case expression

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a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

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á, prep., often used elliptically, or even adverbially, [Goth. ana; Engl. on; Germ. an. In the Scandinavian idioms the liquid n is absorbed. In English the same has been supposed to happen in adverbial phrases, e. g. ‘along, away, abroad, afoot, again, agate, ahead, aloft, alone, askew, aside, astray, awry,’ etc. It is indeed true that the Ormulum in its northern dialect freq. uses o, even in common phrases, such as ‘o boke, o land, o life, o slæpe, o strande, o write, o naht, o loft,’ etc., v. the glossary; and we may compare on foot and afoot, on sleep (Engl. Vers. of Bible) and asleep; A. S. a-butan and on-butan (about); agen and ongean (again, against); on bæc, aback; on life, alive; on middan, amid. But it is more than likely that in the expressions quoted above, as well as in numberless others, as well in old as in modern English, the English a- as well as the o- of the Ormulum and the modern Scottish and north of England o- are in reality remains of this very á pronounced au or ow, which was brought by the Scandinavian settlers into the north of England. In the struggle for supremacy between the English dialects after the Conquest, the Scandinavian form á or a won the day in many cases to the exclusion of the Anglo-Saxon on. Some of these adverbs have representatives only in the Scandinavian tongues, not in Anglo-Saxon; see below, with dat. B. II, C. VII; with acc. C. I. and VI. The prep. á denotes the surface or outside; í and ór the inside; at, til, and frá, nearness measured to or from an object: á thus answers to the Gr. επί; the Lat. in includes á and i together.]

With dat. and acc.: in the first case with the notion of remaining on a place, answering to Lat. in with abl.; in the last with the notion of motion to the place, = Lat. in with acc.

WITH DAT.

A. Loc.

I. generally on, upon; á gólfi, on the floor, Nj. 2; á hendi, on the hand (of a ring), 48, 225; á palli, 50; á steini, 108; á vegg, 115; á sjá ok á landi, on sea and land. In some instances the distinction between d and i is loose and wavering, but in most cases common sense and usage decide; thus ‘á bók’ merely denotes the letters, the penmanship, ‘í’ the contents of a book; mod. usage, however, prefers ‘í,’ lesa í bók, but stafr á bók. Old writers on the other hand; á bókum Enskum, in English books, Landn. 24, but í Aldafars bók, 23 (in the book De Mensurâ Temporum, by Bede), cp. Grág. i. 76, where á is a false reading instead of at; á bréfi, the contents of a letter: of clothing or arms, mítr á höfði, sverð á hlið, mitre on head, sword on side, Fms. i. 266, viii. 404; hafa lykil á sér, on one’s person, 655 xxvii. 22; möttull á tyglum, a mantle hanging on (i. e. fastened by) laces, Fms. vii. 201: á þingi means to be present at a meeting; í þingi, to abide within a jurisdiction; á himni, á jörðu, on (Engl. in) heaven and earth, e. g. in the Lord’s Prayer, but í helviti, in hell; á Gimli, Edda (of a heavenly abode); á báti, á skipi denote crew and cargo, ‘í’ the timber or materials of which a ship is built, Eg. 385; vera í stafni á skipi, 177: á skógi, to be abroad in a wood (of a hunter, robber, deer); but to be situated (a house), at work (to fell timber), í skógi, 573, Fs. 5, Fms. iii. 122, viii. 31, xi. 1, Glúm. 330, Landn. 173; á mörkinni, Fms. i. 8, but í mörk, of a farm; á firðinum means lying in a firth, of ships or islands (on the surface of the water), þær eyjar liggja á Breiðafirði, Ld. 36; but í firði, living in a district named Firth; á landi, Nj. 98, Fms. xi. 386.

II. á is commonly used in connection with the pr. names or countries terminating in ‘land,’ Engl. in, á Englandi, Írlandi, Skotlandi, Bretlandi, Saxlandi, Vindlandi, Vínlandi, Grænalandi, Íslandi, Hálogalandi, Rogalandi, Jótlandi, Frakklandi, Hjaltlandi, Jamtalandi, Hvítramannalandi, Norðrlöndum, etc., vide Landn. and the index to Fms. xii. In old writers í is here very rare, in modern authors more frequent; taste and the context in many instances decide. An Icelander would now say, speaking of the queen or king, ‘á Englandi,’ ruling over, but to live ‘í Englandi,’ or ‘á Englandi;’ the rule in the last case not being quite fixed.

2. in connection with other names of countries: á Mæri, Vörs, Ögðum, Fjölum, all districts of Norway, v. Landn.; á Mýrum (in Icel.), á Finnmörk, Landn., á Fjóni (a Danish island); but í Danmörk, Svíþjóð (á Svíþjóðu is poët., Gs. 13).

3. before Icel. farms denoting open and elevated slopes and spaces (not too high, because then ‘at’ must be used), such as ‘staðr, völlr, ból, hjalli, bakki, heimr, eyri,’ etc.; á Veggjum, Landn. 69; á Hólmlátri, id.: those ending in ‘-staðr,’ á Geirmundarstöðum, Þórisstöðum, Jarðlangsstöðum…, Landn.: ‘-völlr,’ á Möðruvöllum: á Fitjum (the farm) í Storð (the island), í Fenhring (the island) á Aski (the farm), Landn., Eg.: ‘-nes’ sometimes takes á, sometimes í (in mod. usage always ‘í’), á Nesi, Eb. 14, or í Krossnesi, 30; in the last case the notion of island, νησος, prevails: so also, ‘fjörðr,’ as, þeir börðust á Vigrafirði (of a fight o n the ice), Landn. 101, but orusta í Hafrsfirði, 122: with ‘-bær,’ á is used in the sense of a farm or estate, hón sa á e-m bæ mikit hús ok fagrt, Edda 22; ‘í bæ’ means within doors, of the buildings: with ‘Bær’ as pr. name Landn. uses ‘í,’ 71, 160, 257, 309, 332.

4. denoting on or just above; of the sun, when the time is fixed by regarding the sun in connection with points in the horizon, a standing phrase in Icel.; sól á gjáhamri, when the sun is on the crag of the Rift, Grág. i. 26, cp. Glúm. 387; so, brú á á, a bridge on a river, Fms. viii. 179, Hrafn. 20; taka hús á e-m, to surprise one, to take the house over his head, Fms. i. 11.

III. á is sometimes used in old writers where we should now expect an acc., esp. in the phrase, leggja sverði (or the like) á e-m, or á e-m miðjum, to stab, Eg. 216, Gísl. 106, Band. 14; þá stakk Starkaðr sprotanum á konungi, then Starkad stabbed the king with the wand, Fas. iii. 34; bíta á kampi (vör), to bite the lips, as a token of pain or emotion, Nj. 209, 68; taka á e-u, to touch a thing, lay hold of it, v. taka; fá á e-u, id. (poët.); leggja hendr á (better at) síðum, in wrestling, Fms. x. 331; koma á úvart á e-m, to come on one unawares, ix. 407 (rare).

B. TEMP. of a particular point or period of time, at, on, in:

I. gener. denoting during, in the course of; á nótt, degi, nætrþeli …, Bs. i. 139; or spec. adding a pron. or an adject., á næsta sumri, the next summer; á því ári, þingi, misseri, hausti, vári, sumri …, during, in that year …, Bs. i. 679, etc.; á þrem sumrum, in the course of three summers, Grág. i. 218; á þrem várum, Fms. ii. 114; á hálfs mánaðar fresti, within half a month’s delay, Nj. 99; á tvítugs, sextugs … aldri, á barns, gamals aldri, etc., at the age of …, v. aldr: á dögum e-s, in the days of, in his reign or time, Landn. 24, Hrafn. 3, Fms. ix. 229.

