back-e

rs, m. a driving back, repulse, Grág. ii. 230 (of cattle grazing).

f. recoil, rolling back, Stj. 49.

1) fate;

auðna mun því ráða, Fate must settle that;

2) good fortune;

með auðnu þeirri, at Þorkatli var lengra lífs auðit, by that good fortune that longer life was destined for Thorkel.

f. desolation, = auðn.

(að), v. impers. to fall out by fate;

ef honum auðnaði eigi aptr at koma, if he did not have the good fortune to return;

ef guð vill, at þess auðni, that it shall succeed;

sem auðnar, as luck decides.

* * *

u, f. desolation, Sd. 179, bad reading.

u, f. [auðit], fortune, and then, like αισα, good luck, one’s good star, happiness, (cp. heill, hamingja, gæfa, all of them feminines,—good luck personified as a female guardian), in the phrase, a. ræðr, rules; auðna mun því ráða, Fate must settle that, Nj. 46, Lv. 65; ræðr a. lífi (a proverb), Orkn. 28; arka at auðnu (or perh. better dat. from auðinn), v. arka, Nj. 185, v. 1.; at auðnu, adv. prosperously, Sl. 25; blanda úgiptu við a., Fms. ii. 61; með auðnu þeirri at þorkatli var lengra lífs auðit, by that good fortune which destined Thorkel for a longer life, Orkn. 18 (50). Cp. the Craven word aund in the expression I’s aund to’ot, ‘I am ordained to it, it is my fate.’

COMPDS: auðnulauss, auðnuleysi, auðnuleysingi, auðmimaðr, auðnusamliga.

að, impers. to be ordained by fate; ef honum auðnaði eigi aptr at koma, if it was not ordained by fate that he should come back, Fms. ix. 350; sem auðnar, as luck decides, Fb. i. 160, Fas. iii. 601, Lv. 30: with gen., ef Guð vill at þess auðni, that it shall succeed, Bs. i. 159, v. 1., þat is less correct: now freq. in a dep. form, e-m auðnast, one is successful, with following infin.

* * *

(gen. pl. augna), n.

1) eye;

lúka (bregða) upp augum, bregða augum í sundr, to open (lift up) the eyes;

lúka aptr augum, to shift the eyes;

renna (bregða, leiða) augum til e-s, to turn the eyes to;

leiða e-n augum, to measure one with the eyes;

berja augum í e-t, to take into consideration;

koma augum á e-t, to set eyes on, become aware of;

hafa auga á e-u, t have, keep, an eye upon;

segja e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, right in the face;

unna e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls;

e-m vex e-t í augu, one has scruples about;

náit er nef augum, the nose is neighbor to the eyes;

gløggt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp;

mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes;

eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot hide it if a woman loves a man;

2) hole, aperture in a needle (nálarauga), in a millstone (kvarnarauga) or an axe-head;

3) pit full of water.

* * *

n., gen. pl. augna, [Lat. oculus, a dimin. of an obsolete ocus; Gr. οφθαλμός (Boeot. οκταλμός); Sanskr. aksha: the word is common to Sanskrit with the Slavonic, Greek, Roman, and Teutonic idioms: Goth. augo; Germ, auge; A. S. eâge; Engl. eye; Scot. ee; Swed. öga; Dan. öje, etc. Grimm s. v. suggests a relationship to Lat. acies, acutus, etc. The letter n appears in the plur. of the mod. northern languages; the Swedes say ‘ögon,’ oculi, the Danes ‘öjne;’ with the article ‘ögonen’ and ‘öjnene;’ Old Engl. ‘eyne;’ Scot. ‘een’]

