cause+in+law

f. the original cause, a law term, Nj. 235, Grág. i. 48 passim.

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(ber; bar, bárum; borinn), v.

I.

1) to bear, carry, convey (bar B. biskup í börum suðr í Hvamm);

bera (farm) af skipi, to unload a ship;

bera (mat) af borði, to take (the meat) off the table;

bera e-t á hesti, to carry on horseback;

2) to wear (bera klæði, vápn, kórónu);

bera œgishjálm, to inspire fear and awe;

3) to bear, produce, yield (jörðin berr gras; tré bera aldin, epli);

4) to bear, give birth to, esp. of sheep and cows;

kýr hafði borit kálf, had calved;

absol., ván at hón mundi bera, that the cow would calve;

the pp. is used of men; hann hafði verit blindr borinn, born blind;

verða borinn í þenna heim, to be born into this world;

þann sóma, sem ek em til borinn, born to;

borinn e-m, frá e-m (rare), born of;

Nótt var Nörvi borin, was the daughter of N.;

borinn Sigmundi, son of S.;

5) bera e-n afli, ofrafli, ofrliði, ofrmagni, ofríki, to bear one down, overcome, oppress, one by odds or superior force;

bera e-n ráðum, to overrule one;

bera e-n málum, to bear one down (wrongfully) in a lawsuit;

bera e-n sök, to charge one with a fault;

bera e-n bjóri, to make drunk with beer;

verða bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise;

borinn verkjum, overcome by pains;

þess er borin ván, there is no hope, all hope is gone;

borinn baugum, bribed; cf. bera fé á e-n, to bribe one;

6) to lear, be capable of bearing (of a ship, horse, vehicle);

þeir hlóðu bæði skipin sem borð báru, with as much as they could carry;

fig., to sustain, support (svá mikill mannfjöldi, at landit fekk eigi borit);

of persons, to bear up against, endure, support (grief, sorrow, etc.);

absol., bar hann drengiliga, he bore it manfully;

similarly, bera (harm) af sér, berast vel (illa, lítt) af;

bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore up bravely;

hversu berst Auðr af um bróðurdauðann, how does she bear it?

hon berst af lítt, she is much cast down;

bera sik vel upp, to bear well up against;

7) bera e-t á, e-n á hendr e-m, to charge or tax one with (eigi erum vér þess valdir, er þú berr á oss);

bera (kvið) á e-n, to give a verdict against, declare guilty (í annat sinn báru þeir á Flosa kviðinn);

bera af e-m (kviðinn), to give a verdict for;

bera e-t af sér, to deny having done a thing;

bera or bera vitni, vætti, to bear witness, testify;

bera or bera um e-t, to give a verdict in a case;

bera e-n sannan at sök, to prove guilty by evidence;

bera e-n undan sök, to acquit;

bera í sundr frændsemi þeirra, to prove (by evidence) that they are not relations;

bera e-m vel (illa) söguna, to give a favourable (unfavourable) account of one;

refl. (pass.), berast, to be proved by evidence (þótt þér berist þat faðerni, er þú segir);

8) to set forth, report, tell;

bera e-m kveðju (orð, orðsending), to bring one a greeting, compliments (word, message);

bera or bera fram erindi sín fyrir e-n, to state (tell) one’s errand or to plead one’s case before one;

bera e-m njósn, to apprise one;

bera e-t upp, to produce, mention, tell;

bera upp gátu, to give (propound) a riddle;

bera upp erindi sín, to state one’s errand;

bera saman ráð sín, to consult together;

eyddist það ráð, er þeir báru saman, which they had designed;

9) to keep, hold, bear, of a title (bera jarlnafn, konnungsnafn);

bera (eigi) giptu, gæfu, hammingju, auðnu til e-s, (not) to have the good fortune to do a thing (bar hann enga gæfu til at þjóna þér);

bera vit, skyn, kunnáttu á e-t, to have knowledge of, uniderstanding about;

vel viti borinn, endowed with a good understanding;

bera hug, áræði, þor, traust til e-s, to have courage, confidence to do a thing;

bera áhyggju fyrir e-u, to be concerned about;

bera ást, elsku, hatr til e-s, to bear affection, love, hatred to;

10) to bear off or away, carry off (some gain);

bera sigr af e-m, af e-u, to carry off the victory from or in;

hann hafði borit sigr af tveim orustum, he had been victorious in two battles;

bera hærra (lægra) hlut to get the best (the worst) of it;

bera efra (hærra) skjöld, to gain the victory;

bera hátt (lágt) höfuðit, to bear the head high (low), to be in high (low) spirits;

bera halann bratt, lágt, to cock up or let fall the tail, to be in high or low spirits;

11) with preps.:

bera af e-m, to surpass;

en þó bar Bolli af, surpassed all the rest;

bera af sér högg, lag to ward off, parry a blow or thrust;

bera eld at, to set fire to;

bera fjötur (bönd) at e-m, to put fetters (bonds) on one;

bera vápn á e-n, to attack one with sharp weapons;

bera á or í, to smear, anoint (bera vatn í augu sér, bera tjöru í höfuð sér);

bera e-t til, to apply to, to try if it fits (bera til hvern lykil af öðrum at portinu);

bera e-t um, to wind round;

þá bar hann þá festi um sik, made it fast round his body;

bera um með e-n, to bear with, have patience with;

bera út barn, to expose a child;

12) refl., berast mikit (lítit) á, to bear oneself proudly (humbly);

láta af berast, to die;

láta fyrir berast e-s staðar, to stay, remain in a place (for shelter);

berast e-t fyrir, to design a thing (barst hann þat fyrir at sjá aldregi konur);

at njósna um, hvat hann bærist fyrir, to inquire into what he was about;

berast vápn á, to attack one another;

berast at or til, to happen;

þat barst at (happened) á einhverju sumri;

ef svá harðliga kann til at berast, if that misfortune does happen;

berast í móti, to happen, occur;

hefir þetta vel í móti borizt, it is a happy coincidence;

berast við, to be prevented;

ok nú lét almáttugr guð við berast kirkjubrunann, prevented, stopped the burning of the church;

II. impers., denoting a sort of passive or involuntary motion;

1) with acc., it bears or carries one to a place;

alla berr at sama brunni, all come to the same well (end);

bar hann (acc.) þá ofan gegnt Ösuri, he happened to come down just opposite to Ö.;

esp. of ships and sailors; berr oss (acc.) til Íslands eða annarra landa, we drift to Iceland or other countries;

þá (acc.) bar suðr í haf, they were carried out southwards;

Skarpheðin (acc.) bar nú at þeim, S. came suddenly upon them;

ef hann (acc.) skyldi bera þar at, if he should happen to come there;

e-n berr yfir, one is borne onwards, of a bird flying, a man riding;

hann (acc.) bar skjótt yfir, it passed quickly (of a flying meteor);

2) followed by preps.:

Gunnar sér, at rauðan kyrtil bar við glugginn, that a red kirtle passed before the window;

hvergi bar skugga (acc.) á, there was nowhere a shadow;

e-t berr fram (hátt), is prominent;

Ólafr konungr stóð í lyptingu ok bar hann (acc.) hátt mjök, stood out conspicuously;

e-t berr á milli, comes between;

leiti (acc.) bar á milli, a hill hid the prospect;

fig. e-m berr e-t á milli, they are at variance about a thing;

mart (acc.) berr nú fyrir augu mér, many things come now before my eyes;

veiði (acc.) berr í hendr e-m, game falls to one’s lot;

e-t berr undan, goes amiss, fails;

bera saman, to coincide;

bar nöfn þeirra saman, they had the same name;

fig., with dat.; bar öllum sögum vel saman, all the stories agreed well together;

fund várn bar saman, we met;

3) bera at, til, við, at hendi, til handa, to befall, happen, with dat. of the person;

svá bar at einn vetr, it happened one winter;

þó at þetta vandræði (acc.) hafi nú borit oss (dat.) at hendi, has befallen us;

bar honum svá til, it so befell him;

þat bar við (it so happened), at Högni kom;

raun (acc.) berr á, it is proved by fact;

4) of time, to fall upon;

ef þing (acc.) berr á hina helgu viku, if the parliament falls in the holy week;

bera í móti, to coincide, happen exactly at the same time;

5) denoting cause;

e-t berr til, causes a thing;

konungr spurði, hvat til bæri úgleði hans, what was the cause of his grief;

ætluðu þat þá allir, at þat mundi til bera, that that was the reason;

berr e-m nauðsyn til e-s, one is obliged to do a thing;

6) e-t berr undir e-n, falls to a person’s lot;

hon á arf at taka, þegar er undir hana berr, in her turn;

e-t berr frá, is surpassing;

er sagt, at þat (acc.) bæri frá, hvé vel þeir mæltu, it was extraordinary how well they spoke;

7) e-t berr bráðum, happens of a sudden;

e-t berr stóru, stórum (stœrrum), it amounts to much (more), it matters a great deal (more), it is of great (greater) importance;

8) absol. or with an adv., vel, illa, with infin.;

e-m berr (vel, illa) at gera e-t, it becomes, beseems one (well, ill) to do a thing (berr yðr vel, herra, at sjá sannindi á þessu máli);

used absol., berr vel, illa, it is beseeming, proper, fit, or unbeseeming, improper, unfit (þat þykkir eigi illa bera, at).

(að), v. to make bare (hon beraði likam sinn).

f. she-bear, = birna.

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u, f.

I. [björn], a she-bear, Lat. ursa; the primitive root ‘ber’ remains only in this word (cp. berserkr and berfjall), björn (q. v.) being the masc. in use, Landn. 176, Fas. i. 367, Vkv. 9: in many Icel. local names, Beru-fjörðr, -vík, from Polar bears; fem. names, Bera, Hallbera, etc., Landn.

II. a shield, poët., the proverb, baugr er á beru sæmstr, to a shield fits best a baugr (q. v.), Lex. Poët., Edda (Gl.); hence names of poems Beru-drápa, Eg.

bar, báru, borit, pres. berr,—poët. forms with the suffixed negative; 3rd pers. sing. pres. Indic. berrat, Hm. 10; 3rd pers. sing. pret. barat, Vellekla; 1st pers. sing. barkak, Eb. 62 (in a verse); barkat ek, Hs. 8; 2nd pers. sing. bartattu; 3rd pers. pl. bárut, etc., v. Lex. Poët. [Gr. φέρειν; Lat. ferre; Ulf. bairan; A. S. beran; Germ. gebären; Engl. bear; Swed. bära; Dan. bære].

A. Lat. ferre, portare:

I. prop. with a sense of motion, to bear, carry, by means of the body, of animals, of vehicles, etc., with acc., Egil tók mjöðdrekku eina mikla, ok bar undir hendi sér, Eg. 237; bar hann heim hrís, Rm. 9; konungr lét bera inn kistur tvær, báru tveir menn hverja, Eg. 310; bera farm af skipi, to unload a ship, Ld. 32; bera (farm) á skip, to load a ship, Nj. 182; tóku alla ösku ok báru á á ( amnem) út, 623, 36; ok bar þat ( carried it) í kerald, 43, K. Þ. K. 92; b. mat á borð, í stofu, to put the meat on table, in the oven; b. mat af borði, to take it off table, Eb. 36, 266, Nj. 75, Fms. ix. 219, etc.

