asking

(að), v. to keep asking (látum barn hafa þat er brekar).

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að, to keep asking, of importunate requests, Fms. vi. 246: the proverb, látum barn hafa þat er brekar, Þiðr. 51, 110: neut., b. til e-s, Al. 114.

a. asking many questions, inquiring, inquisitive (hverr er sá maðr, er svá er s.).

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(spurull), adj. speering, asking many questions; vera glaðr ok spurall, Fms. iv. 82; görðisk hann spurall við þá menn er norðan kómu, viii. 15; hverr er sá maðr er svá er spurall? Finnb. 250.

f. an asking, enquiry, Mkv.

f. request, demand.

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u, f. a request, demand, Sturl. iii. 231, Sks. 772. beiðslu-maðr, m. a person asking, Sks. 776, Anecd. 88.

I) pers. pron. I;

in poetry and old prose a pronominal k is suffixed to the verb, emk = em ek, vask = vas ek; sák = sá ek; mundak = munda ek; even if preceded by ek: ek sék, ek sitk; a preceding g becomes by assimilation k, hykk = hygg ek; the pronominal k is inserted between the suffixed negative, -a or -at, and the verb, sáka = sá ek-a, I saw not; veitka = veit ek-a, I know not.

II) from aka.

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pers. pron., mod. eg, proncd. ég or jeg; eg occurs as early as in MSS. of the 15th century, Arna-Magn. 556 A; jak, Fms. x. 287, cp. the mod. Swed. form and the mod. Icel. jeg; old poets make it rhyme with ek, as, Halldórr ok ek | höfum engi þrek, Korm. 154 (in a verse), cp. Ld. 108: [Ulf. ïk, but ek on the Golden horn and on the stone in Tune; A. S. ic; Engl. I; Germ. ich; old Swed. jak, mod. jag; Dan. jeg; cp. Lat. ego, Gr. ἐγώ]:—I, Nj. 10, 30, 132, etc.

2. in poetry and old prose a pronominal ‘k or ‘g is suffixed to the verb; em’k búinn annan í at nefna, Grág. i. 103; ek em’k, 623. 56, Blas. 41, Mork. 89, 94, 99, 104, Vþm. 8, Ls. 14, Ad. 1, Post. 645. 33; jók’k, ‘I eked’ ( added), Íb. (pref.); vas’k þar fjórtán vetr, ch. 9; þá er ek var’k á bænum, Blas. 40, Hm. 12; ek bað’k, Post. 645. 54; ek kom’k, Skm. 18; ek sit’k, Mork. 168; ek finn’k, 141; ek nam’k, 73; sá’k, 75; ek sé’k ( video), 103, 168, Fms. xi. 110; mun’k-at ek, Mork. 50; svá ek vind’k, Hm. 156; ok rít’k á þessa lund, Skálda (Thorodd) 166; sjá’k ( sim), Mork. 183: g before k becomes by assimilation k, e. g. hyk’k = hygg’k, Skm. 5: the pronominal k is inserted between the suffixed negative and the verb, ek skal’k-a, hef’k-a, mon’k-a, sa’k-a, ma’k-a, veit’k-a, or skal’k-a ek, hef’k-a ek, etc.: even a double k after a diphthong, siá’kk ( sim), Mork. 89, 134, but chiefly in poetry with the suffixed negative, e. g. ek sé’kk-a: this form is obsolete, whereas the suffixed g (or k) in bisyllables or after a vowel is more freq.; svá at ek fæ’k eigi leyzt mik, Edda 20; er ek vilda’g helzt, Fms. xi. 146; eigi munda’k trúa, Edda 32; ef ek lifi ok mega’k ráða, 34; þá hafða’k bundit með gresjarni, id.; sem önga frægð muna’k af hljóta, 20; sýnda’k bæði þeim ok Sæmundi, Íb. (pref.); þá er ek var heima heyrða’k sagt, Edda 81; er ek aeva kenni’g, Hm. 164; draums ætli’g þér, Hdl. 7; þorða’g, Ad. 1; ræka’g, mætta’g, Stor. 8; sky’t ek ok ræ’k (ræ’g, v. l.), Fms. vi. 170 (in a verse); líkara at ek vitja’g hingat þessa heita, Eg. 319; næða’k (or næða’g), if I could reach, Eb. 70 (in a verse); at ek nemni þá menn alla ok beiði’g, Grág. ii. 317; vilja’k, I will, Ht. 1; þvíat ek ætla’g, Ó. H. 59; ok náða’k svá öllu ríki þeirra, 74; þvíat ek trúi’k yðr bezt, 88; ek setta’k, Mork. 62; flytta’k, 94; geri’k, heyrða’k, 36; mæli’g, 39; ek vetti’g, 175; tefli’g, 186; setta’g, lagða’g, id.; vilda’g, 193; vide Lex. Poët. and the word ‘-at’ [p. 2]: sometimes a double pronoun occurs, g and k, mátti’g-a’k, Og. 32; bjargi’g-a’k, Hm. 153; stöðvi’g-a’k, 151; hversu ek má’k, Fms. vi. 102; vide Lex. Poët. and Frump. 228 sqq.

