þú nú Skarphéðinn? eigi er þat segir Skarphéðinn, en hitt er satt at súrnar í augum, the eyes smart from smoke, 200: renna, líta augum, to seek with the eyes, to look upon: it is used in various connections, renna, líta ástaraugum, vánaraugum, vinaraugum, trúaraugum, öfundaraugum, girndarauga, with eyes of love, hope, friendship, faith, envy, desire: mæna a. denotes an upward or praying look; stara, fixed; horfa, attentive; lygna, blundskaka, stupid or slow; blína, glápa, góna, vacant or silly; skima, wandering; hvessa augu, a threatening look; leiða e-n a., to measure one with the eyes; gjóta, or skjóta hornauga, or skjóta a. í skjálg, to throw a side glance of dislike or ill-will; gjóta augum is always in a bad sense; renna, líta mostly in a good sense: gefa e-u auga, oculum adjicere alicui; hafa auga á e-u, to keep an eye on it; segja e-m e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, Orkn. 454; at augum, adverb. with open eyes, Hervar. S. (in a verse), etc. As regards various movements of the eyes; ljúka upp augum, to open the eyes; láta aptr augun, to shut the eyes; draga auga í pung, to draw the eye into a purse, i. e. shut one eye; depla augum, to blink; at drepa titlinga (Germ. äugeln, blinzen), to wink, to kill tits with the suppressed glances of the eye; glóðarauga, a suffusion on the eye, hyposphagma; kýrauga. proptosis; vagl á auga, a beam in the eye; skjálgr, Lat. limus; ský, albugo; tekinn til augnanna, with sunken eyes, etc., Fél. ix. 192; a. bresta, in death: hafa stýrur í augum, to have prickles in the eyes, when the eyes ache for want of sleep: vatna músum, ‘to water mice,’ used esp. of children weeping silently and trying to hide their tears. As to the look or expression of the eyes there are sundry metaph. phrases, e. g. hafa fékróka í augum, to have wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, of a shrewd money getting fellow, Fms. ii. 84, cp. Orkn. 330, 188, where krókauga is a cognom.; kvenna-króka, one insinuating with the fair sex; hafa ægishjalm í augum is a metaphor of one with a piercing, commanding eye, an old mythical term for the magical power of the eye, v. Grimm’s D. Mythol. under Ægishjalmr: vera mjótt á milli augnanna, the distance between the eyes being short, is a popular saying, denoting a close, stingy man, hence mjóeygr means close: e-m vex e-t í augu (now augum), to shrink back from, of a thing waxing and growing before one’s eyes so that one dares not face it. As to the shape, colour, etc. of the eye, vide the adj. ‘eygr’ or ‘eygðr’ in its many compds. Lastly we may mention the belief, that when the water in baptism touches the eyes, the child is thereby in future life prevented from seeing ghosts or goblins, vide the words úfreskr and skygn. No spell can touch the human eye; en er harm sá augu hans (that of Loki in the shape of a bird), þá grunaði hann (the giant) at maðr mundi vera, Edda 60; í bessum birni þykist hón kenna augu Bjarnar konungs sonar, Fas. i. 51, vide Ísl. Þjóðs.

II. meton. and metaph. auga is used in a great many connections:

α. astron.; þjaza augu, the eyes of the giant Thiazi, is a constellation, probably the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux; the story is told in the Edda 47, cp. Harbarðsljóð 19; (Snorri attributes it to Odin, the poem to Thor.)

β. botan., auga = Lat. gemma, Hjalt. 38; kattarauga, cat’s eye, is the flower forget-me-not.

γ. the spots that form the numbers on dice, Magn. 530.

δ. the hole in a millstone; kvarnarauga, Edda 79, 221, Hkr. i. 121: the opening into which an axe handle is fastened, Sturl. ii. 91: a pit full of water, Fs. 45: nálarauga, a needle’s eye: vindauga, wind’s eye or window (which orig. had no glass in it), A. S. eag-dura (eye-door); also gluggi, q. v.: gleraugu, spectacles.

ε. anatom., the pan of the hip joint, v. augnakarl, Fms. iii. 392: gagnaugu, temples.

ζ. hafsauga, the bottom of the ocean, in the popular phrase, fara út í hafsauga, descendere ad tartara.

η. poët. the sun is called heimsauga, dagsauga, Jónas 119.

COMPDS either with sing. auga or pl. augna; in the latter case mod. usage sometimes drops the connecting vowel a, e. g. augn-dapr, augn-depra, augn-fagr, etc. auga-bragð (augna-), n. the twinkling of an eye, Hm. 77; á einu a., in the twinkling of an eye, Ver. 32, Edda (pref.) 146, Sks. 559, Rb. 568: a glance, look, snart a., Fms. ii. 174; mikit a., v. 335; úfagrligt a., Fs. 43; hafa a. af e-u, to cast a look at, Fbr. 49, Fms. xi. 424: in the phrase, at hafa e-n (or verða) at augabragði, metaph. to make sport of, to mock, deride, gaze at, Stj. 627, 567, Hm. 5, 29. auga-brun, f. the eye-brow. auga-staðr, m. an eye-mark; hafa a. á e-u, to mark with the eye. auga-steinn (augna-), m. the eye-ball, Hkr. iii. 365, Fms. v. 152. augna-bending, f. a warning glance, Pr. 452. augna-blik, n. mod. = augnabragð, s. augna-bólga, u, f. ophthalmia. augna-brá, f. the eye-lid, D. N. i. 216. augna-fagr and aug-fagr, adj. fair-eyed, Fas. ii. 365, Fms. v. 200. augna-fró, f. a plant, eye-bright, euphrasia, also augna-gras, Hjalt. 231. augna-fræ, n. lychnis alpina. augna-gaman, n. a sport, delight for the eyes to gaze at, Ld. 202, Bær. 17, Fsm. 5 (love, sweetheart). augna-gróm, n. (medic.) a spot in the eye; metaph., ekki a., no mere speck, of whatever can easily be seen. augna-hár, n. an eye-lash. augna-hvannr, m. the eye-lid. augna-hvita, u, f. albugo. augna-karl, n. the pan of the hip joint; slíta or slitna or augnaköllunum, Fas. iii. 392. augna-kast, n. a wild glance, Barl. 167. augna-kláði, a, m. psorophthalmi. augna-krókr, n. the corner of the eye. augna-lag, n. a look, Ld. 154. augna-lok, n. ‘eye-covers,’ eye-lids. augna-mein, n. a disease of the eye. augna-mjörkvi, a, m. dimness of the eye, Pr. 471. augna-ráð, n. expression of the eye. augna-skot, n. a look askance, Gþl. 286, Fs. 44 (of cats). augna-slím, n. glaucoma. augna-staðr, m. the socket of the eye, Magn. 532. augna-sveinn, m. a lad leading a blind man, Str. 46. augn-tepra, u, f. hippus. augna-topt, f. the socket of the eye. augna-verkr, m. pain in the eye, Hkr. ii. 257, Bs. i. 451, Pr. 471, Bjarn. 58. augna-vik, n. pl. = augnakrókr. augna-þungi, a, m. heaviness of the eye, Hkr. ii. 257.

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a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

* * *

á, prep., often used elliptically, or even adverbially, [Goth. ana; Engl. on; Germ. an. In the Scandinavian idioms the liquid n is absorbed. In English the same has been supposed to happen in adverbial phrases, e. g. ‘along, away, abroad, afoot, again, agate, ahead, aloft, alone, askew, aside, astray, awry,’ etc. It is indeed true that the Ormulum in its northern dialect freq. uses o, even in common phrases, such as ‘o boke, o land, o life, o slæpe, o strande, o write, o naht, o loft,’ etc., v. the glossary; and we may compare on foot and afoot, on sleep (Engl. Vers. of Bible) and asleep; A. S. a-butan and on-butan (about); agen and ongean (again, against); on bæc, aback; on life, alive; on middan, amid. But it is more than likely that in the expressions quoted above, as well as in numberless others, as well in old as in modern English, the English a- as well as the o- of the Ormulum and the modern Scottish and north of England o- are in reality remains of this very á pronounced au or ow, which was brought by the Scandinavian settlers into the north of England. In the struggle for supremacy between the English dialects after the Conquest, the Scandinavian form á or a won the day in many cases to the exclusion of the Anglo-Saxon on. Some of these adverbs have representatives only in the Scandinavian tongues, not in Anglo-Saxon; see below, with dat. B. II, C. VII; with acc. C. I. and VI. The prep. á denotes the surface or outside; í and ór the inside; at, til, and frá, nearness measured to or from an object: á thus answers to the Gr. επί; the Lat. in includes á and i together.]

With dat. and acc.: in the first case with the notion of remaining on a place, answering to Lat. in with abl.; in the last with the notion of motion to the place, = Lat. in with acc.

WITH DAT.

A. Loc.

I. generally on, upon; á gólfi, on the floor, Nj. 2; á hendi, on the hand (of a ring), 48, 225; á palli, 50; á steini, 108; á vegg, 115; á sjá ok á landi, on sea and land. In some instances the distinction between d and i is loose and wavering, but in most cases common sense and usage decide; thus ‘á bók’ merely denotes the letters, the penmanship, ‘í’ the contents of a book; mod. usage, however, prefers ‘í,’ lesa í bók, but stafr á bók. Old writers on the other hand; á bókum Enskum, in English books, Landn. 24, but í Aldafars bók, 23 (in the book De Mensurâ Temporum, by Bede), cp. Grág. i. 76, where á is a false reading instead of at; á bréfi, the contents of a letter: of clothing or arms, mítr á höfði, sverð á hlið, mitre on head, sword on side, Fms. i. 266, viii. 404; hafa lykil á sér, on one’s person, 655 xxvii. 22; möttull á tyglum, a mantle hanging on (i. e. fastened by) laces, Fms. vii. 201: á þingi means to be present at a meeting; í þingi, to abide within a jurisdiction; á himni, á jörðu, on (Engl. in) heaven and earth, e. g. in the Lord’s Prayer, but í helviti, in hell; á Gimli, Edda (of a heavenly abode); á báti, á skipi denote crew and cargo, ‘í’ the timber or materials of which a ship is built, Eg. 385; vera í stafni á skipi, 177: á skógi, to be abroad in a wood (of a hunter, robber, deer); but to be situated (a house), at work (to fell timber), í skógi, 573, Fs. 5, Fms. iii. 122, viii. 31, xi. 1, Glúm. 330, Landn. 173; á mörkinni, Fms. i. 8, but í mörk, of a farm; á firðinum means lying in a firth, of ships or islands (on the surface of the water), þær eyjar liggja á Breiðafirði, Ld. 36; but í firði, living in a district named Firth; á landi, Nj. 98, Fms. xi. 386.

II. á is commonly used in connection with the pr. names or countries terminating in ‘land,’ Engl. in, á Englandi, Írlandi, Skotlandi, Bretlandi, Saxlandi, Vindlandi, Vínlandi, Grænalandi, Íslandi, Hálogalandi, Rogalandi, Jótlandi, Frakklandi, Hjaltlandi, Jamtalandi, Hvítramannalandi, Norðrlöndum, etc., vide Landn. and the index to Fms. xii. In old writers í is here very rare, in modern authors more frequent; taste and the context in many instances decide. An Icelander would now say, speaking of the queen or king, ‘á Englandi,’ ruling over, but to live ‘í Englandi,’ or ‘á Englandi;’ the rule in the last case not being quite fixed.

2. in connection with other names of countries: á Mæri, Vörs, Ögðum, Fjölum, all districts of Norway, v. Landn.; á Mýrum (in Icel.), á Finnmörk, Landn., á Fjóni (a Danish island); but í Danmörk, Svíþjóð (á Svíþjóðu is poët., Gs. 13).

3. before Icel. farms denoting open and elevated slopes and spaces (not too high, because then ‘at’ must be used), such as ‘staðr, völlr, ból, hjalli, bakki, heimr, eyri,’ etc.; á Veggjum, Landn. 69; á Hólmlátri, id.: those ending in ‘-staðr,’ á Geirmundarstöðum, Þórisstöðum, Jarðlangsstöðum…, Landn.: ‘-völlr,’ á Möðruvöllum: á Fitjum (the farm) í Storð (the island), í Fenhring (the island) á Aski (the farm), Landn., Eg.: ‘-nes’ sometimes takes á, sometimes í (in mod. usage always ‘í’), á Nesi, Eb. 14, or í Krossnesi, 30; in the last case the notion of island, νησος, prevails: so also, ‘fjörðr,’ as, þeir börðust á Vigrafirði (of a fight o n the ice), Landn. 101, but orusta í Hafrsfirði, 122: with ‘-bær,’ á is used in the sense of a farm or estate, hón sa á e-m bæ mikit hús ok fagrt, Edda 22; ‘í bæ’ means within doors, of the buildings: with ‘Bær’ as pr. name Landn. uses ‘í,’ 71, 160, 257, 309, 332.

4. denoting on or just above; of the sun, when the time is fixed by regarding the sun in connection with points in the horizon, a standing phrase in Icel.; sól á gjáhamri, when the sun is on the crag of the Rift, Grág. i. 26, cp. Glúm. 387; so, brú á á, a bridge on a river, Fms. viii. 179, Hrafn. 20; taka hús á e-m, to surprise one, to take the house over his head, Fms. i. 11.

III. á is sometimes used in old writers where we should now expect an acc., esp. in the phrase, leggja sverði (or the like) á e-m, or á e-m miðjum, to stab, Eg. 216, Gísl. 106, Band. 14; þá stakk Starkaðr sprotanum á konungi, then Starkad stabbed the king with the wand, Fas. iii. 34; bíta á kampi (vör), to bite the lips, as a token of pain or emotion, Nj. 209, 68; taka á e-u, to touch a thing, lay hold of it, v. taka; fá á e-u, id. (poët.); leggja hendr á (better at) síðum, in wrestling, Fms. x. 331; koma á úvart á e-m, to come on one unawares, ix. 407 (rare).

B. TEMP. of a particular point or period of time, at, on, in:

I. gener. denoting during, in the course of; á nótt, degi, nætrþeli …, Bs. i. 139; or spec. adding a pron. or an adject., á næsta sumri, the next summer; á því ári, þingi, misseri, hausti, vári, sumri …, during, in that year …, Bs. i. 679, etc.; á þrem sumrum, in the course of three summers, Grág. i. 218; á þrem várum, Fms. ii. 114; á hálfs mánaðar fresti, within half a month’s delay, Nj. 99; á tvítugs, sextugs … aldri, á barns, gamals aldri, etc., at the age of …, v. aldr: á dögum e-s, in the days of, in his reign or time, Landn. 24, Hrafn. 3, Fms. ix. 229.

II. used of a fixed recurrent period or season; á várum, sumrum, haustum, vetrum, á kveldum, every spring, summer …, in the evenings, Eg. 711, Fms. i. 23, 25, vi. 394, Landn. 292: with the numeral adverbs, cp. Lat. ter in anno, um sinn á mánuði, ári, once a month, once a year, where the Engl. a is not the article but the preposition, Grág. i. 89.

III. of duration; á degi, during a whole day, Fms. v. 48; á sjau nóttum, Bárð. 166; á því meli, during that time, in the meantime, Grág. i. 259.

IV. connected with the seasons (á vetri, sumri, vári, hausti), ‘á’ denotes the next preceding season, the last winter, summer, autumn, Eb. 40, 238, Ld. 206: in such instances ‘á’ denotes the past, ‘at’ the future, ‘í’ the present; thus í vetri in old writers means this winter; á vetri, last winter; at vetri, next winter, Eb. 68 (in a verse), etc.

C. In various other relations, more or less metaphorically, on, upon, in, to, with, towards, against:

I. denoting object, in respect of, against, almost periphrastically; dvelja á náðum e-s, under one’s protection, Fms. i. 74; hafa metnað á e-u, to be proud of, to take pride in a thing, 127.

2. denoting a personal relation, in; bæta e-t á e-m, to make amends, i. e. to one personally; misgöra e-t á e-m, to inflict wrong on one; hafa elsku (hatr) á e-m, to bear love ( hatred) to one, Fms. ix. 242; hefna sín á e-m, to take revenge on one’s person, on anyone; rjúfa sætt á e-m, to break truce on the person of any one, to offend against his person, Nj. 103; hafa sár á sér, 101; sjá á e-m, to read on or in one’s face; sér hann á hverjum manni hvárt til þín er vel eðr illa, 106; var þat brátt auðséð á hennar högum, at …, it could soon be seen in all her doings, that …, Ld. 22.

3. also generally to shew signs of a thing; sýna fáleika á sér, to shew marks of displeasure, Nj. 14, Fs. 14; taka vel, illa, lítt, á e-u, to take a thing well, ill, or indifferently, id.; finna á sér, to feel in oneself; fann lítt á honum, hvárt …, it could hardly be seen in his face, whether …, Eb. 42; líkindi eru á, it is likely, Ld. 172; göra kost á e-u, to give a choice, chance of it, 178; eiga vald á e-u, to have power over …, Nj. 10.

II. denoting encumbrance, duty, liability; er fimtardómsmál á þeim, to be subject to …, Nj. 231; the phrase, hafa e-t á hendi, or vera á hendi e-m, on one’s hands, of work or duty to be done; eindagi á fé, term, pay day, Grág. i. 140; ómagi (skylda, afvinna) á fé, of a burden or encumbrance, D. I. and Grág. in several passages.

III. with a personal pronoun, sér, mér, honum …, denoting personal appearance, temper, character, look, or the like; vera þungr, léttr … á sér, to be heavy or light, either bodily or mentally; þungr á sér, corpulent, Sturl. i. 112; kátr ok léttr á sér, of a gay and light temper, Fms. x. 152; þat bragð hafði hann á sér, he looked as if, … the expression of his face was as though …, Ld., cp. the mod. phrase, hafa á sér svip, bragð, æði, sið, of one’s manner or personal appearance, to bear oneself as, or the like; skjótr (seinn) á fæti, speedy ( slow) of foot, Nj. 258.

IV. as a periphrasis of the possessive pronoun connected with the limbs or parts of the body. In common Icel. such phrases as my hands, eyes, head … are hardly ever used, but höfuð, eyru, hár, nef, munnr, hendr, fætr … á mér; so ‘í’ is used of the internal parts, e. g. hjarta, bein … í mér; the eyes are regarded as inside the body, augun í honum: also without the possessive pronoun, or as a periphrasis for a genitive, brjóstið á e-m, one’s breast, Nj. 95, Edda 15; súrnar í augum, it smarts in my eyes, my eyes smart, Nj. 202; kviðinn á sér, its belly, 655 xxx. 5, Fms. vi. 350; hendr á henni, her hands, Gísl. (in a verse); í vörunum á honum, on his lips, Band. 14; ristin á honum, his step, Fms. viii. 141; harðr í tungu, sharp of tongue, Hallfred (Fs. 114); kalt (heitt) á fingrum, höndum, fótum …, cold ( warm) in the fingers, hands, feet …, i. e. with cold fingers, etc.; cp. also the phrase, verða vísa (orð) á munni, of extemporising verses or speeches, freq. in the Sagas; fastr á fótum, fast by the leg, of a bondsman, Nj. 27: of the whole body, díla fundu þeir á honum, 209. The pers. pron. is used only in solemn style (poetry, hymns, the Bible), and perhaps only when influenced by foreign languages, e. g. mitt hjarta hví svo hryggist þú, as a translation of ‘warumb betrübst du dich mein Herz?’ the famous hymn by Hans Sachs; instead of the popular hjartað í mér, Sl. 43, 44: hjartað mitt is only used as a term of endearment, as by a husband to his wife, parents to their child, or the like, in a metaphorical sense; the heart proper is ‘í mér,’ not ‘mitt.’

2. of other things, and as a periphrasis of a genitive, of a part belonging to the whole, e. g. dyrr á husi = húsdyrr, at the house-doors; turn á kirkju = kirkju turn; stafn, skutr, segl, árar … á skipi, the stem, stern, sail … of a ship, Fms. ix. 135; blöð á lauk, á tré …, leaves of a leek, of a tree …, Fas. i. 469; egg á sverði = sverðs egg; stafr á bók; kjölr á bók, and in endless other instances.

V. denoting instrumentality, by, on, or a-, by means of; afla fjár á hólmgöngum, to make money a-duelling, by means of duels, Eg. 498; á verkum sínum, to subsist on one’s own work, Njarð. 366: as a law term, sekjast á e-ju, to be convicted upon …, Grág. i. 123; sekst maðr þar á sínu eigini ( a man is guilty in re sua), ef hann tekr af þeim manni er heimild ( possessio) hefir til, ii. 191; falla á verkum sínum, to be killed flagranti delicto, v. above; fella e-n á bragði, by a sleight in wrestling; komast undan á flótta, to escape by flight, Eg. 11; á hlaupi, by one’s feet, by speed, Hkr. ii. 168; lifa á e-u, to feed on; bergja á e-u, to taste of a thing; svala sér á e-u, to quench the thirst on.

VI. with subst. numerals; á þriðja tigi manna, up to thirty, i. e. from about twenty to thirty, Ld. 194; á öðru hundraði skipa, from one to two hundred sail strong, Fms. x. 126; á níunda tigi, between eighty and ninety years of age, Eg. 764, v. above: used as prep., á hendi, on one’s hand, i. e. bound to do it, v. hönd.

VII. in more or less adverbial phrases it may often be translated in Engl. by a participle and a- prefixed; á lopti, aloft; á floti, afloat; á lífi, alive; á verðgangi, a-begging; á brautu, away; á baki, a-back, behind, past; á milli, a-tween; á laun, alone, secretly; á launungu, id.; á móti, against; á enda, at an end, gone; á huldu, hidden; fara á hæli, to go a-heel, i. e. backwards, Fms. vii. 70;—but in many cases these phrases are transl. by the Engl. partic. with a, which is then perh. a mere prefix, not a prep., á flugi, a-flying in the air, Nj. 79; vera á gangi, a-going; á ferli, to be about; á leiki, a-playing, Fms. i. 78; á sundi, a-swimming, ii. 27; á verði, a-watching, x. 201; á hrakningi, a-wandering; á reiki, a-wavering; á skjálfi, a-shivering; á-hleri, a-listening; á tali, a-talking, Ísl. ii. 200; á hlaupi, a-running, Hkr. ii. 268; á verki, a-working; á veiðum, a-hunting; á fiski, a-fishing; á beit, grazing: and as a law term it even means in flagranti, N. G. L. i. 348.

