almost all

may be prefixed to almost every adjective and adverb in an intensive sense, very, extremely.

* * *

may in old writers be prefixed to almost every adjective and adverb in an intensive sense, like Engl. very, Lat. per-, Gr. οια-, ζα-. In common talk and modern writings it is rare (except after a negative), and denotes something below the average, viz. tolerably, pretty well, not very well; but in the Sagas, something capital, exceeding. In high style it may perhaps be used in the old sense, e. g. allfagrt ljós oss birtist brátt, a transl. of the Ambrosian hymn, Aurora lucis rutilat. The instances in old writers are nearly endless, e. g. all-annt, n. adj. very eager, Fms. ii. 41; ironically, 150. all-apr, adj. very sore, very harsh, v. apr. all-auðsóttligt, n. adj. very easy, Fs. 40. all-auðveldliga, adv. very easily, Fms. iv. 129. all-auðveldligr, adj. very easy, Fms. v. 331. all-auðveldr, adj. id., Fbr. 158: neut. as adv., Hkr. ii. 76. all-ágætr, adj. very famous, Fms. ii. 76. all-áhyggjusamliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very careful, Fms. vi. 184. all-ákafliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very hot, impetuous, Hkr. i. 234, ii. 32. all-ákaft, adj. very fast, Nj. 196. all-áræðiliga, adv. very likely, Fær. 183. all-áræðislítill, adj. very timid, Fms. vi. 217. all-ástúðligt, n. adj. very hearty, intimate, Fms. ii. 20. all-banvænn, adj. very likely to prove mortal, Orkn. 148. all-beinn, adj. very hospitable, Fms. ii. 84, Eb. 286: neut. as adv., Fær. 259. all-beiskr, adj. very harsh, bitter, Sturl. iii. 167. all-bert, n. adj. very manifest, Lex. Poët. all-bitr, adj. very biting, sharp, Sks. 548. all-bitrligr, adj. of a very sharp appearance, Vígl. 20. all-bjartr, adj. very bright, Fms. viii. 361. all-bjúgr, adj. very much bent, curved, Ölkofr. 39. all-blár, adj. very blue, Glúm. 394. all-blíðliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very blithely, kindly, Fær. 132. all-blíðr, adj. very mild, amiable, Sd. 158, Fms. i. 202. all-bráðgörr, adj. very soon mature, Eb. 16. all-bráðliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very hastily, Orkn. 72. all-bráðr, adj. very hot-headed, Njarð. 370: neut. as adv. very soon, Fms. xi. 51: dat. pl. all-bráðum, as adv. very suddenly, 139. all-bros-ligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very funny, laughable, Fms. iii. 113. all-dasigr, adj. very sluggish, Lex. Poët. all-digr, adj. very big, stout; metaph. puffed up, Nj. 236. all-djarfliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very boldly, Fms. ii. 313, Orkn. 102. all-djúpsettr, adj. very deep, thoughtful, Bret. 158. all-drengiliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very bold, gallant, Lv. 110. all-dræmt, n. adj. very boastfully, from dramb, superbia, (the modern word is dræmt = slowly, sluggishly); þeir létu a. yfir sér, boasted, Sturl. ii. 56. MS. Mus. Brit. 1127; Cod. A. M. has allvænt, prob. wrongly. all-dyggr, adj. very doughty, Lex. Poët. all-dýrr, adj. very dear, Fms. iii. 159. all-eiguligr, adj. very worth having, Sd. 146. all-eina (theol.), á Guð alleina (a hymn), alone: Hkr. iii. 339 (in a spurious chapter). all-einarðliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very sincere, candid, open, Ld. 334. all-eldiligr and -elliligr, adj. of a very aged appearance, Fms. iii. 125. all-fagr, adj. very bright, fair, Orkn. 296 old Ed.: neut. as adv. very fairly, Sturl. i. 72. all-fast, n. adj. very firmly, steadfastly, Eb. 290, Fær. 259. all-fastorðr, adj. very ‘wordfast,’ very true to his word, Fms. vii. 120. all-fálátr, adj. very taciturn, close, Fas. iii. 408. all-fáliga, adv. on very cold terms, Sturl. iii. 298. all-fámáligr, adj. very close, of very few words, Fms. iii. 85, iv. 366. all-fámennr, adj. followed by very few people, Sturl. ii. 122, Magn. 386. all-far, adj. very few, Eg. 512, Ld. 272, Ísl. ii. 356: neut. on very cold terms, Fms. xi. 55. all-fáræðinn, adj. of very few words, Fms. iv. 312. all-feginn, adj. very ‘fain,’ glad, Eg. 240, Ld. 330. all-feginsamliga, adv. very ‘fain,’ gladly, Eg. 27. all-feigligr, adj. having the mark of death very plain on one’s face, v. feigr, Sturl. iii. 234. all-feitr, adj. very fat, Fms. x. 303. all-ferliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very rudely, Fms. iv. 263. all-fémikill, adj. very costly, Ld. 298. all-fjarri, adv. very far, far from, metaph., Hkr. ii. 246; eigi a., not improper, Fbr. 15. all-fjartekit, part. very far-fetched, Skálda 166. all-fjölgan, adj. acc. very numerous (does not exist in nom.), Sks. 138 A. all-fjölkunnigr, adj. very deeply versed in sorcery, Fms. ii. 175, Fas. i. 412. all-fjölmeðr and -mennr, adj. followed, attended by very many people, much frequented, Eg. 724, 188, Hkr. i. 215: n. sing. in very great numbers, Fms. i. 36. all-fjölrætt, n. adj. very heedful, much talked of, Nj. 109. all-forsjáll, adj. very prudent, Hom. 115. all-framr, adj. very famous, Lex. Poët.; very far forward, Grett. 161 A. all-frekliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very daringly, impudently, Fas. i. 24. all-frekr, adj. too eager, too daring, Fms. vii. 164. all-friðliga, adv. in very great peace, Lex. Poët. all-fríðr, adj. very beautiful, Eg. 23, Hkr. i. 225, ii. 354, Fms. i. 2. all-frjáls, adj. very free, independent, v. alfrjáls. all-fróðligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very wise, learned, Sks. 306 B. all-fróðr, adj. very learned, Sks. 30. all-frægr, adj. very famous, Fms. ii. 324, Hkr. i. 232, ii. 187, Ld. 122. all-frækiliga, adv. and -ligr, adj., and all-frækn, adj. and -liga, adv. very bold, boldly, Ísl. ii. 267, Hkr. i. 239, Fms. i. 121. all-fúss, adj. and -liga, adv. very eager, eagerly, Eg. 488, Fms. xi. 89. all-fýsiligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very desirable, Eg. 19, 468. all-fölr, adj. very pale, Lex. Poët. all-gagnsamr, adj. very profitable, gainful, Ísl. ii. 56. all-gamall, adj. very old, Hkr. i. 34. all-gegniliga and -gegnliga, adv. very fittingly, Sturl. ii. 63. all-gemsmikill, adj. very wanton, frolicsome, Sturl. ii. 57. all-gerla and -görviligr, v. -görla, -görviligr. all-gestrisinn, adj. very hospitable, Háv. 40. all-geysilegr, adj. and -liga, adv. very impetuous, Fms. x. 81. all-gildliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. with a very grand air, Grett. 121. all-gildr, adj. very grand, Lex. Poët. all-giptusam-liga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very lucky, Fms. x. 53. all-glaðliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very joyfully, joyful, Fms. iii. 143, Lv. 55. all-glaðr, adj. very joyful, Eg. 163, Ld. 176. all-gleymr, adj. very gleeful, mirthful, in high spirits, [glaumr], verða a. við e-t, Sturl. iii. 152, Eb. 36. all-glæsiliga, adj. and -ligr, adv. very shiny, Eb. 34, Fas. iii. 626, Fms. ix. 430. all-glöggsær, adj. very transparent, dearly visible, metaph., þorf. Karl. 380. all-glöggt, n. adj. very exactly, Hkr. iii. 253, Fas. iii. 13. all-góðmannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very kindly, kind, Mag. 6. all-góðr, adj. very good, Nj. 222, Eg. 36, 198. all-greiðliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very easy, easily, Eb. 268: neut. as adv., Eb. l. c. all-grimmliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very grimly, fiercely, Fas. iii. 414. all-grimmr, adj. very cruel, fierce, Hkr. iii. 167. all-grun-samliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very suspiciously, Ísl. ii. 364. all-göfugr, adj. very distinguished, Eg. 598, Bs. i. 60. all-görla, adv. very clearly, precisely, Hkr. iii. 133, Fms. xi. 15. all-görviligr, adj. very stout, manly, Fms. ii. 28. all-hagstæðr, adj. with a very fair wind, Sturl. iii. 109. all-harðligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very hard, stern, Fas. i. 382. all-harðr, adj. very hard, stern, Fms. i. 177: n. sing. severely, Nj. 165, Grág. i. 261. all-háskasamligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very hazardous, Fms. v. 135. all-heiðinn, adj. quite heathen, Fs. 89 (in a verse). all-heilagr, adj. very sacred, Lex. Poët. all-heimskliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very foolish, frantic, Hkr. ii. 190, Fas. iii. 293. all-heimskr, adj. very silly, stupid, Eg. 376, Grett. 159. all-heppinn, adj. very lucky, happy, Lex. Poët. all-herðimikill, adj. very broad-shouldered, Eg. 305. all-hermannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very martial, Fms. xi. 233. all-hjaldrjúgr, adj. very gossipping, chattering, Lv. 57: neut. as adv., Vápn. 10. all-hógliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very gently, Fms. xi. 240, vi. 274. all-hóleitr and -háleitr, adj. very sublime, Hom. 23. all-hór and -hár, adj. very high, tall, v. -hár. all-hratt, n. adj. in all speed, Lex. Poët. all-hraustliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very bravely, Fms. viii. 289, Eb. 34. all-hraustr, adj. very valiant, Fms. viii. 267. all-hreystimannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very valiantly, Fms. xi. 95. all-hrumliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very infirmly from age, Fas. ii. 91. all-hræddr, adj. very much afraid, Fbr. 94. all-hræðinn, adj. very timid, Fms. vi. 155. all-huml;mgsjúkr, adj. very grieved, heart-sick, Hkr. i. 243, Fms. vi. 133. all-hvass, adj. of the wind, blowing very sharp, Fms. ix. 20, Lex. Poët. all-hyggi-ligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very carefully, Fas. iii. 610. all-hýrliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very blandly, with a very bright face, Fas. iii. 636. all-hæðiligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very ridiculous, Finnb. 312. all-hældreginn, adj. walking very much on one’s heels, dragging the heels very much in walking, of an aged or beggarly person, Band. 9. all-hœgliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very softly, meekly, Fms. xi. 389. all-hœlinn, adj. very bragging, Lex. Poët. all-iðinn, adj. very diligent, laborious, Bs. i. 278. all-illa, adv. and -illr, adj. very badly, bad, wicked, Nj. 242, cp. ilia; ill-willed, Eg. 542: compar., vera allver um, to be worse off, Nj. 221 (Ed. allvant); angry, Lv. 145; disgraceful, Eg. 237; unfortunate, Sturl. ii. 47. all-jafnlyndr, adj. very calm, even-tempered, Fms. vi. 287. all-kaldr, adj. very cold, Vápn. 21. all-kappsamliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. with very much zeal, liberally, Hkr. i. 271; veita a., of hospitality, Ld. 292; mæla a., frankly, peremptorily, 296. all-kappsamr, adj. very eager, vehement, Eg. 187. all-karlmannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very manfully, Fms. x. 141. all-kaupmannliga, adv. in a very businesslike, tradesmanlike way, Fms. v.255. all-kátligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very funny, Grett. 112. all-kátr, adj. very joyful, Nj. 18, Eg. 44, 332. all-keppinn, adj. very snappish, Lex. Poët. all-kerskiligr and -keskiligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very sarcastic, biting, Sturl. ii. 196. all-klókr, adj. very shrewd, Hkr. iii. 317. all-knáliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very stoutly, vigorously, Rd. 312. all-kostgæflliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very earnestly, in a very painstaking way, Stj. all-kostigr, adj. very excellent, Lex. Poët. all-kviklatr, adj. very quick, lively, Ld. 270. all-kynliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very strangely, strange, Ísl. ii. 58, Fms. ii. 227, Grett. 160. all-kyrrligr, adj. very quiet, tranquil, Háv. 49. all-kærr, adj. very dear, beloved, Eg. 139, Fms. i. 48; very fond of, Hkr. i. 194: neut., Eg. 116, of mutual love. all-langr, adj. very long, Háv. 49. all-laust, n. adj. very loosely, Fms. xi. 103. all-lágr, adj. very low, short of stature, Fbr. 68. all-lengi, adv. very long, K. Þ. K. 158. all-léttbrúnn, adj. of very brightened, cheerful countenance, Ld. 94. all-léttiliga, adv. very lightly, Fas. iii. 612. all-léttmælt, n. adj., vera a. um e-t, to speak in a very lively way, Fms. iv. 261. all-léttr, adj. very light (in weight), Fas. iii. 487. all-líkliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. in very agreeable, courteous terms, Fas. i. 84. all-likligr, adj. very likely, Fas. ii. 247, Sks. 669. all-líkr, adj. very like, Fas. iii. 579, Sd. 160, Korm. 142. all-lítilfjörligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very puny, prop. having little life in one, Háv. 54. all-lítill, adj. very little, Fær. 268: n. sing. all-lítt, as adv. very little, Nj. 108, 130, Korm. 172; poorly, Grett. 116. all-lyginn, adj. very given to lying, Fbr. 157. all-makligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very deserving, fitting, Sturl. iii. 127, Bjarn. 22. all-mann-fátt, n. adj. with very few people, Gísl. 31. all-mannhættr, adj. very dangerous, Fas. iii. 34. all-mannskæðr, adj. very full of manskathe, very murderous, Fms. ii. 512. all-mannæenligr, adj. a very promising man, Fms. iv. 254. all-mannvænn, adj. a man of very great promise, Hkr. ii. 182. all-margliga, adv. very affably, Sturl. iii. 27. all-margmæltr, part. very talkative, Sturl. ii. 179. all-margr, adj. very numerous, pl. very many, Nj. 32, Grág. ii. 176, Sks. 328, Gþl. 329. all-margrætt, n. adj. part. very much spoken of, Fms. viii. 275. all-málugr, adj. very loquacious, Hkr. iii. 152, 655 xi. 2. all-máttfarinn, adj. very much worn out, with very little strength left, Fas. ii. 356. all-máttlítill, adj. very weak, Fms. i. 159. all-meginlauss, adj. very void of strength, Fms. xi. 103. all-mikilfengligr, adj. very high and mighty, very imposing, Fs. all-mikill, adj. very great, Ísl. ii. 269, Nj. 193, Eg. 29, 39: neut. as adv. greatly, Fms. i. 24, vii. 110. all-mikilmannliga, adv. very nobly, Sturl. i. 33. all-misjafn, adj. very variously, unfavourably, in such phrases as, mæla a. um e-t, there were very different stories about the matter, leggja a. til, ganga a. undir, taka a. á, Eg. 242, Hkr. ii. 123, Fms. i. 86, vii. no, Ld. 166. all-mjór, adj. very slim, slender, narrow, Hkr. iii. 117, Gþl. 173. all-mjök, adv. very much, Nj. 134, Ld. 196, Eg. 19; féllu þá a. menn, in very great numbers, Fms. i. 173. all-myrkr, adj. very dark, Fms. ix. 23. all-mæðiliga, adv. with very great effort, heavily, Fms. ix. 16. all-nauðigr, adj. and -liga, adv. very reluctant, unwilling, Grett. 153; a. staddr, dangerously, Fms. v. 212. all-náinn, adj. very near, nearly related, Sks. 330. all-náttförull, adj. very much given to wandering by night, Lex. Poët. all-níðskárr, adj. of a poet, given to mocking, satirical verse, [níð and skáld (?)], Fms. ii. 7. all-nóg, adv. very abundantly, Sd. 182. all-nær, adv. very near, Fms. vii. 289; metaph., lagði a. at, pretty nearly, well-nigh, Fs., Sks. 684 B. all-nærri, adv. very near, Ld. 202, Fas. iii. 339. all-opt, adv. very often, Anecd. 38, Gþl. 169. all-orðfátt, n. adj. in the phrase, göra a. urn, to be very short of words as to, Bjarn. 31. all-ógurligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very frightful, Edda 41. all-ólmliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very furiously, Fas. iii. 546, Bárð. 177. áll-óttalaust, n. adj. with very little to fear, Eg. 371, v. l. all-ramskipaðr, adj. part. very strongly manned, Fms. iii. 13. all-rauðr, adj. very red, Ld. 182. all-ráðligr, adj. very expedient, advisable, Grett. 145. all-reiðiligr, adj. looking very wrathful, Fms. iv. 161. all-reiðr, adj. very wroth, angry, Edda 57, Nj. 135, Eg. 139. all-ríkmarmligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very grand, pompous, magnificent, Fms. i. 213. all-ríkr, adj. very powerful, Fms. i. 115. all-rýrliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very feebly, puny, Fbr. 28. all-röskliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very smart, brisk, Fms. viii. 317. all-sannligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very likely, ‘soothlike,’ Fms. iv. 270. all-sáttgjarnliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very placable, of mild disposition, Sturl. iii. 288. all-seinn, adj. very slow, Bs. i. 192: neut. as adv. slowly, Grett. 151 A. all-sigrsæll, adj. very victorious, having very good luck in war, Hkr. i. 28. all-skammr, adj. very short, very scant, Nj. 264: neut. substantively, a very short way, Finnb. 324; short distance, Fms. iv. 329. all-skapliga, adv. very fittingly, properly, Grett. 120. all-skapværr, adj. of a very gentle, meek disposition, Sturl. all-skapþungt, n. adj., vera a., to be in a very gloomy, depressed state of mind, Fms. iv. 26. all-skarpr, adj. very sharp, Lex. Poët. all-skeinuhættr, adj. very dangerous, vulnerable, Sturl. ii. 139. all-skemtiligr, adj. very amusing, Sturl. ii. 77. all-skillítill, adj. very slow-witted, dull, Sturl. j. 89. all-skjallkænliga, adv. [skjalla, to flatter], very coaxingly, Grett. 131 A. all-skjótt, n. adj. as adv. very soon, Nj. 236. all-skrautligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very smart, splendid, Fas. ii. 366, Mag. 11. all-skygn, adj. very sharp-sighted, Hrafn. 33. all-skyldr, adj. bound to, very obligatory; neut. = bounden duty, Sks. 484; deserved, Gþl. 61:

