above

* * *

(-ða, -ðr), v., older form byggva;

1) to settle in a place, as colonist; sumar þat, er þeir Ingólfr fóru at byggja Ísland, when I went out to settle in Iceland; Ingólfr bygði fyrstr landit, was the first settler; absol., Helgi bygði norðr í Eyjafirði, settled in E.;

2) to people (eptir Nóaflóð lifðu átta menn, er bygðu heiminn) Ísland bygðist (was peopled) ór Norvegi;

3) to inhabit, live in a country (þá er landit hafði sex tigi vetra bygt verit); þess get ek, at menn byggi húsit, that the house is inhabited; byggja bœ, to settle on a farm (hann bygði bœ þann er í Eyju heitir); absol., kona, er bygði (lived) í einum afdal; hvar byggir þú, where dwellest thou?;

4) to dwell in, occupy (byggja höll, helli); byggja eina sæng, to share the same bed (of a niarried couple; also absol., byggja með erri); bygði hann í skipuin, he dwelt (lived) in ships.

(-ða, -ðr), v.

1) to let out (konungr má byggja almenning hverjum sem hann vill); nú byggir maðr dýrra (lets out at a higher rent) en vandi hefir á verit;

2) to lend money at interest (engi skal byggja dautt fé á leigu); Hrútr bygði allt féit, H. put all the money out at interest;

3) byggja frændsemi, sifjar, to enter into a marriage with a relation or one allied by by marriage (in such or such degree); þat var bannat at byggja svá náit at frændsemi, intermarriage between so near relations was forbidden.

* * *

older form byggva, ð, [for the etymology v. búa], gener. to inhabit, settle, people, always in a transitive sense—not neut. as. búa—but often used absol. or ellipt., land being understood:

α. to settle as a colonist; Hrollaugr bygði austr á Síðu, Ketilbjörn bygði suðr at Mosfelli, Auðr bygði vestr í Breiðafirði, Helgi bygði norðr í Eyjafirði, all these instances referring to the first settlers of Icel., Íb. ch. 1. 2; en þat vas es hann tók byggva landit, id.; sumar þat er þeir Ingólfr fóru at b. Ísland, the summer before Ingolf settled in Iceland, ch. 6; Íngólfr … bygði fyrstr landit, i. e. Ingolf was the first settler, id.; so in numberless instances, esp. of the Íb. and Landn., e. g. Landn. 42, 334, Eb. 8, Hrafn. 4, Eg. 99, 100; eptir Nóa-flóð lifðu átta menn þeir er heiminn bygðu ( peopled), Edda (pref.)

β. to inhabit, live in a country; þesskonar þjóð es Vínland hefir bygt, Íb. ch. 6; þá er landit hafði sex tigi vetra bygt verit, Landn. 321; þeir b. þat hérað á Vindlandi er Ré heitir, Fms. xi. 378, H. E. i. 494, Bret. 100: allit. phrases, á bygðu bóli, i. e. among men, where men live; bygðr bólstaðr, possessed land, Grág. ii. 214: the proverb, með lögum skal land byggja, with laws shall man build land, i. e. law builds (makes) lands and home; and some add, en með ólögum eyða; eyða ( to lay waste) and byggja are thus opposed to one another, Nj. 106; b. bæ, to settle on a farm; segi ek af því fyrst hversu bærinn hefir bygzk í Skálaholti … Ketilbjörn bygði þann bæ fyrstr er í Skálaholti heitir, Bs. i. 60; hann bygði bæ þann er í Eyju heitir, Gísl. 91, where it does not mean to build houses, as in the mod. use of this phrase, but to settle, Lat. inhabitare.

γ. in more special or law phrases, to dwell in, occupy; b. sæng, to keep one’s bed, sleep, Fas. i. 314; b. eina sæng, of married people, Fms. ii. 134; b. með e-m, to cohabit, Stj. 176; b. höll, to occupy a hall, Fms. vi. 147, x. 236; b. á skipum, undir tjöldum, to live aboard ship, in tents, vii. 138; b. hálfrými, a naut. term, viii. 199: metaph., cf Guð byggvir í þeim, Eluc. 52, cp. also the references from the N. T. above under búa, where most of the Icel. Edd. use byggja.

2. to build a house, ship, or the like, [Scot. and North. E. to big; Dan. bygge; Swed. bygga]: this sense, common over all Scandinavia and North Britain, seems not to occur in Icel. writers before the 15th century or the end of the 14th, but is freq. at the present time; it occurs in the Ann. 1401, 1405, etc. Old writers always say, reisa or göra hús, skip …, not byggja.

3. reflex. to be inhabited; Ísland bygðisk fyrst ór Noregi, Íb. ch. 1; Grænland fansk ok bygðisk af Íslandi, ch. 6; hundraði ára fyrr en Ísland bygðisk af Norðmönnum, Landn. (pref.); en áðr Ísland bygðisk, id.; þá er Ísland fansk ok bygðisk af Noregi, id.

II. [Goth. bugjan, by which Ulf. renders αγοράζειν, and once πωλειν, which is elsewhere rendered by frabugjan; A. S. bycgean; Engl. buy; Hel. buggean]:—to let out, esp. land or cottage; konungr má b. almenning hverjum sem hann vill, Gþl. 453; ef umboðsmaðr konungs byggir jarðar (acc.) konungs … því at svá skal konungs jarðir b. sem um aðrar jarðir skill í lögum, 336; nú byggir maðr dýrra ( lets out at a higher rent) en vandi hefir á verit, 337; Ingimundr bygði þeim Hrolleifi bæinn í Ási, Fs. 34; er þeir bygðu lönd sín eðr tóku sér hjú, Grág. i. 445; hann tók mikit af landnámi Una, ok bygði þat ( parcelled it out) frændum sínum, Landn. 244; byggja e-m út, to expel a tenant; b. e-m inn, to settle a tenant on one’s estate.

2. more properly, to lend money at interest; þat er ok ef menn b. dautt fé, eðr krefja framar af þeim hlutum er menn ljá, en innstæða, K. Á. 204; engi skal b. dautt fé á leigu, Bs. i. 684; um okr, er menn b. dautt fé, H. E. i. 459; Rútr … bygði allt féit, R. put all the money out at interest, Nj. 11.

3. the peculiar eccl. law phrase of the forbidden degrees; b. sifjar, frændsemi, to marry into such or such degree; this phrase may refer to buying (cp. brúðkaup), or to cohabitation; þat er nýmæli, at jafn-náit skal b. sifjar ok frændsemi at fimta manni hvárt, i. e. intermarriage in the fifth degree is allowed, according to the decision of the council of Lateran, A. D. 1215, Grág. i. 304; frændsemi er eigi byggjandi, i. e. is forbidden, 307, 308, 321, N. G. L. i. 350; en þat var bannat með Ásum at b. svá náit at frændsemi, Hkr. Yngl. ch. 4.

III. part. as subst.

(gen. dags, dat. degi; pl. dagar), m.

1) day;

at kveldi skal dag leyfa, at eventide shall the day be praised;

dagr kemr upp í austri, sezt í vestri, the day rises in the east, sets in the west;

öndverðr dagr, the early day, forenoon;

miðr dagr, midday;

hallandi dagr, declining day;

at kveldi dags, síð dags, late in the day;

sannr sem dagr, true as day;

í dag, today;

á (or um) daginn, during the day;

sama dags, the same day;

annan dag, the next day;

annars dag, another day;

hindra dags, the day after, tomorrow;

dag frá degi, hvern dag frá öðrum, from day to day;

dag eptir dag, day after day;

nótt ok dag, night and day;

dögunum optar, more times than there are days, over and over again;

á deyjanda degi, on one’s death-day;

2) pl., days, times;

ef aðrir dagar (better days) koma;

góðir dagar, happy days;

3) esp. pl., lifetime;

á dögum e-s, um daga e-s, in the days of, during or in the reign of;

eptir minn dag, when I am dead (gaf honum alla sína eign eptir sinn dag);

mátti hann eigi lengr gefa en um sína dagi, than for his lifetime;

ráða (taka) e-n af dögum, to put to death.