II. used of a fixed recurrent period or season; á várum, sumrum, haustum, vetrum, á kveldum, every spring, summer …, in the evenings, Eg. 711, Fms. i. 23, 25, vi. 394, Landn. 292: with the numeral adverbs, cp. Lat. ter in anno, um sinn á mánuði, ári, once a month, once a year, where the Engl. a is not the article but the preposition, Grág. i. 89.

III. of duration; á degi, during a whole day, Fms. v. 48; á sjau nóttum, Bárð. 166; á því meli, during that time, in the meantime, Grág. i. 259.

IV. connected with the seasons (á vetri, sumri, vári, hausti), ‘á’ denotes the next preceding season, the last winter, summer, autumn, Eb. 40, 238, Ld. 206: in such instances ‘á’ denotes the past, ‘at’ the future, ‘í’ the present; thus í vetri in old writers means this winter; á vetri, last winter; at vetri, next winter, Eb. 68 (in a verse), etc.

C. In various other relations, more or less metaphorically, on, upon, in, to, with, towards, against:

I. denoting object, in respect of, against, almost periphrastically; dvelja á náðum e-s, under one’s protection, Fms. i. 74; hafa metnað á e-u, to be proud of, to take pride in a thing, 127.

2. denoting a personal relation, in; bæta e-t á e-m, to make amends, i. e. to one personally; misgöra e-t á e-m, to inflict wrong on one; hafa elsku (hatr) á e-m, to bear love ( hatred) to one, Fms. ix. 242; hefna sín á e-m, to take revenge on one’s person, on anyone; rjúfa sætt á e-m, to break truce on the person of any one, to offend against his person, Nj. 103; hafa sár á sér, 101; sjá á e-m, to read on or in one’s face; sér hann á hverjum manni hvárt til þín er vel eðr illa, 106; var þat brátt auðséð á hennar högum, at …, it could soon be seen in all her doings, that …, Ld. 22.

3. also generally to shew signs of a thing; sýna fáleika á sér, to shew marks of displeasure, Nj. 14, Fs. 14; taka vel, illa, lítt, á e-u, to take a thing well, ill, or indifferently, id.; finna á sér, to feel in oneself; fann lítt á honum, hvárt …, it could hardly be seen in his face, whether …, Eb. 42; líkindi eru á, it is likely, Ld. 172; göra kost á e-u, to give a choice, chance of it, 178; eiga vald á e-u, to have power over …, Nj. 10.

II. denoting encumbrance, duty, liability; er fimtardómsmál á þeim, to be subject to …, Nj. 231; the phrase, hafa e-t á hendi, or vera á hendi e-m, on one’s hands, of work or duty to be done; eindagi á fé, term, pay day, Grág. i. 140; ómagi (skylda, afvinna) á fé, of a burden or encumbrance, D. I. and Grág. in several passages.

III. with a personal pronoun, sér, mér, honum …, denoting personal appearance, temper, character, look, or the like; vera þungr, léttr … á sér, to be heavy or light, either bodily or mentally; þungr á sér, corpulent, Sturl. i. 112; kátr ok léttr á sér, of a gay and light temper, Fms. x. 152; þat bragð hafði hann á sér, he looked as if, … the expression of his face was as though …, Ld., cp. the mod. phrase, hafa á sér svip, bragð, æði, sið, of one’s manner or personal appearance, to bear oneself as, or the like; skjótr (seinn) á fæti, speedy ( slow) of foot, Nj. 258.

IV. as a periphrasis of the possessive pronoun connected with the limbs or parts of the body. In common Icel. such phrases as my hands, eyes, head … are hardly ever used, but höfuð, eyru, hár, nef, munnr, hendr, fætr … á mér; so ‘í’ is used of the internal parts, e. g. hjarta, bein … í mér; the eyes are regarded as inside the body, augun í honum: also without the possessive pronoun, or as a periphrasis for a genitive, brjóstið á e-m, one’s breast, Nj. 95, Edda 15; súrnar í augum, it smarts in my eyes, my eyes smart, Nj. 202; kviðinn á sér, its belly, 655 xxx. 5, Fms. vi. 350; hendr á henni, her hands, Gísl. (in a verse); í vörunum á honum, on his lips, Band. 14; ristin á honum, his step, Fms. viii. 141; harðr í tungu, sharp of tongue, Hallfred (Fs. 114); kalt (heitt) á fingrum, höndum, fótum …, cold ( warm) in the fingers, hands, feet …, i. e. with cold fingers, etc.; cp. also the phrase, verða vísa (orð) á munni, of extemporising verses or speeches, freq. in the Sagas; fastr á fótum, fast by the leg, of a bondsman, Nj. 27: of the whole body, díla fundu þeir á honum, 209. The pers. pron. is used only in solemn style (poetry, hymns, the Bible), and perhaps only when influenced by foreign languages, e. g. mitt hjarta hví svo hryggist þú, as a translation of ‘warumb betrübst du dich mein Herz?’ the famous hymn by Hans Sachs; instead of the popular hjartað í mér, Sl. 43, 44: hjartað mitt is only used as a term of endearment, as by a husband to his wife, parents to their child, or the like, in a metaphorical sense; the heart proper is ‘í mér,’ not ‘mitt.’

2. of other things, and as a periphrasis of a genitive, of a part belonging to the whole, e. g. dyrr á husi = húsdyrr, at the house-doors; turn á kirkju = kirkju turn; stafn, skutr, segl, árar … á skipi, the stem, stern, sail … of a ship, Fms. ix. 135; blöð á lauk, á tré …, leaves of a leek, of a tree …, Fas. i. 469; egg á sverði = sverðs egg; stafr á bók; kjölr á bók, and in endless other instances.

V. denoting instrumentality, by, on, or a-, by means of; afla fjár á hólmgöngum, to make money a-duelling, by means of duels, Eg. 498; á verkum sínum, to subsist on one’s own work, Njarð. 366: as a law term, sekjast á e-ju, to be convicted upon …, Grág. i. 123; sekst maðr þar á sínu eigini ( a man is guilty in re sua), ef hann tekr af þeim manni er heimild ( possessio) hefir til, ii. 191; falla á verkum sínum, to be killed flagranti delicto, v. above; fella e-n á bragði, by a sleight in wrestling; komast undan á flótta, to escape by flight, Eg. 11; á hlaupi, by one’s feet, by speed, Hkr. ii. 168; lifa á e-u, to feed on; bergja á e-u, to taste of a thing; svala sér á e-u, to quench the thirst on.

VI. with subst. numerals; á þriðja tigi manna, up to thirty, i. e. from about twenty to thirty, Ld. 194; á öðru hundraði skipa, from one to two hundred sail strong, Fms. x. 126; á níunda tigi, between eighty and ninety years of age, Eg. 764, v. above: used as prep., á hendi, on one’s hand, i. e. bound to do it, v. hönd.