VIII. used absolutely without a case in reference to the air or the weather, where ‘á’ is almost redundant; þoka var á mikil, a thick fog came on, Nj. 267; niðamyrkr var á, pitch darkness came on, Eg. 210; allhvast á norðan, a very strong breeze from the north, Fms. ix. 20; þá var á norðrænt, a north wind came on, 42, Ld. 56; hvaðan sem á er, from whatever point the wind is; var á hríð veðrs, a snow storm came on, Nj. 282; görði á regn, rain came on, Fms. vi. 394, xi. 35, Ld. 156.

WITH ACC.

A. Loc.

I. denoting simple direction towards, esp. connected with verbs of motion, going, or the like; hann gékk á bergsnös, Eg. 389; á hamar, Fas. ii. 517.

2. in phrases denoting direction; liggja á útborða, lying on the outside of the ship, Eg. 354; á annat borð skipinu, Fms. vii. 260; á bæði borð, on both sides of the ship, Nj. 124, Ld. 56; á tvær hliðar, on both sides, Fms. v. 73. Ísl. ii. 159; á hlið, sidewards; út á hlið, Nj. 262, Edda 44; á aðra hönd henni, Nj. 50, Ld. 46; höggva á tvær hendr, to hew or strike right and left, Ísl. ii. 368, Fas. i. 384, Fms. viii. 363, x. 383.

3. upp á, upon; hann tók augu Þjaza ok kastaði upp á himin, Edda 47: with verbs denoting to look, see, horfa, sjá, líta, etc.; hann rak skygnur á land, he cast glances towards the land, Ld. 154.

II. denoting direction with or without the idea of arriving:

1. with verbs denoting to aim at; of a blow or thrust, stefna á fótinn, Nj. 84; spjótið stefnir á hann miðjan, 205: of the wind, gékk veðrit á vestr, the wind veered to west, Fms. ix. 28; sigla á haf, to stand out to sea, Hkr. i. 146, Fms. i. 39: with ‘út’ added, Eg. 390, Fms. x. 349.

2. conveying the notion of arriving, or the intervening space being traversed; spjótið kom á miðjan skjöldinn, Eg. 379, Nj. 96, 97; langt upp á land, far up inland, Hkr. i. 146: to reach, taka ofan á belti, of the long locks of a woman, to reach down to the belt, Nj. 2; ofan á bringu, 48; á þa ofan, 91.

III. without reference to the space traversed, connected with verbs denoting to go, turn, come, ride, sail, throw, or the like, motion of every kind; hann kastar honum á völlinn, he flings him down, Nj. 91; hlaupa á skip sitt, to leap on board his ship, 43; á hest, to mount quickly, Edda 75; á lend hestinum, Nj. 91; hann gengr á sáðland sitt, he walks on to his fields, 82: on, upon, komast á fætr, to get upon one’s legs, 92; ganga á land, to go a-shore, Fms. i. 40; ganga á þing, vii. 242, Grág. (often); á skóg, á merkr ok skóga, into a wood, Fb. i. 134, 257, Fms. xi. 118, Eg. 577, Nj. 130; fara á Finnmörk, to go travelling in Finmark, Fms. i. 8; koma, fara á bæ, to arrive at the farm-house; koma á veginn, Eg. 578; stíga á bát, skip, to go on board, 158; hann gékk upp á borg, he went up to the burg (castle), 717; en er þeir komu á loptriðið, 236; hrinda skipum á vatn, to float the ships down into the water, Fms. i. 58; reka austr á haf, to drift eastwards on the sea, x. 145; ríða ofan á, to ride down or over, Nj. 82.

IV. in some cases the acc. is used where the dat. would be used, esp. with verbs denoting to see or hear, in such phrases as, þeir sá boða mikinn inn á fjörðinn, they saw great breakers away up in the bight of the firth, the acc. being due perhaps to a motion or direction of the eye or ear towards the object, Nj. 124; sá þeir fólkit á land, they saw the people in the direction of land, Fas. ii. 517: in phrases denoting to be placed, to sit, to be seated, the seat or bench is freq. in the acc. where the dat. would now be used; konungr var þar á land upp, the king was then up the country, the spectator or narrator is conceived as looking from the shore or sea-side, Nj. 46; sitja á miðjan bekk, to be seated on the middle bench, 50; skyldi konungs sæti vera á þann bekk … annat öndvegi var á hinn úæðra pall; hann setti konungs hásæti á miðjan þverpall, Fms. vi. 439, 440, cp. Fagrsk. l. c., Sturl. iii. 182; eru víða fjallbygðir upp á mörkina, in the mark or forest, Eg. 58; var þar mörk mikil á land upp, 229; mannsafnaðr er á land upp (viewed from the sea), Ld. 76; stóll var settr á mótið, Fas. i. 58; beiða fars á skip, to beg a passage, Grág. i. 90.

V. denoting parts of the body; bíta e-n á barka, to bite one in the throat, Ísl. ii. 447; skera á háls, to cut the throat of any one, Nj. 156; brjóta e-n á háls, to break any one’s neck; brjóta e-n á bak, to break any one’s back, Fms. vii. 119; kalinn á kné, frozen to the knees with cold, Hm. 3.

VI. denoting round; láta reipi á háls hesti, round his horse’s neck, 623. 33; leggja söðul á hest, Nj. 83; and ellipt., leggja á, to saddle; breiða feld á hofuð sér, to wrap a cloak over his head, 164; reyta á sik mosa, to gather moss to cover oneself with, 267; spenna hring á hönd, á fingr, Eg. 300.

VII. denoting a burden; stela mat á tvá hesta, hey á fimtán hesta, i. e. a two, a fifteen horse load, Nj. 74: metaph., kjósa feigð á menn, to choose death upon them, i. e. doom them to death, Edda 22.

B. TEMP.

I. of a period of time, at, to; á morgun, to-morrow (í morgun now means the past morning, the morning of to-day), Ísl. ii. 333.

II. if connected with the word day, ‘á’ is now used before a fixed or marked day, a day of the week, a feast day, or the like; á Laugardag, á Sunnudag …, on Saturday, Sunday, the Old Engl. a-Sunday, a-Monday, etc.; á Jóladaginn, Páskadaginn, on Yule and Easter-day; but in old writers more often used ellipt. Sunnudaginn, Jóladaginn …, by dropping the prep. ‘á,’ Fms. viii. 397, Grág. i. 18.

III. connected with ‘dagr’ with the definite article suffixed, ‘á’ denotes a fixed, recurring period or season, in; á daginn, during the day-time, every day in turn, Grett. 91 A.

IV. connected with ‘evening, morning, the seasons,’ with the article; á kveldit, every evening, Ld. 14; á sumarit, every summer, Vd. 128, where the new Ed. Fs. 51 reads sumrum; á haust, every autumn, Eg. 741 (perh. a misprint instead of á haustin or á haustum); á vetrinn, in the winter time, 710; á várit, every spring, Gþl. 347; the sing., however, is very rare in such cases, the old as well as mod. usage prefers the plur.; á nætrnar, by night, Nj. 210; á várin, Eg. 710; á sumrin, haustin, á morgnana, in the morning (á morgin, sing., means to-morrow); á kveldin, in the evening, only ‘dagr’ is used in sing., v. above (á daginn, not á dagana); but elliptically and by dropping the article, Icelanders say, kveld og morgna, nótt og dag, vetr sumar vor og haust, in the same sense as those above mentioned.

V. denoting duration, the article is dropped in the negative phrase, aldri á sinn dag, never during one’s life; aldri á mína daga, never in my life, Bjarn. 8, where a possess. pron. is put between noun and prep., but this phrase is very rare. Such phrases as, á þann dag, that day, and á þenna dag, Stj. 12, 655 xxx. 2. 20, are unclassical.

VI. á dag without article can only be used in a distributive sense, e. g. tvisvar á dag, twice a-day; this use is at present freq. in Icel., yet instances from old writers are not on record.

VII. denoting a movement onward in time, such as, liðið á nótt, dag, kveld, morgun, sumar, vetr, vár, haust (or nóttina, daginn …), jól, páska, föstu, or the like, far on in the night, day …, Edda 33; er á leið vetrinn, when the winter was well on, as the winter wore on, Nj. 126; cp. áliðinn: also in the phrase, hniginn á inn efra aldr, well stricken in years, Ld. 68.

C. Metaph. and in various relations:

I. somewhat metaphorically, denoting an act only (not the place); fara á fund, á vit e-s, to call for one, Eg. 140; koma á ræðu við e-n, to come to a parley with, to speak, 173; ganga á tal, Nj. 103; skora á hólm, to challenge to a duel on an island; koma á grið, to enter into a service, to be domiciled, Grág. i. 151; fara á veiðar, to go a-hunting, Fms. i. 8.

β. generally denoting on, upon, in, to; bjóða vöxtu á féit, to offer interest on the money, Grág. i. 198; ganga á berhögg, to come to blows, v. berhögg; fá á e-n, to make an impression upon one, Nj. 79; ganga á vápn e-s, to throw oneself on an enemy’s weapon, meet him face to face, Rd. 310; ganga á lagið, to press on up the spear-shaft after it has passed through one so as to get near one’s foe, i. e. to avail oneself of the last chance; bera fé á e-n, to bribe, Nj. 62; bera öl á e-n, to make drunk, Fas. i. 13; snúinn á e-t, inclined to, Fms. x. 142; sammælast á e-t, to agree upon, Nj. 86; sættast, verða sáttr á e-t, in the same sense, to come to an agreement, settlement, or atonement, 78, Edda 15, Eb. 288, Ld. 50, Fms. i. 279; ganga á mála, to serve for pay as a soldier, Nj. 121; ganga á vald e-s, to put oneself in his power, 267; ganga á sætt, to break an agreement; vega á veittar trygðir, to break truce, Grág. ii. 169.

II. denoting in regard to, in respect to:

1. of colour, complexion, the hue of the hair, or the like; hvítr, jarpr, dökkr … á hár, having white, brown, or dark … hair, Ísl. ii. 190, Nj. 39; svartr á brún ok brá, dark of brow and eyebrow; dökkr á hörund, id., etc.

2. denoting skill, dexterity; hagr á tré, a good carpenter; hagr á járn, málm, smíðar …, an expert worker in iron, metals …, Eg. 4; fimr á boga, good at the bow: also used of mastership in science or arts, meistari á hörpuslátt, a master in striking the harp, Fas. iii. 220; fræðimaðr á kvæði, knowing many poems by heart, Fms. vi. 391; fræðimaðr á landnámssögur ok forna fræði, a learned scholar in histories and antiquities (of Are Frode), Ísl. ii. 189; mikill á íþrótt, skilful in an art, Edda (pref.) 148; but dat. in the phrase, kunna (vel) á skíðum, to be a cunning skater, Fms. i. 9, vii. 120.

3. denoting dimensions; á hæð, lengd, breidd, dýpt …, in the heighth, length, breadth, depth …, Eg. 277; á hvern veg, on each side, Edda 41 (square miles); á annan veg, on the one side, Grág. i. 89.

β. the phrase, á sik, in regard to oneself, vel (illa) á sik kominn, of a fine ( ugly) appearance, Ld. 100, Fas. iii. 74.

III. denoting instrumentality; bjargast á sínar hendr, to live on the work of one’s own hands, (á sínar spýtur is a mod. phrase in the same sense); (vega) á skálir, pundara, to weigh in scales, Grág. ii. 370; at hann hefði tvá pundara, ok hefði á hinn meira keypt en á hinn minna selt, of a man using two scales, a big one for buying and a little one for selling, Sturl. i. 91; á sinn kostnað, at one’s own expense; nefna e-n á nafn, by name, Grág. i. 17, etc. The Icel. also say, spinna á rokk, snældu, to spin on or with a rock or distaff; mala á kvern, to grind in a ‘querne,’ where Edda 73 uses dat.; esp. of musical instruments, syngja, leika á hljóðfæri, hörpu, gígju …; in the old usage, leika hörpu …, Stj. 458.

IV. denoting the manner or way of doing:

1. á þessa lund, in this wise, Grág. ii. 22; á marga vega, á alla, ymsa vega, in many, all, respects, Fms. i. 114; á sitt hóf, in its turn, respectively, Ld. 136, where the context shews that the expression answers to the Lat. mutatis mutandis; á Þýðersku, after German fashion, Sks. 288.

2. esp. of language; mæla, rita á e-a tungu, to speak, write in a tongue; á Írsku, in Irish, Ld. 76; Norrænu, in Norse, Eb. 330, Vm. 35; a Danska tungu, in Danish, i. e. Scandinavian, Norse, or Icelandic, Grág. i. 18; á Vára tungu, i. e. in Icelandic, 181; rita á Norræna tungu, to write in Norse, Hkr. (pref.), Bs. i. 59:—at present, dat. is sometimes used.

3. in some phrases the acc. is used instead of the dat.; hann sýndi á sik mikit gaman, Fms. x. 329; hann lét ekki á sik finna, he shewed no sign of motion, Nj. 111; skaltú önga fáleika á þik gera (Cod. Kalf.), 14.

V. used in a distributive sense; skal mörk kaupa gæzlu á kú, eðr oxa fim vetra gamlan, a mark for every cow, Grág. i. 147; alin á hvert hross, 442; á mann, per man (now freq.): cp. also á dag above, lit. B.

VI. connected with nouns,

1. prepositional; á hendr (with dat.), against; á hæla, at heel, close behind; á bak, at back, i. e. past, after; á vit (with gen.), towards.

2. adverbially; á braut, away, abroad; á víxl, in turns; á mis, amiss; á víð ok dreif, a-wide and a-drift, i. e. dispersedly.

3. used almost redundantly before the following prep.; á eptir, after, behind; á undan, in front of; á meðal, á milli, among; á mót, against; á við, about, alike; á frá (cp. Swed. ifrån), from (rare); á fyrir = fyrir, Haustl. 1; á hjá, beside (rare); á fram, a-head, forwards; á samt, together; ávalt = of allt, always: following a prep., upp á, upon; niðr á, down upon; ofan á, eptir á, post eventum, (temp.) á eptir is loc., id., etc.

VII. connected with many transitive verbs, answering to the Lat. ad- or in-, in composition, in many cases periphrastically for an objective case. The prep. generally follows after the verb, instead of being prefixed to it as in Lat., and answers to the Engl. on, to; heita kalla, hrópa á, to call on; heyra, hlusta, hlyða á, to hearken to, listen to; hyggja, hugsa á, to think on; minna á, to remind; sjá, líta, horfa, stara, mæna, glápa, koma auga … á, to look on; girnast á, to wish for; trúa á, to believe on; skora á, to call on any one to come out, challenge; kæra á, to accuse; heilsa á, to greet; herja, ganga, ríða, hlaupa, ráða … á, to fall on, attack, cp. ágangr, áreið, áhlaup; ljúga á, to tell lies of, to slander; telja á, to carp at; ausa, tala, hella, kasta, verpa … á, to pour, throw on; ríða, bera, dreifa á, to sprinkle on; vanta, skorta á, to fall short of; ala á, to plead, beg; leggja á, to throw a spell on, lay a saddle on; hætta á, to venture on; gizka á, to guess at; kveða á, to fix on, etc.: in a reciprocal sense, haldast á, of mutual strife; sendast á, to exchange presents; skrifast á, to correspond (mod.); kallast á, to shout mutually; standast á, to coincide, so as to be just opposite one another, etc.

f. [Lat. aqua; Goth. ahva; Hel. aha; A. S. eâ; O. H. G. aha, owa; cp. Germ. ach and aue; Fr. eau, eaux; Engl. Ax-, Ex-, etc., in names of places; Swed.-Dan. å; the Scandinavians absorb the hu, so that only a single vowel or diphthong remains of the whole word]:—a river. The old form in nom. dat. acc. sing. is , v. the introduction to A, page 1, Bs. i. 333 sq., where ́n, ́ (acc.), and ́na; so also Greg. 677; the old fragm. of Grág. ii. 222, 223, new Ed. In the Kb. of the Edda the old form occurs twice, viz. page 75, ́na (acc.), (but two lines below, ána), í ́nni (dat.) The old form also repeatedly occurs in the Kb. and Sb. of the Grág., e. g. ii. 266, 267: gen. sing. ár; nom. pl. ár, gen. á contracted, dat. ám, obsolete form ́m; Edda 43, Eg. 80, 99, 133, 185: proverbs, at ósi skal á stemma, answering to the Lat. principiis obsta, Edda 60; hér kemr á til sæfar, here the river runs into the sea, metaph. = this is the very end, seems to have been a favourite ending of old poems; it is recorded in the Húsdrápa and the Norðsetadrápa, v. Edda 96, Skálda 198; cp. the common saying, oil vötn renna til sævar, ‘all waters run into the sea.’ Rivers with glacier water are in Icel. called Hvítá, White river, or Jökulsá: Hitá, Hot river, from a hot spring, opp. to Kaldá, v. Landn.: others take a name from the fish in them, as Laxá, Lax or Salmon river (freq.); Örriða á, etc.: a tributary river is þverá, etc.: ár in the Njála often means the great rivers Ölfusá and Þjórsá in the south of Iceland. Áin helga, a river in Sweden, Hkr. ii: á is also suffixed to the names of foreign rivers, Tempsá = Thames; Dóná, Danube (Germ. Don-au), (mod.), etc. Vide Edda (Gl.) 116, 117, containing the names of over a hundred North-English and Scottish rivers.

COMPDS: áráll, árbakki, árbrot, ardjúp, árfarvegr, árfors, árgljúfr, árhlutr, ármegin, árminni, ármót, áróss, árreki, árstraumr, árströnd, árvað, árvegr, árvöxtr.

1) old;

2) hem of a garment; kyrtill hlaðbúinn í fald niðr, a kirtle laced down to the hems;

3) a sort of (woman’s) headgear, hood.

* * *

m. [A. S. feald; Engl. fold; Germ. falte; O. H. G. fald; Dan. fold; Ital. falda, and faldetta (in Malta); Fr. fauvetta and faudage]:—a fold, of a garment, Str. 9, 13, l. 19, 21, where it is even spelt foldr; in Icel. hardly ever used in this sense.

β. the hem of a garment; hún gékk á bak til ok snart fald hans klæða, Luke viii. 44; og fald sinna klæða stækka þeir, Matth. xxiii. 5; og báðu hann, að þeir mætti snerta að eins fald hans fata, Mark vi. 56; kyrtill hlaðbúinn í fald niðr, a kirtle laced down to the hems, Fms. iv. 337; allt í fald niðr, Mag. (Fr.) 63; klæða-faldr, Pass. 36. 9.

II. a white linen hood, the stately national head-gear worn by ladies in Icel., of which drawings are given by Eggert Itin. pp. 24, 27, Sir Joseph Banks in Hooker’s Travels, the account of the French expedition of the year 1836 sq., and in almost all books of travels in Iceland. In old Sagas or poems the fald is chiefly recorded in Ld. ch. 33 (the dreams of Guðrún Osvifs datter), cp. Sd. ch. 25; in the Orkn. S. ch. 58 the two sisters Frakök and Helga, daughters of the Gaelic Moddan, wore a fald (þá hnyktu þar af sér faldinum, ok reyttu sik), 182. In the Rm. (a poem probably composed in the Western Isles. Orkneys) all the three women, Edda, Amma, and Móðir, wore the fald; the words in Þkv. 16, 19—ok haglega um höfuð typpum, and let us cleverly put a topping on his head, of Thor in bridal disguise—seem to refer to the fald. Bishop Bjarni, a native of the Orkneys (died A. D. 1222), gives the name of ‘fald’ to the helmet; Kormak, in the 10th century, speaks of the ‘old falda.’ In Normandy and Brittany a kind of ‘fald’ is still in use; it may be that it came to Icel. through Great Britain, and is of Breton origin; a French fald (Franseiskr, i. e. Britain?) is mentioned, D. N. iv. 359. In Icel. the fald was, up to the end of the last century, worn by every lady,—áðr sérhver fald bar frú | falleg þótti venja sú, a ditty. The ladies tried to outdo each other in wearing a tall fald; keisti faldr, the fald rose high, Rm. 26; falda hátt, Eb. (the verse); hence the sarcastic name stiku-faldr, a ‘yard-long fald;’ stífan teygja stiku-fald, Þagnarmál 53, a poem of 1728; 1 Tim. ii. 9 is in the Icel. version rendered, eigi með földum (πλέγμασι) eðr gulli eðr perlum,—since with ancient women, and in Icel. up to a late time, braiding of the hair was almost unknown. In mod. poetry, Iceland with her glaciers is represented as a woman with her fald on; minn hefir faldr fengið fjúka-ryk og kám, Eggert: the sails are called faldar mastra, hoods of the masts, faldar mastra blöktu stilt, Úlf. 3. 14; hestar hlés hvíta skóku falda trés, id., 10; faldr skýja, the folds of the clouds, poët., Núm. 1. 11; faldr af degi, of the daybreak, 4. 86; vide krók-faldr, sveigr, a crooked fald. falda-feykir, m. a magical dance in which the falds flew off the ladies’ heads, Fas. iii; cp. Percy’s Fryar and Boy, also the Wonderful Flute in Popular Tales.

* * *

(hin, hitt), dem. pron.

1) the other; á hinn fótinn, on the other leg; pl. the others, the rest (Kimbi bar sár sín engan mun betr en hinir);

2) emphatically, that; hitt ek hugða, that was what I thought; hitt vil ek vita, that I want to know.

(hin, hit), def. art., before an adjective standing alone or followed by a substantive, the, = inn, enn( eptir hinni eystri kvísl).

* * *

HIN, HIT, the article, an enclitic, which therefore can never serve as an accentuated syllable in a verse, either as rhyme or in alliteration. In good old MSS. (e. g. Cod. Reg. of Sæm.) it is hardly ever spelt with the aspirate, but is written inn, in, it or ið, or enn, en, et or eð, and thus distinguished from the demonstr. pron. hinn; but in the Editions the prob. spurious aspirate has been generally prefixed: an indecl. inu or hinu occurs often in later MSS. of the 14th century, e. g. the Fb.; but as it has not been heard of since and is unknown in the modern language, it simply seems to be a Norwegianism, thus, inu sömu orð, Th. 2; hinnu fyrri biskupa (gen. pl.), H. E. ii. 79; enu instu luti ( res intimas), Hom. 57 (Norse MS.); hinu ágæztu menn (nom. pl.), id.; innu óargu dýra, 657 A. ii. 12: [cp. Goth. jains = ἐκεινος; A. S. geond; Engl. yon; Germ. jener.]