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m., irreg. dat. degi, pl. dagar: [the kindred word dœgr with a vowel change from ó (dóg) indicates a lost root verb analogous to ala, ól, cp. dalr and dælir; this word is common to all Teutonic dialects; Goth. dags; A. S. dag; Engl. day; Swed.-Dan. dag; Germ. tag; the Lat. dies seems to be identical, although no interchange has taken place]

I. a day; in different senses:

1. the natural day:—sayings referring to the day, at kveldi skal dag leyfa, at eventide shall the day be praised, Hm. 80 ; allir dagar eiga kveld um síðir; mörg eru dags augu, vide auga; enginn dagr til enda tryggr, no day can be trusted till its end; allr dagr til stefnu, Grág. i. 395, 443, is a law phrase,—for summoning was lawful only if performed during the day; this phrase is also used metaph. = ‘plenty of time’ or the like: popular phrases as to the daylight are many—dagr rennr, or rennr upp, and kemr upp, the day rises, Bm. 1; dagr í austri, day in the east, where the daylight first appears; dagsbrún, ‘day’s brow,’ is the first streak of daylight, the metaphor taken from the human face; lysir af degi, it brightens from the day, i. e. daylight is appearing; dagr ljómar, the day gleams; fyrir dag, before day; móti degi, undir dag, about daybreak; komið at degi, id., Fms. viii. 398; dagr á lopti, day in the sky; árla, snemma dags, early in the morning, Pass. 15. 17; dagr um allt lopt, etc.; albjartr dagr, hábjartr d., full day, broad daylight; hæstr dagr, high day; önd-verðr d., the early day = forenoon, Am. 50; miðr dagr, midday, Grág. i. 413, 446, Sks. 217, 219; áliðinn dagr, late in the day, Fas. i. 313; hallandi dagr, declining day; at kveldi dags, síð dags, late in the day, Fms. i. 69. In the evening the day is said to set, hence dag-sett, dag-setr, and dagr setzt; in tales, ghosts and spirits come out with nightfall, but dare not face the day; singing merry songs after nightfall is not safe, það kallast ekki Kristnum leyft að kveða þegar dagsett er, a ditty; Syrpuvers er mestr galdr er í fólginn, ok eigi er lofat at kveða eptir dagsetr, Fas. iii. 206, Ísl. Þjóðs. ii. 7, 8: the daylight is symbolical of what is true or clear as day, hence the word dagsanna, or satt sem dagr, q. v.

2. of different days; í dag, to-day, Grág. i. 16, 18, Nj. 36, Ld. 76, Fms. vi. 151; í gær-dag, yesterday; í fyrra dag, the day before yesterday, Háv. 50; í hinni-fyrra dag, the third day; annars dags, Vígl. 23, Pass. 50. I; hindra dags, the hinder day, the day after to-morrow, Hm. 109; dag eptir dag, day after day, Hkr. ii. 313; dag frá degi, from day to day, Fms. ii. 230; hvern dag frá öðrum, id., Fms. viii. 182; annan dag frá öðrum. id., Eg. 277; um daginn, during the day; á dögunum. the other day; nótt ok dag, night and day; liðlangan dag, the ‘life-long’ day; dögunum optar, more times than there are days, i. e. over and over again, Fms. x. 433; á deyjanda degi, on one’s day of death, Grág. i. 402.

β. regu-dagr, a rainy day: sólskins-dagr, a sunny day; sumar-dagr, a summer day; vetrar-dagr, a winter day; hátíðis-dagr, a feast day; fegins-dagr, a day of joy; dóms-dagr, the day of doom, judgment day, Gl. 82, Fms. viii. 98; hamingju-dagr, heilla-dagr, a day of happiness; gleði-dagr, id.; brúðkaups-dagr, bridal-day; burðar-dagr, a birthday.

3. in pl. days in the sense of times; aðrir dagar, Fms. i. 216; ek ætlaða ekki at þessir dagar mundu verða, sem nú eru orðnir, Nj. 171; góðir dagar, happy days, Fms. xi. 286, 270; sjá aldrei glaðan dag (sing.), never to see glad days.

β. á e-s dögum, um e-s daga eptir e-s daga, esp. of the lifetime or reign of kings, Fms.; but in Icel. also used of the lögsögumaðr, Jb. repeatedly; vera á dögum, to be alive; eptir minn dag, ‘after my day,’ i. e. when I am dead.

γ. calendar days, e. g. Hvíta-dagar, the White days, i. e. Whitsuntide; Hunda-dagar, the Dog days; Banda-dagr, Vincula Petri; Höfuð-dagr, Decap. Johannis; Geisla-dagr, Epiphany; Imbru-dagar, Ember days; Gang-dagar, ‘Ganging days,’ Rogation days; Dýri-dagr, Corpus Christi; etc.

4. of the week-days; the old names being Sunnu-d. or Drottins-d., Mána-d., Týs-d., Öðins-d., Þórs-d., Frjá-d., Laugar-d. or Þvátt-d. It is hard to understand how the Icel. should be the one Teut. people that have disused the old names of the week-days; but so it was, vide Jóns S. ch. 24; fyrir bauð hann at eigna daga vitrum mönnum heiðnum, svá sem at kalla Týrsdag Óðinsdag, eðr Þórsdag, ok svá um alla vikudaga, etc., Bs. i. 237, cp. 165. Thus bishop John (died A. D. 1121) caused them to name the days as the church does (Feria sccunda, etc.); viz. Þriði-d. or Þriðju-d., Third-day = Tuesday, Rb. 44, K. Þ. K. 100, Ísl. ii. 345; Fimti-d., Fifth-day—Thursday, Rb. 42, Grág. i. 146, 464, 372, ii. 248, Nj. 274; Föstu-d., Fast-day = Friday; Miðviku-d., Midweek-day = Wednesday, was borrowed from the Germ. Mittwoch; throughout the 12th and 13th centuries, however, the old and new names were used indiscriminately. The question arises whether even the old names were not imported from abroad (England); certainly the Icel. of heathen times did not reckon by weeks; even the word week (vika) is probably of eccl. Latin origin (vices, recurrences). It is curious that the Scandinavian form of Friday, old Icel. Frjádagr, mod. Swed.-Dan. Fredag, is A. S. in form; ‘Frjá-,’ ‘Fre-,’ can hardly be explained but from A. S. Freâ-, and would be an irregular transition from the Norse form Frey. The transition of ja into mod. Swed.-Dan. e is quite regular, whereas Icel. ey (in Frey) would require the mod. Swed.-Dan. ö or u sound. Names of weekdays are only mentioned in Icel. poems of the 11th century (Arnór, Sighvat); but at the time of bishop John the reckoning by weeks was probably not fully established, and the names of the days were still new to the people. 5. the day is in Icel. divided according to the position of the sun above the horizon; these fixed traditional marks are called dags-mörk, day-marks, and are substitutes for the hours of modern times, viz. ris-mál or miðr-morgun, dag-mál, há-degi, mið-degi or mið-mundi, nón, miðr-aptan, nátt-mál, vide these words. The middle point of two day-marks is called jafn-nærri-báðum, in modern pronunciation jöfnu-báðu, equally-near-both, the day-marks following in the genitive; thus in Icel. a man asks, hvað er fram orðið, what is the time? and the reply is, jöfnubáðu miðsmorguns og dagmála, half-way between mid-morning and day-meal, or stund til (to) dagmála; hallandi dagmál, or stund af ( past) dagmálum; jöfnu-báðu hádegis og dagmúla, about ten or half-past ten o’clock, etc. Those day-marks are traditional in every farm, and many of them no doubt date from the earliest settling of the country. Respecting the division of the day, vide Pál Vídal. s. v. Allr dagr til stefnu, Finnus Johann., Horologium Island., Eyktamörk Íslenzk (published at the end of the Rb.), and a recent essay of Finn Magnusson.

II. denoting a term, but only in compounds, dagi, a, m., where the weak form is used, cp. ein-dagi, mál-dagi, bar-dagi, skil-dagi.

III. jis a pr. name, Dagr, (freq.); in this sense the dat. is Dag, not Degi, cp. Óðinn léði Dag (dat.) geirs síns, Sæm. 114.

COMPDS: dagatal, dagsbrun, dagshelgi, dagsljós, dagsmark, dagsmegin, dagsmunr.

v. above.

v. above.

(gen. dals, dat. dal or dali, pl. dalar or dalir), m. dale, valley (djúpir dalir).

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m., gen. dalar, poët. a bow. Lex. Poët.; this word has a different inflexion, and seems to be of a different root from the above; hence in poetry the hand is called dal-nauð, the need of (force applied to) the bow,’ and dal-töng, as the bow is bent by the hand.

(gen. dals, dat. dal or dali, pl. dalar or dalir), m. dale, valley (djúpir dalir).

* * *

s, m., old pl. dalar, acc. dala, Vsp. 19, 42, Hkv. i. 46; the Sturl. C still uses the phrase, vestr í Dala; the mod. form (but also used in old writers) is dalir, acc. dali, Hkv. Hjörv. 28; old dat. sing. dali, Hallr í Haukadali, Íb. 14, 17; í Þjórsárdali, í Örnólfsdali, 8, Hbl. 17; mod. dal; dali became obsolete even in old writers, except the earliest, as Ari: [Ulf. dals = φάραγξ, Luke iii. 10, and βόθυνον, vi. 39; A. S. dæl; Engl. dale; Germ. tal ( thal); cp. also Goth. dalaþ = κάτω, and dala above; up og dal, up hill and down dale, is an old Dan. phrase]:—a dale; allit. phrase, djúpir dalir, deep dales, Hbl. l. c.; dali döggótta, bedewed dales, Hkv. l. c.; the proverbial saying, láta dal mæta hóli, let dale meet hill, ‘diamond cut diamond,’ Ld. 134, Fms. iv. 225: dalr is used of a dent or hole in a skull, dalr er í hnakka, Fas. iii. l. c. (in a verse): the word is much used in local names, Fagri-dalr, Fair-dale; Breið-dalr, Broad-dale; Djúpi-dalr, Deep-dale; Þver-dalr, Cross-dale; Langi-dalr, Lang-dale; Jökul-dalr, Glacier-dale, (cp. Langdale, Borrodale. Wensleydale, etc. in North. E.); ‘Dale’ is a freq. name of dale counties, Breiðatjarðar-dalir, or Dalir simply, Landn.: Icel. speak of Dala-menn, ‘Dales-men’ (as in Engl. lake district); dala-fífl, a dale-fool, one brought up in a mean or despised dale, Fas. iii. 1 sqq.: the parts of a dale are distinguished, dals-botn, the bottom of a dale, ii. 19; dals-öxl, the shoulder of a dale; dals-brún, the brow, edge of a dale; dals-hlíðar, the sides, slopes of a dale; dala-drög, n. pl. the head of a dale; dals-mynni, the mouth of a dale, Fms. viii. 57; dals-barmr, the ‘dale-rim,’ = dals-brún; dals-eyrar, the gravel beds spread by a stream over a dale, etc.:—in poetry, snakes are called dale-fishes, dal-reyðr, dal-fiskr, dal-ginna, etc., Lex. Poët. [It is interesting to notice that patronymic words derived from ‘dale’ are not formed with an e (vowel change of a), but an œ, æ (vowel change of ó), Lax-dœlir, Vatns-dœlir, Hauk-dœlir, Hit-dœlir, Sýr-dœll, Svarf-dœlir …, the men from Lax(ár)dalr, Vatnsdal, Haukadal, Hitardal, etc.; cp. the mod. Norse Dölen = man from a dale; this points to an obsolete root word analogous to ala, ól, bati, bót; vide the glossaries of names to the Sagas, esp. that to the Landn.]