VII. in more or less adverbial phrases it may often be translated in Engl. by a participle and a- prefixed; á lopti, aloft; á floti, afloat; á lífi, alive; á verðgangi, a-begging; á brautu, away; á baki, a-back, behind, past; á milli, a-tween; á laun, alone, secretly; á launungu, id.; á móti, against; á enda, at an end, gone; á huldu, hidden; fara á hæli, to go a-heel, i. e. backwards, Fms. vii. 70;—but in many cases these phrases are transl. by the Engl. partic. with a, which is then perh. a mere prefix, not a prep., á flugi, a-flying in the air, Nj. 79; vera á gangi, a-going; á ferli, to be about; á leiki, a-playing, Fms. i. 78; á sundi, a-swimming, ii. 27; á verði, a-watching, x. 201; á hrakningi, a-wandering; á reiki, a-wavering; á skjálfi, a-shivering; á-hleri, a-listening; á tali, a-talking, Ísl. ii. 200; á hlaupi, a-running, Hkr. ii. 268; á verki, a-working; á veiðum, a-hunting; á fiski, a-fishing; á beit, grazing: and as a law term it even means in flagranti, N. G. L. i. 348.

VIII. used absolutely without a case in reference to the air or the weather, where ‘á’ is almost redundant; þoka var á mikil, a thick fog came on, Nj. 267; niðamyrkr var á, pitch darkness came on, Eg. 210; allhvast á norðan, a very strong breeze from the north, Fms. ix. 20; þá var á norðrænt, a north wind came on, 42, Ld. 56; hvaðan sem á er, from whatever point the wind is; var á hríð veðrs, a snow storm came on, Nj. 282; görði á regn, rain came on, Fms. vi. 394, xi. 35, Ld. 156.

WITH ACC.

A. Loc.

I. denoting simple direction towards, esp. connected with verbs of motion, going, or the like; hann gékk á bergsnös, Eg. 389; á hamar, Fas. ii. 517.

2. in phrases denoting direction; liggja á útborða, lying on the outside of the ship, Eg. 354; á annat borð skipinu, Fms. vii. 260; á bæði borð, on both sides of the ship, Nj. 124, Ld. 56; á tvær hliðar, on both sides, Fms. v. 73. Ísl. ii. 159; á hlið, sidewards; út á hlið, Nj. 262, Edda 44; á aðra hönd henni, Nj. 50, Ld. 46; höggva á tvær hendr, to hew or strike right and left, Ísl. ii. 368, Fas. i. 384, Fms. viii. 363, x. 383.

3. upp á, upon; hann tók augu Þjaza ok kastaði upp á himin, Edda 47: with verbs denoting to look, see, horfa, sjá, líta, etc.; hann rak skygnur á land, he cast glances towards the land, Ld. 154.

II. denoting direction with or without the idea of arriving:

1. with verbs denoting to aim at; of a blow or thrust, stefna á fótinn, Nj. 84; spjótið stefnir á hann miðjan, 205: of the wind, gékk veðrit á vestr, the wind veered to west, Fms. ix. 28; sigla á haf, to stand out to sea, Hkr. i. 146, Fms. i. 39: with ‘út’ added, Eg. 390, Fms. x. 349.

2. conveying the notion of arriving, or the intervening space being traversed; spjótið kom á miðjan skjöldinn, Eg. 379, Nj. 96, 97; langt upp á land, far up inland, Hkr. i. 146: to reach, taka ofan á belti, of the long locks of a woman, to reach down to the belt, Nj. 2; ofan á bringu, 48; á þa ofan, 91.

III. without reference to the space traversed, connected with verbs denoting to go, turn, come, ride, sail, throw, or the like, motion of every kind; hann kastar honum á völlinn, he flings him down, Nj. 91; hlaupa á skip sitt, to leap on board his ship, 43; á hest, to mount quickly, Edda 75; á lend hestinum, Nj. 91; hann gengr á sáðland sitt, he walks on to his fields, 82: on, upon, komast á fætr, to get upon one’s legs, 92; ganga á land, to go a-shore, Fms. i. 40; ganga á þing, vii. 242, Grág. (often); á skóg, á merkr ok skóga, into a wood, Fb. i. 134, 257, Fms. xi. 118, Eg. 577, Nj. 130; fara á Finnmörk, to go travelling in Finmark, Fms. i. 8; koma, fara á bæ, to arrive at the farm-house; koma á veginn, Eg. 578; stíga á bát, skip, to go on board, 158; hann gékk upp á borg, he went up to the burg (castle), 717; en er þeir komu á loptriðið, 236; hrinda skipum á vatn, to float the ships down into the water, Fms. i. 58; reka austr á haf, to drift eastwards on the sea, x. 145; ríða ofan á, to ride down or over, Nj. 82.

IV. in some cases the acc. is used where the dat. would be used, esp. with verbs denoting to see or hear, in such phrases as, þeir sá boða mikinn inn á fjörðinn, they saw great breakers away up in the bight of the firth, the acc. being due perhaps to a motion or direction of the eye or ear towards the object, Nj. 124; sá þeir fólkit á land, they saw the people in the direction of land, Fas. ii. 517: in phrases denoting to be placed, to sit, to be seated, the seat or bench is freq. in the acc. where the dat. would now be used; konungr var þar á land upp, the king was then up the country, the spectator or narrator is conceived as looking from the shore or sea-side, Nj. 46; sitja á miðjan bekk, to be seated on the middle bench, 50; skyldi konungs sæti vera á þann bekk … annat öndvegi var á hinn úæðra pall; hann setti konungs hásæti á miðjan þverpall, Fms. vi. 439, 440, cp. Fagrsk. l. c., Sturl. iii. 182; eru víða fjallbygðir upp á mörkina, in the mark or forest, Eg. 58; var þar mörk mikil á land upp, 229; mannsafnaðr er á land upp (viewed from the sea), Ld. 76; stóll var settr á mótið, Fas. i. 58; beiða fars á skip, to beg a passage, Grág. i. 90.

V. denoting parts of the body; bíta e-n á barka, to bite one in the throat, Ísl. ii. 447; skera á háls, to cut the throat of any one, Nj. 156; brjóta e-n á háls, to break any one’s neck; brjóta e-n á bak, to break any one’s back, Fms. vii. 119; kalinn á kné, frozen to the knees with cold, Hm. 3.

VI. denoting round; láta reipi á háls hesti, round his horse’s neck, 623. 33; leggja söðul á hest, Nj. 83; and ellipt., leggja á, to saddle; breiða feld á hofuð sér, to wrap a cloak over his head, 164; reyta á sik mosa, to gather moss to cover oneself with, 267; spenna hring á hönd, á fingr, Eg. 300.

VII. denoting a burden; stela mat á tvá hesta, hey á fimtán hesta, i. e. a two, a fifteen horse load, Nj. 74: metaph., kjósa feigð á menn, to choose death upon them, i. e. doom them to death, Edda 22.

B. TEMP.

I. of a period of time, at, to; á morgun, to-morrow (í morgun now means the past morning, the morning of to-day), Ísl. ii. 333.

II. if connected with the word day, ‘á’ is now used before a fixed or marked day, a day of the week, a feast day, or the like; á Laugardag, á Sunnudag …, on Saturday, Sunday, the Old Engl. a-Sunday, a-Monday, etc.; á Jóladaginn, Páskadaginn, on Yule and Easter-day; but in old writers more often used ellipt. Sunnudaginn, Jóladaginn …, by dropping the prep. ‘á,’ Fms. viii. 397, Grág. i. 18.

III. connected with ‘dagr’ with the definite article suffixed, ‘á’ denotes a fixed, recurring period or season, in; á daginn, during the day-time, every day in turn, Grett. 91 A.