I. an eye. It is used in Icel. in a great many proverbs, e. g. betr sjá augu en auga, ‘two eyes see better than one,’ i. e. it is good to yield to advice: referring to love, unir auga meðan á sér, the eye is pleased whilst it can behold (viz. the object of its affection), Fas. i. 125, cp. Völs. rím. 4. 189; eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot bide it, if a woman love a man, i. e. they tell their own tale, Ísl. ii. 251. This pretty proverb is an απ. λεγ. l. c. and is now out of use; it is no doubt taken from a poem in a dróttkvætt metre, (old proverbs have alliteration, but neither rhymes nor assonance, rhyming proverbs are of a comparatively late date): medic., eigi er sá heill er í augun verkir, Fbr. 75; sá drepr opt fæti ( slips) er augnanna missir, Bs. i. 742; hætt er einu auganu nema vel fari, he who has only one eye to lose will take care of it (comm.); húsbóndans auga sér bezt, the master’s eye sees best; glögt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp; mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes, i. e. what is to be hidden must not be done in broad daylight, Hm. 81; náið er nef augum, the nose is near akin to the eyes (tua res agitur paries quum proximus ardet), Nj. 21; opt verðr slíkt á sæ, kvað selr, var skotinn í auga, this often happens at sea, quoth the seal, when he was shot in the eye, of one who is in a scrape, Fms. viii. 402. In many phrases, at unna ( to love) e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls, Nj. 217; þótti mér slökt it sætasta ljós augna minna, by his death the sweetest light of my eyes was quenched, 187: hvert grætr þú nú Skarphéðinn? eigi er þat segir Skarphéðinn, en hitt er satt at súrnar í augum, the eyes smart from smoke, 200: renna, líta augum, to seek with the eyes, to look upon: it is used in various connections, renna, líta ástaraugum, vánaraugum, vinaraugum, trúaraugum, öfundaraugum, girndarauga, with eyes of love, hope, friendship, faith, envy, desire: mæna a. denotes an upward or praying look; stara, fixed; horfa, attentive; lygna, blundskaka, stupid or slow; blína, glápa, góna, vacant or silly; skima, wandering; hvessa augu, a threatening look; leiða e-n a., to measure one with the eyes; gjóta, or skjóta hornauga, or skjóta a. í skjálg, to throw a side glance of dislike or ill-will; gjóta augum is always in a bad sense; renna, líta mostly in a good sense: gefa e-u auga, oculum adjicere alicui; hafa auga á e-u, to keep an eye on it; segja e-m e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, Orkn. 454; at augum, adverb. with open eyes, Hervar. S. (in a verse), etc. As regards various movements of the eyes; ljúka upp augum, to open the eyes; láta aptr augun, to shut the eyes; draga auga í pung, to draw the eye into a purse, i. e. shut one eye; depla augum, to blink; at drepa titlinga (Germ. äugeln, blinzen), to wink, to kill tits with the suppressed glances of the eye; glóðarauga, a suffusion on the eye, hyposphagma; kýrauga. proptosis; vagl á auga, a beam in the eye; skjálgr, Lat. limus; ský, albugo; tekinn til augnanna, with sunken eyes, etc., Fél. ix. 192; a. bresta, in death: hafa stýrur í augum, to have prickles in the eyes, when the eyes ache for want of sleep: vatna músum, ‘to water mice,’ used esp. of children weeping silently and trying to hide their tears. As to the look or expression of the eyes there are sundry metaph. phrases, e. g. hafa fékróka í augum, to have wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, of a shrewd money getting fellow, Fms. ii. 84, cp. Orkn. 330, 188, where krókauga is a cognom.; kvenna-króka, one insinuating with the fair sex; hafa ægishjalm í augum is a metaphor of one with a piercing, commanding eye, an old mythical term for the magical power of the eye, v. Grimm’s D. Mythol. under Ægishjalmr: vera mjótt á milli augnanna, the distance between the eyes being short, is a popular saying, denoting a close, stingy man, hence mjóeygr means close: e-m vex e-t í augu (now augum), to shrink back from, of a thing waxing and growing before one’s eyes so that one dares not face it. As to the shape, colour, etc. of the eye, vide the adj. ‘eygr’ or ‘eygðr’ in its many compds. Lastly we may mention the belief, that when the water in baptism touches the eyes, the child is thereby in future life prevented from seeing ghosts or goblins, vide the words úfreskr and skygn. No spell can touch the human eye; en er harm sá augu hans (that of Loki in the shape of a bird), þá grunaði hann (the giant) at maðr mundi vera, Edda 60; í bessum birni þykist hón kenna augu Bjarnar konungs sonar, Fas. i. 51, vide Ísl. Þjóðs.