II. a dollar (mod.) = Germ. Joachims-thaler, Joachims-thal being the place where the first dollars were coined.

mod. dans, n. a word of for. origin; [cp. mid. Lat. dansare; Fr. danser; Ital. danzare; Engl. dance; Germ. tanz, tanzen.] This word is certainly not Teutonic, but of Roman or perhaps Breton origin: the Icel. or Scandin. have no genuine word for dancing,—leika means ‘to play’ in general: the word itself (danza, danz, etc.) never occurs in the old Sagas or poetry, though popular amusements of every kind are described there; but about the end of the 11th century, when the Sagas of the bishops (Bs.) begin, we find dance in full use, accompanied by songs which are described as loose and amorous: the classical passage is Jóns S. (A. D. 1106–1121), ch. 13. Bs. i. 165, 166, and cp. Júns S. by Gunnlaug, ch. 24. Bs. i. 237—Leikr sá var kær mönnum áðr en hinn heilagi Jón varð biskup, at kveða skyldi karlmaðr til konu í danz blautlig kvæði ok rægilig; ok kona til karlmanns mansöngs vísur; þenna leik lét hann af taka ok bannaði styrkliga; mansöngs kvæði vildi hann eigi heyra né kveða láta, en þó fékk hann því eigi af komið með öllu. Some have thought that this refers to mythical (Eddic) poetry, but without reason and against the literal sense of the passage; the heathen heroic poems were certainly never used to accompany a dance; their flow and metre are a sufficient proof of that. In the Sturl. (Hist. of the 12th and 13th century) dancing is mentioned over and over again; and danz is used of popular ballads or songs of a satirical character (as those in Percy’s ballads): flimt ( loose song) and danz are synonymous words; the Sturl. has by chance preserved two ditties (one of A. D. 1221, running thus—Loptr liggr í Eyjum, bítr lunda bein | Sæmundr er á heiðum, etr berin ein. Sturl. ii. 62, and one referring to the year 1264—Mínar eru sorgirnar þungar sem blý, Sturl. iii. 317) sufficient to shew the flow and metre, which are exactly the same as those of the mod. ballads, collected in the west of Icel. (Ögr) in the 17th century under the name of Fornkvæði, Old Songs, and now edited by Jon Sigurdsson and Svend Grundtvig. Danz and Fornkvæði are both of the same kind, and also identical with Engl. ballads, Dan. kæmpeviser. There are passages in Sturl. and B.S. referring to this subject — færðu Breiðbælingar Lopt í flimtun ok görðu um hann danza marga, ok margskonar spott annat, Sturl. ii. 57, cp. 62; Danza-Bergr, the nickname of a man (Stud, ii), prob. for composing comic songs; danza-görð, composing comic songs; fylgðar-menn Kolbeins fóru með danza-görð, … en er Brandr varð varr við flimtan þeirra, iii. 80; þá hrökti Þórðr hestinn undir sér, ok kvað danz þenna við raust, 317.

β. a wake, Arna S. ch. 2; in Sturl. i. 23; at the banquet in Reykhólar, 1119, the guests amused themselves by dancing, wrestling, and story-telling; þá var sleginn danz í stofu, ii. 117; í Viðvík var gleði mikil ok gott at vera; þat var einn Drottins dag at þar var danz mikill; kom þar til fjöldi manna; ok ríðr hann í Viðvík til danz, ok var þar at leik; ok dáðu menn mjök danz hans, iii. 258, 259; honum var kostr á boðinn hvat til gamans skyldi hafa, sögur eða danz um kveldit, 281;—the last reference refers to the 21st of January, 1258, which fell on a Sunday (or wake-day): in ballads and tales of the Middle Ages the word is freq.:—note the allit. phrase, dansinn dunar, Ísl. Þóðs. ii. 8: the phrases, stiga danz; ganga í danz; brúðir í danz, dansinn heyra; dans vill hun heyra, Fkv. ii. 7. Many of the burdens to the mod. Icel. ballads are of great beauty, and no doubt many centuries older than the ballads to which they are affixed; they refer to lost love, melancholy, merriment, etc., e. g. Blítt lætur veröldin, fölnar fögr fold | langt er síðan mitt var yndið lagt í mold, i. 74; Út ert þú við æginn blá, eg er hér á Dröngum, | kalla eg löngum, kalla eg til þin löngum; Skín á skildi Sól og sumarið fríða, | dynur í velli er drengir í burtu riða, 110; Ungan leit eg hofmann í fögrum runni, | skal eg í hljóði dilla þeim mér unm; Austan blakar laufið á þann linda, 129; Fagrar heyrða eg raddirnar við Niflunga heim; Fagrt syngr svanrinn um sumarlanga tíð, | þá mun list að leika sér mín liljan fríð, ii. 52: Einum unna eg manninum, á meðan það var, | þó hlaut eg minn harm að bera í leyndum stað, 94; Svanrinn víða. svanurinn syngr viða, 22; Utan eptir firðinum, sigla fagrar fleyr | sá er enginn glaður eptir annan þreyr, 110; Svo er mér illt og angrsamt því veldur þú, | mig langar ekki í lundinn með þá jungfrú, Espol. Ann. 1549. The earliest ballads seem to have been devoted to these subjects only; of the two earliest specimens quoted in the Sturl. (above), one is satirical, the other melancholy; the historical ballads seem to be of later growth: the bishops discountenanced the wakes and dancing (Bs. l. c., Sturl. iii), but in vain: and no more telling proof can be given of the drooping spirits of Icel. in the last century, than that dancing and wakes ceased, after having been a popular amusement for seven hundred years. Eggert Olafsson in his poems still speaks of wakes, as an eyewitness; in the west of Icel. (Vestfirðir) they lasted longer, but even there they died out about the time that Percy’s ballads were published in England. The Fornkvæði or songs are the only Icel. poetry which often dispenses with the law of alliteration, which in other cases is the light and life of Icel. poetry; vide also hofmaðr, viki-vakar, etc. In the 15th century the rímur (metrical paraphrases of romances) were used as an accompaniment to the danz, höldar danza harla snart, ef heyrist vísan mín; hence originates the name man-söngr ( maid-song), minne-sang, which forms the introduction to every ríma or rhapsody; the metre and time of the rímur are exactly those of ballads and well suited for dancing. An Icel. MS. of the 17th century, containing about seventy Icel. Fornkvæði, is in the Brit. Mus. no. 11,177; and another MS., containing about twenty such songs, is in the Bodl. Libr. no. 130.

* * *

(-da, -dr), v.

1) to divide into parts;

sú á, er deilir með jötna sonum grund ok með goðum, that river which parts the giants and the gods;

alit þat land, er vatnsföll deila til sjófar, of which the rivers form the boundaries down to the sea;

vildi H. bæði kjósa ok deila, H. would both choose and deal (viz. divide the catch in shares and choose for himself the share he liked best);

láta en kjósa ok deila, to give one an arbitrary power in a case;

with dat. (hversu má keisarinn deila sér í tvá staði);

2) to deal out, apportion, allot;

deildr hlutr, a share allotted to one;

deila dögurð, mat á málum, to deal out portions of food in a household;

deila víg með verum, to deal victory fairly among men;

3) to distinguish, discern, = greina;

eptir þat sá sól ok mátti þá deila ættir, they could then discern the quarters of heaven;

deila liti, to discern colours;

eigi deilir litr kosti (acc. pl.), colour is no sure test of the quality;

4) to busy or occupy oneself with, deal with (engi maðr á önnur mál at deila í kirkju, nema biðja fyrir sér);

hann við Ríg rúnar deildi, he capped ritnes (spells) with R.;

deila orðspeki við e-n, to contend in learning with one;

þótt hringbrotar heiptir deili, though men hate one another;

deila kníf ok kjötstykki, to share knife and meat;

5) deila við e-n, to quarrel with one (deila við heimska hali);

deili gröm við þik, may the fiends bandy words with thee;

deila um e-t, to quarrel, contest about;

þeir deildu um (they have a lawsuit about) jarðir;

deila á e-n, to contend against one;

deila illyrðum, illdeildum, to chide, abuse one another;

deila afli, ofríki, við e-n, to deal harshly and overbearingly with one;

impers., ef í þat deilir, if there be dissent on that point;

ef í deilir með þeim, if they disagree;

6) to be master of, possess (deila bauga, fé);

hug skaltu deila, thou shalt control thy mind (feelings);

þar er munuð deilir, when love is concerned, in a matter of love;

7) refl., deilast, to spread, branch off (svá viða sem kristni deilist um heim);

meðan mér deilist lífit til, as long, as life is granted me;

deilast at e-u, to disagree about a thing.

f. disagreement, contest;

eiga, halda, deilu við e-n, to quarrel or contend with one.