IV. connected with ‘evening, morning, the seasons,’ with the article; á kveldit, every evening, Ld. 14; á sumarit, every summer, Vd. 128, where the new Ed. Fs. 51 reads sumrum; á haust, every autumn, Eg. 741 (perh. a misprint instead of á haustin or á haustum); á vetrinn, in the winter time, 710; á várit, every spring, Gþl. 347; the sing., however, is very rare in such cases, the old as well as mod. usage prefers the plur.; á nætrnar, by night, Nj. 210; á várin, Eg. 710; á sumrin, haustin, á morgnana, in the morning (á morgin, sing., means to-morrow); á kveldin, in the evening, only ‘dagr’ is used in sing., v. above (á daginn, not á dagana); but elliptically and by dropping the article, Icelanders say, kveld og morgna, nótt og dag, vetr sumar vor og haust, in the same sense as those above mentioned.

V. denoting duration, the article is dropped in the negative phrase, aldri á sinn dag, never during one’s life; aldri á mína daga, never in my life, Bjarn. 8, where a possess. pron. is put between noun and prep., but this phrase is very rare. Such phrases as, á þann dag, that day, and á þenna dag, Stj. 12, 655 xxx. 2. 20, are unclassical.

VI. á dag without article can only be used in a distributive sense, e. g. tvisvar á dag, twice a-day; this use is at present freq. in Icel., yet instances from old writers are not on record.

VII. denoting a movement onward in time, such as, liðið á nótt, dag, kveld, morgun, sumar, vetr, vár, haust (or nóttina, daginn …), jól, páska, föstu, or the like, far on in the night, day …, Edda 33; er á leið vetrinn, when the winter was well on, as the winter wore on, Nj. 126; cp. áliðinn: also in the phrase, hniginn á inn efra aldr, well stricken in years, Ld. 68.

C. Metaph. and in various relations:

I. somewhat metaphorically, denoting an act only (not the place); fara á fund, á vit e-s, to call for one, Eg. 140; koma á ræðu við e-n, to come to a parley with, to speak, 173; ganga á tal, Nj. 103; skora á hólm, to challenge to a duel on an island; koma á grið, to enter into a service, to be domiciled, Grág. i. 151; fara á veiðar, to go a-hunting, Fms. i. 8.

β. generally denoting on, upon, in, to; bjóða vöxtu á féit, to offer interest on the money, Grág. i. 198; ganga á berhögg, to come to blows, v. berhögg; fá á e-n, to make an impression upon one, Nj. 79; ganga á vápn e-s, to throw oneself on an enemy’s weapon, meet him face to face, Rd. 310; ganga á lagið, to press on up the spear-shaft after it has passed through one so as to get near one’s foe, i. e. to avail oneself of the last chance; bera fé á e-n, to bribe, Nj. 62; bera öl á e-n, to make drunk, Fas. i. 13; snúinn á e-t, inclined to, Fms. x. 142; sammælast á e-t, to agree upon, Nj. 86; sættast, verða sáttr á e-t, in the same sense, to come to an agreement, settlement, or atonement, 78, Edda 15, Eb. 288, Ld. 50, Fms. i. 279; ganga á mála, to serve for pay as a soldier, Nj. 121; ganga á vald e-s, to put oneself in his power, 267; ganga á sætt, to break an agreement; vega á veittar trygðir, to break truce, Grág. ii. 169.

II. denoting in regard to, in respect to:

1. of colour, complexion, the hue of the hair, or the like; hvítr, jarpr, dökkr … á hár, having white, brown, or dark … hair, Ísl. ii. 190, Nj. 39; svartr á brún ok brá, dark of brow and eyebrow; dökkr á hörund, id., etc.

2. denoting skill, dexterity; hagr á tré, a good carpenter; hagr á járn, málm, smíðar …, an expert worker in iron, metals …, Eg. 4; fimr á boga, good at the bow: also used of mastership in science or arts, meistari á hörpuslátt, a master in striking the harp, Fas. iii. 220; fræðimaðr á kvæði, knowing many poems by heart, Fms. vi. 391; fræðimaðr á landnámssögur ok forna fræði, a learned scholar in histories and antiquities (of Are Frode), Ísl. ii. 189; mikill á íþrótt, skilful in an art, Edda (pref.) 148; but dat. in the phrase, kunna (vel) á skíðum, to be a cunning skater, Fms. i. 9, vii. 120.

3. denoting dimensions; á hæð, lengd, breidd, dýpt …, in the heighth, length, breadth, depth …, Eg. 277; á hvern veg, on each side, Edda 41 (square miles); á annan veg, on the one side, Grág. i. 89.

β. the phrase, á sik, in regard to oneself, vel (illa) á sik kominn, of a fine ( ugly) appearance, Ld. 100, Fas. iii. 74.

III. denoting instrumentality; bjargast á sínar hendr, to live on the work of one’s own hands, (á sínar spýtur is a mod. phrase in the same sense); (vega) á skálir, pundara, to weigh in scales, Grág. ii. 370; at hann hefði tvá pundara, ok hefði á hinn meira keypt en á hinn minna selt, of a man using two scales, a big one for buying and a little one for selling, Sturl. i. 91; á sinn kostnað, at one’s own expense; nefna e-n á nafn, by name, Grág. i. 17, etc. The Icel. also say, spinna á rokk, snældu, to spin on or with a rock or distaff; mala á kvern, to grind in a ‘querne,’ where Edda 73 uses dat.; esp. of musical instruments, syngja, leika á hljóðfæri, hörpu, gígju …; in the old usage, leika hörpu …, Stj. 458.

IV. denoting the manner or way of doing:

1. á þessa lund, in this wise, Grág. ii. 22; á marga vega, á alla, ymsa vega, in many, all, respects, Fms. i. 114; á sitt hóf, in its turn, respectively, Ld. 136, where the context shews that the expression answers to the Lat. mutatis mutandis; á Þýðersku, after German fashion, Sks. 288.

2. esp. of language; mæla, rita á e-a tungu, to speak, write in a tongue; á Írsku, in Irish, Ld. 76; Norrænu, in Norse, Eb. 330, Vm. 35; a Danska tungu, in Danish, i. e. Scandinavian, Norse, or Icelandic, Grág. i. 18; á Vára tungu, i. e. in Icelandic, 181; rita á Norræna tungu, to write in Norse, Hkr. (pref.), Bs. i. 59:—at present, dat. is sometimes used.

3. in some phrases the acc. is used instead of the dat.; hann sýndi á sik mikit gaman, Fms. x. 329; hann lét ekki á sik finna, he shewed no sign of motion, Nj. 111; skaltú önga fáleika á þik gera (Cod. Kalf.), 14.

V. used in a distributive sense; skal mörk kaupa gæzlu á kú, eðr oxa fim vetra gamlan, a mark for every cow, Grág. i. 147; alin á hvert hross, 442; á mann, per man (now freq.): cp. also á dag above, lit. B.

VI. connected with nouns,

1. prepositional; á hendr (with dat.), against; á hæla, at heel, close behind; á bak, at back, i. e. past, after; á vit (with gen.), towards.

2. adverbially; á braut, away, abroad; á víxl, in turns; á mis, amiss; á víð ok dreif, a-wide and a-drift, i. e. dispersedly.