2. Lat. gestare, ferre, denoting to wear clothes, to carry weapons; skikkja dýr er konungr hafði borit, Eg. 318; b. kórónu, to wear the crown, Fms. x. 16; atgeir, Nj. 119; vápn, 209: metaph., b. ægishjálm, to inspire fear and awe; b. merki, to carry the flag in a battle, Nj. 274, Orkn. 28, 30, 38, Fms. v. 64, vi. 413; bera fram merki, to advance, move in a battle, vi. 406.

3. b. e-t á hesti (áburðr), to carry on horseback; Auðunn bar mat á hesti, Grett. 107; ok bar hrís á hesti, 76 new Ed.; þeir báru á sjau hestum, 98 new Ed.

II. without a sense of motion:

1. to give birth to; [the root of barn, bairn; byrja, incipere; burðr, partus; and burr, filius: cp. Lat. parĕre; also Gr. φέρειν, Lat. ferre, of child-bearing.] In Icel. prose, old as well as mod., ‘ala’ and ‘fæða’ are used of women; but ‘bera,’ of cows and sheep; hence sauðburðr, casting of lambs, kýrburðr; a cow is snembær, siðbær, Jólabær, calves early, late, at Yule time, etc.; var ekki ván at hon ( the cow) mundi b. fyr en um várit, Bs. i. 193, 194; kýr hafði borit kálf, Bjarn. 32; bar hvárrtveggi sauðrinn sinn burð, Stj. 178: the participle borinn is used of men in a great many compds in a general sense, aptrborinn, árborinn, endrborinn, frjálsborinn, goðborinn, höldborinn, hersborinn, konungborinn, óðalborinn, samborinn, sundrborinn, velborinn, úborinn, þrælborinn, etc.; also out of compds, mun ek eigi upp gefa þann sóma, sem ek em til borinn, … entitled to by inheritance, Ld. 102; hann hafði blindr verit borinn, born blind, Nj. 152, Hdl. 34, 42, Vsp. 2: esp. borinn e-m, born of one, Rm. 39, Hdl. 12, 23, 27, Hðm. 2, Gs. 9, Vþm. 25, Stor. 16, Vkv. 15; borinn frá e-m, Hdl. 24: the other tenses are in theol. Prose used of Christ, hans blezaða son er virðist at láta berast hingað í heim af sinni blezaðri móður, Fms. i. 281; otherwise only in poetry, eina dóttur (acc.) berr álfröðull (viz. the sun, regarded as the mother), Vþm. 47; hann Gjálp um bar, hann Greip um bar …, Hdl. 36: borit (sup.), Hkv. 1. 1.

β. of trees, flowers; b. ávöxt, blóm …, to bear fruit, flower … (freq.); bar aldinviðrinn tvennan blóma, Fms. ix. 265; cp. the phrase, bera sitt barr, v. barr.

2. denoting to load, with acc. of the person and dat. of the thing:

α. in prop. sense; hann hafði borit sik mjök vápnum, he had loaded himself with arms, i. e. wore heavy armour, Sturl. iii. 250.

β. but mostly in a metaph. sense; b. e-n ofrafli, ofrmagni, ofrliði, ofríki, magni, to bear one down, to overcome, oppress one, by odds or superior force, Grág. i. 101, ii. 195, Nj. 80, Hkr. ii. 371, Gþl. 474, Stj. 512, Fms. iii. 175 (in the last passage a dat. pers. badly); b. e-n ráðum, to overrule one, Nj. 198, Ld. 296; b. e-n málum, to bearhim down (wrongfully) in a lawsuit, Nj. 151; b. e-n bjóri, to make drunk, Vkv. 26: medic., borinn verkjum, sótt, Bjarn. 68, Og. 5; bölvi, Gg. 2: borne down, feeling heavy pains; þess er borin ván, no hope, all hope is gone, Ld. 250; borinn sök, charged with a cause, Fms. v. 324, H. E. i. 561; bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise, Fms. iv. 111; b. fé, gull á e-n, to bring one a fee, gold, i. e. to bribe one, Nj. 62; borinn baugum, bribed, Alvm. 5; always in a bad sense, cp. the law phrase, b. fé í dóm, to bribe a court, Grág., Nj. 240.

3. to bear, support, sustain, Lat. sustinere, lolerare, ferre:

α. properly, of a ship, horse, vehicle, to bear, be capable of bearing; þeir hlóðu bæði skipin sem borð báru, all that they could carry, Eb. 302;—a ship ‘berr’ ( carries) such and such a weight; but ‘tekr’ ( takes) denotes a measure of fluids.

β. metaph. to sustain, support; dreif þannig svá mikill mannfjöldi at landit fékk eigi borit, Hkr. i. 56; but metaph. to bear up against, endure, support grief, sorrow, etc., sýndist öllum at Guð hefði nær ætlað hvat hann mundi b. mega, Bs. i. 139; biðr hann friðar ok þykist ekki mega b. reiði hans, Fms. iii. 80: the phrase, b. harm sinn í hljóði, to suffer silently; b. svívirðing, x. 333: absol., þótti honum mikit víg Kjartans, en þó bar hann drengilega, he bore it manfully, Ld. 226; er þat úvizka, at b. eigi slíkt, not to bear or put up with, Glúm. 327; b. harm, to grieve, Fms. xi. 425: in the phrases, b. sik, b. af sér, berask, berask vel (illa, lítt), to bear oneself, to bear up against misfortune; Guðrúnu þótti mikit fráfall Þorkels, en þó bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore her bravely up, Ld. 326–328; lézt hafa spurt at ekkjan bæri vel af sér harmana, Eb. 88; berask af; hversu bersk Auðr af um bróðurdauðann? (how does she bear it?); hón bersk af lítt ( she is much borne down) ok þykir mikit, Gísl. 24; niun oss vandara gört en öðrum at vér berim oss vel (Lat. fortiter ferre), Nj. 197; engi maðr hefði þar jamvel borit sik, none bad borne himself so boldly, Sturl. iii. 132; b. sik vel upp, to bear well up against, bear a stout heart, Hrafn. 17; b. sik beiskliga ( sorely), Stj. 143; b. sik lítt, to be downcast, Fms. ii. 61; b. sik at göra e-t, to do one’s best, try a thing.

III. in law terms or modes of procedure:

1. bera járn, the ordeal of bearing hot iron in the hand, cp. járnburðr, skírsla. This custom was introduced into Scandinavia together with Christianity from Germany and England, and superseded the old heathen ordeals ‘hólmganga,’ and ‘ganga undir jarðarmen,’ v. this word. In Norway, during the civil wars, it was esp. used in proof of paternity of the various pretenders to the crown, Fms. vii. 164, 200, ix. Hák. S. ch. 14, 41–45, viii. (Sverr. S.) ch. 150, xi. (Jómsv. S.) ch. 11, Grett. ch. 41, cp. N. G. L. i. 145, 389. Trial by ordeal was abolished in Norway A. D. 1247. In Icel. It was very rarely mentioned, vide however Lv. ch. 23 (paternity), twice or thrice in the Sturl. i. 56, 65, 147, and Grág. i. 341, 361; it seems to have been very seldom used there, (the passage in Grett. S. l. c. refers to Norway.)

2. bera út (hence útburðr, q. v.), to expose children; on this heathen custom, vide Grimm R. A. In heathen Icel., as in other parts of heathen Scandinavia, it was a lawful act, but seldom exercised; the chief passages on record are, Gunnl. S. ch. 3 (ok þat var þá siðvandi nokkurr, er land var allt alheiðit, at þeir menn er félitlir vórn, en stóð ómegð mjök til handa létu út bera börn sín, ok þótti þó illa gört ávalt), Fs. Vd. ch. 37, Harð. S. ch. 8, Rd. ch. 7, Landn. v. ch. 6, Finnb. ch. 2, Þorst. Uxaf. ch. 4, Hervar. S. ch. 4, Fas. i. 547 (a romance); cp. Jómsv. S. ch. 1. On the introduction of Christianity into Icel. A. D. 1000, it was resolved that, in regard to eating of horse-flesh and exposure of children, the old laws should remain in force, Íb. ch. 9; as Grimm remarks, the exposure must take place immediately after birth, before the child had tasted food of any kind whatever, and before it was besprinkled with water (ausa vatni) or shown to the father, who had to fix its name; exposure, after any of these acts, was murder, cp. the story of Liafburga told by Grimm R. A.); v. Also a Latin essay at the end of the Gunnl. S. (Ed. 1775). The Christian Jus Eccl. put an end to this heathen barbarism by stating at its very beginning, ala skal barn hvert er borit verðr, i. e. all children, if not of monstrous shape, shall be brought up, N. G. L. i. 339, 363.

β. b. út (now more usual, hefja út, Am. 100), to carry out for burial; vera erfðr ok tit borinn, Odd. 20; var hann heygðr, ok út borinn at fornum sið, Fb. i. 123; b. á bál, to place (the body and treasures) upon the pile, the mode of burying in the old heathen time, Fas. i. 487 (in a verse); var hon borin á bálit ok slegit í eldi, Edda 38.

B. Various and metaph. cases.

I. denoting motion:

1. ‘bera’ is in the Grág. the standing law term for delivery of a verdict by a jury (búar), either ‘bera’ absol. or adding kvið ( verdict); bera á e-n, or b. kvið á e-n, to give a verdict against, declare guilty; bera af e-m, or b. af e-m kviðinn, to give a verdict for; or generally, bera, or b. um e-t, to give a verdict in a case; bera, or b. vitni, vætti, also simply means to testify, to witness, Nj. 111, cp. kviðburðr ( delivering of verdict), vitnisburðr ( bearing witness), Grág. ii. 28; eigi eigu búar ( jurors) enn at b. um þat hvat lög eru á landi hér, the jurors have not to give verdict in (to decide) what is law in the country, cp. the Engl. maxim, that jurors have only to decide the question of evidence, not of law, Grág. (Kb.) ch. 85; eigi eru búar skildir at b. um hvatvetna; um engi mál eigu þeir at skilja, þau er erlendis ( abroad) hafa görzt, id.; the form in delivering the verdict—höfum vér ( the jurors), orðit á eitt sáttir, berum á kviðburðinn, berum hann sannan at sökinni, Nj. 238, Grág. i. 49, 22, 138, etc.; í annat sinn báru þeir á Flosa kviðinn, id.; b. annattveggja af eðr á; b. undan, to discharge, Nj. 135; b. kvið í hag ( for), Grág. i. 55; b. lýsingar vætti, Nj. 87; b. vitni ok vætti, 28, 43, 44; b. ljúgvitni, to bear false witness, Grág. i. 28; b. orð, to bear witness to a speech, 43; bera frændsemi sundr, to prove that they are not relations, N. G. L. i. 147: reflex., berask ór vætti, to prove that oneself is wrongly summoned to bear witness or to give a verdict, 44: berask in a pass. sense, to be proved by evidence, ef vanefni b. þess manns er á hönd var lýst, Grág. i. 257; nema jafnmæli berisk, 229; þótt þér berisk þat faðerni er þú segir, Fms. vii. 164; hann kvaðst ætla, at honum mundi berask, that he would be able to get evidence for, Fs. 46.