* * *

d, [Goth. dailjan and ga-dailjan = μερίζειν, μεταδιδόναι, διαιρεθν, etc.; A. S. dælan; Engl. to deal; Germ. theilen; O. H. G. tailjan; Swed. dela; Dan. dele.]

I. with acc. (never dat.), to deal, divide; the phrase, vilja bæði kjósa ok deila, will both choose and deal, of unfair dealing, a metaphor taken from partners, e. g. fishermen, where one makes the division into shares (deilir), and the others choose (kjósa) the shares they like best, Ld. 38; deildr hlutr, a dealt lot. i. e. share dealt or allotted to one, Grág. i. 243; d. e-m e-t, to allot one a thing, to deal out to one, ii. 294: deila dögurð, d. mat (in mod. usage skamta), to deal out portions of food in a household, Ísl. ii. 337; sér at þar var manni matr deildr, Gísl. 47; þú kunnir aldregi d. mönnum mat, Ls. 46: þá er maðr á brot heitinn ef honum er eigi deildr matr á malum, Grág. i. 149; cp. the proverb, djarfr er hver inn deildan verð; d. fé, Skm. 22; d. bauga, Rm. 20; d. e-t út, to deal out, give, Fms. xi. 434.

2. of places, to divide, bound; fírðir deila, the firths are the boundaries, Grág. ii. 217; vatnsföll ( rivers) d. til sjávar. Eg. 131: sva vítt sem vatnsföll deila til sjávar, Landn. 57. K. Þ. K. 34.

β. used impers. as it seems; deilir norðr vatnsföllum, Ísl. ii. 345; fjöll þau er vatnsföll deilir af milli héraða, the fells that divide the waters, form the water-shed, between the counties, Grág. i. 432; þar er víkr deilir, Hlt.

3. metaph. to distinguish, discern; eptir þat sá sól, ok máttu þá d. ættir, after that the sun broke forth, and they could discern the airts (of heaven), Fb. i. 431, Fms. iv. 38; deila liti, to discern colours (lit-deili), hence the proverb, eigi deilir litr kosti (acc. pl.), colour (i. e. look, appearance) is no sure test, Nj. 78: metaph., d. víg, to act as umpire in a fight, tourney, or the like, Ls. 22: we ought perh. to read deila (not bera) tilt með tveim, 38.

4. various phrases, deila sér illan hlut af, to deal onself a had share in, to deal badly in a thing, Ld. 152: the phrase, e-t deilir máli (impers.), it goes for a great deal, is of great importance, Hs. 65, mod. usage skipta máli, miklu, etc.: d. mál, to deal with a thing, Hom. 34; d. mál e-s, to deal speech, to discuss or confer with one, Ó. H. 82 (in a verse): d. e-n málum, to deal, i. e. speak, confer, with one, Krók. 36 C: d. orðspeki við e-n, to deal, i. e. contend in learning with one, Vþm. 55; rúnar, Rm. 42; eiga við e-t at d., to have to deal with a thing, Fms. viii. 288: the phrase, d. mál brotum, to deal piecemeal with a case, take a partial or false view of a thing, or is the metaphor taken from bad payment (in bauga-brot, q. v.)? Eb. 184; þeir hafa eigi deilt þetta mál brotum, i. e. they have done it thoroughly, have not been mistaken, Konr. 52: to share in a thing, d. kníf ok kjötstykki, to share knife and meat, Grág., Ísl. ii. 487: the phrase, d. hug, to ‘deal one’s mind,’ pay attention to, with a notion of deep concern and affliction; heil vertú Sváfa, hug skaltú d., thy heart shall thou cleave, Hkv. Hjörv. 40: deildusk hugir, svá at huskarlar héldu varla vatni, their minds were so distraught, that the house-carles could hardly forbear weeping, Fms. vi. (in a verse); hence a hardened man is called lítill skapdeildar maðr, (Hugdeila, mind’s concern, is the name of a poem of the 17th century): at þeir deildi enga úhæfu, that they should forbear dealing outrageously, Fms. i. 22; d. heiptir, to deal hatred, to hate (poët.), Hkv. 41: d. afli, ofríki við e-n, to deal harshly and overbearingly with one. Fms. i. 34; d. illyrðum, ill-deildum, to chide, abuse one another, Háv. 37, Ld. 158.

II. neut. to be at feud, quarrel; the saying, sjaldan veldr einn þegar tveir deila; deili gröm við þig, Hkv. I. 43; ek bað flögð d. við þau, Sighvat: d. til e-s, to quarrel for a thing, Eg. 510: d. upp á e-n, to complain of one, Stj. 294. Exod. xvii. 2, ‘Why chide ye with me?’

β. impers., ef í þat deilir, if there be dissent on that point, Grág. ii. 125; ef í deilir með þeim, if they dissent, i. 58.

2. d. um e-t, to contend about a thing, as a law term; þeir deildu ( they had a lawsuit) um jarðir, Fms. iv. 201; þeir deildu um landaskipti, 315; þeir deildu um land þat er var …, Landn. 125; þeir deildu um leysingja-arf, 100, 101: metaph., d. um stafn, to come to a close fight, Orkn. 232.

III. reflex. to spread, branch off; vatnsföll deilask milli héraða, Grág. ii. 218; svá víða sem hón (i. e. Christianity) deilisk um heim, Hom. 49.

2. meðan mér deilisk lífit til, as long as life be dealt (i. e. granted) me, Fms, viii. 205; e-t deilisk af, a thing comes to pass, Hkr. iii. 55 (in a verse); kölluðu þeir, at lengi mundi vörn deilask af úti, that a long defence would be dealt out, i. e. there would be a long struggle, Sturl. i. 59, cp. the Goth. afdailjan = to pay off; hugr deilisk (vide above): þat mun oss drjúgt deilask, it will cost us dear, Am. 19.

m. [Germ. theil; Goth. dails; Engl. deal; Swed.-Dan. deel, del], D. N.; this word never occurs in old writers, and can scarcely be said to be in use at present. Icel. use the fem. deild and deila, vide above.

a. bold, daring (djarfr í orrustum); djarfr ok dularfullr, impudent and arrogant.

* * *

adj. [cp. dirfa above; Hel. derbi or derui = audax, improbus; mod. High Germ. derb = hard is a different word, answering to A. S. þeorf, and originally meant unleavened (of bread); kindred words are, Engl. dare, daring, Gr. θαρρειν]:—bold, daring, but also in a bad sense, audacious, impudent; d. í orrustum, bold in battle, Edda 16; d. ok dularfullr, impudent and arrogant, Fms. i. 75; at Ólafr digri mundi eigi svá d. vera at…, so foolishly daring, iv. 107; nú ver eigi síðan svá d., at þú talir ósæmilig orð við Harald, be not so presumptuous as to speak unseeming words to Harold, vii. 168; firna djörf kona ertú ok heimsk, impudent and foolish, xi. 54; djarfastr ( boldest) ok bezt hugaðr, Edda 16; víg-djarfr, sókn-djarfr, hug-djarfr, valiant; u-djarfr, shy.

(-s, -ar), m. the dead inhabitant of a cairn, ghost, spirit.

* * *

m. [Lat. truncus is perhaps akin]:

I. a dry log; Edda (Gl.); this sense, however, only occurs in old poets, in compds such as el-draugr, ben-d., hirði-d., her-d., óðal-d., jó-d., gervi-d., in poetical circumlocutions of a man, cp. Edda 68, 85.

II. metaph. in prose (as it is now used), a ghost, spirit, esp. the dead inhabitant of a cairn was called draugr, Ld. 326, Fms. iii. 200, Bs. i. 256, Stj. 492, 1 Sam. xxviii. 15, Róm. 186, 217, Orkn. 210 (in a verse), Fas. (Hervar. S.) i. 436–438, Hkv. 2. 49, fsl. (Harð. S.) ii. 47 (in a verse); it also occurs in the verse on the Runic stone in Schonen, quoted and explained in Rafn Antiq. Orient. 178, but it is uncertain whether it is here used in the first or second sense.

β. a sluggard, a drone who walks about as a ghost; draugs-ligr, adj.; drauga-skapr, m.; draugast, að, to walk about like a ghost.

γ. metric., vide draughentr above.