A. The:

I. preceding the noun:

1. before an adjective standing alone or followed by a substantive; inn mæri, inn ríki, inn dimmi dreki, inn mikli mögr, Vsp.; in aldna, id.; inn góða mjöð, the good mead, Gm. 13; inn mæra mjöð, Skm. 16; inn helga mjöð, Sdm. 18; in forna fold, Hým. 24; in fríða frilla, 30; inn fróði jötum, Vþm. 20; inn gamli þulr, 9; inn hára þul, Fm. 34; inn fráni ormr, 19; opt inn betri bilar þá er inn verri vegr, Hm. 127; in alsnotra ambátt, in arma, Þkv.; enn fróði afi, Skm. 2; in ílla mæra, 32; enn fráni ormr, 27; eð manunga man, Hm. 163; enn aldna jötun, 104; en horska mær, 95; it betra, Stor. 22; ena þriðju, the third, Vsp. 20; inn móður-lausi mögr, Fm. 2; it gjalla gull, ok it glóðrauða fé, 9; ið fyrsta orð, Sdm. 14; enu skírleita goði, Gm. 39; in glýstömu græti, Hðm. 1; in svásu goð, Vþm. 17; enum frægja syni, Hm. 141; at ins tryggva vinar, 66; ennar góðu konu, 100; ins svinna mans, 162; ens dýra mjaðar, 141; ens hindra dags, 109; ens unga mans, Skm. 11; ens deykkva hrafns, Skv. 2. 20; æ til ins eina dags, Fm. 10; ena níundu hverja nótt, Skm. 21: with the ordinals, inn fyrsti, þriði …, Gm. 6 sqq., Sdm. 21 sqq.

2. so also before an adverb; it sama, likewise, Hm. 75, Fm. 4, Vþm. 22, 23, Gm. 15, Hdl. 26.

3. as an indecl. particle ‘in’ or ‘en’ before a comparative; in heldr, the more, Hm. 60, Sdm. 36, Hkv. 1. 12, Skv. 1. 21, Gh. 3, Nj. 219; in lengr, the longer, Am. 58, 61; this has been already mentioned s. v. en (p. 127, B. at bottom, and p. 128), but it is almost exclusively poetical.

II. placed between a pronoun and an adjective in the definite form:

1. after a demonstr.; sá inn fráni ormr, Fm. 26; sá inn harði hallr, Gs. 10; sá inn aldni jötun, Skm. 25; sá inn ámáttki jötunn, 10; þat ið mikla men, Þkv. 13; þat ið litla, ‘that the little,’ i. e. the little thing, Ls. 44: þann inn alsvinna jötun, Vþm. 1; þann inn aldna jötun, Fm. 29; þann inn hrímkalda jötun, 38; þess ins alsvinna jötuns, Vþm. 5; þat it unga man, Alm. 6; þann inn aldna jötun, Gm. 50; þau in harðmóðgu ský, 41; sá inn máttki munr, 93; mönnum þeim enum aldrœnum, Hbl. 44; börn þau in blíðu, Og. 9; hrís þat ið mæra, Akv. 5: in prose, fjölmenni þat it mikla, Eg. 46; þetta it mikla skip, Fms. x. 347, passim: with ordinals, segðu þat ið eina, say that the first, Vþm. 20; þat ið þriðja, fjórða …, 20 sqq.

2. after a possessive; síns ins heila hugar, síns ins svára sefa, Hm. 105; þíns ins hvassa hjörs, Fm. 29; minn inn hvassi hjörr, 6; míns ins hvassa hjörs, 28; bækr þínar inar bláhvítu, Hðm.

3. after a pers. pron.: þú hinn armi, thou wretch! Ld. 326; gakk þú hingat hinn mikli maðr! Eg. 488.

III. placed between two nouns in apposition:

1. between a proper name and a title or epithet in the definite form; Sigurðr inn Suðræni, Sigurd the Southerner, Skv. 3. 4; Atli inn Ríki, Akv. 29; Högna ins frækna, Hjalla ins blauða, 23; Guðröðr inn Göfugláti, Ýt.; Hamðir inn hugumstóri, Hðm. 25; Kjötva’nn (= Kjötva enn) Auðga, Hornklofi; Svan enum Rauða, Álfr enn Gamli, Hdl.; as also in prose, Ívarr inn Víðfaðmi, Haraldr enn Hárfagri, Ólafr inn Digri, Knútr inn Fundni, Auðr in Djúpauðga, Þorbjörg in Digra, Hildr in Mjófa, Steinólfr inn Lági, Þorkell inn Hávi, Kjarlakr inn Gamli, Björn inn Austræni, Ólafr inn Hvíti, Hálfdan inn Svarti, Sighvatr inn Rauði, Kyjólfr inn Grá, Gestr inn Spaki; Ari inn Fróði (Aren Froðe contr. = Are enn Froðe, Ó. T. 23, line 1), Ketill inn Heimski, Knútr inn Ríki, Eadvarðr inn Góði, Hálfdan inn Mildi, Ingjaldr inn Illráði, Helgi inn Magri, Úlfr inn Skjálgi, Landn., Fb. iii; cp. Gr. Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων, Σωκράτης ὁ φιλόσοφος, Germ. Nathan der Weise, Engl. Alfred the Great, etc.: of ships, Ormr inn Langi, Ormr inn Skammi.

2. between an appellative and an adjective; sveinn inn hvíti, Ls. 20; hendi inni hægri, 61; þengill inn meins-vani, Gm. 16; seggr inn ungi, Skm. 2; skati inn ungi, Hdl. 9; brúðr in kappsvinna, Am. 75; hest inn hraðfæra, Gh. 18; varr inn vígfrækni, gumi inn gunnhelgi, Hðm. 30; auð inn fagra, Skv. 1. 13; orm inn frána, 1, 11; fjánda inn fólkská, Fm. 37; konungr inn Húnski, Skv. 3. 8, 18, 63, 64; orð ið fyrra, Og. 9; mál ið efsta, 16; seggr inn suðræni, Akv. 3; seggr inn æri, 6; mar’inum mélgreypa, 3, 13; borg inni há, 14; sól inni suðrhöllu, 30; veðrs ens mikla, Hkv. 1. 12; handar ennar hægri, Ls. 38, 61; vífs ins vegliga, Am. 54; konung inn kostsama, Hkm.; gramr inn glaðværi, id.; hlut inn mjóvara, Ýt. 13; konungr inn kynstóri, fylkir inn framlyndi, hilmi’nom hálsdigra, konu’na Dönsku, hverr’ enni Heinversku, Hornklofi, Sæm. (Möb.) 228–231; við arm inn vestra, Sighvat; so also in prose passim.

B. When there was no adjective the article became a suffix to the noun (see Gramm. pp. xix, xx), a usage common even in early prose, but extremely rare in poetry; the reason is, not that the poems were composed before the suffixed article had come into use, but that the metres themselves in which all the old poems were composed are older than that usage, and are not well adapted to it, so that the absence of the article became traditional. The old poem Harbarðsljóð makes an exception, no doubt not from being later than all other poems, but from being composed in a peculiar metre, half verse and half prose; thus in that single poem alone there are nearly twenty instances, or about twice or thrice as many as in all the other poems together:—váginn, Hbl. 2, 13, 15; sundit, 1, 3, 8, 13; verðinum, 4; eikjunni, 7; skipit, id.; stöðna, landit, id.; leiðina, 55; höfuðit, 15; bátinum, 53; veggsins, stokksins, steinsins, 56; matrinn, 3: other solitary instances are, goðin öll, Vsp. 27 (prob. somewhat corrupt); eiki-köstinn, Gh. 20; vömmin vár, Ls. 52.

II. in prose, old and modern, the suffixed article occurs at every step; only one or two instances are worth noticing as peculiar to the Icelandic:

1. as vocative in addressing; konan, O woman! mjöðnannan, id., Sighvat (in a verse of A. D. 1018, and so in mod. usage); elskan! hjartað! heillin! ástin, my love! dear! heart! þursinn! Fas. i. 385; hundarnir! = ω κύνες, Od. xxii. 35: also with another word, barnið gott, good child! Þrúðnaþussinn, thou monster giant! Miðgarðs-ormrinn! Fas. i. 373.

2. esp. if with a possessive adjective following, as in Gr. οὑμός, τοὐμόν, τἀμά, etc.; elskan mín, ástin mín, hjartað mitt, góðrinn minn! hér er nú ástin mín, here is my darling! Sturl. ii. 78, of a father presenting a darling child to a friend; and so in mod. usage: as abuse, hundrinn þinn, thou dog! Ísl. ii. 176; þjófrinn þinn! Fms. vii. 127; dyðrillinn þinn! ii. 279; hundinum þínum! vi. 323: this use is not confined to the vocative, e. g. konan mín biðr að heilsa, my wife (kona mín is never used); maðrinn minn, my husband; biddu foreldrana þína ( ask thy parents) að lofa þér að fara; augun hans, his eyes, Pass. 24. 4; hugrinn vor og hjartað sé, our mind and heart (cp. Gr. τω ἐμω θυμω), 43. 5; svo hjartað bæði og málið mitt | mikli samhuga nafnið þitt, 10. 7; gef þú að móður-málið mitt, 35. 9; bókin mín, my favourite book, my own book; as also, fáðu mér hattinn minn, vetlingana mína, skóna mína, give me my hat, gloves, shoes; tungan í þér, augun í þér, thy tongue, thy eyes; höfuðið á mér, fætrnir á mér, my head, my feet; hendrnar á þér (‘á mér, á þér’ are here equivalent to a possessive, see p. 37, C. IV), thy hands, cp. Homer, τα σα γούνατα; hestana þína, Gr. ϊππους τους σούς: similar is the instance, vömmin vár, the sins of ours, Ls. 52; this may be a remnant of a time when the article was used separately, even with an indefinite adjective.

3. a double article, one suffixed to the noun and the other prefixed to the word in apposition; hirðin sú in Danska, Fms. vi. 323; þau in stóru skipin, viii. 384 and passim: again, when a noun is put in the genitive after another noun the former has no article; as the Engl. phrase ‘the fish of the sea and the fowl of the air’ is in Icel. ‘fiskar sjávarins og fuglar loptsins:’ but this belongs to the syntax; see also Grimm’s D. G. iv. 432.

C. SPECIAL CHANGES, in mod. usage:

I. the demonstr. pron. sá, sú, það has in speech generally taken the place of inn, in, it; thus, sá gamli maðr, sú gamla kona, það gamla skáld; sometimes the article is dropped altogether, e. g. á fimta degi, on the fifth day (= á enum fimta degi); á sömn stundu, in the same hour; even in old writers this is found, með sömu ætlan, Bs. i. 289; á níundu tíð dags, Stj. 41, (but rarely); yet the old form is often retained in writing.

II. in case A. II. the article may be dropped; þann gamla maim, þá gömlu konu, það gamla skáld, þú armi, etc.; sá ráða-góði, sú goðum-líki, sá ágæti Odysseifr, sú vitra Penelopa, sá Jarðkringjandi Pósídon, Od. passim (in Dr. Egilsson’s translation).

III. in case A. III. 1. the article is also dropped, Knútr Ríki, Haraldr Hárfagri; even old writers (esp. in later vellums) omitted it now and then, Hálfdan Svarta, Fms. i. 1; Haraldr Grænski, 90; Haraldr Hárfagri, 192; Óttarr ungi, Hdl.: even in the Sæm. Cod. Reg., Völsungr ungi, Skv. 3. 1, 3.

IV. in case A. III. 2. the pronouns sá, sú, það, and hinn, hin, hit may be used indiscriminately, although the former is more usual.

V. lastly, in case B. the suffixed article has gained ground, and is in modern prose used more freq. than in ancient.

☞ CONCLUSION.—The old poetical language, with the sole exception of a single poem, had no article in the modern and proper sense; in every instance the ‘inn, in, it’ bears the character of a demonstrative pronoun, preceding an adjective and enhancing and emphasising its sense, like the pers. pron. hann, q. v.; but it is never attached to a single substantive; when the adjective was placed in apposition after a noun, the pronoun came to stand as an enclitic just after the noun, and was sounded as if suffixed thereto; at last it was tacked as an actual suffix to single nouns standing without apposition, and thus the true suffixed article gradually arose, first in speech, then in writing; whereas at the same time the old pronominal enclitic (A. I-III) gradually went out of use, and was either dropped or replaced by the stronger demonstrative pronoun ‘sá, sú.’

HIN, HITT, demonstr. pron., prob. identical in etymology with the preceding word, from which it is however distinguished,

1. by the neut. hitt, Dan. hint;

2. by the initial aspirate, which is never dropped;

3. by being a fully accentuated pronoun, so that the h can stand as an alliterative letter, e. g. handar ennar hægri | mun ek hinnar geta, Ls.; veitkat ek hitt hvart Heita | hungr …, Hallfred; Hitt kvað þá Hamðir, etc., Hom. 23, 25, Korm. 40; Raun er hins at Heinir | hræ …; Skáld biðr hins at haldi | hjálm …, Sighvat, Hkv. Hjörv. 26: [Ulf. jains = ἐκεινος; A. S. geond; Engl. yon; Germ. jener.]

A. This pronoun is used,

I. in a demonstr. sense, emphatically and without being opp. to a preceding demonstr.; raun er hins at …, it is proved that …; skáld biðr hins, at …, Sighvat; veitkat ek hitt hvat (hvárt) …, Hallfred; hitt ek hugða, emphatically, that was what I thought, I thought forsooth, Hm. 98; hitt kvað pá Hróðrglóð, Hðm. 13; hitt kvað þá Hamðir, 25; hitt vil ek vita, that I want to know, Vþm. 3, 6; þó ek hins get, ef …, yet I guess, that if …, Skm. 24; vita skal hitt, ef …, Korm. 40 (in a verse), Ísl. ii. 225 (in a verse); hitt var fyrr = in former times, formerly, Ýt., Fs. 94 (in a verse); hinn er sæll, er …, he is happy, that …, Hm. 8; maðr hinn er …, ‘man he that’ = the man who, 26; hinn er Surts ór Sökkdölum, Edda 51 (in a verse); veitat hinn er tin tannar, hinn er um eyki annask, Kormak (in a verse); handar innar hægri mun ek hinnar geta, er …, the right hand, that hand namely, which …, Ls. 38; this usage scarcely occurs except in old poetry.

II. demonstr. referring to another pronoun, denoting the former, farther, the other, = Dan. hiin, hint, Germ. jener, cp. Gr. ἐκεινος, Lat. ille; freq. in prose, old and mod.; fóru þeir með þau skip er þeim þóttu bezt en brenndu hin, Fms. v. 8; Kimbi bar sár sitt engan mun betr en hinir, er hann hafði áðr á fært, 92; en hitt er meira, at hann lætr sér annarra manna fé jafnheimilt, Eg. 47; kemr örvar-oddrinn í strenglag hinnar örvarinnar, Fb. iii. 405; er þú hefir mik fyrir lagt á hinu áðr, 407; hinir frændr þínir, ii. 425; á hinn fótinn, on that, the other leg, Nj. 97; þat er válítið, … hitt er undr …, Ls. 33; hinir hlaða seglunum ok bíða, Fms. x. 347; ef hinn ( the other part) er eigi þar við staddr, Grág. i. 52; hvárt hinn ( the other one) hefir jafnmikit fé hins ( of the other one) er austr er, 220; rétt er at kveðja frá hennar heimili ef hann veit hvártki hinna (gen. pl.), 339; ok vill annarr hluta en annarr eigi … ok verðr sem hinn mæli ekki um er eigi vill hluta, 393; ef maðr sendir annan mann til eindaga, ok erat hinn skyldr við at taka, id.; þess á milli er hón fór at sofa á kveldit, ok hins er hón var klædd, Ld. 14; ærit fögr er mær sjá, … en hitt veit ek eigi hvaðan þjófs-augu eru komin í ættir várar, forsooth she is a beautiful girl, but yet I know not, Nj. 2:—demonstr. in the sense of this (but rare), stjörnur þær er nær eru leiðar-stjöruu ganga aldri undir með oss, en í Blálandi eðr Arabia ganga hinar stjörnur, these very stars, Rb. 468: phrases, hitt ok annat, this and the other, Rd. 235; mod. hitt og þetta.

B. COMPOUND FORMS, hinn-ug, hinn-og, or hins-ig, mod. hins-egin, also hizig, q. v. [from vegr], adv. the other way; þótt Gísl þykki hinsig (hinn veg, v. l.) eigi síðr til vísa, Fms. vii. 46; hinnig værir þú undir brún at líta sem …, Nj. 55: locally, there, in the other place, illic, ok láta bera vætti þat hinneg var nefnt, Grág. i. 90; heimta af erfingja ef hinnig er eigi til, K. Þ. K. 28; brenndi þar ok görði hervirki eigi minna enn hinneg, Fms. vi. 340; ef hinnig mundi kostr, K. Þ. K. 24; eigi er hægra undir þeim at búa fyrir kulda sakir, enn hinnog er fyrir ofrhita sakir, Sks. 196; því at hón er kaldari hér en hizug, 70: temp. the other day, formerly (rare), er ek hinnig mælta, Og. 11.

2. denoting motion, hither, thither; hinnig deyja ór Helju halir, Vþm. 43; renna hinnig, Gh. 18; ríða hinig, Fm. 26: koma hinig, Gs. 18.

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card. numb. and pron.

1) one;

einn skal við einn eiga, one shall fight against one;

einn ok einn, one by one, one at a time, singly;

2) as ord. numb. = inn fyrsti (Urð hétu eina, aðra Verðandi, Skuld ina þriðju);

3) the same, one and the same (váru sveinarnir up fœddir báðir í einu þorpi);

allt í eina leið, all in one way;

einn … ok, the same as (í einu herbergi ok hinn);

allr einn, the very same, quite the same (þat er allt eitt ok himinn);

allt at einu, nevertheless, for all that (þó at þú þjónaðir illum, þó var hann allt at einu þinn herra);

4) indef. one, a certain (einn vetr, einn dag, eitt kveld);

einn vinr Þóris, a certain friend of Th.;

before numbers, about, some;

einar fimm þúsundir, some five thousand;

einir … aðrir, some … others (einir tóku dúka ok aðrir rekkjublæjur);

einn ok ýmiss, one and another (einar ok ýmissar þjóðir);

5) after a negation, any;

né eitt, not anything;

6) gen. pl. ‘einna’ used in an intensive sense;

einna manna bezt, best of all (single) men;

einna verst, by far the worst;

einna sízt, by far the least, least of all;

engi er einna hvatastr, no man is superior to all others;

7) alone (Guðrún skyldi ein ráða fyrir fé þeirra);

láta konu eina, to desert or divorce one’s wife;

with gen., hann varð einn sinna manna, he was separated from his men;

if put after the noun ‘einn’ generally denotes only, but;

segja þetta prett einn, to call this a mere trick;

vín eitt, wine only;

var þat (handklæði) raufar einar, all in holes, mere tatters;

fáir einir, only a few;

einn sér or sér einn, quite by oneself, alone (hann var einn sér);

einn saman, einn samt, quite alone;

kona eigi ein saman, not alone, with child;

at eins, only, but;

eigi at eins, not only;

því at eins, only in that case;

údauðr at eins, merely not dead, all but dead, barely alive;

at einu = at eins.

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adj., pl. einir, acc. sing. einn, but also einan, esp. in the sense al-einan etc.; [Gr. εἱς, εν; Lat. ūnus, and early Lat. oinos; Ulf. ains; A. S. ân; Engl. one, in E. Engl. proncd. like stone, bone; Scot. ane; Swed. en; Dan. een]:—one.

A. Cardinal number, one; einn, tveir, þrír …, opp. to báðir, fleiri, etc.; einum eðr fleirum, Grág. i. 108; eina sök eðr fleiri, 78; unnu báðir eins verk, Fas. i. 515; einum ok einum, one by one, ii. 252; tveir menn veðmæltu um einn grip, Grág. i. 412.

2. in old poems it is used as an ordinal number; Urð hétu eina, aðra Verðandi, Vsp. 20; segðu þat it eina …, opp. to þat it annat, Vþm. 20; hjálp heitir eitt, help ranks first, Hm. 147, Vkv. 2; but this use is quite obsolete.

3. with the notion of sameness, one and the same (unus et idem;) í einu húsi, in the same house, Grág. ii. 42; ein ero lög um, hvárt sem ero naut eðr sauðir, i. 422; allt á eina leið, all one way, Fms. ii. 315; til einnar gistingar báðir, vii. 274; í einu brjósti, Alm. 36; allr einn, the very same, Nj. 213.

II. indefinite, a, an, a certain one; einn vetr, a winter, Fms. i. 57; einn dag, x. 11, Fas. i. 514; eitt kveld, Ld. 38; einn hinn versti maðr, Fær. 91; Breiðlingr einn, a man from Broaddale, Sturl. ii. 249; einn vinr Þóris, a certain friend of Thorir, Fms. vi. 277: einn as the indefinite article is hardly found in old writers; and though it is freq. in the Bible, sermons, hymns, etc., since the Reformation, it was no doubt borrowed from the German, and has never been naturalised.

β. about, before numbers; ein tvau hundruð vaðmála, about two hundred pieces, Sks. 30; einar fimm þúsudir, about three thousand, Al. 111,—obsolete, in mod. usage hérum-bil or the like.

III. alone, Gr. μόνος, Lat. solus, used both in sing. and plur.; Guðrún skyldi ein ráða, Ld. 132; Hallr tók einn upp fang, 38; láta einan, to let alone; láttu mig Drottinn einan ekki, Pass. 34. 11; as a law term, to let one’s wife alone, þá lét hann eina Guðrúnu, Fms. x. 324 (cp. einlát); Gunnarr mundi vera einn heima, Nj. 113; sjá einn hlutr, that one thing only, 112; þau ein tíðendi (plur.), only such news, 242.