B. DAT. AND ACC. are from a different root:—dat. mér, [Ulf. mis; Germ. mir; lost in Dan.], Nj. 10, etc. etc.; acc. mik, mod. mig, which form occurs even in MSS. at the beginning of the 14th century, e. g. Hauks-bók: mek occurs now and then in MSS., e. g. O. H. L., N. G. L., Sks. B, else it is rare and obsolete, Al. 42, Ó. H. 107, [Ulf. mik; A. S. mec; Engl. me; Germ. mich; Dan. mig.] As the word is so common, we shall only mention the use of mik which is special to the Scandinavian tongue, viz. its use as a verbal suffix. The ancients had a double form for the reflexive; for 1st pers. -mk, i. e. mik suffixed to the plur. of the verb; for the 3rd pers. -sk, i. e. sik suffixed to sing. and plur. alike; thus, ek (vér) þykkjumk, I (we) seem to myself ( ourselves); but hann þykkisk, he seems to himself; þeir þykkjask, they seem to themselves: the -mk was later changed into -mz, or - mst of editions and mod. use; but this is a grammatical decay, as if both - mst and -st (þykjumst and þykist) arose from the same reflex. sik.

1. the subject may be another person or thing (plur. or sing.) and the personal pronoun mik suffixed as object to the verb, a kind of middle voice found in very old poems, and where it occurs freq. it is a test of antiquity; in prose it is quite obsolete: jötna vegir stóðum’k yfir ok undir, the ways of giants (i. e. precipices) stood above and beneath me, Hm. 106; er lögðum’k arm yfir, the lass who laid her arms round me, 108; mögr hétum’k fögru, my son promised me fair, Egil; hilmir buðum’k löð (acc.), the king gave me leave, i. e. bade me, sing, Höfuðl. 2; úlfs bagi gáfum’k íþrótt, the wolf’s foe ( Odin) gave me the art ( poetry), Stor. 23; Ragnarr gáfum’k reiðar mána, R. gave me the shield, Bragi; þat erum’k sýnt, it is shewn to me, id.; stöndum’k ilmr fyrir yndi, the lass blights my joy, Kormak; hugr tjáðum’k, courage helped me, Egil; snertum’k harmr við hjarta, grief touches me to the heart, Landn.; stöndum’k til hjarta hjörr, the sword pierces me to the heart, Fm. i; feldr brennum’k, my cloak catches fire, Gm. 1; draum dreymðum’k, I dreamed a dream; grimt várum’k hlið, the gap ( breach) was terrible to me, Stor. 6; hálf ván féllum’k, half my hope failed me, Gráfeldar-drápa; heiðnir rekkar hnekðum’k, the heathen men turned me out, Sighvat; dísir hvöttum’k at, the ‘dísir’ hooted us, Hðm. 29; gumi görðum’k at vigi, the man made us fight, id.; lyst várum’k, it list me, Am. 74: very common is erum’k, ‘tis to me (us); erum’k van, I (we) have to expect; mjök erum’k tregt tungu at hræra, ‘tis hard for me to move the tongue, i. e. the tongue cleaves to my mouth, Stor. 1, 17, Ad. 16.