COMPDS: draugadrottinn, draugafé, draugagangr, draugasögur.

1) household, people; dyggvar dróttir, good, upright people; öll drótt, all people;

2) the host of the king’s men, bodyguard of a king (dróttinn).

* * *

I. the sill or beam above a door, also a door-post (dyra-drótt).

II. household, people, Vþm. 24, (inn-drótt, sal-drótt, Lex. Poët.); dyggvar dróttir, good, trusty people, Vsp. 63; dverga d., the dwarf-people, 9; d. Írskrar þjóðar, the Irish people; Engla d., English persons, etc., Lex. Poët.; öll drótt, all people, Hkv. 2. 48: twenty people make a drótt, Edda 108.

2. esp. the king’s body-guard; cp. Goth. ga-drauhts, by which word Ulf. renders the Gr. στρατιώτης (drjûgan, pret. drauh = στρατεύειν); A. S. dright; the Scandinavian drótt thus answers to the comitatus of Tacitus, Germ. ch. 13, 14, in the Saga time called ‘hirð.’ Drótt is obsolete in prose, but occurs in Hkr. Yngl. S. ch. 20,—áðr vóru þeir (viz. the kings) dróttnar kallaðir, en konur þeirra dróttningar, en drótt hirðsveitin: poët., víg-drótt, her-d., fólk-d., hjálm-d., etc., warriors.

III. a fem. pr. name, Yngl. S. ch. 20; cp. drós.

* * *

1) mistress;

þræll sá, er vegr at dróttni (master) sínum eða dróttningu (mistress);

2) queen;

3) princess.

* * *

and drottning, f.

1. a mistress, Clem. 129 (Unger); þræll sá er vegr at dróttni ( master) sínum eðr dróttningu ( mistress), Grág. ii. 86 (vide above); ef þræll verðr sekr skógarmaðr um víg dróttins síns eðr dróttningar, 161; drottning hans girntisk hann, Ver. 16. Gen. xxxix. 7; this sense is quite obsolete except in old law phrases and translations.

2. a queen, common to all Scandinavians, Swed. drotning, Dan. dronning, whereas drottinn = king is obsolete, Hkr. Yngl. S. ch. 20, Fms. i. 99, vi. 439, Sks. 468; the instances are endless.

COMPDS: drottningarefni, drottningarmaðr, drottningarnafn.

1) drinking; sitja einn við drykkju, to sit alone drinking; taka til drykkju, to begin drinking (tóku menn til drylkju um kveldit); þreyta drykkju við e-n, to contend in drinking with one;

2) drink, beverage, = drykkr( byrla e-m drykkju);

3) drinking-bout, banquet (drykkja skyldi vera at hvárratveggja);

4) drinking-cup (rare).

* * *

u, f. [drukkinn]

1. a drinking-bout, carousal, banquet; sitja við drykkiu, Eg. 88; var veizla hin bezta, ok d. mikil inni í stofunni, 205; at þeim veizlum er drykkjur vóru, Bs. i. 394; matmála í milli ef eigi vóru alþýðu-drykkjur, a public banquet, l. c.; göra d., to make a banquet, Og. 27; þá var ár mikit ok drykkjur miklar, Ó. H. 71; þar var öl-d. ok fast drukkit. Eb. 184, cp. Flóam. S. ch. 2; taka til drykkju, to take to drinking, Fms. ii. 266; drykkja ( banquet) skyldi vera at hvárratveggia, Gísl. 27; tóku menn til drykkju um kveldit, 28; hafa sam-d., to have a carouse, Grett. ch. 8; Jóla boð ok sam-drykkjur, Ó. H. ch. 95, cp. 33, 34, 131, Eg. ch. 11, 44; á-drykkia, q. v., Har. S. Harðr. ch. 23, Fms. vii. 203, cp. Orkn. ch. 33, 34, 70, 101, 104, Sverr. S. ch. 36, 98, 103, 104, Fagrsk. ch. 11, 219, 220: the ancients drank hard, ‘diem noctemque continuare potando nulli probrum,’ Tac. Germ. ch. 11: with kings the drinking (dag-drykkia, q. v.) began immediately after the day-meal, vide the rcferences above; the words of Tacitus, ‘tum (viz. after breakfast) ad negotia, nec minus saepe ad convivia, procedunt armati,’ l. c., are therefore true enough, Edda (Gg.) ch. 39, 46; the phrase, þreyta drykkju (cp. kapp-d., a drinking match), Edda 32. The Icelanders of the Saga time seem to have been of much more abstemious habits than their Norse kinsmen ot the same time, and drinking is scarcely mentioned but at public banquets; the Sturlunga time is worse, but only those who had been abroad are mentioned as strong drinkers (cp. Arons S. ch. 19); cp. also a treatise of the end of the 12th century, named De profectione Daiiorum, ch. II—‘in cunctis illius regni (i. e. Norway) civitatibus uniformis consuetudo sed vitiosa inolevit, scilicet jugis ebrietas,’ etc.

2. = beverage = drykkr (rare), Egill bað fá sér drykkju, Eg. 107.

COMPDS: drykkjuborð, drykkjuföng, drykkjulítill, drykkjumaðr, drykkjumál, drykkjurútr, drykkjuskapr, drykkjuskáli, drykkjustofa, drykkjustútr.

ðr, part. drunk, Rb. iii. 384, Karl.

m. pl. [Dan. and Swed. drön], roaring; drunur, f., vide above.

(-s, -ar), m.

1) dwarf (lágr ok digr sem dvergr);

2) one of the short pillars which support the beams and rafters in a house;

3) some kind of ornament (? a brooch) in a lady’s dress (sat þar kona … dúkr var á hálsi, dvergar á öxlum).

* * *

m. [A. S. dveorg; Engl. dwarf; Germ. (irreg.) zwerg; Swed. dverg]

α. a dwarf; about the genesis of the dwarfs vide Vsp. 6–16, Edda 9: in mod. Icel. lore dwarfs disappear, but remain in local names, as Dverga-steinn, cp. the Dwarfy Stone in Scott’s Pirate, and in several words and phrases: from the belief that the dwarfs lived in rocks, an echo is called dverg-mál, n. (-mali, m.), dwarf-talk, Al. 35, 37, Fas. iii. 369; and dverg-mála, að, to echo: from the skill of the dwarfs in metal-working, a skilful man is called dverg-hagr, adj. ( skilled as a dwarf), or dvergr, a dwarf in his art; dverga-smíði, n. dwarf’s-work, i. e. all works of rare art, such as the famous or enchanted swords of antiquity, Hervar. S. ch. 2, Fas. i. 514, ii. 463–466 (Ásmund. S.), Gísl. 80: crystal and prismatic stones are in Norway called either dwarf’s-work or ‘dwarfy-stones,’ as people believe that they are worked out by the dwarfs in the depths of the earth: botan., dverga-sóleyg, f. ranunculus glacialis, Hjalt.

β. from its dwarfed shape, a dog without a tail is in Icel. called dvergr or dverg-hundr, m., Clar.: short pillars which support the beams and rafters in a house are called ‘dvergar;’ this sense occurs as early as Hom. (St.) 65, and is still in use in some parts of Icel.: the four dwarfs, East, West, North, South, are in the Edda the bearers of heaven, Edda 5.

γ. ornaments in a lady’s dress worn on the shoulder are called ‘dvergar,’ Rm. 16; smokkr á bringu, dúkr á hálsi, dvergar á öxlum, prob. a kind of brooch. For COMPDS vide above.

( dœgr), n. [dagr; in Dan. dögn means the natural day = 24 hours, and answers to Icel. sólar-hringr, whereas Icel. dægr usually means both night and day, so that one day makes two dægr]: hence dægra-mót or dægra-skipti, n., denotes the twilight in morning and evening, Hom. 41, Sks. 218; í degi dægr tvau, í dægri stundir tólf, in a day two dægr, in a dægr twelve hours, Rb. 6; þau (Day and Night) skulu ríða á hverjum tveim dægrum umhverfis jörðina, Edda 7; tuttugu ok fjórar stundir skulu vera í tveimr dægrum, Sks. 54: hann sigldi á átta dægrum til þess er hann tók Eyjar á Íslandi, and below, ek skildumk fyrir fjórum nóttum (viz. Sunday to Thursday) við Ólaf konung Haraldsson, Fms. iv. 280; þeir vóru þrjú dægr í leitinni, Nj. 265; á hverju dægri, Grág. ii. 169; á dægrinu, 360; tvau dægr, Fb. i. 539; þrjú d., 431; skipti þat mörgum dægrum, id.:—in all these passages the sense seems clearly to be as above.

2. in some few cases it seems to be used of the astronomical day = 24 hours, or the Danish dögn; such is the case with the interesting passage Landn. 1. ch. 1; the journey between Iceland and Ireland is here reckoned as five dægr, between Norway and Iceland seven, between Iceland and Greenland four, and to the deserts of Greenland (the east coast) one, etc.: sjau dægra sigling, fjögra d. sigling, fimm dægra haf, i. e. a sail of six, four, five dægr, Landn. 25, 26.

COMPDS: dægrafar, dægrastytting, dægratal.

