a water-can

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(gen. vatris or vatz), n.

1) water, fresh water (spratt þar vatn upp); sól gengr at vatni, the sun sets in the sea;

2) fears (vatnit for niðr eptir kjálkanum á honum); halda vatni, to forbear weeping;

3) lake (Mjörs er svá mikit vatn, at líkara er sjó);

4) pl., vötn, large rivers (hnigu heilög vötn af Himin-fjöllum).

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n., pl. vötn; vant occurs in N. G. L. i. 363: the gen. sing. is, agreeably with the pronunciation, in old vellums invariably spelt vatz or vaz, vazt, Clem. 148, l. 32; the mod. sound is vass; in the Editions, however, the etymological form vatns has mostly been restored; all the South Teut. languages use a form with an r. The form vatr only occurs in two instances, perhaps used only for the rhyme’s sake, in hvatr vátri, a poem of the beginning of the 12th century; and hélt und vatr enn vitri, Sighvat; but vatn vitni in another verse cf the same poet: [A. S. wæter; Engl. and Dutch water; Hel. watar; O. H. G. wazar; Germ. wasser; cp. Gr. υδατ-ος; Lat. udus: on the other hand, Icel. vatn; Swed. vatten; Dan. vand, qs. vadn.]

A. Water, fresh water; jörð, vatn, lopt, eldr, Eluc. 19; spratt þar vatn upp, Edda (pref.); blóð ok vatn, Rb. 334; grafa til vatz, Edda (pref.); taka vatn upp at sínum hluta, Vm. 168; þá er vötnin vóru sköpuð, 655. 1; drepa í vatn eða hella á vatni, K. Þ. K.; ef vatn er svá mikit at þar má barn í hylja, N. G. L. i. 363.

2. phrases; ausa vatni, to besprinkle infants with water, see ausa I. 2. β; to which add, þar stendr þú, Özorr, kvað Helgi, ok mun ek ekki við þér sjá, þvíat þú jóst mik vatni, Dropl. 25; mærin var vatni ausin ok þetta nafn gefit, Nj. 25: ganga til vatns, to go to the water, to go to the ‘trapiza,’ q. v., of washing before meals, Ld. 296: þá er sól gengr at vatni. when the sun goes into the water, sets in the sea, K. Þ. K. 96; sér ekki högg á vatni, a blow in the water is not seen, of a useless effort: á vatni, afloat, Fas. ii. 532; svá skjótt, at ekki tók á vatni, Fms. vii. 344.

3. of tears; halda ekki vatni, could not forbear weeping, Fms. vi. 236 (in a verse), viii. 232.

II. a lake; [cp. North. E. Derwent-water, etc.]; uppí vatnið Væni, Fms. vi. 333; lét flytja sik út í vatn eitt, ok leyndisk þar í hólma nökkurum, i. 66; er í norðanverðum flóanum vatn þat er nes liggr í, Ísl. ii. 345; til vatz þess er Á en Helga fellr ór, Ó. H. 163; sjór eða vatn, a sea or lake, Edda.

III. streams, waters, esp. in plur. of large streams; hnigu heilög vötn af Himin-fjöllum, Hkv. 1. 1; þaðan eigu vötn öll vega, Gm.; þar er djúpt vatn ( deep water) er umhverfis, Grág. ii. 131; geysask vötn at þeim með forsfalli … vötnin flutu um völluna alla, Ó. H. 164; brúar um ár eða vötn, Grág. i. 149; vötn þau er ór jöklum höfðu fallit, Eg. 133; fjörðr sá er flóir allr af vötnum, Fs. 26; en nú falla vötn öll til Dýrafjarðar, Gísl. 20; fóru þar til er vötn hnigu til vestr-ættar af fjöllum, Orkn. 4.

IV. in local names, Vatn, Vatna-hverfi, Vatns-lausa, Vatns-á, Vatns-dalr, Vatns-endi, Vatns-fell, Vatns-fjörðr, Vatns-nes, Vatns-horn, Vatns-skarð, etc., Landn.; Vatns-dælir, Vatns-firðingar, the men from Vatnsfjörðr, Vatnsdalr, id., Sturl.: of lakes, Gríms-vötn, Fiski-vötn, Elliða-vatn, Mý-vatn, Ólvus-vatn, Landn., map of Icel.; more seldom of rivers, as Héraðsvötn in north of Icel.: Vatns-dælskr, adj. from Vatnsdalr, Finnb. 334, Ísl. ii. 335; Vatnsfirðinga-kyn, -búð, Nj. 248, Ld. 120 (see búð).

B. COMPDS, with gen. vatna-, vatns-, in vellums vatz-, vaz-: vatns-agi, a, m. dampness. vatns-bakki, a, m. a bank, shore of a water or lake, Grág. ii. 355, Jb. 315, Fms. viii. 32, Fas. i. 360. vatns-beri, a, m. the water-bearer, Aquarius in the zodiac, Rb. vatns-blandaðr, part. mixed with water. vatns-bolli, a, m. a water-jug, Am. 35. vatns-borinn, part. mixed with water. vatns-botn, m. the foot of a lake, Hrafn, 11, Fms. ix. 367. vatns-ból, n. a watering-place, well, where drinking-water is drawn. vatns-bóla, u, f. a water-bubble, vatns-bragð, n. a taste of water. vatns-burðr, m. carrying water, Bs. i. vatns-dauði, a, m. water-death, death by drowning in fresh water. vatna-djúp, n. a water-deep, abyss, Skálda 209. vatns-dropi, a, m. a drop of water, Stj. 154. vatns-drykkr, m. a drink of water, Stj. 150, 581, Edda 24. vatns-dæld, f. a watery hollow. vatns-endi, a, m. the end of a lake, Fms. ix. 406. vatns-fall, n. a stream, river; lítið vatnsfall, a small river, Eg. 134, v. l.: of rain, vindr ok vatnsfall, Art. 85. vatns-farvegr, m. a ‘water’s fairway,’ the bed of a river, Grág. ii. 291. vatns-fata, u, f. a water-pail, Fb. i. 258, O. H. L. ch. 96. vatna-flaumr, m. [Norse vand-flom], a water-flood, swell of water, D. N. vi. 148. vatns-flóð, n. water-flood. vatna-gangr, m. a flood, Stj. 59, Grág. i. 219, Landn. 251: a fall of rain, = vatnfall, veðrátta ok v., Grett. 24 new Ed. vatns-heldr, adj. water-tight. vatns-hestr, m. = nykr, q. v., Landn. 93, v. l.; but vatna-hestr, m. a good horse to cross rivers. vatna-hlaup, n. floods, a rushing forth of waters, Landn. 250. vatns-horn, n. a water-horn, a vessel for holy water in church, Pm. 6: the end or angle of a lake, and as a local name, Ld., Landn. vatns-hríð, f. a storm, Ann. 1336 C. vatns-íss, m. ice on a lake, Stj. 510, Fms. viii. 398, ix. 367. vatns-kanna, u, f. a water-can, Vm. 86. vatns-karl, m. a water-can shaped like a man; vatnskarl til vígðs vatns, Vm. 21; vatnskarl ok munnlaug, Fb. i. 359, D. N. iv. 457. vatns-ker, n. a water-jug, Stj. vatns-kerald, n. = vatnsker, Fms. i. 127, Vm. 21, Jb. 409, vatns-ketill, m. a water-kettle, Vm. 21, 114, B. K. 83. vatns-kottr, m. a water-insect, in foul pools. vatns-lauss, adj. waterless, without water, Barl. 196. vatns-leysi, n. lack of water. vatns-litr, m. water-colour, Rb. 336. vatns-megin, n. fulness of water. vatns-mikill, adj. swelling with water, of a river. vatns-minni, n. the inlet of a lake, Fms. ix. 394. vatns-munnlaug, f. a water hand-basin, Pm. 60. vatns-ósa, adj. soaked with water. vatns-óss, m. the mouth of a lake connected with the sea, Landn. 207. vatns-rás, f. a trench, water-course, Bs. i. 148, Stj. 593. vatns-sár, m. a font, Vm. 110, N. G. L. i. 327. vatns-skál, f. a water-jug, D. N. vatns-skírn, f. baptism in water, Barl. 116, 144 (vatnz-skírn). vatns-skortr, m. lack of water, Barl. 196. vatns-sótt, f water-sickness, dropsy, medic., Post. vatns-steinn, m. a font of stone, Vm. 110. vatns-strönd, f. the bank of a lake, Fms. viii. 32, MS. 623. 33, Vkv. (prose, vaz-strouds). vatns-stökkull, m. a watering-pot, a vessel or brush for sprinkling water, Bs. i. 464. vatns-tjörn, f. a ‘water-tarn,’ pool, Sks. 682. vatna-tunna, u, f. a water-tub. vatns-uppspretta, u, f. a jet of water, Stj. 646. vatns-veita, u, f. a drain, trench, aqueduct, Grág. ii. 289. vatns-veiting, f. a draining. vatns-vetr, m. a winter of floods, Ann. 1191 C. vatns-vígsla, u, f. consecration of water, Bs. i. 97. vatns-vík, f. a creek in a lake, Fms. viii. 67. vatna-vöxtr, m. ‘water-growth,’ a flood, Bs. i. 138, Grett. 133 A, D. N. ii. 35, passim. vatna-þytr, m. the thud, sound of falling waters, Skálda. vatns-æðr, f. a vein of water, Stj. 29, 205.

C. REAL COMPDS, with the root word vatn- prefixed: vatn-bátr, m. a lake-boat, Jb. 410 B. vatn-beri, a, m. = vatnsberi, Rb. (1812) 65, 66. vatn-dauðr, adj. drowned in fresh water, Grág. i. 223. vatn-dragari, a, m. a drawer of water, Stj. 358. vatn-dragi, a, m. id., Fas. iii. 21 (in a verse). vatn-dýr, n. water-animals, Al. 167. vatn-fall, n. a waterfall, stream; vatnföll deilir: a torrent, stream, í bráða-þeyjum var þar vatnfall mikit, a great torrent, Eg. 766; lítið v., 134; var v. þat fullt af fiskum, Fms. i. 253; svá mikit v. sem áin Níð er, v. 182; deilir norðr vatnföllum til héraða, Ísl. ii. 345; er vatnföll deila til sjóvar, Eg. 131, Grág. i. 440; með öllum vatnföllum, Nj. 265: of rain, fyrir vatnfalli ok regni, Gullþ. 8; vatnfall fylgði hér svá mikit ór lopti, torrents of rain, Gísl. 105, Fms. x. 250. vatn-fátt, n. adj. short of water, Landn. 34, Fms. ix. 45. vatn-fiskr, m. a fresh-water fish, Fs. 165. vatn-gangr, m. a swelling of water, Vápn. 24. vatn-horn, n. a water-horn, as church inventory, Vm. 110. vatn-kakki, a, m. = trapiza, q. v.; gékk hann til vatnkakka ok þó sér, Korm. 24. vatn-karl, m. a jug, Stj. 153, D. I. i. 597, Dipl. v. 18; vatnkarlar fjórir, könnur sextán, iii. 4, Rb. (of the zodiacal Aquarius). vatn-kálfr, m. dropsy; þá sótt er heitir idropicus, þat köllu vér vatnkálf, Hom. 25, 150; hann er góðr við vatnkálfi, Hb. 544. 39. vatn-ker, vatn-kerald, vatn-ketill, n. a water-jug …, Grág. ii. 397, Stj. 311, Nj. 134, Ísl. ii. 410, Fms. xi. 34, Ám. 29, Vm. 35. vatn-lauss, adj. = vatnslauss, Al. 172, Stj. 194. vatn-legill, m. a water-jug, Stj. 128. vatn-leysi, n. lack of water, Al. 173. vatn-ormr, m. a water-serpent, Al. 168; Hercules sigraði v. (the Hydra), MS. 732. 17: a pr. name, Mork. vatn-rás, f. = vatnsrás, Stj. 58, 642. Ísl. ii. 92. vatn-skjóla, u, f. a water-skeel, pail, D. I. i. 225. vatn-staðr, m. a water-place, 655 xxviii. 2. vatn-torf, n. soaked turf, Ísl. ii. 412. vatn-trumba, u, f. a water-pipe, Hom. 131. vatn-veita, u, f. = vatnsveita, a drain, water-trench, Grág. ii. 289, Stj. 498. vatn-viðri, n. = vátviðri, Bs. i. 245. vatn-vígsla, u, f. the consecrating streams and wells, of bishop Gudmund, Bs. i. vatn-ærinn, adj. plentiful as water, abundant; vatnærin hef ek vitni, Sighvat.

(að), v.

1) to water (vatna hestum, fénaði);

2) to fast on water, = vatnfasta;

3) impers., land vatnar, the land disappears under the (horizon at) sea (þeir sigldu þrjá daga til þess er landit var vatnat).

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að, to water; er allri hennar hjörð var vatnað, Stj. 171; vatna hestum sínum, Sturl. iii. 24.

2. metaph. phrases; vatna músum, to ‘water mice,’ weep, have tears in the eyes (see auga); vatna lömbum, to ‘water lambs,’ to lie down and drink from a running stream; láta vatna undir e-t, to lift (a heavy thing) just from the ground so that water can flow underneath.

3. the naut. phrase, svá suðr með landi, at sær var í miðjum hlíðum en stundum vatnaði land (acc.), Ó. H. 149; þeir sigldu þrjá daga til þess er landit var vatnað, Fb. i. 431; eyin er nær vötnuð, Fms. vi. 379; þá drægi svá skjótt undan at náliga vatnaði seglin, Fb. ii. 15.

4. eccl. = vatnfasta; heitr hón at vatna æfinliga fyrir dag Guðmundar biskups, ok gefa málsverð, Bs. i. 619; v. fyrir báðar Þorlaks-messur, Sturl. ii. 252, H. E. ii. 188; fyrr en lærir at leggja af blót ok Laugar-nætr at vatna, Skíða R. 202.

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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.

* * *

(leik; lék, lékum; leikinn), v.

1) to play (við skulum nú leika fyrst);

leika leik, to play a play;

leika tveim skjöldum, to play a double game;

leika at e-u, to play (amuse oneself) with (Katla sat ok lék at hafri sínum);

leika at tafli, to play at chess;

leika sér, to play (hann lék sér þá enn á gólfi með öðrum börnum);

2) to perform, of a feat or act of prowess (en ek hygg, at engi annarr fái þat leikit);

3) to move, swing, wave to and fro, hang loosely (leika á lopti);

landit skalf sem á þræði léki, as if balanced on a string;

4) of flame, fire, water, waves, to play lightly about or over, lick (eldr tók at leika húsin);

eldrinn lék skjótt, the fire spread fast;

leikr hár hiti við himin sjálfan, the lofty blaze plays against the very heavens;

fig., e-m leikr e-t í skapi (í mun), one feels inclined to, has a mind to (þat leikr mér í skapi at kaupa Íslandsfar);

5) to deal (hardly) with, to (ill-)treat (leika e-n illa, hart, sárt, sárliga);

6) to play a trick upon, delude, = leika á e-n (djöfullinn leikr þá alla);

7) to bewitch, esp. in pp. (maðr sá var leikinn af flagði einu);

8) with preps.:

leika á e-n, to play a trick upon (mjök hefir þú á oss leikit);

fig., lék þat orð á, at, it was rumoured, that;

e-m leikr öfund á, to envy;

e-m leikr hugr á, to have a mind to;

þar leikr minn hugr á, my mind is bent upon that;

hón segir föður sínum um hvat at leika er, she told her father how things stood;

leika e-n út, esp. in pp., to ill-treat (konungr sér nú Áka, hversu hann er út leikinn);

leika við e-n, to play with one;

leika við, to continue (meinit hafð lengi við leikit);

9) refl., leikast, to be performed, done;

ef þat má leikast, if this can be done;

leikst á e-n, it goes against one, he gets the worst of it (mjök hefir leikizt á minn hluta);

leikast við, to play one against the other, play a match;

höfðu þeir leikizt við barna leikum, meðan þeir vóru ungir, they had been playmates.

(pl. leiku), n. plaything, doll.

1) = leika, n.;

2) play-sister (vér vórum leikur vetr níu).

* * *

pres. leik; pret. lék, léku; part. leikinn; [Ulf. laikan = σκιρταν; A. S. lâcan; mid. H. G. leiche; Dan. lege; Swed. leka; North. E. to lake]:—to play, sport, Vsp. 42, Am. 76; hann leikr nú eptir magni, Lv. 28; leika leik, 68; hann lék fyrir honum marga fimleika, Fær. 66; leika at skáktafli, to play at chess, Fms. iv. 366; en er þeir léku at taflinu, þá lék konungr fingrbrjót mikinn, ok sagði hann skyldi annat leika, id.; leika hörpu, to play the harp, Stj. 458; leika sungfæri, 631:—leika sér, to play, esp. of children, passim; as also, leika sér at e-u, to play at a thing, passim.

2. to delude, play a trick on; Djöfullinn leikr þá alla, Andr. 66: esp. with prepp., leika á e-n, to play a trick on a person, Nj. 155; mjök hefir þú á oss leikit, nær sem vér fáum þess hefnt, Grett. 149; ef aðrir leita á oss, þá má vera at vér leikim þá enn nokkut í mot, to make a counter move, Boll. 346; lék hón feðr sinn af sér, she played him off, Stj. 181; svá at eins leikr þú við flesta vini þína, Fms. ii. 181.

3. ef svá ílla er, at um þat sé at leika, if that is on the cards, Fms. viii. 102, Al. 132, 134; hón segir föður sínum um hvat at leika er, she told her father how things stood, Ld. 206, Fms. viii. 93.

4. to perform, of a feat or act of prowess, of a play; þú fékt eigi leikit þat er mjúkleikr var í, Fms. vii. 119; þeir kváðu hann verðan vera at hafa, ef hann léki þat, Finnb. 220; en ek hygg at engi annarr fái þat leikit, Fms. i. 152; hann lék þat optliga, er hann barðisk, er fáir gátu við séð, ii. 106; þat má leikask, Fas. i. 88; þessa þrjá hluti lék hann senn, Eb. 240.

5. the phrases, leika lauss við, to be free, at large, disengaged (cp. ‘to play fast and lose with’); láti þér hann nú eigi lausan við leika lengi, Fms. xi. 154; en Hákon sjálfr skal leika lauss við svá, H. shall not be engaged in the battle, i. e. be in reserve, 127; leika lausum hala (see hali); leika tveim skjöldum, to play a double game, Hkr. i. (in a verse).