β. nearly related, near akin, Fms. xi. 75. all-skyndiliga, adv. very quickly, Blas. 40. all-skynsamliga, adv. very judiciously, Sturl. iii. 161. all-skyrugr, adj. all curd-besprent, Grett. 107 A. all-sköruliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very frankly, boldly, dignified, Sturl. iii. 39, Fms. ix. 5, Ld. 94 C, 226, Bs. i. all-sljáliga, adv. very slowly, sluggishly, Grett. 101 A. all-smár, adj. very small, Fms. v. 55, xi. 61. all-snarpliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very sharply, smartly, Fms. viii. 346. all-snarpr, adj. very sharp, Fms. i. 38, Nj. 246. all-snemma, adv. very early, Fms. ii. 223. all-snjallr, adj. very shrewd, clever, Fms. viii. 367. all-snúðula, adv. very quickly, Lex. Poët. all-snæfr, adj. very brisk, id. all-snöfurmannligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very brisk and energetic looking, of a man, Fms. xi. 79. all-spakliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very mildly, moderately, wisely, Hkr. ii. 41. all-spakr, adj. very gentle, wise, Fms. vi. 298. all-starsýnn, adj. who stares very hard at a thing, looking fixedly upon, Fms. vi. 203. all-sterkliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very briskly, strongly, Ld. 158, Fas. iii. 612. all-sterkr, adj. very strong, Hkr. i. 238, Eg. 285; Ísl. ii. 461 ( very vehement); as a pr. name, Fms. iii. 183. all-stilliliga, adv. very calmly, in a very composed manner, Ld. 318. all-stirðr, adj. very stiff, Háv. 46. all-stórhöggr, adj. dealing very hard blows, Fms. i. 171. all-stórliga, adv. very haughtily, Hkr. ii. 63, Ld. 168. all-stórmannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very munificently, nobly, Fas. iii. 45; haughtily, Sd. 146. all-stórorðr, adj. using very big words, Eg. 340, Ld. 38 ( very boisterous). all-stórr, adj. very great, metaph. big, puffed up, Ld. 318; dat. all-stórum, as adv. very largely, Edda 32. all-strangr, adj. very rapid, Lex. Poët. all-styggr, adj. very ill-humoured, cross, Grett. 103 A. all-styrkliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very stoutly, Stj. 402. all-styrkr, adj. very strong, Fms. i. 177. all-svangr, adj. very hungry, Lex. Poët. all-svinnliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very wisely, prudently, wise, Fas. i. 95, ii. 266. all-sættfúss, adj. very placable, peace-loving, very willing to accept an atonement, Sturl. iii. 19. all-sœmiliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very seemly, decorous, honourable, Hkr. i. 215, Ísl. ii. 163. all-tiginn, adj. very princely, Lex. Poët. all-tillátsamr, adj. very indulgent, lenient, Þórð. 12. all-tíðrætt, n. adj. very much talked of, much spoken of, Eg. 99, Sturl. i. 199. all-tíðvirkr, adj. very quick at work, Fms. xi. 377. all-torfyndr, adj. very hard to find, Fms. vii. 356. all-torfært, n. adj. very hard to pass, cross, Eg. 546. all-torsótt, n. adj. part. very difficult to reach, Eg. 546. all-tortryggiliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very suspiciously, Sturl. ii. 47. all-torveldligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very difficult, Str. all-trauðr, adj. very slow, unwilling, Fms. xi. 39. all-tregr, adj. very tardy, Fær. 114, Bárð. 178. all-trúr, adj. very true. Fms. vi. 377. all-tryggr, adj. very trusty, Hkr. iii. 167. all-tvítugr, false reading, instead of eigi alls t., not quite twenty, Sturl. i. 181. all-undarligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very odd, wonderful, Fms. ii. 150. all-ungr, adj. very young, Eg. 268, Fms. i. 14, Ld. 274. all-úbeinskeyttr, adj. shooting very badly, Fms. ii. 103. all-úblíðr, adj. very harsh, unkind, Fas. ii. all-úbragðligr, adj. very ill-looking, Sturl. iii. 234. all-údæll, adj. very spiteful, untractable, Sturl. i. 99. all-úfagr, adj. very ugly, metaph., Fms. iii. 154. all-úfimliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very awkwardly, Fas. ii. 543. all-úframliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very backward, shy, timid, Fbr. 38 C. all-úfríðr, adj. very ugly, Fms. xi. 227. all-úfrýnn, adj. very sullen, ‘frowning,’ sour, Eg. 525. all-úfrægr, adj. very inglorious, Fms. iv. 259. all-úglaðr, adj. very gloomy, sad, Hkr. iii. 379. all-úhægr, adj. very difficult, Eg. 227. all-úhöfðingligr, adj. very low-looking, very plebeian, Finnb. 222. all-úkátr, adj. very sorrowful, Edda 35, Eg. 223, Fms. i. 37. all-úknár, adj. very weak of frame, Grett. 119 A, very badly knit; Bs. i. 461 (of boys). all-úkonungligr, adj. very unkingly, Fms. viii. 158. all-úkunnigr, adj. quite unknown, Ísl. ii. 412. all-úlífligr, adj. very unlikely to live, Hkr. ii. 200. all-úlíkliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very unlikely, Gísl. 24, Sd. 123, Finnb. 310. all-úlíkr, adj. very unlike, Glúm. 364. all-úlyginn, adj. not at all given to lie, truthful, Fbr. 157. all-úmáttuliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. weakly, very weak, tender, Fms. iv. 318. all-úráðinn, adj. part. very ‘unready’ (cp. Ethelred the ‘unready’), undecided, Lv. 9. all-úráðliga, adv. very unadvisedly, rashly, Odd. 12 old Ed. all-úsannligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very untruthful, unjust; also, unlikely, Fms. vii. 141. all-úsáttfúss, adj. very implacable, unwilling to come to terms, Sturl. iii. 275. all-úskyldr, adj. very strange to, not at all bound to…, Eg. 10. all-úspakr, adj. very unruly, Sturl. ii. 61. all-úsváss, adj. very uncomfortable, of weather, cold and rainy, Bs. i. 509. all-úsýnn, adj. very uncertain, doubtful, Glúm. 358, Sturl. i. 105. all-úsæligr, adj. of very poor, wretched appearance, Niðrst. 109. all-úvinsæll, adj. very unpopular, Fms. iv. 369, Fas. iii. 520. all-úvísliga, adv. very unwisely, Niðrst. 6. all-úvænliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. of very unfavourable prospect, Fas. ii. 266; n. adj. very unpromising, Grett. 148 A. all-úvænn, adi. very ugly, Fas. i. 234; very unpromising, unfavourable, Ísl. ii. 225: neut. as adv. unfavourably, Fms. xi. 134. all-úþarfr, adj. very unthrifty, very unprofitable, something that had better be prevented, Eg. 576, Hkr. ii. 245. all-vandlátr, adj. very difficult, hard to please, Fms. vi. 387. all-vandliga, adv. with very great pains, exactly, carefully, Sks. 658 B. all-vant, n. adj., vera a. um e-t, to be in a very great strait, Nj. 221. all-varfærr, adj. very careful, solicitous, Eg. 63. all-vaskligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very brisk, smart, gallant, Hkr. i. 104; compar. v. alvaskligr. all-vaskr, adj. very brisk, gallant, Fms. viii. 226. all-vandr, adj. very bad, of clothes, much worn, Pm. 11. all-vápndjarfr, adj. very bold, daring in arms, Hkr. iii. 63. all-veðrlítið, n. adj. very calm, with little wind, Fms. vi. 360. all-vegliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very grand, princely, nobly, Fms. i. 20, Eg. 332, Hkr. i. 15. all-vel, adv. very well, Nj. 12, Eg. 78, 198; compar. albetr, v. alvel. all-vesall, adj. very puny, wretched, Nj. 97. all-vesalliga, adv. very wretchedly, Ölk. 35. all-vesalmannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. id., Ísl. ii. 416. all-vesæll, adj. very miserable, base, vile, Nj. 97. all-vingjarnliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very friendly, amicable, Sturl. ii. 168. all-vingott, n. adj. on very friendly terms, Fbr. 129. all-vinsæll, adj. very popular, used of a man blessed with many friends, Fms. i. 184, ii. 44, Orkn. 104 old Ed. all-virðuligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very worthy, dignified, Fms. x. 84, Bs. i. 83. all-vitr, adj. very wise, Sks. 29 B (superl.) all-vitrliga, adv. very wisely, Fas. ii. 66. all-víða and all-vítt, n. adj. very widely, Hkr. iii. 141, Lex. Poët. all-vígliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. in a very warlike manner, Fms. ix. 488, Fas. ii. 112. all-vígmannliga, adv. very martially, Fas. iii. 150. all-vígmóðr, adj. quite wearied out with fighting, Introd. to Helgakviða (Sæm.) all-víss, adj. very wise, sure, Sks. 520, Lex. Poët.: neut. to a dead certainty, Lex. Poët. all-vænliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very promising, handsome, Glúm. 349, Fms. v. 260, Fbr. 114. all-vænn, adj. id., Clem. 24, Bs. i. 340: neut., þykja a. um, to be in high spirits, Ísl. ii. 361; make much of, Fms. ii. 76; as adv. favourably, Fms. iv. 192. all-vörpuligr, adj. of a very stout, stately frame, Hkr. ii. 254. all-vöxtuligr, adj. very tall, of large growth, Fas. iii. 627. all-þakkligr, adj. very pretty, = þekkiligr, Lex. Poët. all-þakksamliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very thankfully, Fms. i. 120, Ld. 298. all-þarfliga, adv. very thriftily, very pressingly; biðja a., to beg very hard, Edda 45. all-þarfr, adj. very thrifty, Lex. Poët. all-þéttr, adj. very crowded, cp. Lex. Poët. all-þrekligr, adj. of a very robust frame, Hkr. ii. 2. all-þröngr, adj. as neut. in a very great crowd, Edda 24. all-þungliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very hard, unwilling, reluctant, Sturl. ii. 120; taka a. á e-m, to be very hard upon, Mag. 1. all-þungr, adj. very unfavourable, Hkr. ii. 358; hostile, badly disposed towards, Eb. 108, Eg. 332; þykja a., to dislike, Fms. viii. 441; a. orð, to blame, Sturl. ii. 62. all-þykkr, adj. very thick, Fas. i. 339: n. sing. as adv. thickly, Fms. vii. 70 (of great numbers slain on the battle-field). all-æfr, adj. very furious, wrath, Ísl. ii. 258, Lv. 60, Fas. i. 404. all-ægiligr, adj. very terrible, Dropl. 18. all-æstr, adj. very incited, vehement, Nj. 231. all-örorðr, adj. very quick-tongued, frank, outspoken, Eg. 340. all-öruggliga, adv. very steadfastly, very firmly, Grett. 153 A. all-öruggr, adj. very unflinching, Bs. i. 624.

a. Danish;

dönsk tunga, the Danish (or old Scandinavian) language.

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adj., Danir, pl. Danes; Dan-mörk, f. Denmark, i. e. the mark, march, or border of the Danes; Dana-veldi, n. the Danish empire; Dana-virki, n. the Danish wall, and many compds, vide Fms. xi. This adj. requires special notice, because of the phrase Dönsk tunga ( the Danish tongue), the earliest recorded name of the common Scandinavian tongue. It must be borne in mind that the ‘Danish’ of the old Saga times applies not to the nation, but to the empire. According to the researches of the late historian P.A. Munch, the ancient Danish empire, at least at times, extended over almost all the countries bordering on the Skagerac (Vík); hence a Dane became in Engl. synonymous with a Scandinavian; the language spoken by the Scandinavians was called Danish; and ‘Dönsk tunga’ is even used to denote Scandinavian extraction in the widest extent, vide Sighvat in Fms. iv. 73, Eg. ch. 51, Grág. ii. 71, 72. During the 11th and 12th centuries the name was much in use, but as the Danish hegemony in Scandinavia grew weaker, the name became obsolete, and Icel. writers of the 13th and 14th centuries began to use the name ‘Norræna,’ Norse tongue, from Norway their own mother country, and the nearest akin to Icel. in customs and idiom. ‘Swedish’ never occurs, because Icel. had little intercourse with that country, although the Scandinavian tongue was spoken there perhaps in a more antique form than in the sister countries. In the 15th century, when almost all connection with Scandinavia was broken off for nearly a century, the Norræna in its turn became an obsolete word, and was replaced by the present word ‘Icelandic,’ which kept its ground, because the language in the mean time underwent great changes on the Scandinavian continent. The Reformation, the translation of the Old and New Testaments into Icelandic (Oddr Gotskalksson, called the Wise, translated and published the N. T. in 1540, and bishop Gudbrand the whole Bible in 1584), a fresh growth of religious literature, hymns, sermons, and poetry (Hallgrímr Pétrsson, Jón Vídalín), the regeneration of the old literature in the 17th and 18th centuries (Brynjólfr Sveinsson, Arni Magnússon, Þormóðr Torfason),—all this put an end to the phrases Dönsk tunga and Norræna; and the last phrase is only used to denote obsolete grammatical forms or phrases, as opposed to the forms and phrases of the living language. The translators of the Bible often say ‘vort Íslenzkt mál,’ our Icelandic tongue, or ‘vort móður mál,’ our mother tongue; móður-málið mitt, Pass. 35. 9. The phrase ‘Dönsk tunga’ has given rise to a great many polemical antiquarian essays: the last and the best, by which this question may be regarded as settled, is that by Jon Sigurdsson in the preface to Lex. Poët.; cp. also that of Pál Vídalín in Skýr. s. v., also published in Latin at the end of the old Ed. of Gunnl. Saga, 1775.

a. substantial, lasting, ample; verða drjúgari (drjúgastr), to get the better (best) of it; þú munt þeim öllum drjúgari verða, you will outdo them all, Baglar reðust at, ok varð þat drjúgara, at, the issue was, that.

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adj., compar. drjúgari, superl. drjúgastr; in mod. use more freq. drýgri, drýgstr, solid, substantial; the phrase, verða drjúgari or drjúgastr, to get the better or best of it, to prove the better (of two champions); varð Þórir þeirra drjúgari, Bárð. 170; þú, Kári, munt þeim öllum drjúgari verða, thou, K., wilt outdo them all, Nj. 171; hvárir þar mundi drjúgari verða, Ld. 222; þótti þeim, sem hann myndi drjúgastr, Bárð. 170; hverr yðar drjúgastr ( strongest) er höfðingjanna, Ísl. ii. 165, Grett. 151.

β. the neut. drjúgt and drjúgum is used as adv. in great numbers, much; Kolskeggr vá drjúgt menn, Kolskegg slew men in numbers, Nj. 108; þaðan af muntu d. spekjask, 677. 12; vegr Gunnarr drjugum menn, Nj. 96; lá þá drjúgum í fyrir þeim, Hrafn. 27: almost, nearly, drjúgum allr, almost all, Fms. ix. 318; drjúgum allra manna virðing, Bret. 38; drjúgum hverr bóndi, Landn. (Mant.) 330; drjúgum dauðr af kulda, Fms. ix. 467: drjúgan (acc. masc.) as adv., id., Fb. i. 304, Karl. 246, 181 (Fr.): the proverb, þat er drjúgt sem drýpr, i. e. many drops make a flood; þar var drjúgt manna, a good many people, Bs. i. 536.

2. substantial, lasting, rich, ample, [Swed. dryg, Dan. dröj], in compds as, drjúg-virkr, vinnu-d., one who works slowly but surely; ráða-d., hamingju-d., etc.

β. saving, blanda agnar við brauð, … til þess at þá sé drjúgari fæzlan en áðr, Sks. 321; til þess at rit verði minna, ok bókfell drjúgara, i. e. to save parchment, Skálda 168; at jafndrjúg verði sagan ok Jólin, that the story shall last as long as Yule, Fms. vi. 355.

1) old;

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

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

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

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

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

a. compar.,

1) more;

fleira lið, more troops;

neut., fleira, more things (ekki sagði hann honum fleira);

with gen., fleira manna, more people (cfr. ‘margt manna’);

pl., hinir vóru þó miklu fleiri, more numerous;

2) more communicatlive, hearty; hann gerðist við hann fleiri ok fleiri, more and more intimate.