3. used almost redundantly before the following prep.; á eptir, after, behind; á undan, in front of; á meðal, á milli, among; á mót, against; á við, about, alike; á frá (cp. Swed. ifrån), from (rare); á fyrir = fyrir, Haustl. 1; á hjá, beside (rare); á fram, a-head, forwards; á samt, together; ávalt = of allt, always: following a prep., upp á, upon; niðr á, down upon; ofan á, eptir á, post eventum, (temp.) á eptir is loc., id., etc.

VII. connected with many transitive verbs, answering to the Lat. ad- or in-, in composition, in many cases periphrastically for an objective case. The prep. generally follows after the verb, instead of being prefixed to it as in Lat., and answers to the Engl. on, to; heita kalla, hrópa á, to call on; heyra, hlusta, hlyða á, to hearken to, listen to; hyggja, hugsa á, to think on; minna á, to remind; sjá, líta, horfa, stara, mæna, glápa, koma auga … á, to look on; girnast á, to wish for; trúa á, to believe on; skora á, to call on any one to come out, challenge; kæra á, to accuse; heilsa á, to greet; herja, ganga, ríða, hlaupa, ráða … á, to fall on, attack, cp. ágangr, áreið, áhlaup; ljúga á, to tell lies of, to slander; telja á, to carp at; ausa, tala, hella, kasta, verpa … á, to pour, throw on; ríða, bera, dreifa á, to sprinkle on; vanta, skorta á, to fall short of; ala á, to plead, beg; leggja á, to throw a spell on, lay a saddle on; hætta á, to venture on; gizka á, to guess at; kveða á, to fix on, etc.: in a reciprocal sense, haldast á, of mutual strife; sendast á, to exchange presents; skrifast á, to correspond (mod.); kallast á, to shout mutually; standast á, to coincide, so as to be just opposite one another, etc.

f. [Lat. aqua; Goth. ahva; Hel. aha; A. S. eâ; O. H. G. aha, owa; cp. Germ. ach and aue; Fr. eau, eaux; Engl. Ax-, Ex-, etc., in names of places; Swed.-Dan. å; the Scandinavians absorb the hu, so that only a single vowel or diphthong remains of the whole word]:—a river. The old form in nom. dat. acc. sing. is , v. the introduction to A, page 1, Bs. i. 333 sq., where ́n, ́ (acc.), and ́na; so also Greg. 677; the old fragm. of Grág. ii. 222, 223, new Ed. In the Kb. of the Edda the old form occurs twice, viz. page 75, ́na (acc.), (but two lines below, ána), í ́nni (dat.) The old form also repeatedly occurs in the Kb. and Sb. of the Grág., e. g. ii. 266, 267: gen. sing. ár; nom. pl. ár, gen. á contracted, dat. ám, obsolete form ́m; Edda 43, Eg. 80, 99, 133, 185: proverbs, at ósi skal á stemma, answering to the Lat. principiis obsta, Edda 60; hér kemr á til sæfar, here the river runs into the sea, metaph. = this is the very end, seems to have been a favourite ending of old poems; it is recorded in the Húsdrápa and the Norðsetadrápa, v. Edda 96, Skálda 198; cp. the common saying, oil vötn renna til sævar, ‘all waters run into the sea.’ Rivers with glacier water are in Icel. called Hvítá, White river, or Jökulsá: Hitá, Hot river, from a hot spring, opp. to Kaldá, v. Landn.: others take a name from the fish in them, as Laxá, Lax or Salmon river (freq.); Örriða á, etc.: a tributary river is þverá, etc.: ár in the Njála often means the great rivers Ölfusá and Þjórsá in the south of Iceland. Áin helga, a river in Sweden, Hkr. ii: á is also suffixed to the names of foreign rivers, Tempsá = Thames; Dóná, Danube (Germ. Don-au), (mod.), etc. Vide Edda (Gl.) 116, 117, containing the names of over a hundred North-English and Scottish rivers.

COMPDS: áráll, árbakki, árbrot, ardjúp, árfarvegr, árfors, árgljúfr, árhlutr, ármegin, árminni, ármót, áróss, árreki, árstraumr, árströnd, árvað, árvegr, árvöxtr.

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(gen. pl. augna), n.

1) eye;

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

lúka aptr augum, to shift the eyes;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes;

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

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

3) pit full of water.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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(ligg; lá, lágum; leginn), v.

1) to lie (ör liggr þar úti á vegginum);

liggja sjúkr, to lie sick (hann liggr sjúkr heima);

þeir lágu í sárum, they lay ill of their wounds;

2) to lie buried (hér liggr skáld);

3) to lie at anchor (hann lagði til hafnar ok lá þþþþþþar um hríð);

liggja veðrfastr, to lie weather-bound;

4) to lie, be situated, of a place (þorp ok borgir, er lágu við ríki hans);

5) to lie, go, lead, of a road (liggr gata til bœjarins);

6) to be covered with ice, ice-bound (vetrar-ríki var á mikit ok lágu firðir allir);

7) to lie with, have sexual intercourse with, = liggja hjá konu;

8) with preps. and advs.:

liggja á e-m, to lie heavy on, weigh upon, oppress (liggja á mér hugir stórra manna);

liggja á hálsi e-m, to hang on one’s neck, blame one;

liggja á e-m, to be fated to one (þat lá á konungi, at hann skyldi eigi lifa um tíu vetr);

liggja á e-u, to attend, be connected with (á þessum ráðum liggja stórmeinbugir);

to be urgent, of importance, pressing (A. kvað honum eigi á liggja þat at vita);

liggr honum ekki á, it does not matter to him;

liggja á úknyttum, to pursue wicked courses;

liggja eptir, to be left undone (skal ekki eptir liggja þat, sem vér megum þeim veita);

liggja fyrir e-m, to lie in wait for;

liggja fyrir, to be in store for, or open to, one;

þœtti mér þat ráð fyrir liggja, at þú sendir menn, that the best thing would be to send men;

liggja hjá e-rri, to lie with (lá ek hjá dóttur þinni);

liggja í e-u, to stick or sink in (lágu hestarnir á kafi í snjónum);

liggja í, to stick fast in mire or bog (liggr í hestrinn undir þeim);

liggja í hernaði, víkingu, to be engaged in warfare;

liggja niðri, to lie untold (nú skal þat eigi niðri liggja, er honum er þó mest vegsemd í);

liggja saman, to be adjacent (lágu saman skógar þeirra Lopts);

liggja til e-s, to belong to (naut ok sauðir, lá þat til Atleyjar);

bœtr liggja til alls, there is atonement for every case;

to be due or proper (þótti þat til liggja at taka af honum tignina);

liggja til byrjar, to lie by for a fair wind;

liggja til hafs, to lie ready for sea (lá biskup til hafs sex vikur);

liggja um e-n, to lie in wait for;

liggja um e-t, to be bent upon (hann liggr um þat nótt ok dag at veita yðr líflát);

liggja undir e-n or e-m, to be subject to, belong to (þessi lönd liggja undir Danakonung);

hlutr e-s liggr undir, one is worsted;

liggja úti, to lie out, not in a house (sumir lágu úti á fjöllum með bú sín);

liggja við, to lie at stake (líf mitt liggr við);

þá muntu bezt gefast, er mest liggr við, when the need is greatest;

e-m liggr við e-u, one is on the verge of;

mörgum lá við bana, many lay at death’s door;

lá við sjálft, at, ti was just on the point of.