II. to move, swing, wave to and fro, hang loosely; leika á lopti, Hm. 156; leika á mars baki, Hðm. 12; lék þar grind á járnum, Fms. v. 331; landið skalf sem á þræði léki, Fas. i. 424; skjálfa þótti húsit sem á als oddi léki, 87; lét hann leika laust knéit í brókinni, Fms. vii. 170; árar léku lausar í höndum honum, vi. 446; þeir steypðo golli nýteknu ór afli leikanda ( melted gold) í munn honum, Hom. (St.) 69.

2. to lick, of flame, to catch, of fire = Lat. lambere; þeir vöknuðu eigi fyrr en logi lék um þá, Fms. i. 292; hiti leikr við himin, Vsp. 57; varð eldr lauss í miðjum bænum, eldrinn lék skjótt, ætluðu þeir at verja eldinum, en þá var þar svá mjök leikit (so much burnt) at þeir máttu ekki við festask, Fb. iii. 175; eldr tók at leika húsin, Gullþ. 28; eldrinn tók at leika vatns-keröldin ok viðinn, Fms. xi. 35; heldr en þar léki eldr yfir, viii. 341; lék eldrinn skjótt tjörgaða spónu í keröldunum, i. 128.

3. of water, waves, stream, to play, wash; unnir léku, Hkv. 2. 11, Lex. Poët.; þótti honum þat helzt frói at hafa höndina niðri í læknum, ok láta strauminn leika um sárit, Fas. iii. 388; vatnit var djúpt at landinu, ok hafði leikit undan bakkanum, svá at holt var með, the water had washed the earth away, and made the bank hollow, Grett. 131 A:—of wind, veðr var kalt ok lék á nordan, 113 new Ed.: allir ketill lék utan ok innan sem ein sía, Bs. ii. 9.

4. metaph., lék þat orð á, it was rumoured, Fms. i. 288, Fs. 75; var þá vinátta þeirra kær, þótt þat léki nökkut á ýmsu, though there were ups and downs in their friendship, Fms. vi. 369; leika á tvennu, id., Mag. 33; lék á hinu sama, it went all one way, Fms. v. 252; leika á tveim tungum, ‘to swing on two tongues,’ of various reports of the same thing, ix. 255; leikr þat sízt á tvímæli, hverr fræði-maðr sem frá þeim hefir sagt, Edda (pref.) 147; ef tortrygð leikr á, if there is any suspicion, Js. 26; þar leikr þó minn hugr á, have a mind for a thing, Eg. 520; þat leikr mér í skapi ( I have a mind) at kaupa Íslands-far, Fms. ii. 4; ok ef þér leikr aptr munr at, Ld. 318, v. l.; leika í mun, id., Skv. 3. 39; leika landmunir, to feel homesick, Bjarn.; e-m leikr öfund á e-u, to envy, Fms. vi. 342; leika hugr á, to have a mind to, love; hón er svá af konum, at mér leikr helzt hugr á, vii. 103.

III. esp. in the part. hag-ridden, bewitched, as madmen or people bedridden or taken by a strange illness were thought to be ‘ridden’ by trolls; syndisk mönnum þann veg helzt sem hann mundi leikinn, þvíat hann fór hjá sér ok talaði við sjálfan sik, Eb. 270; maðr sá er Snorri hét var leikinn af flagði einu, Bs. i. 464.

2. metaph. to ill-treat, vex; hví ertú svá ílla leikin? Nj. 18, Sd. 169; sárt ertú leikinn, Sámr fóstri, Nj. 114; sagði þeim engan frama at drepa fá menn ok þó áðr ílla leikna, Fms. ix. 47; börðu þeir mik ok léku sárliga, Fb. i. 547; þeir tóku hann ok léku hart ok börðu, Andr. 64; Loka mær hefir leikinn allvald, Loki’s maid (Death) has laid hands on the king, Ýt.:—to vex, annoy, cp. at þjófar né leiki, that the thieves shall not take it, Hm.; þau á vági vindr of lék, the wind swamped them, Gkv. 1; meinit hafði lengi við leikit, the illness had vexed him a long time, Bs. i. 190.

IV. reflex. to be performed, done; ef þat má leikask, if this can be done, Fas. i. 88; sögðu at þat mætti þá vel leikask, at vinda segl á Orminum ok sigla á haf út, Fms. ii. 326:—leikask á e-n, to get the worst of it; mjök hefir á leikisk minn hluta, I have been utterly worsted, Ísl. ii. 269; ok léksk mjök á mönnum Agða jarls, Fms. iii. 187; ok þótti nú opt á leikask í viðskiptum þeirra Grettis, Grett. 151.

2. recipr., leikask við, to play a match, to play one against another; ok er þat bezt at vit sjálfir leikimk við, Grett. 99 new Ed., Sturl. i. 23, Fms. ii. 269, Þórð. 15 new Ed.; ok höfðu þeir leikisk við barnleikum allir þrír meðan þeir vóru ungir, they had been playmates, Fms. vi. 343; ef þeir skyldi tveir við leikask, Glúm. 370:—at þér komizt undan með lausafé yðart, en þá leikisk um lönd sem auðit er, escape with the movable property and leave the land to its fate, and let them quarrel about the land as best they can, Eb. 98.

* * *

(fell; féll, féllum; fallinn), v.

1) to fall;

eigi fellr tré við fyrsta högg, a tree falls not with the first stroke;

falla af baki, to fall from horse back;

falla á kné, to fall on one’s knees;

falla áfram (á bak aptr), to fall forwards (backwards);

falla flatr, to fall prostrate;

falla til jarðar, to fall to the ground;

refl., láta fallast (= sik falla), to let oneself fall (þá lét Loki falla í kné Skaða);

2) to drop down dead, be killed, fall (in battle);

3) to die of plague (féllu fátœkir menn um alit land);

4) to flow, run (of water, stream, tide);

særinn fell út frá landi, ebbed;

féll sjór fyrir hellismunnann, the sea rose higher than the cave-mouth;

síðan féll sjór at, the tide rose;

þeir sá þá ós mikinn falla í sjóinn, fall into the sea;

á fél (a river flowed) við skála Ásólfs;

var skipit svá hlaðit, at inn féll um söxin, that the sea rushed in at the prow;

5) of clothes, hair, to fall, hang down;

hárit féll á herðar honum aptr, the hair fell back on his shoulders;

létu kvennváðir um kné falla, they let women’s dress fall about hi s knees;

6) to fall, calm down (of the wind);

féll veðrit (the storm fell) ok gerði logn;

7) to fail, be foiled;

sá eiðr fellr honum til útlegðar, if he fails in taking the oath, he shall be liable to outlawry;

falla á verkum sínum, to have been caught red-handed, to be justly slain;

falla or fallast at máli, sókn, to fail in one’s suit;

falla frá máli, to give it up;

fallinn at frændum, bereft of kinsmen;

dœmi ek fyrir dráp hans fallnar yðrar eignir, I sentence your estates to be forfieited for his slaughter;

refl., ef gerðarmenn láta fallast, if the umpires fail to do their duty;

þá fallust öllum Ásum orðtök ok svá hendr, then voice and hands alike failed the Gods;

féllust þeim allar kvéðjur, their greetings died on their lips;

vill sá eigi falust láta andsvör, he will not fail or falter in replying;

8) to fall out happen;

mér féll svá gæfusamliga (it befell me so quickly), at;

stundum kann svá at falla, at, sometimes it may so happen that;

9) to be had or produced (þat járn fellr í firði þeim; þar fellr hveiti ok vín);

10) with adv., e-m fellr e-t þungt, létt, a thing falls heavily, lightly upon one (þetta mun ðr þungt falla);

féll þá keisaranum þyngra bardaginn, the battle turned against the emperor;

e-m fellr e-t nær, it falls nigh to one, touches one nearly;

henni féll meinit svá nær, at, the illness fell on her so sore, that;

mér fellr eigi firr en honum, it touches me no less than him;

hörmuliga fellr oss nú, at, it falls out sadly for us, that;

11) to please, suit;

kvað sér, þat vel falla til attekta, said that it suited him well for drawing revenue from;

honum féll vel í eyru lofsorð konungs, the king’s praise was pleasant in his ears;

jarli féllst þat vel í eyru, the earl was well pleased to hear it;

mun mér illa falla, ef, it will displease me, if;

féll vel á með þeim, they were on good terms;

refl., honum féllst þat vel í skap, it suited his mind well, he was pleased with it;

féllst hvárt öðru vel í geð, they loved each other;

12) with preps. and advs.,

falla af, to fall, abate (féll af vindr, byrr);

falla á e-n, to befall one;

þær féllu lyktir í, at, the end was, that;

falla í e-t, to fall into;

falla í brot, to fall in a fit;

falla í óvit, to faint, swoon;

falla í villu, to fall into heresy;

falla í vald e-s, to fall into one’s power;

féll veðrit í logn, the storm calmed down;

falla niðr, to fall, drop;

mitt kvæði mun skjótt niðr falla, my poem will soon be forgotten;

féll svá niðr þeirra tal, their conversation dropped, they left off talking;

falla saman, to fill in with, agree;

þó at eigi félli alit saman með þeim, though they, did not agree in everything;

falla til, to occur, happen, fall out;

ef auðna fellr til, if luck will have it so;

litlu síðar féll til fagrt leiði, fair wind came on;

öll þingviti, er til falla, all the fines that may fall in, be due;

nema þörf falli til, unless need be;

sem sakir falla til, as the case falls;

falla undir e-n, to fall to one’s lot (of inheritance, obligation);

arfr fellr undir e-n, devolves upon one;

falla út, to recede, of the tide (þá er út féll sjórinn);

falla við árar, to fall to at the oars.

* * *

pret. féll, 2nd pers. féllt, mod. féllst, pl. féllu; pres. fell, pl. föllum; part. fallinn; reflex. féllsk, fallisk, etc., with the neg. suffix fellr-at, féll-at, féllsk-at, Am. 6, vide Lex. Poët. [Common to all Teut. languages except Goth. (Ulf. renders πίπτειν by drjûsan); A. S. feallan; Engl. fall; Germ. fallen; Dan. falde; Swed. falla.]

A. to fall; as in Engl. so in Icel. falla is the general word, used in the broadest sense; in the N. T. it is therefore used much in the same passages as in the Engl. V., e. g. Matth. v. 14, vii. 25, 27, x. 29, xii. 11, xiii. 4, xxi. 44, Luke xiv. 5, John xii. 24, Rom. xi. 11, xiv. 4, 1 Cor. x. 12, 1 Tim. vi. 9, Rev. viii. 10: blómstrið fellr, James i. 11: again, the verbs hrynja and hrapa denote ruin or sudden fall, detta a light fall, hrasa stumbling; thus in the N. T. hrynja is used, Luke xxiii. 30, Rev. vi. 16; hrapa, Luke x. 18, xi. 17, xiii. 4, Matth. xxiv. 29; hrasa, Luke x. 30; detta, xvi. 21: the proverb, eigi fellr tré við hit fyrsta högg, a tree falls not by the first stroke, Nj. 163, 224; hann féll fall mikit, Bs. i. 343; hón féll geigvænliga, id.; falla af baki, to fall from horseback, 344; f. áfram, to fall forwards, Nj. 165; f. á bak aptr, to fall on the back, 9; f. um háls e-m, to fall on one’s neck, Luke xv. 20; f. til jarðar, to fall to the ground, fall prostrate, Fms. vii. 13, Pass. 5. 4: to fall on one’s face, Stj. 422. Ruth ii. 10; f. fram, to fall down, Matth. iv. 9; f. dauðr ofan, to fall down dead, Fær. 31; ok jafnsnart féll á hann dimma og myrkr, Acts xiii. 11; hlutr fellr, the lot fell (vide hlut-fall), i. 26.

2. to fall dead, fall in battle, Lat. cadere, Nj. 31, Eg. 7, 495, Dropl. 25, 36, Hm. 159, Fms. i. 8, 11, 24, 38, 95, 173, 177, 178, ii. 318, 324, 329, iii. 5, iv. 14, v. 55, 59, 78, 85, vi. 406–421, vii–xi, passim.

3. of cattle, to die of plague or famine, Ann. 1341.

4. medic., falla í brot, to fall in a fit, Bs. i. 335; f. í óvit, to swoon, Nj. 210: the phrase, f. frá, to fall, die (frá-fall, death), Grág. i. 139, 401, Fms. iv. 230, vii. 275; f. í svefn, to fall asleep, Acts xx. 9.

II. to flow, run, of water, stream, tide, etc.: of the tide, særinn féll út frá landi, ebbed, Clem. 47; féll þar sær fyrir hellismunnann, the sea rose higher than the cave’s mouth, Orkn. 428; síðan féll sjór at, the tide rose, Ld. 58; ok þá er út féll sjórinn, Þorf. Karl. 420; sjórinn féll svá skjótt á land, at skipin vóru öll á floti, Fms. iv. 65: also used of snow, rain, dew, Vsp. 19; snjó-fall, a fall of snow: of the ashes of a volcano, cp. ösku-fall, s. v. aska: of a breaker, to dash, menn undruðusk er boði féll í logni, þar sem engi maðr vissi ván til at fyrri hefði fallit, Orkn. 164: of a river, nema þar falli á sú er eigi gengr fé yfir, Grág. ii. 256; vötn þau er ór jöklum höfðu fallit, Eg. 133; á féll ( flowed) við skála Ásólfs, Landn. 50, A. A. 285; þeir sá þá ós (fors, Hb.) mikinn falla í sjóinn, Landn. 29, v. l., cp. Fms. i. 236; Markar-fljót féll í millum höfuð-ísa, Nj. 142; á fellr austan, Vsp. 42; falla forsar, 58; læk er féll meðal landa þeirra, Landn. 145: of sea water, sjár kolblár fellr at þeim, the ship took in water, Ld. 118, Mar. 98; svá at inn féll um söxin, that the tea rushed in at the stern, Sturl. iii. 66.

2. to stream, of hair; hárit silki-bleikt er féll ( streamed) á herðar honum aptr, Fms. vii. 155.

β. of clothes, drapery, Edda (Ht. 2) 121.

III. to fall, of the wind; féll veðrit ok görði logn, the wind fell, Eg. 372; þá féll byrrinn, Eb. 8; ok fellr veðrit er þeir koma út at eyjum, Ld. 116; hón kvaðsk mundu ráða at veðrit félli eigi, Gullþ. 30; í því bili fellr andviðrit, Fbr. 67; þá féll af byrrinn, Fms. vi. 17.

2. falla niðr, to fall, drop; mitt kvæði mun skjótt niðr f., my poem will soon be forgotten, Fms. vi. 198; mun þat (in the poem) aldri niðr f. meðan Norðrlönd eru bygð, 372; féll svá þeirra tal, their speech dropped, they left off talking, Fas. iii. 579; as a law term, to let a thing drop, lát niðr f., Fs. 182; féllu hálfar bætr niðr fyrir sakastaði þá er hann þótti á eiga, Nj. 166, 250, Band. 18; þat eitt fellr niðr, Grág. i. 398, Fms. vii. 137; falla í verði, to fall in price, etc.

IV. to fail, be foiled, a law term; sá (viz. eiðr) fellr honum til útlegðar, i. e. if he fails in taking the oath he shall be liable to outlawry, N. G. L. i. 84 (eið-fall); en ef eiðr fellr, þá fari hann útlægr, K. Á. 214; fellr aldri sekt handa á milli, the fine is never cancelled, N. G. L. i. 345; f. á verkum sínum, to have been caught red-handed, to be justly slain, Eg. 736; vera fallinn at sókn, to fail in one’s suit, N. G. L. i. 166; hence metaph. fallin at frændum, failing, bereft of friends, Hðm. 5; fallinn frá minu máli, having given my case up, Sks. 554, 747; því dæmi ek fyrir dráp hans fallnar eignir ykkar, I sentence your estates to lie forfeited for his slaughter, Fs. 122; f. í konungs garð, to forfeit to the king’s treasury. Fms. iv. 227; reflex., ef honum fellsk þessor brigð, if his right of reclamation fails, Gþl. 300; ef menn fallask at því, if men fail in that, N. G. L. ii. 345; ef gerð fellsk, if the reparation comes to naught, id.; ef gerðar-menn láta fallask, if they fail to do their duty, id., cp. i. 133, 415; to fail, falter, in the phrase, e-m fallask hendr, the hands fail one; bliknaði hann ok féllusk honum hendr, Ó. H. 70; þá féllusk öllum Ásum orðtök ok svá hendr, their voice and hands alike failed them, Edda 37; en bóndum féllusk hendr, því á þeir höfðu þá engan foringja, Fms. vi. 281; féllusk þeim allar kveðjur er fyrir vóru, their greeting faltered, i. e. the greeting died on their lips, Nj. 140; vill sá eigi fallask fáta andsvör, he would not fail or falter in replying, Hkr. i. 260; féllskat saðr sviðri, her judgment did not fail, Am. 6.

V. metaph., falla í villu, to fall into heresy, Ver. 47; f. í hórdóm, to fall into whoredom, Sks. 588; f. í vald e-s. to fall into one’s power, Ld. 166; f. í fullsælu, to drop ( come suddenly) into great wealth, Band. 31; f. í fullting við e-n, to fall a-helping one, to take one’s part, Grág. i. 24; lyktir falla á e-t, to come to a close, issue, Fms. ix. 292. xi. 326; f. á, to fall on, of misfortune, vide á-fall.

2. falla undir e-n, to full to one’s lot, of inheritance, obligation; arfr fellr undir e-n. devolves upon one, Gþl. 215; f. frjáls á jörð to be free born, N. G. L. i. 32; f. ánanðigr á jörð, to be born a bondsman, Grág. ii. 192.

3. falla við árar, to fall to at the oars, Fms. xi. 73, 103; Þorgeirr féll þá svá fast á árar (pulled, so bard), at af gengu báðir háirnir, Grett. 125 A; f. fram við árar, id., Fas. ii. 495 (in a verse).