* * *

compar., and FLESTR, superl., ( fleirstr is a bad form, freq. in books of the 18th century), [cp. Lat. plerique, plūres; Gr. πλειστοι, πλείονες; Dan. flere, flest; Ulf. uses managistr = πλειστος and managiza = πλείων; vide margr]:—more, most; sex dómendr eða fleiri, Grág. i. 37; eru þeir fleiri er þat sanna, Fms. x. 275; hinir vóru þó miklu fleiri ( more numerous), Ld. 170; ef hann þarf fleiri bjargkviðu, Grág. i. 55; á því vígi eigi fleirum mönnum á hendr at lýsa, ii. 34; vil ek heyra fleiri manna órskurð, Fms. i. 42: neut. fleira, more, féll miklu fleira lið hans, 121: with gen., hafði hann nokkuru fleira manna, Eg. 77, Bs. ii. 167; fleira barna, Fs. 75; ekki sagði hann þessum manni fleira, Fms. i. 145.

β. metaph. more communicative, hearty, cp. fár and margr; er nú fleira í frændsemi með þeim, Band. 20 new Ed.; hann görðisk við hann fleiri ok fleiri, more and more intimate, Finnb. ch. 7; fannsk mér þá ok æ síðan fleira til hans, i. e. I liked him then and better ever since, Fms. i. 141: in the sense of more, er fleira drekkr, the more he drinks, Hm. 12; fleiri vásbúð hafði hann, en vér höfum haft, Fb. i, Ó. T. ch. 26.

II. superl., forsjálir um flest, Eg. 73; þér erut um flest einráðir Íslendingar, Ld. 314; flest allt, almost all (vide allr), Fs. 174; flest allt stórmenni, Landn. 39, v. l.; flest öll hof, Sks. 234; þeir eru hér flestir menn at mikils munu virða mín orð, Ld. 184; flestir allir nema fáir menn, Niðrst. 7; flest lið, the greater part of the people or troops, Korm. 236, Eg. 92.

β. with the notion of all; flestr maðr, most people, Höfuðl. 3; þat tel ek fyrst er flestr um veit, Ad. 17; reyndr var flestr í fastri fleindrífu, Fbr. (in a verse); flestan dag, all day long, Gm. 15; flestan aldr, all ages, for ever, Arnór; dag-lengis flestan, all day long, Kormak; því at ek brúðar á flest um ráð sem faðir, Alm. 5, Lex. Poët.: the saying, flestir kjósa fyrðar líf, all men cling to life, Kvöldv. i. 194, as motto to the fable of Death and the Old Man with the Sack.

(pl. hundruð), n. hundred; tírœtt h. = 100; tólfrœtt h. = 120; hundruðum, by (in) hundreds; as value, one hundred and twenty ells of the stuff wadmal; h. frítt, a hundred paid in cattle; tólf hundruð mórend, twelve hundred in dark-striped wadmal; hundrað silfrs, ? the silver value of 120 ells (= 20 ounces).

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n. pl. hundruð; the form hund- (q. v.) only occurs in a few old compd words: [Goth. hunda, pl.; A. S. hund; O. H. G. hunt; the extended form in Hel. and old Frank, hundered; Germ. hundert; Dan. hundrede; Swed. hundra; the inflexive syllable is prob. akin to - ræðr in átt-ræðr]:—a hundred; the Scandinavians of the heathen time (and perhaps also all Teutonic people) seem to have known only a duo-decimal hundred (= 12 × 10 or 120); at that time 100 was expressed by tíu-tíu, cp. Ulf. taihun-taihund = ten-teen; Pal Vídalín says,—hundrað tólfrætt er sannlega frá heiðni til vor komið, en hið tíræða er líkast að Norðrlönd hafi ekki vitað af fyrr en Kristni kom hér og með henni lærdómr þeirrar aldar, Skýr. s. v. Hundrað (fine): but with the introduction of Christianity came in the decimal hundred, the two being distinguished by adjectives,—tólfrætt hundrað = 120, and tírætt hundrað = 100. But still the old popular duodecimal system continued in almost all matters concerned with economical or civil life, in all law phrases, in trade, exchange, property, value, or the like, and the decimal only in ecclesiastical or scholastic matters (chronology, e. g. Íb. ch. 1, 10). At the same time the word in speech and writing was commonly used without any specification of tírætt or tólfrætt, for, as Pal Vídalín remarks, every one acquainted with the language knew which was meant in each case; even at the present time an Icel. farmer counts his flocks and a fisherman his share (hlutr) by the duodecimal system; and everybody knows that a herd or share of one hundred and a half means 120 + 60 = 180. In old writers the popular way of counting is now and then used even in chronology and in computation, e. g. when Ari Frode (Íb. ch. 4) states that the year consists of three hundred and four days (meaning 364); the census of franklins given by the same writer (where the phrase is hundruð heil = whole or full hundreds) is doubtless reckoned by duodecimal, not decimal hundreds, Íb. ch. 10; and in the census of priests and churches taken by bishop Paul (about A. D. 1200) ‘tíræð’ is expressively added, lest duodecimal hundreds should be understood, Bs. i. 136. The Landn. (at end) contains a statement (from Ari?) that Iceland continued pagan for about a hundred years, i. e. from about 874–997 A. D. In the preface to Ólafs S., Snorri states that two duodecimal hundreds (tvau hundruð tólfræð) elapsed from the first colonisation of Iceland before historical writing began (i. e. from about A. D. 874–1115): levies of ships and troops are in the laws and Sagas counted by duodecimal hundreds, e. g. the body-guard of king Olave consisted of a hundred hirð-men, sixty house-carles and sixty guests, in all ‘two hundred’ men, i. e. 240, Mork. 126; the sons of earl Strút-Harald had a hundred men, of whom eighty were billetted out and forty returned, Fms. xi. 88, 89; hálft hundrað, a half hundred = sixty, Mork. l. c.

2. a division of troops = 120; hundraðs-flokkr, Fms. vi. (in a verse).

II. in indef. sense, hundreds, a host, countless number, see hund-, as also in the adverb, phrase, hundruðum, by hundreds (indefinitely), Fms. vi. 407, Þiðr. 275, 524: in mod. usage as adjective and indecl., except the pl. in -uð, thus hundruð ásauðum, Dipl. iv. 10.

B. As value, a hundred, i. e. a hundred and twenty ells of the stuff wadmal, and then simply value to that amount (as a pound sterling in English). All property, real as well as personal, is even at present in Icel. taxed by hundreds; thus an estate is a ‘twenty, sixty, hundred’ estate; a franklin gives his tithable property as amounting to so and so many hundreds. As for the absolute value of a hundred, a few statements are sufficient, thus e. g. a milch cow, or six ewes with lambs, counts for a hundred, and a hundrað and a kúgildi (cow’s value) are equal: the charge for the alimentation of a pauper for twelve months was in the law (Jb. 165) fixed to four hundred and a half for a male person, but three hundred and a half for a female; cp. also the phrase, það er ekki hundrað í hættunni, there is no hundred at stake, no great risk! In olden times a double standard was used,—the wool or wadmal standard, called hundrað talið = a hundred by tale, i. e. a hundred and twenty ells as stated above, and a silver standard, called hundrað vegit, a hundred by weight, or hundrað silfrs, a hundred in silver, amounting to two marks and a half = twenty ounces = sixty örtugar; but how the name hundred came to be applied to it is not certain, unless half an örtug was taken as the unit. It is probable that originally both standards were identical, which is denoted by the phrase, sex álna eyrir, six ells to an ounce, or a hundred and twenty ells equal to twenty ounces (i. e. wadmal and silver at par); but according as the silver coinage was debased, the phrases varied between nine, ten, eleven, twelve ells to an ounce (N. G. L. i. 80, 81, 387, 390, passim), which denote bad silver; whereas the phrase ‘three ells to an ounce’ (þriggja álna eyrir, Sturl. i. 163, passim, or a hundred in wadmal equal to half a hundred in silver) must refer either to a double ell or to silver twice as pure: the passage in Grág. i. 500 is somewhat obscure, as also Rd. 233: the words vegin, silfrs, or talin are often added, but in most cases no specification is given, and the context must shew which of the two standards is there meant; the wool standard is the usual one, but in cases of weregild the silver standard seems always to be understood; thus a single weregild (the fine for a man’s life) was one hundred, Njála passim.

2. the phrases, hundrað frítt, a hundred paid in cattle, Finnb. 236; tólf hundruð mórend, twelve hundred in dark striped wadmal, Nj. 225; hundrað í búsgögnum ok í húsbúningi, Vm. 65; hundraðs-gripr, hestr, hross, kapall, hvíla, sæng, rekkja, psaltari, etc., a beast, a horse, a bed, etc., of a hundred’s value, Am. 2, 10, Vm. 25, 39, 60, 153, Jm. 3, 30; hundraðs-úmagi, a person whose maintenance costs a hundred, Vm. 156; hundraðs virði, a hundred’s value, 68. For references see the Sagas and laws passim, and for more information see Mr. Dasent’s Essay in Burnt Njal.

C. A hundred, a political division which in olden times was common to all Teut. nations, but is most freq. in old Swedish laws, where several hundreds made a hérað or shire; cp. the A. S. and Engl. hundred, Du Cange hundredum; old Germ. hunderti, see Grimm’s Rechts Alterthümer; the centum pagi of Caesar, Bell. Gall. iv. ch. 1, is probably the Roman writer’s misconception of the Teut. division of land into hundreds; this is also the case with Tacit. Germ. ch. 12: cp. the Swed. local names Fjaðrunda-land, Áttundaland, and Tíunda-land, qs. Fjaðr-hunda land, Átthunda land, Tíhunda land, i. e. a combination of four, eight, ten hundreds. The original meaning was probably a community of a hundred and twenty franklins or captains. This division is not found in Icel.

* * *

(slæ; sló, slógum; sleginn; pret. also sleri), v.

1) to smite, strike (slá e-n högg, kinnhest);

2) slá hörpu, fiðlu, to strike the harp, fiddle;

slá slag, to strike up a tune;

slá leik, to strike up, begin, a game;

slá vef, to strike the web, to weave;

3) to hammer, forge (slá gull, silfr, sverð);

slá e-t e-u, to mount with (járnum sleginn);

4) to cut grass, mow (slá hey, töðu, tún, eng);

5) to slay, kill (síns bróður sló hann handbana);

6) fig., slá kaupi, to strike a bargain;

slá máli í sátt, to refer a matter to arbitration;

slá fylking, to draw up a line of battle;

slá hring um, to surround;

slá manngarð, mannhring, to form a ring of men round;

slá eldi í e-t, to set fire to;

slá landtjöldum, to pitch a tent, or also, to strike a tent, take it down;

slá festum, to unmoor a ship;

slá netjum, to put out the nets;

slá hundum lausum, to slip the hounds;

7) with preps.:

slá e-t af, to cut off;

slá e-n af, to kill, slaughter;

slá á e-t, to take to a thing;

slá á glens ok glúmur, to take to play and sport;

slá á heit, to take to making a vow;

slá e-u á sik, to take upon one-self;

slá á sik sótt, to feign illness;

slá á sik úlfúð, to show anger or ill-will;

ekki skaltu slíku á þik slá, do not betake thyself to that;

impers., sló á hann hlátri, he was taken with a fit of laughter;

sló ótta á marga, many were seized with fear;

því slær á, at, it so happens that;

ljóssi sleri (= sló) fyrir hann, a light flashed upon him;

slá í deilu, to begin quarrelling (eitt kveld, er þeir drukku, slógu þeir í deilu mikla);

impers., slær í e-t, it arises;

slær þegar í bardaga, it came to a fight;

slá niðr e-u, to put an end to;

nú er niðr slegit allri vináttu, now there is an end to all friendship;

slá sér niðr, to lie down, take to one’s bed;

slá e-n niðr, to kill;

slá e-u saman, to join (þeir slá þá saman öllu liðinu í eina fylking);

slá til e-s, to aim a blow at one, strike at one;

slá undan höfuð-bendunum, to slacken the stays;

slá e-u upp, to spread a report;

slá upp herópi, to raise the war-cry;

impers., loganum sló upp ór keröldunum, the flame burst out of the vessels;

slá út e-u, to pour out (þá er full er mundlaugin, gengr hón ok slær út eitrinu);

slá e-u við, to take into use (þá var slegit við öllum búnaði);

slá við segli, to spread the sail;

ek hefi þó náliga öllu við slegit, því er ek hefi í minni fest, I have put forth almost all that I recollected;

slá beizli við hest, to put a bridle on a horse;

e-u slær yfir, it comes over, arises (slær yfir þoku svá myrkri, at engi þeirra sá annan);

8) refl., slást;

(sláða, sláðr), v. to bar (hliðit var slát rammliga).

(pl. slár), f. bar, bolt, cross-beam (slá ein var um þvert skipit).

* * *

pres. slæ, slær, slær; pl. slám (m. sláum), sláið, slá: pret. sló, slótt, slóttú (mod. slóst, slóstu), sló; pl. slógu (slósk = slógusk, Sturl. ii. 208 C): subj. slægi: imperat. slá, sláðú: part. sleginn: a pret. sleri or slöri occurs as a provincialism in the old vellum Ágrip—sløru, Fms. x. 403; sleri, 394; slæri, i. e. slöri, 379: [Ulf. slahan = τύπτειν, παίειν; A. S. sleân, slæge; Engl. slay; Dan.-Swed. slaa; O. H. G. slahan; Germ. schlagen.]

A. To smite, strike, Dropl. 13; slá með steini, Fms. viii. 388; slá e-n til bana, ii. 183; slá e-n högg, kinnhest, i. 150, ix. 469, 522, Ld. 134; slá knött, Vígl. 24; slá til e-s, to strike at one, Finnb. 306, Sturl. ii. 24 C; slá í höfuð e-m, Fms. v. 173.

2. slá hörpu, fiðlu, to strike the harp, fiddle, Vsp. 34, Fdda 76, Am. 62, Bs. i. 155, Fb. i. 348, Fms. vii. 356 (in a verse), Sks. 704, Grett. 168 (hörpu-sláttr); slá hljóðfæri, Fms, iii. 184; slá slag, to strike up a tune; hann sló þann slag, … sló hann þá Gýgjar-slag… þann streng er hann hafði ekki fyrr slegit, Fas. iii. 222, 223, cp. drápa and drepa: slá leik, to strike up for a dance or game to begin, hann sá at leikr var sleginn skamt frá garði, Sturl. ii. 190; so in embroidery (see borð), slá danz, 117, Karl. 52: slá eld, to strike fire, Fms. ix. 234: slá vef, to strike the loom, in weaving, xi. 49, Darr.; slá borða, Fas. i. 193, 205.

3. to hammer, forge; slá hamri, Vkv. 18; slá sverð, Þiðr. 21; slá þvertré af silfri í hofit, Landn. 313; slá saum, Fms. ii. 218, ix. 377, Stj. 451; hann sló gull rautt, Vkv. 5; slá herspora, Fms. vii. 183; sleginn fram broddr ferstrendr, Eg. 285; slá öxar eða gref, Stj. 451: to mount, járnum sleginn, Fms. v. 339, Fas. iii. 574: to strike off, of coin.

4. to mow, cut grass; slegin tún, Nj. 112; þrælar níu slógu hey, Edda 48; ek mun láta bera út ljá í dag ok slá undir sem mest … slá töðu, Eb. 150, Fb. i. 522; slá teig þann er heitir Gullteigr, Ísl. ii. 344; slá afrétt, Grág. ii. 303; slá eng, 281, Gþl. 360: absol., þeir slóu (sic) allir í skyrtum, Ísl. ii. 349, Grág. ii. 281.

5. to slay, smite, kill, Stj. passim, but little used in classical writings, where drepa is the word; sverði sleginn, 656 C. 4; slá af, to slay. Bs. ii. 56, 89, Stj. 183; slá af hest, to kill a horse, send it to the knacker: to smite with sickness, slá með likþrá, blindleik, blindi, Stj.; harmi sleginn, Fms. iii. 11.

II. metaph. phrases; slá kaupi, to strike a bargain, Ld. 30, Fms. ii. 80; slá máli í sátt, to put it to arbitration, Fms. x. 403; slá kaupi saman, Fb. ii. 79: slá fylking, to dress up a line of battle, Fms. viii. 408; slá öllu fólki í mannhringa, x. 229; slá hring um, to surround, Nj. 275. Fas. ii. 523; slá manngarð, mannhring, to form a ring of men round, Eg. 80, 88, Fms. viii. 67, x. 229; eldi um sleginn, Sól.: slá í lás, to slam, lock, Sturl. i. 63: slá eldi í, to set fire to, Fms. vii. 83, xi. 420, Hdl. 47; slá beisli við hest, to put a bridle in a horse’s mouth. Fas. ii. 508: slá landtjöldum, to pitch a tent, Eg. 291, Fms. ii. 264; or also, to strike a tent, take it down, Fær. 147; slá landtjalds-stöngunum, to loosen them, Hkr. i. 26; slá festum, to unmoor a ship, ii. 222, Fms. viii. 288, 379; slá undan höfuð-bendunum, to slacken the stays, Al. 67; slá netjum, to put out the nets. Bs. ii. 145; slá hundum (or slá hundum lausum, Fms. ii. 174, x. 326), to slip the hounds, Hom. 120.