II. meton. and metaph. auga is used in a great many connections:

α. astron.; þjaza augu, the eyes of the giant Thiazi, is a constellation, probably the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux; the story is told in the Edda 47, cp. Harbarðsljóð 19; (Snorri attributes it to Odin, the poem to Thor.)

β. botan., auga = Lat. gemma, Hjalt. 38; kattarauga, cat’s eye, is the flower forget-me-not.

γ. the spots that form the numbers on dice, Magn. 530.

δ. the hole in a millstone; kvarnarauga, Edda 79, 221, Hkr. i. 121: the opening into which an axe handle is fastened, Sturl. ii. 91: a pit full of water, Fs. 45: nálarauga, a needle’s eye: vindauga, wind’s eye or window (which orig. had no glass in it), A. S. eag-dura (eye-door); also gluggi, q. v.: gleraugu, spectacles.

ε. anatom., the pan of the hip joint, v. augnakarl, Fms. iii. 392: gagnaugu, temples.

ζ. hafsauga, the bottom of the ocean, in the popular phrase, fara út í hafsauga, descendere ad tartara.

η. poët. the sun is called heimsauga, dagsauga, Jónas 119.

COMPDS either with sing. auga or pl. augna; in the latter case mod. usage sometimes drops the connecting vowel a, e. g. augn-dapr, augn-depra, augn-fagr, etc. auga-bragð (augna-), n. the twinkling of an eye, Hm. 77; á einu a., in the twinkling of an eye, Ver. 32, Edda (pref.) 146, Sks. 559, Rb. 568: a glance, look, snart a., Fms. ii. 174; mikit a., v. 335; úfagrligt a., Fs. 43; hafa a. af e-u, to cast a look at, Fbr. 49, Fms. xi. 424: in the phrase, at hafa e-n (or verða) at augabragði, metaph. to make sport of, to mock, deride, gaze at, Stj. 627, 567, Hm. 5, 29. auga-brun, f. the eye-brow. auga-staðr, m. an eye-mark; hafa a. á e-u, to mark with the eye. auga-steinn (augna-), m. the eye-ball, Hkr. iii. 365, Fms. v. 152. augna-bending, f. a warning glance, Pr. 452. augna-blik, n. mod. = augnabragð, s. augna-bólga, u, f. ophthalmia. augna-brá, f. the eye-lid, D. N. i. 216. augna-fagr and aug-fagr, adj. fair-eyed, Fas. ii. 365, Fms. v. 200. augna-fró, f. a plant, eye-bright, euphrasia, also augna-gras, Hjalt. 231. augna-fræ, n. lychnis alpina. augna-gaman, n. a sport, delight for the eyes to gaze at, Ld. 202, Bær. 17, Fsm. 5 (love, sweetheart). augna-gróm, n. (medic.) a spot in the eye; metaph., ekki a., no mere speck, of whatever can easily be seen. augna-hár, n. an eye-lash. augna-hvannr, m. the eye-lid. augna-hvita, u, f. albugo. augna-karl, n. the pan of the hip joint; slíta or slitna or augnaköllunum, Fas. iii. 392. augna-kast, n. a wild glance, Barl. 167. augna-kláði, a, m. psorophthalmi. augna-krókr, n. the corner of the eye. augna-lag, n. a look, Ld. 154. augna-lok, n. ‘eye-covers,’ eye-lids. augna-mein, n. a disease of the eye. augna-mjörkvi, a, m. dimness of the eye, Pr. 471. augna-ráð, n. expression of the eye. augna-skot, n. a look askance, Gþl. 286, Fs. 44 (of cats). augna-slím, n. glaucoma. augna-staðr, m. the socket of the eye, Magn. 532. augna-sveinn, m. a lad leading a blind man, Str. 46. augn-tepra, u, f. hippus. augna-topt, f. the socket of the eye. augna-verkr, m. pain in the eye, Hkr. ii. 257, Bs. i. 451, Pr. 471, Bjarn. 58. augna-vik, n. pl. = augnakrókr. augna-þungi, a, m. heaviness of the eye, Hkr. ii. 257.