VI. to fall out, befall; ef auðna fellr til, if it so falls out by luck, Fms. iv. 148; ef auðna vildi til f. með þeim, xi. 267; litlu siðar fellr til fagrt leiði, a fair wind befell them, 426; alla hluti þá er til kunni f., Nj. 224; öll þingvíti er til f., all the fines that may fall in, be due, Gþl. 21; nema þörf falli til, unless a mishap befalls him, i. e. unless he be in a strait, 76; mér féll svá gæfusamliga, it befell me so luckily, Barl. 114; verðuliga er fallit á mik þetta tilfelli, this accident has justly befallen me, 115; sem sakir f. til, as the case falls, Eg. 89.

2. to fall, be produced; þat (the iron) fellr í firði þeim er Ger heitir, Fas. iii. 240; þar fellr hveiti ok vín, 360.

VII. impers. in the phrases, e-m fellr e-t þungt, létt, etc., a thing falls lightly, heavily upon, esp. of feeling; þetta mun yðr þungt f., it will fall heavily on you, Band. 18; felir þá keisaranum þyngra bardaginn, the battle fell out ill to ( turned against) the emperor, Fms. xi. 32; at oss mundi þungt f. þessi mál, Nj. 191.

2. the phrases, e-m fellr e-t nær, it falls nigh to one, touches one nearly; svá fellr mér þetta nær um trega, Nj. 170; sjá einn var svá hlutr, at Njáli féll svá nær, at hana mátti aldri óklökvandi um tala, this one thing touched Njal so nearly, that he could never speak of it without tears, 171; mér fellr eigi firr en honum, it touches me no less than him, Blas. 41; henni féll meinit svá, nær, at …, the illness fell on her so sore, that …, Bs. i. 178; féll henni nær allt saman, she was much vexed by it all (of illness), 351; e-t fellr bágliga, hörmuliga etc. fyrir e-m, things fall out sadly for one. Vígl. 30, El. 15.

B. Metaph. to fall in with, agree, fit, suit, Germ. gefallen:

I. to please, suit; kvað sér þat vel falla til aftekta, said that it suited him well for drawing taxes from, Fb. ii. 122: en allt þat, er hann heyrði frá himnaguði, féll honum harla vel, pleased him very well, Fms. i. 133; honum féll vel í eyru lofsorð konungs, the king’s praise suited his ears well, tickled, pleased his fancy, Bret. 16: reflex., þat lof fellsk honum í eyru, 4; jarli fellsk þat vel í eyru, the earl was well pleased to hear it, Bjarn. 7.

β. falla saman, to fall in with, comply, agree; en þó at eigi félli allt saman með þeim, though they did not agree in all, Bs. i. 723.

γ. féllsk vel á með þeim, they loved one another, Fas. i. 49; féll vel á með þeim Styrkári, i. e. he and S. were on good terms, Fms. iii. 120.

δ. honum féllsk þat vel í skap, it suited his mind well, pleased him, Fas. i. 364; féllsk hvárt öðru vel í geð, they agreed well, liked one another well, Band. 9; fallask á e-t, to like a thing; brátt kvartar að mér fellst ei á, Bb. 3. 23.

2. to beseem, befit; heldr fellr þeim ( it befits them), at sýna öðrum með góðvilja, Str. 2.

3. falla at e-u, to apply to, refer to; þetta eitt orð er at fellr eiðstafnum, Band. MS. 15 (Ed. 18 wrongly eiðrinn instead of eiðnum).

4. the phrase ‘falla við’ in Luke vi. 36 (bótin af því hinu nýja fellr eigi við hið gamla) means to agree with; hence also viðfeldinn, agreeable:—but in the two passages to be cited falla við seems to be intended for falda við, to enfold; hvergi nema þar sem falli við akr eða eng, unless field or meadow be increased or improved, N. G. L. ii. 116; ekki má falla (qs. falda) við hamingju-leysi mitt, ‘tis impossible to add a fold to my bad luck, it cannot be worse than it is, Al. 110.

II. part. fallinn; svá f., such-like, so framed; eitt lítið dýr er svá fallið, at …, a small animal is so framed, that …, Stj. 77; hví man hinn sami maðr svá fallinn, how can the same man be so framed? Fms. xi. 429:—in law phrases, such-like, as follows, svá fallinn vitnisburð, testimony as follows, Vm. 47; svo fallinn órskurð, dóm, etc., a decision, sentence … as follows, a standing phrase; þá leið fallinn, such, such-like (Germ. beschaffen), Stj. 154.

2. fallinn vel, illa, etc., well, ill-disposed; hann var vænn maðr ok vel fallinn, Fms. xi. 422; þau vóru tröll bæði ok at öllu illa fallin, Bárð. 165; fitted, worthy, bezt til konungs fallinn, Fms. i. 58; ok er hann bezt til þess f. af þessum þremr, vi. 386; at hann væri betr til fallinn at deyja fyrir þá sök en faðir hans, that he more deserved to die than his father did, x. 3; Ólafr er betr til yfirmanns f. enn mínir synir, Ld. 84; margir eru betr til fallnir fararinnar, Ísl. ii. 327; Hallgerðr kvað hann sér vel fallinn til verkstjóra, Nj. 57; sá er til þess er f., Sks. 299; ‘worthy,’ 1 Cor. vi. 2.

3. neut. fit; ok hætti þá er honum þótti fallit, when he thought fit, Fms. vi. 364; slík reip sem f. þykir, as seems needful, Sks. 420; væri þat vel fallit, at …, it would do well, to …, Fms. ii. 115; þat mun nú vel fallit, that will be right, that will do well, Nj. 145; kallaði vel til fallit, said it was quite right, Fms. xi. 321.

4. of a thing, with dat. suited to one; eigi þyki mér þér sú ferð vel fallin, i. e. this journey will not do for thee, will not do thee good, Fms. vi. 200; cp. ó-fallit, unfit.

(pl. vaðlar), m.

1) wading (við vás ok vaðla spiltist mjök meinit);

2) shallow water, esp. places where fiords or straits can be passed on horseback (var flœðr sævar ok ekki reitt yfir vaðla).

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and vöðull, m. [Shetl. vaadle; Dan. veile], a shallow water, esp. places where fiords or straits can be passed on horseback; hón óð út á vaðlana, Lv. 68; var flæðr sævar ok ekki reitl yfir vaðla, Sturl. iii. 46; ríða til vaðlanna (vöðlanna Cod.), id.; ok er hann reið at vaðlinum, Gullþ. 26; við vás ok vaðla ( wading) spillisk mjök meinit, Bs. i. 386.

2. metaph. gabbling talk; hvaða vaðall er á þér (?).

II. a local name, Vöðlar, Vöðla-þing, in the north of Iceland, Rb. 292, Ann. 1125; Hása-vaðill, cp. Veile in Denmark.

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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.

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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.

* * *

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.

* * *

(gef; gaf, gáfum; gefinn), v.

1) to give (gefa e-m e-t);

hann gaf þeim góðar gjafar, he gave them good gifts;

gefa e-m ráð, to give one advice;

gefa hljóð, to give a hearing;

gefa e-m sök, e-t at sök, to lay to one’s charge, to bring a charge against one;

gefa slög, to deal blows;

gefa e-m drekka, to give one to drink;

impers., e-m gefr byr (byri), one gets a fair wind (gaf þeim byr ok sigla þeir í haf);

absol., gaf þeim vel, they got a fair wind;

ef fœri gefr á, if you get a chance;

ef yðr (dat.) gefr eigi missýi í þessu máli, if you are not mistaken in this matter;

þat gaf öllum vel skilja, it was clear for all to understand;

2) to give, grant;

gefa heimleyfi, to grant furlough;

gefa e-m grið, to grant quarter or pardon to one;

gefa e-m líf, to grant one his life;

3) to give in matrimony (ek var ung gefin Njáli);

4) to give fodder to cattle, to feed (gefa göltum, nautum, kúm, hestum);

5) gefa staðar, to stop;

lét hann þá staðar gefa róðrinn, he stopped rowing;

6) e-m er e-t svá gefit, or svá gefit um e-t, one is so and so disposed, thinks so and so of a thing (ef þér er þetta svá gefit sem þú segir);

7) with preps.:

gefa sér litit (mikit) af (or at) e-u, to take little (much) notice of;

gefa á e-t, to pour water on;

fig. to press on (gefr Ormr þá á);

gefa e-m til e-s, to give in return for a thing (gefa fé til sátta);

impers., honum hafði vel gefit til (had good luck) um hefndina;

gefa sér mikit (lítit) um e-t, to take great (little) interest in (= gefa sér mikit, lítit, af or at e-u);

gefa sér fátt um e-t, to take coldly, take little notice of;

gefa e-t upp, to give up (gefa upp alla mótstöðu);

gefa sik upp, to surrender;

gefa upp gamalmenni, to give old people up, let them starve;

gefa upp leiguna, to remit the rent;

gefa upp sakir, to remit offences;

upp gefinn, exhausted;

gefa e-t við e-u, to give in payment for;

gefa sik við, to give in (þat er líkara, at ek gefa mik við);

8) refl., gefast.

* * *

pret. gaf, 2nd pers. gaft, mod. gafst, pl. gáfu; pres. gef; pret. subj. gæfi; part. gefinn; with neg. suff. gef-at, gaft-attu, Fm. 7; mid. form gáfumk ( dabat or dabant mihi, nobis), Stor. 23, Bragi, Edda: [Goth. giban = διδόναι; A. S. gifan; Engl. give; Dutch geven; O. H. G. gepan; Germ. geben; Swed. gifva; Dan. give.]

A. To give, with acc. of the thing, dat. of the person; g. gjafar, to give gifts, Fm. 7, Fms. vii. 40, Nj. 29, Hm. 48; mikit eitt skala manni gefa, 51; hann kvaðsk eingin yxn eiga þau áðr at honum þætti honum gefandi (gerundial, worth giving to him), Rd. 256; hann gaf stórgjafir öllu stórmenni, Ld. 114; hann gaf þeim góðar gjafir at skilnaði, Gísl. 9; Rútr gaf henni hundrað álna, Nj. 7; viltú g. mér þá, 73, 75, 281, passim.

II. to give in payment, to pay; gefa vildim vit þér fé til, we will give thee money for it, Nj. 75; yðr væri mikit gefanda (gerundial) til, at þér hefðit ekki íllt átt við Gunnar, you would have given a great deal not to have provoked Gunnar, 98; ek mun g. þér til Guðrúnu dóttur mína ok féit allt, id.: to lay out, hann gaf sumt verðit þegar í hönd, Gísl. 12; gefa e-t við e-u, to pay for a thing; at þér gefit mjök margra Kristinna manna líf við yðvarri þrályndi, that you will cause the loss of many Christian lives with your stubbornness, Fms. iv. 195; þat er líkara at ek gefa mikit við, Nj. 53; gefa sik við e-u, to give oneself to a thing, attend to, be busy about, mod.: gefa í milli, to discount; hygg at hvat þú gefr í milli tveggja systra, Fms. iv. 195 (hence milli-gjöf, discount).

III. in special sense, to give in matrimony; Njáll bað konu til handa Högna ok var hon honum gefin, Nj. 120; Vígdís var meir gefin til fjár en brautargengis, V. had been more wedded to the money than to her advancement, Ld. 26; segir at dóttir þeirra muni eigi betr verða gefin, 114:—gefa saman, to betroth, Fms. x. 381:—in mod. sense to marry, of the clergyman.

2. to give as a dowry, portion; búum þeim er Sveinn hafði gefit til hennar, Fms. x. 310 (hence til-gjöf, dowry); eigi skal ok í klæðum meira heiman gefask með konu en þriðjungr (hence heiman-gjöf, dowry), Gþl. 212:—so also, gefa í erfðir, to give as inheritance, Bs. i. 285:—gefa ölmusu, to give alms, Bs. passim; gefa fátækum, to give to the poor, passim.

IV. to give, grant; hann gaf honum vald yfir öllu landi, Fms. i. 18; gefa heimleyfi, to grant ‘home-leave,’ furlough, ix. 474; gefa orlof, ii. 64; gefa grið, to grant a truce to one, pardon, Nj. 165, Fms. ix. 479; gefa e-m líf, to grant one his life, 470.

V. in various phrases; gefa e-m nafn, to give one a name, Nj. 91, Fms. i. 23, Grág. ii. 146; gefa þakkir, to give thanks, Fms. i. 231; gefa e-m tillæti, to indulge one, Nj. 169; gefa e-m rúm, to give place to one, Fms. ii. 254, vi. 195; gefa ráð, to give counsel, advice, Nj. 75, 78; gefa góð orð, to give good words, answer gently; gefa e-m stór orð, to give one big words, Fms. v. 158; gefa slög, to deal blows, ix. 313; gefa gaum at, to give heed to, Nj. 57, Eg. 551; gefa hljóð, to give a hearing, in public speaking, Nj. 230; gefa tóm, to give time, leisure, 98; gefa ró reiði, to calm one’s wrath, 175:—gefa e-m sök, to bring a charge against, complain of, 82; ok gaf ek þó hjálminum enga sök á því, I did not like the helmet less for that, Ld. 128; at eigi sé mælt, at þú gefir dauðum sök, that thou bringest a charge against a dead man (which was unlawful), Nj. 82; en hvártki okkat gefr þat öðru at sök, neither of us likes the other the less for that, 52; ekki gef ek þér þat at sök þótt þú sér engi bleyðimaðr, 54; engi þorði þó sakir á at gefa, none durst complain, Al. 123; Sigurðr jarl bað konung eigi gefa Þrændum þetta at sök, Fms. i. 57; gefa kæru upp á e-n, to give in a complaint against one, Dipl. ii. 13.

2. gefa sér um …, to give oneself trouble about, take interest in, mostly followed by a noun; gefa sér fátt um e-t, to take coolly; gefa sér mikit um, to take great interest in; Þorfinnr lét gefa honum mat, en gaf sér lítið at honum, but else took little notice of him, Grett. 96; ekki er þess getið, at hann gæfi sér mikit um, that he shewed great interest, Fms. i. 289; mun ek mér ok ekki um þetta gefa, I will let this pass, not take offence at it, Boll. 354; en ef til mín kæmi tveir eða þrír, þá, gaf ek mér ekki um, then I took no notice of it, Fms. ii. 151; konungr gaf sér fátt um þat, Fb. i. 261; hann þóttisk vita hvat keisaranum mislíkaði ok gaf sér þó ekki um at sinni, Fms. vi. 71; ok gáfu sér ekki um viðbúnaðinn, vii. 87; so also, Skúli gaf sér litið at hvat biskup sagði, S. troubled himself little at what the bishop said, Bs. i. 873:—akin is the mod. phrase, eg gef ekki um það, I do not want it; gefðu ekki um það, do not care for it, mind it not; eg gaf ekki um að sjá það, I did not want to see it, etc.

3. gefa staðar, to stop; lét hann þá staðar gefa róðrinn, he stopped rowing, Fms. vi. 384; konungr gaf staðar ok hlýddi til frásagnar þeirra, viii. 400; ok þá er sá íss gaf staðar ok rann eigi, Edda 3; ok þeir gefa eigi stað ferðinni fyrr en þeir kómu norðr, 151 (pref.); svá at staðar gaf (MS. naf) höndin við sporðinn, 40.

VI. to give out, deal out; hón bað gefa sér drekka, bade give him to drink, Eg. 604: to give a dose, gefa e-m eitr, Al. 156:—absol. to give fodder to cattle, gefa göltum, Hkv. 2. 37; gefa nautum, kúm, hestum, Sturl. ii. 42, Gísl. 28:—gefa á, to dash over, of sea-water, cp. ágjöf: to pour water on, var gluggr á ofninum syá at útan mátti á gefa, Eb. 134; síðan lét hann gefa útan á baðit í glugg, 136; gefa á ker, to fill a goblet, Clar.: metaph. to press on, gefr Ormr þá á, Fb. i. 530 (in wrestling).

VII. with prepp., fyrir-gefa, to forgive, freq. in mod. usage, but scarcely found in old writers; so also gefa til, cp. Dan. tilgive, D. N., vide Safn i. 96, (rare and obsolete):—gefa upp, to give up; gefa upp gamalmenni, to give old people up, let them starve, Fms. ii. 225; gefa upp föður eða móður, 227; bændr báðu hann gefa upp eyna, Grett. 145: to remit, en þó vil ek nú upp gefa þér alla leiguna, Nj. 128; gaf honum upp reiði sína, Fms. x. 3, 6; ok gefit oss upp stórsakir, ii. 33; Brján konungr gaf upp þrysvar útlögum sínum inar sömu sakir, Nj. 269: absol., hvárt vilit þér gefa honum upp, pardon him, 205; gefa upp alla mótstöðu, to give up all resistance, Fms. ix. 322; gefa sik upp, to give oneself up, surrender, i. 198; þá gefum vér upp várn stað, 104; gefa upp ríki, konungdóm, to give up the kingdom, abdicate, resign, x. 4, xi. 392: to give up, hand over to one, Magnús konungr gaf honum upp Finnferðina með slíkum skildaga, vii. 135; ek vil gefa ykkr upp búit at Varmalæk, Nj. 25; allir hafa þat skaplyndi at gefa þat fyrst upp er stolit er, 76: to give up, leave off, gefa upp leik, to give up playing, Fas. iii. 530; gefa upp horn, Fms. vi. 241: to exhaust, empty, upp ætlu vér nú gefnar gersimar yðrar, vii. 197.

B. IMPERS., a naut. term; e-m gefr byri, byr (acc. pl. or sing.), one gets a fair wind; gaf þeim byr ok sigla þeir í haf, Nj. 4; gaf þeim vel byri, 138; er þeir vóru búnir ok byr gaf, Eg. 99: so also absol. with or without dat. of the person, gaf kaupmönnum burt af Grænlandi, the sailors got a wind off Greenland, so as to sail from it, Fb. iii. 454; því at eigi gaf suðr lengra, Fms. ii. 185; gaf þeim vel, ix. 268; gaf honum ílla, x. 4; gaf honum eigi austan, Nj. 63: so in the saying, svo gefr hverjum sem hann er góðr.

2. in other phrases, to get a chance; ef færi (acc.) gefr á, if you get a chance, Nj. 266; halda njósnum, nær bezt gæfi færi á honum, to keep a look-out, when there was best chance to get at him, 113; til þess gefr nú vel ok hógliga, ‘tis a fair and easy opportunity for that, Al. 156; mæltu menn at honum hafði vel gefit til ( had good luck) um hefndina, Fms. vii. 230; ef yðr (dat.) gefr eigi missýni í þessu máli, if you are not mistaken in this matter, Fbr. 32; gaf þeim glámsýni (q. v.) er til vóru komnir, Sturl. i. 179, Stj. 401; þá gaf mér sýn, then I beheld (in a vision), Fms. vii. 163; þat gaf öllum vel skilja, it was clear for all to understand, it lay open to all, vi. 70; e-m gefr á að líta, one can see, i. e. it is open and evident.