2. sometimes oneself is the subject, freq. in prose and poetry, either in deponent verbs or as reflex. or recipr.; at vit skilim’k sáttir, Ó. H. 119; at vér komim’k, that we shall come, 85; finnum’k hér þá, 108; ef vér finnum’k, 111; ek skildum’k við Ólaf konung, 126; ef ek komum’k í braut, 140; sigrom’k, if I gain the victory, 206; æðrom’k, 214; ef ek öndum’k, if I die, Eg. 127; ek berum’k, I bear myself, Grág. ii. 57, Mork. passim; ek þykkjum’k, þóttum’k, ráðum’k, látum’k, setjum’k, bjóðum’k, skildum’k, kveljum’k, etc., = ek þykisk, þóttisk, ræðsk, lætsk, setsk, býðsk, skildisk, kvelsk, etc.: even at the present day the forms eg þykjumst, þóttumst are often used in writing; in other words the suffix - mst (-mk) is almost obsolete.

β. the obsolete interjection er mik = I am; vel er mik, well is me (= ‘bless me!’), O. H. L. 71; æ er mik, ah me! 64; kendr er mik, I am known, 66: with a reflex. notion, hvat er mik at því, what is that to me? Skv. 1. 28; er mik þat undir frétt þeirri, that is my reason for asking, Grág. i. 19:—this ‘er mik’ is clearly the remains of the old erum’k.

C. DUAL AND PLUR. also from a different root:

1. dual vit, mod. við, a Norse form mit also occurs, Al. 170, 171, [cp. mi, Ivar Aasen]:—we two; gen. and dat. from a different root, okkar and okkr, [cp. Goth. ïggqis; A. S. inc and incer; O. H. G. inch and inchar; Ivar Aasen dikke and dykk]:—our.

2. plur.:

α. nom. vér and vær, the last form now obsolete, [Goth. veis; A. S. and Engl. we; Germ. wir; Dan. vi]:—we.

β. gen. vár, mod. vor, Eg. 524, Fms. viii. 213, 398, etc.

γ. dat. and acc. oss, [Goth. uns (acc.), unsis (dat.); A. S. us; Germ. uns; Swed. oss; Dan. os]:—us: it need only be noticed that in mod. familiar usage the dual—við, okkr, okkar—has taken the place of the plural, vér, oss; but that in written books the forms vér, oss are still in freq. use, except in light or familiar style; old writers, on the other hand, made a clear distinction both in speech and writing.

f. asking after, inquiry, Sks. 52, Bs. i. 632.

part., in the phrase, göra e-n fornspurðan at e-u, or göra e-t at e-m fornspurðum, to do a thing without asking one’s leave, Fas. i. 48.

(old gen. hvess, dat. hví), neut. pron.

I. int. pron.

1) what (h. sýnist þér ráð?); h. er þér, Hjálmar? what is the matter with thee, H.?; expressing wonder, what sort of? (h. Øgmundr ertu?); with gen., h. er þat fira, flagða, drauma, fiska? what sort of men. witches, dreams, fishes? h. manna ertu? what sort of a man art thou?; with dat., hann spurði, h. mönnum þeir væri, what kind of men they were;

2) implying an answer in the negative, to what end? of what use? (h. skal rögum manni langt vápn?)

3) how, = hve, hversu; fréttir hann nú, h. liði bónorðs-málum, how the was going on;

II. indef. pron.

1) each, every; h. at öðru, ‘each with the other’, everything; þat lið, er honum fylgdi, flýr sér hvat, scattered in all directions; h. bíðr sinnar stundar, there is a time for everything;

2) = hvatki, with the relat. part. ‘er (es)’ or ‘sem’; h. sem or h. es, whatsoever;

3) with compar., ever so much; hann var til hans h. betr en til sinna barna, he was ever so much kinder to him than to his own children.