β. gener. and not as a law term; b. á, b. á hendr, to charge; b. e-n undan, to discharge, Fs. 95; eigi erum vér þessa valdir er þú berr á oss, Nj. 238, Ld. 206, Fms. iv. 380, xi. 251, Th. 78; b. e-m á brýnn, to throw in one’s face, to accuse, Greg. 51; b. af sér, to deny; eigi mun ek af mér b., at… ( non diffitebor), Nj. 271; b. e-m gott vitni, to give one a good…, 11; b. e-m vel (illa) söguna, to bear favourable (unfavourable) witness of one, 271.

2. to bear by word of mouth, report, tell, Lat. referre; either absol. or adding kveðju, orð, orðsending, eyrindi, boð, sögu, njósn, frétt…, or by adding a prep., b. fram, frá, upp, fyrir; b. kveðju, to bring a greeting, compliment, Eg. 127; b. erindi (sín) fyrir e-n, to plead one’s case before one, or to tell one’s errand, 472, 473; b. njósn, to apprise, Nj. 131; b. fram, to deliver (a speech), talaði jungherra Magnús hit fyrsta erindi (M. made his first speech in public), ok fanst mönnum mikit um hversu úbernsliga fram var borit, Fms. x. 53; (in mod. usage, b. fram denotes gramm. to pronounce, hence ‘framburðr,’ pronunciation); mun ek þat nú fram b., I shall now tell, produce it, Ld. 256, Eg. 37; b. frá, to attest, relate with emphasis; má þat frá b., Dropl. 21; b. upp, to produce, mention, tell, þótt slík lygi sé upp borin fyrir hann, though such a lie be told him, Eg. 59; þær (viz. charges) urðu engar upp bornar ( produced) við Rút, Nj. 11; berr Sigtryggr þegar upp erindi sín (cp. Germ. ojfenbaren), 271, Ld. 256; b. upp gátu, to give (propound) a riddle, Stj. 411, Fas. i. 464; b. fyrir, to plead as an excuse; b. saman ráð sín, or the like, to consult, Nj. 91; eyddist þat ráð, er þeir báru saman, which they had designed, Post. 656 A. ii; b. til skripta, to confess (eccl.), of auricular confession, Hom. 124, 655 xx.

II. in a metaphorical or circumlocutory sense, and without any sense of motion, to keep, hold, bear, of a title; b. nafn, to bear a name, esp. as honour or distinction; tignar nafn, haulds nafn, jarls nafn, lends manns nafn, konungs nafn, bónda nafn, Fms. i. 17, vi. 278, xi. 44, Gþl. 106: in a more metaph. sense, denoting endowments, luck, disposition, or the like, b. (ekki) gæfu, hamingju, auðnu til e-s, to enjoy (enjoy not) good or bad luck, etc.; at Þórólfr mundi eigi allsendis gæfu til b. um vináttu við Harald, Eg. 75, 112, 473, Fms. iv. 164, i. 218; úhamingju, 219; b. vit, skyn, kunnáttu á (yfir) e-t, to bring wit, knowledge, etc., to bear upon a thing, xi. 438, Band. 7; hence vel (illa) viti borinn, well (ill) endowed with wit, Eg. 51; vel hyggjandi borinn, well endowed with reason, Grág. ii; b. hug, traust, áræði, þor, til e-s, to have courage, confidence … to do a thing, Gullþ. 47, Fms. ix. 220, Band. 7; b. áhyggju, önn fyrir, to care, be concerned about, Fms. x. 318; b. ást, elsku til e-s, to bear affection, love to one; b. hatr, to hate: b. svört augu, to have dark eyes, poët., Korm. (in a verse); b. snart hjarta, Hom. 5; vant er þat af sjá hvar hvergi berr hjarta sitt, where he keeps his heart, Orkn. 474; b. gott hjarta, to bear a proud heart, Lex. Poët., etc. etc.; b. skyndi at um e-t, to make speed with a thing, Lat. festinare, Fms. viii. 57.

2. with some sense of motion, to bear off or away, carry off, gain, in such phrases as, b. sigr af e-m, af e-u, to carry off the victory from or in …; hann hafði borit sigr af tveim orrustum, er frægstar hafa verit, he had borne off the victory in two battles, Fms. xi. 186; bera banaorð af e-m, to slay one in a fight, to be the victor; Þorr berr banaorð af Miðgarðsormi, Edda 42, Fms. x. 400: it seems properly to mean, to bear off the fame of having killed a man; verðat svá rík sköp, at Regin skyli mitt banorð bera, Fm. 39; b. hærra, lægra hlut, ‘to bear off the higher or the lower lot,’ i. e. to get the best or the worst of it, or the metaphor is taken from a sortilege, Fms. ii. 268, i. 59, vi. 412; b. efra, hærra skjöld, to carry the highest shield, to get the victory, x. 394, Lex. Poët.; b. hátt (lágt) höfuðit, to bear the head high (low), i. e. to be in high or low spirits, Nj. 91; but also, b. halann bratt (lágt), to cock up or let fall the tail (metaph. from cattle), to be in an exultant or low mood: sundry phrases, as, b. bein, to rest the bones, be buried; far þú til Íslands, þar mun þér auðið verða beinin at b., Grett. 91 A; en þó hygg ek at þú munir hér b. beinin í Norðrálfunni, Orkn. 142; b. fyrir borð, to throw overboard, metaph. to oppress; verðr Þórhalli nú fyrir borð borinn, Th. was defied, set at naught, Fær. 234; b. brjóst fyrir e-m, to be the breast-shield, protection of one, Fms. vii. 263: also, b. hönd fyrir höfuð sér, metaph. to put one’s hand before one’s head, i. e. to defend oneself; b. ægishjálm yfir e-m, to keep one in awe and submission, Fm. 16, vide A. I. 2.

III. connected with prepp., b. af, and (rarely) yfir (cp. afburðr, yfirburðr), to excel, surpass; eigi sá hvárttveggja féit er af öðrum berr, who gets the best of it, Nj. 15; en þó bar Bolli af, B. surpassed all the rest, Ld. 330; þat mannval bar eigi minnr af öðrum mönnum um fríðleik, afi ok fræknleik, en Ormrinn Langi af öðrum skipum, Fms. ii. 252; at hinn útlendi skal yfir b. ( outdo) þann sem Enskir kalla meistara, xi. 431: b. til, to apply, try if it fits; en er þeir báru til (viz. shoes to the hoof of a horse), þá var sem hæfði hestinum, ix. 55; bera til hvern lykil at öðrum at portinu, Thom. 141; b. e-t við, to try it on (hence viðburðr, experiment, effort): b. um, to wind round, as a cable round a pole or the like, Nj. 115; þá bar hann þá festi um sik, made it fast round his body, Fms. ix. 219; ‘b. e-t undir e-n’ is to consult one, ellipt., b. undir dóm e-s; ‘b. e-t fyrir’ is to feign, use as excuse: b. á, í, to smear, anoint; b. vatn í augu sér, Rb. 354; b. tjöru í höfuð sér, Nj. 181, Hom. 70, 73, cp. áburðr; b. gull, silfr, á, to ornament with gold or silver, Ld. 114, Finnb. 258: is now also used = to dung, b. á völl; b. vápn á e-n, to attack one with sharp weapons, Eg. 583, Fms. xi. 334: b. eld at, to set fire to, Nj. 122; b. fjötur (bönd) at e-m, to put fetters (bonds) on one, Fms. x. 172, Hm. 150: metaph. reflex., bönd berask at e-m, a law term, the evidence bears against one; b. af sér, to parry off; Gyrðr berr af sér lagit, G. parries the thrust off, Fms. x. 421; cp. A. II. 3. β.

IV. reflex., berask mikit á (cp. áburðr), to bear oneself proudly, or b. lítið á, to bear oneself humbly; hann var hinn kátasti ok barst á mikit, Fms. ii. 68, viii. 219, Eb. 258; b. lítið á, Clem. 35; láta af berask, to die; Óttarr vill skipa til um fjárfar sitt áðr hann láti af b., Fms. ii. 12: berask fyrir, to abide in a place as an asylum, seek shelter; hér munu vit láta fyrir b., Fas. iii. 471; berask e-t fyrir, to design a thing, be busy about, barsk hann þat fyrir at sjá aldregi konur, Greg. 53; at njósna um hvat hann bærist fyrir, to inquire into what he was about, Fms. iv. 184, Vígl. 19.

β. recipr. in the phrase, berask banaspjót eptir, to seek for one another’s life, Glúm. 354: b. vápn á, of a mutual attack with sharp weapons, Fms. viii. 53.

γ. pass., sár berask á e-n, of one in the heat of battle beginning to get wounds and give way, Nj.:—berask við, to be prevented, not to do; ok nú lét Almáttugr Guð við berast kirkjubrunnann, stopped, prevented the burning of the church, Fms. v. 144; en mér þætti gott ef við bærist, svá at hón kæmi eigi til þín, vi. 210, vii. 219; ok var þá búit at hann mundi þegar láta hamarinn skjanna honum, en hann lét þat við berask, he bethought himself and did not, Edda 35; því at mönnum þótti sem þannig mundi helzt úhæfa við berask, that mischief would thus be best prevented, Sturl. ii. 6, iii. 80.

C. IMPERS.:—with a sort of passive sense, both in a loc. and temp. sense, and gener. denotes an involuntary, passive motion, happening suddenly or by chance:

I. with acc. it bears or carries one to a place, i. e. one happens to come; the proverb, alla (acc.) berr at sama brunni, all come to the same well (end), Lat. omnes una manet nox; bar hann þá ofan gegnt Özuri, he happened to come in his course just opposite to Ö., Lat. delatus est, Dropl. 25: esp. of ships or sailors; nú berr svá til ( happens) herra, at vér komum eigi fram ferðinni, berr oss (acc.) til Íslands eðr annara landa, it bore us to I., i. e. if we drive or drift thither, Fms. iv. 176; þá (acc. pl.) bar suðr í haf, they drifted southwards, Nj. 124.

β. as a cricketing term, in the phrase, berr (bar) út knöttinn, the ball rolls out, Gísl. 26, cp. p. 110 where it is transit.; berr Gísli ok út knöttinn, vide Vígl. ch. 11, Grett. ch. 17, Vd. ch. 37, Hallfr. S. ch. 2.

γ. Skarpheðin (acc.) bar nú at þeim, Sk. came suddenly upon them, Nj. 144; bar at Hróaldi þegar allan skjöldinn, the shield was dashed against H.’s body, 198; ok skyldu sæta honum, ef hann (acc.) bæri þar at, if he should per chance come, shew himself there, Orkn. 406; e-n berr yfir, it bears one, i. e. one is borne onwards, as a bird flying, a man riding; þóttist vita, at hann (acc.) mundi fljótara yfir bera ef hann riði en gengi, that he would get on more fleetly riding than walking, Hrafn. 7; hann (acc.) bar skjótt yfir, he passed quickly, of a flying meteor, Nj. 194; e-n berr undan, escapes.