(older form øfri), a. compar.,

1) upper, opp. to neðri;

bera efra skjöld, to gain the victory;

verða e-m efri, to be superior to;

hit efra,

a) high above ground (fara hit efra í trjám sem apynjur eða íkornar);

b) the upper or inland road, opp. to ‘hit ytra’, along the shore (sumir fóru hit efra til Þríhyrningshálsa);

by land, opp. to the sea;

c) of the inner part of a building, opposed to ‘hit fremra’ or the part nearest the door (konungr settist í hásæti ok alskipat var hit efra ok hit fremra);

2) latter;

þetta var inn efra hlut sumars, towards the end of summer;

á efra aldri, advanced in years.

* * *

compar.; EFSTR, superl.; older form öfri, Hkv. 2. 36, Ó. H. ch. 248 (in a verse), Greg. 42, N. G. L. i. 10, 384, Íb. 5, Hom. 116; öfstr, Fms. x. 394, 686 C. 2, Ls. 50, 51, Hbl. 18, Edda 115, 116 (Gl.); compar. and superl. without the positive [as Lat. superior, supremus, Gr. ὑπέρτερος], but formed from the root syllable ‘of-,’ cp. ofar, yfir; very old MSS. therefore mostly spell with ö, a vowel change of o; the mod. form, as well as that of most MSS., is with e, efri, efstr, Am. 50, Og. 23:

I. the upper, higher; the phrase, bera efra skjöld, to carry the higher shield, i. e. carry the day, Fms. x. 394 (MS. æfra): opp. to neðri = upper, at Mosfelli enu öfra, Íb. 5: the adverb, phrase ‘it efra’ denoting the upper or inland road, opp. to the shore; allt hit efra suðr, Eg. 58; sumir fóru it efra til Þríhyrnings-hálsa, Nj. 207; hit efra um Upplönd, Fms. i. 22: by land, opp. to the sea, Hkr. ii. 8: of the inner part of a building, opp. to fremri or the part nearest the door, Eg. 43: in the air, opp. to the earth, Sks. 115: superl. efstr, the hindermost, e. liðr, the hindermost joint, 623. 32: neut. efst as adv. highest up, uppermost, efst á stólpanum, 655 xxv. 2.

β. metaph. superior, better; er öllum öfri er, Greg. 43.

II. the latter, last part:

1. temp., á efra aldri, in the decline of life, Eg. 4; inn öfri, the latter, opp. to fyrri, N. G. L. i. 342; efri hluti sumars, in the decline of summer, Eg. 712; Ólafs-messa hin öfri (= síðari), the latter (i. e. second) day of St. Olave (viz. Aug. 3), opp. to Ólafs-messa fyrri (July 29), N. G. L. i. 10; efsti dómr, the last judgment, Stj. 58; öfsti dómr, id., 686 l. c.; efsta vika, the last week of Lent = the Passion week, Orkn. 386, Mar. 78; öfsti dagr Paska, the last day in Easter, N. G. L. i. 348; efsta bæn, the last prayer, 623. 50; þeim gef ek erni efstum bráðir, Fas. i. 429 (in a verse); efsta sinni, for the last time, 227; þó vér ritim hana öfri en aðrar, Hom. 116.

2. loc., where aptari and aptastr or eptri and eptstr are the common words; fyrstr and efstr are opposed, foremost and last, in a rank, Ls. l. c.; sá fyrstr er efstr gekk inn, Grág. i. 32.

(-s, -ar), m. oath; vinna, sverja eið, to take (swear) an oath; rjúfa eið, to break an oath; ganga til eiða, to proceed to the taking of oaths; eigi verðr einn eiðr alla, a single oath does not clear all men.

* * *

m. [Ulf. aiþs; A. S. að; Engl. oath; North. E. aith; Swed. ed; Dan. eed; Germ. eid]

I. an oath; vinna eið, but also sverja eið, to take an oath, to swear, Glúm. 387, Nj. 36, Grág., Sdm. 23; ganga til eiða, to proceed to the taking an oath, Nj., Grág.; eiðar, orð ok særi, Vsp. 30; fullr e., a full, just oath, Grett. 161; rjúfa eið, to break an oath (eið-rofi); perjury is mein-særi, rarely mein-eiðr (Swed.-Dan. men-ed, Germ. mein-eid); eiðar úsærir, false, equivocal oaths, Sks. 358; hence the proverb, lítið skyldi í eiði úsært, with the notion that few oaths can bear a close scrutiny, Grett. 161; trúnaðar-e., hollustu-e., an oath of fealty, allegiance: cp. the curious passages in Sturl. i. 66 and iii. 2, 3; dýr eiðr, a solemn oath; sáluhjálpar-e., sverja dýran sáluhjálpar-eið, to swear an oath of salvation (i. e. as I wish to be saved). In the Norse law a man was discharged upon the joint oath of himself and a certain number of men (oath-helpers, compurgators, or oath-volunteers); oaths therefore are distinguished by the number of compurgators,—in grave cases of felony (treason etc.), tylptar-e., an oath of twelve; in slighter cases of felony, séttar-e., an oath of six, (in N. G. L. i. 56, ch. 133, ‘vj á hvára hönd’ is clearly a false reading instead of ‘iij,’ three on each side, cp. Jb. Þb. ch. 20); grímu-eiðr, a mask oath, a kind of séttar-e.; lýrittar-e., an oath of three; and lastly, ein-eiði or eins-eiði, an oath of one, admissible only in slight cases, e. g. a debt not above an ounce; whence the old law proverb, eigi verðr einn eiðr alla, a single oath is no evidence for all ( cases), Sighvat, Fms. iv. 375, v. l., Bjarn. 22, Nj. 13: other kinds of oaths, dular-e., an oath of denial; jafnaðar-e., an oath of equity, for a man in paying his fine had to take an oath that, if he were plaintiff himself, he would think the decision a fair one: vide N. G. L. i. 56, 254–256, 394, Jb. and Js. in many passages. In the Icel. law of the Commonwealth, oaths of compurgators are hardly mentioned, the kviðr or verdict of neighbours taking their place; the passage Glúm. ch. 24, 25 is almost unique and of an extraordinary character, cp. Sir Edmund Head’s remarks on these passages in his notes to the Saga, p. 119, cp. also Sturl. iii. 2; but after the union with Norway the Norse procedure was partly introduced into Icel.; yet the Js. ch. 49 tries to guard against the abuse of oaths of compurgators, which led men to swear to a fact they did not know. As to the Icel. Commonwealth, it is chiefly to be noticed that any one who had to perform a public duty (lög-skil) in court or parliament, as judge, pleader, neighbour, witness, etc., had to take an oath that he would perform his duty according to right and law (baug-eiðr ring-oath, bók-eiðr gospel-oath, lög-eiðr lawful-oath), the wording of which oath is preserved in Landn. (Mantissa) 335, cp. Þórð. S. (Ed. 1860) p. 94, Band. (MS.)

COMPDS: eiðabrigði, eiðafullting, eiðakonur, eiðalið, eiðamál, eiðasekt, eiðatak.

II. a pr. name, Landn.

* * *

(á, átta, áttr), v.

1) to own, possess (Starkaðr átti hest góðan);

2) to have (eiga börn, föður, móður, vin);

eiga konu, to have her for wife;

hann átti Gró, he was married to G.;

hann gekk at eiga Þóru, he took Th. for his wife, he married Th.;

enga vil ek þessa eiga, I will not marry any of these;

eiga heima, to have a home, to live (þeir áttu heima austr í Mörk);

eiga sér e-t = eiga e-t (Höskuldr átti sér dóttur, er Hallgerðr hét);

eiga ván e-s, to have hope of a thing, to reckon upon;

eiga hlut at or í e-u, to have a share in a thing, to be concerned in;

eiga vald á e-u, to have within one’s power;

3) to be under obligation, be obliged, have to do a thing;

tólf menn, þeir er fylgð áttu með konungi, who were bound to attend the king’s person;

á ek þar fyrir at sjá, I am bound (I have) to see to that;

átti Hrútr för í Vestfjorðu, H. had to go to the V.;

4) to have a right (claim) to, be entitled to (eiga högg ok höfn í skóginum);

eiga mál í e-m, to have a charge against one;

eiga rétt á sér, to have a (personal) claim to redress;

5) to keep, hold;

eiga fund, þing, samkvámu, stefnu, to hold a meeting;

eiga kaupstefnu, to hod a market;

eiga orrustu við e-n, to fight a battle with one;

eiga högg við e-n, to exchange blows with one;

eiga illt við e-n, to quarrel with;

eiga tal (or mál) við e-n, to speak, converse with one;

6) as an auxiliary with pp. = hafa (þat er við áttum mælt);

eiga skilit, to have stipulated;

7) to have to (skal Þ. eigi at því eiga at spotta);

eiga hendr sínar it verja, to have to act in self-defence;

eiga um vandræði at halda, to be in a strait;

8) eiga e-m e-t, to owe to one (mun æ, hvat þú átt þeim er veitir);

9) to be the person denoted by a thing;

þat muntu ætla, at ek mun eiga hinn bleika uxann, that the fawn-coloured ox means me;

10) with preps.:

eiga e-t at e-m, to have something due from one, to expect from one (þat vil ek eiga at þér, at þú segir mér frá ferð þinni);

to deserve from one (ok á ek annat at þér);

