a cloak five ells square

I) n.

1) corner of a square cloth (hann var borinn í fjórum skautum til búðar);

feldr fimm alna í s., a cloak five ells square;

of the heaven (þeir gerðu þar af himin ok settu hann upp yfir jörðina með fjórum skautum);

2) corner of a sail or sheet;

byrr beggja skauta, a fair wind (right astern);

fig., hann mun verða yðr þungr í skauti, hard to deal with;

3) flap, skirt of a cloak (hón hafði yfir sik skallats-skikkju hlaðbúna í s. niðr);

4) lap (sitja, liggja í skauti e-s);

5) a square piece of cloth, kerchief (menn báru þá hluti sína í s., ok tók jarlinn upp);

6) a lady’s hood.

II) from skjóta.

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n. [Ulf. skauts = κράσπεδον, Matth. ix. 20, Mark vi. 56, Luke viii. 44; A. S. sceât; Engl. sheet; O. H. G. skoza; Germ. schoss; Dan. sköd]:—the sheet, i. e. the corner of a square cloth or other object; hann sá niðr síga dúk mikinn af himni með fjórum skautum, 656 C. 8 (Acts xi. 5); hann var borinn í fjórum skautum til búðar, Glúm. 395, Fbr. 95 new Ed.; var hann fluttr heim í fjórum skautum, Vígl. 24; feldr fimm álna í skaut, a cloak of five ells square, Korm. 86: of the heaven, þeir görðu þar af himinn ok settu hann yfir jörðina með fjórum skautum, with four ‘sheets,’ i. e. corners (east, west, north, south), Edda; whence himin-skaut, the airts, four quarters of the heavens; or heims-skaut, the poles, norðr-skaut or norðr-heims-skaut, the north pole; jarðar-skaut, the earth’s corner, outskirt of the earth, Edda (in a verse).

2. the sheet, i. e. the rope fastened to the corner of a sail, by which it is let out or hauled close, N. G. L. ii. 283; þeir létu landit á bakborða ok létu skaut horfa á land, Fb. i. 431; skautin ok líkin, Hem. (Gr. H. Mind. ii. 662): the phrase, beggja skauta byrr, a fair wind (right astern), Bs. ii. 48, freq. in mod. usage.

3. the skirt or sleeve of a garment; of a cloak, hann hafði rauða skikkju ok drepit upp skautunum, Fms. vii. 297, cp. Eb. 226; skikkju hlaðbúna í skaut niðr, Nj. 48, 169; hence, bera hlut í skaut, to throw the lot into the skirt of the cloak, Grág. i. 37, Eg. 347 (see hlutr; or is skaut here = a kerchief (skauti) tied together to make a purse?); ef fé liggr í skauti, Karl. 170: hann hafði und skauti sér leyniliga handöxi, Fms. x. 397: whence the phrases, hafa brögð undir skauti, of a cunning person (cp. hafa ráð undir hverju rifi), Bs. i. 730; hafa ráð und skauti, Sturl. i. 35 (in a verse); hann mun verða yðr þungr í skauti, heavy in the flap, hard to deal with, Fb. ii. 130: hence the bosom, Dan. skjöd (cp. Lat. sinus), hvern dag sitr hann ok liggr í hennar skauti, ok leikr sér, Mar.; Abrahams-skaut, Bible. A new-born infant used to be taken into the ‘skaut’ of his parents, and was thenceforth counted as legitimate; hence the phrases, sá maðr er borinn er skauta á meðal, skal taka slíkan rétt sem faðir hans hafði, N. G. L. i. 212: the same ceremony was also a token of adoption, þann mann skal leiða á rekks skaut ok rýgiar, 209; möttul-skaut, q. v.

4. of a head-dress, a hood, thrown round the head with the ends hanging down; klæði með hettu ok mjófu skauti bak ok fyrir, Mar.; skaut eða húfu, Karl. 60; síðfaldin skaut á höfði … lyptir hón skautinu brott ór höfðinu, id.; haf þat þér fyrir skaut ok höfuð-dúk, Stj. 127; kasta af höfði þér skautum ok höfuð-dúk, 208; krúsat skaut, D. N. iv. 359, 363; skaut, höfuð-dúkr, 217; kvenna-skaut, Bs. ii. 358; hálsa-skaut, a ‘neck-sheet,’ the flap of the hood, Vtkv. 12 (in a riddle); Ránar skaut, poët. of the waves, Edda (in a verse).

COMPDS: skautafaldr, skautasegl, skautasigling.

(-ar, -ir), m. cloak.

pp. fitted;

vera vel (illa) feldr til e-s, to be well (ill) fitted for a thing; neut., þér er ekki felt at, it is not for thee to.

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m., gen. feldar, pl. feldir, a cloak worn by the ancients, esp. one lined with fur; hvítr-f., a white cloak, Fbr. 145 sqq.; rauð-f., a red cloak, Landn. (a nickname); grá-f., a grey cloak, Hkr. i. 176; skinn-f., a skin cloak, Orkn. 326 (in a verse); bjarn-f., q. v., a bear-skin cloak; röggvar-f., a woollen cloak, Grett. 114; varar-f., a common cloak; loð-f., a shaggy cloak, a fur cloak, = loði; blá-f., a blue cloak, N. G. L. i. 74; feldr fimm alna í skaut, a cloak measuring five ells square, Korm. 86; a feld four ells long and two ells broad, Grág. i. 500, was in trade the usual size, but here the ell is a ‘thumb ell,’ measuring only about sixteen inches; stutt-f., a short cloak, Fms. vii. 152 (a nickname); feldr, kápa, and skikkja seem to be synonymous, cp. Ls. ch. 14, 15, Glúm. ch. 3, 8, Grett. ch. 23, Lv. ch. 17. Tac. Germ. ch. 17—‘tegumen omnibus sagum, fibulâ, aut, si desit, spinâ consertum;’ the cloaks were often made of (or lined with) costly furs, Glúm. ch. 6; breiða feld á höfuð sér, to wrap the head in a cloak, Nj. 164, Kristni S. ch. 11, Fms. vi. 43 (Sighvat), as a token of deep thinking: feldar-dálkr, m. a cloak-pin, Hkr., vide dálkr; feldar-röggvar, f. pl. the patches or ‘ragged’ hairs on the outside of a cloak, Lv. 55, cp. Grág. i. 500; feldar-skaut, n. (-blað, n., Finnb. 342), a cloak’s skirt, Fb. i. 416; feldar-slítr, n. pl. the tatters of a cloak, Grett. The etymology of feldr is uncertain, scarcely from Lat. pellis, but rather from falda, to fold, wrap; even Tacitus, l. c., makes a distinction between the ‘sagulum’ (= feldr) and ‘ferarum pelles,’ the latter being a mark of more savage habits, such as that of the berserkers; feldr is never used of a woman’s cloak (möttull, skikkja); the passage Fm. 43 is corrupt: the phrase, það er ekki með feldi, it is not right, something is wrong, is a corrupt form instead of með felldu, part. from fella, q. v.