2. with prepp.; slá e-n við, to display; slá við segli, to spread the sail, Fas. ii. 523; þá var slegit við öllum búnaði, all was taken into use, Fms. x. 36; ek hefi þó náliga öllu við slegit, því er ek hefi í minni fest, I have put forth all that I recollected, Bs. i. 59: slá e-n upp, to spread a report (upp-sláttr), Fms, viii. 232, ix. 358: slá niðr, to throw down, Hom. 110; hann sló sér niðr, he lay down, Fms. ii. 194; hann slær sér niðr ( takes to his bed) sem hann sé sjúkr, Stj. 520; nú er niðr slegit allri vináttu, an end to all friendship, Fms. vi. 286, xi. 72: slá út, to throw out, N. G. L. i. 31; slá út eitrinu, to pour it out, Edda 40: slá saman liðinu, to join the army, Fms. x. 268: slá upp ópi, to strike up, raise a cry, viii. 414, Fb. ii. 125: slá í sundr kjöptunum, ii. 26: slá á e-t, to take to a thing; slá á glens ok glímur, he took to play and sport, Fms. ii. 182; hann sló á fagrmæli við þá, begun flattering, Nj. 167; slá í rán, to betake oneself to robbery, Stj. 400: slá á heit, to take to making a vow, Fs. 91: slá á, to take on oneself; slá á sik sótt, to feign illness, Fms. vi. 32; slá á sik úlfúð, to show anger, ill-will, Eb. 114; skaltú ekki slíku á þik slá, at þrá eptir einni konu, do not betake thyself to that, Ísl. ii. 250: slá e-u af, to put off; eg hefi slegið því af.

III. impers., it strikes or breaks out to a thing, i. e. the thing happens; loganum sló út um keröldin, flames broke out round the casks, Fms. i. 128; þá sleri ljósi fyrir hann sem elding væri, x. 394; sló á hann hlátri, he was taken in a fit of laughter, vii. 150; sló ópi á herinn, the men fell a-shouting, viii. 225; þá sleri á uþefjani ok ýldu, x. 379; sló þá í verkjum fyrir brjóstið, Sturl. ii. 127 C. Bs. i. 119; sló þá felmt ok flótta á liðit, the men were panic-stricken and took to flight, Fms. i. 45; þótt þunga eðr geispa slái á hana, vi. 199; sló mikilli hræðslu á konu þá, viii. 8; sló ifa í skap honum, 655 xii. 3, Stj. 424; því slær á ( it so happens), at hann réttir höndina í ljósit, Bs. i. 462; slær þegar í bardaga, it came to a fight, Fms. xi. 32; sló með þeim í mestu deilu, x. 99; í kappmæli, Fb. i. 327; hér slær í allmikit úefni, Nj. 246; var mjök í gadda slegit, at hann mundi fá hennar (cp. Dan. klapped og klart), 280; þá sló því á þá, at þeir fóru í á með net, Bs. i. 119.

B. Reflex. to throw oneself, betake oneself; slósk hón at fram eldinum, she rushed to the fireside, Fms iv. 339; slásk á bak e-m, to go behind another, Sturl. i. 197 C; slásk aptr, to draw back; gæta þess at eigi slægisk aptr liðit, Ó. H. 214; þeir kómu í Valadal, ok slósk (sic = slógusk) þar inn, broke into the houses, Sturl. ii. 208 C; þá slógusk í Suðreyjar víkingar, Vikings infested, invaded the islands, Fms. i. 245; slásk í för með e-m, to join another in a journey, xi. 129; ef nokkurr slæsk í mat eðr mungát, ok rækir þat meirr enn þingit, Gþl. 15; hann slósk á tal við Guðrúnu, entered into conversation with G., Nj. 129; slásk í sveit með e-m, Ó. H. 202; slásk á spurdaga við e-n, to ask questions, Sks. 302 B; slásk á svikræði, Fms. vi. 179. ☞ The slæsk in Ld. 144 is an error for slævask, see sljófa.

II. recipr. to fight; hann slóst við Enska í hafi, Ann. 1420, cp. Dan. slaaes, but it is unclass., for berjask is the right word.

III. part. sleginn; með slegnu hári, with dishevelled hair, Finnb. 250: hón var mörgu sleginn, whimsical, Gþl. 3 (= blandin): sleginn, surrounded, Akv. 14, 29; sleginn regni, beaten with rain, Vtkv. 5: sleginn, coined, N. G. L. i. 5.

(prop. dat. pl. from drjúgr), adv.

1) much, to a great extent, greatly;

fóru drjúgum dag þann fram, they went far that day;

vegr Gunnar drjúgum menn, G. slew men in great numbers;

2) almost, nearly (drjúgum dauðr af kulda);

drjúgum allr, almost all;

enginn drjúgum, scarcely anybody.

* * *

(slæ; sló, slógum; sleginn; pret. also sleri), v.

1) to smite, strike (slá e-n högg, kinnhest);

2) slá hörpu, fiðlu, to strike the harp, fiddle;

slá slag, to strike up a tune;

slá leik, to strike up, begin, a game;

slá vef, to strike the web, to weave;

3) to hammer, forge (slá gull, silfr, sverð);

slá e-t e-u, to mount with (járnum sleginn);

4) to cut grass, mow (slá hey, töðu, tún, eng);

5) to slay, kill (síns bróður sló hann handbana);

6) fig., slá kaupi, to strike a bargain;

slá máli í sátt, to refer a matter to arbitration;

slá fylking, to draw up a line of battle;

slá hring um, to surround;

slá manngarð, mannhring, to form a ring of men round;

slá eldi í e-t, to set fire to;

slá landtjöldum, to pitch a tent, or also, to strike a tent, take it down;

slá festum, to unmoor a ship;

slá netjum, to put out the nets;

slá hundum lausum, to slip the hounds;

7) with preps.:

slá e-t af, to cut off;

slá e-n af, to kill, slaughter;

slá á e-t, to take to a thing;

slá á glens ok glúmur, to take to play and sport;

slá á heit, to take to making a vow;

slá e-u á sik, to take upon one-self;

slá á sik sótt, to feign illness;

slá á sik úlfúð, to show anger or ill-will;

ekki skaltu slíku á þik slá, do not betake thyself to that;

impers., sló á hann hlátri, he was taken with a fit of laughter;

sló ótta á marga, many were seized with fear;

því slær á, at, it so happens that;

ljóssi sleri (= sló) fyrir hann, a light flashed upon him;

slá í deilu, to begin quarrelling (eitt kveld, er þeir drukku, slógu þeir í deilu mikla);

impers., slær í e-t, it arises;

slær þegar í bardaga, it came to a fight;

slá niðr e-u, to put an end to;

nú er niðr slegit allri vináttu, now there is an end to all friendship;

slá sér niðr, to lie down, take to one’s bed;

slá e-n niðr, to kill;

slá e-u saman, to join (þeir slá þá saman öllu liðinu í eina fylking);

slá til e-s, to aim a blow at one, strike at one;

slá undan höfuð-bendunum, to slacken the stays;

slá e-u upp, to spread a report;

slá upp herópi, to raise the war-cry;

impers., loganum sló upp ór keröldunum, the flame burst out of the vessels;

slá út e-u, to pour out (þá er full er mundlaugin, gengr hón ok slær út eitrinu);

slá e-u við, to take into use (þá var slegit við öllum búnaði);

slá við segli, to spread the sail;

ek hefi þó náliga öllu við slegit, því er ek hefi í minni fest, I have put forth almost all that I recollected;

slá beizli við hest, to put a bridle on a horse;

e-u slær yfir, it comes over, arises (slær yfir þoku svá myrkri, at engi þeirra sá annan);

8) refl., slást;

(sláða, sláðr), v. to bar (hliðit var slát rammliga).

(pl. slár), f. bar, bolt, cross-beam (slá ein var um þvert skipit).

* * *

ð, to bar; ok sláð rammliga, Fms. i. 104.

f. [Engl. a weaver’s slay], a bar, bolt, cross-beam, Fms. i. 179; slá um þvert skipit, Nj. 44, 125; slárnar eða spengrnar, Stj. 45; hann renndi frá slánum, þeim er vóru á virkis-hurðunni, ok lauk upp virkinu, Bs. i. 672. slá-járn, n. an iron bar, Fms. ii. 179.

(-s, -ar), m.

1) servant, footman (fant sé ek hvern á hesti, en lendir menn ganga);

2) landlouper, vagabond.

* * *

m. [Ital. fanti = a servant; Germ. fanz; Dan. fjante = an oaf; the Norwegians call the gipsies ‘fante-folk,’ and use fante-kjæring for a hag, fille-fant for the Germ. firle-fanz, a ragamuffin, etc.: the word is traced by Diez to the Lat. infans, whence Ital. and Span, infanteria, Fr. infanterie, mod. Engl. infantry, etc.,—in almost all mod. European languages the milit. term for foot-soldiers. In Norse and Icel. the word came into use at the end of the 12th century; the notion of a footman is perceivable in the verse in Fms. viii. 172 (of A. D. 1182)—fant sé ek hvern á hesti en lendir menn ganga, I behold every fant seated on horseback whilst the noblemen walk:—hence it came to mean] a landlouper, vagabond, freq. in Karl., Str., El., Flóv.; fantar ok glópar, Mar.; hversu vegsamligr var konungrinn af Ísrael í dag, hver eð afklæddist fyrir ambáttum þénara sinna, og lék nakinn sem fantar, and danced naked like a buffoon, Vídal. i. 220, cp. 2 Sam. vi. 20.

a. superl. most;

mun þat flestrum manni úfœra þykkja, it will seem impossible to most people;

neut., flest, most things (flest í þessu bréfi);

flestr allr (vel flestr), flestir allir (vel flestir), almost all (flest allt stórmenni; flest öll hof).

* * *

card. numb. and pron.

1) one;

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

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

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

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

allt í eina leið, all in one way;

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

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

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

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

einn vinr Þóris, a certain friend of Th.;

before numbers, about, some;

einar fimm þúsundir, some five thousand;

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

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

5) after a negation, any;

né eitt, not anything;

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

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

einna verst, by far the worst;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

vín eitt, wine only;

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

fáir einir, only a few;

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

einn saman, einn samt, quite alone;

kona eigi ein saman, not alone, with child;

at eins, only, but;

eigi at eins, not only;

því at eins, only in that case;

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

at einu = at eins.

* * *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

VI. used adverb.:

1. gen. sing. eins,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

γ. einn ok sér-hverr, one and all.

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

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

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

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

or -AT or -T, a negative suffix to verbs, peculiar to Iceland and a part, at least, of Norway. Occurs frequently in old Icelandic poetry and laws, so as almost to form a complete negative voice. In the 1st pers. a personal pronoun k (g) = ek is inserted before the negative suffix, in the 2nd pers. a t or tt. As a rule the pron. as thus repeated; má-k-at-ek, non possum; sé-k-at-ek, non video; hef-k-at-ek, non habeo; skal-k-at-ek; vil-k-at-ek, nolo; mon-k-at-ek, non ero, etc.: 2nd pers. skal-t-at-tu; mon-t-at-tu; gaf-t-at-tu, non dabas: and after a long vowel a tt, mátt-at-tu, sátt-at-tu; so almost invariably in all monosyllabic verbal forms; but not so in bisyllabic ones, máttir-a-þú, non poteras: yet in some instances in the 1st pers. a pronominal g is inserted, e. g. bjargi-g-a-k, verbally servem ego non ego; höggvi-g-a-k, non cædam; stöðvi-g-a-k, quin sistam; vildi-g-a-k, nolui; hafði-g-a-k, non babui; mátti-g-a-k, non potui; görði-g-a-k, non feci: if the verb has gg as final radical consonants, they change into kk, e. g. þikk-at-ek = þigg-k-at-ek, nolo accipere. In the 3rd pers. a and at or t are used indifferently, t being particularly suffixed to bisyllabic verbal flexions ending in a vowel, in order to avoid an hiatus,—skal-at or skal-a, non erit; but skolo-t, non sunto: forms with an hiatus, however, occur,—bíti-a, non mordat; renni-a, ne currat; skríði-a, id.; leti-a, ne retardet; væri-a, ne esset; urðu-a, non erant; but bíti-t, renni-t, skríði-t, urðu-t are more current forms: v. Lex. Poët. The negative suffix is almost peculiar to indic., conj., and imperat. moods; the neg. infin. hardly occurs. Nothing analogous to this form is to be found in any South-Teutonic idiom; neither do there remain any traces of its having been used in Sweden or Denmark. A single exception is the Runic verse on a stone monument in Öland, an old Danish province, now Swedish, where however the inscriptions may proceed from a Norse or Icel. hand. The Runic inscriptions run thus, sa’r aigi flo, who did not fly, old Icel. ‘flo-at,’ Baut. 1169. Neither does it occur in any Norse prose monuments (laws): but its use may yet be inferred from its occurrence in Norse poets of the 10th century, e. g. the poets Eyvind and Thiodolf; some of which instances, however, may be due to their being transmitted through Icel. oral tradition. In Bragi Gamli (9th century) it occurs twice or thrice; in the Haustlöng four times, in Ynglingatal four times, in Hákonarmál once (all Norse poems of the 10th century). In Icel. the suffixed negation was in full force through the whole of the 10th century. A slight difference in idioms, however, may be observed: Völuspá, e. g., prefers the negation by né (using vas-at only once, verse 3). In the old Hávamal the suffix abounds (being used thirty-five times), see the verses 6, 10, 11, 18, 26, 29, 30, 34, 37–39, 49, 51, 52, 68, 74, 88, 113–115, 126–128, 130, 134, 136, 147, 149, 151, 153, 159. In Skírnismál, Harbarðsljóð, Lokasenna—all these poems probably composed by the same author, and not before the 10th century—about thirty times, viz. Hbl. 3, 4, 8, 14, 26, 35, 56; Skm. 5, 18, 22; Ls. 15, 16, 18, 25, 28, 30, 36, 42, 47, 49, 56, 60, 62. Egil (born circa 900, died circa 990) abounds in the use of the suffixed neg. (he most commonly avails himself of -at, -gi, or né): so, too, does Hallfred (born circa 968, died 1008), Einar Skálaglam in Vellekla (circa 940–995), and Thorarin in the Máhlíðingavísur (composed in the year 981); and in the few epigrams relating to the introduction of Christianity in Icel. (995–1000) there occur mon-k-að-ek, tek-k-at-ek, vil-k-at-ek, hlífði-t, mon-a, es-a; cp. the Kristni S. and Njala. From this time, however, its use becomes more rare. Sighvat (born circa 995, died 1040) still makes a frequent but not exclusive use of it. Subsequent poets use it now and then as an epic form, until it disappeared almost entirely in poetry at the middle or end of the 13th century. In the Sólarljóð there is not a single instance. The verses of some of our Sagas are probably later than the Sagas themselves; the greatest part of the Völsungakviður are scarcely older than the 11th century. In all these -at and conj. eigi are used indifferently. In prose the laws continued to employ the old forms long after they were abolished in common prose. The suffixed verbal negation was used,

α. in the delivering of the oath in the Icel. Courts, esp. the Fifth Court, instituted about the year 1004; and it seems to have been used through the whole of the Icel. Commonwealth (till the year 1272). The oath of the Fifth (High) Court, as preserved in the Grágás, runs in the 1st pers., hefka ek fé borit í dóm þenna til liðs mér um sök þessa, ok ek monka bjóða, hefka ek fundit, ok monka ek finna, hvárki til laga né ólaga, p. 79; and again p. 81, only different as to ek hefka, ek monka (new Ed.): 3rd pers., hefirat hann fé; borit í dóm þenna ok monat hann bjóða, ok hefirat hann fundit, ok monat hann tinna, 80, 81; cp. also 82, and Nj. l. c. ch. 145, where it is interesting to observe that the author confounds the ist and 3rd persons, a sign of decay in grammatical form.