C. REFLEX., gefask vel (ílla), to shew oneself, prove good ( bad); það sé ván at þú gefisk honum eigi vel, er þú gefsk öllum öðrum mönnum ílla, Nj. 32; eigi deilir litr kosti ef þú gefsk vel, 78; hversu gafsk Björn þér, Kári, 265; opt hafa mér vel gefisk yður ráð, your counsels have often proved good to me, Ld. 252; hefir þeim þat ok aldri vel gefisk ( it has never turned out well) í þessu landi, Fms. vii. 22; ílla gefask ílls ráð, a saying, Nj. 20; hétu allir góðu um at gefask vel (i. e. to fight manfully), Fms. vii. 262:—to happen, turn out, come to pass, sem síðan gafsk, x. 416; svá honum gafsk, so it turned out for him, Sl. 20; ok svá gæfisk, ef eigi hefði Guð þá sína miskun til sent, and so it would have come to pass, unless …, Fms. x. 395:—gefsk mér svá, it seems to me so, methinks it is so, Karl. 290, 308 (vide A. V. 2. above); þat allsheri at undri gefsk, to all people it is a wonder, Ad. 18; e-m er e-t svá gefit, to be so and so disposed, to think so and so of a thing; ef þér er þetta svá gefit sem þú segir, Fms. v. 236; svá er mér gefit, son minn, at ek em þér fegin orðin, Ó. H. 33; sagði hann at svá mundi jarli gefit, Fms. ix. 244; en svá ætla ek flestum lendum mönnum gefit, at eigi munu skiljask frá Skúla jarli, 429, v. l.; þyki mér ok sem svá muni flestum gefit, at fé sé fjörvi firr, Ld. 266; en þat mun þó mestu um stýra hversu Þórdísi er um gefit, 302; síðan talaði konungr þetta mál við systur sína, ok spurði hversu henni væri um þetta gefit, Fms. ii. 221: of the gifts of nature, mikill máttr er gefinn goðum várum, Nj. 132; ok er þat mál manna, at henni hafi allt verit ílla gefit þat er henni var sjálfrátt, i. e. that she was a bad woman in everything of her own making (but well gifted by nature), 268; ok svá er sagt at honum hafi flestir hlutir höfðinglegast gefnir verit, 254.

2. with prepp., gefask upp, to give up, give in, surrender, Nj. 64, 124, Eg. 79: mod. to lose one’s breath: upp gefinn, upset; eigi þykjumk ek upp gefinn þó at ek sjá smávofur, Grett. 112; eigi þyki mér vit upp gefnir, ef vit veitumk at, 131; en þó at þeir feðgar sé ríkir menn, þá eru vér þó ekki upp gefnir fyrir þeim, Fb. ii. 195: in mod. usage, exhausted, having lost one’s breath, eg er uppgefinn; also of a horse, hann gafsk upp, harm er stað-uppgefinn:—e-m gefsk yfir, to do wrong, commit a fault, fail; þat mæla menn at þessi hlutr hafi konunginum yfir gefisk helzt, Fms. xi. 283; ef göfgum mönnum gáfusk stórir hlutir yfir, if the noble gave gross offence, did evil things, Bs. i. 107; engi er svá vitr at eigi gefisk yfir nokkut sinn, Karl. 451:—to give oneself to one, gefask Kristi, N. G. L. i. 339; gefsk þú hánum þá í dag með Guði, Nj. 157; gefask á vald e-s, to give oneself into another’s power, Fms. ix. 479.

II. recipr. to give to one another; gefask gjöfum, Bret. 48; gáfusk þeir gjöfum áðr þeir skildu, Bs. i. 274.

III. part. gefinn, given to a thing, in a spiritual sense, devout; g. fyrir bækr, lestr, smíðar, etc., given to books, reading, workmanship, etc.

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(hefi; hafða, höfðum; hafðr), v.

1) to have (þeir höfðu sjau skip ok flest stór);

hafa elda, to keep up a five;

2) to hold, celebrate (hafa vinaboð, blót, þing);

3) to keep, retain (rifu þær vefinn í sundr, ok hafði hverr þat er hélt á);

4) to use (tvau net eru rý, ok hafa eigi höfð verit);

orð þau sem hann hafði um haft, which he had made use of;

hafa fagrmæli við e-n, to flatter one;

hafa hljóðmæli við e-n, to speak secretly to one;

hafa tvimæli á e-u, to speak doubtfully of a thing;

hafa viðrmæli um e-t, to use mocking words;

hann var mjök hafðr við mál manna, much used to, versed in, lawsuits;

5) to have, hold, maintain;

hafa vináttu við e-n, to maintain friendship with one;

hafa hættumikit, to run a great risk;

hafa heilindi, to have good health;

6) to bring, carry;

hafa e-n heim með sér, to bring one home;

hann hafði lög, út hingat ór Noregi, he brought laws hither from Norway;

hafa sik (to betake oneself) til annara landa;

7) to take, carry off;

troll hafi þik, the trolls take thee;

8) to get, gain, win;

hann hafði eigi svefn, he got no sleep;

hefir sá jafnan, er hættir, he wins that ventures;

hafa gagn, sigr, to gain victor;

hafa meira hlut, to get the upper hand, gain the day;

hafa betr (verr), to get the better (worse) of it;

hafa sitt mál, to win one’s suit;

hafa tafl, to win the game;

hafa erendi, to do one’s errand, succeed;

hafa bana, to suffer death, to die;

hafa sigr, to be worsted;

hafa góðar viðtökur, to be well received;

hafa tíðindi af e-m, to get tidings of, or from, one;

hafa sœmd, óvirðing af e-m, to get honour, disgrace from one;

with gen., hafa e-s ekki, to fail to catch one (hann kemst á skóg undan, ok höfðu þeir hans ekki);

ekki munu vér hans hafa at sinni, we shall not catch him at present;

9) to wear carry (clothes, weapons);

hann hafði blán kyrtil, he wore a blue kirtle;

hafa kylfu í hendi sér, to have a club in one’s hand;

10) to behave, do, or fare, so an so esp. with an adv.;

hafa vel, illa, vetr, to behave (do) well, badly, be worse;

hafa sik vel, to behave;

hafa vel, to be well off or happy;

hafa hart, to be in a wretched plight;

11) with infin., hafa at varðveita, to have in keeping at selja, to have on sale;

lög hafið þér at mæla, you are right;

12) hafa e-n nær e-u, to expose one to (þú hafðir svá nær haft oss úfœru);

hafa nær e-u, to come near to, esp. impers.;

nær hafði okkr nú, it was a narrow escape;

svá nær hafði hausinum, at, the shot so nearly touched the head, that;

ok er nær hafði, skipit mundi fljóta, when the ship was on the point of flloating;

13) as an auxiliary verb, in the earliest time with the pp. of transitive verbs in acc.;

hefir þú hamar um fólginn, hast thou hidden the hammer?;

ek hefi sendan mann, I have sent a man;

later with indecl. neut. pp.;

hefir þú eigi sét mik, hast thou not seen me?;

14) with preps.:

hafa e-t at, to do, act;

hann tók af þér konuna, en þú hafðir ekki at, but thou didst not stir, didst take it tamely;

absol., viltu þess freista, ok vita hvat at hafi, wilt thou try and see what happens?;

hafa e-t at hlífiskildi (skotspœni), to use as a shield (as a target);

hafa e-n háði, hlátri, to mock, laugh at;

hafa e-t at engu, vettugi, to hold for naught, take no notice of;

hafa sakir á e-n have charges against one;

hafa á rás, to take to one’s heels, run off;

hafa e-t eptir, to do or repeat a thing after one;

hafa e-t fram, to produce (vápn þorgils vóru fram höfð); to carry out, hold forth;

hafa mál fram, to proceed with a suit;

var um búit, ekki fram haft, all was made ready but nothing done;

hafa e-t frammi, í frammi, to use, make use of (hafa í frammi kúgan);

ok öll lögmæt skil frammi hafa, and discharge all on official duties;

hafa e-t fyrir satt, to hold for true;

eigi em ek þar fyrir sönnu hafðr, I am not truly aimed for that, it is a false charge;

hafa e-n fyrir sökum um e-t, to charge one with;

hafa í hótum við e-n, to threaten one;

hafa e-t með höndum, to have in hand;

höfum eiai sigrinn ór hendi, let not victory slip out of our hands;

hafa ór við e-n, to behave so and so towards one (hefir þú illa ór haft við mik);

hafa e-t til e-s to use for (höfðu þeir til varnar skot ok spjót); to be a reason or ground for;

vér hyggjum þat til þess haft vera, at þar hafi menn sézt, we believe the foundation of the story is that men have been seen there;

hafa mikit (lítit) til síns máls, to have much (little) in support of one’s case;

hafa e-t til, to have at hand, possess;

orð þau, sem hann hafði um haft, the words which he had used;

keisari hafði fátt um, did not say much;

hafa e-n undir, to get one under, subdue one;

hafa e-t uppi, to take (heave) up (hafa uppi fœri, net);

Skarpheðinn hafði uppi øxina, S. heaved up the axe;

hafa flokk uppi, to raise a party, to rebel;

hafa uppi tafl, to play at a game;

hafa e-n uppi, to bring one to light;

hafa uppi rœður, to begin a discussion;

hafa e-t úti, to have done, finished (hafa úti sitt dagsverk);

hafa við e-m, to be a match for one;

hafa sik við, to exert oneself;

hafa mikit (lítit) við, to make a great (little) display;

hann söng messu ok bafði mikit við, and made much of it;

hann bad jarl leita, bann hafði lítit við þat, he did it lightly;

haf ekki slíkt við, do not say so;

haf þú lítit við at eggja sonu þina, refrain from egging on thy sons;

15) refl., hafast.

* * *

pret. hafði; subj. hefði; pres. sing. hefi (less correctly hefir), hefir, hefir; plur. höfum, hafit, hafa: the mod. pres. sing. is monosyllabic hefr or hefur, and is used so in rhymes—andvara engan hefur | … við glys heims gálaus sefur, Pass. 15. 6, but in print the true old form hefir is still retained; the monosyllabic present is used even by old writers in the 1st pers. before the personal or negative suffix, e. g. hef-k and hef-k-a ek for hefi-g and hefig-a ek, see e. g. Grág. (Kb.) 79, 82, in the old oath formula, hef-k eigi, Hallfred; hef ek, Fms. iii. 10 (in a verse); but not so in 3rd pers., e. g. hefir-a or hefir-at, Grág. l. c.: imperat. haf, hafðu: part. pass. hafðr, neut. haft;—hafat is an απ. λεγ., Vsp. 16, and is prob. qs. hafit from hefja, to heave, lift: [Ulf. haban; A. S. habban; Engl. have; Hel. hebben; Germ. haben; Dutch hebben; Dan. have, Swed. hafva: it is curious the Lat. form habere retains the consonant unchanged, cp. the Romance forms, Ital. avere, Fr. avoir, Span. haber, etc. ☞ Hafa is a weak verb, and thus distinguished from hefja (to lift, begin), which is a strong verb, answering to Lat. capere, incipere; but in sundry cases, as will be seen below, it passes into the sense of this latter word; as also in some instances into that of another lost strong verb, hafa, hóf, to behave, and hœfa, to hit]:—to have.

A. To have; hann hafði með sér ekki meira lið, Fms. i. 39; hafði hverr hirð um sik, 52; höfðu þeir áttján skip, viii. 42; Sverrir hafði tvau hundrað manna, … þeir höfðu annan samnað á landi, 328; hann hafði mikit lið ok frítt, x. 36; þeir höfðu sjau skip ok flest stór, 102; hafa fjölmennar setur, Eb. 22; hann hafði menn sína í síldveri, Eg. 42; mun ek naut hafa þar sem mér þykkir hagi beztr, 716.

II. to hold:

1. to keep, celebrate; hafa ok halda, Dipl. i. 6; hafa átrúnað, 10; hafa dóma, 12; hafa blót, Fms. iv. 254; hafa vina-veizlu, id.; hafa vina-boð, Nj. 2; hafa Jóla-boð, Eg. 516; hafa þing, Fms. ix. 449; hafa haust-boð, Gísl. 27; hafa drykkju, Eb. 154; hafa leik, Fms. x. 201, passim.

2. to hold, observe; hlýðir þat hvergi at hafa eigi lög í landi, Nj. 149; skal þat hafa, er stendr …, Grág. i. 7; skal þat allt hafa er finsk á skrá þeirri …, id.; en hvatki es mis-sagt es í fræðum þessum, þá es skylt at hafa þat (to keep, hold to be true) es sannara reynisk, Íb. 3; ok hafða ek (I kept, selected) þat ór hvárri er framarr greindi, Landn. 320, v. l.

3. to hold, keep, retain; ef hann vill hafa hann til fardaga, Grág. i. 155; skal búandinn hafa hann hálfan mánuð, 154; ok hafði hvárr þat er hélt á, Nj. 279; hitt skal hafa er um fram er, Rb. 56; kasta í burt þrjátigi ok haf þat sem eptir verðr, 494.

4. to hold an office; hafa lögsögu, to hold the office of lögsaga, Íb. passim; hafa jarldóm, konungdóm, passim; þat höfðu haft at fornu Dana-konungar, Eg. 267; þér berit konunga-nöfn svá sem fyrr hafa haft ( have had) forfeðr yðrir, en hafit lítið af ríki, Fms. i. 52; hafa ríki, to reign, Hkr. pref.

5. phrases, hafa elda, to keep a fire, cook, Fms. xi. 129; hafa fjárgæzlu, to tend sheep, Eg. 740; hafa embætti með höndum, Stj. 204; hafa gæzlur á e-u, Fms. ix. 313; hafa … vetr, to have so many winters, be of such an age (cp. Fr. avoir … ans), Íb. 15; margir höfðu lítið fátt þúsund ára, Ver. 7: hafa vörn í máli, Nj. 93; hafa e-t með höndum, to have in hand, Fms. viii. 280, ix. 239; hafa e-t á höndum, Grág. i. 38; hafa fyrir satt, to hold for true, Fms. xi. 10; hafa við orð, to intimate, suggest, Nj. 160; hafa e-t at engu, vettugi, to hold for naught, take no notice of, Fas. i. 318.

6. with prepp. or infin.,

α. with prep.; hafa til, to have, possess; ef annarr þeirra hefir til enn annarr eigi, þá er sá skyldr til at fá honum er til hefir, Grág. i. 33; ef annarr hefir til …, id.; þér ætlið at ek muna eigi afl til hafa, Ld. 28.

β. with infin.; hafa at varðveita, to have in keeping, Eg. 500; lög hafit þér at mæla, you have the law on your tongue, i. e. you are right, Nj. 101; hörð tíðindi hefi ek at segja þér, 64; sá er gripinn hefir at halda, Grág. i. 438; hafa at selja, to have on sale, Ld. 28.

III. to use; var haft til þess sker eitt, Eb. 12; þá höfðu þeir til varnar skot ok spjót, Fms. vii. 193; er þín ráð vóru höfð, that thy advice was taken, Fs. 57; Gríss hafði þessi ráð, Fms. iii. 21; ek vil at þat sé haft er ek legg til, x. 249; þykki mér þú vel hafa ( make good use of) þau tillög er ek legg fyrir þik, xi. 61; til þess alls er jarli þótti skipta, þá hafði hann þessa hluti, 129; tvau ný (net), ok hafa eigi höfð verit ( which have not been used), haf þú ( take) hvárt er þú vilt, Háv. 46; þær vil ek hafa enar nýju, en ek vil ekki hætta til at hafa enar fornu, id.; önnur er ný ok mikil ok hefir ( has) til einskis höfð ( used) verið, id.; buðkr er fyrir húslker er hafðr, Vm. 171; gjalda vápn þau er höfð eru, N. G. L. i. 75; þat hafði hann haft ( used) fyrir skála, Edda 29; þeir vóru hafðir til at festa með hús jafnan, Nj. 118; sá hólmr var hafðr til at …, Fms. i. 218; hann skyldi hafa hinn sama eið, x. 7; orð þau sem hann hafði ( had) um haft ( used), Nj. 56; orð þau er hann hafði ( made use of) í barnskírn, K. Þ. K. 14.

2. more special phrases; hafa fagrmæli við e-n, to flatter one, Nj. 224; hafa hljóðmæli við e-n, to speak secretly to one, 223; allmikil fjölkyngi mun vera við höfð áðr svá fái gört, Edda 27; hafa mörg orð um e-t, Ld. 268; hafa tvímæli á e-u, to discuss, doubt, speak diffidently of a thing, Lv. 52; hafa viðrmæli um e-t, to use mocking words, Nj. 89; hafa nafn Drottins í hégóma, to take the Lord’s name in vain, Fms. i. 310; (hann var) mjök hafðr við mál manna, much used to, versed in lawsuits, Dropl. 8: hafa sik til e-s, to use oneself to a thing, i. e. to do a mean, paltry thing; þeir er til þess vilja hafa sik, at ganga í samkundur manna úboðit, Gþl. 200; ef hann vill sik til þessa hafa, Fms. i. 99: hafa sik við, to exert oneself; skaltú ok verða þik við at hafa um þetta mál, ef þú getr þat af þér fært, Grett. 160: hafa e-n at skotspæni, to use one as a target, Nj. 222; hafa e-n at hlífi-skildi sér, to use one as a shield, 262; hafa e-n at ginningar-fifli, auga-bragði, háði, hlátri, Hm. 133, Nj. 224, passim.

IV. to have, hold, maintain, of a state or condition; hafa vináttu við e-n, to maintain friendship with one, Sks. 662; hafa vanmátt, to continue sick, Eg. 565; hafa hættu-mikit, to run a great risk, Nj. 149; hafa vitfirring, to be insane, Grág. i. 154; hafa heilindi, to have good health, 26, Hm. 67; hafa burði til e-s, to have the birthright to a thing. Eg. 479; hafa hug, áræði, hyggindi, to have the courage …, Hom. 28; hafa vit ( to know), skyn, greind … á e-u, to have understanding of a thing; hafa gaman, gleði, skemtun, ánægju af e-u, to have interest or pleasure in a thing; hafa leiða, ógeð, andstygð, hatr, óbeit á e-u, to dislike, be disgusted with, hate a thing; hafa elsku, mætr, virðing á e-u, to love, esteeem … a thing; hafa allan hug á e-u, to bend the mind to a thing; hafa grun á e-m, to suspect one; hafa ótta, beyg af e-u, to fear a thing; and in numberless other phrases.