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neut. pron. of an obsolete hvar; for the other kindred forms see hverr, hví, and hót.

A. Interrog. direct and indirect, what; eiga at bíða hvat ek skal á kveða, Nj. 3; vita, hvat hann skal við kveða, Hm. 28, Vþm. 55; veit ek eigi hvat til annars kemr, Band. 36 new Ed., passim.

β. = Germ. was für ein …? North. E. what for a …? for what sort of a …? expressing wonder or the like; hvat Ögmundr ertú, what sort of an O. art thou? Fas. ii. 534; hvat fé er þat? Nj. 55: indirectly, þeir vissu eigi hvat lið þat var, Hkr. i. 268.

2. with gen., hvat er manna þat mér ókunnra? Vtkv. 5; hvat er þat fíra, flagða, drauma, fiska, what sort of men, witches, dreams, fishes? Alm. 2, 5, Skv. 2. 1, Fsm. 2, Em. i; hvat mun enn verða æfi minnar? Skv. 1. 12, 14, 18; hvat manna ertú, what sort of a man art thou? Fms. ix. 55; hvat kvenna ertú? Dropl. 4; hvat karla er þat? Fms. vii. 152; hvat íþrótta er þat? Edda 31; hvat undra varð þess? 623. 35: indirect, hann spurði hvat manna Hallfreðr var, Fms. ii. 54, vii. 166; hvat sveina þat myndi vera, x. 219; hann spurði hvat væri ráðs hennar, he asked what she intended to do, i. 186; hvat hann vildi ráða sinna, vii. 154; spurði hvat veðrs væfi, Bjarn. 54.

β. with dat., hvat liði er þetta? Fms. ix. 50; hvat rani var þat? Ísl. ii. 142; hvat húsi stendr þar? Hkr. iii. 187, Stj. 626, 650: indirect, spurði hvat mönnum þeir væri, Eg. 162; hann spyrr hvat mönnum þeir sé, Fær. 64; vita hvat mönnum þeir væri, Hkr, i. 268; hvat erendum, Fs. 11; er hestrinn kenndi hvat hrossi þetta var, Edda 26; Þá þóttisk þórr skilja hvat látum verit hafði um nóttina. 29; hvat matvistum, Str. 81.

3. what, why, how? in asking, denoting surprise, indignation, or expecting an answer in the negative, Lat. numquid? hvat skal rögum manni langt vápn, to what use? hvat skaltú sveinn í sess minn? Eg. (in a verse); hvat hæfir ykkr með mér at vera? Stj. 420; hvat þarftú at spyrja at nafni minu? 399, 410, 476; hvat ek veit, segir Gunnarr, hvárt …? Nj. 85; hvat mun ek þat vita, how should I know that? Bs. ii. 104.

4. how = hve; fréttir hann nú hvat liði bónorðs-málum, Ld. 92; hvat hlýðnir landsmenn vóro, Íb. 16; hvat grimm, how cruel! Mar.

5. causal, why? hvat spyrr þú mik? Hom.; hvat lystr þú mik? id., freq.

B. Indef. pron. each, every, with the particle er (es) or sem, whatso- ever; hvat sem, or hvat es, whatsoever; hvat dýr sem er, Gþl. 457, Fms. vii. 29; hvat sem hann kostaði til, Edda 29; hvat fjarlægr sem…, howsoever remote…, Stj. 93: with suffixed es, hvaz or hvats, id., see er, p. 131.

2. with the possess, pron. sinn; hvat bíðr sinnar stundar, Lat. horam quodque suam expectat, there is a time for everything, Nj. 79; flýr sér hvat, they run each his own way, i. e. were scattered in all directions, Fms. x. 268.