þeir er mikit þóttust at sér eiga, had much in their power;

eiga e-t eptir, to have to do yet, to have left undone (þat áttu eptir, er erfiðast er, en þat er at deyja);

to leave behind one (andaðist ok átti eptir tvá sonu vaxna);

eiga e-t saman, to own in common;

eiga skap saman, to agree well, be of one mind;

eigi veit ek, hvárt við eigum heill saman, whether we shall live happy together;

eiga saman, to quarrel, = eiga deild saman;

eiga um við e-n, to have to deal with (við brögðótta áttu nú um);

þar sem við vini mína er um at eiga, where my friends are concerned;

eiga e-t undir e-m, to have in another’s hands;

Njáll átti mikit fé undir Starkaði ok í Sandgili, N. had much money out at interest with St. and at Sandgil, er sá eigi vel staddr, er líf sitt á undir þinum trúnaði, whose life depends on thy good faith;

eiga mikit (lítit) undir sér, to have much (little) in one’s power;

far þú við marga menn, svá at þú eigir allt undir þér, that the whole matter rests in thy own hands;

hann sá, at hann átti ekki undir sér, that he had no influence;

eiga við e-n, to have to do with, fight with (brátt fundu þeir, at þeir áttu þar ekki við sinn maka);

ekki á ek þetta við þik, this is no business between thee and me;

eiga gott (illt) við e-n, to be on good (bad) terms with one;

eiga við konu, to have intercourse with, = eiga lag (samræði) við konu;

recipr., eigast við, to deal with one another; fight, quarrel;

eigast við deildir, to be engaged in strife;

áttust þeir höggvaskipti við, they exchanged blows with one another.

1) possession;

kasta sinni eigu, leggja sína eigu, í e-t, to take possession of;

2) property.

* * *

pret. átti; pret. subj. ætti, pres. eigi; pres. ind. á, 2nd pers. átt (irreg. eigr, Dipl. v. 24), pl. eigum, 3rd pers. pl. old form eigu, mod. eiga; imperat. eig and eigðu; sup. átt; with suffixed neg. pres. ind. 1st pers. á’k-at, 2nd pers. átt-attu; pret. subj. ættim-a: [Gr. ἔχω; Goth. aigan; A. S. âgan; Hel. êgan; O. H. G. eigan; Swed. äga; Dan. eje; Engl. to owe and own, of which the former etymologically answers to ‘eiga,’ the latter to ‘eigna’]:—to have, possess.

A. ACT.

I. denoting ownership, to possess:

1. in a proper sense; allt þat góz sem þeir eiga eðr eigandi verða, D. N. i. 80; hann eigr hálfa jörðina, Dipl. v. 24; Björn hljóp þá á skútu er hann átti, Eb. 6; Starkaðr átti hest góðan, Nj. 89; þau áttu gnótt í búi, 257; hón á allan arf eptir mik, 3; átti hón auð fjár, Ld. 20; ef annarr maðr ferr með goðorð en sá er á, Grág. i. 159; annat vápnit, ok á þat Þorbjörn, en Þorgautr á þetta, Ísl. ii. 341; eignir þær er faðir hans hafði átt, Eb. 4; í ríki því er Dana konungar höfðu átt þar lengi, Fms. xi. 301, Rb. 494, Eb. 54, 118, 256, 328, Sturl. ii. 60, Eg. 118; e. saman, to own in common, Grág. i. 199; ef tveir menn eigo bú saman, ii. 44; e. skuld (at e-m), to be in debt, Engl. to owe; en ef hann átti engar skuldir, if he owed no debts, i. 128; þar til átti honum ( owed him) meistari Þorgeirr ok þá mörk, D. N. iv. 288 (Fr.); e. fé undir e-m, to be one’s creditor, Nj. 101; in mod. usage, e. fé hjá e-m, or ellipt., e. hjá e-m.

2. in a special sense;

α. eiga konu, to have her to wife; hann átti Gró, Eb. 16; hann átti Ynghvildi, 3; Þorgerðr er (acc.) átti Vigfúss, … Geirríðr er (acc.) átti Þórólfr, 18; hann gékk at eiga Þóru, he married Thora, id.; Þuríði hafði hann áðr átta, Thorida had been his first wife, 42; enga vil ek þessa e., I will not marry any of these, Nj. 22; Björn átti þá konu er Valgerðr hét, 213, 257; faðir Hróðnýjar er átti Þorsteinn, Landn. 90; Ásdísi átti síðar Skúli, S. was A.’s second husband, 88; Þorgerðr er átti Önundr sjóni, 89; Vigdís er átti Þorbjörn enn digri, 87; Árnþrúðr er átti Þórir hersir, 66; Húngerð er átti Svertingr, 6l, 86, and in numberless passages: old writers hardly ever say that the wife owns her husband—the passages in Edda 109 (vide elja) and Nj. 52 (til lítils kemr mér at eiga hinn vaskasta mann á Íslandi) are extraordinary—owing to the primitive notion of the husband’s ‘jus possessionis’ (cp. brúðkaup); but in mod. usage ‘eiga’ is used indiscriminately of both wife and husband; Icel. even say, in a recipr. sense, eigast, to own one another, to be married: þau áttust, they married; hann vildi ekki at þau ættist, hann bannaði þeim að eigast, he forbade them to marry:—to the ancients such a phrase was almost unknown, and occurs for the first time in K. Á. 114.

β. eiga börn, to have children, of both parents; áttu þau Jófriðr tíu börn, J. and her husband had ten bairns, Eg. 708; hann átti dóttur eina er Unnr hét, Nj. 1; þau Þorsteinn ok Unnr áttu son er Steinn hét, Eb. 10, Nj. 91, 257; áttu þau Þórhildr þrjá sonu, 30; e. móður, föður, to have a mother, father, Eb. 98; vænti ek ok, at þú eigir illan föður, id.

γ. the phrase, e. heima, to have a home; þeir áttu heima austr í Mörk, Nj. 55; því at ek tek eigi heim í kveld, þar sem ek á heima út á Íslandi, 275; in mod. usage = to live, abide, in regard to place, cp. the questions put to a stranger, hvað heitir maðrinn? hvar áttu heima? used in a wider sense than búa.

δ. eiga sér, to have, cp. ‘havde sig’ in Dan. ballads; Höskuldr átti sér dóttur er Hallgerðr hét, Nj. 3; ef hann á sér í vá veru, Hm. 25, (freq. in mod. use.)

3. without strict notion of possession; e. vini, óvini, to have friends, enemies, Nj. 101; hverja liðveizlu skal ek þar e. er þú ert, what help can I reckon upon from thee? 100; e. ván e-s, to have hope of a thing, to reckon upon, 210; e. til, to have left; ekki eigu it annat til ( there is nothing left for you) nema at biðja postulann. Jóh. 623. 22: in mod. usage e. til means to own, to have left; hann á ekkert til, he is void of means, needy; eiga góða kosti fjár, to be in good circumstances, Ísl. ii. 322; e. vald á e-u, to have within one’s power, Nj. 265; the phrase, e. hlut at e-u, or e. hlut í e-u, to have a share, be concerned with; eptir þat átti hann hlut at við mótstöðumenn Gunnars, 101, 120; þar er þú ættir hlut at, where thou wast concerned, 119; mik uggir at hér muni eigi gæfu-menn hlut í e., 179: hence ellipt., e. í e-u, to be engaged in, chiefly of strife, adversity, or the like; thus, e. í stríði, fátaekt, baráttu, to live, be deep in struggle, want, battle, etc.

II. denoting duty, right, due, obligation:

1. to be bound, etc.; þeir menn er fylgð áttu með konungi, the men who owed following to (i. e. were bound to attend) the king’s person, Fms. vii. 240; á ek þar fyrir at sjá, I am bound to see to that, Eg. 318; Tylptar-kviðr átti um at skilja, Eb. 48; þeir spurðu hvárt Njáli þætti nokkut e. at lýsa vígsök Gunnars, Nj. 117; nú áttu, Sigvaldi, now is thy turn, now ought thou, Fms. xi. 109, Fs. 121; menn eigu ( men ought) at spyrja at þingfesti, Grág. i. 19; þá á þann kvið einskis meta, that verdict ought to be void, 59; ef sá maðr á ( owns) fé út hér er ómagann á ( who ought) fram at færa, 270; nú hafa þeir menn jammarga sem þeir eigu, as many as they ought to have, ii. 270; tíunda á maðr fé sitt, … þá á hann þat at tíunda, … þá á hann at gefa sálugjafir, i. 202:—‘eiga’ and ‘skal’ are often in the law used indiscriminately, but properly ‘ought’ states the moral, ‘shall’ the legal obligation,—elska skalt þú föður þinn og móður, þú skalt ekki stela, where ‘átt’ would be misplaced; sometimes it is merely permissive, gefa á maðr vingjafir at sér lifanda, ef hann vill, a man ‘may’ whilst in life bequeath to his friends, if he will, id.; maðr á at gefa barni sínu laungetnu tólf aura, ef hann vill, fyrir ráð skaparfa sinna, en eigi meira nema erfingjar lofi, a man ‘may’ bequeath to the amount of twelve ounces to his illegitimate child without leave of the lawful heir, etc., 203; ef þat á til at vilja, if that is to happen, Fas. i. 11.