2. with prepp.:

α. hafa e-t frammi (fram), to carry out, hold forth; hafa frammi róg, Nj. 166; hafa mál fram, to proceed with a suit, 101; stefnu-för, 78; heitstrengingar, Fms. xi. 103; ok öll lögmælt skil frammi hafa, and discharge all one’s official duties, 232; var um búit en ekki fram haft, all was made ready, but nothing done, viii. 113; beini má varla verða betri en hér er frammi hafðr, xi. 52; hafðú í frammi ( use) kúgan við þá uppi við fjöllin, Ísl. ii. 215; margir hlutir, þó at hann hafi í frammi, Sks. 276.

β. hafa mikit, lítið fyrir e-u, to have much, little trouble about a thing; (hence fyrir-höfn, trouble.)

γ. hafa við e-m (afl or the like understood), to be a match for one, Fms. vii. 170, Lv. 109, Nj. 89, Eg. 474, Anal. 176; hafa mikit, lítið við, to make a great, little display; (hence við-höfn, display, pomp); hann söng messu ok hafði mikit við, he sang mass and made a great thing of it, Nj. 157; þú hefir mikit við, thou makest a great show of it, Boll. 351; hann bað jarl leita, hann hafði lítið við þat, he did it lightly, Nj. 141; haf ekki slíkt við, do not say so, Ld. 182.

B. To take, carry off, win, wield, [closely akin to Lat. capere]:

I. to catch, take, esp. in the phrase, hafa ekki e-s, to miss one; hann kemsk á skóg undan, ok höfðu þeir hans ekki, he took to the forest and they missed him, Nj. 130; ekki munu vér hans hafa at sinni, we sha’nt catch him at present, Fms. vi. 278; hafða ek þess vætki vífs, Hm. 101; þeygi ek hana at heldr hefik, 95: in swearing, tröll, herr, gramir hafi þik, the trolls, ghosts, etc. take thee! tröll hafi líf, ef …, Kormak; tröll hafi Trefót allan! Grett. (in a verse); tröll hafi þína vini, tröll hafi hól þitt, Nj.; herr hafi Þóri til slægan, confound the wily Thorir! Fms. vi. 278, v. l. (emended, as the phrase is wrongly explained in Fms. xii. Gloss.); gramir hafi þik! vide gramr.

II. to carry, carry off, bring; hafði einn hjartað í munni sér, one carried the heart off in his mouth, Nj. 95; hann hafði þat ( brought it) norðan með sér, Eg. 42; hafði Þórólfr heim marga dýrgripi, 4; hann hafði með sér skatt allan, 62; skaltú biðja hennar ok hafa hana heim hingat, Edda 22; fé þat er hann hafði ( had) út haft ( carried from abroad), Gullþ. 13; á fimm hestum höfðu þeir mat, Nj. 74; bókina er hann hafði ( had) út haft, Fms. vii. 156; konungr hafði biskup norðr til Björgynjar með sér, viii. 296; biskup lét hann hafa með sér kirkju-við ok járn-klukku, Landn. 42; hann hafði með sér skulda-lið sitt ok búferli, Eb. 8; hann tók ofan hofit, ok hafði með sér flesta viðu, id.; ok hafa hana í brott, Fms. i. 3; tekr upp barnit, ok hefir heim með sér, Ísl. ii. 20; hann hafði lög út hingat ór Noregi, he brought laws hither from Norway, Íb. 5; haf þú heim hvali til bæjar, Hým. 26; ok hafa hann til Valhallar, Nj. 119.

III. to take, get; hann hafði þá engan mat né drykk, he took no food nor drink, Eg. 602; hann hafði eigi svefn, he got no sleep, Bs. i. 139.

2. to get, gain, win; öfluðu sér fjár, ok höfðu hlutskipti mikit, Eg. 4; eigi þarftú at biðja viðsmjörs þess, þvíat hann mun þat alls ekki hafa, né þú, for neither he nor thou shall get it, Blas. 28; jarl vill hafa minn fund, he will have a meeting with me, 40, Skv. 1. 4: the sayings, hefir sá jafnan er hættir, he wins that risks, ‘nothing venture, nothing have,’ Hrafn. 16; sá hefir krás er krefr, Sl. 29.

3. phrases, hafa meira hlut, to get the better lot, gain the day, Nj. 90, Fms. xi. 93; hafa gagn, sigr, to gain victory, ix. 132, Eg. 7, Hkr. i. 215, Ver. 38; hafa betr, to get the better; hafa verr, miðr, to have the worst of it, Fms. v. 86, Þorst. S. St. 48, passim; hafa mál sitt, to win one’s suit, Grág. i. 7, Fms. vii. 34; hafa kaup öll, to get all the bargain, Eg. 71; hafa tafl, to win the game, Fms. vii. 219; hafa erendi, to do one’s errand, succeed, Þkv. 10, 11, Fas. ii. 517: hafa bana, to have one’s bane, to die, Nj. 8; hafa úsigr, to be worsted, passim; hafa úfrið, to have no peace; hafa gagn, sóma, heiðr, neisu, óvirðing, skömm, etc. af e-u, to get profit, gain, honour, disgrace, etc. from a thing; hafa e-n í helju, to put one to death, Al. 123; hafa e-n undir, to get one under, subdue him, Nj. 95, 128; höfum eigi, sigrinn ór hendi, let not victory slip out of our hands, Fms. v. 294.

4. to get, receive; hann hafði góðar viðtökur, Nj. 4; hón skal hafa sex-tigi hundraða, 3; skyldi Högni hafa land, 118; selja skipit, ef hann hafði þat fyrir ( if he could get for it) sem hann vildi; Flosi spurði í hverjum aurum hann vildi fyrir hafa, hann kvaðsk vildu fyrir hafa land, 259; hafa tíðindi, sögur af e-m, to have, get tidings of or from one, Ld. 28; hafa sæmd, metorð óvirðing, to get honour, disgrace from one’s hands, Nj. 101; hafa bætr, to get compensation, Grág. i. 188; hafa innstæðuna eina, id.; hafa af e-m, to have the best of one, cheat one.

IV. to carry, wear, of clothes, ornaments, weapons:

1. of clothes, [cp. Lat. habitus and Icel. höfn = gear]; hafa hatt á höfði, Ld. 28; hafa váskufl yztan klæða, … þú skalt hafa undir ( wear beneath) hin góðu klæði þín, Nj. 32; hann hafði blán kyrtil, … hann hafði svartan kyrtil, Boll. 358; hafa fald á höfði, to wear a hood; hón hafði gaddan rautt á höfði, Orkn. 304; hann hafði um sik breitt belti, he wore a broad belt, Nj. 91; hafa fingr-gull á hendi, 146: to have about one’s person, vefja saman ok hafa í pungi sínum, Edda 27; hlutir sem mönnum var títt at hafa, Fms. xi. 128.

2. of weapons, to wield, carry; spjót þat er þú hefir í hendi, Boll. 350; hafa kylfu í hendi sér, to have a club in one’s hand, Fms. xi. 129; hafa staf í hendi, to have a stick in the hand, Bárð.; Gunnarr hafði atgeirinn ok sverðit, Kolskeggr hafði saxit, Hjörtr hafði alvæpni, Nj. 93; hann hafdi öxi snaghyrnda, Boll. 358; hann hafði kesjuna fyrir sér, he held the lance in rest, Eg. 532.

V. here may be added a few special phrases; hafa hendr fyrir sér, to grope, feel with the hands (as in darkness); hafa vit fyrir sér, to act wisely; hafa at sér hendina, to draw one’s hand back, Stj. 198; hafa e-t eptir, to do or repeat a thing after one, Konr.; hafa e-t yfir, to repeat (of a lesson): hafa sik, to betake oneself; hafa sik til annarra landa, Grett. 9 new Ed.; hann vissi varla hvar hann átti at hafa sik, he knew not where ( whither) to betake himself, Bs. i. 807; hefir hann sik aptr á stað til munklífisins, Mar.

C. Passing into the sense of hefja (see at the beginning); hafa e-t uppi, to heave up, raise; hafa flokk uppi, to raise a party, to rebel, Fb. ii. 89: hafa uppi færi, net, a fisherman’s term, to heave up, take up the net or line, Háv. 46; Skarphéðinn hafði uppi ( heaved up) öxina, Nj. 144: hafa uppi tafl, to play at a game, Vápn. 29; þar vóru mjök töfl uppi höfð ok sagna-skemtan, Þorf. Karl. 406, v. l.: hafa e-n uppi, to hold one up, bring him to light; svá máttu oss skjótast uppi hafa, Fær. 42: metaph. to reveal, vándr riddari hafði allt þegar uppi, Str. 10.

2. with the notion to begin; Bárðr hafði uppi orð sín ( began his suit) ok bað Sigríðar, Eg. 26, Eb. 142; hafa upp stefnu, to begin the summons, Boll. 350; hafa upp ræður, to begin a discussion; ræður þær er hann hafði uppi haft við Ingigerði, Fms. iv. 144, where the older text in Ó. H. reads umræður þær er hann hafði upp hafit (from hefja), 59; cp. also Vsp., þat langniðja-tal mun uppi hafat (i. e. hafit) meðan öld lifir, 16, (cp. upp-haf, beginning); þó at ek hafa síðarr um-ræðu um hann, better þó at ek hafa (i. e. hefja) síðarr upp ræðu um hann, though I shall below treat of, discuss that, Skálda (Thorodd) 168; er lengi hefir uppi verit haft síðan (of a song), Nj. 135; cp. also phrases such as, hafa á rás, to begin running, take to one’s heels, Fms. iv. 120, ix. 490; næsta morgin hefir út fjörðinn, the next morning a breeze off land arose, Bs. ii. 48: opp. is the phrase, hafa e-t úti, to have done, finished; hafa úti sitt dags-verk, Fms. xi. 431; hafa úti sekt sína, Grett. 149.

D. Passing into the sense of a lost strong verb, hafa, hóf (see at the beginning), to behave, do, act:

I. with an adverb, hafa vel, ílla, or the like, to behave, and in some instances to do well or badly, be happy or unhappy,

α. to behave; en nú vil ek eigi verr hafa en þú, Fms. iv. 342; þeir sögðu at konungr vildi verr hafa en þeir, 313; hefir þú ílla ór (málum or the like understood) haft við mik, Fs. 140; ólikr er Gísli öðrum í þolinmæði, ok hefir hann betr en vér, Gísl. 28.

β. to do so and so (to be happy, unhappy); verr hafa þeir er trygðum slitu, Mkv. 3; ílla hefir sá er annan svíkr, 18; vel hefir sá er þat líða lætr, 6; vel hefir sá ( he is happy) er eigi bíðr slíkt íllt þessa heims, Fms. v. 145; hvílíkt hefir þú, how dost thou? Mar.; hafa hart, to do badly, to be wretched; at sál Þorgils mætti fyrir þær sakir eigi hart hafa, Sturl. iii. 292, Mar.; Ólafr hafði þá hölzti ílla, O. was very poorly, D. N. ii. 156; þykisk sá bezt hafa ( happiest) er fyrstr kemr heim, Fms. xi. 248; þá hefir hann bazt af hann þegir, i. e. that is the best he can do if he holds his tongue, Hm. 19; þess get ek at sá hafi verr ( he will make a bad bargain) er þik flytr, Nj. 128; úlfgi hefir ok vel, the wolf is in a bad plight, Ls. 39; mun sá betr hafa er eigi tekr við þér, id.; betr hefðir þú, ef …, thou wouldest do better, if …, Akv. 16.

γ. adding sik; hafa sik vel, to behave well, Fms. x. 415, Stj. 436.

II. with the prep. at, to do, act, (hence at-höfn, at-hæfi, act, doing); hann lét ekki til búa vígs-málit ok engan hlut at hafa, Nj. 71; en ef þeim þykkir of lítið féit tekit, þá skulu þeir hafa at hit sama, to act in the same way, Grág. ii. 267; hvatki es þeir hafa at, Fms. xi. 132; hann tók af þér konuna, en þú hafðir ekki at, but thou didst not stir, didst take it tamely, Nj. 33; bæði munu menn þetta kalla stórvirki ok íllvirki, en þó má nú ekki at hafa, but there is no help for it, 202; eigi sýnisk mér meðal-atferðar-leysi, at vér höfum eigi at um kvámur hans, i. e. that we submit tamely to his coming, Fs. 32: absol., viltú þess freista, ok vita þá hvat at hafi, wilt thou try and see how it will do? Bjarn. 27; en nú skaltú fara fyrir, ok vita hvat at hafi, Bs. i. 712.

III. phrases, hafa hátt, to be noisy, talk loud, Fms. i. 66; við skulum ekki hafa hátt ( do not cry loud) hér er maðr á glugganum, a lullaby song; hafa lágt, to keep silent; hafa hægt, to keep quiet; hafa sik á (í) hófi, to compose oneself, Ls. 36; hafa í hótum við e-n, to use threatening ( foul) language, Fb. i. 312; hafa í glett við e-n, to banter one, Fms. viii. 289; hafa íllt at verki, to do a bad deed, Ísl. ii. 184.

E. Passing into the sense of the verb hæfa (see at the beginning), to aim at, hit, with dat.:

I. to hit; svá nær hafði hausinum, at …, the shot so nearly hit the head, that …, Fms. ii. 272; þat sama forað, sem henni hafði næst váða, those very precipices from which she had so narrow an escape, Bs. i. 200, Fms. ix. 357; nær hafði nú, at skjótr mundi verða okkarr skilnaðr, Al. 124; nær hafði okkr nú, it struck near us, it was a narrow escape, Fms. viii. 281; kvaðsk svá dreymt hafa ( have dreamed), at þeim mundi nær hafa, ix. 387, v. l.; ok er nær hafði at skipit mundi fljóta, when the ship was on the point of floating, Ld. 58; ok hafði svá nær (it was within a hair’s breadth), at frændr Þorvalds mundu ganga at honum, Nj. 160; ok hafði svá nær at þeir mundi berjask, Íb. 11, cp. Bs. i. 21: the phrase, fjarri hefir, far from it! Edda (in a verse).

2. to charge; eigi em ek þar fyrir sönnu hafðr, I am not truly aimed at for that, ‘tis a false charge, Eg. 64; þeim manni er fyrir sökum er hafðr, i. e. the culprit, Grág. i. 29; cp. the mod. phrase, hafa á e-u, to make a charge of a thing; það varð ekki á því haft, they could not make a case for a charge of it.

II. metaph. to be the ground or reason for, (hence til-hæfa, reason, fact, foundation); til þess ætla vitrir menn þat haft at Ísland sé Tile (i. e. Thule) kallað, at …, learned men suppose that is the reason that Iceland is called Thule, that …, Landn. (pref.); mikit mun til haft, er einmæli er um (there must be some reason for it, because all people say so), Þorgils segir, eigi er fyrir haft ( there is no ground whatever for it), at ek mæla betr fyrir griðum en aðrir menn, Ísl. ii. 379; vér hyggjum þat til þess haft vera, at þar hafi menn sésk, we believe the substance of the story is that men have been seen there, Fms. xi. 158; hvat er til þess haft um þat (what is the truth of the matter?), hefir sundr-þykki orðit með ykkr? Boll. 364: in the saying, hefir hverr til síns ágætis nokkut, every one gets his reputation for something, Nj. 115.

2. to happen, coincide; hefir svá til, at hann var þar sjálfr, Fms. xi. 138, v. l.

β. the phrase, hafa mikit (lítið) til síns máls, to have much ( little) reason for one’s tale, i. e. to be much, little, in the right, Fms. vii. 221, xi. 138 (v. l.), Nj. 88: um þenna hefir svá stórum, it matters so much with this man, (v. l. for mun stórum skipta), Fms. xi. 311.

F. REFLEX. to keep, dwell, abide, but only of a temporary shelter or abode, cp. Lat. habitare, (cp. also höfn, a haven); hann hefsk á náttartíma niðri í vötnum, at night-time he keeps down in the water, Stj. 77: to live, þeir höfðusk mjök í kaupferðum, they spent much of their life in travelling, Hkr. i. 276; hann hafðisk löngum í bænum, Bs. i. 353.

β. with prep. við; hér mun ek við hafask ( I will stay here) en þú far til konungs, Fb. ii. 125; hafðisk hann við á skógum eðr í öðrum fylgsnum, 302; því at hann hafðisk þá á skipum við, Fms. viii. 44; hvílsk heldr ok hafsk við í því landi, rest and stay in that land, Stj. 162; Ásgeirr hafðisk við uppi í dalnum, Sd. 154; hafask lind fyrir, to cover oneself with a shield (?), Vsp. 50; hafask hlífar fyrir, to be mailed in armour, Hkm. 11.

2. hafask at, to do, behave (cp. D. above); vóru þeir þá svá móðir, at þeir máttu ekki at hafask, Fms. ii. 149; en síðan skulut þér at hafa slíkt sem ek kann fyrir segja, i. 158; þat eitt munu við at hafask, at ek mun betr göra en þú, Nj. 19; Lambi sá hvat Steinarr hafðisk at, Eg. 747.

3. hafask vel, to do well, thrive; vaxa ok vel hafask, to wax and do well, Hm. 142; nú er þat bæn mín, at þér hafisk við vel, that you bear yourself well up, Fms. ix. 497; Jungfrúin hafðisk vel við í ferðinni, x. 86; at fé hans mundi eigi hafask at betr at meðal-vetri, Grág. ii. 326.

4. recipr., hafask orð við, to speak to one another; ok er þat ósiðlegt, at menn hafisk eigi orð við, Fs. 14; þar til er þeir hafask réttar tölur við, N. G. L. i. 182.

II. part. hafandi is used in the sense of having conceived, being with child; þá verit hann varr við at hón var hafandi, 656 B. 14; hón skyldi verða hafandi at Guðs syni, id.; generally, allt þat er hafanda var lét burð sinn ok ærðisk, Fms. vii. 187; svá sem hón verðr at honum hafandi, Stj. 178; (hence barns-hafandi, being with child.)