2. also with acc. followed by prepp. við, saman, jafnframt, hjá, of bodies coinciding or covering one another: loc., er jafnframt ber jaðrana tungls ok sólar, if the orb of the moon and sun cover each other, Rb. 34; þat kann vera stundum, at tunglit (acc.) berr jafht á millum vár ok sólar (i. e. in a moon eclipse), 108; ber nokkut jaðar (acc.) þess hjá sólar jaðri, 34; Gunnarr sér at rauðan kyrtil (acc.) bar við glugginn, G. sees that a red kirtle passed before the window, Nj. 114; bar fyrir utan þat skip vápnaburð (acc.) heiðingja (gen. pl.), the missiles of the heathens passed over the ship without hurting them, flew too high, Fms. vii. 232; hvergi bar skugga (acc.) á, nowhere a shadow, all bright, Nj. 118; þangat sem helzt mátti nokkut yfir þá skugga bera af skóginum, where they were shadowed (hidden) by the trees, Fms. x. 239; e-t berr fram (hátt), a body is prominent, Lat. eminet; Ólafr konungr stóð í lyptingunni, bar hann (acc.) hátt mjök, king O. stood out conspicuously, ii. 308; b. yfir, þótti mjök bera hljóð (acc.) þar yfir er Ólafr sat, the sound was heard over there where O. sat, Sturl. i. 21; b. á milli, something comes between; leiti (acc.) bar á milli, a hill hid the prospect, Nj. 263: metaph., e-m berr e-t á milli, they come to dissent, 13, v. 1.; b. fyrir augu (hence fyrirburðr, vision), of a vision or the like; mart (acc.) berr nú fyrir augu mér, ek sé …, many things come now before my eyes, 104; hann mundi allt þat er fyrir hann hafði borit, i. e. all the dream, 195; eina nótt berr fyrir hann í svefni mikla sýn, Fms. i. 137, Rd. 290; veiði (acc.) berr í hendr e-m (a metaphor from hunting), sport falls to one’s lot; hér bæri veiði í hendr nú, here would be a game, Nj. 252; e-t berr undan (a metaphor from fishing, hunting term), when one misses one’s opportunity; vel væri þá … at þá veiði (acc.) bæri eigi undan, that this game should not go amiss, 69; en ef þetta (acc.) berr undan, if this breaks down, 63; hon bað hann þá drepa einhvern manna hans, heldr en allt (acc.) bæri undan, rather than that all should go amiss, Eg. 258: absol., þyki mér illa, ef undan berr, if I miss it, Nj. 155; viljum vér ekki at undan beri at…, we will by no means miss it…, Fms. viii. 309, v. 1. The passage Bs. i. 416 (en fjárhlutr sá er átt hafði Ari, bar undan Guðmundi) is hardly correct, fjárhlut þann would run better, cp. bera undir, as a law term, below.

II. adding prepp.; b. við, at, til, at hendi, at móti, til handa …, to befall, happen, Lat. accidere, occurrere, with dat. of the person, (v. atburðr, viðburðr, tilburðr); engi hlut skyldi þann at b., no such thing should happen as…, Fms. xi. 76; svá bar at einn vetr, it befell, x. 201; þat hefir nú víst at hendi borit, er…, Nj. 174; þó þetta vandræði (acc.) hafi nú borit oss (dat.) at hendi, Eg. 7; b. til handa, id., Sks. 327; bar honum svá til, so it befell him, Fms. xi. 425; at honum bæri engan váðaligan hlut til á veginum, that nothing dangerous should befall him on the way, Stj. 212; bæri þat þá svá við, at hann ryfi, it then perchance might happen, that …, 102; þat bar við at Högni kom, 169, 172, 82; raun (acc.) berr á, it is proved by the fact, event, Fms. ix. 474, x. 185.

2. temp., e-t berr á, it happens to fall on …; ef þing (acc.) ber á hina helgu viku, if the parliament falls on the holy week (Whitsun), Grág. i. 106; ef Crucis messu (acc.) berr á Drottins dag, Rb. 44; berr hana (viz. Petrs messu, June 29) aldrei svá optarr á öldinni, 78; þat er nú berr oss næst, what has occurred of late, Sturl. iii. 182: b. í móti, to happen exactly at a time; þetta (acc.) bar í móti at þenna sama dag andaðist Brandr biskup, Bs. i. 468; b. saman, id.; bar þat saman, at pá var Gunnarr at segja brennusöguna, just when G. was about telling the story, Nj. 269.

3. metaph. of agreement or separation; en þat (acc.) þykir mjök saman b. ok þessi frásögn, Fms. x. 276: with dat., bar öllum sögum vel saman, all the records agreed well together, Nj. 100, v. l.; berr nú enn í sundr með þeim, Bjarna ok Þorkatli at sinni, B. and Th. missed each other, Vápn. 25.

4. denoting cause; e-t (acc.) berr til …, causes a thing; ætluðu þat þá allir, at þat mundi til bera, that that was the reason, Nj. 75; at þat beri til skilnaðar okkars, that this will make us to part (divorce), 261; konungr spurði, hvat til bæri úgleði hans, what was the cause of his grief? Fms. vi. 355; þat berr til tunglhlaups, Rb. 32.

β. meiri ván at brátt beri þat (acc.) til bóta, at herviliga steypi hans ríki, i. e. there will soon come help (revenge), Fms. x. 264; fjórir eru þeir hlutir er menn (acc.) berr í ætt á landi hér, there are four cases under which people may be adopted, Grág. i. 361.

γ. e-t berr undir e-n, falls to a person’s lot; hon á arf at taka þegar er undir hana berr, in her turn, 179; mikla erfð (acc.) bar undir hana, Mar. (Fr.); berr yfir, of surpassing, Bs. ii. 121, 158; b. frá, id. (fráburðr); herðimikill svá at þat (acc.) bar frá því sem aðrir menn, Eg. 305; er sagt, at þat bæri frá hve vel þeir mæltu, it was extraordinary how well they did speak, Jb. 11; bar þat mest frá hversu illa hann var limaðr, but above all, how…, Ó. H. 74.

5. with adverbial nouns in a dat. form; e-t berr bráðum, happens of a sudden; berr þetta (acc.) nú allbráðum, Fms. xi. 139; cp. vera bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise (above); berr stórum, stærrum, it matters a great deal; ætla ek stærrum b. hin lagabrotin (acc.), they are much more important, matter more, vii. 305; var þat góðr kostr, svá at stórum bar, xi. 50; hefir oss orðit svá mikil vanhyggja, at stóru berr, an enormous blunder, Gísl. 51; svá langa leið, at stóru bar, Fas. i. 116; þat berr stórum, hversu mér þóknast vel þeirra athæfi, it amounts to a great deal, my liking their service, i. e. I do greatly like, Fms. ii. 37; eigi berr þat allsmám hversu vel mér líkar, in no small degree do I like, x. 296.

β. with dat., it is fitting, becoming; svá mikit sem landeiganda (dat.) berr til at hafa eptir lögum, what he is legally entitled to, Dipl. iii. 10; berr til handa, it falls to one’s lot, v. above, Grág. i. 93.

III. answering to Lat. oportet, absolutely or with an adverb, vel, illa, with infinit.; e-m berr, it beseems, becomes one; berr þat ekki né stendr þvílíkum höfuðfeðr, at falsa, Stj. 132; berr yðr (dat.) vel, herra, at sjá sannindi á þessu máli, Fms. ix. 326; sagði, at þat bar eigi Kristnum mönnum, at særa Guð, x. 22; þá siðu at mér beri vel, Sks. 353 B: used absol., berr vel, illa, it is beseeming, proper, fit, unbeseeming, unfit, improper; athæfi þat er vel beri fyrir konungs augliti, 282; þat þykir ok eigi illa bera, at maðr hafi svart skinn til hosna, i. e. it suits pretty well, 301: in case of a pers. pron. in acc. or dat. being added, the sentence becomes personal in order to avoid doubling the impers. sentence, e. g. e-m berr skylda (not skyldu) til, one is bound by duty; veit ek eigi hver skylda (nom.) yðr (acc.) ber til þess at láta jarl einn ráða, Fms. i. 52: also leaving the dat. out, skylda berr til at vera forsjámaðr með honum, vii. 280; eigi berr hér til úviska mín, it is not that I am not knowing, Nj. 135.

IV. when the reflex. inflexion is added to the verb, the noun loses its impers. character and is turned from acc. into nom., e. g. þar (þat?) mun hugrinn minn mest hafa fyrir borizt, this is what I suspected, fancied, Lv. 34; cp. hugarburðr, fancy, and e-t berr fyrir e-n (above, C. I. 2); hefir þetta (nom.) vel í móti borizt, a happy coincidence, Nj. 104; ef svá harðliga kann til at berask, if the misfortunes do happen, Gþl. 55; barsk sú úhamingja (nom.) til á Íslandi, that mischief happened (no doubt the passage is thus to be emended), Bs. i. 78, but bar þá úhamingju …; þat (nom.) barsk at, happened, Fms. x. 253; fundir várir (nom.) hafa at borizt nokkurum sinnum, vii. 256; þat barsk at á einhverju sumri, Eg. 154; bærist at um síðir at allr þingheimrinn berðist, 765, cp. berast við, berask fyrir above (B. V.): berast, absol., means to be shaken, knocked about; var þess ván, at fylkingar mundu berast í hergöngunni, that they would be brought into some confusion, Fms. v. 74; Hrólfr gékk at ramliga, ok barst Atli (was shaken, gave away) fyrir orku sakir, þar til er hann féll. Fas. iii. 253; barst Jökull allr fyrir orku sakir (of two wrestling), Ísl. ii. 467, Fms. iii. 189: vide B. IV.

D. In mod. usage the strong bera—bar is also used in impersonal phrases, denoting to let a thing be seen, shew, but almost always with a negative preceding, e. g. ekki bar (ber) á því, it could ( can) not be seen; að á engu bæri, láta ekki á bera ( to keep tight), etc. All these phrases are no doubt alterations from the weak verb bera, að, nudare, and never occur in old writers; we have not met with any instance previous to the Reformation; the use is certainly of late date, and affords a rare instance of weak verbs turning into strong; the reverse is more freq. the case.

* * *

(-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.

* * *

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.

I) prep.

A. with dative.

I. Of motion;

1) towards, against;

Otkell laut at Skamkatli, bowed down to S.;

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

2) close atup to;

Brynjólfr gengr alit at honum, quite up to him;

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

3) to, at;

koma at landi, to come to land;

ganga at dómi, to go into court;

4) along (= eptir);

ganga at stræti, to walk along the street;

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

refr dró hörpu at ísi, on the ice;

5) denoting hostility;

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

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

6) around;

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

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

7) denoting business, engagement;

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

fara at landskuldum, to go collecting rents.