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pres. ligg, pl. liggja; pret. lá, 2nd pers. látt, mod. lást; subj. lægi; imperat. ligg and liggðú; part. leginn: [Ulf. ligan = κεισθαι; A. S. licgan; Chauc. to ligge; North. E. and Scot. to lig; Engl. to lie; Germ. liegen; Dan. ligge]:—to lie; ör liggr þar úti á vegginum, Nj. 115, Fas. i. 284; þeir vógu at honum liggjanda ok úvörum, 332; hann liggr á hauginum, Fb. i. 215; lá hann inni meðan þeir börðusk, Nj. 85; legsk hann niðr í runna nokkura ok liggr þar um stund, 132; Rafn lá í bekk, Sturl. i. 140; sveinar tveir er lengi höfðu úti legit á fjöllum, to lie out in the cold, Fms. ii. 98; sumir lágu úti á fjöllum með bú sín, lay out on the fells with their cattle, Sturl. iii. 75: of robbers, cp. úti-legu-maðr, an ‘outlying-man,’ outlaw; l. úti á fjöllum, Ld. 250: of freebooters, víkingar tveir, ok lágu úti bæði vetr ok sumar, Grett. 83; l. í hernaði, víkingu, to be out on a raid, Fs. 120, Eg. 1, Fms. xi. 44:—to lie, rest, þú skalt liggja í lopti hjá mér í nótt, Nj. 6; lágu þau þar tvau ein í loptinu, 7; þú skalt ríða um nætr en liggja ( but lie abed) um daga, 34; Gunnarr lá mjök langa hríð, 94; þeir lágu úti um nóttina, lay out by night, Fms. ix. 364: the phrase, liggja á gólfi, to lie on the floor, to lie in labour, Fb. ii. 263: of carnal intercourse, to lie with, hefir Guðrún dóttir mín legit hjá þér, Nj. 94; lá ek hjá dóttur þinni, 130: liggja með e-m, id., Grág. i. 128; hón hefir legit sekt í garð konungs, N. G. L. i. 358: with acc., liggja konu, stuprare, Gþl. 203, N. G. L. i. 20; at þú hafir legit dóttur Ísólfs, Lv. 78: of animals (rare), en veðrarnir ok bukkarnir lágu þær, Stj. 178:—to lie sick, hann liggr sjúkr heima at búð …, lá hann sjúkr um allt þingit, Nj. 80; Þórólfr ok Bárðr lágu í sárum, lay sick of their wounds, Eg. 34; Helga tók þá ok þyngd ok lá þó eigi, H. lay sick, but not bedridden, Ísl. ii. 274; ef griðmaðr liggr af verkum sínum, lies sick from his work, Grág. i. 154; ef hann liggr í helsótt, 201:—to lie, be buried, Björn liggr í Farmanns-haugi, Fms. i. 12; hér liggr skald, Fb. i. 215 (in a verse):—to lie at anchor, Bs. i. 713; þar lagði hann til hafnar ok lá þar um hríð, Fms. i. 145; lágu langskip konungs með endilöngum bryggjum, ix. 478; þeir lágu þar nokkura hríð undir nesi einu, Nj. 43; hann lá í Gautelfi austr, 122; þar lá fyrir í höfninni knörr einn mikill, Eg. 79; en er hann kom fyrir Elfina þá lágu þeir þar ok biðu nætr, 80; Haraldr konungr lá liði sínu út fyrir Hreinsléttu, Fms. i. 12; liggja til byrjar, to lie by for a fair wind, 135; liggja til hafs, id., Bs. i. 66, Bjarn. 4, Gísl. 7, Landn. 223: l. veðr-fastr, to lie weather-bound:—lágu hvelpar í hundunum, they were big with whelps, Fms. xi. 10: l. í kafi, to sink deep; þá liggr í hestrinn undir þeim, sank in a quagmire, Fs. 65; Gregorius lá í ísinum, Fms. vii. 273; also, lágu hestarnir á (í) kafi, Eg. 546.

II. to be covered with ice, ice-bound (cp. leggja); vötnin lágu öll, Fbr. 13; til Vigra-fjarðar, ok lá hann allr, Eb. 84 new Ed.; lágu allir firðir, 306.

III. to lie idle, of capital; enda er heimting til fjárins, hversu lengi sem liggr, Grág. i. 209; enda liggr féit hér alldregi, 220; erfðir liggi sem áðr er skilt um, Gþl. 254; liggja úslegit, to lie unmown, Grág. ii. 284; láta sum orð liggja (to let them lie, leave out) þau er máli eigu at skipta, þat er ljúgvitni, i. 43; l. niðri, to lie down, lie dormant, lie untold, or the like, Fagrsk, 126, Nj. 88, Ó. H. 233, Grett. 192 new Ed.; opt má satt kyrt liggja, truth may often be left alone, a saying: liggja eptir, to be left behind, untold, Fms. viii. 4: spec. usages, liggja lauss fyrir, to lie loose, lie at one’s hand; fylg þú nú virðing þinni er þér liggr laus fyrir, Boll. 360; þótti eigi svá laust fyrir liggja sem þeir hugsuðu, Fms. viii. 357: liggja undir e-m (or e-n), of power, lands, to belong to; jörðu þeirri er legit hefir undir oss langfeðrum, Gþl. 296; þat er mikit ríki, ok liggr undir biskup í Skáni, Fms. xi. 231.

IV. to take, hold, of a measure; vatns-ker þau er í lágu matskjólur tvennar, Hom. (St.): the phrase, liggja í miklu, litlu rúmi, to take a great, a little space, metaph. to think much, little of a thing, Ld. 210, Al. 152; liggja í léttu rúmi, to care little for: e-m liggja vel (ílla) orð til e-s, to speak well ( ill) of a thing or person, Konr.; honum lágu vel orð til hans, he spoke favourably of him.

V. to lie, be situated, of a place, road, of direction; slá er lá um þvert skipit, Nj. 125; liggja saman garðar, Gísl. 10; liggr sá steinn þar enn, Eg. 142, Gm. 4, 12; þær (the Scilly Islands) liggja vestr í hafit fra Englandi, Fms. i. 145; at garði þeim sem liggr ofan eptir mýrinni, Dipl. v. 25; er sagt er at liggi sex dægra sigling í norðr frá Bretlandi, Landn. (begin.); en Finnmörk liggr fyrir ofan öll þessi lönd, Eg. 58; Ey liggr í Hitará, Bjarn. 22; eyin liggr við þjóðleið fyrir útan, Ó. H. 116; veiði-stöð sú liggr á Breiða-firði er Bjarneyjar heita, Ld. 38; þar liggr til hafs útver, lies on the sea-side, Ó. H. 149; veginn þann er um skóginn lá, Eg. 578; sem leið liggr, Eb. 306; liggr gata til bæjarins, Gísl. 28; en til góðs vinar liggja gagnvegir, Hm. 33; leiðin liggr fram með hálsinum, Eg. 582; tjaldstaði þá er þeim þóttu beztir, ok hæst lágu, Fms. vi. 135; þangat sem leiðin liggr lægra, Sturl. ii. 247: of the body, lá hátt tanngarðrinn, he had prominent teeth, Nj. 39: of the eyes, rauðlituð augu ok lágu fagrt ok fast, Fms. viii. 447; augu þau er liggja í ljósu líki, Kormak: ofarliga mun liggja ú-jafnaðr í þér, Grett. 135 new Ed.