β. the Speaker (lögsögumaðr), in publicly reciting and explaining the law, and speaking in the name of the law, from the Hill of Laws (lögberg), frequently employed the old form, esp. in the legal words of command es and skal (yet seldom in plur.): erat in the dictatorial phrases, erat skyldr (skylt), non esto obligatus; erat landeigandi skyldr, Grág. (Kb.) i. 17; erat hinn skyldr, 21; yngri maðr era skyldr at fasta, 35; enda erat honum þá skylt at …, 48; erat þat sakar spell, 127; era hinn þá skyldr at lýsa, 154; erat hann framar skyldr sakráða, 216; ok erat hann skyldr at ábyrgjask þat fé, 238; ok erat hann skyldr, id.; ok erat sakar aðili ella skyldr, ii. 74; erat hinn skyldr við at taka, 142; erat manni skylt at taka búfé, 143; enda erat heimting til fjár þess, 169; era hann þá skyldr at taka við í öðru fé nema hann vili, 209; ok erat þeim skylt at tíunda fé sitt, 211; ok erat hann skyldr at gjalda tíund af því, 212; erat kirkjudrottinn þá skyldr, 228; ef hann erat landeigandi, i. 136. Skalat: skalat maðr eiga fó óborit, i. 23; skalat homum þat verða optar en um siun, 55; skalat maðr ryðja við sjálfan sik, 62; skalat hann þat svá dvelja, 68; skalat hann til véfangs ganga, 71; skalat aðilja í stefnuvætti hafa, 127; ok skala hann gjalda fyrir þat, 135; ok skalat hann með sök fara, 171; enda skalat hann fleirum baugum bœta, 199; skalat hann skilja félagit, 240; skalat hann meiri skuld eiga en, ii. 4; skalat þeim meðan á brott skipta, 5; skalat hann lögvillr verða, svá, 34; skalat hon at heldr varðveita þat fé, 59; í skalat enn sami maðr þar lengr vera, 71; ok skala honum bæta þat, 79; skalat fyl telja, 89; skalat hann banna fiskför, 123; skalat hann lóga fé því á engi veg, 158; skalat drepa þá menn, 167; skalat svá skipta manneldi, 173; skalat maðr reiðast við fjórðungi vísu, 183. Plur.: skolut menn andvitni bera ok hér á þingi, i. 68; skolut mál hans standast, 71; skolut þeir færi til vefangs ganga en, 75, etc. etc. Other instances are rare: tekrat þar fé er eigi er til (a proverb), i. 9; ok um telrat þat til sakbóta, ok of telrat þá til sakbóta ( it does not count), 178; ef hann villat ( will not) lýsa sár sitt, 51; ok ræðrat hann öðrum mönnum á hendr þann úmaga, 248; ræðrat sá sínum ómögum á hendr, ii. 18; verðrat honum at sakarspelli and verðrat honum þat at s., i. 63; verðrat honum þat at sakarvörn, 149; kömrat hann öðru við, ii. 141; þarfat hann bíða til þess, i. 70; ok skilrat hann frá aðra aura, ii. 141, i. 136. Reflexive form: kömskat hann til heimtingar um þat fé, he loses the claim to the money, ii. 180, etc. All these instances are taken from the Kb. (Ed. 1853). Remarkable is also the ambiguity in the oath of Glum (see Sir Edm. Head, Viga-Glum, pp. 102, 103, note, I. c.), who, instead of the plain common formal oath—vask-at-ek þar, vák-at-ek þar, rauðk-at-ek þar odd ok egg—said, vask at þar, vák at þar, rauðk at þar. He inverted the sense by dropping the intermediate pronominal ek between the verb and þar, and pronouncing ‒ ‒́ instead of ‒́ ⏑. It further occurs in some few proverbs: varat af vöru, sleikði um þvöru, Fs. 159; veldrat sá er varir, Nj. 61 (now commonly ekki veldr sá er v., so in Grett.); erat héra at borgnara þótt hœna beri skjöld, Fms. vii. 116; era hlums vant kvað refr, dró hörpu á ísi, 19: also in some phrases, referred to as verba ipsissima from the heathen age—erat vinum líft Ingimundar, Fs. 39; erat sjá draumr minni, Ld. 128. Thorodd employs it twice or thrice: því at ek sékk-a þess meiri þörf, because í do not see any more reason for this, Skálda 167; kannka ek til þess meiri ráð en lítil, I do not know, id.; mona ( will not) mín móna ( my mammy) við mik göra verst hjóna, 163. In sacred translations of the 12th century it occurs now and then. In the Homilies and Dialogues of Gregory the Great: monatþu í því flóði verða, thou shalt not; esa þat undarligt þótt, it is not to be wondered at; hann máttia sofna, he could not sleep; moncaþ ek banna, I shall not mind, Greg. 51, 53; vasal kall heyrt á strætum, was not, Post. 645. 84; nú mona fríðir menn hér koma, Niðrst. 623. 7. In later writers as an archaism; a few times in the Al. (MS. A. M. 519), 3, 5, 6, 44, 108; and about as many times in the MS. Eirspennill (A. M. 47, fol.) [Etymon uncertain; that at is the right form may be inferred from the assimilation in at-tu, and the anastrophe in t, though the reason for the frequent dropping of the t is still unexplained. The coincidence with the Scottish dinna, canna is quite accidental.]

(öll, allt), a.

1) all, entire, whole;

hón á allan arf eptir mik, she has all the heritage after me;

af öllum hug, with all (one’s) heart;

hvítr allr, white all over;

bú allt, the whole estate;

allan daginn, the whole day;

í allri veröld, in the whole world;

allan hálfan mánuð, for the entire fortnight;

with addition of ‘saman’;

allt saman féit, the whole amount;

um þenna hernað allan saman, all together;

2) used almost adverbially, all, quite, entirely;

klofnaði hann allr í sundr, he was all cloven asunder, kváðu Örn allan villast, that he was altogether bewildered;

var Hrappr allr brottu, quite gone;

allr annarr maðr, quite another man;

3) gone, past;

áðr þessi dagr er allr, before this day is past;

var þá óll þeirra vinátta, their friendship was all over;

allt er nú mitt megin, my strength is exhausted, gone;

4) departed, dead (þá er Geirmundr var allr);

5) neut. sing. (allt) used. as a subst. in the sense of all, everything;

eigi er enn þeirra allt, they have not yet altogether won the game;

þá var allt (all, everybody) við þá hrætt;

hér er skammætt allt, here everything is transient;

with a compar. all the more (því öllu þungbærri);

with gen., allt missera (= öll misseri), all the year round;

allt annars, all the rest;

at öllu annars, in all other respects;

alls fyrst, first of all;

alls mest, most of all;

in adverbial phrases: at öllu, in all respects, in every way;

í öllu, in everything;

með öllu, wholly, quite;

neita með öllu, to refuse outright;

6) pl. allir (allar, öll), as adj. or substantively, all (þeir gengu út allir);

ór öllum fjórðungum á landinu, from all the quarters of the land;

allir aðrir, all others, every one else;

flestir allir, nearly all, the greatest part of;

gen. pl. (allra) as an intensive with superlatives, of all things, all the more;

nú þykkir mér þat allra sýnst, er, all the more likely, as;

allra helzt, er þeir heyra, particularly now when they hear;

allra sízt, least of all.

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öll, allt, and alt, adj. [Ulf. alls = πας, άπας, όλος; A. S. eall; Engl. and Germ. all].

A. In sing. as adj. or substantively, cunctus, totus, omnis:

I. all, entire, the whole; hón á allan arf eptir mik, she has all my heritage after me, Nj. 3; um alla þingsafglöpun, every kind of þ., 150; gaf hann þat allt, all, 101; at öllum hluta, in totum, Grág. i. 245; allr heilagr dómr, the whole body of Christians, ii. 165; á öllu því máli, Fms. vii. 311; allu fólki, thewhole people, x. 273; hvitr allr, white all over, 655 xxxii. 21; bú allt, thewhole estate, Grág. i. 244; fyrir allt dagsljós, before any dawn of light, Hom. 41: with the addition of saman = άπας—Icel. now in fem. sing. and n. pl. say öll sömun, and even n. sing. allt samant; in old writers saman is indecl.,—the whole, Germ. sänmtlich, zusammen; allt saman féit, thewhole amount, entire, Grág. ii. 148; þenna hernað allan saman, all together, Fms. i. 144; fyrir allan saman ójafnað þann, Sd. 157. Metaph. in the phrase, at vera ekki allr þar sem hann er sénn (séðr), of persons of deep, shrewd characters, not to be seen through, but also with a feeling of something ‘uncanny’ about them, Fms. xi. 157 (a familiar phrase); ekki er oil nótt úti enn, sagði draugrinn, the night is not all over yet, said the ghost, ‘the Ides are not past’ (a proverb), v. Ísl. Þjóðs.

2. all, entire, full; allan hálfan mánuð, for the entire fortnight, Nj. 7; þar til er Kjartani þykir allt mál upp, until Kjartan thought it was high time, of one nearly (or) well-nigh drowned, Hkr. i. 286.

II. metaph. past, gone, dead, extinct; perh. ellipt., vera allr í brottu, quite gone, Eb. 112 new Ed.; var Hrappr þá allr í brottu, Nj. 132; then by an ellipsis of ‘brottu,’ or the like, allr simply = past, gone:

α. past, of time; seg þú svá fremi frá því er þessi dagr er allr, when this day is past, Nj. 96, Fms. ii. 38, 301; var þá öll þeirra vinátta, their friendship was all gone, Fms. ix. 428; allt er mi mitt megin, my strength is gone, exhausted, Str.

β. dead; þá er Geirmundr var allr, gone, dead, Landn. (Hb.) 124; síz Gunnarr at Hlíðarenda var allr, since G. of Lithend was dead and gone (v. l. to lézt), Nj. 142; sem faðir þeirra væri allr, after his death, Stj. 127; þá er Nói var allr, 66; en sem hann var allr, 100; eptir þat er Sara var öll, after all Sara’s days were over, 139, 140, 405; á vegum allr hygg ek at at ek verða munu, that I shall perish on the way, Gg. verse 5; með því at þú ert gamlaðr mjök, þá munu þeir eigi út koma fyr en þú ert allr, Háv. 57; still freq. in Swed., e. g. blifwa all af bekumring, be worn out with sorrow; vinet blev alt, fell short; tiden er all, past.

III. used almost adverbially, when it may be translated by all, quite, just, entirely; klofnaði hann allr í sundr, was all cloven asunder, Nj. 205; er sá nú allr einn í þínu liði er nú hefir eigi höfuðs, ok hinn, er þá eggiaði hins versta verks er eigi var fram komit, where it seems, however, rather to mean one and the same … or the very same …, thus, and he is now one and the same man in thy band, who has now lost his head, and he who then egged thee on to the worst work when it was still undone, or the very same, … who, Nj. 213; vil ek at sú görð häldist öll, in all its parts, 256; kváðu Örn allan villast, that he was all bewildered, Ld. 74.

IV. neut. sing. used as a subst. in the sense of all, everything, in every respect; ok for svá með öllu, sem …, acted in everything as…, Nj. 14, Ld. 54; ok lát sem þú þykist þar allt eiga, that you depend upon him in all, Fms. xi. 113; eigi er enn þeirra allt, they have not yet altogether won the game, Nj. 235: í alls vesöld, in all misery, Ver. 4; alls mest, most of all, especially, Fms. ii. 137 C, Fs. 89 (in a verse); in mod. usage, allra mest, cp. below. The neut. with a gen.; allt missera, all the year round, Hom. 73; allt annars, all the rest, Grág. ii. 141; at öllu annars, in all other respects, K. Þ. K. 98; þá var allt (all, everybody) við þá hrætt, Fas. i. 338. In the phrases, at öllu, in all respects, Fms. i. 21, Grág. i. 431; ef hann á eigi at öllu framfærsluna, if he be not the sole supporter, 275: úreyndr at öllu, untried in every way, Nj. 90; cp. Engl. not at all, prop. not in every respect, analogous to never, prop. not always: fyrir alls sakir, in every respect, Grág. ii. 47, Fas. i. 252: í öllu, in everything, Nj. 90, 228: með öllu, wholly, quite, dauðr með öllu, quite dead, 153; neita með öllu, to refuse outright, Fms. i. 35, 232, Boll. 342: um allt, in respect of everything, Nj. 89; hence comes the adverb ávalt, ever = of allt = um allt, prop. in every respect, v. ávalt.

V. the neut. sing. allt is used as an adv., right up to, as far as, all the way; Brynjólfr gengr allt at honum, close to him, Nj. 58; kómu allt at bænum, 79; allt at búðardyrunum, right up to the very door of the booth, 247; allt norðr urn Stað, all along north, round Cape Stad, Fms. vii. 7; suðr allt í Englands haf, iv. 329; verit allt út í Miklagarð, as far out as Constantinople, ii. 7, iv. 250, 25; allt á klofa, Bárð. 171.

2. everywhere, in all places; at riki Eireks konungs mundi allt yfir standa í Eyjunum, might stretch over the whole of the Islands, Eg. 405; Sigröðr var konungr allt um Þrændalög, over all Drontheim, Fms. i. 19; bjoggu þar allt fyrir þingmenn Runólfs goða, the liegemen of R. the priest were in every house, ii. 234 ( = í hverju húsi, Bs. i. 20); allt norðr um Rogaland, all the way north over the whole of R., Fms. iv. 251; vóru svirar allt gulli búnir, all overlaid with gold, vi. 308; hafið svá allt kesjurnar fyrir, at ekki megi á ganga, hold your spears everywhere (all along the line) straight before you, that they (the enemy) may not come up to you, 413; allt imdir innviðuna ok stafnana, vii. 82.

3. nearly = Lat. jam, soon, already; vóru allt komin fyrir hann bréf, warrants of arrest were already in his way, Fms. vii. 207; var allt skipat liðinu til fylkingar, the troops were at once drawn up in array, 295; en allt hugðum vér ( still we thought) at fara með spekt um þessi héruð, Boll. 346.

4. temp. all through, until; allt til Júnsvöku, Ann. 1295; allt um daga Hákonar konungs, all through the reign of king Hacon, Bs. i. 731.

5. in phrases such as, allt at einu, all one, all in the same way, Fms. i. 113. In Icel. at present allt að einu means all the same: allt eins, nevertheless; ek ætla þó utan a. eins, Ísl. ii. 216; hann neitaði allt eins at…, refused all the same, Dipl. iii. 13; allt eins hraustliga, not the less manly, Fms. xi. 443. The mod. Icel. use is a little different, namely = as, in similes = just as; allt eins og blómstrið eina (a simile), just as the flower, the initial words of the famous hymn by Hallgrim.

6. by adding ‘of’ = far too …, much too …, Karl. 301 (now freq.)

7. with a comparative, much, far, Fms. vi. 45 (freq.)

VI. neut. gen. alls [cp. Ulf. allis = όλως; A. S. ealles], used as an adv., esp. before a negative (ekki, hvergi), not a bit, not at all, no how, by no means; þeir ugðu alls ekki at sér, they were not a bit afraid, Nj. 252; hræðumst vér hann nú alls ekki, we do not care a bit for him, 260; á hólmgöngu er vandi en alls ekki ( none at all) á einvigi, Korm. 84; en junkherra Eiríkr þóttist ekki hafa, ok kallaði sik Eirík alls ekki (cp. Engl. lackland), Fms. x. 160; alls hvergi skal sök koma undir enn þriðja mann, no how, in no case, by no means, Grág. i. 144: sometimes without a negative following it; ær alls geldar, ewes quite barren, Grág. i. 502; hafrar alls geldir, id.; alls vesall, altogether wretched, Nj. 124; alls mjök stærist hann nú, very much, Stj.; a. mest, especially, Fs. 89, Fms. ii. 137. In connection with numbers, in all, in the whole; tólf vóru þau alls á skipi, twelve were they all told in the ship, Ld. 142; tíu Íslenzkir menn alls, 164; alls fórust níu menn, the slain were nine in all, Ísl. ii. 385; verða alls sárir þrír eða fleiri, Grág. ii. 10; alls mánuð, a full month, i. 163; þeir ala eitt barn alls á aefi sinni, Rb. 346.

β. with addition of ‘til’ or ‘of’ = far too much; alls of lengi, far too long a time, Fms. i. 140; hefnd alls til lítil, much too little, vi. 35.

B. In pl. allir, allar, öll, as adj. or substantively:

1. used absol. all; þeir gengu út allir, all men, altogether, Nj. 80; Síðan bjoggust þeir heiman allir, 212; Gunnarr reið ok beir allir, 48; hvikit þér allir, 78, etc.

2. as adj., alla höfðingja, all the chiefs, Nj. 213; ór öllum fjórðungum á landinu, all the quarters of the land, 222; at vitni guðs ok allra heilagra manna, all the saints, Grág. ii. 22; í allum orrostum, in all the battles, Fms. x. 273; Josep ok allir hans ellifu bræðr, Stj., etc.

3. by adding aðrir, flestir, etc.; allir aðrir, all other, everyone else, Nj. 89, Fms. xi. 135: flestir allir, nearly all, the greatest part of, v. flestr; in mod. use flestallir, flest being indecl.: allir saman, altogether, Nj. 80.

4. adverb., Gregorius hafði eigi öll fjögr hundruð, not all, not quite, four hundred, Fms. vii. 255.

5. used ellipt., allir ( everybody) vildu leita þér vegs, Nj. 78.

6. gen. pl. allra, when followed by superl. neut. adj. or adv., of all things, all the more; en nú þyki mér þat allra sýnst er …, all the more likely, as …, Ld. 34; allra helzt er þeir heyra, particularly now when they hear, Fms. ix. 330; allra helzt ef hann fellr meir, all the rather, if …, Grág. ii. 8; allra sízt, least of all, 686 B. 2; bæn sú kemr til þess allra mest, especially, Hom. 149: very freq. at present in Icel., and used nearly as Engl. very, e. g. allra bezt, the very best; a. hæst, neðst, fyrst, the very highest, lowest, foremost, etc.

C. alls is used as a prefix to several nouns in the gen., in order to express something common, general, universal.

COMPDS: allsendis, allsháttar, allsherjar, allsherjarbúð, allsherjardómr, allsherjarfé, allsherjargoði, allsherjarlið, allsherjarlýðr, allsherjarlög, allsherjarþing, allskonar, allskostar, allskyns, allsstaðar, allsvaldandi, allrahanda, allraheilagra.

I) prep.

A. with dative.

I. Of motion;

1) towards, against;

Otkell laut at Skamkatli, bowed down to S.;

hann sneri egginni at Ásgrími, turned the edge against A.;

2) close atup to;

Brynjólfr gengr alit at honum, quite up to him;

þeir kómust aldri at honum, they could never get near him, to close quarters with him;

3) to, at;

koma at landi, to come to land;

ganga at dómi, to go into court;

4) along (= eptir);

ganga at stræti, to walk along the street;

dreki er niðr fór at ánni (went down the river) fyrir strauminum;

refr dró hörpu at ísi, on the ice;

5) denoting hostility;

renna (sœkja) at e-m, to rush at, assault;

gerði þá at þeim þoku mikla, they were overtaken by a thick fog;

6) around;

vefja motri at höfði sér, to wrap a veil round one’s head;

bera grjót at e-m, to heap stones upon the body;

7) denoting business, engagement;

ríða at hrossum, at sauðum, to go looking after horses, watching sheep;

fara at landskuldum, to go collecting rents.

II. Of position, &c.;

1) denoting presence at, near, by, upon;

at kirkju, at church;

at dómi, in court;

at lögbergi, at the hill of laws;

2) denoting participation in;

vera at veizlu, brullaupi, to be at a banquet, wedding;

vera at vígi, to be an accessory in man-slaying;

3) ellipt., vera at, to be about, to be busy at;

kvalararnir, er at vóru at pína hann, who were tormenting him;

var þar at kona nökkur at binda (was there busy dressing) sár manna;

4) with proper names of places (farms);

konungr at Danmörku ok Noregi, king of;

biskup at Hólum, bishop of Holar;

at Helgafelli, at Bergþórshváli;

5) used ellipt. with a genitive, at (a person’s) house;

at hans (at his house) gisti fjölmenni mikit;

at Marðar, at Mara’s home;

at hins beilaga Ólafs konungs, at St. Olave’s church;

at Ránar, at Ran’s (abode).