n. (áfangi, m., Grág. i. 433), [fá á, to grasp], a grasping, seizing, laying hands upon, esp. of rough bundling; harm hló mjök mót áfangi manna, Fms. vi. 203; varð hann fyrir miklu spotti ok áfangi, 209.

2. a law term, a mulct, fine, incurred by illegal seizure of another man’s goods; ef maðr hleypr á bak hrossi manns úlofat, þat varðar sex aura á., if a man jumps on the back of another man’s horse without leave, that is visited with a fine of six ounces, Grág. i. 432, Gþl. 520; hvatki skip er tekr skal sitt á. gjalda hverr …, á. á maðr á hrossi sínu hvárt er hann ekr eðr ríðr, N. G. L. i. 45; at hann hafi riðit hrossi manns um þrjá bæi … varðar skóggang ok áfanga (where it is used masc. acc. pl.) með, Grág., vide above.

n., prop. laying hand on:

1. used esp. in pl. áhöld = brawl, fight, Eb. 152, Fas. i. 92; verða á. með mönnum, they came toa tussle, Sturl. iii. 262, Bs. 1. 635: the phrase, hafa eingi úhöld við e-m, to have no power of resistance, to have so great odds against one that there is no chance, Eg. 261: hence comes probably the popular phrase, áhöld eru um e-t, when matters are pretty nearly equal.

2. sing. very rare, to keep back; veita e-m á., Niðrst. 3.

β. veita, göra á. um e-t, to claim the right of holding; hann görði á. um Halland, be claimed H., Fms. x. 70, v. l.; honum þótti leikdómrinn meira á. hafa á kirkjum en klerkdómrinn, … had a stronger claim or title, Bs. i. 750, 696, Fms. x. 393.

* * *

(-s, -ar), m.

1) eel;

2) a deep narrow channel in sea or river (eru nú þeir einir álar til lands, er ek get vaðit);

3) germ, sprout of a plant.

* * *

I. an eel, Lat. anguilla, Km. 236, Edda (Gl.), 655 xxx. 2, Stj. 69.

II. a deep narrow channel in sea or river; eru nú þeir einir alar til lands er ek get vaðit, Fms. iii. 60; þeir lögðu út á álinn (in a harbour) ok lágu þar um strengi, Sturl. i. 224; djúpir eru Islands alar, of the channel of the Atlantic between Norway and Iceland, a proverb touching the giantess who tried to wade from Norway to Iceland, Ísl. Þjóðs.

III. in names of horses, or adjectives denoting the colour of a horse, ‘ál’ means a coloured stripe along the back, e. g. in mó-ál-óttr, brown striped, bleik-ál-óttr, yellow striped; Kingála and Bleikálingr are names of horses, referring to their colour.

IV. a sort of seed, Edda (Gl.); cp. Ivar Aasen, aal, a sprout, and aala, aal-renne, to sprout, of potatoes.

V. the pith of a tree; ok haft þar til álinn úr eikitrjám = το μέλαν δρυος ἀμφικεάσσας, Od. xiv. 12 (Dr. Egilsson).

COMPDS: álafiski, álagarðr, álaveiðr, álavirki.