II. Of position, &c.;

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

at kirkju, at church;

at dómi, in court;

at lögbergi, at the hill of laws;

2) denoting participation in;

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

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

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

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

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

4) with proper names of places (farms);

konungr at Danmörku ok Noregi, king of;

biskup at Hólum, bishop of Holar;

at Helgafelli, at Bergþórshváli;

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

at hans (at his house) gisti fjölmenni mikit;

at Marðar, at Mara’s home;

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

at Ránar, at Ran’s (abode).

III. Of time;

1) at, in;

at upphafi, at first, in the beginning;

at skilnaði, at parting, when they parted;

at páskum, at Easter;

at kveldi, at eventide;

at þinglausnum, at the close of the Assembly;

at fjöru, at the ebb;

at flœðum, at the floodtide;

2) adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr’;

at ári komanda, next year;

at vári, er kemr, next spring;

generally with ‘komanda’ understood;

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

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

at sér lifanda, duing his lifetime;

at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all;

at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the hearing of the chief;

at upprennandi sólu, at sunrise;

at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks are past;

at honum önduðum, after his death;

4) denoting uninterrupted succession, after;

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

skildu menn at þessu, thereupon, after this;

at því (thereafter) kómu aðrar meyjar.

IV. fig. and in various uses;

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

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

verða at ormi, to become a snake;

2) for, as;

gefa e-t at gjöf, as a present;

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

3) by;

taka sverð at hjöltum, by the hilt;

draga út björninn at hlustunum, by the ears;

kjósa at afli, álitum, by strength, appearrance;

4) as regards as to;

auðigr at fé, wealthy in goods;

vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face;

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

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

6) as a paraphrase of a genitive;

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

aðili at sök = aðili sakar;

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

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

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

tvítugr at aldri, twenty years of age;

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

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

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

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

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

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

at ráði allra vitrustu manna, by the advice of;

at landslögum, by the law of the land;

at vánum, as was to be expected;

at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave;

10) in adverbial phrases;

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

bíta af allt gras at snøggu, quite bare;

at fullu, fully;

at vísu, surely;

at frjálsu, freely;

at eilífu, for ever and ever;

at röngu, at réttu, wrongly, rightly;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

at Hrungni dauðan, upon the death of Hrungnir.

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

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

2) in an objective sense;

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

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

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

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

hón grét at meir, she wept the more;

þykkir oss at líkara, all the more likely;

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

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

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

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

conj., that;

1) introducing a subjective or objective clause;

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

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

2) relative to svá, denoting proportion, degree;

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

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

4) since, because, as (= því at);

5) connected with þó, því, svá;

þó at (with subj.), though, although;

því at, because, for;

svá at, so that;

6) temp., þá at (= þá er), when;

þegar at (= þegar er), as soon as;

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

áðr at (= á. en), before;

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

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

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

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

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

odda at, Yggs at, battle.

* * *

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. LOC.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. METAPH. and in various cases:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

V. denoting the source of a thing:

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

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

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

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

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

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

IX. following many words:

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

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

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

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

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

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

WITH ACC.

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

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

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

I. it is used either,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

II. it is used,

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

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

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

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

III. used in connection with conjunctions,

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

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

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

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

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

IV. as a relat. conj.:

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

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

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

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

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

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

the negative verbal suffix, v. -a.

* * *

prep. w. dat.

I. Of place:

1) off, from;

G. hljóp af hesti sínum, G. jumped off his horse;

ganga af mótinu, to go away from the meeting;

Flosi kastaði af sér skikkjunni, threw off his cloak;

Gizzur gekk af útsuðri at gerðinu, from the south-west;

hann hafði leyst af sér skúa sína, he had taken off his shoes;

Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér, throw him off;

tók Gísli þá af sér vápnin, took off his arms;

bréf af Magnúsi konungi, a letter from king Magnus;

land af landi, from one land to the other;

hverr af öðrum, one after another, in succession;

vil ek þú vinnir af þér skuldina, work off the debt;

muntu enga sætt af mér fá, no peace at my hand;

rísa af dauða, to rise from the dead;

vakna af draumi, to awaken from a dream;

lúka upp af hrossi, to open a gate from off a horse;

vindr stóð af landi, the wind blew from the land;

2) out of;

verða tekinn af heimi, to be taken out of the world;

gruflar hón af læknum, she scrambles out of the brook;

Otradalr var mjök af vegi, far out of the way.

Connected with út; föstudaginn fór út herrinn af borginni, marched out of the town.

II. Of time; past, beyond:

af ómagaaldri, able to support oneself, of age;

ek em nú af léttasta skeiði, no longer in the prime of life;

þá er sjau vikur eru af sumri, when seven weeks of summer are past;

var mikit af nótt, much of the night was past.

III. In various other relations:

1) þiggja lið af e-m, to receive help from one;

hafa umboð af e-m, to be another’s deputy;

vera góðs (ills) maklegr af e-m, to deserve good (bad) of one;

féll þar lið mart af Eyvindi, many of Eyvind’s men fell there;

þá eru þeir útlagir ok af goðorði sínu, have forfeited their goðorð;

þá skalt þú af allri fjárheimtunni, forfeit all the claim;

ek skal stefna þér af konunni, summon thee to give up;

2) off, of;

höggva fót, hönd, af e-m, to cut off one’s foot, hand;

vil ek, at þú takir slíkt sem þér líkar af varningi, whatever you like of the stores;

þar lá forkr einn ok brotit af endanum, with the point broken off;

absol., beit hann höndina af, bit the hand off;

fauk af höfuðit, the head flew off;

3) of, among;

hinn efniligasti maðr af ungum mönnum, the most promising of the young men;

4) with;

hláða, (ferma) skip af e-u, to load (freight) a ship with;

fylla heiminn af sínu kyni, to fill the world with his offspring;

5) of (= ór which is more frequent);

húsit var gert af timbr stokkum, was built of trunks of trees;

6) fig., eigi vita menn hvat af honum er orðit, what has become of him;

hvat hefir þú gert af Gunnari, what hast thou done with Gunnar?;

7) denoting parentage, descent, origin;

ok eru af þeim komnir Gilsbekkingar, are descended from them;

kominn af Trójumönnum, descended from the Trojans;

8) by, of (after passive);

ek em sendr hingat af Starkaði, sent hither by;

ástsæll af landsmónnum, beloved of;

9) on account of, by reason of, by;

úbygðr at frosti ok kulda, because of frost and cold;

ómáli af áverkum, speechless from wounds;

af ástæld hans, by his popularity;

af því, therefore;

af hví, wherefor why;

af því at, because;

10) by means of, by;

framfœra e-n af verkum sínum, by means of his own labour;

af sínu fé, by one’s own means;

absol., hann fekk af hina mestu sœmd, derived great honour from it;

11) with adjectives, in regard to;

mildr af fé, liberal of money;

góðr af griðum, merciful;

fastr af drykk, close (stingy) in regard to drink;

12) used absol. with a verb, off away;

hann bað hann þá róa af fjörðinn, to row the firth off;

ok er þeir höfðu af fjörðung, when they had covered one forth of the way;

sofa af nóttina, to sleep the night away.

* * *

prep. often used elliptically by dropping the case, or even merely adverbially, [Ulf. af; A. S. and Engl. of, off; Hel. ab; Germ. ab; Gr. άπό; Lat. a, ab.] With dat. denoting a motion a loco; one of the three prepp. af, ór, frá, corresponding to those in loco—á, í, við, and ad locum—á, í, at. It in general corresponds to the prepp. in loco—á, or in locum— til, whilst ór answers more to í; but it also frequently corresponds to yfir, um or í. It ranges between ór and frá, generally denoting the idea from the surface of, while ór means from the inner part, and frá from the outer part or border. The motion from a hill, plain, open place is thus denoted by af; by ór that from an enclosed space, depth, cavity, thus af fjalli, but ór of a valley, dale; af Englandi, but ór Danmörk, as mörk implies the notion of a deep wood, forest. The wind blows af landi, but a ship sets sail frá landi; frá landi also means a distance from: af hendi, of a glove, ring; ór hendi, of whatever has been kept in the hand (correl. to á hendi and í hendi). On the other hand af is more general, whilst frá and ór are of a more special character; frá denoting a departure, ór an impulse or force; a member goes home af þingi, whereas ór may denote an inmate of a district, or convey the notion of secession or exclusion from, Eb. 105 new Ed.; the traveller goes af landi, the exile ór landi: taka e-t af e-m is to take a thing out of one’s hand, that of taka frá e-m to remove out of one’s sight, etc. In general af answers to Engl. of, off, ór to out of, and frá to from: the Lat. prepp. ab, de, and ex do not exactly correspond to the Icelandic, yet as a rule ór may answer to ex, af sometimes to ab, sometimes to de. Of, off, from among; with, by; on account of by means of, because of concerning, in respect of.

A. Loc.

I. With motion, off, from:

1. prop. corresp. to á,

α. konungr dró gullhring af hendi sér (but á hendi), Ld. 32; Höskuldr lætr bera farm af skipi, unload the ship (but bera farm á skip), id.; var tekit af hestum þeirra, they were unsaddled, Nj. 4; Gunnarr hafði farit heiman af bæ sínum, he was away from home, 82; Gunnarr hljóp af hesti sínum, jumped off his horse (but hl. á hest), 83; hlaupa, stökkva af baki, id., 112, 264 ; Gunnarr skýtr til hans af boganum, from the bow, where af has a slight notion of instrumentality, 96; flýja af fundinum, to fly from off the battle-field, 102; ríða af Þríhyrningshálsum, 206; út af Langaholti, Eg. 744 ; sunnan ór Danmörk ok af Saxlandi, 560; ganga af mótinu, to go from the meeting, Fms. vii. 130; af þeirra fundi reis María upp ok fór, 625. 85 ; Flosi kastaði af ser skikkjunni, threw his cloak off him (but kasta á sik),Nj. 176; taka Hrungnis fót af honum, of a load, burden, Edda 58; land þat er hann fiskði af, from which he set off to fish, Grág. i. 151, is irregular, frá would suit better; slíta af baki e-s, from off one’s back, ii. 9 ; bera af borði, to clear the table, Nj. 75.

β. where it more nearly answers to í; þeir koma af hafi, of sailors coming in (but leggja í haf), Nj. 128 ; fara til Noregs af Orkneyjum (but í or til O.), 131; þeim Agli fórst vel ok komu af hafi i Borgarfjörð, Eg. 392 ; hann var útlagi ( outlawed) af Noregi, where ór would be more regular, 344; af Islandi, of a traveller, Fms. x. 3; búa her af báðum ríkjunum, to take a levy from, 51; hinir beztu bændr ór Norðlendingafjórðungi ok af Sunnlendingafjórðungi, the most eminent Southerners and Northerners, 113; Gizzurr gékk af útsuðri at gerðinu, from south-west, Sturl. ii. 219; prestar af hvárutveggja biskupsdæmi, from either diocess, Dipl. ii. 11; verða tekinn af heimi, to be taken out of the world, 623. 21; gruflar hon af læknum, scrambles out of the brook, Ísl. ii. 340; Egill kneyfði af horninu í einum drykk, drained off the horn at one draught, literally squeezed every drop out of it, Eg. 557; brottuaf herbúðunurn, Fms. x. 343.