G. The word hafa is in the Icel., as in other Teut. languages, used as an auxiliary verb with a part. pass. of another verb, whereby a compound preterite and pluperfect are formed as follows:

I. in transitive verbs with acc. the participle also was put in acc., agreeing in gender, number, and case with the objective noun or pronoun; this seems to have been a fixed rule in the earliest time, and is used so in all old poems down at least to the middle of the 11th century, to the time of Sighvat (circ. A. D. 990–1040), who constantly used the old form,—átt is an apostrophe for átta in the verse Ó. H. 81:

1. references from poets, Gm. 5, 12, 16; þá er forðum mik fædda höfðu, Vsp. 2; hverr hefði lopt lævi blandit eðr ætt jötuns Óðs mey gefna, 29; þær’s í árdaga áttar höfðu, 60: ek hafða fengna konungs reiði, Ad. 3; en Grjótbjörn um gnegðan hefir, 18; mik hefir marr miklu ræntan, Stor. 10; þó hefir Míms-vinr mér um fengnar bölva bætr, 22: gaupur er Haraldr hafi sveltar, Hornklofi: Loka mær hefir leikinn allvald, Ýt. 7; sá hafði borinn brúna-hörg, 14; jarlar höfðu veginn hann, 15: ek hef orðinn ( found) þann guðföðr (verða is here used as trans.), Hallfred; höfum kera framðan, id.: hann hefir litnar, sénar, hár bárur, Ísl. ii. 223, thus twice in a verse of A. D. 1002; göngu hefik of gengna, Korm. (in a verse); hann hafði farna för, Hkr. i. (Glum Geirason); ek hefi talðar níu orustur, Sighvat; þú hefir vanðan þik, id.; ér hafit rekna þá braut, Ó. H. 63 (Óttar Svarti); hann hefir búnar okkr hendr skrautliga, Sighvat (Ó. H. 13); þeir hafa færð sín höfuð Knúti, id.; hvar hafit ér hugðan mér sess, id.; hafa sér kenndan enn nørðra heims enda, id.; Sighvatr hefir lattan gram, id.; hefir þú hamar um fólginn, Þkv. 7, 8; þú hefir hvatta okkr, Gkv. 6; ek hefi yðr brennda, Am. 39, cp. 56; hefi ek þik minntan, 81; hefir þú hjörtu tuggin, Akv. 36; hefir þú mik dvalðan, Hbl. 51; ek hefi hafðar þrár, I have had throes, Fsm. 51; en ek hann görvan hef-k, svá hefi ek studdan, 12 (verse 13 is corrupt); hann hefir dvalða þik, Hkv. Hjörv. 29; lostna, 30; mik hefir sóttan meiri glæpr, 32; ek hefi brúði kerna, id.; þú hefir etnar úlfa krásir, opt sár sogin, Hkv. 1. 36; sá er opt hefir örnu sadda, 35; hefir þú kannaða koni óneisa, 23; þá er mik svikna höfðut, Skv. 3. 55; hann hafði getna sonu, Bkv. 8; þann sal hafa halir um görvan, Fm. 42; bróður minn hefir þú benjaðan, 25; er hann ráðinn hefir, 37; sjaldan hefir þú gefnar vargi bráðir, Eg. (in a verse).

2. references from prose; this old form has since been turned into an indecl. neut. sing. part. -it. The old form was first lost in the strong verbs and the weak verbs of the first conjugation: in the earliest prose both forms are used, although the indecl. is more freq. even in the prose writers, as Íb., the Heiðarv. S., the Miracle-book in Bs., Njála, Ó. H., (Thorodd seems only to use the old form,) as may be seen from the following references, Björn hafði særða þrjá menn, Nj. 262; hann mundi hana hafa gipta honum, 47; hann hafði þá leidda saman hestana, 264: ek hefi sendan mann, Ísl. (Heiðarv. S.) ii. 333; ek nefi senda menn, id.: hafa son sinn ór helju heimtan, Bs. (Miracle-book) i. 337; en er þeir höfðu niðr settan sveininn, 349; hann hafði veidda fimm tegu fiska, 350: er þér hefir ílla neisu gorva, Ó. H. 107: þá hefi ek fyrri setta þá í stafrófi, Skálda (Thorodd) 161; þar hefi ek við görva þessa stafi fjóra, id.; hafa hann samsettan, 167: góða fylgd hefir þú mér veitta, Þorst Síðu H. 2: sagði, at Ólafr konungr hafði sendan hann, Bs. i. 11: Þyri, er hertogi hafði festa nauðga, Fms. x. 393 (Ágrip): hefi ek þá svá signaða ok magnaða, v. 236: hefir sólin gengna tvá hluti, en einn úgenginn, K. Þ. K. 92 (Lund’s Syntax, p. 12).

β. again, neut. indecl., hana hafði átt fyrr Þoróddr, Ísl. ii. 192: hón hafði heimt húskarl sinn …, Ísl. (Heiðarv. S.) ii. 339; hann hefir ekki svá vel gyrt hest minn, 340; hefir þú eigi séð mik, 341; hve hann hafði lokkat hann. id.; gistingar hefi ek yðr fengit, 343: þeir höfðu haft úfrið ok orrostur, Íb. 12; hann hafði tekið lögsögu, 14: stafr er átt hafði Þorlákr, Bs. (Miracle-book) i. 340; er þær höfðu upp tekit ketilinn ok hafit …, 342; göngu es hann hafði gingit, 344; es sleggjuna hafði niðr fellt, 346; sem maðr hefði nýsett (hana) niðr, id.; jartein þá er hann þóttisk fingit hafa, 347; hafði prestrinn fært fram sveininn, 349: hjálm er Hreiðmarr hafði átt, Edda 73: hafa efnt sína heitstrenging, Fms. (Jómsv. S.) xi. 141: slíkan dóm sem hann hafði mér hugat, Ó. H. 176, etc. passim:—at last the inflexion disappeared altogether, and so at the present time the indecl. neut. sing. is used throughout; yet it remains in peculiar instances, e. g. konu hefi eg mér festa, Luke xiv. 20, cp. Vídal. ii. 21. ☞ This use of the inflexive part. pass. may often serve as a test of the age of a poem, e. g. that Sólarljóð was composed at a later date may thus be seen from verses 27, 64, 72, 73, 75, 79; but this test is to be applied with caution, as the MSS. have in some cases changed the true forms (-inn, -ann, and -it, -an being freq. abbreviated in the MSS. so as to render the reading dubious). In many cases the old form is no doubt to be restored, e. g. in vegit to veginn, Fm. 4, 23; búit to búinn, Hkv. Hjörv. 15; borit to borinn, Hkv. 1. 1; beðit to beðinn, Fsm. 48; orðit to orðin, Og. 23; roðit to roðinn, Em. 5; brotið to brotinn, Vkv. 24, etc.: but are we to infer from Ls. 23, 26, 33, that this poem is of a comparatively late age?

II. the indecl. neut. sing. is, both in the earliest poems and down to the present day, used in the following cases:

1. with trans. verbs requiring the dat. or gen.; ek hefi fengit e-s, hann hafði fengit konu; hafa hefnt e-s, Fms. xi. 25; sú er hafði beðit fjár, Þkv. 32; stillir hefir stefnt mér, Hkv. Hjörv. 33, and so in endless cases.

2. in the reflex. part. pass.; þeir (hann) hafa (hefir) látisk, farisk, sagsk, etc.

3. in part. of intrans. neut. verbs, e. g. þeir þær (hann, hón), hafa (hefir) setið, staðit, gengit, legit, farit, komit, verit, orðit, lifað, dáit, heitið …, also almost in every line both of prose and poetry.

4. in trans. verbs with a neut. sing. in objective case the difference cannot be seen.

☞ The compound preterite is common to both the Romance and Teutonic languages, and seems to be older in the former than in the latter; Grimm suggests that it originated with the French, and thence spread to the Teutons. That it was not natural to the latter is shewn by the facts, that

α. no traces of it are found in Gothic, nor in the earliest Old High German glossaries to Latin words.

β. in the earliest Scandinavian poetry we can trace its passage from declinable to indeclinable.

γ. remains are left in poetry of a primitive uncompounded preterite infinitive, e. g. stóðu = hafa staðit, mundu, skyldu, vildu, etc., see Gramm. p. xxv, col. 2. ☞ We may here note a curious dropping of the verb hefir, at ek em kominn hingat til lands, ok verit áðr ( having been) langa hríð utan-lands, Ó. H. 31, cp. Am. 52; barn at aldri, en vegit slíka hetju sem Þorvaldr var, Glúm. 382. On this interesting matter see Grimm’s remarks in his Gramm. iv. 146 sqq.

* * *

(ber; bar, bárum; borinn), v.

I.

1) to bear, carry, convey (bar B. biskup í börum suðr í Hvamm);

bera (farm) af skipi, to unload a ship;

bera (mat) af borði, to take (the meat) off the table;

bera e-t á hesti, to carry on horseback;

2) to wear (bera klæði, vápn, kórónu);

bera œgishjálm, to inspire fear and awe;

3) to bear, produce, yield (jörðin berr gras; tré bera aldin, epli);

4) to bear, give birth to, esp. of sheep and cows;

kýr hafði borit kálf, had calved;

absol., ván at hón mundi bera, that the cow would calve;

the pp. is used of men; hann hafði verit blindr borinn, born blind;

verða borinn í þenna heim, to be born into this world;

þann sóma, sem ek em til borinn, born to;

borinn e-m, frá e-m (rare), born of;

Nótt var Nörvi borin, was the daughter of N.;

borinn Sigmundi, son of S.;

5) bera e-n afli, ofrafli, ofrliði, ofrmagni, ofríki, to bear one down, overcome, oppress, one by odds or superior force;

bera e-n ráðum, to overrule one;

bera e-n málum, to bear one down (wrongfully) in a lawsuit;

bera e-n sök, to charge one with a fault;

bera e-n bjóri, to make drunk with beer;

verða bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise;

borinn verkjum, overcome by pains;

þess er borin ván, there is no hope, all hope is gone;

borinn baugum, bribed; cf. bera fé á e-n, to bribe one;

6) to lear, be capable of bearing (of a ship, horse, vehicle);

þeir hlóðu bæði skipin sem borð báru, with as much as they could carry;

fig., to sustain, support (svá mikill mannfjöldi, at landit fekk eigi borit);

of persons, to bear up against, endure, support (grief, sorrow, etc.);

absol., bar hann drengiliga, he bore it manfully;

similarly, bera (harm) af sér, berast vel (illa, lítt) af;

bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore up bravely;

hversu berst Auðr af um bróðurdauðann, how does she bear it?

hon berst af lítt, she is much cast down;

bera sik vel upp, to bear well up against;

7) bera e-t á, e-n á hendr e-m, to charge or tax one with (eigi erum vér þess valdir, er þú berr á oss);

bera (kvið) á e-n, to give a verdict against, declare guilty (í annat sinn báru þeir á Flosa kviðinn);

bera af e-m (kviðinn), to give a verdict for;

bera e-t af sér, to deny having done a thing;

bera or bera vitni, vætti, to bear witness, testify;

bera or bera um e-t, to give a verdict in a case;

bera e-n sannan at sök, to prove guilty by evidence;

bera e-n undan sök, to acquit;

bera í sundr frændsemi þeirra, to prove (by evidence) that they are not relations;

bera e-m vel (illa) söguna, to give a favourable (unfavourable) account of one;

refl. (pass.), berast, to be proved by evidence (þótt þér berist þat faðerni, er þú segir);

8) to set forth, report, tell;

bera e-m kveðju (orð, orðsending), to bring one a greeting, compliments (word, message);

bera or bera fram erindi sín fyrir e-n, to state (tell) one’s errand or to plead one’s case before one;

bera e-m njósn, to apprise one;

bera e-t upp, to produce, mention, tell;

bera upp gátu, to give (propound) a riddle;

bera upp erindi sín, to state one’s errand;

bera saman ráð sín, to consult together;

eyddist það ráð, er þeir báru saman, which they had designed;

9) to keep, hold, bear, of a title (bera jarlnafn, konnungsnafn);

bera (eigi) giptu, gæfu, hammingju, auðnu til e-s, (not) to have the good fortune to do a thing (bar hann enga gæfu til at þjóna þér);

bera vit, skyn, kunnáttu á e-t, to have knowledge of, uniderstanding about;

vel viti borinn, endowed with a good understanding;

bera hug, áræði, þor, traust til e-s, to have courage, confidence to do a thing;

bera áhyggju fyrir e-u, to be concerned about;

bera ást, elsku, hatr til e-s, to bear affection, love, hatred to;

10) to bear off or away, carry off (some gain);

bera sigr af e-m, af e-u, to carry off the victory from or in;

hann hafði borit sigr af tveim orustum, he had been victorious in two battles;

bera hærra (lægra) hlut to get the best (the worst) of it;

bera efra (hærra) skjöld, to gain the victory;

bera hátt (lágt) höfuðit, to bear the head high (low), to be in high (low) spirits;

bera halann bratt, lágt, to cock up or let fall the tail, to be in high or low spirits;

11) with preps.:

bera af e-m, to surpass;

en þó bar Bolli af, surpassed all the rest;

bera af sér högg, lag to ward off, parry a blow or thrust;

bera eld at, to set fire to;

bera fjötur (bönd) at e-m, to put fetters (bonds) on one;

bera vápn á e-n, to attack one with sharp weapons;

bera á or í, to smear, anoint (bera vatn í augu sér, bera tjöru í höfuð sér);

bera e-t til, to apply to, to try if it fits (bera til hvern lykil af öðrum at portinu);

bera e-t um, to wind round;

þá bar hann þá festi um sik, made it fast round his body;

bera um með e-n, to bear with, have patience with;

bera út barn, to expose a child;

12) refl., berast mikit (lítit) á, to bear oneself proudly (humbly);

láta af berast, to die;

láta fyrir berast e-s staðar, to stay, remain in a place (for shelter);

berast e-t fyrir, to design a thing (barst hann þat fyrir at sjá aldregi konur);

at njósna um, hvat hann bærist fyrir, to inquire into what he was about;

berast vápn á, to attack one another;

berast at or til, to happen;

þat barst at (happened) á einhverju sumri;

ef svá harðliga kann til at berast, if that misfortune does happen;

berast í móti, to happen, occur;

hefir þetta vel í móti borizt, it is a happy coincidence;

berast við, to be prevented;

ok nú lét almáttugr guð við berast kirkjubrunann, prevented, stopped the burning of the church;

II. impers., denoting a sort of passive or involuntary motion;

1) with acc., it bears or carries one to a place;

alla berr at sama brunni, all come to the same well (end);

bar hann (acc.) þá ofan gegnt Ösuri, he happened to come down just opposite to Ö.;

esp. of ships and sailors; berr oss (acc.) til Íslands eða annarra landa, we drift to Iceland or other countries;

þá (acc.) bar suðr í haf, they were carried out southwards;

Skarpheðin (acc.) bar nú at þeim, S. came suddenly upon them;

ef hann (acc.) skyldi bera þar at, if he should happen to come there;

e-n berr yfir, one is borne onwards, of a bird flying, a man riding;

hann (acc.) bar skjótt yfir, it passed quickly (of a flying meteor);

2) followed by preps.:

Gunnar sér, at rauðan kyrtil bar við glugginn, that a red kirtle passed before the window;

hvergi bar skugga (acc.) á, there was nowhere a shadow;

e-t berr fram (hátt), is prominent;

Ólafr konungr stóð í lyptingu ok bar hann (acc.) hátt mjök, stood out conspicuously;

e-t berr á milli, comes between;

leiti (acc.) bar á milli, a hill hid the prospect;

fig. e-m berr e-t á milli, they are at variance about a thing;

mart (acc.) berr nú fyrir augu mér, many things come now before my eyes;

veiði (acc.) berr í hendr e-m, game falls to one’s lot;

e-t berr undan, goes amiss, fails;

bera saman, to coincide;

bar nöfn þeirra saman, they had the same name;

fig., with dat.; bar öllum sögum vel saman, all the stories agreed well together;

fund várn bar saman, we met;

3) bera at, til, við, at hendi, til handa, to befall, happen, with dat. of the person;

svá bar at einn vetr, it happened one winter;

þó at þetta vandræði (acc.) hafi nú borit oss (dat.) at hendi, has befallen us;

bar honum svá til, it so befell him;

þat bar við (it so happened), at Högni kom;

raun (acc.) berr á, it is proved by fact;

4) of time, to fall upon;

ef þing (acc.) berr á hina helgu viku, if the parliament falls in the holy week;

bera í móti, to coincide, happen exactly at the same time;

5) denoting cause;

e-t berr til, causes a thing;

konungr spurði, hvat til bæri úgleði hans, what was the cause of his grief;

ætluðu þat þá allir, at þat mundi til bera, that that was the reason;

berr e-m nauðsyn til e-s, one is obliged to do a thing;

6) e-t berr undir e-n, falls to a person’s lot;

hon á arf at taka, þegar er undir hana berr, in her turn;

e-t berr frá, is surpassing;

er sagt, at þat (acc.) bæri frá, hvé vel þeir mæltu, it was extraordinary how well they spoke;

7) e-t berr bráðum, happens of a sudden;

e-t berr stóru, stórum (stœrrum), it amounts to much (more), it matters a great deal (more), it is of great (greater) importance;

8) absol. or with an adv., vel, illa, with infin.;

e-m berr (vel, illa) at gera e-t, it becomes, beseems one (well, ill) to do a thing (berr yðr vel, herra, at sjá sannindi á þessu máli);

used absol., berr vel, illa, it is beseeming, proper, fit, or unbeseeming, improper, unfit (þat þykkir eigi illa bera, at).

(að), v. to make bare (hon beraði likam sinn).

f. she-bear, = birna.

* * *

u, f.

I. [björn], a she-bear, Lat. ursa; the primitive root ‘ber’ remains only in this word (cp. berserkr and berfjall), björn (q. v.) being the masc. in use, Landn. 176, Fas. i. 367, Vkv. 9: in many Icel. local names, Beru-fjörðr, -vík, from Polar bears; fem. names, Bera, Hallbera, etc., Landn.