III. Of time;

1) at, in;

at upphafi, at first, in the beginning;

at skilnaði, at parting, when they parted;

at páskum, at Easter;

at kveldi, at eventide;

at þinglausnum, at the close of the Assembly;

at fjöru, at the ebb;

at flœðum, at the floodtide;

2) adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr’;

at ári komanda, next year;

at vári, er kemr, next spring;

generally with ‘komanda’ understood;

at sumri, hausti, vetri, vári, next summer, &c.;

3) used with an absolute dative and present or past part.;

at sér lifanda, duing his lifetime;

at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all;

at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the hearing of the chief;

at upprennandi sólu, at sunrise;

at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks are past;

at honum önduðum, after his death;

4) denoting uninterrupted succession, after;

hverr at öðrum, annarr at öðrum, one after another;

skildu menn at þessu, thereupon, after this;

at því (thereafter) kómu aðrar meyjar.

IV. fig. and in various uses;

1) to, into, with the notion of destruction or change;

brenna (borgina) at ösku, to burn to ashes;

verða at ormi, to become a snake;

2) for, as;

gefa e-t at gjöf, as a present;

eiga e-n at vin, to have one as friend;

3) by;

taka sverð at hjöltum, by the hilt;

draga út björninn at hlustunum, by the ears;

kjósa at afli, álitum, by strength, appearrance;

4) as regards as to;

auðigr at fé, wealthy in goods;

vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face;

5) as a law term, on the grounds of, by reason of;

ryðja ( to challenge) dóm at mægðum, kvið at frændsemi;

6) as a paraphrase of a genitive;

faðir, móðir at barni (= barns, of a child);

aðili at sök = aðili sakar;

7) with adjectives denoting colour, size, age, of;

hvítr, svartr, rauðr at lit, while, black, red of colour;

mikill, lítill at stœrð, vexti, tall, small of stature;

tvítugr at aldri, twenty years of age;

kýr at fyrsta, öðrum kálfi, a cow that has calved once, twice;

8) determining the source from which anything comes, of, from;

Ari nam ok marga frœði at Þuríði (from her);

þiggja, kaupa, geta, leigja e-t at e-m, to receive, buy, obtain, borrow a thing from one;

hafa veg (virðing) styrk at e-m, to derive honour, power, from one;

9) according, to, after (heygðr at fornum sið);

at ráði allra vitrustu manna, by the advice of;

at landslögum, by the law of the land;

at vánum, as was to be expected;

at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave;

10) in adverbial phrases;

gróa (vera grœddr) at heilu, to be quite healed;

bíta af allt gras at snøggu, quite bare;

at fullu, fully;

at vísu, surely;

at frjálsu, freely;

at eilífu, for ever and ever;

at röngu, at réttu, wrongly, rightly;

at líku, at sömu, equally, all the same;

at mun, at ráði, at marki, to a great extent.

B. with acc., after, upon (= eptir);

sonr á at taka arf at föður sinn, to take the inheritance after his father;

eiga féránsdóm at e-n, to hold a court of execution upon a person;

at þat (= eptir þat), after that, thereafter;

connected with a past part. or a., at Gamla fallinn, after the fall of Gamli;

at Hrungni dauðan, upon the death of Hrungnir.

1) as the simple mark of the infinitive, to;

at ganga, at ríða, at hlaupa, to walk, to ride, to run;

2) in an objective sense;

hann bauð þeim at fara, sitja, he bade (ordered) them to go, sit;

gefa e-m at eta, at drekka, to give one to eat, to drink;

3) denoting design or purpose, in order to (hann gekk í borg at kaupa silfr).

1) demonstrative particle before a comparative, the, all the, so much the;

hón grét at meir, she wept the more;

þykkir oss at líkara, all the more likely;

þú ert maðr at verri (so much the worse), er þú hefir þetta mælt;

2) rel. pron., who, which, that (= er);

þeir allir, at þau tíðindi heyrðu, all those who heard;

sem þeim er títt, at ( as is the custom of those who) kaupferðir reka.

conj., that;

1) introducing a subjective or objective clause;

þat var einhverju sinni, at Höskuldr hafði vinaboð, it happened once that H.;

vilda ek, at þú réðist austr í fjörðu, I should like you to go;

2) relative to svá, denoting proportion, degree;

svá mikill lagamaðr, at, so great a lawyer, that;

3) with subj., denoting end or purpose, in order that (skáru þeir fyrir þá (viz. hestana) melinn, at þeir dœi eigi af sulti);

4) since, because, as (= því at);

5) connected with þó, því, svá;

þó at (with subj.), though, although;

því at, because, for;

svá at, so that;

6) temp., þá at (= þá er), when;

þegar at (= þegar er), as soon as;

þar til at (= þar til er), until, till;

áðr at (= á. en), before;

7) used superfluously after an int. pron. or adv.;

Ólafr spurði, hvern styrk at hann mundi fá honum, what help he was likely to give him;

in a relative sense; með fullkomnum ávexti, hverr at (which) þekkr ok þægiligr mun verða.

negative verbal suffix, = ata; var-at, was not.

n. an incited conflict or fight ( see etja);

odda at, Yggs at, battle.

* * *

and að, prep., often used ellipt. dropping the case and even merely as an adverb, [Lat. ad; Ulf. at = πρός and παρά, A. S. ät; Engl. at; Hel. ad = apud; O. H. G. az; lost in mod. Germ., and rare in Swed. and Dan.; in more freq. use in Engl. than any other kindred language, Icel. only excepted]:—the mod. pronunciation and spelling is að (aþ); this form is very old, and is found in Icel. vellum MSS. of the 12th century, e. g. aþ, 623. 60; yet in earlier times it was sounded with a tenuis, as we may infer from rhymes, e. g. jöfurr hyggi at | hve ek yrkja fat, Egill: Sighvat also makes it rhyme with a t. The verse by Thorodd—þar vastu at er fjáðr klæðið þvat (Skálda 162)—is hardly intelligible unless we accept the spelling with an aspirate (að), and say that þvað is = þvá = þváði, lavabat; it may be that by the time of Thorodd and Ari the pure old pronunciation was lost, or is ‘þvat’ simply the A. S. þvât, secuit? The Icelanders still, however, keep the tenuis in compounds before a vowel, or before h, v, or the liquids l, r, thus—atyrða, atorka, athöfn, athugi, athvarf, athlægi; atvinna, atvik; atlaga, atlíðanði ( slope), atriði, atreið, atróðr: but aðdjúpr, aðfinsla (critic), aðferð, aðkoma, aðsókn, aðsúgr (crowding), aðgæzla. In some words the pronunciation is irregular, e. g. atkvæði not aðkv-; atburðr, but aðbúnaðr; aðhjúkran not athjúkran; atgörvi not aðgörfi. At, to, towards; into; against; along, by; in regard to; after.

Mostly with dat.; rarely with acc.; and sometimes ellipt.—by dropping the words ‘home,’ ‘house,’ or the like—with gen.

WITH DAT.

A. LOC.

I. WITH MOTION; gener. the motion to the borders, limits of an object, and thus opp. to frá:

1. towards, against, with or without the notion of arrival, esp. connected with verbs denoting motion (verba movendi et eundi), e. g. fara, ganga, koma, lúta, snúa, rétta at…; Otkell laut at Skamkatli, O. louted (i. e. bowed down) towards S., Nj. 77, Fms. xi. 102; sendimaðrinn sneri ( turned) hjöltum sverðsins at konungi, towards the king, i. 15; hann sneri egginni at Ásgrími, turned the edge towards A., Nj. 220; rétta e-t at e-m, to reach, hand over, Ld. 132; ganga at, to step towards, Ísl. ii. 259.

2. denoting proximity, close up to, up to; Brynjólfr gengr … allt at honum, B. goes quite up to him, Nj. 58; Gunnarr kom þangat at þeim örunum, G. reached them even there with his arrows, 115; þeir kómust aldri at honum, they could never get near him, to close quarters, id.; reið maðr at þeim (up to them), 274; þeir höfðu rakit sporin allt at ( right up to) gammanum, Fms. i. 9; komu þeir at sjó fram, came down to the sea, Bárð. 180.

3. without reference to the space traversed, to or at; koma at landi, to land, Ld. 38, Fms. viii. 358; ríða at dyrum, Boll. 344; hlaupa at e-m, to run up to, run at, Fms. vii. 218, viii. 358; af sjáfarganginum er hann gekk at landinu, of the surf dashing against the shore, xi. 6; vísa ólmum hundi at manni, to set a fierce hound at a man, Grág. ii. 118; leggja e-n at velli, to lay low, Eg. 426, Nj. 117; hníga at jörðu, at grasi, at moldu, to bite the dust, to die, Njarð. 378; ganga at dómi, a law term, to go into court, of a plaintiff, defendant, or bystander, Nj. 87 (freq.)

4. denoting a motion along, into, upon; ganga at stræti, to walk along the street, Korm. 228, Fms. vii. 39; at ísi, on the ice, Skálda 198, Fms. vii. 19, 246, viii. 168, Eb. 112 new Ed. (á is perh. wrong); máttu menn ganga bar yfir at skipum einum, of ships alone used as a bridge, Fas. i. 378; at höfðum, at nám, to trample on the slain on the battle-field, Lex. Poët.; at ám, along the rivers; at merkiósum, at the river’s mouth, Grág. ii. 355; at endilöngu baki, all along its back, Sks. 100.

5. denoting hostility, to rush at, assault; renna at, hlaupa at, ganga, fara, ríða, sækja, at e-m, (v. those words), whence the nouns atrenna, athlaup, atgangr, atför, atreið, atsókn, etc.

β. metaph., kom at þeim svefnhöfgi, deep sleep fell on them, Nj. 104. Esp. of weather, in the impers. phrase, hríð, veðr, vind, storm görir at e-m, to be overtaken by a snow storm, gale, or the like; görði þá at þeim þoku mikla, they were overtaken by a thick fog, Bárð. 171.

6. denoting around, of clothing or the like; bregða skikkju at höfði sér, to wrap his cloak over his head, Ld. 62; vefja motri at höfði sér, to wrap a snood round her head, 188; sauma at, to stick, cling close, as though sewn on; sauma at höndum sér, of tight gloves, Bs. i. 453; kyrtill svá þröngr sem saumaðr væri at honum, as though it were stitched to him, Nj. 214; vafit at vándum dreglum, tight laced with sorry tags, id.; hosa strengd fast at beini, of tight hose, Eg. 602; hann sveipar at sér iðrunum ok skyrtunni, he gathers up the entrails close to him and the skirt too, Gísl. 71; laz at síðu, a lace on the side, to keep the clothes tight, Eg. 602.

β. of burying; bera grjót at einum, to heap stones upon the body, Eg. 719; var gör at þeim dys or grjóti, Ld. 152; gora kistu at líki, to make a coffin for a body, Eb. 264, Landn. 56, Ld. 142.

γ. of summoning troops or followers; stefna at sér mönnum, to summon men to him, Nj. 104; stefna at sér liði, Eg. 270; kippa mönnum at sér, to gather men in haste, Ld. 64.

7. denoting a business, engagement; ríða at hrossum, at sauðum, to go looking after after horses, watching sheep, Glúm. 362, Nj. 75; fara at fé, to go to seek for sheep, Ld. 240; fara at heyi, to go a-haymaking, Dropl. 10; at veiðum, a-hunting; at fuglum, a-fowling; at dýrum, a-sbooting; at fiski, a-fishing; at veiðiskap, Landn. 154, Orkn. 416 (in a verse), Nj. 25; fara at landskuldum, to go a-collecling rents, Eg. 516; at Finnkaupum, a-marketing with Finns, 41; at féföngum, a-plundering, Fms. vii. 78; ganga at beina, to wait on guests, Nj. 50; starfa at matseld, to serve at table, Eb. 266; hitta e-n at nauðsynjum, on matters of business; at máli, to speak with one, etc., Fms. xi. 101; rekast at e-m, to pursue one, ix. 404; ganga at liði sér, to go suing for help, Grág. ii. 384.

β. of festivals; snúa, fá at blóti, veizlu, brullaupi, to prepare for a sacrificial banquet, wedding, or the like, hence at-fangadagr, Eb. 6, Ld. 70; koma at hendi, to happen, befall; ganga at sínu, to come by one’s own, to take it, Ld. 208; Egill drakk hvert full er at honum kom, drained every horn that came to him, Eg. 210; komast at keyptu, to purchase dearly, Húv. 46.

8. denoting imaginary motion, esp. of places, cp. Lat. spectare, vergere ad…, to look or lie towards; horfði botninn at höfðanum, the bight of the bay looked toward the headland, Fms. i. 340, Landn. 35; also, skeiðgata liggr at læknum, leads to the brook, Ísl. ii. 339; á þann arminn er vissi at sjánum, on that wing which looked toward the sea, Fms. viii. 115; sár þau er horft höfðu at Knúti konungi, xi. 309.

β. even connected with verbs denoting motion; Gilsáreyrr gengr austan at Fljótinu, G. extends, projects to F. from the east, Hrafh. 25; hjá sundi því, er at gengr þingstöðinni, Fms. xi. 85.

II. WITHOUT MOTION; denoting presence at, near, by, at the side of, in, upon; connected with verbs like sitja, standa, vera…; at kirkju, at church, Fms. vii. 251, K. f). K. 16, Ld. 328, Ísl. ii. 270, Sks. 36; vera at skála, at húsi, to be in, at home, Landn. 154; at landi, Fms. i. 82; at skipi, on shipboard, Grág. i. 209, 215; at oldri, at a banquet, inter pocula; at áti, at dinner, at a feast, inter edendum, ii. 169, 170; at samförum ok samvistum, at public meetings, id.; at dómi, in a court; standa (to take one’s stand) norðan, sunnan, austan, vestan at dómi, freq. in the proceedings at trials in lawsuits, Nj.; at þingi, present at the parliament, Grág. i. 142; at lögbergi, o n the hill of laws, 17, Nj.; at baki e-m, at the back of.

2. denoting presence, partaking in; sitja at mat, to sit at meat, Fms. i. 241; vera at veizlu, brullaupi, to be at a banquet, nuptials, Nj. 51, Ld. 70: a law term, vera at vígi, to be an accessory in manslaying, Nj. 89, 100; vera at e-u simply means to be about, be busy in, Fms. iv. 237; standa at máli, to stand by one in a case, Grág. ii. 165, Nj. 214; vera at fóstri, to be fostered, Fms. i. 2; sitja at hégóma, to listen to nonsense, Ld. 322; vera at smíð, to be at one’s work, Þórð. 62: now absol., vera at, to go on with, be busy at.

3. the law term vinna eið at e-u has a double meaning:

α. vinna eið at bók, at baugi, to make an oath upon the book by laying the band upon it, Landn. 258, Grág., Nj.; cp. Vkv. 31, Gkv. 3. 3, Hkv. 2. 29, etc.: ‘við’ is now used in this sense.

β. to confirm a fact (or the like) by an oath, to swear to, Grág. i. 9, 327.

γ. the law phrase, nefna vátta at e-u, of summoning witnesses to a deed, fact, or the like; nefna vátta at benjum, to produce evidence, witnesses as to the wounds, Nj., Grág.; at görð, Eg. 738; at svörum, Grág. i. 19: this summoning of witnesses served in old lawsuits the same purpose as modern pleadings and depositions; every step in a suit to be lawful must be followed by such a summoning or declaration.

4. used ellipt., vera at, to be about, to be busy at; kvalararnir er at vóru at pína hann, who were tormenting him; þar varstu at, you were there present, Skálda 162; at várum þar, Gísl. (in a verse): as a law term ‘vera at’ means to be guilty, Glúm. 388; vartattu at þar, Eg. (in a verse); hence the ambiguity of Glum’s oath, vask at þar, I was there present: var þar at kona nokkur ( was there busy) at binda sár manna, Fms. v. 91; hann var at ok smíðaði skot, Rd. 313; voru Varbelgir at ( about) at taka af, þau lög …, Fms. ix. 512; ek var at ok vafk, I was about weaving, xi. 49; þeir höfðu verit at þrjú sumur, they had been busy at it for three summers, x. 186 (now very freq.); koma at, come in, to arrive unexpectedly; Gunnarr kom at í því, G. came in at that moment; hvaðan komtú nú at, whence did you come? Nj. 68, Fms. iii. 200.

5. denoting the kingdom or residence of a king or princely person; konungr at Danmörk ok Noregi, king of…, Fms. i. 119, xi. 281; konungr, jarl, at öllum Noregi, king, earl, over all N., íb. 3, 13, Landn. 25; konungr at Dyflinni, king of Dublin, 25; but í or yfir England!, Eg. 263: cp. the phrase, sitja at landi, to reside, of a king when at home, Hkr. i. 34; at Joini, Fms. xi. 74: used of a bishop; biskup at Hólum, bishop of Hólar, Íb. 18, 19; but biskup í Skálaholti, 19: at Rómi, at Rome, Fbr. 198.