γ. of things more or less surrounding the subject, corresp. to yfir or um; láta þeir þegar af sér tjöldin, break off, take down the tents in preparing for battle, Eg. 261; kyrtillinn rifnaði af honum, his coat burst, caused by the swollen body, 602; hann hafði leyst af sér skúa sína, he untied his shoes (but binda á sik), 716; Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér, throw him off, of one clinging to one’s body, 747; tók Gísli þá af sér vápnin, took off his arms, Fms. vii. 39. Of putting off clothes; fara af kápu, Nj. 143; far þú eigi af brynjunni, Bs. i. 541; þá ætlaði Sigurðr at fara af brynjunni, id.; þá var Skarphéðinn flettr af klæðunum, Nj. 209: now more usually fara or klæðum, fötum, exuere, to undress.

δ. connected with út; föstudaginn for út herrinn af borginni, marched out of the town, Nj. 274; ganga út af kirkjunni, to go out of the church, now út úr, Fms. vii. 107: drekki hann af þeirri jörðunni, of something impregnated with the earth, Laekn. 402.

ε. more closely corresponding to frá, being in such cases a Latinism (now frá); bréf af páfa, a pope’s bull, Fms. x. 6; rit af hánum, letter from him, 623. 52; bréf af Magnúsi konungi, a letter from king Magnus, Bs. i. 712; farið þér á brautu af mér í eilífan eld, Hom. 143; brott af drottins augliti, Stj. 43.

ζ. denoting an uninterrupted continuity, in such phrases as land aflandi, from land to land, Eg. 343, Fas. ii. 539; skip af skipl. from ship to ship, Fms. v. 10; brann hvat af öðru, one after another, of an increasing fire, destroying everything, i. 128; brandr af brandi brenn, funi kveykist af funa, one from another, Hm. 56; hverr af öðrum, one after another, in succession, also hverr at öðrum, Eb. 272, 280 (where at in both passages).

2. metaph., at ganga af e-m dauðum, to go from, leave one dead on the spot, of two combatants; en hann segiz bani hins ef hann gekk af dauðum manni, Grág. ii. 88, Hkr. 1. 327; undr þykir mér er bróðir þinn vildi eigi taka af þér starf þetta, would not take this toil from thee, Nj. 77; þegnar hans glöddust af honum, were fain of him, Fms. x. 380; at koma þeim manni af sér er settr var á fé hans, to get rid of, Ld. 52; vil ek þú vinriir af þér skuldina, work off the debt, Njarð. 366; reka af sér, to repel, Sturl. ii. 219; hann á þá sonu er aldri munu af oss ganga, who will never leave us, whom we shall never get rid of, Fas. i. 280; leysa e-n af e-u, to relieve, 64; taka e-n af lífi, to kill, Eg. 48, 416, Nj. 126; af lífdögum, Fms. vii. 204; ek mun ná lögum af því máli, get the benefit of the law in this case, Eg. 468; muntu enga sætt af mér fá, no peace at my hand, 414; rísa af dauða, to rise from death, Fms. ii. 142; guð bætti honum þó af þessi sótt, healed him of this sickness, ix. 390; vakna af sýn, draumi, svefni, to awaken from a vision, dream, sleep, 655 xxxii. I, Gísl. 24, Eb. 192, Fas. i. 41. Rather with the notion out of, in the phrase af sér etc., e. g. sýna e-t af scr, to shew, exhibit a disposition for or against, Ld. 18; gera mikit af sér, to shew great prowess, Ísl. ii. 368; éf þú gerir eigi meira af þér um aðra leika, unless you make more of thyself, Edda 32; Svipdagr hafði mikit af sér gert, fought bravely, Fas. i. 41; góðr (illr) af sér, good ( bad) of oneself, by nature; mikill af sjálfum sér, proud, bold, stout, Nj. 15; ágætastr maðr af sjálfum sér, the greatest hero, Bret.: góðr af ser, excellent, Hrafn. 7; but, on the contrary, af sér kominn, ruinous, in decay; this phrase is used of old houses or buildings, as in Bs. i. 488 = Sturl. l. c.; af sér kominn af mæði can also be said of a man fallen off from what he used to be; kominn af fotum fram, off his legs from age, Sturl. i. 223, Korm. 154 (in a verse).

II. WITHOUT MOTION:

1. denoting direction from, but at the same time continuous connection with an object from which an act or thing proceeds, from; tengja skip hvárt fram af stafni annars, to tie the ships in a line, stem to stern, Fms. i. 157, xi. 111; svá at þeir tóku út af borðum, jutted out of the boards, of rafters or poles, iv. 49; stjarna ok af sem skaft, of a comet, ix. 482; lúka upp af hrossi, to open a gate from off a horse, Grág. ii. 264; hon svarar af sínu sæti sem álpt af baru, Fás. i. 186; þar er sjá mátti utau af firði, af þjóðleið, that might be seen from the fareway on the sea when sailing in the firth, Hkr. ii. 64; þá mun hringt af (better at) Burakirkju, of bells rung at the church, Fms. xi. 160; gengr þar af Meðalfellsströnd, projects from, juts out, of a promontory, Ld. 10.

2. denoting direction alone; upp af víkinni stóð borg mikil, a burg inland from the inlet, Eg. 161; lokrekkja innar af seti, a shut bed inward from the benches in the hall, Ísl. ii. 262; kapella upp af konungs herbergjum, upwards from, Fms. x. 153; vindr stóð af landi, the wind stood off the land, Bárð. 166.

β. metaph., stauda af e-u, vide VI. 4.

γ. ellipt., hallaði af norðr, of the channel, north of a spot, Boll. 348; also, austr af, suðr af, vestr af, etc.

3. denoting absence; þingheyendr skulu eigi vera um nótt af þingi ( away from the meeting), eðr lengr, þá eru þeir af þingi ( away from (be meeting) ef þeir eru or ( out of) þingmarki, Grág. i. 25; vera um nótt af várþingi, 115; meðan hann er af landi héðan, abroad, 150.

β. metaph., gud hvíldi af öllum verkum sínum á sjaunda degi, rested from his labours, Ver. 3.

4. denoting distance; þat er komit af þjóðleið, out of the high road, remote, Eg. 369; af þjóðbraut, Grág. ii. 264, i. 15; Otradalr (a farm) var mjök af vegi, far out of the way, Háv. 53.

B. TEMP, past, from, out of, beyond:

1. of a person’s age, in the sense of having past a period of life; af ómaga aldri, of age, able to support oneself, Grág. i. 243; af aeskualdri, stricken in years, having past the prime of life, Eg. 202; lítið af barnsaldri, still a child, Ld. 74; ek em nú af léttasia skeiði, no longer in the prime of life, Háv. 40.

2. of a part or period of time, past; eigi síðar en nótt er af þingi, a night of the session past, Grág. i. 101; þá er sjau vikur eru af sumri, seven weeks past of the summer, 182; tíu vikur af sumri, Íb. 10; var mikit af nótt, much of the night was past, Háv. 41; mikið af vetri, much of the winter was past, Fas. ii. 186; þriðjungr af nótt, a third of the night past, Fms. x. 160; stund af degi, etc.; tveir mánoðr af sumri, Gþl. 103.

3. in adverbial phrases such as, af stundu, soon; af bragði, at once; af tómi, at leisure, at ease; af nýju, again; af skyndingu, speedily; af bráðungu, in a hurry, etc.

C. In various other relations:

I. denoting the passage or transition of an object, concrete or abstract, of, from.

1. where a thing is received, derived from, conferred by a person or object; þiggja lið af e-m, to derive help from, Edda 26; taka traust af e-m, to receive support, comfort from, Fms. xi. 243; taka mála af e-m, to be in one’s pay, of a soldier, Eg. 266; halda land af e-m, to hold land of any one, 282; verða viss af e-m, to get information from, 57, Nj. 130; taka við sök af manni (a law term), to undertake a case, suit, Grág. i. 142; hafa umboð af e-m, to be another’s deputy, ii. 374; vera góðs (ills) maklegr af e-m, to deserve good (bad) of, Vd. 88 (old Ed., the new reads frá), Fs. 45; afla matar af eyjum, to derive supplies from, Eb. 12.

2. where an object is taken by force:

α. prop. out of a person’s hand; þú skalt hnykkja smíðit af honum, wrest it out of his hand, Nj. 32; cp. taka, þrífa, svipta e-u (e-t) af e-m, to wrest from.

β. metaph. of a person’s deprival of anything in general; hann tók af þér konuna, carried thy wife off, Nj. 33; tók Gunnarr af þér sáðland þitt, robbed thee of seedland, 103; taka af honum tignina, to depose, degrade him, Eg. 271; vinna e-t af e-m, to carry off by force of arms, conquer, Fms. iii. 29; drepa menn af e-m, for one, slay one’s man, Eg. 417; fell þar lið mart af Eyvindi, many of Eyvind’s people fell there, 261.

γ. in such phrases as, hyggja af e-u (v. afhuga), hugsa af e-u, to forget; hyggja af harmi; sjá af e-u, to lose, miss; var svá ástúðigt með þeim, at livargi þóttist mega af öðrum sjá, neither of them could take his eyes off the other, Sturl. i. 194; svá er mörg við ver sinn vær, at varla um sér hon af hoiuun nær, Skálda 163.

3. denoting forfeiture; þá eru þeir útlagir, ok af goðorði sínu, have forfeited their priesthood, Grág. i. 24; telja hann af ráðunum fjár síns alls, to oust one, on account of idiocy or madness, 176; verða af kaupi, to be off the bargain, Edda 26; þá skalt þú af allri fjárheimtunni, forfeit all the claim, Nj. 15; ek skal stefna þér af konunni, summon thee to forfeit, a case of divorce, id.; ella er hann af rettarfari um hana, has forfeited the suit, Grág. i. 381.

β. ellipt., af ferr eindagi ef, is forfeited, Grág. i. 140.

II. denoting relation of a part to a whole, off, of, Lat. de; höggva hönd, höfuð, fót af e-um, to cut one’s hand, head, foot off, Nj. 97, 92, Bs. i. 674; höggva spjót af skapti, to sever the blade from the shaft, 264; hann lét þá ekki hafa af föðurarfi sínum, nothing of their patrimony, Eg. 25; vil ek at þú takir slíkt sem þér líkar af varningi, take what you like of the stores, Nj. 4; at þú eignist slíkt af fé okkru sem þú vili, 94.

β. ellipt., en nú höfum vér kjörit, en þat er af krossinum, a slice of, Fms. vii. 89; Þórðr gaf Skólm frænda sínum af landnámi sínu, a part of, Landn. 211; hafði hann þat af hans eigu er hann vildi, Sturl. ii. 169; þar lá forkr einn ok brotið af endanum, the point broken off, Háv. 24, Sturl. i. 169.