II. a shield, poët., the proverb, baugr er á beru sæmstr, to a shield fits best a baugr (q. v.), Lex. Poët., Edda (Gl.); hence names of poems Beru-drápa, Eg.

bar, báru, borit, pres. berr,—poët. forms with the suffixed negative; 3rd pers. sing. pres. Indic. berrat, Hm. 10; 3rd pers. sing. pret. barat, Vellekla; 1st pers. sing. barkak, Eb. 62 (in a verse); barkat ek, Hs. 8; 2nd pers. sing. bartattu; 3rd pers. pl. bárut, etc., v. Lex. Poët. [Gr. φέρειν; Lat. ferre; Ulf. bairan; A. S. beran; Germ. gebären; Engl. bear; Swed. bära; Dan. bære].

A. Lat. ferre, portare:

I. prop. with a sense of motion, to bear, carry, by means of the body, of animals, of vehicles, etc., with acc., Egil tók mjöðdrekku eina mikla, ok bar undir hendi sér, Eg. 237; bar hann heim hrís, Rm. 9; konungr lét bera inn kistur tvær, báru tveir menn hverja, Eg. 310; bera farm af skipi, to unload a ship, Ld. 32; bera (farm) á skip, to load a ship, Nj. 182; tóku alla ösku ok báru á á ( amnem) út, 623, 36; ok bar þat ( carried it) í kerald, 43, K. Þ. K. 92; b. mat á borð, í stofu, to put the meat on table, in the oven; b. mat af borði, to take it off table, Eb. 36, 266, Nj. 75, Fms. ix. 219, etc.

2. Lat. gestare, ferre, denoting to wear clothes, to carry weapons; skikkja dýr er konungr hafði borit, Eg. 318; b. kórónu, to wear the crown, Fms. x. 16; atgeir, Nj. 119; vápn, 209: metaph., b. ægishjálm, to inspire fear and awe; b. merki, to carry the flag in a battle, Nj. 274, Orkn. 28, 30, 38, Fms. v. 64, vi. 413; bera fram merki, to advance, move in a battle, vi. 406.

3. b. e-t á hesti (áburðr), to carry on horseback; Auðunn bar mat á hesti, Grett. 107; ok bar hrís á hesti, 76 new Ed.; þeir báru á sjau hestum, 98 new Ed.

II. without a sense of motion:

1. to give birth to; [the root of barn, bairn; byrja, incipere; burðr, partus; and burr, filius: cp. Lat. parĕre; also Gr. φέρειν, Lat. ferre, of child-bearing.] In Icel. prose, old as well as mod., ‘ala’ and ‘fæða’ are used of women; but ‘bera,’ of cows and sheep; hence sauðburðr, casting of lambs, kýrburðr; a cow is snembær, siðbær, Jólabær, calves early, late, at Yule time, etc.; var ekki ván at hon ( the cow) mundi b. fyr en um várit, Bs. i. 193, 194; kýr hafði borit kálf, Bjarn. 32; bar hvárrtveggi sauðrinn sinn burð, Stj. 178: the participle borinn is used of men in a great many compds in a general sense, aptrborinn, árborinn, endrborinn, frjálsborinn, goðborinn, höldborinn, hersborinn, konungborinn, óðalborinn, samborinn, sundrborinn, velborinn, úborinn, þrælborinn, etc.; also out of compds, mun ek eigi upp gefa þann sóma, sem ek em til borinn, … entitled to by inheritance, Ld. 102; hann hafði blindr verit borinn, born blind, Nj. 152, Hdl. 34, 42, Vsp. 2: esp. borinn e-m, born of one, Rm. 39, Hdl. 12, 23, 27, Hðm. 2, Gs. 9, Vþm. 25, Stor. 16, Vkv. 15; borinn frá e-m, Hdl. 24: the other tenses are in theol. Prose used of Christ, hans blezaða son er virðist at láta berast hingað í heim af sinni blezaðri móður, Fms. i. 281; otherwise only in poetry, eina dóttur (acc.) berr álfröðull (viz. the sun, regarded as the mother), Vþm. 47; hann Gjálp um bar, hann Greip um bar …, Hdl. 36: borit (sup.), Hkv. 1. 1.

β. of trees, flowers; b. ávöxt, blóm …, to bear fruit, flower … (freq.); bar aldinviðrinn tvennan blóma, Fms. ix. 265; cp. the phrase, bera sitt barr, v. barr.

2. denoting to load, with acc. of the person and dat. of the thing:

α. in prop. sense; hann hafði borit sik mjök vápnum, he had loaded himself with arms, i. e. wore heavy armour, Sturl. iii. 250.

β. but mostly in a metaph. sense; b. e-n ofrafli, ofrmagni, ofrliði, ofríki, magni, to bear one down, to overcome, oppress one, by odds or superior force, Grág. i. 101, ii. 195, Nj. 80, Hkr. ii. 371, Gþl. 474, Stj. 512, Fms. iii. 175 (in the last passage a dat. pers. badly); b. e-n ráðum, to overrule one, Nj. 198, Ld. 296; b. e-n málum, to bearhim down (wrongfully) in a lawsuit, Nj. 151; b. e-n bjóri, to make drunk, Vkv. 26: medic., borinn verkjum, sótt, Bjarn. 68, Og. 5; bölvi, Gg. 2: borne down, feeling heavy pains; þess er borin ván, no hope, all hope is gone, Ld. 250; borinn sök, charged with a cause, Fms. v. 324, H. E. i. 561; bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise, Fms. iv. 111; b. fé, gull á e-n, to bring one a fee, gold, i. e. to bribe one, Nj. 62; borinn baugum, bribed, Alvm. 5; always in a bad sense, cp. the law phrase, b. fé í dóm, to bribe a court, Grág., Nj. 240.

3. to bear, support, sustain, Lat. sustinere, lolerare, ferre:

α. properly, of a ship, horse, vehicle, to bear, be capable of bearing; þeir hlóðu bæði skipin sem borð báru, all that they could carry, Eb. 302;—a ship ‘berr’ ( carries) such and such a weight; but ‘tekr’ ( takes) denotes a measure of fluids.

β. metaph. to sustain, support; dreif þannig svá mikill mannfjöldi at landit fékk eigi borit, Hkr. i. 56; but metaph. to bear up against, endure, support grief, sorrow, etc., sýndist öllum at Guð hefði nær ætlað hvat hann mundi b. mega, Bs. i. 139; biðr hann friðar ok þykist ekki mega b. reiði hans, Fms. iii. 80: the phrase, b. harm sinn í hljóði, to suffer silently; b. svívirðing, x. 333: absol., þótti honum mikit víg Kjartans, en þó bar hann drengilega, he bore it manfully, Ld. 226; er þat úvizka, at b. eigi slíkt, not to bear or put up with, Glúm. 327; b. harm, to grieve, Fms. xi. 425: in the phrases, b. sik, b. af sér, berask, berask vel (illa, lítt), to bear oneself, to bear up against misfortune; Guðrúnu þótti mikit fráfall Þorkels, en þó bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore her bravely up, Ld. 326–328; lézt hafa spurt at ekkjan bæri vel af sér harmana, Eb. 88; berask af; hversu bersk Auðr af um bróðurdauðann? (how does she bear it?); hón bersk af lítt ( she is much borne down) ok þykir mikit, Gísl. 24; niun oss vandara gört en öðrum at vér berim oss vel (Lat. fortiter ferre), Nj. 197; engi maðr hefði þar jamvel borit sik, none bad borne himself so boldly, Sturl. iii. 132; b. sik vel upp, to bear well up against, bear a stout heart, Hrafn. 17; b. sik beiskliga ( sorely), Stj. 143; b. sik lítt, to be downcast, Fms. ii. 61; b. sik at göra e-t, to do one’s best, try a thing.

III. in law terms or modes of procedure:

1. bera járn, the ordeal of bearing hot iron in the hand, cp. járnburðr, skírsla. This custom was introduced into Scandinavia together with Christianity from Germany and England, and superseded the old heathen ordeals ‘hólmganga,’ and ‘ganga undir jarðarmen,’ v. this word. In Norway, during the civil wars, it was esp. used in proof of paternity of the various pretenders to the crown, Fms. vii. 164, 200, ix. Hák. S. ch. 14, 41–45, viii. (Sverr. S.) ch. 150, xi. (Jómsv. S.) ch. 11, Grett. ch. 41, cp. N. G. L. i. 145, 389. Trial by ordeal was abolished in Norway A. D. 1247. In Icel. It was very rarely mentioned, vide however Lv. ch. 23 (paternity), twice or thrice in the Sturl. i. 56, 65, 147, and Grág. i. 341, 361; it seems to have been very seldom used there, (the passage in Grett. S. l. c. refers to Norway.)

2. bera út (hence útburðr, q. v.), to expose children; on this heathen custom, vide Grimm R. A. In heathen Icel., as in other parts of heathen Scandinavia, it was a lawful act, but seldom exercised; the chief passages on record are, Gunnl. S. ch. 3 (ok þat var þá siðvandi nokkurr, er land var allt alheiðit, at þeir menn er félitlir vórn, en stóð ómegð mjök til handa létu út bera börn sín, ok þótti þó illa gört ávalt), Fs. Vd. ch. 37, Harð. S. ch. 8, Rd. ch. 7, Landn. v. ch. 6, Finnb. ch. 2, Þorst. Uxaf. ch. 4, Hervar. S. ch. 4, Fas. i. 547 (a romance); cp. Jómsv. S. ch. 1. On the introduction of Christianity into Icel. A. D. 1000, it was resolved that, in regard to eating of horse-flesh and exposure of children, the old laws should remain in force, Íb. ch. 9; as Grimm remarks, the exposure must take place immediately after birth, before the child had tasted food of any kind whatever, and before it was besprinkled with water (ausa vatni) or shown to the father, who had to fix its name; exposure, after any of these acts, was murder, cp. the story of Liafburga told by Grimm R. A.); v. Also a Latin essay at the end of the Gunnl. S. (Ed. 1775). The Christian Jus Eccl. put an end to this heathen barbarism by stating at its very beginning, ala skal barn hvert er borit verðr, i. e. all children, if not of monstrous shape, shall be brought up, N. G. L. i. 339, 363.

β. b. út (now more usual, hefja út, Am. 100), to carry out for burial; vera erfðr ok tit borinn, Odd. 20; var hann heygðr, ok út borinn at fornum sið, Fb. i. 123; b. á bál, to place (the body and treasures) upon the pile, the mode of burying in the old heathen time, Fas. i. 487 (in a verse); var hon borin á bálit ok slegit í eldi, Edda 38.

B. Various and metaph. cases.

I. denoting motion:

1. ‘bera’ is in the Grág. the standing law term for delivery of a verdict by a jury (búar), either ‘bera’ absol. or adding kvið ( verdict); bera á e-n, or b. kvið á e-n, to give a verdict against, declare guilty; bera af e-m, or b. af e-m kviðinn, to give a verdict for; or generally, bera, or b. um e-t, to give a verdict in a case; bera, or b. vitni, vætti, also simply means to testify, to witness, Nj. 111, cp. kviðburðr ( delivering of verdict), vitnisburðr ( bearing witness), Grág. ii. 28; eigi eigu búar ( jurors) enn at b. um þat hvat lög eru á landi hér, the jurors have not to give verdict in (to decide) what is law in the country, cp. the Engl. maxim, that jurors have only to decide the question of evidence, not of law, Grág. (Kb.) ch. 85; eigi eru búar skildir at b. um hvatvetna; um engi mál eigu þeir at skilja, þau er erlendis ( abroad) hafa görzt, id.; the form in delivering the verdict—höfum vér ( the jurors), orðit á eitt sáttir, berum á kviðburðinn, berum hann sannan at sökinni, Nj. 238, Grág. i. 49, 22, 138, etc.; í annat sinn báru þeir á Flosa kviðinn, id.; b. annattveggja af eðr á; b. undan, to discharge, Nj. 135; b. kvið í hag ( for), Grág. i. 55; b. lýsingar vætti, Nj. 87; b. vitni ok vætti, 28, 43, 44; b. ljúgvitni, to bear false witness, Grág. i. 28; b. orð, to bear witness to a speech, 43; bera frændsemi sundr, to prove that they are not relations, N. G. L. i. 147: reflex., berask ór vætti, to prove that oneself is wrongly summoned to bear witness or to give a verdict, 44: berask in a pass. sense, to be proved by evidence, ef vanefni b. þess manns er á hönd var lýst, Grág. i. 257; nema jafnmæli berisk, 229; þótt þér berisk þat faðerni er þú segir, Fms. vii. 164; hann kvaðst ætla, at honum mundi berask, that he would be able to get evidence for, Fs. 46.

β. gener. and not as a law term; b. á, b. á hendr, to charge; b. e-n undan, to discharge, Fs. 95; eigi erum vér þessa valdir er þú berr á oss, Nj. 238, Ld. 206, Fms. iv. 380, xi. 251, Th. 78; b. e-m á brýnn, to throw in one’s face, to accuse, Greg. 51; b. af sér, to deny; eigi mun ek af mér b., at… ( non diffitebor), Nj. 271; b. e-m gott vitni, to give one a good…, 11; b. e-m vel (illa) söguna, to bear favourable (unfavourable) witness of one, 271.

2. to bear by word of mouth, report, tell, Lat. referre; either absol. or adding kveðju, orð, orðsending, eyrindi, boð, sögu, njósn, frétt…, or by adding a prep., b. fram, frá, upp, fyrir; b. kveðju, to bring a greeting, compliment, Eg. 127; b. erindi (sín) fyrir e-n, to plead one’s case before one, or to tell one’s errand, 472, 473; b. njósn, to apprise, Nj. 131; b. fram, to deliver (a speech), talaði jungherra Magnús hit fyrsta erindi (M. made his first speech in public), ok fanst mönnum mikit um hversu úbernsliga fram var borit, Fms. x. 53; (in mod. usage, b. fram denotes gramm. to pronounce, hence ‘framburðr,’ pronunciation); mun ek þat nú fram b., I shall now tell, produce it, Ld. 256, Eg. 37; b. frá, to attest, relate with emphasis; má þat frá b., Dropl. 21; b. upp, to produce, mention, tell, þótt slík lygi sé upp borin fyrir hann, though such a lie be told him, Eg. 59; þær (viz. charges) urðu engar upp bornar ( produced) við Rút, Nj. 11; berr Sigtryggr þegar upp erindi sín (cp. Germ. ojfenbaren), 271, Ld. 256; b. upp gátu, to give (propound) a riddle, Stj. 411, Fas. i. 464; b. fyrir, to plead as an excuse; b. saman ráð sín, or the like, to consult, Nj. 91; eyddist þat ráð, er þeir báru saman, which they had designed, Post. 656 A. ii; b. til skripta, to confess (eccl.), of auricular confession, Hom. 124, 655 xx.

II. in a metaphorical or circumlocutory sense, and without any sense of motion, to keep, hold, bear, of a title; b. nafn, to bear a name, esp. as honour or distinction; tignar nafn, haulds nafn, jarls nafn, lends manns nafn, konungs nafn, bónda nafn, Fms. i. 17, vi. 278, xi. 44, Gþl. 106: in a more metaph. sense, denoting endowments, luck, disposition, or the like, b. (ekki) gæfu, hamingju, auðnu til e-s, to enjoy (enjoy not) good or bad luck, etc.; at Þórólfr mundi eigi allsendis gæfu til b. um vináttu við Harald, Eg. 75, 112, 473, Fms. iv. 164, i. 218; úhamingju, 219; b. vit, skyn, kunnáttu á (yfir) e-t, to bring wit, knowledge, etc., to bear upon a thing, xi. 438, Band. 7; hence vel (illa) viti borinn, well (ill) endowed with wit, Eg. 51; vel hyggjandi borinn, well endowed with reason, Grág. ii; b. hug, traust, áræði, þor, til e-s, to have courage, confidence … to do a thing, Gullþ. 47, Fms. ix. 220, Band. 7; b. áhyggju, önn fyrir, to care, be concerned about, Fms. x. 318; b. ást, elsku til e-s, to bear affection, love to one; b. hatr, to hate: b. svört augu, to have dark eyes, poët., Korm. (in a verse); b. snart hjarta, Hom. 5; vant er þat af sjá hvar hvergi berr hjarta sitt, where he keeps his heart, Orkn. 474; b. gott hjarta, to bear a proud heart, Lex. Poët., etc. etc.; b. skyndi at um e-t, to make speed with a thing, Lat. festinare, Fms. viii. 57.

2. with some sense of motion, to bear off or away, carry off, gain, in such phrases as, b. sigr af e-m, af e-u, to carry off the victory from or in …; hann hafði borit sigr af tveim orrustum, er frægstar hafa verit, he had borne off the victory in two battles, Fms. xi. 186; bera banaorð af e-m, to slay one in a fight, to be the victor; Þorr berr banaorð af Miðgarðsormi, Edda 42, Fms. x. 400: it seems properly to mean, to bear off the fame of having killed a man; verðat svá rík sköp, at Regin skyli mitt banorð bera, Fm. 39; b. hærra, lægra hlut, ‘to bear off the higher or the lower lot,’ i. e. to get the best or the worst of it, or the metaphor is taken from a sortilege, Fms. ii. 268, i. 59, vi. 412; b. efra, hærra skjöld, to carry the highest shield, to get the victory, x. 394, Lex. Poët.; b. hátt (lágt) höfuðit, to bear the head high (low), i. e. to be in high or low spirits, Nj. 91; but also, b. halann bratt (lágt), to cock up or let fall the tail (metaph. from cattle), to be in an exultant or low mood: sundry phrases, as, b. bein, to rest the bones, be buried; far þú til Íslands, þar mun þér auðið verða beinin at b., Grett. 91 A; en þó hygg ek at þú munir hér b. beinin í Norðrálfunni, Orkn. 142; b. fyrir borð, to throw overboard, metaph. to oppress; verðr Þórhalli nú fyrir borð borinn, Th. was defied, set at naught, Fær. 234; b. brjóst fyrir e-m, to be the breast-shield, protection of one, Fms. vii. 263: also, b. hönd fyrir höfuð sér, metaph. to put one’s hand before one’s head, i. e. to defend oneself; b. ægishjálm yfir e-m, to keep one in awe and submission, Fm. 16, vide A. I. 2.