B. Metaph. usages, esp. with prepp.; liggja á, to lie heavy on, to weigh upon, and metaph. to oppress; liggja á mér hugir stórra manna, Fb. i. 258, Sks. 276; l. á hálsi e-m, to hang on one’s neck, blame, Fms. xi. 336: of a fine, þar liggr ekki fégjald á, ’tis not finable, K. Þ. K. 164: to be bewitched, lie under a spell, þat lá á konungi, at hann skyldi eigi lifa um tíu vetr, Fms. x. 220 (cp. leggja á e-n and á-lög): to pursue, liggja á úknyttum, to pursue wicked things, 172; liggja á úráði, Karl. 121: to be urgent, of importance, pressing, kvað honum eigi á liggja þat at vita, Grett. 37 new Ed.; eigi þykki mér á því liggja, segir Járnskjöldr, Fb. i. 259; mun þar stórt á liggja, ’tis a grave matter, Nj. 62; nú liggr honum ekki á ( it does not matter for him), þótt hann komi aldri til Íslands, Band. 10: mod., það liggr ekki á, it does not press, is not urgent; mér liggr á, it lies on me, is pressing for me: impers. to feel, be in spirits so and so, liggr vel á e-m, to be in good spirits; liggr ílla á e-m, to be in low spirits, the metaphor being taken from the pressure on the mind: leaving out the prep., lá honum þat ílla, it weighed heavily on hitn, Bs. i. 775:—liggja að, in the phrase, það lá að, that was just what was to be expected! an expression of dislike:—liggja fyrir e-m, to lie before one, of things to be done or to happen, of what is fated, doomed (see for-lög); þætti mér þat ráð fyrir liggja, faðir, at þú sendir menn, the best thing to be done would be to send men, Eg. 167; at þat mundi fyrir liggja at búask til orrostu, 283; en Bera kvað Egil vera víkings-efni, kvað þat mundu fyrir liggja, þegar hann hefði aldr til, 190: liggja fyrir e-m, to lie in one’s way, in ambush (cp. fyrirsát), Edda 148 (pref.), Eg. 240:—liggja um e-t, to lie in wait for, Fms. x. 287; l. um líf e-s, to seek one’s life, Stj. 550, Sks. 722:—liggja til, to be due to, deserved; þótti þat til liggja at taka af honum tignina, Eg. 271: to belong to, naut ok sauðir, lá þat til Atleyjar, 719: to fit to, til sumra meina liggr bruni (as a remedy), 655 xi. 28; bætr liggja til alls, there is atonement for every case, Fas. iii. 522; e-m liggr vel (ílla) orð til e-s, to speak well (or evil) of a person, Sturl. iii. 143:—liggja undir, to lie underneath, be worsted, of wrestling, Bárð. 166; fyrir hverjum liggr hlutr þinn undir, Eb. 156:—liggja við, to lie at slake; deildi … ok hafði einn þat er við lá, Ísl. ii. 215; en þeir köru at hætta til, er féfang lá við svá mikit, Eg. 57; skal þar liggja við mundrinn allr, Nj. 15; liggr þér nökkut við?—Líf mitt liggr við, segir hann, 116; þá muntú bezt gefask, er mest liggr við, when the need is greatest, 179; svá er ok at mikit liggr yðr þá við, 227; en mér liggr hér nú allt við, it is all important to me, 265; þótt ek vita at líf mitt liggi við, 115; lá við sjálft, at …, it was on the point of …, Al. 79: mod., það lá við, að …

C. Reflex. to lay oneself down, lie down; þá er þat étr ok er fullt liggsk þat ok söfr (of cattle), Best. 58, cp. Gm.

2. e-m liggsk e-t, to leave behind, forget; svínið lásk mér eptir, Skíða R. 185; legisk hefir mér nokkut í minni venju, ek gáða eigi at taka blezun af biskupi, Bs. i. 781: hence the mod. phrase, mér láðist ( I forgot) and mér hefir láðst, which is a corruption from mér lásk eptir; for lá mér eptir, read lásk mér eptir, I forgot, neglected (?), Skv. 1. 20; láskat þat dægr háski, it did not miss, did not fail, Arnór; láskat, be failed not, Bjarn. (in a verse).

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(-ta, -tr), v.

1) to speak, with acc. and absol. (Flosi mælti ekki orð á meðan);

mæla mörgum orðum, to use many words;

mæla e-n orðum, to address one;

mæla máli, to speak a (foreign) language;

mæla æðru, to express fear, despondency;

mæla lög, to speak law, have law on one’s side in pleading;

mæla málum, to plead a cause;

mæla mælt mál, to speak what others say;

2) to stipulate, appoint, settle (var svá mælt, at S. jarl skyldi koma til Dyflinnar);

mæla mót með sér, to fix an interview;

mæla sér e-t, to claim for oneself (ef þú vilt þér mæla man);

3) with preps.:

mæla aptr, to retract (one’s words);

mæla á máli, to speak a language (mæla á Írsku);

mæla eptir e-n, to take up the prosecution in the case of a slain man (þú átt eptir hraustan mann at mæla);

mæla eptir e-m, to take one’s part;

mæla fyrir, to order, prescribe (sagði Jófríðr honum, ar barnit er út borit, sem hann hafði fyrir mælt);

mæla fyrir e-u, to claim;

allt þat silfr, er hann mælti fyrir, which he had bargained for;

mæla fyrir griðum, to declare a truce (by using the proper formula);

mæla vel fyrir e-m, to express a wish for a person’s good fortune (G. gaf sveininum gullsylgju ok mælti vel fyrir honum);

mæla fyrir skipi, to say the prayer when a ship puts to sea;

mæla fyrir minni, to propose a toast;

mæla í móti e-u, to gainsay, oppose, object to (allir heiðnir menn mæltu í móti);

mæla til e-s, to speak to one;

hón mælti til hans djarfliga, she spoke up to him boldly;

to speak of one (Gunnar hafði aldri illa mælt til Njálssona);

mæla til e-s, to express a wish for a thing (þeir mæltu til vináttu með sér at skilnaði);

mæla til friðar, to sue for peace;

mæla e-t til e-s, to claim, call for as payment (þeir fóru lengi undan ok mæltu til fé mikit at lyktum);

mæla um e-t, to say about a thing (G. spurði, hvat hann mælti um hrossin);

to utter, say solemnly (þat læt ek verða um mælt, at);

mæla e-n undan e-u, to beg one off from (mæla e-n undan dauða);

mæla við e-n, to speak to (G. mælti við Ögmund: fylg þú þeim til húsa minna);

mæla við e-u, to gainsay, refuse;

4) refl., mælast.

(-da, -dr), v. to measure.

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t, [Ulf. maþlian = λαλειν; A. S. mæðlan, madelian; Germ. melden by way of metathesis; Old Engl. mele; the Dan. mæle as well as the Icel. are contracted forms, cp. nál from nadal]:—to speak, with acc. and absol.; mæli þarft eðr þegi, Hm. 18; mæla staðlausa stafi, id.; hví þegið ér, svá at mæla né meguð, Ls.; margir menn mæltu ílla við Skamkel, Nj. 80; eigi munt þú þat vilja mæla, 85; Gizurr hvíti (Njáll), … mælti, 90, 91, 220, 228; stafnbúar mæltu, at hann skyldi mæla allra hötðingja heilastr, Fms. vii. 290; mæl þú allra drengja heilastr, viii. 97; þat þætti mér mælanda (gerund.), that is a remarkable speech, Fb. ii. 196; mæla mörgum orðum, to use many words, Hm. 104; mæla þessum orðum, to use these words, Hkr. ii. 78; mæla e-n orðum, to address, Vþm. 4; mæla í hug sér, to speak to oneself, 623. 54; mæla máli, to speak a language; hann mælti allstaðar þeirra máli sem hann væri allstaðar þar barnfæddr sem þá kom hann, Bs. i. 80.