6. in denoting a man’s abode (vide p. 5, col. 1, l. 27), the prep. ‘at’ is used where the local name implies the notion of by the side of, and is therefore esp. applied to words denoting a river, brook, rock, mountain, grove, or the like, and in some other instances, by, at, e. g. at Hofi (a temple), Landn. 198; at Borg ( a castle), 57; at Helgafelli (a mountain), Eb. constantly so; at Mosfelli, Landn. 190; at Hálsi (a hill), Fms. xi. 22; at Bjargi, Grett. 90; Hálsum, Landn. 143; at Á ( river), 296, 268; at Bægisá, 212; Giljá, 332; Myrká, 211; Vatnsá, id.; þverá, Glúm. 323; at Fossi (a ‘force’ or waterfall), Landn. 73; at Lækjamoti (waters-meeting), 332; at Hlíðarenda ( end of the lithe or hill), at Bergþórshváli, Nj.; at Lundi (a grove), at Melum (sandhill), Landn. 70: the prep. ‘á’ is now used in most of these cases, e. g. á Á, á Hofi, Helgafelli, Felli, Hálsi, etc.

β. particularly, and without any regard to etymology, used of the abode of kings or princes, to reside at; at Uppsölum, at Haugi, Alreksstöðum, at Hlöðum, Landn., Fms.

γ. konungr lét kalla at stofudyrum, the king made a call at the hall door, Eg. 88; þeir kölluðu at herberginu, they called at the inn, Fms. ix. 475.

7. used ellipt. with a gen., esp. if connected with such words as gista, to be a guest, lodge, dine, sup (of festivals or the like) at one’s home; at Marðar, Nj. 4; at hans, 74; þingfesti at þess bóanda, Grág. i. 152; at sín, at one’s own home, Eg. 371, K. Þ. K. 62; hafa náttstað at Freyju, at the abode of goddess Freyja, Eg. 603; at Ránar, at Ran’s, i. e. at Ran’s house, of drowned men who belong to the queen of the sea, Ran, Eb. 274; at hins heilaga Ólafs konungs, at St. Olave’s church, Fms. vi. 63: cp. ad Veneris, εις Κίμωνος.

B. TEMP.

I. at, denoting a point or period of time; at upphafi, at first, in the beginning, Ld. 104; at lyktum, at síðustu, at lokum, at last; at lesti, at last, Lex. Poët., more freq. á lesti; at skilnaði, at parting, at last, Band. 3; at fornu, in times of yore, formerly, Eg. 267, D. I. i. 635; at sinni, as yet, at present; at nýju, anew, of present time; at eilífu, for ever and ever; at skömmu, soon, shortly, Ísl. ii. 272, v. l.

II. of the very moment when anything happens, the beginning of a term; denoting the seasons of the year, months, weeks, the hours of the day; at Jólum, at Yule, Nj. 46; at Pálmadegi, on Palm Sunday, 273; at Páskum, at Easter; at Ólafsvöku, on St. Olave’s eve, 29th of July, Fms.; at vetri, at the beginning of the winter, on the day when winter sets in, Grág. 1. 151; at sumarmálum, at vetrnáttum; at Tvímánaði, when the Double month (August) begins, Ld. 256, Grág. i. 152; at kveldi, at eventide, Eg. 3; at því meli, at that time; at eindaga, at the term, 395; at eykð, at 4 o’clock p. m., 198; at öndverðri æfi Abra hams, Ver. II; at sinni, now at once, Fms. vi. 71; at öðruhverju, every now and then.

β. where the point of time is marked by some event; at þingi, at the meeting of parliament (18th to the 24th of June), Ld. 182; at féránsdómi, at the court of execution, Grág. i. 132, 133; at þinglausnum, at the close of the parliament (beginning of July), 140; at festarmálum, eðr at eiginorði, at betrothal or nuptials, 174; at skilnaði, when they parted, Nj. 106 (above); at öllum minnum, at the general drinking of the toasts, Eg. 253; at fjöru, at the ebb; at flæðum, at flood tide, Fms. viii. 306, Orkn. 428; at hrörum, at an inquest, Grág. i. 50 (cp. ii. 141, 389); at sökum, at prosecutions, 30; at sinni, now, as yet, v. that word.

III. ellipt., or adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr,’ of the future time:

1. ellipt., komanda or the like being understood, with reference to the seasons of the year; at sumri, at vetri, at hausti, at vári, next summer, winter…, Ísl. ii. 242; at miðju sumri, at ári, at Midsummer, next year, Fas. i. 516; at miðjum vetri, Fms. iv. 237,

2. adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr;’ at ári komanda, Bárð. 177; at vári er kemr, Dipl. iii. 6.

IV. used with an absolute dat. and with a pres. part.:

1. with pres. part.; at morni komanda, on the coming morrow, Fms. i. 263; at sér lifanda, in vivo, in his life time, Grág. ii. 202; at þeim sofundum, illis dormientibus, Hkr. i. 234; at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all, Fms. x. 329; at úvitanda konungi, illo nesciente, without his knowledge, 227; at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the chief’s bearing, 235.

2. of past time with a past part. (Lat. abl. absol.); at hræjum fundnum, on the bodies being found, Grág. ii. 87; at háðum dómum ok föstu þingi, during the session, the courts being set, i. 484; at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks past, Band. 13; at svá búnu, so goru, svá komnu, svá mæltu (Lat. quibus rebus gestis, dictis, quo facto, dicto, etc.), v. those words; at úreyndu, without trial, without put ting one to the test, Ld. 76; at honum önduðum, illo mortuo.

3. ellipt. without ‘at;’ en þessum hlutum fram komnum, when all this has been done, Eb. 132.

V. in some phrases with a slight temp, notion; at görðum gildum, the fences being strong, Gþl. 387; at vörmu spori, at once, whilst the trail is warm; at úvörum, unawares, suddenly, Nj. 95, Ld. 132; at þessu, at this cost, on that condition, Eb. 38, Nj. 55; at illum leiki, to have a narrow escape, now við illan leik, Fms. ix. 473; at því, that granted, Grág. ii. 33: at því, at pessu, thereafter, thereupon, Nj. 76.

2. denoting succession, without interruption, one after another; hverr at öðrum, annarr maðr at öðrum, aðrir at öðrum; eina konu at annarri, Eg. 91, Fms. ii. 236, vi. 25, Bs. i. 22, 625. 80, H. E. i. 522.

C. METAPH. and in various cases:

I. denoting a transformation or change into, to, with the notion of destruction; brenna at ösku, at köldum kolum, to burn to ashes, to be quite destroyed, Fms. i. 105, Edda 3, Sturl. ii. 51: with the notion of transformation or transfiguration, in such phrases as, verða at e-u, göra e-t at e-u, to turn it into:

α. by a spell; verða at ormi, to become a snake, Fms. xi. 158; at flugdrekum, Gullþ. 7; urðu þau bönd at járni, Edda 40.

β. by a natural process it can often be translated by an acc. or by as; göra e-n at urðarmanni, to make him an outlaw, Eg. 728; græða e-n at orkumlamanni, to heal him so as to maim him for life, of bad treatment by a leech, Eb. 244: in the law terms, sár görist at ben, a wound turning into a ben, proving to be mortal, Grág., Nj.; verða at ljúgvætti, to prove to be a false evidence, Grág. i. 44; verða at sætt, to turn into reconciliation, Fms. i. 13; göra e-t at reiði málum, to take offence at, Fs. 20; at nýjum tíðindum, to tell as news, Nj. 14; verða fátt at orðum, to be sparing of words, 18; kveðr (svá) at orði, to speak, utter, 10; verða at þrifnaði, to geton well, Fms. vii. 196: at liði, at skaða, to be a help or hurt to one; at bana, to cause one’s death, Nj. 223, Eg. 21, Grág. ii. 29: at undrum, at hlátri, to become a wonder, a laughing-stock, 623. 35, Eg. 553.

II. denoting capacity, where it may be translated merely by as or for; gefa at Jólagjöf, to give for a Christmas-box, Eg. 516; at gjöf, for a present; at erfð, at láni, launum, as an inheritance, a loan; at kaupum ok sökum, for buying and selling, Ísl. ii. 223, Grág. i. 423; at solum, ii. 204; at herfangi, as spoil or plunder; at sakbótum, at niðgjöldum, as a compensation, weregeld, i. 339, ii. 171, Hkr. ii. 168; taka at gíslingu, to take as an hostage, Edda 15; eiga e-n at vin, at óvin, to have one as friend or foe, illt er at eiga þræl at eingavin, ‘tis ill to have a thrall for one’s bosom friend (a proverb), Nj. 77; fæða, eiga, at sonum (syni), to beget a son, Edda 8, Bs. i. 60 (but eiga at dóttur cannot be said); hafa möttul at yfirhöfn, Fms. vii. 201; verða nökkut at manni (mönnum), to turn out to be a worthy man; verða ekki at manni, to turn out a worthless person, xi. 79, 268.

2. in such phrases as, verða at orðum, to come towards, Nj. 26; var þat at erindum, Eg. 148; hafa at veizlum, to draw veizlur ( dues) from, Fms. iv. 275, Eg. 647; gora e-t at álitum, to take it into consideration, Nj. 3.

III. denoting belonging to, fitting, of parts of the whole or the like; vóru at honum (viz. the sword) hjölt gullbúin, the sword was ornamented with a hilt of gold, Ld. 330; umgörð at ( belonging to) sverði, Fs. 97 (Hs.) in a verse; en ef mór er eigi at landinu, if there be no turf moor belonging to the land, Grág. ii. 338; svá at eigi brotnaði nokkuð at Orminum, so that no harm happened to the ship Worm, Fms. x. 356; hvatki er meiðir at skipinu eðr at reiðinu eðr at viðum, damage done t o …, Grág. ii. 403; lesta ( to injure) hús at lásum, við eðr torfi, 110; ef land hefir batnað at húsum, if the land has been bettered as to its buildings, 210; cp. the phrase, göra at e-u, to repair: hamlaðr at höndum eðr fótum, maimed as to hands or feet, Eg. 14; heill at höndum en hrumr at fótum, sound in band, palsied in foot, Fms. vii. 12; lykill at skrá, a key belonging, fitting, to the latch; hurð at húsi; a key ‘gengr at’ ( fits) skrá; and many other phrases. 2. denoting the part by which a thing is held or to which it belongs, by; fá, taka at…, to grasp by …; þú tókt við sverði hans at hjöltunum, you took it by the bill, Fms. i. 15; draga út björninn at hlustum, to pull out the bear by the ears, Fas. ii. 237; at fótum, by the feet, Fms. viii. 363; mæla ( to measure) at hrygg ok at jaðri, by the edge or middle of the stuff, Grág. i. 498; kasta e-m at höfði, head foremost, Nj. 84; kjósa e-n at fótum, by the feet alone, Edda 46; hefja frændsemi at bræðrum, eða at systkynum, to reckon kinship by the brother’s or the sister’s side, Grág. i. 28; kjósa at afli, at álitum, by strength, sight, Gs. 8, belongs rather to the following.

IV. in respect of, as regards, in regard to, as to; auðigr at fé, wealthy of goods, Nj. 16, 30, 51; beztir hestar at reið, the best racehorses, 186; spekingr at viti, a man of great intellect, Ld. 124; vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face, Nj. 30, Bs. i. 61; kvenna vænst at ásjónu ok vits munum, of surpassing beauty and intellect, Ld. 122; fullkominn at hyggju, 18; um fram aðra menn at vinsældum ok harðfengi, of surpassing popularity and hardihood, Eb. 30.

2. a law term, of challenging jurors, judges, or the like, on account of, by reason of; ryðja ( to challenge) at mægðum, guðsifjum, frændsemi, hrörum …; at leiðarlengd, on account of distance, Grág. i. 30, 50, Nj. (freq.)

3. in arithm. denoting proportion; at helmingi, þriðjungi, fjórðungi, tíunda hluta, cp. Lat. ex asse, quadrante, for the half, third… part; máttr skal at magni (a proverb), might and main go together, Hkr. ii. 236; þú munt vera at því mikill fræðimaðr á kvæði, in the same proportion, as great, Fms. vi. 391, iii. 41; at e-s hluta, at… leiti, for one’s part, in turn, as far as one is con cerned, Grág. i. 322, Eg. 309, Fms. iii. 26 (freq.): at öðrum kosti, in the other case, otherwise (freq.) More gener., at öllu, öngu, in all (no) respects; at sumu, einhverju, nokkru, partly; at flestu, mestu, chiefly.

4. as a paraphrase of a genitive; faðir, móðir at barni (= barns); aðili at sök (= sakar a.); morðingi at barni (= barns), faðerni at barni (barns); illvirki at fé manna (cp. Lat. felo de se), niðrfall at sökum (saka), land gangr at fiskum (fiska), Fms. iv. 274, Grág. i. 277, 416, N. G. L. i. 340, K. Þ. K. 112, Nj. 21.

5. the phrase ‘at sér,’ of himself or in himself, either ellipt. or by adding the participle görr, and with the adverbs vel, ilia, or the like; denoting breeding, bearing, endowments, character …; væn kona, kurteis ok vel at sér, an accomplished, well-bred, gifted lady, Nj. I; vitr maðr ok vel at sér, a wise man and thoroughly good in feeling and bearing, 5; þú ert maðr vaskr ok vel at þér, 49; gerr at sér, accomplished, 51; bezt at sér görr, the finest, best bred man, 39, Ld. 124; en þó er hann svá vel at sér, so generous, Nj. 77; þeir höfðingjar er svá vóru vel at sér, so noble-minded, 198, Fms. i. 160: the phrase ‘at sér’ is now only used of knowledge, thus maðr vel að sér means clever, a man of great knowledge; illa að sér, a blockhead.

6. denoting relations to colour, size, value, age, and the like; hvitr, svartr, grár, rauðr … at lit, white, swarthy, gray, red … of colour, Bjarn. 55, 28, Ísl. ii. 213, etc.; mikill, lítill, at stærð, vexti, tall, small of size, etc.; ungr, gamall, barn, at aldri, young, old, a child of age; tvítugr, þrítugr … at aldri, twenty, thirty … years of age (freq.): of animals; kyr at fyrsta, öðrum … kálfi, a cow having calved once, twice…, Jb. 346: value, amount, currency of money, kaupa e-t at mörk, at a mark, N. G. L. 1. 352; ok er eyririnn at mörk, amounts to a mark, of the value of money, Grág. i. 392; verðr þá at hálfri murk vaðmála eyrir, amounts to a half a mark, 500.

β. metaph. of value, connected with verbs denoting to esteem, hold; meta, hafa, halda at miklu, litlu, vettugi, engu, or the like, to hold in high or low esteem, to care or not to care for (freq.): geta e-s at góðu, illu, öngu, to mention one favourably, unfavourably, indifferently … (freq.), prop. in connection with. In many cases it may be translated by in; ekki er mark at draumum, there is no meaning in dreams, no heed is to be paid to dreams, Sturl. ii. 217; bragð er at þá barnið finnr, it goes too far, when even a child takes offence (a proverb): hvat er at því, what does it mean? Nj. 11; hvert þat skip er vöxtr er at, any ship of mark, i. e. however small, Fms. xi. 20.

V. denoting the source of a thing:

1. source of infor mation, to learn, perceive, get information from; Ari nam ok marga fræði at Þuríði, learnt as her pupil, at her hands, as St. Paul at the feet of Gamaliel, (just as the Scotch say to speer or ask at a person); Ari nam at Þorgeiri afraðskoll, Hkr. (pref.); nema kunnáttu at e-m, used of a pupil, Fms. i. 8; nema fræði at e-m, xi. 396.

2. of receiving, acquiring, buying, from; þiggja e-t at e-m, to receive a thing at his hands, Nj. 51; líf, to be pardoned, Fms. x. 173; kaupa land at e-m, to buy it from, Landn. 72, Íb. II, (now af is more freq. in this sense); geta e-t at e-m, to obtain, procure at one’s hands, impetrare; þeirra manna er þeir megu þat geta at, who are willing to do that, Grág. i. I; heimta e-t at e-m (now af), to call in, demand (a debt, money), 279; fala e-t at e-m (now af), to chaffer for or cheapen anything, Nj. 73; sækja e-t at e-m, to ask, seek for; sækja heilræði ok traust at e-m, 98; leiga e-t at e-m (now af), to borrow, Grág. ii. 334; eiga e-t (fé, skuld) at e-m, to be owed money by any one, i. 399: metaph. to deserve of one, Nj. 113; eiga mikit at e-m, to have much to do with, 138; hafa veg, virðing, styrk, at, to derive honour, power from, Fms. vi. 71, Eg. 44, Bárð. 174; gagn, to be of use, Ld. 216; mein, tálma, mischief, disadvantage, 158, 216, cp. Eg. 546; ótta, awe, Nj. 68.

VI. denoting conformity, according to, Lat. secundum, ex, after; at fornum sið, Fms. i. 112; at sögn Ara prests, as Ari relates, on his authority, 55; at ráði allra vitrustu manna, at the advice of, Ísl. ii. 259, Ld. 62; at lögum, at landslögum, by the law of the land, Grág., Nj.; at líkindum, in all likelihood, Ld. 272; at sköpum, in due course (poet.); at hinum sama hætti, in the very same manner, Grág. i. 90; at vánum, as was to be expected, Nj. 255; at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave, Eg. 35; úlofi, Grág. ii. 215; at ósk, vilja e-s, as one likes…; at mun, id. (poet.); at sólu, happily (following the course of the sun), Bs. i. 70, 137; at því sem …, as to infer from …, Nj. 124: ‘fara, láta, ganga at’ denotes to yield, agree to, to comply with, give in, Ld. 168, Eg. 18, Fms. x. 368.

VII. in phrases nearly or quite adverbial; gróa, vera græddr, at heilu, to be quite healed, Bárð. 167, Eb. 148; bíta at snöggu, to bite it bare, Fms. xi. 6; at þurru, till it becomes dry, Eb. 276; at endilöngu, all along, Fas. ii; vinnast at litlu, to avail little, 655 x. 14; at fullu, fully, Nj. 257, Hkr. i. 171; at vísu, of a surety, surely, Ld. 40; at frjálsu, freely, 308; at líku, at sömu, equally, all the same, Hom. 80, Nj. 267; at röngu, wrongly, 686 B. 2; at hófi, temperately, Lex. Poët.; at mun, at ráði, at marki, to a great extent; at hringum, utterly, all round, (rare), Fms. x. 389; at einu, yet, Orkn. 358; svá at einu, því at einu, allt at einu, yet, however, nevertheless.