* * *

(að), v.

1) to bake (baka brauð);

2) to warm and rub the body, and limbs, at a large fire ( see bakeldr) esp. refl. bakast (við eld);

3) to rub = strjúka; bakaði Helgi fótinn, he rubbed the (broken) leg.

* * *

að, [Gr. φώγειν, cp. also the Lat. focus; A. S. bacan; Engl. to bake; Germ. backen.]

1. prop. to bake; b. brauð, N. G. L. i. 349; b. ok sjóða, to bake and cook, Gþl. 376. In Icel. steikja is to roast; baka, to bake; but in mod. usage steikja may also be used of baking on embers, opp. to baka, baking in a pan or oven; elda ofn til brauðs ok b., Hom. 113; b. í ofni, Fas. i. 244; people say in Icel. steikja köku (on embers), but baka brauð.

2. metaph. and esp. in the reflex. bakast, to bake, i. e. to warm and rub the body and limbs, at a large open fire in the evening after day-work; v. bakeldr and bakstreldr; v. also the classical passages, Grett. ch. 16, 80, Fms. xi. 63, 64 (Jómsv. ch. 21), Orkn. ch. 34, 89, 105, Hkr. iii. 458. In Icel. the same fire was made for cooking and warming the body, Ísl. ii. 394, Eb. ch. 54, 55; hence the phrase, hvárt skal nú búa til seyðis (is a fire to be made for cooking) … svá skal þat vera, ok skaltú eigi þurfa heitara at baka, it shall be hot enough for thee to bake, Nj. 199 (the rendering of Johnsonius is not quite exact); skaltú eigi beiðast at baka heitara en ek mun kynda, Eg. 239: used of bathing, bakaðist hann lengi í lauginni, Grett. ch. 80, MS. Cod. Upsal. This ‘baking’ the body in the late evening before going to bed was a great pastime for the old Scandinavians, and seems to have been used instead of bathing; yet in later times (12th and 13th centuries) in Icel. at least bathing (v. above) came into use instead of it. In the whole of Sturl. or Bs. no passage occurs analogous to Grett. l. c. or Jómsv. S.

β. bóndi bakar á báðar kinnr, blushed, Bs. ii. 42; þanneg sem til bakat er, as things stand, Orkn. 428; bakaði Helgi fótinn, H. baked the (broken) leg, Bs. i. 425; vide eldr.

γ. (mod.) to cause, inflict; b. e-m öfund, hatr, óvild (always in a bad sense): af-baka means to distort, pervert.

II. to put the back to, e. g. a boat, in floating it, (mod.)

f. a burden to carry on the back, Ísl. ii. 364.

and bakstreldr, m. an evening fire to bake the body and limbs at (v. baka); sitja við bakelda, Fs. 4, Orkn. 112, 74, Korm. 236, Grett. 91: metaph., bændr skulu eiga ván bakelda, they shall get it hot enough, Fms. viii. 201; göra e-m illan bakeld, 383, ix. 410. bakelda-hrif, n. pl. rubbing the back at a b., Grett. l. c. A. As the evening bakeldar are not mentioned in the Sturl., it may be that bathing had put them out of use because of the scarcity of fuel.

n. pl. the flesh on the back of cattle, Grett. 91.

ð, reflex, to turn one’s back upon, abandon, Eg. 20, v. l.

u, f. the dark stripe along the back of cattle, Grett. 91, Eg. 149, v. l.

adj. a horse with a sore back, Lv. 58.

a, m. a back flap, a cognom., Bjarn. 12.

u, f. the back flap of a skirt, Fms. vii. 21.

n. a back-stroke, attack in rear, Fms. viii. 399.

m. the back part of a cloak. Fas. ii. 343.

m., medic. a pain in the back, lumbago, Nj. 130, Fél. ix.

ð and t, dep., b. við e-m, to turn the back to, set at defiance, Stj. 362, 431, 449, Eg. 20.