2. special usages; mæla áljót, to speak a libel, Grág. ii. 146; mæla æðru, to express fear, despondency, despair, Nj. 199; mæla tál, hégóma, to tell tales, falsehoods, 258; mæla lög, to speak law, to have the law on one’s side in pleading, Fms. vii. 142; mæla ljóst, to speak out, Nj. 102; mæla í mútur, to speak with reserve (see múta); hafa réttara at mæla, to speak true, have right on one’s side, Fms. iii. 22; mæla lögskil or lögskilum, to speak or perform public duties in court or in the assembly, Nj. 3, Ísl. ii. 255; mæia helgi e-s, to pronounce the inviolability of, Grág. i. 92; mæla nálum, to plead a cause, 2; en er höfðingjar höfðu þar mælt þeim málum sem þar stóðu lög til, Ld. 32; mæla e-s máli, Grág. i. 198; mæla mælt mál, to say what all the world says, Gísl. 11, Stj. 463: mod. to say a plain word, speak plainly; bréf harðlega mælt, worded, Bs. i. 554, Fms. ix. 389.

II. to stipulate; mæla e-t með sér, to fix, stipulate, appoint: fundusk þeir, sem mælt hafði verit með þeim, Nj. 256; mæla mót með sér, to fix an interview, Eg. 564; mæla sér man, to fix an interview with her, Hm. 97:—mæla sér e-t, to stipulate, bargain for; vér höfum fund várn mæltan ár hvert hér í Gula, N. G. L. i. 4; ek hefka fé mælt mér í dóm þenna ok monka ek mæla, Grág. i. 79; slíkan stað ok máldaga sem þeir áttu sér mæltan, 154; þeir mæltu til fé mikit at lyktum, Nj. 99; mælti hann þat til at eiga dóttur hans, 271; en hón mælti þat til við konung, at hann skyldi vinna allan Noreg, Fms. x. 181; hvat er til mælt, Fs. 92; ek mæli til kaupa við þik, Nj. 3; þeir mæltu til vináttu með sér at skilnaði, Eg. 691; þeir mæla til bardaga með sér um morguninn, Fb. i, 142; hygg þú at því vandliga at þú mæl til hvers-vetna ílla þess er þú beiðir hann, Fms. xi. 58; hús þau er til skaða-bóta eru mælt, for which compensation has been stipulated, Grág. i. 459; mæla til friðar, to sue for peace, Fas. ii. 121 (frið-mælask).

III. with prepp.; mæla á máli, to speak in a language; mæla á Irsku, Ld. 76:—mæla aptr, to retract, Sturl. i. 46:—mæla eptir e-m, to take one’s part, excuse him, Nj. 26, 53, Fms. vii. 120: to request, demand, ix. 52: but mæla eptir e-n, with acc., to lead the prosecution (eplir-mál) in the case of a slain man, Grág., Nj., Sagas passim:—mæla fyrir, to order, prescribe; sem biskup mælir fyrir, Grág. i. 377; sem Þórðr mælti fyrir, Ld. 44; allt þat silfr er hann mælti fyrir, which he had bargained, Fær. 6; þat bréf er konungr mælti svá fyrir, at …, Fms. ix. 447: to declare, Nj. 15: to cite a formulary, preamble, or the like, mæla fyrir skipi, to say the prayer when a ship first puts to sea; gékk Þorvaldr til siglu ok mælti fyrir skipi eptir sið, Bs. i. 774; thus, mæla fyrir griðum, to declare a truce, by using the proper formulary, Fms. ix. 53, Nj. 106; mæla fyrir minni, to propose a toast, Fms. i. 35:—mæla móti, to gainsay, speak against, Eg. 72, Nj. 129, 158, Fms. vii. 290:—mæla til e-s, see above:—mæla um e-t, to speak about a thing, Hom. 157; konungr varð styggr ok mælti um nokkurum orðum, Eg. 16: to use an expression, utter (in an emphatic sense), of spells or the like, mikit hefir Jökull um mælt, svá at mér er þat eigi þolanda, Fs. 54; læt ek þat um mælt, at þú munt …, Ísl. ii. 197, v. l.; þar mynda ek hafa gefit þér upp eina sök, ef ek hefða eigi svá mikit um mælt, Hrafn. 8; svá fór sem vér gátum at mikil-mannliga mundi verða um mælt af þinni hendi, Fms. xi. 111; læt ek þat verða um mælt (of a spell) at þú verðir at enni ljótustu trollkonu, Fas. ii. 152: cp. mæli eg um og legg eg aá in mod. tales of witches saying their spell:—mæla við e-n, to speak to a person, address, Nj. 3, Eg. 92, passim; mæla við e-u, to gainsay, Edda 39, Fms. vii. 123, Þiðr. 253, Hkr. ii. 198:—compds, á-mæla, to blame; for-mæla, to accuse; hall-mæla, to blame:—impers., mælir svá, it is said, Hom. 155.

IV. reflex. to speak, express oneself, esp. with prepp.; mælask fyrir, to ejaculate, say one’s say; finnrinn mæltisk innan fyrir, og sagði svá, he spoke from the inner part of the house. Fms. x. 262; hví þú, Gangráðr, mælisk af gólfi fyrir? Vþm. 9; hann biðsk fyrir ok mælisk nú fyrir sem honum þótti vænligast, Fms. xi. 134; Finnr andaðisk ór sótt þeirri ok mæltisk áðr vel fyrir, ii. 164; mælask vel, ílla fyrir, to be well (ill) spoken of, to make a good (bad) impression; görum vit góða hans ferð, hann hefir mikils misst, þat mun vel fyrir mælask, Nj. 29; víg Gunnars spurðisk, ok mæltisk ílla fyrir um allar sveitir, 117; mæltisk kvæðit vel fyrir, Fms. vii. 113; ílla mun þat fyrir mælask, at ganga ásættir við frændr sína, Ld. 238:—mælask undan, to excuse oneself, decline, Fms. ix. 227, Fb. i. 100:—mælask um, to utter, express; eigu vér þvi at vera úkvíðnir ok mælask eigi ílla um, Fms. xi. 389.

2. recipr., mælask við, to speak to one another, converse; ekki mæltusk þeir fleira þann dag við, Fms. vii. 127; mun hvat við höfum við mælsk, Nj. 111; ok munu vit þess þurfa at muna þat, at vit höfum vel við mælsk, 54; mælask ílla við, to bandy words, N. G. L. i. 333; mælask við einn saman, to talk to oneself ( soliloquize), Stj. 617; Þorvaldr mæltisk mjök einn við á Þinginu, því at engir gengu í berhögg við hann, i. e. Th. had alone the word, for none in the parliament opposed him, Sturl. ii. 61.

3. impers., e-m mælisk vel, to speak well; skal eigi marka reiðs manns mál, kann vera at okkr mælisk betr annat sinn, Sturl. ii. 178: to make a good speech, sögðu menn at honum mæltisk vel, Nj. 87; at lögbergi var görr mikill rómr, at Merði mæltisk vel ok sköruliga, 230.

4. part. mæltr (q. v.), spoken.

d, [mál], to measure, Clem. 33, Sks. 629, Grág. i. 462, Fms. ii. 230, K. Á. 206, N. G. L. i. 323, passim.