2. denoting claim, right, to own, be entitled to, chiefly in law phrases; e. dóm, sakir, to own the case, i. e. be the lawful prosecutor; ok á sá þeirra sakir, er …, Grág. i. 10; eðr eigu þeir eigi at lögum, or if they be not entitled to it, 94; e. mál á e-m, to have a charge against one, Nj. 105; e. rétt á e-u, to own a right; sá sem rétt á á henni, who has a right to her, K. Á. 16; þeir sögðu at þeim þótti slíkr maðr mikinn rétt á sér e., such a man had a strong personal claim to redress, Nj. 105; hence the phrase, eiga öngan rétt á sér, if one cannot claim redress for personal injury; þá eigu þeir eigi rétt á sér, then they have no claim to redress whatever, Grág. i. 261; e. sök, saka-staði á e-u, to have a charge against; þat er hann átti öngva sök á, Nj. 130; saka-staði þá er hann þótti á eiga, 166; kalla Vermund eigi ( not) eiga at selja sik, said V. had no right to sell them, Eb. 116: hence in mod. usage, eiga denotes what is fit and right, þú átt ekki að göra það, you ought not; eg ætti ekki, I ought not: in old writers eiga is seldom strictly used in this sense, but denotes the legal rather than the moral right.

β. eiga fé at e-m (mod. e. hjá e-m), to be one’s creditor, Grág. i. 90, 405, Band. 1 C: metaph. to deserve from one, ok áttu annat at mér, Nj. 113; e. gjafir at e-m, 213; in a bad sense, kváðusk mikit e. at Þráni, they had much against Thrain, 138.

γ. the law phrase, e. útkvæmt, fært, to have the right to return, of a temporary exile, Nj. 251: at hann skyli eigi e. fært út hingat, Grág. i. 119; ok á eigi þingreitt, is not allowed to go to the parliament, ii. 17; e. vígt, Grág., etc.

III. denoting dealings or transactions between men (in a meeting, fight, trade, or the like), to keep, hold; þætti mér ráðliga at vér ættim einn fimtardóm, Nj. 150; e. orrustu við e-n, to fight a battle, Fms. i. 5, Eg. 7; e. högg við e-n, to exchange blows, 297; e. vápna-viðskipti, id., Fms. ii. 17; eiga handsöl at e-u, to shake hands, make a bargain, x. 248; e. ráð við e-n, to consult, hold a conference with, Nj. 127; e. tal við e-n, to speak, converse with one, 129; e. mál við e-n, id., Grág. i. 10; e. fund, to hold a meeting, Nj. 158; e. þing, samkvámu, stefnu, to hold a meeting, Eg. 271; þetta haust áttu menn rétt (a kind of meeting) fjölmenna, Eb. 106; e. kaupstefnu, to hold a market, exchange, 56; e. féránsdóm, Grág. i. 94; e. gott saman, to live well together, in peace and goodwill, Ld. 38; e. illt við e-n, to deal ill with, quarrel with, Nj. 98; e. búisifjar, q. v., of intercourse with neighbours, Njarð. 366; e. drykkju við e-n, to be one’s ‘cup-mate,’ Eg. 253; e. við e-n, to deal with one; ekki á ek þetta við þik, this is no business between thee and me, Nj. 93; gott vilda ek við alla menn e., I would live in goodwill with all, 47; e. við e-n, to fight one; eigum vér ekki við þá elligar (in a hostile sense), else let us not provoke them, 42; eðr hvárt vili it Helgi e. við Lýting einn eðr bræðr hans báða, 154; brátt fundu þeir, at þeir áttu þar eigi við sinn maka, Ld. 64; Glúmr kvað hann ekki þurfa at e. við sik, G. said he had no need to meddle with him, Glúm. 338; e. um að vera, to be concerned; ekki er við menn um at e., Nj. 97; þar sem við vini mína er um at e., where my friends are concerned, 52; við færi er þá um at e., ef Kári er einn, there are fewer to deal with, to fight, if K. be alone, 254; við brögðótta áttu nú um, Fms. v. 263; ætla ek at oss mun léttara falla at e. um við Svein einn, iv. 80; Sveinn svarar, at þeir áttu við ofrefli um at e., that they had to deal with odds, 165.

β. almost as an auxiliary verb; e. skilt (skilit), to have stipulated; hafa gripina svá sem hann átti skill, Fms. vi. 160; þat átta ek skilit við þik, ii. 93; sem Hrani átti skilt, iv. 31; e. mælt, of oral agreement; sem vit áttum mælt með okkr, xi. 40; þá vil ek þat mælt e., 124: in mod. usage e. skilit means to deserve, eg á ekki þetta skilit af hér, etc.

γ. sometimes used much like geta; við því átti Búi eigi gert, B. could not guard against that, Fms. i. 117, cp. xi. 109:—also, e. bágt, to be in a strait, poor, sickly; e. heimilt, to have at one’s disposal, Eb. 254.

IV. to have to do; skal Þorleifr eigi ( not) e. at því at spotta, Eb. 224; e. hendr sínar at verja, to have to defend one’s own hands, to act in self-defence, Nj. 47; e. e-m varlaunað, to stand in debt to one, 181; e. um vandræði at halda, to be in a strait, Eb. 108; e. erindi, to have an errand to run, 250; en er þeir áttu um þetta at tala, when they had to talk, were talking, of this, Stj. 391; e. ríkis at gæta, to have the care of the kingdom, Nj. 126; en þó á ek hverki at telja við þik mægðir né frændsemi, i. e. I am no relation to thee, 213; ok ætti þeir við annan at deila fyrst, 111; e. mikið at vinna, to be much engaged, hard at work, 97; e. e-t eptir, to have left a thing undone, 56; e. för, ferð, to have a journey to take, 11, 12; hann átti þar fé at heimta, 261; e. eptir mikit at mæla, 88.

2. metaph. in the phrases, e. mikit (lítið) ‘at’ ser, or ‘undir’ sér, to have much (or little) in one’s power; margir menn, þeir er mikit þóttusk at sér e., Sturl. i. 64; far þú við marga menn, svá at þú eigir allt undir þér, go with many men, so that thou hast the whole matter in thy hands, Ld. 250; en ávalt átta ek nokkuð undir mér, Vígl. 33; kann vera at hann eigi mikit undir sér, Fas. i. 37; eigum heldr undir oss ( better keep it in our own hands), en ganga í greipar þeim mæðginum, Fs. 37; sem þeir, er ekki eigu undir sér, who are helpless and weak, Þorst. St. 55; e. þykisk hann nokkut undir sér, i. e. he bears himself very proudly, Grett. 122; þetta ráð vil ek undir sonum mínum e., I will leave the matter in my sons’ hands, Valla L. 202; e. líf sitt undir e-m, to have one’s life in another’s hands, Grett. 154; mun ek nú senda eptir mönnum, ok e. eigi undir ójöfnuði hans, and trust him not, 110: hence in mod. usage, e. undir e-u, to risk; eg þori ekki að e. undir því, I dare not risk it: e. saman, to have or own in common; the saying, það á ekki saman nema nafnið, it has nothing but the name in common; rautt gull ok bleikt gull á ekki saman nema nafn eitt, Fms. v. 346: the proverb, þeygi á saman gamalt og ungt, Úlf. 3. 44; e. skap saman, to agree well; kemr þú þér því vel við Hallgerði, at it eigit meir skap saman, you are quite of one mind, Nj. 66; eigi veit ek hvárt við eigum heill saman, I know not whether we shall have luck, i. e. whether we shall live happy, together, 3.

β. to deal with one another (sam-eign); er vér skulum svá miklu úgæfu saman e., that we are to have so much mischief between us, Nj. 201; e. e-t yfir höfði, to have a thing hanging over one’s head, Sks. 742.

V. to agree with, to fit, to suit one:

1. with acc., það á ekki við mig, it suits me not, it agrees not with me.

2. with dat., medic. to agree, heal, the sickness in dat., thus the proverb, margt á við mörgu, cp. ‘similia similibus curantur,’ Vidal. ii. 109.

3. absol. to apply to; at hann skyldi eigi trúa lágum manni rauðskeggjuðum, því at meistarinn átti þetta, the description suited to the master, Fms. xi. 433; þat muntu ætla, at ek muna e. hinn bleika uxann, that the dun ox means me, Vápn. 21.

B. REFLEX., in a reciprocal sense, in the phrase, eigask við, to deal with one another, chiefly to fight; en er þeir höfðu langa hríð við átzk, when they had fought a long time, Eb. 238, 74; eigask við deildir, to be engaged in strife, 246; áttusk þeir höggva-viðskipti við, they came to a close fight, Fms. i. 38; áttusk þeir fá högg við, áðr …, they had a short fight before …, Eg. 297; fátt áttusk þeir við Þjóstólfr ok Þorvaldr, Thostolf and Thorwald had little to do with one another, kept aloof from each other, Nj. 18; var nú kyrt þann dag, svá at þeir áttusk ekki við, tbat day passed quietly, so that they came not to a quarrel, 222.

β. to marry, vide above (A. I. 2).