β. if put after the noun, einn denotes, only, but, sheer, and is almost adverb.; segja þetta prett einn, a mere trick, Sturl. ii. 249; raufar einar, all in holes, Nj. 176; urðu borðin í blóði einu, the tables were bedabbled with blood all over, 270, Ó. H. 116; öll orðin at hvölum einum, all turned into whales, Fas. i. 372; gabb eitt ok háð, sheer mockery, Sks. 247; orð ein, mere words, Nj. 123; ígangs-klæði ein, Eg. 75; vin eitt, wine only, Gm. 19; heiptyrði ein, Fm. 9; hamingjur einar, Vþm. 49; ofsamenn einir, Ld. 158; þá nótt eina, for that one night, N. G. L. i. 240: also after an adj., lítið eina, only a little, Stj. 177; þat eina, er hann ætti sjálfr, Eg. 47, Fms. v. 303; nema góðs eina, naught but good, Eg. 63; fátt eitt, few only, but few; vilt eitt, but what is agreeable, Hm. 125; mikit eitt skala manni gefa, a proverb, ‘small gifts shew great love,’ 51; sá einn, er …, he only, who …, 17; satt eitt, sooth only, Fm. 9; the sense differs according as the adj. is placed before or after the noun, einn Guð, the one God; but, Guð einn, God only, none but God.

IV. plur. in a distributive sense, single; ein gjöld, a single weregild, opp. to tvenn, þrenn, fern, double, triple, quadruple, Grág. ii. 232; thus Icel. say, einir sokkar, skór, vetlingar, a pair of socks, shoes, gloves; einar brækr, a pair of breeches; also with nouns which have only plur., e. g. ein, tvenn, þrenn Jól, one, two, three Christmasses ( Yules); einar (tvennar) dyrr, a single … door; eina Páska, one Easter.

V. gen. pl. einna is used in an intensive sense; einna manna bezt, best of all single men, Fms. ix. 258; í mesta lagi einna manna, foremost of all single men, Bjarn. 65; fátt er svá einna hluta, at örvænt sé at hitti annat slíkt, Ó. H. 75.

β. ellipt., manna, hluta, or the like being omitted, einna becomes almost an adverbial phrase, by far, exceedingly; at engi viti einna miklogi görr (= einna manna), that no one ( no single man) shall know it much better, Grág. i. 2; einna verst, by far the worst, Orkn. 162, Nj. 38; einna sizt, by far the least, least of all, Fms. i. 37; einna mest verðr, Ld. 8; er einna var ríkastr, who was the mightiest of all, Fms. i. 297; engan rétt einna meir kunnan at göra (= einna rétta meir), Sks. 22; engi er einna hvatastr (= e. manna), there is none so mighty but be may find his match, Hm. 63: in mod. usage einna, joined with a superlative, is used adverbially, e. beztr, e. fljótastr, the best, the fleetest, but in a somewhat depreciatory sense.

VI. used adverb.:

1. gen. sing. eins,

α. eins ok, as, as if; eins ok væri hann með öllu óttalauss, Hkr. iii. 275; allt eins ok ( just as) rakkar metja með tungu, Stj. 392.

β. likewise, in the same way; mikill þorri var þat er þær sögðu eins báðar, Landn. (Hb.) 320; this use of eins is very rare in old writers, but freq. in mod. use; in the spoken language at least ‘eins’ (= as) has almost replaced the old ‘sem.’

γ. only; er ek hefi áðr spurn til eins, Fms. iv. 139 (rare).

δ. at eins, only, but, Grág. i. 235; vel at eins, ironically, well enough, Ld. 248; eigi at eins, not only, Fms. i. 266; með sínum at eins kostnaði, vii. 184; því at eins, only in that case, Nj. 228; þar at eins, Ísl. ii. 400; allt eins, not the less for that, 216: in mod. use, just as (vide allr A. V. 5).

2. dat. at einu = at eins; údauðr at einu, Ld. 242; því at einu = því at eins, Fms. iv. 195; því at einu er rétt …, Grág. i. 164; svá at einu, id., Nj. 103; sá evkr syndir sínar at einu, he but adds to his sins, Hom. 157; allt at einu, all the same, Ísl. ii. 216, v. l.: af því einu, only because, Mork. 140.

B. Joined to another pronominal adj. or adv.:

I. einn hverr, adj. pron., in old writers usually in two words and with a double declension (see below), but now and then (and in mod. usage always) in a single word, einn being indecl.; einhverja (acc. f.), Hbl. 30; einhverjum (dat. sing.), Hm. 122, Fms. x. 71; einhverjo héraði, Al. 98, Nj. 2; einhverra (gen.), Fms. iv. 75; einhverir (nom. pl.), viii. 202; einhver, einhverir, etc.: the form eins-hverr is peculiar, keeping the gen. indecl. through all the cases, nom. einshverr, N. G. L. i. 6; acc. einshverja, Stj. 156, 655 xxxii. 18, Gþl. 135; dat. einshverjum, Stj. 22, 442, 448; this form seems to be chiefly Norse, is very rare in old writers, and now quite obsolete; neut. sing. eitthvert, Vm. 73, or eitthvat, Stj. 442, the mod. usage makes a distinction, and uses eitthvert only as adj., eitthvað as subst.:

1. each one, each single one; maðr er einn hverr, Edda 108; þær eru svá margar, at ein hver má vel endask, Eg. 414; ór þeirra fjórðungi sem ór einum hverjum öðrum, Íb. ch. 5; skal einn hverr ( each) þeirra nefna sér vátta, Grág. i. 74; jafnmikinn arf sem einn hverr ( each) sona hans, Sturl. ii. 77; fátt er svá herra einhverra hluta, of any single thing, Fms. iv. 175.

β. joined to a superl. it strengthens the sense; ágætastr maðr einn hverr, one of the very first men, Nj. 282; vinsælastr höfðingi einhverr, highly popular, Fms. vii. 4; einhver drengilegust vörn, ix. 515.

2. in an indefinite sense, some, somebody, a certain one; eitthvert ríki, Sks. 350; eina hverja nótt, some night, 686 B. 4; eitthvert sinn, once, sometime, Sturl. i. 77, Nj. 79; einhverju sinni, id., 2; einhvern dag, some day, Fms. v. 177, Ísl. ii. 212; eina hverja þessa tíð, about this time, N. G. L. i. 355; til einnar hverrar stefnu, to some meeting, Fb. i. 354; eins-hverja hluti, Stj. 156; með eins-hverjum sveini, 442; at ekki sé minna vert, at hlýða prests-messu nývígðs hinni fyrstu, heldr en biskups-messu einhverri, Bs. i. 131.

β. used as subst.; einn hverr várr búandanna, Fms. i. 34; einn hvern manna hans, Eg. 258; einhverr í hverjum dal, Ld. 258, Nj. 192.

γ. einhver-staðar (eins-hver-staðar, Fms. vii. 84), adv. somewhere, Grett. 130, Fms. iv. 57, Sd. 181.

II. einn-saman, adj. ‘one together’ (vide einsamall), i. e. quite alone; maðrinn lifir ekki af einu-saman brauði, Matth. iv. 4; með einni-saman sinni sýn, með einni-saman sinni þefan, Stj. 93; ef útlegðir fara einar-saman, if it be solely a matter of outlay ( fine), Grág. i. 103; ef þat færi eitt-saman, ii. 10: of a woman, vera eigi ein-saman, to be not alone, to be with a child, Fms. iii. 109.

III. with other words; einir … ýmissir, ‘one and sundry;’ various, mixed, Stj. 88, 204; eina hluti ok ýmissa, Fb. i. 191.

β. hverr ok einn, ‘each and one,’ every one, 677. 1, H. E. i. 393, Rb. 492; fyrir hvern mun ok einn, Fas. i. 396.

γ. einn ok sér-hverr, one and all.

δ. einn sér, apart, for oneself, alone; Múspells-synir hafa einir sér fylking, Edda 41; einn sér, sole, Fms. ii. 308; sér einir, Sturl. ii. 53: metaph. singular, peculiar, ein var hón sér í lýðsku, Fs. 30.

ε. sér-hverr, adj. every one, q. v.: eins-konar, adv. of one kind, Skálda 165; mod. indef. of a certain kind, a kind of: eins-kostar, adv. particularly, Ísl. ii. 322, Mork. 81.

ζ. né einn, not one, none; in old writers usually so, but now and then contracted neinn (q. v.), and in mod. usage always so; né eina sekð, Grág. i. 136; né eitt úhreint, Stj. 409; né einu sinni, not once, Fms. xi. 13; né eins, not a single thing, 112; né eina herferð, vii. 28.

η. fáir einir, only a few, in mod. usage in one word, nom. fáeinir, dat. fáeinum, gen. fáeinna: ein-stakr, single, q. v.: al-einn, alone, q. v.: ein-mana, q. v. (cp. Gr. μόνος): einum-megin, adv. on one side, Nj. 248 (vide vegr).

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I. with dat.

1) before, in front of (ok vóru fyrir honum borin merkin);

fyrir dyrum, before the door;

2) before one, in one’s presence;

hón nefndist fyrir þeim Gunnhildr, she told them that her name was G.;

3) for;

hann lét ryðja fyrir þeim búðina, he had the booth cleared for them, for their reception;

4) before one, in one’s way;

fjörðr varð fyrir þeim, they came to a fjord;

sitja fyrir e-m, to lie in wait for one;

5) naut. term. before, off;

liggja fyrir bryggjum, to lie off the piers;

fyrir Humru-mynni, off the Humber;

6) before, at the head of, over;

vera fyrir liði, to be over the troops;

vera fyrir máli, to lead the case;

sitja fyrir svörum, to undertake the defence;

7) of time, ago;

fyrir þrem nóttum, three nights ago;

fyrir stundu, a while ago;

fyrir löngu, long ago;

vera fyrir e-u, to forebode (of a dream);

8) before, above, superior to;

Hálfdan svarti var fyrir þeim brœðrum, H. was the foremost of the brothers;

9) denoting disadvantige, harm, suffering;

þú lætr Egil vefja öll mál fyrir þér, thou lettest E. thwart all thy affairs;

tók at eyðast fyrir herm lausa-fé, her money began to fail;

10) denoting obstacle, hindrance;

mikit gøri þer mér fyrir þessu máli, you make this case hard for me;

varð honum lítit fyrir því, it was a small matter for him;

Ásgrími þótti þungt fyrir, A. thought that things looked bad;

11) because of, for;

hon undi sér hvergri fyrir verkjum, she had no rest for pains;

fyrir hræðslu, for fear;

illa fœrt fyrir ísum, scarcely, passable for ice;

gáðu þeir eigi fyrir veiðum at fá heyjanna, because of fishing, they neglected to make hay;

fyrir því at, because, since, as;

12) against;

gæt þín vel fyrir konungi ok hans mönnum, guard thee well against the king and his men;

beiða griða Baldri fyrir alls konar háska, against all kinds of harm;

13) fyrir sér, of oneself;

mikill fyrir sér, strong, powerful;

minnstr fyrir sér, smallest, weakest;

14) denoting manner or quality, with;

hvítr fyrir hærum, while with hoary hair;

II. with acc.

1) before, in front of;

halda fyrir augu sér, to hold (one’s hands) before one’s eyes;

2) before, into the presence of;

stefna e-m fyrir dómstól, before a court;

3) over;

hlaupa fyrir björg, to leap over a precipice;

kasta fyrir borð, to throw overboard;

4) in one’s way, crossing one’s way;

ríða á leið fyrir þá, to ride in their way, so as to meet them;

5) round, off;

sigla fyrir nes, to weather a point;

6) along, all along;

fyrir endilangan Noreg, all along Norway, from one end to the other;

draga ör fyrir odd, to draw the arrow past the point;

7) of time, fyrir dag, before day;

fyrir e-s minni, before one’s memory;

8) for, on behalf of;

vil ek bjóða at fara fyrir þik, I will offer to go for thee, in thy stead;

lögvörn fyrir mál, a lawful defence for a case;

9) for, for the benefit of;

þeir skáru fyrir þá melinn, they cut the lyme-grass for them (the horses);

10) for, instead of, in place of, as;

11) for, because of (vilja Gunnar dauðan fyrir höggit);

fyrir þín orð, for thy words (intercession);

fyrir sína vinsæld, by reason of his popularity;

12) denoting value, price;

fyrir þrjár merkr, for three marks;

fyrir hvern mun, by all means, at any cost;

13) in spite of, against (giptast fyrir ráð e-s);

14) joined with adverbs ending in -an, governing acc. (fyrir austan, vestan, sunnan, norðan, útan innan, framan, handan, ofan, neðan);

fyrir austan, sunnan fjall, east, south of the fell;

fyrir neðan brú, below the bridge;

fyrir handan á, beyond the river;

fyrir innan garð, inside the fence;

III. as adverb or ellipt.

1) ahead, before, opp. to eptir;

þá var eigi hins verra eptir ván, er slíkt fór fyrir, when this came first, preceded;

2) first;

mun ek þar eptir gera sem þér gerit fyrir, I shall do to you according as you do first;

3) at hand, present, to the fore;

föng þau, er fyrir vóru, stores that were at hand;

þar var fyrir fjöldi boðsmanna, a host of guests was already present (before the bride and bridegroom came);

4) e-m verðr e-t fyrir, one takes a certain step, acts so and so;

Kolbeini varð ekki fyrir, K. was at a loss what to do;

e-t mælist vel (illa) fyrir, a thing is well (ill) spoken or reported of (kvæðit mæltist vel fyrir).

* * *

prep., in the Editions spelt differently; in MSS. this word is usually abbreviated either  (i. e. firir), or Ꝼ̆, fur͛, fvr͛ (i. e. fyrir); in some MSS. it is idiomatically spelt with i, fir͛, e. g. Arna-Magn. 382 (Bs. i. 263 sqq.); and even in the old Miracle-book Arna-Magn. 645 (Bs. i. 333 sqq.), just as ifir is written for yfir ( over); in a few MSS. it is written as a monosyllable fyr, e. g. D. I. i. 475, Mork. passim; in Kb. (Sæm.-Edda) occurs fyr telia, Vsp. I; fyr norðan, 36; fyr dyrum, Gm. 22; fyr vestan ver, Hkv. 2. 8; in other places as a dissyll. fyrir, e. g. Hm. 56, Gm. 54, Skm. 34, Ls. 15, Am. 64, Hkv. 2. 2, 19 (quoted from Bugge’s edition, see his preface, p. xvi); fyr and fyrir stand to one another in the same relation as ept to eptir, und to undir, of ( super) to yfir: this monosyllabic form is obsolete, save in the compds, where ‘for-’ is more common than ‘fyrir-;’ in some cases both forms are used, e. g. for-dæming and fyrir-dæming; in others only one, but without any fixed rule: again, the forms fyri, fyre, or fire, which are often used in Edd., are just as wrong, as if one were to say epti, undi, yfi; yet this spelling is found now and then in MSS., as, fyre, Ó. H. (facsimile); fire, Grág. Sb. ii. 288 (also facsimile): the particles í and á are sometimes added, í fur, Fms. iv. 137; í fyrir, passim; á fur, Haustl. 1. [Ulf. faur and faura; A. S. fore and for; Engl. for and fore-; Germ. für and vor; Dan. for; Swed. för; Gr. προ-; Lat. pro, prae.]

WITH DAT., chiefly without the notion of movement.

A. LOCAL:

I. before, in front of; fyrir dyrum, before the doors, at the doors, Nj. 14, Vsp. 53, Hm. 69, Edda 130; niðr f. smiðju-dyrum, Eg. 142:—ahead, úti fyrir búðinni, Nj. 181; kómusk sauðirnir upp á fjallit f. þeim, ahead of them, 27; vóru fyrir honum borin merkin, the banner was borne before him, 274; göra orð fyrir sér, to send word before one, Fms. vii. 207, Hkr. iii. 335 (Ó. H. 201, l. c., frá sér):—also denoting direction, niðri í eldinum f. sér, beneath in the fire before them, Nj. 204; þeir sá f. sér bæ mikinn, they saw before them a great building, i. e. they came to a great house, Eg. 546; öðrum f. sér ( in front) en öðrum á bak sér, Grág. i. 5.

2. before one, before one’s face, in one’s presence; úhelgaða ek Otkel f. búum, before the neighbours, Nj. 87; lýsi ek f. búum fimm, 218; lýsa e-u ( to proclaim) f. e-m, Ld. 8; hann hermdi boð öll f. Gizuri, Nj. 78; hón nefndisk f. þeim Gunnhildr, told them that her name was G., Fms. i. 8; kæra e-t f. e-m, Ó. H. 60; slíkar fortölur hafði hann f. þeim, Nj. 200; the saying, því læra börnin málið að það er f. þeim haft, bairns learn to speak because it is done before them, i. e. because they hear it; hafa gott (íllt) f. e-m, to give a good (bad) example, e. g. in the presence of children; lifa vel f. Guði, to live well before God, 623. 29; stór ábyrgðar-hluti f. Guði, Nj. 199; sem þeir sjá réttast f. Guði, Grág. i. (pref.); fyrir öllum þeim, Hom. 89; á laun f. öðrum mönnum, hidden from other men, unknown to them, Grág. i. 337, Jb. 378; nú skaltú vera vin minn mikill f. húsfreyju minni, i. e. when you talk to my wife, Nj. 265; fyrir Drottni, before the Lord, Merl. 2. 78.

3. denoting reception of guests, visitors; hann lét ryðja f. þeim búðina, he had the room cleared for them, for their reception, Nj. 228; Valhöll ryðja fyr vegnu fólki, i. e. to clear Valhalla for slain folk, Em. I; ryðja vígvöll f. vegundum, Nj. 212; ljúka upp f. e-m, to open the door for one, Fms. xi. 323, Stj. 5; rýma pallinn f. þeim, Eg. 304; hann lét göra eld f. þeim, he had a fire made for them, 204; þeir görðu eld. f. sér, Fms. xi. 63; … veizlur þar sem fyrir honum var búit, banquets that were ready for him, Eg. 45.

II. before one, in one’s way; þar er díki varð f. þeim, Eg. 530; á (fjörðr) varð f. þeim, a river, fjord, was before them, i. e. they came to it, 133, 161; at verða eigi f. liði yðru, 51; maðr sá varð f. Vindum, that man was overtaken by the V., Hkr. iii. 363; þeirra manna er f. honum urðu, Eg. 92.

2. sitja f. e-m, to lie in wait for one, Ld. 218, Nj. 107; lá f. henni í skóginum, Edda (pref.); sitja f. rekum, to sit watching for wrecks, Eg. 136 (fyrir-sát).

3. ellipt., menn urðu at gæta sín er f. urðu, Nj. 100; Egill var þar f. í runninum, E. was before (them), lay in ambush, Eg. 378; hafði sá bana er f. varð, who was before (the arrow), i. e. he was hit, Nj. 8.

4. verða f. e-u, to be hit, taken, suffer from a thing; ef hann verðr f. drepi, if he be struck, Grág. ii. 19; verða f. áverka, to be wounded, suffer injury, Ld. 140; verða f. reiði konungs, to fall into disgrace with the king, Eg. 226; verða f. ósköpum, to become the victim of a spell, spell-bound, Fas. i. 130; sitja f. hvers manns ámæli, to be the object of all men’s blame, Nj. 71; vera eigi f. sönnu hafðr, to be unjustly charged with a thing, to be innocent.

III. a naut. term, before, off; liggja f. bryggjum, to lie off the pier, Ld. 166; skip fljóta f. strengjum, Sks. 116; þeir lágu f. bænum, they lay off the town, Bs. i. 18; liggja úti f. Jótlands-síðu, off Jutland, Eg. 261; hann druknaði f. Jaðri, off the J., Fms. i. II; þeir kómu at honum f. Sjólandi, off Zealand, x. 394; hafa úti leiðangr f. landi, Hkr. i. 301; f. Humru-minni, off the Humber, Orkn. 338, cp. Km. 3, 8, 9, 13, 19, 21; fyrir Nesjum, off the Ness, Vellekla; fyrir Tungum, Sighvat; fyrir Spáni, off Spain, Orkn. 356.

IV. before, at the head of, denoting leadership; smalamaðr f. búi föður síns, Ver. 26 (of king David); vera f. liði, to be over the troops, Eg. 292, Nj. 7; vera f. máli, to lead the case, Band. 8; vera forstjóri f. búi, to be steward over the household, Eg. 52; ráða f. landi, ríki, etc., to rule, govern, Ó H. 33, Nj. 5; hverr f. eldinum réði, who was the ringleader of the fire, Eg. 239; ráða f. e-u, to rule, manage a thing, passim: the phrase, sitja f. svörum, to respond on one’s behalf, Ölk. 36, Band. 12; hafa svör f. e-m, to be the chief spokesman, Fms. x. 101, Dipl. v. 26.

V. special usages; friða f. e-m, to make peace for one, Fms. vii. 16, Bs. i. 65; bæta f. e-m, to make things good for one, Hom. 109; túlka, vera túlkr, flytja (etc.) f. e-m, to plead for one, Fms. iii. 33, Nj. 128,—also spilla f. e-m, to disparage one, Eg. 255; haga, ætla f. e-u, to manage, arrange for one, Ld. 208, Sturl. i. 14, Boll. 356; rífka ráð f. e-m, to better one’s condition, Nj. 21; ráða heiman-fylgju ok tilgjöf f. frændkonu sinni, Js. 58; standa f. manni, to stand before, shield a man, stand between him and his enemy, Eg. 357, Grág. ii. 13; vera skjöldr f. e-m, 655 xxxii. 4; hafa kostnað f. e-u, to have the expences for a thing, Ld. 14; vinna f. e-m, to support one by one’s work, Sks. 251; starfa f. fé sínu, to manage one’s money, Ld. 166; hyggja f. e-u, to take heed for a thing, Nj. 109; hyggja f. sér, Fs. 5; hafa forsjá f. e-m, to provide for one, Ld. 186; sjá f. e-u, to see after, Eg. 118, Landn, 152; sjá þú nokkut ráð f. mér, Nj. 20: ironic. to put at rest, Háv. 40: ellipt., sjá vel f., to provide well for, Nj. 102.

B. TEMP. ago; fyrir þrem nóttum, three nights ago; fyrir stundu, a while ago, Nj. 80; fyrir litlu, a little while ago, Fms. i. 76, Ld. 134; fyrir skömmu, a sbort while ago; fyrir löngu, a long while ago, Nj. 260, Fms. i. 50; fyrir öndverðu, from the beginning, Grág. i. 80, ii. 323, 394, Finnb. 342; fyrir þeim, before they were born, Fms. i. 57.