γ. absol. off; beit hann höndina af, þar sem nú heitir úlfliðr, bit the hand off, Edda 17; fauk af höfuðit, the head flew off, Nj. 97; jafnt er sem þér synist, af er fótrinn, the foot is off, id.; af bæði eyru, both ears off, Vm. 29.

2. with the notion of—among; mestr skörungr af konum á Norðrlöndum, the greatest heroine in the North, Fms. i. 116; hinn efniligasti maðr af ungum mönnum í Austfjörðum, the most hopeful of youths in the Eastfirths, Njarð. 364; af ( among) öllurn hirðmönnuni virði konungr mest skáld sín, Eg. 27; ef hann vildi nokkura kaupa af þessum konum, Ld. 30; ör liggr þar útiá vegginum, ok er sú af þeirra örum, one of their own arrows, Nj. 115.

β. from, among, belonging to; guð kaus hana af ollum konum sér til móður, of the Virgin Mary, Mar. A. i. 27.

γ. metaph., kunna mikit (lítið) af e-u, to know much, little of, Bragi kann mest af skáldskap, is more cunning of poetry than any one else, Edda 17.

δ. absol. out of, before, in preference to all others; Gunnarr bauð þér góð boð, en þú vildir eingi af taka, you would choose none of them, Nj. 77; ráða e-t af, to decide; þó mun faðir minn mestu af ráða, all depends upon him, Ld. 22; konungr kveðst því mundu heldr af trúa, preferred believing that of the two, Eg. 55; var honum ekki vildara af ván, he could expect nothing better, 364.

3. with the additional sense of instrumentality, with; ferma skip af e-u, to freight a ship with, Eg. 364; hlaða mörg skip af korni, load many ships with corn, Fms. xi. 8; klyfja tvá hesta af mat, Nj. 74; var vágrinn skipaðr af herskipum, the bay was covered with war ships, 124; fylla ker af glóðum, fill it with embers, Stj. 319; fylla heiminn af sínu kyni, to fill the world with his offspring, Ver. 3.

III. denoting the substance of which a thing is made, of; used indifferently with ór, though ór be more frequent; þeir gerðu af honum jörðina, af blóði hans sæinn ok vötnin, of the creation of the world from the corpse of the giant Ymir; the poem Gm. 40, 41, constantly uses ór in this sense, just as in modern Icelandic, Edda 5; svá skildu þeir, at allir hlutir væri smíðaðir af nokkru efni, 147 (pref.); húsit var gert af timbrstokkum, built of trunks of timber, Eg. 233; hjöhin vóru af gulli, of gold, golden, Fms. i. 17; af osti, of cheese, but in the verse 1. c. ór osti, Fms. vi. 253; línklæði af lérepti, linen, Sks. 287.

2. metaph. in the phrases, göra e-t af e-n ( to dispose of), verða af ( become of), hvat hefir þú gört af Gunnari, what hast thou done with Gunnar? Njarð. 376; hvat af motrinuni er orðit, what has become of it? of a lost thing, Ld. 208; hverfr Óspakr á burt, svá eigi vita menn hvat af honum er orðit, what has become of him? Band. 5.

IV. denoting parentage, descent, origin, domicile, abode:

1. parentage, of, from, used indifferently with frá; ok eru af þeim komnir Gilsbekkingar, descend from them, but a little below—frá honum eru konmir Sturlungar, Eb. 338, cp. afkvæmi; af ætt Hörðakára, Fms. i. 287; kominn af Trojumönnum, xi. 416; af Ása-ætt (Kb. wrongly at), Edda I.

β. metaph., vera af Guði (theol.), of God, = righteous, 686 B. 9; illr ávöxtr af íllri rót, Fms. ii. 48; Asia er kölluð af nafni nokkurar konu, derives her name from, Stj. 67; af honum er bragr kallaðr skáldskapr, called after his name, Edda 17.

2. of domicile; af danskri tungu, of Danish or Scandinavian origin, speaking the Danish tongue, Grág. ii. 73; hvaðan af löndum, whence, native of what country? Ísl.

β. especially denoting a man’s abode, and answering to á and í, the name of the farm (or country) being added to proper names, (as in Scotland,) to distinguish persons of the same name; Hallr af Síðu, Nj. 189; Erlingr af Straumey, 273; Ástríðr af Djúpárbakka, 39; Gunnarr af Hlíðarenda (more usual frá); þorir haklangr konungr af Ögðum, king of Agdir, Eg. 35, etc.; cp. ór and frá.

V. denoting a person with whom an act, feeling, etc. originates, for the most part with a periphrastic passive:

1. by, the Old Engl. of; as, ek em sendr hingað af Starkaði ok sonum hans, sent hither by, Nj. 94; inna e-t af hendi, to perform, 257; þó at alþýða væri skírð af kennimönnum, baptized of, Fms. ii. 158; meira virðr af mönnum, higher esteemed, Ld. 158; ástsæll af landsmönnum, beloved, íb. 16; vinsæll af mönnum, Nj. 102; í allgóðu yfirlæti af þeim feðgum, hospitably treated by them, Eg. 170; var þá nokkut drukkið af alþjóð, there was somewhat hard drinking of the people, Sturl. iii. 229; mun þat ekki upp tekið af þeim sükudólgum mínum, they will not clutch at that, Nj. 257; ef svá væri í hendr þér búit af mér, if í had so made everything ready to thy hands, Ld. 130; þá varð fárætt um af föður hans, his father said little about it, Fms. ii. 154.

2. it is now also sometimes used as a periphrase of a nom., e. g. ritað, þýtt af e-m, written, translated, edited by, but such phrases scarcely occur in old writers.

VI. denoting cause, ground, reason:

1. originating from, on account of, by reason of; af frændsemis sökum, for kinship’s sake, Grág. ii. 72; ómáli af áverkum, speechless from wounds, 27; af manna völdum, by violence, not by natural accident, of a crime, Nj. 76; af fortölum Halls, through his pleading, 255; af ástsæld hans ok af tölum þeirra Sæmundar, by his popularity and the eloquence of S., Íb. 16; af ráðum Haralds konungs, by his contriving, Landn. 157; úbygðr af frosti ok kulda, because of frost and cold, Hkr. i. 5.

β. adverbially, af því, therefore, Nj. 78; af hví, why? 686 B. 9; þá verðr bóndi heiðinn af barni sínu, viz. if he does not cause his child to be christened, K. Þ. K. 20.

2. denoting instrumentality, by means of; af sinu fé, by one’s own means, Grág. i. 293; framfæra e-n af verkum sinum, by means of one’s own labour, K. Þ. K. 142; draga saman auð af sökum, ok vælum ok kaupum, make money by, 623. I; af sínum kostnaði, at hi s own expense, Hkr. i. 217.

β. absol., hún fellir á mik dropa svá heita at ek brenn af öll, Ld. 328; hann fékk af hina mestu sæmd, derived great honotur from it, Nj. 88; elli sótti á hendr honum svá at hann lagðist í rekkju af, he grew bedridden from age, Ld. 54; komast undan af hlaupi, escape by running, Fms. viii. 58; spinna garn af rokki, spin off a wheel (now, spinna á rokk), from a notion of instrumentality, or because of the thread being spun out (?), Eb. 92.

3. denoting proceeding, originating from; lýsti af höndum hennar, her hands spread beams of light, Edda 22; allir heimar lýstust ( were illuminated) af henni, id.; en er lýsti af degi, when the day broke forth, Fms. ii. 16; lítt var lýst af degi, the day was just beginning to break, Ld. 46; þá tók at myrkja af nótt, the ‘mirk-time’ of night began to set in, Eg. 230; tók þá brátt at myrkva af nótt, the night grew dark, Hkr. ii. 230.

4. metaph., standa, leiða, hljótast af, to be caused by, result from; opt hlýtst íllt af kvenna hjali, great mischief is wrought by women’s gossip (a proverb), Gísl. 15, 98; at af þeim mundi mikit mein ok úhapp standa, be caused by, Edda 18; kenna kulda af ráðum e-s, to feel sore from, Eb. 42; þó mun her hljótast af margs manns bani, Nj, 90.

5. in adverbial phrases, denoting state of mind; af mikilli æði, in fury, Nj. 116; af móð, in great emotion, Fms. xi. 221; af áhyggju, with concern, i. 186; af létta, frankly, iii. 91; af viti, collectedly, Grág. ii. 27; af heilu, sincerely, Eg. 46; áf fári, in rage; af æðru, timidly, Nj. (in a verse); af setning, composedly, in tune, Fms. iii. 187; af mikilli frægð, gallantly, Fas. i. 261; af öllu afli, with all might, Grág. ii. 41; af riki, violently, Fbr. (in a verse); af trúnaði, confidently, Grág. i. 400.

VII. denoting regard to, of, concerning, in respect of, as regards:

1. with verbs, denoting to tell of, be informed, inquire about, Lat. de; Dioscorides segir af grasi því, speaks of, 655 xxx. 5; er menn spurðu af landinu, inquired about it, Landn. 30; halda njósn af e-u, Nj. 104; er þat skjótast þar af at segja, Eg. 546, Band. 8.

β. absol., hann mun spyrja, hvárt þér sé nokkut af kunnigt hversu for með okkr, whether you know anything about, how, Nj. 33; halda skóla af, to hold a school in a science, 656 A. i. 19 (sounds like a Latinism); en ek gerða þik sera mestan mann af öllu, in respect of all, that you should get all the honour of it, Nj. 78.

2. with adjectives such as mildr, illr, góðrafe-u, denoting disposition or character in respect to; alira manna mildastr af fo, very liberal, often-banded, Fms. vii. 197; mildr af gulli, i. 33; góðr af griðum, merciful, Al. 33; íllr af mat en mildr af gulli, Fms. i. 53; fastr af drykk, close, stingy in regard to, Sturl. ii. 125; gat þess Hildigunnr at þú mundir góðr af hestinum, that you would be good about the horse, Nj. 90, cp. auðigr at, v. at, which corresponds to the above phrases; cp. also the phrase af sér above, p. 4, col. I, ll. 50 sqq.

VIII. periphrasis of a genitive (rare); provincialis af öllum Predikaraklaustrum, Fms. x. 76; vera af hinum mesta fjandskap, to breathe deep hatred to, be on bad terms with, ix. 220; af hendi, af hálfu e-s, on one’s behalf, v. those words.

IX. in adverbial phrases; as, af launungu, secretly; af hljóði, silently; v. those words.

β. also used absolutely with a verb, almost adverbially, nearly in the signification off, away; hann bað þá róa af fjörðinn, pass the firth swiftly by rowing, row the firth off, Fms. ix. 502; var pá af farit þat seni skerjóttast var, was past, sailed past, Ld. 142; ok er þeir höfðu af fjórðung, past one fourth of the way, Dropl. 10: skína af, to clear up, of the skv, Eb. 152; hence in common language, skína af sér, when the sun breaks forth: sofa af nóttina, to sleep it away, Fms. ii. 98; leið af nóttin, the night past away, Nj. 53; dvelja af stundir, to kill the time, Band. 8; drepa af, to kill; láta af, to slaughter, kill off;

γ. in exclamations; af tjöldin, off with the awnings, Bs. i. 420, Fins, ix. 49.