3. hvat af öðru, from one to another, in succession, Fms. i. 128; hvat af hverju, ‘what from which,’ i. e. soon; hans er von hvað af hverju, he is expected every moment, (mod.)

4. with compar. ever so much; hann var til hans hvat betr enn til sinna barna, he was ever so much kinder to him than to his wn children, Ld. 304.

II. as interj., hú, há, eðr hvat! Sks. 365 B; vaknaði hann alltrautt ok mælti nær í úvitinu, hvat! hvat! Fms. ix. 24.

(man or mun, munda; pret. infin. mundu), v.

1) as an auxiliary verb simply denoting futurity, shall, will; munu margir þess gjalda, many will smart for it; ok mun hann hér koma brátt, and he will be here speedily;

2) denoting what is probable or pretty certain, is sure to, must; þú munt vera feigr maðr, thou are surely a death-doomed man; nú mun faðir minn dauðr vera, now my father must be dead;

3) in past tenses, would (eigi mundak trúa); must, kvað hann þá nú mundu dauða, he said that now they must be dead.

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a verb whose present is in preterite form, see Gramm. p. xxiii; pres. man, mant (mantú, muntú), man, pl. munum, munut, munu; pret. mundi; subj. pres. muni; pret. myndi; imper. mun, muntu; pres. infin. munu; pret. infin. mundu. In the oldest vellums an o is used throughout for u, thus infin. monu, pret. mon, monu, and so on, whence subj. møndi; thus Thorodd, mon-a ( will not) mín móna; and leka møndi húsit ( the house would leak) ef eigi møndi ( thatched) smiðrinn, Skálda; mun’k = mun ek, Ad. 14, Skv. 1. 40; man’k = man ek, Fms. vii. 337 (Mork.); mona’k = muna ek (subj.): with neg. suff. pres. mon-a, she will not, Thorodd, Höfuðl. 17; monka ek, I shall not, Hkv. Hjörv. 23, Fms. x. 342 (in a verse); mon-at, mun-at (3rd pers.), shall not; monattu or munattu (2nd pers.), Gs. 19, Ls. 49; munum-a, we shall not, Hallfred; see -at, p. 2:—a pret. pl. manu without umlaut, or even with a throughout sing. and plur., is also freq. ☞ In mod. usage and MSS., as also in less correct paper transcripts of vellums, and in Editions, the pret. infin. mundu is freq. turned into a subj. from mundi, and ought to be restored; thus in Eg.—sögðu þat vera mundu (Ed. mundi) róg íllra manna, … konungr kveðsk því mundu (Ed. mundi) heldr af trúa, cp. Eb. (pref. p. xxxviii new Ed.)

B. Will, shall, as an auxiliary verb simply denoting futurity, followed by an infinitive; munu margir þess gjalda, Nj. 2; þú mant vera feigr maðr, 63; sem nú man ek telja, Grág. ii. 211; aldri hafði önd mín tvá líkami ok eigi mun hón hafa, heldr mun hón einn líkama hafa nú, ok þann mun hón hafa á dóms-degi, Fms. iv. 121; hón kveðsk hans forsjá hlíta mundu, … ok kveðsk ganga mundu, Ld. 14; svá man móðir þín til ætla, Nj. 58; muntú ekki mín at slíku þurfa, 55; mon ek þá görask þinn maðr, Ó. H. 47; en ek mon þik láta vera göfgastan lendan mann, id.; þá man yðr eigi svá … at eigi moneð ér (subj.), 32; segir at nú man til verða sá maðr, 33; hér mantú konung upp fæða, móðir, 64; nú man ek koma til Uppsala-þings, 67; þá mono vér veita þér atgöngu, 69; vel man þér fara, Nj. 55; þú mant segja dauða minn, 58 (but þú munt, next line); úþarfir munu þér verða frændr Hallgerðar, id.; þó man ek ekki göra hann at þræli, id.; hvat ek veit, segir Gunnarr, hvárt ek man því úvaskari maðr en aðrir menn, sem …, whether I am, whether I should be, id.; hann lét þó svá búit þá mundu verða at vera (a threefold infin.), Ísl. ii. 357.