2. the phrase, vera f. e-u, to forebode; vera f. stórfundum, Nj. 107, 277; þat hygg ek vera munu f. siða-skipti, Fms. xi. 12; þessi draumr mun vera f. kvámu nökkurs manns, vii. 163; dreyma draum f. e-u, 8; fyrir tiðendum, ii. 65:—spá f. e-m, to ‘spae’ before, prophecy to one, Nj. 171.

C. METAPH.:

I. before, above; þóttu þeir þar f. öllum ungum mönnum, Dropl. 7; þykkisk hann mjök f. öðrum mönnum, Ld. 38; ver f. hirðmönnum, be first among my herdsmen, Eg. 65; Hálfdan svarti var f. þeim bræðrum, H. was the foremost of the brothers, Fms. i. 4; þorgrímr var f. sonum Önundar, Grett. 87; var Haraldr mest f. þeim at virðingu, Fms. i. 47.

II. denoting help, assistance; haun skal rétta vættið f. þeim, Grág. i. 45 (vide above A. IV and V).

2. the following seem to be Latinisms, láta lífit f. heilagri Kristni, to give up one’s life for holy Christianity, = Lat. pro, Fms. vii. 172; ganga undir píslir fyrir Guðs nafni, Blas. 38; gjalda önd mína f. önd þinni, Johann. 17; gefa gjöf f. sál sinni ( pro animâ suâ), H. E. i. 466; fyrir mér ok minni sál, Dipl. iv. 8; færa Guði fórnir f. e-m, 656 A; heita f. e-m, biðja f. e-m, to make a vow, pray for one (orare pro), Fms. iii. 48, Bs. i. 70; biðja f. mönnum, to intercede for, 19, Fms. xi. 287: even with a double construction, biðja f. stað sinn (acc., which is vernacular) ok heilagri kirkju (dat., which is a Latinism), x. 127.

III. denoting disadvantage, harm, suffering; þú lætr Egil vefja öll mál fyrir þér, thou lettest Egil thwart all thy affairs, Eg. 249; únýtir hann þá málit fyrir sér, then he ruins his own case, Grág. i. 36, Dropl. 14, 16; Manverjar rufu safnaðinn f. Þorkatli, the Manxmen broke up the assembly, i. e. forsook Thorkel, Fms. ix. 422; kom upp grátr f. henni, she burst into tears, 477; taka fé f. öðrum, to take another’s money, N. G. L. i. 20; knörr þann er konungr lét taka fyrir Þórólfi, Landn. 56; ef hross verðr tekit f. honum, if a horse of his be taken, Grág. i. 436; hann tók upp fé fyrir öllum, he seized property for them all, Ó. H. 60; e-t ferr ílla f. e-m, a thing turns out ill for one; svá fór f. Ólófu, so it came to pass for O., Vígl. 18; loka dyrr f. e-m, to lock the door in one’s face, Edda 21: þeir hafa eigi þessa menn f. yðr drepit, heldr f. yðrar sakir þessi víg vegit, i. e. they have not harmed you, but rather done you a service in slaying those men, Fbr. 33; tók at eyðask f. henni lausa-fé, her money began to fail, Nj. 29; rak á f. þeim storma ok stríðviðri, they were overtaken by gales and bad weather, Vígl. 27; Víglundr rak út knöttinn f. Jökli, V. drove the ball for J., i. e. so that he had to run after it, 24; sá er skar tygil f. Þóri, he who cut Thor’s line, Bragi; sverð brast f. mér, my sword broke, Korm. 98 (in a verse); brjóta e-t f. e-m, to break a thing for one, Bs. i. 15 (in a verse); Valgarðr braut krossa fyrir Merði ok öll heilög tákn, Nj. 167; árin brotnaði f. honum, his oar broke; allar kýrnar drápust fyrir honum, all his cows died.

2. denoting difficulty, hindrance; sitja f. sæmd e-s, to sit between oneself and one’s honour, i. e. to hinder one’s doing well, Sturl. 87; mikit göri þér mér f. þessu máli, you make this case sore for me, Eb. 124; þér er mikit f. máli, thy case stands ill, Fms. v. 325; ekki er Guði f. því, it is easy for God to do, 656 B. 9; varð honum lítið f. því, it was a small matter for him, he did it easily, Grett. III; mér er minna f. því, it is easier for me, Am. 60; þykkja mikit f. e-u, to be much grieved for a thing, do it unwillingly, Nj. 77; Icel. also say, þykja fyrir (ellipt.), to feel hurt, be displeased:—ellipt., er þeim lítið fyrir at villa járnburð þenna, it is a small matter for them to spoil this ordeal, Ó. H. 140; sem sér muni lítið f. at veiða Gunnar, Nj. 113; fast mun f. vera, it will be fast-fixed before (one), hard to move, Ld. 154; Ásgrími þótti þungt f., A. thought that things looked sad (heavy), Nj. 185; hann var lengi f., he was long about it, Fms. x. 205; hann var lengi f. ok kvað eigi nei við, he was cross and said not downright no, Þorf. Karl. 388.

IV. in a causal sense, for, because of, Lat. per, pro; sofa ek né mákat fugls jarmi fyrir, I cannot sleep for the shrill cry of birds, Edda 16 (in a verse); hon undi sér hvergi f. verkjum, she had no rest for pains, Bjarn. 69; fyrir gráti, tárum, = Lat. prae lacrymis; fyrir harmi, for sorrow; f. hlátri, for laughter, as in Engl.; þeir æddust f. einni konu, they went mad for the sake of one woman, Sól. 11; ílla fært f. ísum, scarce passable for ice, Fms. xi. 360; hætt var at sitja útar f. Miðgarðs-ormi, Edda 35; hann var lítt gengr f. sárinu, he could hardly walk for the wound, Fbr. 178; fyrir hræðslu, for fear, Hbl. 26; heptisk vegrinn f. þeim meinvættum sem …, Fs. 4; gáðu þeir eigi f. veiðum at fá heyjanna, because of fishing they took no care to make hay, Landn. 30; fyrir riki konungs, for the king’s power, Eg. 67, 117; fyrir ofríki manna, Grág. i. 68; fyrir hví, for why? Eluc. 4; fyrir hví þeir væri þar, Eg. 375; fyrir því, at …, for that, because, Edda 35, Fms. i. 22, vii. 330, Ld. 104; en fyrir því nú at, now since, Skálda 171; nú fyrir því at, id., 169: the phrase, fyrir sökum, for the sake of, because of, passim; vide sök.

V. by, by the force of; öxlin gékk ór liði fyrir högginu, the shoulder was disjointed by the force of the stroke, Háv. 52.

2. denoting contest; falla f. e-m, to fall before one, i. e. fighting against one, Fms. i. 7, iv. 9, x. 196; verða halloki f. e-m, to be overcome in fighting one, Ld. 146; látask f. e-m, to perish by one, Eb. 34; hafa bana f. e-m, to be slain by one, Nj. 43; þeir kváðu fá fúnað hafa f. honum, 263; mæddisk hann f. þeim, he lost his breath in fighting them, Eg. 192; láta ríki f. e-m, to lose the kingdom before another, i. e. so that the latter gains it, 264; láta lausar eignir mínar f. þér, 505; láta hlut sinn f. e-m, Fs. 47; standask f. e-m, to stand one’s ground before one, Edda (pref.); hugðisk hann falla mundu f. sjóninni einni saman, that he would sink before his glance, 28, Hým. 12; halda hlut f. e-m, Ld. 54; halda frið ok frelsi f. várum óvinum, Fms. viii. 219; fara mun ek sem ek hefi áðr ætlað f. þínum draum ( thy dream notwithstanding), Ld. 216; þér farit hvárt er þér vilit f. mér, you go wherever you like for me, so far as I am concerted, Fær. 37; halda vöku f. sér, to keep oneself awake, Fms. i. 216.

β. with verbs, flýja, hlaupa, renna, stökkva f. e-m, to fly, leap, run before one, i. e. to be pursued, Bs. i. 774, Grág. ii. 359; at hann rynni f. þrælum hans, Ld. 64; fyrir þessum úfriði stökk Þangbrandr til Noregs, 180; skyldi hann ganga ór á f. Hofsmönnum, Landn. 178; ganga f. e-u, to give way before, yield to a thing, Fms. i. 305, x. 292; vægja f. e-m, to yield to one, give way, Eg. 21, 187, Nj. 57, Ld. 234.

VI. against; verja land f. e-m, Eg. 32; verja landit f. Dönum ok öðrum víkingum, Fms. i. 23; til landvarnar f. víkingum, Eg. 260; landvarnar-maðr f. Norðmönnum, Fms. vi. 295; gæta brúarinnar f. bergrisum, Edda 17; gæt þín vel f. konungi ok hans mönnum, guard thee well against the king and his men, Eg. 113; góð aðstoð f. tröllum ok dvergum, Bárð. 163; beiða Baldri griða f. allskonar háska, Edda 36; auðskæðr f. höggum, Eg. 770.

VII. in the sense of being driven before; fyrir straumi, veðri, vindi, before the stream, wind, weather (forstreymis, forvindis), Grág. ii. 384, Fms. vii. 262; halda f. veðri, to stand before the wind, Róm. 211.

2. rýrt mun verða f. honum smá-mennit, he will have an easy game with the small people, Nj. 94: ellipt., hafði sá bana er f. varð, 8; sprakk f., 16, 91.

VIII. fyrir sér, of oneself, esp. of physical power; mikill f. sér, strong, powerful; lítill f. sér, weak, feeble, Nj. 20, Ísl. ii. 368, Eg. 192; þér munuð kalla mik lítinn mann f. mér, Edda 33; minnstr f. sér, smallest, weakest, Eg. 123; gildr maðr f. sér, Ísl. ii. 322, Fms. ii. 145; herðimaðr mikiil f. sér, a hardy man, Nj. 270; hvat ert þú f. þér, what kind of fellow art thou? Clem. 33; vera einn f. sér, to be a strange fellow, Grett. 79 new Ed.; Icel. also say, göra mikið (lítið) f. sér, to make oneself big ( little).

β. sjóða e-t f. sér, to hesitate, saunter, Nj. 154; mæla f. munni, to talk between one’s teeth, to mutter, Orkn. 248, Nj. 249.

IX. denoting manner or quality; hvítr f. hærum, white with hoary hairs, Fms. vi. 95, Fas. ii. 540; gráir fyrir járnum, grey with steel, of a host in armour, Mag. 5; hjölt hvít f. silfri, a hilt white with silver = richly silvered, Eb. 226.

X. as adverb or ellipt.,

1. ahead, in front, = á undan, Lat. prae, opp. to eptir; þá var eigi hins verra eptir ván, er slíkt fór fyrir, as this came first, preceded, Nj. 34; at einhverr mundi fara heim fyrir, that some one would go home first (to spy), Eg. 580; Egill fór f., E. went in before, id.; at vér ríðim þegar f. í nótt, 283.

β. first; hann stefndi f. málinu, en hann mælti eptir, one pronounced the words first, but the other repeated after him, Nj. 35; mun ek þar eptir göra sem þér gerit f., I shall do to you according as you do first, 90:—temp., sjau nóttum f., seven nights before, Grág. ii. 217.

2. to the fore, at hand, present; þar var fyrir fjöldi boðsmanna, a host of guests was already to the fore, i. e. before the bride and bridegroom came, Nj. 11; úvíst er at vita hvar úvinir sitja á fleti fyrir, Hm. 1; skal þá lögmaðr þar f. vera, he shall be there present, Js. 3; heima í túni fyrir, Fær. 50; þar vóru fyrir Hildiríðar-synir, Eg. 98; var honum allt kunnigt fyrir, he knew all about the localities, 583; þeim ómögum, sem f. eru, who are there already, i. e. in his charge, Grág. i. 286: of things, föng þau er f. vóru, stores that were to the fore, at hand, Eg. 134.

3. fore, opp. to ‘back,’ of clothes; slæður settar f. allt gullknöppum, Eg. 516; bak ok fyrir, back and front, = bak ok brjóst, Mar.

XI. in the phrase, e-m verðr e-t fyrir, a thing is before one, i. e. one takes that and that step, acts so and so in an emergency; nú verðr öðrum þeirra þat f., at hann kveðr, now if the other part alleges, that …, Grág. i. 362; Kolbeini varð ekki f., K. had no resource, i. e. lost his head, Sturl. iii. 285:—the phrase, e-t mælisk vel (ílla) fyrir, a thing is well ( ill) reported of; víg Gunnars spurðisk ok mæltisk ílla fyrir um allar sveitir, Nj. 117, Sturl. ii. 151; mun þat vel f. mælask, people will like it well, Nj. 29, Þórð. 55 new Ed.; ílla mun þat f. mælask at ganga á sættir við frændr sína, Ld. 238; ok er lokit var, mæltisk kvæðit vel f., the people praised the poem, Fms. vii. 113.

XII. in special senses, either as prep. or adv. (vide A. V. above); segja leið f. skipi, to pilot a ship, Eg. 359; segja f. skipi, to say a prayer for a new ship or for any ship going to sea, Bs. i. 774, Fms. x. 480; mæla f. e-u, to dictate, Grág. ii. 266; mæla f. minni, to bring out a toast, vide minni; mæla f. sætt, i. 90; skipa, koma e-u f., to arrange, put right; ætla f. e-u, to make allowance for; trúa e-m f. e-u, to entrust one with; það fer mikið f. e-u (impers.), it is of great compass, bulky; hafa f. e-u, to have trouble with a thing; leita f. sér, to enquire; biðjask f., to say one’s prayers, vide biðja; mæla fyrir, segja f., etc., to order, Nj. 103, Js. 3: of a spell or solemn speaking, hann mælti svá f., at …, Landn. 34; spyrjask f., to enquire, Hkr. ii. 333; búask f., to prepare, make arrangement, Landn. 35, Sks. 551; skipask f., to draw up, Nj. 197; leggjask f., to lie down in despair, Bs. i. 194; spá fyrir, to ‘spae’ before, foretell; þeir menn er spá f. úorðna hluti, Fms. i. 96; segja f., to foretell, 76, Bb. 332; Njáll hefir ok sagt f. um æfi hans, Nj. 102; vita e-t f., to ‘wit’ beforehand, know the future, 98; sjá e-t f., to foresee, 162; ef þat er ætlat f., fore-ordained, id.

WITH ACC., mostly with the notion of movement.

A. LOCAL:

I. before, in front of; fyrir dyrrin, Nj. 198; láta síga brýnn f. brár, Hkv. Hjörv. 19; halda f. augu sér, to hold (one’s hands) before one’s eyes, Nj. 132; leggja sverði fyrir brjóst e-m, to thrust a sword into his breast, 162, Fs. 39.

2. before one, before a court; stefna e-m f. dómstól, Fms. xi. 444; ganga, koma f. e-n, to go, come before one, Fms. i. 15, Eg. 426, Nj. 6, 129, passim; fyrir augu e-s, before one’s eyes, Stj. 611.

3. before, so as to shield; hann kom skildinum f. sik, he put the shield before him, Nj. 97, 115; halda skildi f. e-n, a duelling term, since the seconder had to hold one’s shield, Ísl. ii. 257.

4. joined to adverbs such as fram, aptr, út, inn, ofan, niðr, austr, vestr, suðr, norðr, all denoting direction; fram f., forward; aptr f., backward, etc.; hann reiddi öxina fram f. sik, a stroke forward with the axe, Fms. vii. 91; hann hljóp eigi skemra aptr en fram fyrir sik, Nj. 29; þótti honum hann skjóta brandinum austr til fjallanna f. sik, 195; komask út f. dyrr, to go outside the door, Eg. 206:—draga ofan f. brekku, to drag over the hill, Ld. 220; hrinda f. mel ofan, to thrust one over the gravel bank, Eg. 748; hlaupa f. björg, to leap over a precipice, Eb. 62, Landn. 36; elta e-n f. björg, Grág. ii. 34; hlaupa (kasta) f. borð, to leap ( throw) overboard, Fms. i. 178, Hkr. iii. 391, Ld. 226; síga ( to be hauled) niðr f. borgar-vegg, 656 C. 13, Fms. ix. 3; hlaupa niðr f. stafn, Eg. 142; niðr f. skaflinn, Dropl. 25; fyrir brekku, Orkn. 450, Glúm. 395 (in a verse).

II. in one’s way, crossing one’s way; þeir stefndu f. þá, Fms. ix. 475; ríða á leið f. þá, to ride in their way, so as to meet them, Boll. 348; hlaupa ofan f. þá, Nj. 153; vóru allt komin f. hann bréf, letters were come before him, in his way, Fms. vii. 207; þeir felldu brota f. hann, viz. they felled trees before him, so as to stop him, viii. 60, ix. 357; leggja bann f. skip, to lay an embargo on a ship, Ld. 166.

III. round, off a point; fyrir nesit, Nj. 44; út f. Holm, out past the Holm, Fms. vii. 356: esp. as a naut. term, off a point on the shore, sigla f. England, Norðyrnbraland, Þrasnes, Spán, to sail by the coast of, stand off England, Northumberland, … Spain, Orkn. 338, 340, 342, 354; fyrir Yrjar, Fms. vii. (in a verse); fyrir Siggju, Aumar, Lista, Edda 91 (in a verse); er hann kom f. Elfina, when be came off the Gotha, Eg. 80; leggja land f. skut, to lay the land clear of the stern, i. e. to pass it, Edda l. c.; göra frið f. land sitt, to pacify the land from one end to another, Ld. 28; fyrir uppsprettu árinnar, to come to ( round) the sources of the river, Fms. iii. 183; fyrir garðs-enda, Grág. ii. 263; girða f. nes, to make a wall across the ness, block it up, cp. Lat. praesepire, praemunire, etc., Grág. ii. 263; so also binda f. op, poka, Lat. praeligare, praestringere; hlaða f. gat, holu, to stop a hole, opening; greri f. stúfinn, the stump (of the arm or leg) was healed, closed, Nj. 275; skjóta slagbrandi f. dyrr, to shoot a bolt before the door, to bar it, Dropl. 29; láta loku (lás) f. hurð, to lock a door, Gísl. 28; setja innsigli f. bréf, to set a seal to a letter, Dipl. i. 3: ellipt., setr hón þar lás fyrir, Ld. 42, Bs. i. 512.

2. along, all along; f. endilanga Danmörk, f. endilangan Noreg, all along Denmark, Norway, from one end to the other, Fms. iv. 319, xi. 91, Grett. 97:—öx álnar f. munn, an axe with an ell-long edge, Ld. 276; draga ör f. ödd, to draw the arrow past the point, an archer’s term, Fms. ii. 321.

IV. with verbs, fyrir ván komit, one is come past hope, all hope is gone, Sturl. i. 44, Hrafn. 13, Fms. ii. 131; taka f. munn e-m, to stop one’s mouth; taka f. háls, kverkar, e-m, to seize one by the throat, etc.; taka mál f. munn e-m, ‘verba alicujus praeripere,’ to take the word out of one’s mouth, xi. 12; taka f. hendr e-m, to seize one’s hands, stop one in doing a thing, Eb. 124; mod., taka fram f. hendrnar á e-m.

B. TEMP.: fyrir dag, before day, Eg. 80; f. miðjan dag, Ld. 14; f. sól, before sunrise, 268; f. sólar-lag, before sunset; f. miðjan aptan, Nj. 192; f. náttmál, 197; f. óttu, Sighvat; f. þinglausnir, Ölk. 37; f. Jól, Nj. 269; f. fardaga, Grág. ii. 341; viku f. sumar, 244; f. mitt sumar, Nj. 138; litlu f. vetr, Eg. 159; f. vetrnætr, Grág. ii. 217; f. e-s minni, before one’s memory, Íb. 16.

C. METAPH.:

I. above, before; hann hafdi mest fyrir aðra konunga hraustleikinn, Fms. x. 372.

II. for, on behalf of; vil ek bjóða at fara f. þik, I will go for thee, in thy stead, Nj. 77; ganga í skuld f. e-n, Grág. i. 283; Egill drakk … ok svá f. Ölvi, Eg. 210; kaupa e-t f. e-n, Nj. 157; gjalda gjöld f. e-n, Grág. i. 173; verja, sækja, sakir f. e-n, Eg. 504; hvárr f. sik, each for oneself, Dipl. v. 26; sættisk á öll mál f. Björn, Nj. 266; tók sættir f. Björn, Eg. 168; svara f. e-t, Fms. xi. 444; hafa til varnir f. sik, láta lýrit, lög-vörn koma f.; færa vörn f. sik, etc.; verja, sækja sakir f. sik, and many similar law phrases, Grág. passim; biðja konu f. e-n, to woo a lady for another, Fms. x. 44; fyrir mik, on my behalf, for my part, Gs. 16; lögvörn f. mál, a lawful defence for a case, Nj. 111; hafa til varnar f. sök, to defend a case, Grág. i. 61; halda skiladómi f. e-t, Dipl. iv. 8; festa lög f. e-t, vide festa.

III. in a distributive sense; penning f. mann, a penny per man, K. Þ. K. 88; fyrir nef hvert, per nose = per head, Lv. 89, Fms. i. 153, Ó. H. 141; hve f. marga menn, for how many men, Grág. i. 296; fyrir hverja stiku, for each yard, 497.

IV. for, for the benefit of; brjóta brauð f. hungraða, Hom. 75; þeir skáru f. þá melinn, they cut the straw for them (the horses), Nj. 265; leggja kostnað f. e-n, to defray one’s costs, Grág. i. 341.

V. for, instead of; hann setti sik f. Guð, Edda (pref.); hafa e-n f. Guð (Lat. pro Deo), Stj. 73, Barl. 131; geta, fá, kveðja mann f. sik, to get a man as one’s delegate or substitute, Grág. i. 48 passim; þeir höfðu vargstakka f. brynjur, Fs. 17; manna-höfuð vóru f. kljána, Nj. 275; gagl f. gás ok grís f. gamalt svín, Ó. H. 86; rif stór f. hlunna, Háv. 48; buðkr er f. húslker er hafðr, Vm. 171; auga f. auga, tönn f. tönn, Exod. xxi. 24; skell f. skillinga, Þkv. 32.