III. connected with prepp., b. af, and (rarely) yfir (cp. afburðr, yfirburðr), to excel, surpass; eigi sá hvárttveggja féit er af öðrum berr, who gets the best of it, Nj. 15; en þó bar Bolli af, B. surpassed all the rest, Ld. 330; þat mannval bar eigi minnr af öðrum mönnum um fríðleik, afi ok fræknleik, en Ormrinn Langi af öðrum skipum, Fms. ii. 252; at hinn útlendi skal yfir b. ( outdo) þann sem Enskir kalla meistara, xi. 431: b. til, to apply, try if it fits; en er þeir báru til (viz. shoes to the hoof of a horse), þá var sem hæfði hestinum, ix. 55; bera til hvern lykil at öðrum at portinu, Thom. 141; b. e-t við, to try it on (hence viðburðr, experiment, effort): b. um, to wind round, as a cable round a pole or the like, Nj. 115; þá bar hann þá festi um sik, made it fast round his body, Fms. ix. 219; ‘b. e-t undir e-n’ is to consult one, ellipt., b. undir dóm e-s; ‘b. e-t fyrir’ is to feign, use as excuse: b. á, í, to smear, anoint; b. vatn í augu sér, Rb. 354; b. tjöru í höfuð sér, Nj. 181, Hom. 70, 73, cp. áburðr; b. gull, silfr, á, to ornament with gold or silver, Ld. 114, Finnb. 258: is now also used = to dung, b. á völl; b. vápn á e-n, to attack one with sharp weapons, Eg. 583, Fms. xi. 334: b. eld at, to set fire to, Nj. 122; b. fjötur (bönd) at e-m, to put fetters (bonds) on one, Fms. x. 172, Hm. 150: metaph. reflex., bönd berask at e-m, a law term, the evidence bears against one; b. af sér, to parry off; Gyrðr berr af sér lagit, G. parries the thrust off, Fms. x. 421; cp. A. II. 3. β.

IV. reflex., berask mikit á (cp. áburðr), to bear oneself proudly, or b. lítið á, to bear oneself humbly; hann var hinn kátasti ok barst á mikit, Fms. ii. 68, viii. 219, Eb. 258; b. lítið á, Clem. 35; láta af berask, to die; Óttarr vill skipa til um fjárfar sitt áðr hann láti af b., Fms. ii. 12: berask fyrir, to abide in a place as an asylum, seek shelter; hér munu vit láta fyrir b., Fas. iii. 471; berask e-t fyrir, to design a thing, be busy about, barsk hann þat fyrir at sjá aldregi konur, Greg. 53; at njósna um hvat hann bærist fyrir, to inquire into what he was about, Fms. iv. 184, Vígl. 19.

β. recipr. in the phrase, berask banaspjót eptir, to seek for one another’s life, Glúm. 354: b. vápn á, of a mutual attack with sharp weapons, Fms. viii. 53.

γ. pass., sár berask á e-n, of one in the heat of battle beginning to get wounds and give way, Nj.:—berask við, to be prevented, not to do; ok nú lét Almáttugr Guð við berast kirkjubrunnann, stopped, prevented the burning of the church, Fms. v. 144; en mér þætti gott ef við bærist, svá at hón kæmi eigi til þín, vi. 210, vii. 219; ok var þá búit at hann mundi þegar láta hamarinn skjanna honum, en hann lét þat við berask, he bethought himself and did not, Edda 35; því at mönnum þótti sem þannig mundi helzt úhæfa við berask, that mischief would thus be best prevented, Sturl. ii. 6, iii. 80.

C. IMPERS.:—with a sort of passive sense, both in a loc. and temp. sense, and gener. denotes an involuntary, passive motion, happening suddenly or by chance:

I. with acc. it bears or carries one to a place, i. e. one happens to come; the proverb, alla (acc.) berr at sama brunni, all come to the same well (end), Lat. omnes una manet nox; bar hann þá ofan gegnt Özuri, he happened to come in his course just opposite to Ö., Lat. delatus est, Dropl. 25: esp. of ships or sailors; nú berr svá til ( happens) herra, at vér komum eigi fram ferðinni, berr oss (acc.) til Íslands eðr annara landa, it bore us to I., i. e. if we drive or drift thither, Fms. iv. 176; þá (acc. pl.) bar suðr í haf, they drifted southwards, Nj. 124.

β. as a cricketing term, in the phrase, berr (bar) út knöttinn, the ball rolls out, Gísl. 26, cp. p. 110 where it is transit.; berr Gísli ok út knöttinn, vide Vígl. ch. 11, Grett. ch. 17, Vd. ch. 37, Hallfr. S. ch. 2.

γ. Skarpheðin (acc.) bar nú at þeim, Sk. came suddenly upon them, Nj. 144; bar at Hróaldi þegar allan skjöldinn, the shield was dashed against H.’s body, 198; ok skyldu sæta honum, ef hann (acc.) bæri þar at, if he should per chance come, shew himself there, Orkn. 406; e-n berr yfir, it bears one, i. e. one is borne onwards, as a bird flying, a man riding; þóttist vita, at hann (acc.) mundi fljótara yfir bera ef hann riði en gengi, that he would get on more fleetly riding than walking, Hrafn. 7; hann (acc.) bar skjótt yfir, he passed quickly, of a flying meteor, Nj. 194; e-n berr undan, escapes.

2. also with acc. followed by prepp. við, saman, jafnframt, hjá, of bodies coinciding or covering one another: loc., er jafnframt ber jaðrana tungls ok sólar, if the orb of the moon and sun cover each other, Rb. 34; þat kann vera stundum, at tunglit (acc.) berr jafht á millum vár ok sólar (i. e. in a moon eclipse), 108; ber nokkut jaðar (acc.) þess hjá sólar jaðri, 34; Gunnarr sér at rauðan kyrtil (acc.) bar við glugginn, G. sees that a red kirtle passed before the window, Nj. 114; bar fyrir utan þat skip vápnaburð (acc.) heiðingja (gen. pl.), the missiles of the heathens passed over the ship without hurting them, flew too high, Fms. vii. 232; hvergi bar skugga (acc.) á, nowhere a shadow, all bright, Nj. 118; þangat sem helzt mátti nokkut yfir þá skugga bera af skóginum, where they were shadowed (hidden) by the trees, Fms. x. 239; e-t berr fram (hátt), a body is prominent, Lat. eminet; Ólafr konungr stóð í lyptingunni, bar hann (acc.) hátt mjök, king O. stood out conspicuously, ii. 308; b. yfir, þótti mjök bera hljóð (acc.) þar yfir er Ólafr sat, the sound was heard over there where O. sat, Sturl. i. 21; b. á milli, something comes between; leiti (acc.) bar á milli, a hill hid the prospect, Nj. 263: metaph., e-m berr e-t á milli, they come to dissent, 13, v. 1.; b. fyrir augu (hence fyrirburðr, vision), of a vision or the like; mart (acc.) berr nú fyrir augu mér, ek sé …, many things come now before my eyes, 104; hann mundi allt þat er fyrir hann hafði borit, i. e. all the dream, 195; eina nótt berr fyrir hann í svefni mikla sýn, Fms. i. 137, Rd. 290; veiði (acc.) berr í hendr e-m (a metaphor from hunting), sport falls to one’s lot; hér bæri veiði í hendr nú, here would be a game, Nj. 252; e-t berr undan (a metaphor from fishing, hunting term), when one misses one’s opportunity; vel væri þá … at þá veiði (acc.) bæri eigi undan, that this game should not go amiss, 69; en ef þetta (acc.) berr undan, if this breaks down, 63; hon bað hann þá drepa einhvern manna hans, heldr en allt (acc.) bæri undan, rather than that all should go amiss, Eg. 258: absol., þyki mér illa, ef undan berr, if I miss it, Nj. 155; viljum vér ekki at undan beri at…, we will by no means miss it…, Fms. viii. 309, v. 1. The passage Bs. i. 416 (en fjárhlutr sá er átt hafði Ari, bar undan Guðmundi) is hardly correct, fjárhlut þann would run better, cp. bera undir, as a law term, below.

II. adding prepp.; b. við, at, til, at hendi, at móti, til handa …, to befall, happen, Lat. accidere, occurrere, with dat. of the person, (v. atburðr, viðburðr, tilburðr); engi hlut skyldi þann at b., no such thing should happen as…, Fms. xi. 76; svá bar at einn vetr, it befell, x. 201; þat hefir nú víst at hendi borit, er…, Nj. 174; þó þetta vandræði (acc.) hafi nú borit oss (dat.) at hendi, Eg. 7; b. til handa, id., Sks. 327; bar honum svá til, so it befell him, Fms. xi. 425; at honum bæri engan váðaligan hlut til á veginum, that nothing dangerous should befall him on the way, Stj. 212; bæri þat þá svá við, at hann ryfi, it then perchance might happen, that …, 102; þat bar við at Högni kom, 169, 172, 82; raun (acc.) berr á, it is proved by the fact, event, Fms. ix. 474, x. 185.

2. temp., e-t berr á, it happens to fall on …; ef þing (acc.) ber á hina helgu viku, if the parliament falls on the holy week (Whitsun), Grág. i. 106; ef Crucis messu (acc.) berr á Drottins dag, Rb. 44; berr hana (viz. Petrs messu, June 29) aldrei svá optarr á öldinni, 78; þat er nú berr oss næst, what has occurred of late, Sturl. iii. 182: b. í móti, to happen exactly at a time; þetta (acc.) bar í móti at þenna sama dag andaðist Brandr biskup, Bs. i. 468; b. saman, id.; bar þat saman, at pá var Gunnarr at segja brennusöguna, just when G. was about telling the story, Nj. 269.

3. metaph. of agreement or separation; en þat (acc.) þykir mjök saman b. ok þessi frásögn, Fms. x. 276: with dat., bar öllum sögum vel saman, all the records agreed well together, Nj. 100, v. l.; berr nú enn í sundr með þeim, Bjarna ok Þorkatli at sinni, B. and Th. missed each other, Vápn. 25.

4. denoting cause; e-t (acc.) berr til …, causes a thing; ætluðu þat þá allir, at þat mundi til bera, that that was the reason, Nj. 75; at þat beri til skilnaðar okkars, that this will make us to part (divorce), 261; konungr spurði, hvat til bæri úgleði hans, what was the cause of his grief? Fms. vi. 355; þat berr til tunglhlaups, Rb. 32.

β. meiri ván at brátt beri þat (acc.) til bóta, at herviliga steypi hans ríki, i. e. there will soon come help (revenge), Fms. x. 264; fjórir eru þeir hlutir er menn (acc.) berr í ætt á landi hér, there are four cases under which people may be adopted, Grág. i. 361.

γ. e-t berr undir e-n, falls to a person’s lot; hon á arf at taka þegar er undir hana berr, in her turn, 179; mikla erfð (acc.) bar undir hana, Mar. (Fr.); berr yfir, of surpassing, Bs. ii. 121, 158; b. frá, id. (fráburðr); herðimikill svá at þat (acc.) bar frá því sem aðrir menn, Eg. 305; er sagt, at þat bæri frá hve vel þeir mæltu, it was extraordinary how well they did speak, Jb. 11; bar þat mest frá hversu illa hann var limaðr, but above all, how…, Ó. H. 74.

5. with adverbial nouns in a dat. form; e-t berr bráðum, happens of a sudden; berr þetta (acc.) nú allbráðum, Fms. xi. 139; cp. vera bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise (above); berr stórum, stærrum, it matters a great deal; ætla ek stærrum b. hin lagabrotin (acc.), they are much more important, matter more, vii. 305; var þat góðr kostr, svá at stórum bar, xi. 50; hefir oss orðit svá mikil vanhyggja, at stóru berr, an enormous blunder, Gísl. 51; svá langa leið, at stóru bar, Fas. i. 116; þat berr stórum, hversu mér þóknast vel þeirra athæfi, it amounts to a great deal, my liking their service, i. e. I do greatly like, Fms. ii. 37; eigi berr þat allsmám hversu vel mér líkar, in no small degree do I like, x. 296.

β. with dat., it is fitting, becoming; svá mikit sem landeiganda (dat.) berr til at hafa eptir lögum, what he is legally entitled to, Dipl. iii. 10; berr til handa, it falls to one’s lot, v. above, Grág. i. 93.

III. answering to Lat. oportet, absolutely or with an adverb, vel, illa, with infinit.; e-m berr, it beseems, becomes one; berr þat ekki né stendr þvílíkum höfuðfeðr, at falsa, Stj. 132; berr yðr (dat.) vel, herra, at sjá sannindi á þessu máli, Fms. ix. 326; sagði, at þat bar eigi Kristnum mönnum, at særa Guð, x. 22; þá siðu at mér beri vel, Sks. 353 B: used absol., berr vel, illa, it is beseeming, proper, fit, unbeseeming, unfit, improper; athæfi þat er vel beri fyrir konungs augliti, 282; þat þykir ok eigi illa bera, at maðr hafi svart skinn til hosna, i. e. it suits pretty well, 301: in case of a pers. pron. in acc. or dat. being added, the sentence becomes personal in order to avoid doubling the impers. sentence, e. g. e-m berr skylda (not skyldu) til, one is bound by duty; veit ek eigi hver skylda (nom.) yðr (acc.) ber til þess at láta jarl einn ráða, Fms. i. 52: also leaving the dat. out, skylda berr til at vera forsjámaðr með honum, vii. 280; eigi berr hér til úviska mín, it is not that I am not knowing, Nj. 135.

IV. when the reflex. inflexion is added to the verb, the noun loses its impers. character and is turned from acc. into nom., e. g. þar (þat?) mun hugrinn minn mest hafa fyrir borizt, this is what I suspected, fancied, Lv. 34; cp. hugarburðr, fancy, and e-t berr fyrir e-n (above, C. I. 2); hefir þetta (nom.) vel í móti borizt, a happy coincidence, Nj. 104; ef svá harðliga kann til at berask, if the misfortunes do happen, Gþl. 55; barsk sú úhamingja (nom.) til á Íslandi, that mischief happened (no doubt the passage is thus to be emended), Bs. i. 78, but bar þá úhamingju …; þat (nom.) barsk at, happened, Fms. x. 253; fundir várir (nom.) hafa at borizt nokkurum sinnum, vii. 256; þat barsk at á einhverju sumri, Eg. 154; bærist at um síðir at allr þingheimrinn berðist, 765, cp. berast við, berask fyrir above (B. V.): berast, absol., means to be shaken, knocked about; var þess ván, at fylkingar mundu berast í hergöngunni, that they would be brought into some confusion, Fms. v. 74; Hrólfr gékk at ramliga, ok barst Atli (was shaken, gave away) fyrir orku sakir, þar til er hann féll. Fas. iii. 253; barst Jökull allr fyrir orku sakir (of two wrestling), Ísl. ii. 467, Fms. iii. 189: vide B. IV.

D. In mod. usage the strong bera—bar is also used in impersonal phrases, denoting to let a thing be seen, shew, but almost always with a negative preceding, e. g. ekki bar (ber) á því, it could ( can) not be seen; að á engu bæri, láta ekki á bera ( to keep tight), etc. All these phrases are no doubt alterations from the weak verb bera, að, nudare, and never occur in old writers; we have not met with any instance previous to the Reformation; the use is certainly of late date, and affords a rare instance of weak verbs turning into strong; the reverse is more freq. the case.

(-s, -ar), m. fish; flatr f., heilagr f., flat-fish, halibut.

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m. [Lat. piscis; Ulf. fisks; A. S. fisc; Engl. fish; Germ. fisch; Swed.-Dan. fisk]

I. a fish, of both sea and fresh-water fish, esp. cod, trout, salmon are often κατ ἐξ. called ‘fish,’ Sks. 180, Hkr. ii. 385; var þar undir f. nógr, Bárð. 169; at miði því er þik man aldri fisk bresta, id.; þar var hvert vatn fullt af fiskum, Eg. 134; fugla ok fiska, Grág. ii. 345, Sturl. ii. 165, passim; of the zodiacal fishes, 1812. 17:—different kind of fish, heilagr fiskr (mod. heilag-fiski), halibut, Þorf. Karl., Bs. i. 365; flatr f., id., Edda 35; hval-f., a ‘whale fish;’ beit-f. (q. v.), bait fish; ill-fiskar, ill or evil fishes, sharks; skel-f., shell fish; blautr f., fresh fish, N. G. L. iii. ch. 2, 5; skarpr f., dried fish, Bs. i. 209, 365, 367, in mod. usage harðr fiskr; freð-f. = frer-f., frozen fish, preserved by being frozen: as to fishing vide Hým. 17 sqq., Bs. ii. ch. 2, 87, Guðm. S. ch. 87, Nj. ch. 11, Edda l. c., Eb. ch. 11, Fbr. ch. 40, Landn. 2. 5, Ld. ch. 12, 58, Bárð. ch. 9, Rafn S. ch. 10, D. I. and Bs. passim in the Miracle-books: the section of law regarding this important branch of livelihood in Iceland is wanting in the present Grágás, proving that this collection is not complete, but in a fragmentary state.

β. the flesh of a fish, for in Icel. the word flesh can only be used of a land-animal; thus, hvítr á fiskinn, having white flesh.

II. metaph., kinn-fiskar, the flesh on the cheeks (of a man); kinnfiska-soginn, with sunken cheeks: the phrase, e-m vex fiskr um hrygg, one’s back gains muscle, i. e. one gains strength: fjör-fiskr, live fish, a phrase for spasms of the muscles, the ‘growing pains’ common in children,—the fjör-fiskr is said to bound or leap (sprikla), which is regarded as a sign of good health and growth.

III. fish were used as units of value, each = half an ell’s worth (vide alin), esp. in southern and Western Icel., cp. fiskvirði; hence the standing phrase in the title-page of books of later times, ‘charge so many fishes.’

COMPDS: fiskaá, fiskaferð, fiskakaup, fiskakyn, fiskamerki, fiskapollr, fiskaskip, fiskastöð, fiskastöng, fiskatíund, fiska-tollr, fiska-ver, vide fiski-, Am. 3, Fms. iv. 330, and endless other compds.

m. spit, spittle.

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a, m. [cp. A. S. hraca = throat; Germ. rachen; also A. S. hræcan, Engl. to retch in vomiting, hawk in spitting]:—spittle, Edda 19, 47 (mythical), Sks. 540, N. G. L. i. 339, K. Á. 6, Stj. 37, Mar. passim. hráka-skírn, f. baptism with spittle in lieu of water, 671. 16.