II. with a suggestive sense of may be, probably, about, often answering to may be, perhaps in mod. writers; þá mundi lífa þriðjungr nætr, perhaps the third, about the third part, Fms. ix. 475; þeir myndi hafa nær sjau tigi manna, Sturl. iii. 239; hverr mundi þá segja? Edda 144; ok mundi hann vita þat fyrir er hann vissi dauða sinn, Nj. 98; ok myndi þat Njáll ætla, at …, 93; þeir sögðu þat vera mundu róg íllra manna, it was nothing but …, Eg. 55; sögðu at Þórólfr mundi vera hollr konungi, that Th. was no doubt faithful, id., passim.

III. in asking and answering, corresponding to Engl. would’st thou? I will; Muntú veita mér þat er ek bið þik? Hvat er þat, segir konungr, Fms. vi. 392; muntú mér, Freyja, fjaðrhams, ljá?—Þó munda ek gefa þér þótt ór gulli væri, Þkv. 3, 4; mundu fleira mæla? answer, mun ek, Hkv. Hjörv. 2; muntú stefna vilja Hallvarði? Glúm. 365; mun hann dauðr, is he dead? Nj. 135.

IV. denoting injunction; hann mælti til Einars, at hann mundi ( told him to) leita sér vistar, Hrafn. 5; svá hefi ek helzt ætlað at boð þitt muni vera at áliðnu sumri, Ld. 14 (but rarely).

V. ellipt., the infin. vera being left out and understood; ærit bragð mun at því (viz. vera), Nj. 58; lítið bragð mun þá at, Ld. 136; Hálfr mundi mikill afreksmaðr, Mag. 4; torsótt mun (viz. vera) at sækja, Glúm. 365.

☞ Hardly any verb is more freq., e. g. þú munt hafa meira hlut sagði Njáll, en þó man hér hljótask af margs manns bani.—Man nokkut hér minn bani af hljótask?—Ekki man þat af þessu, en þó munu þeir minnask á fornan fjandskap ok muntú ekki annat mega en hrökkva við, Nj. 90; hversu mun nú ganga síðan? Þú mant ríða til þings. Þá man þú skamt eiga ólifað, ella mant þú verða gamall maðr, … Veiztú hvat þér man verða at bana … Þat sem allir munu sízt ætla, segir Njáll, 85. In mod. usage the word munu is far less frequent, and futurity is in speech mostly expressed, as in Gothic, by the pres. indic., as, eg fer á morgun, where an ancient would have said, ek mun fara á morgun; but in solemn style munu is retained, thus, sjá, þú munt barn geta í kviði þínum, ok munt son fæða ok hans nafn skaltú (not muntú) kalla Jesús; hann mun mikill verða, ok kallast sonr hins Hæsta, og Guð Drottinn mun gefa honum sæti síns föður Davíð, og hann mun ríkja yfir húsi Jakobs að eilifu, hans ríkis mun og enginn endir verða … Heilagr Audi mun koma yfir þig, og kraptr ins Hæsta mun yfirskyggja þig, af því at það hið helga sem af þér mun fæðast skal nefnast …, Luke i. 31 sqq. in the Icel. N. T. (Vídal.)

* * *

(pl. -ar), f. question.

* * *

f. (spurningr, m., þenna spurning, Sks. 193 B), a speering, asking a question; minni spurningu, Sks. 5; mín s., … ein lílil s., 220; mína s., 6; at yðr þykki bernsliga reika s. min, 566; leiða spurningum at um e-t, Fms. iv. 230; at þessi s. væri með svá mikilli vél, vii. 203.

f. asking, inquiry.

m. a person asking.

f. asking for money.

pp., gera e-n fornspurðan at e-u, to do a thing without asking one’s leave.

f. asking in marriage.

f. persistence in praying or asking.