VI. because of, for; vilja Gunnar dauðan fyrir höggit, Nj. 92, Fms. v. 162; eigi f. sakleysi, not without ground, i. 302; fyrir hvat (why, for what) stefndi Gunnarr þeim til úhelgi? Nj. 101; ok urðu f. þat sekir, Landn. 323; hafa ámæli f. e-t, Nj. 65, passim.

2. in a good sense, for one’s sake, for one; fyrir þín orð, for thy words, intercession, Ísl. ii. 217; vil ek göra f. þín orð, Ld. 158, Nj. 88; fyrir sína vinsæld, by his popularity, Fms. i. 259: the phrase, fyrir e-s sök, for one’s sake, vide sök: in swearing, a Latinism, fyrir trú mína, by my faith! (so in Old Engl. ‘fore God), Karl. 241; fyrir þitt líf, Stj. 514; ek særi þik f. alla krapta Krists ok manndóm þinn, Nj. 176. VII. for, at, denoting value, price; fyrir þrjár merkr, for three marks, Eg. 714; er sik leysti út f. þrjú hundruð marka, Fms. ix. 421; ganga f. hundrað, to pass or go for a hundred, D. I. i. 316:—also of the thing bought, þú skalt reiða f. hana þrjár merkr, thou shall pay for her three marks, Ld. 30; fyrir þik skulu koma mannhefndir, Nj. 57; bætr f. víg, Ísl. ii. 274; bætr f. mann, Eg. 259, passim; fyrir áverka Þorgeirs kom legorðs-sökin, Nj. 101:—so in the phrase, fyrir hvern mun, by all means, at any cost; fyrir öngan mun, by no means, Fms. i. 9, 157, Gþl. 531:—hafði hverr þeirra mann f. sik, eða tvá …, each slew a man or more for himself, i. e. they sold their lives dearly, Ó. H. 217.

2. ellipt., í staðinn f., instead of, Grág. i. 61; hér vil ek bjóða f. góð boð, Nj. 77; taka umbun f., Fms. vii. 161; svara slíku f. sem …, Boll. 350; þér skulut öngu f. týna nema lífinu, you shall lose nothing less than your head, Nj. 7.

VIII. by means of, by, through; fyrir þat sama orð, Stj.; fyrir sína náttúru, Fms. v. 162; fyrir messu-serkinn, iii. 168; fyrir þinn krapt ok frelsis-hönd, Pass. 19. 12; svikin f. orminn, by the serpent, Al. 63,—this use of fyrir seems to be a Latinism, but is very freq. in eccl. writings, esp. after the Reformation, N. T., Pass., Vídal.; fyrir munn Davíðs, through the mouth of David, etc.:—in good old historical writings such instances are few; þeir hlutuðu f. kast ( by dice), Sturl. ii. 159.

IX. in spite of, against; fyrir vilja sinn, N. G. L. i. 151; fyrir vitorð eðr vilja e-s, against one’s will or knowledge, Grág. ii. 348; kvángask (giptask) f. ráð e-s, i. 177, 178, Þiðr. 190; nú fara menn f. bann ( in spite of an embargo) landa á milli, Gþl. 517; hann gaf henni líf f. framkvæmd farar, i. e. although she had not fulfilled her journey ( her vow), Fms. v. 223; fyrir várt lof, vi. 220; fyrir allt þat, in spite of all that, Grett. 80 new Ed.; fyrir ráð fram, heedlessly; fyrir lög fram, vide fram.

X. denoting capacity, in the same sense as ‘at,’ C. II, p. 27, col. 1; scarcely found in old writers (who use ‘at’), but freq. in mod. usage, thus, eigi e-n f. vin, to have one for a friend, in old writers ‘at vin;’ hafa e-n f. fífl, fól, to make sport of one.

2. in old writers some phrases come near to this, e. g. vita f. vist, to know for certain, Dipl. i. 3; vita f. full sannindi, id., ii. 16; hafa f. satt, to take for sooth, believe, Nj. 135; koma f. eitt, to come ( turn) all to one, Lv. 11, Nj. 91, Fms. i. 208; koma f. ekki, to come to naught, be of no avail, Ísl. ii. 215; fyrir hitt mun ganga, it will turn the other way, Nj. 93; fyrir hann er einskis örvænt orðs né verks, from him everything may be expected, Ísl. ii. 326; hafa e-s víti f. varnað, to have another’s faults for warning, Sól. 19.

XI. joined with adverbs ending in -an, fyrir austan, vestan, sunnan, norðan, útan, innan, framan, handan, ofan, neðan, either with a following acc. denoting. direction, thus, fyrir austan, sunnan … fjall, east, south of the fell, i. e. on the eastern, southern side; fyrir neðan brú, below the bridge; fyrir útan fjall = Lat. ultra; fyrir innan fjall = Lat. infra; fyrir handan á, beyond the river; fyrir innan garð, inside the yard; fyrir ofan garð, above, beyond the yard, etc.; vide these adverbs:—used adverb., fyrir sunnan, in the south; fyrir vestan, in the west; fyrir norðan, in the north; fyrir austan, in the east,—current phrases in Icel. to mark the quarters of the country, cp. the ditty in Esp. Árb. year 1530; but not freq. in old writers, who simply say, norðr, suðr …, cp. Kristni S. ch. 1: absol. and adverb., fyrir ofan, uppermost; fyrir handan, on the other side:—fyrir útan e-t, except, save, Anal. 98, Vkv. 8; fyrir fram, vide fram.

☞ For- and fyrir- as prefixes, vide pp. 163–167 and below:

I. fore-, for-, meaning before, above, in the widest sense, local, temp., and metaph. furthering or the like, for-dyri, for-nes, for-ellri, for-beini, etc.

β. before, down, for-brekkis, -bergis, -streymis, -vindis, -viðris, etc.

2. in an intens. sense = before others, very, but not freq.; for-dyld, -góðr, -hagr, -hraustr, -kostuligr, -kuðr, -lítill, -ljótr, -prís, -ríkr, -snjallr.

II. (cp. fyrir, acc., C. IX), in a neg. or priv. sense; a few words occur even in the earliest poems, laws, and writers, e. g. for-að, -átta, -dæða, -nám, -næmi, -sending, -sköp, -verk, -veðja, -viða, -vitni, -ynja, -yrtir; those words at least seem to be original and vernacular: at a later time more words of the same kind crept in:

1. as early as writers of the 13th and 14th centuries, e. g. for-boð, -bænir, -djarfa, -dæma (fyrir-dæma), -taka (fyrir-taka), -þóttr; fyrir-bjóða, -fara, -göra, -koma, -kunna, -líta, -muna, -mæla, -vega, -verða.

2. introduced in some words at the time of the Reformation through Luther’s Bible and German hymns, and still later in many more through Danish, e. g. for-brjóta, -drífa, -láta, -líkast, -merkja, -nema, -sorga, -sóma, -standa, -svara, -þénusta, and several others; many of these, however, are not truly naturalised, being chiefly used in eccl. writings:—it is curious that if the pronoun be placed after the verb (which is the vernacular use in Icel.) the sense is in many cases reversed; thus, fyrir-koma, to destroy, but koma e-u fyrir can only mean to arrange; so also fyrir-mæla, to curse, and mæla fyrir, to speak for; for-bænir, but biðja fyrir e-m, etc.; in the latter case the sense is good and positive, in the former bad and negative; this seems to prove clearly that these compds are due to foreign influence.

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(fæ; fekk, fengum; fenginn), v.

1) to grasp with the hands, get hold of;

hón hefir fengit einn stein, she has taken a stone;

2) to take, capture (fengu þeir Gunnar);

3) to get, gain, win;

sá fær er frjár, he that woos wins;

fá fljóðs ást to win a woman’s love;

hann bað konunnar ok fekk heitit hennar, he asked the woman in marriage and got the promise of her hand;

fá sitt eyrindi, to accomplish one’s errand;

fá haærra hlut, to get the better of it;

fá góðar viðtökur, to get a good reception;

fá skilning á e-u, to get knowledge of;

4) to suffer endure;

fá úsigr, to be defeated;

fá skaða, to suffer harm;

fá úvit, to fall senseless, to faint;

fá líflát, to fall lifeless;

fá bana, to come by one’s death;

5) to get, procure;

hann fekk sér gott kvánfang, he got a good wife;

6) to give, deliver to one, put into one’s hands;

fá mér (give me) leppa tvá ór hári þinu;

fáit nú konungi festu (give the king bail) þá er honum líki;

fá e-m sök, to charge one;

var sá sveinn fenginn í hendr okkr, delivered into our hands;

fá e-m e-t at geyma, to give a thing into one’s charge (= fá e-m e-t til geymslu);

7) with pp. following, to be able to;

fá e-n veiddan, to be able to catch one;

hon fœr með engu móti vakit þá, she could by no means awaken them;

þeir munu mik aldri fá sótt, they will never be able to overcome me;

fengu þeir honum ekki nát, they could not catch him: skaltu hvergi fá undan hokat, thou shall have no chance of sneaking away;

hann fekk þó eigi víss orðit, he could not make out for certain;

8) with gen., to get, take, gain, win;

þeir fengu fjár mikils, they took a rich booty;

vel er þess fengit, it is well earned, well done;

hann var eigi skáld, ok hann hafði ei þeirrar listar fengit, he had not received that gift: fá verðar, to take a meal;

hann tekk sér sveitar (he raised a band) ok gørðist illvirki;

fá konu, to get a wife, marry (hon var átján vetra, er þorsteinn fekk hennar);

9) to conceive, of sheep and cattle (fá burðar, lambs);

10) to touch, affect;

þat fekk mikils hinum hertekna manni, it touched the captive deeply, þá fær þorbirni svá. mjök (Th. was so much moved), at hann grætr;

11) impers., one can get or find;

vápn svá góð, at eigi fær önnur slík, that the like are not to be got;

at varla fái vitrara mann, that a wiser man is hardly to be found;

also, one may or can (do something);

þat skip fær vel varit eldi, that ship can well be guarded against fire;

12) with preps.:

fá af sér (with infin.) to bring oneself to;

þeir fengu af verra, they got the worse of it;

fá at veizlu, brúkaupi, blóti, to get provisions for a feast (hann fekk at blóti miklu);

sá dagr er at jólum skal fá, the day when preparations are to be made for Yule (cf. atfangadagr);

fá á e-u, to get hold of, grasp with the hand;

faðir Móða fekk á þremi, the father of M. caught hold of the brim;

fá e-n, to touch, affect one, move (opt fá á horskan lostfagrir, litir);

láta e-t á sik fá, to be (deeply) affected by, take it to heart;

drykkr fær á e-n, the drink intoxicates one (er drykkr fekk á Hákon jarl);

fá í e-t, to take hold of, grasp with the hand (= fá á e-u);

forðuðu fingrum, fengu í snœri, they took hold of the strings;

fá e-t or e-s til, to get, procure (var kirkja gör ok kennimanna til fengit);

fá e-n til at gøra e-t, to get one to do a thing;

þeir fengu menn til at ryðja skip sitt, they got men to clear their ship fá til e-s, to lay hold of;

þar var fjöld fjár, fengu til margir, there was wealth of money, and many took a share of it;

13) refl., fást í e-u, to be busy, exert oneself, engage in a matter (dróttningin mátti þar ekki í fást);

Helgi leitaði þá, ef Sigurðr vildi í fást við Þorvald, if S. would try with Th.;

segir hann ljúga ok fást í rógi, and deal in slander;

fást við e-t = f. í e-u;

f. við e-n, to have to do with, to contend with one (H. segist þá vilja … fást eigi við fjánda þenna);

to wrestle (grapple) with one (skaltu fást við blámann várn).

(fá, fáða, fáðr), v. to draw, paint;

fá rúnar, to draw runes or magic characters;

vér höfum fáða unga brúði á vegg, we have painted the young bride on the wall;

gulli fáðr, gilded.

* * *

pret. sing. fékk, sometimes spelt feck or fieck, pl. fengu; pres. fæ, 2nd pers. fær, mod. færð, pl. fám, mod. fáum; pret. subj. fengja, mod. fengi; pres. fá, mod. fái; imperat. fá; sup. fengit; part. fenginn: the forms fingit, finginn, and pret. fingu (cp. Germ. fingen) are obsolete, but occur in some MSS. (e. g. Arna-Magn. 132 and 122 A): the poets rhyme— Erlingr var þar finginn; with the neg. suff., fær-at, fékk-at, Lex. Poët.: [Goth. fahan and gafahan = πιάζειν, καταλαμβάνειν; A. S. fón; Hel. fâhan; Germ. fahen, whence fahig = capax; in the Germ., however, the nasal form fangen prevailed, but in the Scandin., Swed., and Dan. få or faae; the Dan. fange is mod. and borrowed from Germ.; Icel. fanga is rare and unclass. and only used in the sense to capture, whereas fá is a standing word; the ng reappears in pl. pret. and part. pass. fengu, fengit, vide above; cp. Old Engl. fet, mod. fetch]:—to fetch, get, etc.

1. to fetch, catch, seize; fengu þeir Gunnar, they fetched, caught G., Akv. 18; Hildibrandr gat fengit kirkju-stoðina, Sturl. i. 169; hón hefir fengit einn stein, she has fetched a stone, Ísl. ii. 394; fá á e-u, to get hold of, grasp with the hand, faðir Móða fékk á þremi, Hým. 34.

β. also, fá í e-t, to grasp; fengu í snæri, they grasped the bow-strings, bent the bow, Am. 42; hann fékk í öxl konungi, he seized the king’s shoulder, Fms. viii. 75.

γ. to take, capture, but rare except in part.; hafði greifi Heinrekr fengit Valdimar, Fms. ix. 324; verða fanginn, to be taken, Germ. gefangen werden, i. 258, Stj. 396.

2. to get, gain, win, with acc. of the thing; sá fær er frjár, he who wooes will win (a proverb), Hm. 91; hann skal fá af Svart-álfum, he shall get, obtain from S., Edda 69; fá brauð, mat, drykk, Fms. x. 18; þat fékk hann eigi af föður sínum, xi. 14; bað konunnar ok fékk heitið hennar, he wooed the woman and got her hand, Edda 23; fá sitt eyrindi, to get one’s errand done, Fms. i. 75; fa fljóðs ást, to win a woman’s love, Hm. 91; fá hærra hlut, to get the better, 40; ek ætla at fá at vera yðvarr farþegi, Ld. 112; hence fá, or fá leyfi, to get leave to do a thing: eg fæ það, fékk það ekki, fá að fara, etc.: Icel. also say, eg fæ það ekki af mér, I cannot bring myself to do it.

β. to suffer, endure; fá úsigr, to get the worst of it, Fms. iv. 218; sumir fengu þetta ( were befallen) hvern sjaunda vetr, Sks. 113; fá skaða, to suffer a loss, Hkr. ii. 177; fá úvit, to fall senseless, Nj. 195; fá líflát, to fall lifeless, Grág. i. 190; fá bana, to come by one’s death, Nj. 110.

γ. fá góðar viðtökur, to get a good reception, Eg. 460, 478, Fms. iv. 219; sá mun sæll er þann átrúnað fær, blessed is he that gets hold of that faith, Nj. 156; hann hafði fingit úgrynni fjár, Fms. xi. 40; fá skilning á e-u, to get the knowledge of a thing, i. 97.

3. to get, procure; þá fékk konungr sveitar-höfðingja þá er honum sýndisk, Eg. 272; ek skal fá mann til at biðja hennar, Fs. 88; þeir fengu menn til at ryðja skip, they got men to clear the ship, Nj. 163; mun ek fá til annann mann at göra þetta, I will get another man to do it, 53; fá sér bjargkvið, Grág. i. 252; hann fékk sér gott kván-fang, Fms. i. 11; fám oss ölteiti nökkura, let us get some sport, vii. 119; fá sér (e-m) fari, to take a passage, vide far; fengu þeir ekki af mönnum, they could fetch no men, ix. 473; þeir hugðusk hafa fengit ( reached) megin-land, vii. 113.

4. fá at veizlu, blóti, to get provisions for a feast, etc.; hann fékk at blóti miklu, Landn. 28; lét Þorri fá at blóti, Orkn. 3; Þórólfr Mostrar-skegg fékk at blóti miklu, Eb. 8; er fengit at mikilli veizlu, Fas. i. 242; var síðan at samkundu fingit, a meeting was brought about, 623. 52; sá dagr er at Jólum skal fá, the day when preparations are to be made for Yule, K. Þ. K. 110, hence atfanga-dagr, the day before a feast, q. v.; þá var fengit at seið, Hkr. Yngl. S. ch. 17.

II. to give, deliver to one, put into one’s hands; hér er eitt sverð, er ek vil fá þér, Ísl. ii. 44; fá mér (fetch me, give me) leppa tvá ór hári þínu, Nj. 116; þá er keisarinn hafði fingit honum til föru-neytis, Fms. xi. 40; konungr fær honum veizlur, Eg. 27; horn þat er Bárðr hafði fingit Ölvi, 207; fáit nú konungi festu ( give the king bail) þá er honum líki, Fms. iv. 268; fá e-m sök, to charge one, Sks. 708; var sá sveinn fenginn í hendr okkr, delivered into our hands, Fms. i. 113; fékk hann búit í hendr Valgerði, iii. 24, Nj. 4; honum fékk hverr maðr penning til, Íb. 5; hon fékk biskupinum tuttugu mánaða mataból, B. K. 125; fá e-m e-t at geyma, to give a thing into one’s charge, Stj. 177; fá þá sonum þínum í hendr til geymslu, id.

III. metaph. with a following pass. part. or sup. to be able to do; hón fær með engu móti vakit þá, she could by no means awaken them, Fms. i. 9; þú fékkt ekki leikit þat er mjúkleikr var í, vii. 119; þeir munu mik aldri fá sótt, they will never be able to overcome me, Nj. 116; ok fáit þér hann eigi veiddan, if you cannot catch him, 102; hann fékk engi knút leyst, Edda 29; fengu þeir honum ekki náð, they could not catch him, Fagrsk. 167; at Vagn mun fá yfir-kominn Sigvalda, that V. will overcome S., Fms. xi. 96: skulu vér þá freista at vér fáim drepit þá, i. 9; skaltú hvergi fá undan hokat, thou shalt have no chance of sneaking away, xi. 61; fá gaum gefinn at e-u, to take heed to a thing. Fas. ii. 517; menn fingu hvergi rétt hann né hafit, Eg. 396; at þeir mundu komit fá til lands hvalnum, Grág. ii. 381; en fékk þó eigi víss orðit …, but he could not make out for certain …, Fms. x. 170.

β. to grow, get, become; Hjörleif rak vestr fyrir land, ok fékk hann vatnfátt, he became short of water, Landn. 34: of travellers, to fall in with, etc., þar fengu þeir keldur blautar mjök, they got into bogs, Eb. 266; þeir fengu hvergi blautt um Valbjarnar-völlu, Sturl. ii. 50; fengu þeir veðr stór, they met with foul weather, Eg. 160.

IV. with gen.,

1. to take, gain, earn, win; renna þeir á land upp, ok fá mikils fjár, Fms. v. 164; þeir fengu fjár mikils, they took a rich booty, Nj. 137; gáðu þeir eigi fyrir veiðum at fá heyjanna, ok dó allt kvikfé þeirra um vetrinu, Landn. 30; vel er þess fengit, it is well earned, well done, 7; nú mun ek fara þessa ferð ef þú vill; hann segir, vel er þess fengit, well done, said he, Fas. ii. 517; hann var eigi skáld, ok hann hafði eigi þeirrar listar fengit, he had not got that gift, Fb. i. 214; at þá mundi þykkja fengit betr, people would think that it suited better, Nj. 75; fá verðar, to take a meal, Hm. 33; hann fékk sér sveitar ( raised a band) ok görðisk illvirki, 623. 15: but chiefly in the phrase, fá konu, to get a wife, marry; Haraldr fékk þeirrar konu, Fms. i. 4; at ek munda fá þín, that I should get thy hand, Nj. 24; betr er þá séð fyrir kosti systur minnar at þú fáir hennar (gen., i. e. that thou marry her), en víkingar fái hana (acc., i. e. to fetch, capture her) at herfangi, Fs. 8; hón var átján vetra er Þorsteinn fékk hennar, Ísl. ii. 191.

2. to conceive, of sheep, cattle; fá burðar, Stj. 97; er hann (sauðrinn) fær lambs, Skálda 162: absol., við þeim hafði hón (the mare) fengit, Landn. 195; at eigi fái ær við, Grág. i. 418, (cp. fang, fetus.)

3. denoting to affect, touch, etc.; þat fékk mikils hinum hertekna menni, it touched much the captive, Orkn. 368: svá fékk honum mikils, at hans augu vóru full af tárum, Fms. i. 139; henni fékk þetta mikillar áhyggju, it caused her great care, iv. 181; fær honum þat mikillar áhyggju ok reiði. Nj. 174; nú fær mér ekka (gen.) orð þat þú mælir, Skv. 1. 20; fá e-m hlægis, to make one a laughing-stock, Hm. 19: even with acc. or an adv., þá fær Þorbirni svá mjök (Th. was so much moved) at hann grætr, Hrafn. 13.

β. fá á e-n, to affect, chiefly of intoxicating liquors; er drykkr fékk á Hákon jarl, when the drink told on earl Hacon, Magn. 508; fær á þá mjök drykkrinn, Fms. xi. 108; aldregi drakk ek vín eðr annan drykk svá at á mik megi fá, Stj. 428; en er á leið daginn ok drykkr fékk á menn, Fms. vii. 154; drykkr hefir fengit yðr í höfuð, Fas. i. 318; á-fengr or á-fenginn, q. v.

γ. opt fá á ( entice) horskan, er á heimskan né fá, lostfagrir lítir, Hm. 92.

V. impers. to be got, to be had, cp. Germ. es giebt; vápn svá góð, at eigi fær önnur slík (acc.), so good, that the like are not to be got, Nj. 44; at varla fái vitrara mann, a wiser man is hardly to be found, Sks. 13; eigi fær þat ritað, it cannot be recorded, viz. being so voluminous, Fms. viii. 406; þat skip fær vel varit eldi, that ship can well be guarded against fire, ix. 368; svá mikill herr at varla fékk talit, a host so great that it could hardly be numbered, xi. 261 (Ed. fékst wrongly).