VIII. connected with comparatives of adverbs and adjectives, and strengthening the sense, as in Engl. ‘the,’ so much the more, all the more; ‘at’ heldr tveimr, at ek munda gjarna veita yðr öllum, where it may be translated by so much the more to two, as I would willingly grant it to all of you; hon grét at meir, she grat (wept) the more, Eg. 483; þykir oss at líkara, all the more likely, Fms. viii. 6; þess at harðari, all the harder, Sturl. iii. 202 C; svá at hinn sé bana at nær, Grág. ii. 117; at auðnara, at hólpnara, the more happy, Al. 19, Grett. 116 B; þess at meiri, Fms. v. 64; auvirðismaðr at meiri, Sturl. ii. 139; maðr at vaskari, id.; at feigri, any the more fey, Km. 22; maðr at verri, all the worse, Nj. 168; ok er ‘at’ firr…, at ek vil miklu heldr, cp. Lat. tantum abest… ut, Eg. 60.

β. following after a negation; eigi at síðr, no less, Nj. 160, Ld. 146; eigi… at meiri maðr, any better, Eg. 425, 489; erat héra at borgnara, any the better off for that, Fms. vii. 116; eigi at minni, no less for that, Edda (pref.) 146; eigi at minna, Ld. 216, Fms. ix. 50; ekki at verri drengr, not a bit worse for that, Ld. 42; er mér ekki son minn at bættari, þótt…, 216; at eigi vissi at nær, any more, Fas. iii. 74.

IX. following many words:

1. verbs, esp. those denoting, a. to ask, enquire, attend, seek, e. g. spyrja at, to speer (ask) for; leita at, to seek for; gæta, geyma at, to pay attention to; huga, hyggja at; hence atspurn, to enquire, aðgæzla, athugi, attention, etc.

β. verbs denoting laughter, play, joy, game, cp. the Engl. to play at …, to laugh at …; hlæja, brosa at e-u, to laugh, smile at it; leika (sér) at e-u, to play at; þykja gaman at, to enjoy; hæða, göra gys at …, to make sport at …

γ. verbs denoting assistance, help; standa, veita, vinna, hjálpa at; hence atstoð, atvinna, atverk:—mode, proceeding; fara at, to proceed, hence atför and atferli:—compliance; láta, fara at e-u, v. above:— fault; e-t er at e-u, there is some fault in it, Fms. x. 418; skorta at e-u, to fall short of, xi. 98:—care, attendance; hjúkra at, hlýja at, v. these words:—gathering, collecting; draga, reiða, flytja, fá at, congerere:—engagement, arrival, etc.; sækja at, to attack; ganga at, vera at, to be about; koma at, ellipt. to arrive: göra at, to repair: lesta at, to impair (v. above); finna at, to criticise (mod.); telja at, id.: bera at, to happen; kveða at e-m, to address one, 625. 15, (kveða at (ellipt.) now means to pronounce, and of a child to utter (read) whole syllables); falla at, of the flood-tide (ellipt.): metaph. of pains or straits surrounding one; þreyngja, herða at, to press hard: of frost and cold, with regard to the seasons; frjósa at, kólna at, to get really cold (SI. 44), as it were from the cold stiffening all things: also of the seasons themselves; hausta, vetra að, when the season really sets in; esp. the cold seasons, ‘sumra at’ cannot be used, yet we may say ‘vára að’ when the spring sets in, and the air gets mild.

δ. in numberless other cases which may partly be seen below.

2. connected ellipt. with adverbs denoting motion from a place; norðan, austan, sunnan, vestan at, those from the north, east…; utan at, innan at, from the outside or inside.

3. with adjectives (but rarely), e. g. kærr, elskr, virkr (affectionate), vandr (zealous), at e-m; v. these words.

WITH ACC.

TEMP.: Lat. post, after, upon, esp. freq. in poetry, but rare in prose writers, who use eptir; nema reisi niðr at nið (= maðr eptir mann), in succession, of erecting a monument, Hm. 71; in prose, at þat. posthac, deinde, Fms. x. 323, cp. Rm., where it occurs several times, 2, 6, 9, 14, 18, 24, 28, 30, 35; sonr á at taka arf at föður sinn, has to take the inheritance after his father, Grág. i. 170 new Ed.; eiga féránsdóm at e-n, Grág. i. 89; at Gamla fallinn, after the death of G., Fms. x. 382; in Edda (Gl.) 113 ought to be restored, grét ok at Oð, gulli Freyja, she grat (wept) tears of gold for her lost husband Od. It is doubtful if it is ever used in a purely loc. sense; at land, Grág. (Sb.)ii. 211, is probably corrupt; at hönd = á hönd, Grág. (Sb.) i. 135; at mót = at móti, v. this word.

☞ In compounds (v. below) at- or að- answers in turn to Lat. ad- or in- or con-; atdráttr e. g. denotes collecting; atkoma is adventus: it may also answer to Lat. ob-, in atburðr = accidence, but might also be compared with Lat. occurrere.

and að, the mark of the infinitive [cp. Goth. du; A. S. and Engl. to; Germ. zu]. Except in the case of a few verbs ‘at’ is always placed immediately before the infinitive, so as to be almost an inseparable part of the verb.

I. it is used either,

1. as, a simple mark of the infinitive, only denoting an action and independent of the subject, e. g. at ganga, at hlaupa, at vita, to go, to run, to know; or,

2. in an objective sense when following such verbs as bjóða segja…, to invite, command …; hann bauð þeim at ganga, at sitja, be bade, ordered them to go, sit, or the like; or as gefa and fá; gefa e-m at drekka, at eta, to give one to drink or to eat, etc. etc.

β. with the additional notion of intention, esp. when following verba cogitandi; hann ætlaði, hafði í hyggju at fara, he had it in his mind to go (where ‘to go’ is the real object to ætlaði and hafði í hyggju).

3. answering to the Gr. ινα, denoting intention, design, in order to; hann gékk í borg at kaupa silfr, in order to buy, Nj. 280; hann sendi riddara sína með þeim at varðveita þær, 623. 45: in order to make the phrase more plain, ‘svá’ and ‘til’ are frequently added, esp. in mod. writers, ‘svá at’ and contr. ‘svát’ (the last however is rare), ‘til at’ and ‘til þess at,’ etc.

II. in the earlier times the infin., as in Greek and Lat., had no such mark; and some verbs remain that cannot be followed by ‘at;’ these verbs are almost the same in Icel. as in Engl.:

α. the auxiliary verbs vil, mun ( μέλλω), skal; as in Engl. to is never used after the auxiliaries shall, will, must; ek vil ganga, I will go; ek mun fara, (as in North. E.) I mun go; ek skal göra þat, I shall do that, etc.

β. the verbs kunna, mega, as in Engl. I can or may do, I dare say; svá hygginn at hann kunni fyrir sökum ráða, Grág. ii. 75; í öllu er prýða má góðan höfðingja, Nj. 90; vera má, it may be; vera kann þat, id.: kunnu, however, takes ‘at’ whenever it means to know, and esp. in common language in phrases such as, það kann að vera, but vera kann þat, v. above.

γ. lata, biðja, as in Engl. to let, to bid; hann lét (bað) þá fara, he let (bade) them go.

δ. þykkja, þykjast, to seem; hann þykir vera, he is thought to be: reflex., hann þykist vera, sibi videtur: impers., mér þykir vera, mibi videtur, in all cases without ‘at.’ So also freq. the verbs hugsa, hyggja, ætla, halda, to think, when denoting merely the act of thinking; but if there be any notion of intention or purpose, they assume the ‘at;’ thus hann ætlaði, hugði, þá vera góða menn, he thought them to be, acc. c. inf.; but ætlaði at fara, meant to go, etc.

ε. the verbs denoting to see, bear; sjá, líta, horfa á … ( videre); heyra, audire, as in Engl. I saw them come, I heard him tell, ek sá þá koma, ek heyrði hann tala.

ζ. sometimes after the verbs eiga and ganga; hann gékk steikja, be went to roast, Vkv. 9; eiga, esp. when a mere periphrasis instead of skal, móður sína á maðr fyrst fram færa (better at færa), Grág. i. 232; á þann kvið einskis meta, 59; but at meta, id. l. 24; ráða, nema, göra …, freq. in poetry, when they are used as simple auxiliary verbs, e. g. nam hann sér Högna hvetja at rúnum, Skv. 3. 43.

η. hljóta and verða, when used in the sense of must (as in Engl. he must go), and when placed after the infin.of another verb; hér muntu vera hljóta, Nj. 129; but hljóta at vera: fara hlýtr þú, Fms. 1. 159; but þú hlýtr at fara: verða vita, ii. 146; but verða at vita: hann man verða sækja, þó verðr (= skal) maðr eptir mann lifa, Fms. viii. 19, Fas. ii. 552, are exceptional cases.

θ. in poetry, verbs with the verbal neg. suffix ‘-at,’ freq. for the case of euphony, take no mark of the infinitive, where it would be indispensable with the simple verb, vide Lex. Poët. Exceptional cases; hvárt sem hann vill ‘at’ verja þá sök, eða, whatever he chooses, either, Grág. i. 64; fyrr viljum vér enga kórónu at bera, en nokkut ófrelsi á oss at taka, we would rather bear no crown than …, Fms. x. 12; the context is peculiar, and the ‘at’ purposely added. It may be left out ellipt.; e. g. þá er guð gefr oss finnast (= at finnast), Dipl. ii. 14; gef honum drekka (= at drekka), Pr. 470; but mostly in unclassical writers, in deeds, or the like, written nastily and in an abrupt style.

and að, conj. [Goth. þatei = οτι; A. S. þät; Engl. that; Germ, dass; the Ormul. and Scot. at, see the quotations sub voce in Jamieson; in all South-Teutonic idioms with an initial dental: the Scandinavian idioms form an exception, having all dropped this consonant; Swed. åt, Dan. at]. In Icel. the Bible translation (of the 16th century) was chiefly based upon that of Luther; the hymns and the great bulk of theol. translations of that time were also derived from Germany; therefore the germanised form það frequently appears in the Bible, and was often employed by theol. authors in sermons since the time of the Reformation. Jón Vidalin, the greatest modern Icel. preacher, who died in 1720, in spite of his thoroughly classical style, abounds in the use of this form; but it never took root in the language, and has never passed into the spoken dialect. After a relative or demonstr. pronoun, it freq. in mod. writers assumes the form eð, hver eð, hverir eð, hvað eð, þar eð. Before the prep. þú (tu), þ changes into t, and is spelt in a single word attú, which is freq. in some MS.;—now, however, pronounced aððú, aððeir, aððið …, = að þú…, with the soft Engl. th sound. It gener. answers to Lat. ut, or to the relat. pron. qui.

I. that, relative to svá, to denote proportion, degree, so…, that, Lat. tam, tantus, tot…, ut; svá mikill lagamaðr, at…, so great a lawyer, that…, Nj. 1; hárið svá mikit, at þat…, 2; svá kom um síðir því máli, at Sigvaldi, it came so far, that…, Fms. xi. 95, Edda 33. Rarely and unclass., ellipt. without svá; Bæringr var til seinn eptir honum, at hann … (= svá at), Bær. 15; hlífði honum, at hann sakaði ekki, Fas. iii. 441.

II. it is used,

1. with indic, in a narrative sense, answering partly to Gr. οτι, Lat. quod, ut, in such phrases as, it came to pass, happened that …; þat var einhverju sinni, at Höskuldr hafði vinaboð, Nj. 2; þat var á palmdrottinsdag, at Ólafr konungr gékk út um stræti, Fms. ii. 244.

2. with subj. answering to Lat. acc. with infin., to mark the relation of an object to the chief verb, e. g. vilda ek at þú réðist, I wished that you would, Nj. 57.

β. or in an oblique sentence, answering to ita ut…; ef svá kann verða at þeir láti…, if it may be so that they might…, Fms. xi. 94.

γ. with a subj. denoting design, answering to ϊνα or Lat. ut with subj., in order that; at öll veraldar bygðin viti, ut sciat totus orbis, Stj.; þeir skáru fyrir þá melinn, at þeir dæi eigi af sulti, ut ne fame perirent, Nj. 265; fyrsti hlutr bókarinnar er Kristindómsbálkr, at menn skili, in order that men may understand, Gþl. p. viii.

III. used in connection with conjunctions,

1. esp. þó, því, svá; þó at freq. contr. þótt; svát is rare and obsolete.

α. þóat, þótt (North. E. ‘thof’), followed by a subjunctive, though, although, Lat. etsi, quamquam (very freq.); þóat nokkurum mönnum sýnist þetta með freku sett… þá viljum vér, Fms. vi. 21: phrases as, gef þú mér þó at úverðugri, etsi indignae (dat.), Stj. MS. col. 315, are unclass., and influenced by the Latin: sometimes ellipt. without ‘þó,’ eigi mundi hón þá meir hvata göngu sinni, at (= þóat) hon hraeddist bana sinn, Edda 7, Nj. 64: ‘þó’ and ‘at’ separated, svarar hann þó rétt, at hann svari svá, Grág. i. 23; þó er rétt at nýta, at hann sé fyrr skorinn, answering to Engl. yet—though, Lat. attamen —etsi, K. Þ. K.

β. því at, because, Lat. nam, quia, with indic.; því at allir vóru gerfiligir synir hans, Ld. 68; því at af íþróttum verðr maðr fróðr, Sks. 16: separated, því þegi ek, at ek undrumst, Fms. iii. 201; því er þessa getið, at þat þótti, it i s mentioned because …, Ld. 68.

γ. svá at, so that, Lat. ut, ita ut; grátrinn kom upp, svá at eingi mátti öðrum segja, Edda 37: separated, so … that, svá úsvúst at …, so bad weather, that, Bs. i. 339, etc.

2. it is freq. used superfluously, esp. after relatives; hver at = hverr, quis; því at = því, igitur; hverr at þekkr ok þægiligr mun verða, Fms. v. 159; hvern stvrk at hann mundi fá, 44; ek undrumst hvé mikil ógnarraust at liggr í þér, iii. 201; því at ek mátti eigi þar vera elligar, því at þar var kristni vel haldin, Fas. i. 340.

IV. as a relat. conj.:

1. temp, when, Lat. quum; jafnan er ( est) mér þá verra er ( quum) ek fer á braut þaðan, en þá at ( quum) ek kem, Grett. 150 A; þar til at vér vitum, till we know, Fms. v. 52; þá at ek lýsta (= þá er), when, Nj. 233.

2. since, because; ek færi yðr (hann), at þér eruð í einum hrepp allir, because of your being all of the same Rape, Grág. i. 260; eigi er kynlegt at ( though) Skarphéðinn sé hraustr, at þat er mælt at…, because (since) it is a saying that…, Nj. 64.

V. in mod. writers it is also freq. superfluously joined to the conjunctions, ef að = ef, si, (Lv. 45 is from a paper MS.), meðan að = meðan, dum; nema að, nisi; fyrst að = fyrst, quoniam; eptir að, síðan að, postquam; hvárt að = hvárt, Lat. an. In the law we find passages such as, þá er um er dæmt eina sök, at þá eigu þeir aptr at ganga í dóminn, Grág. i. 79; ef þing ber á hina helgu viku, at þat á eigi fyrir þeim málum at standa, 106; þat er ok, at þeir skulu reifa mál manna, 64; at þeir skulu með váttorð þá sök sækja, 65: in all these cases ‘at’ is either superfluous or, which is more likely, of an ellipt. nature, ‘the law decrees’ or ‘it is decreed’ being understood. The passages Sks. 551, 552, 568, 718 B, at lokit (= at ek hefi lokit), at hugleitt (= at ek hefi h.), at sent (= at ek hefi sent) are quite exceptional.

and að, an indecl. relat. pronoun [Ulf. þatei = ος, ος αν, οστις, οσπερ, οιος, etc.; Engl. that, Ormul. at], with the initial letter dropped, as in the conj. at, (cp. also the Old Engl. at, which is both a conj. and a pronoun, e. g. Barbour vi. 24 in Jamieson: ‘I drede that his gret wassalage, | And his travail may bring till end, | That at men quhilc full litil wend.’ | ‘His mestyr speryt quhat tithings a t he saw.’—Wyntoun v. 3. 89.) In Icel. ‘er’ (the relat. pronoun) and ‘at’ are used indifferently, so that where one MS. reads ‘er,’ another reads ‘at,’ and vice versâ; this may easily be seen by looking at the MSS.; yet as a rule ‘er’ is much more freq. used. In mod. writers ‘at’ is freq. turned into ‘eð,’ esp. as a superfluous particle after the relative pron. hverr (hver eð, hvað eð, hverir eð, etc.), or the demonstr. sá (sá eð, þeir eð, hinir eð, etc.):—who, which, that, enn bezta grip at ( which) hafði til Íslands komið, Ld. 202; en engi mun sá at ( cui) minnisamara mun vera, 242; sem blótnaut at ( quae) stærst verða, Fms. iii. 214; þau tiðendi, at mér þætti verri, Nj. 64, etc. etc.

n. collision (poët.); odda at, crossing of spears, crash of spears, Höfuðl. 8.

β. a fight or bait of wild animals, esp. of horses, v. hesta-at and etja.

the negative verbal suffix, v. -a.

* * *

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.