VI. reflex. in the phrase, fásk í e-u, to be busy, exert oneself in a matter; drottningin mátti þar ekki í fásk, Fms. x. 102; Helgi leitaði þá ef Sigurðr vildi í fásk við Þorvald, if S. would try with Th., Fb. i. 379; vildir þú fásk í því sem þér er ekki lánat, 215; segir hana ljúga ok fásk í rógi, ( and deal in slander) fyrir höfðingjum, Karl. 552.

β. fásk við e-n, to struggle against; ef nokkut væri þat er hann mætti við fásk, which he could try, Grett. 74 new Ed.: to wrestle with, skaltú fásk við blámann várn, Ísl. ii. 444; um fangit er þú fékksk við Elli, when thou strugglest against Elli, Edda 34; at Þorleikr ætti lítt við elli at fásk, Ld. 160; fámsk vér eigi við skrafkarl þenna, let us have naught to do with this landlouper, Háv. 52; ok fásk eigi við fjánda þenna lengr, Ísl. ii. 45; fást um e-t, to make a fuss about a thing: the passage, Hrólfi fékksk hugr, Fas. iii. 203, is prob. an error for Hrólfi gékksk hugr, H. was moved: the phrase, fásk þú at virði vel, take thou a good meal, Hm. 117.

2. as a pass., esp. in the sense to be gotten; sumt lausa-féit hafði fengisk ( had been gotten) í hernaði, Fms. i. 25; at honum fengisk engi fararbeini, that no means of conveyance could be got, Grág. i. 298; eigu þeir þat allt er á (aðilðunum) fæsk, all the fines that accrue from the aðilð, 281; fékksk þat, it was obtained, Jb. 17; er hljóð fékksk, when silence was obtained, so that he could speak, Fms. i. 34: ef þeir fásk eigi, if they cannot be taken, Odd. 12 (very rare); sem úviða muni þinn jafningi fásk, thy match is not easily to be got, Nj. 46.

VII. part. fenginn as adj. given to, fit to; ok er hann vel til þess fenginn, Fms. vi. 389; Jón var mjök fenginn ( given) fyrir kvenna ást, Bs. i. 282; fæsk eigi því níta, it cannot be denied, Am. 32.

2. again, fanginn denotes captured, hence taken by passion; fanginn í ílsku, Fb. i. 280.

ð, part. fát, fáð or fáið, cp. fáinn or fánn; a contracted verb = fága:—to draw, paint, Fms. v. 345; gulli fáðr, gilded, Gísl. 21; fá rúnar, to draw runes, magic characters, Hm. 143; vér höfum fáða unga brúði á vegg, we have painted the young bride on the wall, Landn. 248 (from a verse about the middle of the 10th century): of precious stuffs, fáð ript, Skv. 3. 63.

(bý; bjó, bjoggum or bjuggum; búinn), v.

1) to prepare, make ready;

búa skip í för, to make a ship ready for a voyage;

búa ferð sína, to make ready for a journey (voyage);

búa veizlu, to prepare (make preparations) for a feast;

búa mál á hendr e-m, to take out a summons against one, be in a lawsuit;

2) to dress, attire, adorn, ornament;

bjó hón hana sem hón kunni bezt, she dressed her as well as she could;

sá þeir konur vel búnar, well dressed;

búa beð, rekkju, to make a bed;

búa öndvegi, hús, to make a high seat, adorn a house (for a feast);

öll umgjörðin var búin gulli ok silfri, adorned (mounted) with gold and silver;

vápn búit mjök, much ornamented;

3) to fix one’s abode in a place, = byggja( þegar munu jötnar Ásgarð búa);

4) to deal with, to treat;

þeir bjuggu búi sem þeim líkaði, they treated it as they liked, viz. recklessly;

Haraldr bjó heldr úsparliga kornum Sveins, used S.’s stores rather unsparingly;

5) to live, dwell (búa í tjöldum);

þeir bjuggu þar um nóttina, they stayed there during the night;

sá maðr bjó á skipi (had his berth) næst Haraldi;

6) to have a household (cattle, sheep, and milk);

meðan þú vilt búa, as long as thou will keep house;

búa á or at, with the name of the place added in dat., to live at or in (hann bjó á Velli; Gunnar bjó at Hlíðarenda);

7) to be, = vera( skip þau öll, er á vatni búa);

búa í skapi, brjósti e-m, to be, dwell in one’s mind (eigi býr þér lítit í skapi);

sýnandi þá hjartaliga gleði, er í brjósti býr, that fills the breast;

8) to behave, conduct onself (bjuggu þeir þar fremr úfriðliga);

9) with preps.:

búa af e-u, to lose;

láta e-n af baugum búa, to let him be deprived of his riches;

búa at e-u, to treat, = búa e-u (cf. 4);

þeir höfðu spurt hvern veg Þórólfr hafði búit at herbergjum þeirra, how Th. had treated their premises;

búa e-t fyrir, to prepare (þeir hlutir, er guð hefir fyrir búit sínum ástvinum);

búa fyrir, to be present (hann ætlar, at Selþórir muni fyrir búa í hverju holti);

búa hjá konu, to lie with a woman;

búa í e-u, to be at the bottom of, = búa undir e-u (en í þessu vináttumerki bjuggu enn fleiri hlutir);

búa með e-m or e-rri, to cohabit with;

búa með konu, to lie with;

búa saman, to live together (as husband and wife, as friends); to have a common household (ef menn búa saman);

búa e-t til, to prepare, take the preparatory steps in a case (búa sök, mál, vígsmál til, cf. 1);

búa til veizlu, to prepare for a feast;

búa til seyðis, to get the fire ready for cooking;

búa til vetrsetu, to make preparations for a winter abode;

búa um e-n, to make one’s bed (var búit um þá Þórodd á seti ok lögðust þeir til svefns);

Þórólfr lét setja upp skip sitt ok um búa, he had his ship laid up and fenced round;

kváðu nú Guðrúnu eiga at búa um rauða skör Bolla, said that G. would have to dress B.’s (her husband’s) bloody head;

búa um andvirki, to fence and thatch hayricks;

at búa svá um, at aldri mátti vökna, to pack it up so that it could not get wet;

búa svá um, at (with subj.), to arrange it so, that;

búa eigi um heilt við e-n, to be plotting something against one;

búa um nökkurn skoll, to brood over some mischief (deceit);

búa um grun, to be suspicious;

búa um hverfan hug, to be fickleminded;

gott er um öruggt at búa, to be in a safe position;

búa undir e-u, to be subject to, suffer, endure (hart mun þykkja undir at búa);

eiga undir slíkum ofsa at búa, to have to put up with such insolence; to be the (hidden) reason of, to be at the bottom of (þat bjó þar undir, at hann vildi taka ríkit undir sik);

þér vitið gørst, hvat yðr býr undir (what reason you have) at girnast eina útlenda mey;

búa e-n veg við e-n, to behave or act so and so towards one;

sárt býr þú nú við mik, Þóra, thou treatest me sorely;

búa við e-t, to enjoy (þú býr við eilífa ást ok bíðr eilífra ömbuna); to submit to, put up with;

ok mun eigi við þat mega búa, it will be too hard to bide;

búa yfir e-u, to hide, conceal;

framhlutr ormsins býr yfir eitri, is venomous;

lítill búkr býr yfir miklu viti, little body holds mickle wit;

búa yfir brögðum, flærð ok vélum, to brood over tricks, falsehood, and deceit;

10) refl., búast.

* * *

pret. sing. bjó, 2nd pers. bjótt, mod. bjóst; plur. bjoggu, bjöggu, and mod. bjuggu, or even buggu; sup. búit, búið, and (rarely) contr. búð; part. búinn; pret. subj. bjöggi, mod. byggi or bjyggi; pres. sing. indic. bý; pl. búm, mod. búum: reflex. forms býsk or býst, bjósk or bjóst, bjöggusk, búisk, etc.: poët. forms with suffixed negative bjó-at, Skv. 3. 39: an obsolete pret. bjoggi = bjó, Fms. ix. 440 (in a verse); bjöggisk = bjósk, Hom. 118. [Búa is originally a reduplicated and contracted verb answering to Goth. búan, of which the pret. may have been baibau: by bûan Ulf. renders Gr. οικειν, κατοικειν; Hel. bûan = habitare; Germ. bauen; Swed. and Dan. bo. The Icel. distinguishes between the strong neut. and originally redupl. verb búa, and the transit. and weak byggja, q. v.: búa seems to be kindred to Gr. φύω, εφυσα (cp. Sansk. bhû, bhavâmi, Lat. fui); byggja to Lat. făcio, cp. Swed.-Dan. bygga, Scot. and North. E. to ‘big,’ i. e. to build; cp. Lat. aedificare, nidificare: again, the coincidence in sense with the Gr. οικος, οικειν, Lat. vicus, is no less striking, cp. the references s. v. bú above. Búa, as a root word, is one of the most interesting words in the Scandin. tongues; bú, bær, bygg, bygð, byggja, etc., all belong to this family: it survives in the North. E. word to ‘big,’ in the Germ. bauen ( to till), and possibly (v. above) in the auxiliary verb ‘to be.’]

A. NEUTER, to live, abide, dwell, = Gr. οικειν, Lat. habitare; sú synd sem í mér býr, Rom. vii. 17, 20; í mér, þat er í mínu holdi, býr ekki gott, 18; hann sem býr í ljósinu, 1 Tim. vi. 16; fyrir Heilagan Anda sem í oss býr, 2 Tim. i. 14; Látið Christs orð ríkulega búa meðal yðar, Col. iii. 16; þá trú … sem áðr fyr bjó í þinni ömmu Loide, 2 Tim. i. 5; þat hit góða sem í oss býr, 14; hann sem býr í ljósinu, þar einginn kann til að komast, 1 Tim. vi. 16; hence íbúð, living in, etc.; in many of those passages some Edd. of N. T. use byggja, but búa suits better: of a temporary abode, hann bjó í tjöldum, he abode in tents, Fms. x. 413.

2. a naut. term; þeir bjuggu þar um nóttina, they stayed, cast anchor during the night, Fms. vii. 3: on board ship, to have one’s berth, sá maðr bjó á skipi næst Haraldi er hét Loðinn, 166; engi maðr skyldi búa á þessu skipi yngri en tvítugr, x. 321.

3. to live together as man and wife; henni hagar að b. við hann, 1 Cor. vii. 12; hagar honum hjá henni að b., 13; b. með húsfrú sinni, Stj. 47; b. við; Helgi prestr bjó við konu þá, er Þórdís hét (of concubinage), Sturl. i. 141; but búa saman, of wedded life, K. Á. 134.

4. b. fyrir, to be present in the place: at Selþórir muni fyrir b. í hverju holti, Fms. iv. 260: recipr., sjór ok skúgr bjoggusk í grend, Skálda 202, Baruch.

5. esp. (v. bú) to have a household, cattle, sheep, and milk; hence búandi, bóndi, bær, and bú; búa við málnytu ( milk), ok hafa kýr ok ær at búi, Nj. 236, Grág. i. 168, 335; b. búi (dat.), 153, K. Þ. K. 90; búa búi sínu, to ‘big ane’s ain biggin,’ have one’s own homestead.

β. absol., meðan þú vilt b., so long as thou wilt keep bouse, Hrafn. 9; b. vel, illa, to be a good (bad) housekeeper; vænt er að kunna vel að búa, Bb. 3. 1; Salomon kóngur kunni að b., 100; fara að b., to begin housekeeping, 2. 6; b. á jörðu, to keep a farm, gefa þeim óðul sín er á bjoggu, Fms. i. 21.

γ. búa á …, at …, i …, with the name of the place added, to live at or in a place; hann bjó á Velli (the farm) á Rangárvöllum (the county), Nj. 1; Höskuldr bjó á Höskuldstöðum, 2: hann bjó at Varmalæk, 22; hann bjó undir Felli, 16; Gunnarr bjó at Hlíðarenda, 29; Njáll bjó at Bergþórshváli, 30, 38, 147, 162, 164, 173, 174, 213, Landn. 39–41, and in numberless passages; Eb., Ld., Eg., Sturl., Bs., Ísl. ii, etc. (very freq.): also b. í brjósti, skapi, huga e-m, to be, dwell in one’s mind, with the notion of rooted conviction or determination, þess hins mikla áhuga, er þér býr í brjósti, Fms. iv. 80; því er mér hefir lengi í skapi búit, 78; ekki muntu leynask fyrir mér, veit ek hvat í býr skapinu, Lv. 16.

II. metaph. and with prepp.; b. um e-t, or b. yfir e-u, almost in an uncanny sense, to brood over hidden schemes, designs, resentment, or the like; búa um hverfan hug, to be of a fickle mind, Skv. 3. 39; b. eigi um heilt, to brood over something against one, to be insincere, Fms. xi. 365; b. um skoll, to brood over some deceit, id.; b. um grun, to be suspicious, ii. 87: in good sense, b. um eitt lunderni, to be of one mind, Jb. 17; b. um þrek, hug, to have a bold heart, Lex. Poët.: b. í or undir e-u, to be at the bottom of a thing; en í þessu vináttu merki bjoggu enn fleiri hlutir, Ó. H. 125; mart býr í þokunni (a proverb), many things bide in the mist; en þat b. mest undir ferð Áka, at …, Fms. xi. 45; þóttusk eigi vita hvat undir myndi b., Nj. 62: b. yfir e-u, to brood over something, conceal; (ormrinn) bjó yfir eitri, i. e. the snake was venomous, Fms. vi. 351: the saying, lítill búkr býr yfir miklu viti, little bulk hides mickle wit, Al.; b. yfir flærð ok vélum, to brood over falsehood and deceit, id.; b. yfir brögðum, Fas. i. 290: b. undir, við e-t, to live under or with a thing, to bide, put up with; eiga undir slíkum ofsa at b., to have to put up with such insolence, Fms. xi. 248; at hart mun þykkja undir at b., Nj. 90, 101; ok mun eigi við þat mega b., i. e. it will be too hard to bide, 164; því at bændr máttu eigi við hitt b., Fms. xi. 224.

III. in a half active sense; b. at e-u, or b. e-u (with dat.), to treat; þeir höfðu spurt hvern veg Þórólfr hafði búit at herbergjum þeirra, how Th. had used their premises, Eg. 85; þeir bjoggu búi sem þeim líkaði (where with dat.), i. e. they treated it recklessly, Bs. i. 544; Haraldr jarl fór til bús Sveins, ok bjó þá heldr úspakliga kornum hans, Orkn. 424 (in all passages in bad sense): búa vel saman, to live well together, be friendly, Fms. xi. 312; hence sam-búð, living together; b. við e-n, to treat one so and so; sárt býr þú við mik, Þóra, thou treatest me sorely, vii. 203.

B. ACTIVE, to make ready: the sense and form here reminds one of the Gr. ποιειν: [this sense is much used in Old Engl., esp. the part. bone, boon, or boun, ready, (‘boun to go,’ Chaucer, etc.); in later Engl. ‘boun’ was corrupted into ‘bound,’ in such naut. phrases as bound for a port, etc.: from this part, the ballad writers formed a fresh verb, to boun, ‘busk ye, boun ye;’ ‘busk’ is a remnant of the old reflex, búask, see Dasent, Burnt Njal, pref. xvi. note, and cp. below III.]

I. to make ready, ‘boun,’ for a journey; b. ferð, för sína; and as a naut. term, b. skip, to make ready for sea; bjoggu þeir ferð sína, Fms. ix. 453; en er þeir vóru búnir, Nj. 122; ok vóru þá mjök brott búnir, they were ‘boun’ for sea, Fms. vii. 101; bjó hann skip sitt, Nj. 128; en skip er brotið, svá at eigi er í för búanda á því sumri, i. e. ship unfit to go to sea, Grág. i. 92; b. sik til göngu, to be ‘boun’ for a walk, Ld. 46; b. sik at keyra, to make one ready for …, Nj. 91.

β. as a law term, b. sök, mál, or adding til, b. til sök, mál á hendr e-m, to take out a summons against one, begin a lawsuit; b. mál í dóm, of the preliminaries to a lawsuit, hence málatilbúningr, in numberless cases in the Grágás and Sagas.

γ. generally to prepare, make; b. smyrsl, to make ointments, Rb. 82.

2. = Old Engl. to boun, i. e. to dress, equip; b. sik, to dress; svá búinn, so dressed, Fms. xi. 272; hence búningr, dress (freq.); vel búinn, well-dressed, Nj. 3, Ísl. ii. 434; spari-búinn, in holiday dress; illa búinn, ill-dressed; síðan bjó hon hana sem hon kunni, she dressed her as well as she could, Finnb. 258; b. beð, rekkjur, to make a bed, Eg. 236; b. upp hvílur, id., Nj. 168; b. öndvegi, hús, to make a high seat, dress a house for a feast, 175, (hús-búnaðr, hús-búningr, tapestry); búa borð, to dress the table, (borð búnaðr, table-service); b. stofu, Fms. iv. 75.

β. búa til veizlu, to make ‘boun’ ( prepare) for a feast, Eg. 38, Fms. vii. 307; b. til seyðis, to make the fire ‘boun’ for cooking, Nj. 199; b. til vetrsetu, to make ‘boun’ for a winter abode, Fms. x. 42; til-búa, and fyrir-b., to prepare; eg fer héðan að til-b. yðr stað, John xiv. 3; eignizt það ríki sem yðr var til-búið frá upphafi veraldar, Matth. xxv. 34.

γ. b. um e-t, in mod. use with the notion of packing up, to make into a bundle, of parcels, letters, etc.; hence um-búningr and um-búðir, a packing, packing-cover; b. um rúm, hvílu, to make a bed; búa um e-n, to make one’s bed; var búið um þá Þórodd í seti, ok lögðusk þeir til svefns, Th.’s bed was made on the benches, and they went to sleep, Ó. H. 153; skaltú nú sjá hvar vit leggumk niðr, ok hversu ek bý um okkr (of the dying Njal), Nj. 701; er mér sagt at hann hafi illa um búit, of a dead body, 51; þeir höfðu (svá) um sik búit ( they had covered themselves so) at þá mátti eigi sjá, 261; kváðu nú Guðrúnu eiga at búa um rauða skör Bolla, said that G. would have to comb B.’s (her husband’s) bloody head, Ld. 244; búa svá um at aldri mátti vökna, pack it up so that it cannot get wet, Fms. vii. 225; Þórólfr lét setja upp skip ok um búa, he had the ship laid up and fenced it round (for the winter), Eg. 199; b. um andvirki, to fence and thatch bay-ricks, Grág. ii. 335: metaph. to manage, preserve a thing, Fms. ix. 52; aumlega búinn, in a piteous state, Hom. 115.

3. to ornament, esp. with metals or artificial work of any kind, of clothes laced with gold; kyrtill hlaðbúinn, Ísl. ii. 434, Nj. 48, Vm. 129: of gloves, B. K. 84: of a belt with stones or artificial work, Fms. xi. 271: of a drinking-horn, D. N. (Fr.); but esp. of a weapon, sword, or the like, enamelled with gold or silver (gull-búinn, silfr-búinn); búin gulli ok silfri, Fms. i. 15; búinn knífr, xi. 271; vápn búit mjök, much ornamented, ii. 255, iv. 77, 130, Eb. 226, 228.

β. part., búinn at e-u, or vel búinn, metaph. endowed with, well endowed; at flestum í þróttum vel búinn, Nj. 61, Fms. x. 295; at auð vel búinn, wealthy, 410; vel búinn at hreysti ok allri atgörvi, Eg. 82; bezt at viti búinn, Fms. xi. 51.

II. particular use of the part. pass, ‘boun,’ ready, willing; margir munu búnir at kaupa, ready, willing to buy, Fms. vi. 218; hann kvaðsk þess fyrir löngu búinn, Ld. 66, Fms. iii. 123; nefna vátta at þeir eru búnir ( ready) at leysa kvið þann af hendi, Grág. i. 54; vóru allir til þess búnir, Fms. xi. 360: compar., engir menn sýna sik búnari ( more willing) til liðveizlu, Sturl. i. 103: the allit. phrase, vera boðinn og búinn til e-s, vide bjóða VI: denoting fitted, adapted, ek em gamall, ok lítt b. at ( little fit to) hefna sona minna, Nj. 200; þótt ek sé verr til b. en hann fyrir vanheilsu sakir, Fms. vii. 275; eiga við búið (mod. vera við búinn), to keep oneself ready, to be on one’s guard, Bs. i. 537.

2. on the point of doing, about to do so and so; hann var búinn til falls, he was just about to tumble, Fms. x. 314; en áðr þeir kómu var búið til hins mesta váða, ix. 444, v. l.

β. neut. búið is used almost adverbially, on the point of, just about to; ok búið við skipbroti, Ísl. ii. 245; búið við váða miklum, Fms. ix. 310; sagði at þá var búit við geig mikinn með þeim feðgum, Eg. 158: this is rare and obsolete in mod. usage; and the Icel. now say, liggja við mér lá við að detta, where an old writer would have said, ek var búinn at detta; the sense would else be ambiguous, as búinn, vera búinn, in mod. usage means to have done; ég er búinn að eta, I have done eating; vera búinn að e-u (a work, business of any kind), to have done with it; also absol., eg er búinn, I have done; thus e. g. vera b. að kaupa, fyrir löngu b., b. at græða, leysa, etc., in mod. sense means to have done, done long ago; only by adding prepp. við, til (vera við búinn, til búinn) the part. resumes its old sense: on the other hand, búinn in the sense of having done hardly ever occurs in old writers.

γ. búð (búið) is even used adverbially = may be, may happen; with subj. with or without ‘at,’ búð, svá sé til ætlað, may be, it will come so to happen, Nj. 114; búð, dragi til þess sem vera vill, 185; búð, eigi fari fjarri því sem þú gazt til, id., Ed. Johns. 508, note c; búð, svá þykki sem ek grípa gulli við þá, 9, note 3; búð, eigi hendi hann slík úgipta annat sinn, 42; búð, ek láta annars víti at varnaði verða, 106; búð, vér þurfim enn hlífanna, Sturl. ii. 137 (vellum MSS.; um ríð, Ed., quite without sense), cp. also Eb. 27 new Ed.: in mod. usage it is freq. to say, það er búið, vel búið, albúið, etc., it is likely, most likely that …

δ. svá búit, adverbially, and proncd. as if one word, as matters stand, or even temp. at present, as yet; eigi mun hlýða svá búit, i. e. it will not do ‘so done,’ i. e. something else must be done, Eg. 507; eigi munu þér fá at unnit svá búið, i. e. not as yet, Fms. vii. 270; stendr þar nú svá búit (i. e. unchanged), um hríð, xi. 81; en berjask eigi svo búit, not fight as yet, Nj. 229; segja Eyjólfi til svá búins, they tell Eyolf the state of things, viz. that nothing had been done, Gísl. 41; þeir skildu við svá búit; þeir lögðu frá við svá búið, implying ‘vain effort,’ Germ. ‘unverrichteter Sache,’ Ísl. ii, Hkr. i. 340: at svá búnu, adverbially, as yet, at present; hann kvaðsk eigi fýsask til Íslands at svá búnu, Nj. 123, Fms. xi. 131; þenna draum segjum vér engum manni at svá búnu, this dream we will not tell to anybody as yet, Nj. 212; en at svá búnu tjár ekki, Fas. i. 364.

III. reflex. to ‘boun’ or ‘busk’ oneself, make oneself ready, equip oneself; gengu menn þá á skip sín, ok bjoggusk sem hvatligast, Fms. v. 15: adding the infinitive of a verb as predicate, bjósk hann at fara norðr til Þrandheims, Eg. 18; or ellipt., where búask thus denotes the act itself, nú býsk hann út til Íslands, i. e. he ‘busked’ him to go …, Nj. 10; bjoggusk þeir fóstbræðr í hernað, they went on a free-booting trip, Landn. 31; seg Agli at þeir búisk þaðan fimmtán, 94: or adding another verb denoting the act, in the same tense, bjósk Haraldr konungr úr Þrándheimi með skipaliði, ok fór suðr á Mæri, he ‘busked’ him … and went south, Eg. 7; the journey added in gen., búask ferðar sinnar, Fms. i. 3; búask menn ferða sinna, Ld. 177.

β. denoting intention, hidden or not put into action; fór sá kurr, at Skúli byggisk á land upp, Fms. ix. 483.

2. to prepare for a thing; búask við boði, veizlu, etc., Nj. 10, Korm. 10; b. (vel, kristilega) við dauða sínum, andláti sínu, (eccl.) to prepare for one’s death, Fs. 80, Bs. i. 74; búask við vetri, to provide for the winter, get store in, Fms. xi. 415; b. við úfriði, vii. 23.

β. to be on one’s guard, take steps to prevent a thing; nú ríða hér úvinir þínir at þér; skaltu svá við búask, i. e. be sure of that, make up thy mind, Nj. 264; bústu svá við, skal hann kveða, at …, Grág. ii. 244.

γ. such phrases as, búask um = búa um sik, to make one’s own bed, encamp, make oneself comfortable, Nj. 259; tjölduðu búðir ok bjöggusk vel um, 219; var hörð veðrátta, svá at ekki mátti úti um búask, Fms. x. 13. Ld. 348; in the last passage the verb is deponent.

3. metaph., b. við e-u, to expect, freq. in mod. usage; in phrases, það er ekki við að búast, it cannot be expected; búast við e-m, to expect a guest, or the like.

β. to intend, think about; eg býst við að koma, I hope to come; eg bjóst aldrei við því, I never hoped for that, it never entered my mind, and in numberless cases.

4. passive (very rare and not classical); um kveldit er matr bjósk = er m. var búinn, Fms. ix. 364.

* * *

1) except, save, but;

þoriga ek segja nema þér einum, I dare not tell any one save thee alone;

engi … nema, no … but, no (not any) other than (Grani vildi undir øngum manni ganga nema Sigurði);

2) with subj. unless;

engir þóttu lögligir dómar dœmdir, nema hann væri við, unless he had a hand in them;

3) save that;

nema ek hálsaða herjans stilli einu sinni, save that I once fell on the king’s neck;

4) veit ek eigi nema, hverr veit nema, I don’t know, (who knows) but that;

may be, perhaps (hverr veit nema ek verða víða frægr um síðir);

5) því at eins, nema, only in the case, if;

ráðit þér því at eins á þá nema þér séð allir sem øruggastir, do not attack them unless you are all most steadfast and dauntless;

6) nema heldr, but rather (eigi má þat menn kalla, nema heldr hunda);

7) nor, = né, hvárki sverð nema øxi, neither sword nor axe.

(nem; nam, námum; numinn), v.

1) to take, take in use, take possession of (ef þú nemr þér jörð á Íslandi);

nema land, to take possession of land, as a settler (hann nam Eyjafjörð allan);

nema konu, to carry off, abduct a woman;

nema stað or staðar, stop, halt (hér munum vér stað or staðar nema);

nema yndi, to find rest in a place (hvárki nam hann yndi á Íslandi né í Noregi);

2) nema e-n e-u, to bereave one of a thing (nema e-n höfði, aldri, fjörvi);

3) to reach, touch (pilzit var svá sítt, at nam hæl);

hvárt nam þik eða eigi, did it touch thee or not? þótt þik nótt um nemi, though the night overtake thee;

4) to amount to, be equivalent to (honum þótti landauðn nema);

5) as an auxiliary verb, with infin.;

hann nam at vaxa ok vel dafna, he grew apace and throve well;

inn nam at ganga, he stepped in;

6) to percieve, catch, hear, of sound;

varð þá svá mikit úhljóð, at engi nam annars mál, that no one could hear the other’s voice;

eigi skulu vér þat mál svá nema, we shall not understand it so;

7) to learn (nema lög, fjölkyngi);

to learn by heart (vísur þessar námu margir);

nema e-t at (or af) e-m, to learn, get information, about a thing from one (Glúmr hafði numit þenna atburð at þeim manni, er hét Arnór);

8) with preps. and advs.:

nema e-t af, to abolish (var sú heiðni af numin sem önnur);

nema brott konu, to carry off a woman;

nema eptir e-u, to imitate;

nema e-t frá, to except (nema konur eða þeir menn, er hann næmi frá);

nema e-t upp, to pick up (nam ek upp rúnar);

nema við, to resist, make a stand (hann vill enn við nema, þótt liðsmunr væri mikill);

to stop, halt (þar námu þeir Hrafn við í nesinu);

nema við e-u, to touch (gaddhjaltit nam við borðinu);

to be a hindrance to (ef þat nemr við förinni, at þú þykkist hafa fé of lítit);

impers., nemr við e-u, there is an obstacle, or stop (en er þeir kómu at kirkjudurum, þá nam þar við);

9) refl., nemast e-t, to refuse, withhold from doing;

nemast förina, to refuse to go;

nemast orðsendingar hans, to disregard his messages;

also with infin. (hann bað hann eigi nemast með öllu at gøra sem bœndr vildu).

* * *

conj. [compounded of the negative particle ne, and the adverb if or ef (q. v.) in an older dissyllabic form ifa; for the change of f into m see the introduction; cp. Ulf. nibai; A. S. nemne, nimne; O. H. G. nibu, nibi, nubi; Hel. nebu; early Swed. num; cp. Lat. ni-si, see Grimm’s Gramm. iii. 724.]

B. Except, save, but; manngi, nema einn Agnarr, Gm. 2; nema þér einum, Vkv. 24; allra nema einna, 26, Ls. 11; nema við þat lík at lifa, Hm. 96; nema sá einn Áss, Ls. 11; hvar kómu feðr várir þess, … hvar nema alls hvergi? Ísl. ii. 236; öngu nema lífinu, Nj. 7; öllu gózi nema búinu, Fms. ix. 470; engi nema þú einn, Barl. 207; engi nema Bergþórr, Fms. vii. 141; kom viðrinn á kirkju-sand, nema tvau tré kómu á Raufarnes, save that two trees came to R., Landn. 51, v. l.; Ólafr hafði mörg sár ok flest smá, nema tvau vóru nökkvi mest, Fb. i. 501; nema ek hélt, Óg. 23; þeir blandask eyvitar við aðra ísa nema sér einum heldr hann, Sks. 176 B; vætki of sýti’k nema hræðumk helvíti, Hallfred; lét Koðran skíra sik ok hjú hans öll, nema Ormr vildi eigi við trú taka, Bs. i. 5.

II. with subj. unless; aldrei, nema okkr væri báðum borit, Ls 9; nema þú hánum vísir … eða mey nemir, Hkv. 1. 19; nema ek dauðr sjá’k, 20; nema geðs viti, Hm. 19; nema hann mæli til mart, 26; nema haldendr eigi, 28; nema til kynnis komi, 32; nema reisi niðr at nið, 71; nema einir viti, 97; nema ek þik hafa, Hkv. Hjörv. 7; nema sjálfr ali, Stor. 16; nema þeir felldi hann, Edda 36; öngir þóttu lögligir dómar nema hann væri í, Nj. 1; nema maðr verði sjúkr eða sárr, Grág. i. 141; nema lands-fólkit kristnaðisk, Hkr. i. 248; nema mér banni hel, Fb. ii. 59; hann heyrði eigi nema æpt væri at honum, Fms. iv. 204, and in countless instances in old and mod. usage.

2. in phrases such as ‘veit ek eigi nema …,’ like Lat. nescio an, implying an affirmation; þú veizt eigi nema sá verði fégjarn, Sks. 28; nú veit ek eigi nema nökkurr verði virðing af at hafa þessu máli, Band. 34 new Ed.; hverr veit nema ek verða víða frægr um síðir, who can tell but that I shall be a widely known man some day? Fms. vi. (in a verse); nú veit ek eigi nema yðr þykki minna vega mín reiði en Sigurðar konungs, now know I not if, vii. 141; eigi veit ek nema þetta væri ráðligt, en eigi má ek þat vita …, viii. 95:—with indic., kveðkat ek dul nema hún hefir, there is no doubt but that she has, Ýt. 7; hver sé if nema rögn stýra, who can doubt that? Vellekla.

III. irreg. usages; ef nokkurr maðr ferr á jörðu, nema (in the case that, supposing that) sá vili á búa, sem fé á í jörðu, þá rænir sá hann, Gþl. 357: því at eins, nema, only in that case, if ( but not else); ráðit þér því at eins á þá nema pér sét allir sem öruggastir, only in the case if, i. e. do not attack them unless, Nj. 228; því at eins mun hann sættask vilja, nema hann gjaldi ekki, 254; skal hann því at eins í braut hafa þann hval, nema hann láti bera vitni, Jb. 326: þat man því at eins, nema ek nái ráða-hag við Melkorku, Ld. 70; því at eins ferjanda, nema fjörbaugr komi fram, Nj. 240; oss þykkir þú því at eins veita skylda þjónustu konungi, nema þú leggir af tignar-klæðin, Fms. ix. 432.

2. nema heldr, but rather; eigi má þat menn kalla, nema heldr hunda, not men, but rather dogs, Bær. 9; sver ek eigi at eins fyrir mik, nema heldr fyrir allra þeirra sálir, Gþl. 69; hón hafði eigi hreinlífi at eins, nema heldr ok alla gæzku, Hom. 128; nema enn, but on the contrary; at glæpask eigi lengr í félags-skap við Philistim, nema enn skulu þér …, Stj. 412, 428, 442: eigi at eins óttaðisk hann um sjálfs síns líf, nema jamvel um alla aðra sína frændr, but also, Barl. 73: fyrr nema = fyrr enn, fyrr skal dólga dynr, nema ek dauðr sják (= fyrr en ek sé dauðr), Hkv. 1. 20:—hefi ek vist sét þat gull, at öngum mun er verra, nema betra sé, which is not worse, if it is not even better, Fb. i. 348.

pres. nem; pret. nam, namt, nam, pl. námu; subj. næmi; part. numinn, older nominn, N. G. L. i. 200, Hom. 100; with neg., suff. nam-a, Hkv. 2. 15; a pret. numdi in mod. usage, formed from the part. numinn, as if from a verb nymja; örvaðist geð á allan hátt er eg numdi sjónum föður-landið heldr hátt hafít upp úr sjónum, Eggert: [Ulf. niman = λαμβάνειν; A. S. neman; Germ. nehmen; freq. in Early Engl.; in mod. Engl., where it is superseded by the Scandin. taka, it survives in nimble and numb = A. S. be-numen = lcel. numinn.]

A. To take; the use of the word in this, its proper sense, is limited, for taka (q. v.) is the general word, whereas nema remains in special usages; nema upp, to pick up, Hm. 140; nema e-n ór nauðum, Fsm.; þar er gull numit upp í söndum, Rb. 350; at hann nemr hann ór kviðnum, ok kveða á hvert hann nemr hann ór sínu órnámi, eða annars manns, Grág. i. 51; reifa mál þeirra er ór dóminum eru numnir, 79; hann á kost at nema þá upp alla senn, 51:—nema af, to abolish; þessi heiðni var af numin á fára vetra fresti, Nj. 165, Íb. 4:—nema frá, to except; nema konur eða þeir menn er hann næmi frá, 5; á þeim tíðum er uú eru frá numnar, Grág. i. 325:—upp numinn, taken up into heaven; Enoch var upp numinn, Stj. 41.

2. to take by force, seize upon; þá menn er konu hafa numit ( carried off), Grág. i. 354; hann nam sér konu af Grikklandi, Rb. 404; Jupiter þá er hann nam Europam, 732. 17; Björn nam Þóru á brott, Eg. 155; ek nam konu þessa er hér er hjá mér, Nj. 131; hann segir hann hafa numit sik í burt af Grænlandi undan Sólar-fjöllum, Bárð. 32 new Ed.: nema nes-nám, Danir ok Svíar herjuðu mjök í Vestr-víking ok kómu þá opt í Eyjarnar er þeir fóru vestr eða vestan, ok námu þar nesnám, Fms. iv. 229, (see nesnám, landnám):—in a lawful sense, nema land, to take possession of a land, as a settler (landnám II); hann nam Eyjafjörð allan.

3. nema e-n e-u, to bereave one of a thing; nema e-n höfði, aldri, fjörvi, Gkv. 2. 31, 42; verða ek á fitjum þeim er mik Niðaðar námu rekkar, Vkv.; hví namtú hann sigri þá? Em. 6; sigri numnir, Fms. xi. 306 (in a verse); numinn máli, bereft of speech, Geisli 34; fjörvi numna, life-bereft, Eb. (in a verse); hann lá þar lami ok öllu megni numinn, Hom. 116; þar til er lands-menn námu þá ráðum, used force, coerced them, Bs. i. 24; ríkir menn verða þá ráðum nomnir, Hom. 100; ef hann vill eigi nema trúa því, if he will not believe it, N. G. L. i. 88.

4. to reach, touch, hit; í hvítu pilzi, þat var svá sítt at þat nam hæl, Fas. ii. 343; nema hjöltin við neðra gómi, Edda 20; allir þeir sem oddrinn nam, Skíða R. 183; hvárt nam þik eðr eigi! Nj. 97; ok nema hann þar nauðsynjar, at hann má eigi lík færa, and if he is held back by necessity, N. G. L. i. 14, K. Á. 70; þótt þik nótt um nemi, if the night overtake thee, Sdm. 26: hence the saying, láta þar nótt sem nemr, to leave it to the night as it takes one = to take no care of the morrow:—nema stað, to take up one’s position, halt, Nj. 133, 197, Fms. i. 167, vii. 68, Eg. 237.

5. spec. phrases; Kolskeggr nam þar eigi yndi, Nj. 121; ef hann vildi þar staðfestask ok nema yndi, Fms. i. 103:—nema staðar = nema stað, Nj. 54, 205, 265, Ld. 104, Stj. 486, Fms. i. 206: of a weapon, hefi ek þat sverð er hvergi nemr í höggi stað, I have so keen a sword that it never stops in its stroke, i. e. it cuts clean through anything, Fas. ii. 535; oddrinn nam í brynjunni staðar, Al. 76; svá at staðar nam (naf Cod. Reg.) höndin við sporðinn, Edda 40; nema hvíld, to take rest, Alm. 1; nema veiðar, to take the prey, to hunt, Hým. 1.

6. to amount to, be equivalent to; ef eigi nemr kúgildi, Grág. ii. 233; honum þótti landauðn nema, Íb. 4; það nemr öngu, litlu, miklu, it is of no, of small, of great importance; bríkr þær er greyping hefir numit, Gþl. 345.

7. nema við, to strike against so as to stop, come no further; nam þar við ok gékk eigi lengra, Fms. xi. 278; en gadd-hjaltið nam við borðinu, Eb. 36.

8. metaph. to stop, halt; hér munu vér við nema, Finnb. 236; þar námu þeir Hrafn við í nesinu, Ísl. ii. 266; hann býsk við, ok vill enn við nema, þótt liðs-munr væri mikill, Bjarn. 54; konungr verðr glaðr við er hann skal fyrir hafa funnit þá menn er eigi spara viðr at nema, Al. 46; en ef þat nemr við förinni, at þú þykisk hafa fé oflítið, þá …, Ld. 70; er þat úvizka at bera eigi slíkt, ok mun þat eigi við nema, Glúm. 327; at konungr mundi fátt láta við nema, at sættir tækisk, i. e. that he would do anything for the sake of peace, Eg. 210.

II. as an auxiliary verb, emphatic, like Engl. do, did, with infin.; Höðr nam skjóta (H. did shoot) … sá nam einnættr vega, Vsp. 37; þá nam at vaxa, Hkv. 1. 9; hann nam at vaxa (he ‘took to growing’) ok vel dafna, Rm. 19; inn nam at ganga, 2; lind nam at skelfa, 9, 35; nam hón sér Högna heita at rúnum, Skv. 3. 14; róa námu ríki, they did row mightily, Am. 35; nam hann vittugri valgaldr kveða, Vtkv. 4; nama Högna mær of hug mæla, Hkv. 2. 15; þat nam at mæla, Og. 9: seldom in prose, ek nam eigi trúa á þat er hann sagði, Post.; Falka hestr Þiðreks nemr þetta at sjá, Þiðr. 117.

B. Metaph. to take in a mental sense or by the senses, to perceive, like Lat. apprehendere, comprehendere, freq. in old and mod. usage:

I. to perceive, catch, hear, of sound; en svá mikill ákafi var at hvassleik veðrsins þá er konungr tók at mæla, at varla námu þeir er næstir vóru, Fms. viii. 55; sem þeir vóru langt brottu komnir, svá at þó mátti nema kail milli þeirra ok manna Saul, Stj. 486; þeir skulu svá nær sitjask, at hvárirtveggju nemi orð annarra, Grág. i. 69; engi nam mál annars, Nj. 164; mál nam í milli þeirra, Fms. v. 31; eigi skulu vér þat mál svá nema, we shall not understand it so, Hom. 156.

II. to learn; klök nam fugla, Rm.; hann hafði numit svá lög, at hann var enn þriðr mestr laga-maðr á Íslandi, Nj. 164; inir hæstu turnar hafa numit honum at hníga, Al. 90; nú var Þórir þar ok nam þar fjölkyngi, Fb. iii. 245; Óðinn var göfgastr, ok at honum námu þeir allir íþróttirnar, Hkr. i; nema nám, to take in, acquire learning, Bs. i. 92, 127; see nám:—to ‘catch,’ learn by heart, þær kváðu vísur þessar en hann nam, Nj. 275; vísur þessar námu menn þegar, Ó. H. 207; en hinn nemi, er heyrir á, Darrl.; Þórdís nam þegar vísuna, Gísl. 33:—to learn from, þvar namtu þessi hnæfilegu orð? nam ek at mönnum …, Hbl.; nema ráð, Hm.; menn nemi mál mín ! Ó. H. (in a verse):—nema e-t at e-m, to learn something, derive information from one, ek hefi hér verit at nema kunnustu at Finnum, Fms. i. 8; hann nam lögspeki at Þorsteini, Ísl. ii. 205; hann nam kunnáttu at Geirríði, Eb. 44; Glúmr hafði numit þenna atburð at þeim manni er hét Arnórr, Fms. i. 266; en Oddr nam at Þorgeiri afráðs-koll …, Ari nam ok marga fræði at Þuríði Snorra dóttur Goða … hann hafði numit af gömlum mönnum ok vitrum, … eptir því sem vér höfum numit af fróðum mönnum, … þótt hverr maðr hafi síðan numit at öðrum, … ok hafa menn síðan at þeim numit, Ó. H. (pref.); nemi þér af mér, Fms. viii. 55.

C. Reflex., prop. to take, seize for oneself:

1. to take by force; ef maðr nemsk konu, ok samþykkjask þau síðan, þá …, H. E. i. 247.

β. to stop; ok hafða ek þat sverð, sem aldri hefir í höggi stað numisk (= numit), Fas. ii. 208; friðr namsk, ceased.

γ. to refuse, withhold from doing; hann bað hann eigi nemask með öllu at göra sem bændr vildu, Hkr. i. 142; hverr bóndi er þat nemsk ( who makes default), gjaldi …, K. Á. 40; þar var kominn fjöldi liðs ór Austr-löndum til móts við hann, ok námusk förina ( refused to go) ef hann kæmi eigi, Fb. ii. 71; en ef maðr nemsk leiðangrs-görð, eðr leiðangrs-ferð, þá hafi ármaðr sótt þat fyrr en skip komi á hlunn, … at hann hafi leiðangr görvan ok eigi fyrir nomisk, N. G. L. i. 200; en þó vil ek eigi fyrir minn dauða at nemask ( disregard) hans orðsendingar, O. H. L. 29.

2. to learn; láttú nemask þat, learn, take heed that, Skv. 1, passim; eptir þetta nemask af aptrgöngur hans, Ld. 54.

II. part. numinn, as adj. numb, seized, palsied; hann var allr numinn öðrum megin, ok mátti eigi mæla hálfum munni, Ann.; þá varð ek sem ek væra numinn, Mar.; vera frá sér numinn, to be beside oneself, from joy, astonishment, or the like, cp. the references above (A. 3).

(þrjár, þrjú), card. numb. three.

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þrjár, þrjú; gen. þriggja; dat. þrimr and þrim, later and mod. þremr, þrem; acc. þrjá, þrjár, þrjú: [Goth. þreis; A. S. þrî; Engl. three; O. H. G. drî; Germ. drei; Dan. tre; Lat.-Gr. tres, τρεις; etc.]:—three, Nj. 16, 23, 81, Grág. i. 82, ii. 392, Landn. 126, K. Þ. K. 164, Fms. v. 8, vii. 235, and passim; brjóta í þrjú (cp. í tvau), to break into three (mod. í þrennt), Hom. 141, Ísl. ii. 337.