δ. in the phrases, þar af, thence; hér af, hence, Fms. ii. 102; af fram, straight on, Nj. 144; now, á fram, on, advance.

X. it often refers to a whole sentence or to an adverb, not only like other prepp. to hér, hvar, þar, but also redundantly to hvaðan, héðan, þaðan, whence, hence, thence.

2. the preposition may sometimes be repeated, once elliptically or adverbially, and once properly, e. g. en er af var borit at borðinu, the cloth was taken off from the table, Nj. 176; Guð þerrir af (off, away) hvert tár af ( from) augum heilagra manna, God wipes off every tear from the eyes of his saints, 655 xx. vii. 17; skal þó fyrst bætr af lúka af fé vegaiula, pay off, from, Gþl. 160, the last af may be omitted—var þá af borið borðinu—and the prep. thus be separated from its case, or it may refer to some of the indecl. relatives er or sem, the prep. hvar, hér, þar being placed behind them without a case, and referring to the preceding relative, e. g. oss er þar mikit af sagt auð þeim, we have been told much about these riches, Band. 24; er þat skjótast þar af at segja, in short, shortly. Eg. 546; þaðan af veit ek, thence í infer, know, Fms. i. 97.

XI. it is moreover connected with a great many verbs besides those mentioned above, e. g. bera af, to excel, whence afbragð, afbrigði; draga af, to detract, deduct, hence afdráttr; veita ekki af, to be hard with; ganga at, to be left, hence afgangr; standast af um e-t, to stand, how matters stand; sem af tekr, at a furious rate; vita af, to be conscious, know about (vide VII).

D. As a prefix to compounds distinction is to be made between:

I. af privativum, denoting diminution, want, deduction, loss, separation, negation of, etc., answering indifferently to Lat. ab-, de-, ex-, dis-, and rarely to re- and se-, v. the following COMPDS, such as segja, dicere, but afsegja, negare; rækja, colere, but afrækja, negligere; aflaga, contra legem; skapligr, normalis, afskapligr, deformis; afvik, recessus; afhús, afhellir, afdalr, etc.

II. af intensivum, etymologically different, and akin to of, afr-, e. g. afdrykkja = ofdrykkja, inebrietas; afbrýði, jealously; afbendi, tenesmus; afglapi, vir fatuus, etc. etc. Both the privative and the intensive af may be contracted into á, esp. before a labial f, m, v, e. g. á fram = af fram; ábrýði = afbrýði; ávöxtr = afvöxtr; áburðr = afburðr; ávíta = afvíta (?). In some cases dubious. With extenuated and changed vowel; auvirðiligr or övirðiligr, depreciated, = afv- etc., v. those words.

* * *

1) fall; f. er fararheill a fall bodes a lucky journy; koma e-m til falls, to cause one to fall; föll berast á e-n, one begins to reel or stagger;

2) fall, death in battle (í flótta er í. veist);

3) carcase of a slaughtered animal (cf. nautsfall, ‘sauðarfall’);

4) frequent deaths from plague (ef mýss gørðu mein á mat eða klæðum, þá kom f. í þær);

5) heavy sea (reis f. mikit alit frá grunni);

6) sin, transgression;

7) downfall, ruin, decay; f. engla, the fall of angels; gózin eru at falli komin, the estates are dilapidated;

8) quantity (of a vowel or syllable);

9) gramm., case.

* * *

n., pl. föll, [common to all Teut. idioms except Goth.], a fall:—defined in law, þat er fall ef maðr styðr niðr kné eðr hendi, Grág. ii. 8, Ísl. ii. 246, Al. 76, Sd. 143: the proverb, fall er farar heill, a fall bodes a lucky journey, Fms. vi. 414 (of king Harold at Stamford-bridge), viii. 85, 403, Sverr. S.; sá er annarr orðs-kviðr at fall er farar heill, ok festir þú nú fætr í landi, Fb. i. 231, cp. Caesar’s ‘teneo te, Africa;’ falls er ván að fornu tré, Stj. 539; stirð eru gamalla manna föll; flas er falli næst, flurry is nigh falling: föll berask á e-n, one begins to reel, stagger. Fas. iii. 429; koma e-m til falls, to cause one to fall, Edda 34; reiddi hann til falls, he reeled, Eb. 220. 2. a fall, death in battle, Lat. caedes, Fms. i. 11, 43, 89, Nj. 280, Eg. 37, 106, Ó. H. 219, passim; the proverb, í flótta er fall vest, Fms. viii. 117; val-fall, Lat. strages; mann-fall, loss of men in battle.

β. the ‘fall,’ a plague in cattle or beasts, murrain, 655. 2, Bs. i. 97, 245, 456.

γ. the carcase of a slaughtered animal; baulu-fall, sauðar-fall, nauts-fall, hrúts-fall, Stj. 483.

3. medic. in compds, brot-fall, the falling sickness, epilepsy; blóð-fall, klæða-föll, bloody flux; lima-fall, paresis.

β. childbirth, in the phrase, vera komin að falli, to be in an advanced state, (komin að burði is used of sheep, cows.)

4. the fall or rush of water; vatns-fall, a waterfall, large river; sjávar-föll, tides; að-fall, flood-tide; út-fall, ebb-tide; boða-fall, a breaker, cp. Bs. ii. 51.

5. in gramm. a case, Lat. casus, Skálda 180, 206: quantity, 159, 160, Edda 126: a metric. fault, a defective verse, dropping of syllables, Fb. iii. 426.

II. metaph. downfall, ruin, decay; fall engla, the fall of the angels, Rb. 80; til falls ok upprisu margra í Ísrael, Luke ii. 34; hafa sér e-t til falls, to run risk of ruin, Hrafn. 30; gózin eru at falli komin, the estates are dilapidated, Mar.; á-fall, a shock; frá-fall, death; ó-fall, mishap; jarð-fall, an earth-slip.

2. eccl. a sin, transgression, Bs. i. 686, Mar. 77 (Fr.)

3. a law term, breach, failure, non-fulfilment, in eið-fall, vegar-fall, Gþl. 416; messu-fall, orð-fall, veizlu-fall.

4. mod. a case, occasion.

* * *

(held; hélt, héldum; haldinn), v.

I. with dat.

1) to hold fast (Gunnarr var kyrr svá at honum hélt einn maðr);

to keep back, restrain (Hrafn fekk eigi haldit henni heima);

2) to withhold (héldu bœndrgjaldinu);

3) to keep, retain (þú skalt jafhan þessu sæti halda);

to preserve (halda virðingu sinni, lífi ok limum);

halda vöku sinni, to keep oneself awake;

4) to hold, keep one’s stock;

also ellipt. (vetr var illr ok héldu menn illa);

5) phrases, halda njósnum, to keep watch, to spy (= halda njósnum til um e-t);

halda (hendi) fyrir auga, to hold (the hand) before the eyes, shade the eyes;

halda hendi yfir e-m, to protect one;

6) to hold, stand, steer, ellipt., þeir héldu aptr (held back again) um haustit;

þeir héldu út eptir fírði, they stood out the firth;

halda heim, to steer homewards;

7) to graze, put in the field (halda fé til haga);

8) impers. to continue, last (hélt því lengi um vetrinn);

II. with acc.

1) to hold in possession, a fief, land, estate (þeir héldu alla hina beztu staði með sjónum);

2) to hold, keep, observe, a feast, holiday (í hvers minning heldr þú þenna. dag?);

3) to keep (halda orð sín, eið, sættir, frið);

to observe (halda guðs lög ok landsins);

4) to uphold, maintain, support (halda vini sína, halda e-n til ríkis);

5) halda sik, to comport oneself (kunna halda sik með hófi);

halda sik ríkmannliga, to fare sumptuously;

halda sik aptr af e-u, to abstain from;

6) to hold, consider, deem (hón hélt engan hans jafningja);

7) to hold, keep up;

halda varnir, to keep up a defence;

halda vörð, to keep watch;

8) to hold, compel, bind (heldr mik þá ekki til útanferðar);

þó heldr þik várkunn til at leita á, thou hast some excuse for trying;

III. with preps.:

halda á e-u, to hold, wield in the hand (halda á sverði);

to hold to a thing, go on with it, be busy about (halda á drykkju, á ferð sinni, á sýslu);

halda e-t af e-m, to hold (land, office) from or of one (þeir er höfðu haldið land af Danakonungi);

halda mikit af e-m, to make much of one;

halda eptir e-m, to pursue one;

halda e-u eptir, to keep back;

halda sik frá e-u, to keep oneself back from, refrain from;

halda e-u fram, to uphold, support;

halda e-u fyrir e-u, to withhold from one;

to protect against (héldu engar grindr fénu fyrir birninum);

halda e-n fyrir e-t, to hold, consider one to be so and so (síðan hélt konungr Erling fyrir tryggvan vin);

halda í e-t, to hold fast, grasp (þú skalt halda í hurðarhringinn);

halda til e-s, to be the cause of, be conducive to;

heldr þar margt til þess, there are many reasons for this;

hélt til þess (conduced to it) góðgirni hans;

halda til e-s, to be bent on, fond of (halda mjök til skarts, til gleði);

halda til jafns við e-n, to bear up against one, to be a match for one;

halda um e-t, to grasp with the hand (= halda hendi um e-t);

halda barni undir skírn, to hold at baptism;

halda e-u upp, to hold aloft, lift (halda upp höndum);

halda upp árum, to hold up the oars, cease pulling;

to uphold, maintain, support (halda upp hofum, kristninni);

to keep going (halda upp bardaga);

to discharge (halda upp kostnaði, bótum);

halda upp bœnum fyrir e-m, to pray for one;

halda e-u við, to maintain a thing;

halda við e-m, to stand against (hvar sem harm kom fram, hélt ekki við honum);

impers. to be on the point of;

hélt þá við atgöngu (acc.), they were near coming to fight;

heldr nú við hót, it is little short of threats;

IV. refl., haldast.

* * *

pret. hélt (= Goth. haihald), 2nd pérs. hélt, mod. hélzt, pl. héldum; pres. held, pl. höldum; pret. subj. héldi; part. haldinn; imperat. hald and haltú: [Ulf. haldan = βόσκειν, ποιμαίνειν, whereas he renders to keep, hold by other words; Hel. haldan = alere, fovere, colere, which thus seems to be the primitive sense of the word, and to be akin to Lat. cŏlo; again, A. S. healdan, Engl. hold, O. H. G. haltan, Germ. halten, Swed. hålla, halda, Dan. holde, are all of them used in a more general sense]:—to hold.

A. WITH DAT. to hold to:

I. to hold fast by; with the notion of restraint or force, tók Gizurr förunaut Ögmundar ok hélt honum, Sturl. i. 150; Gunnarr var kyrr svá at honum hélt einn maðr, Nj. 92; ef maðr heldr manni …, varðar fjörbaugs-garð, Grág. ii. 110; h. e-m undir drep, 17; h. skipum ( to grapple the ships) með stafnljám, Fms. ii. 315: to keep back, Hrafn fékk eigi haldit henni heima þar, Ísl. ii. 249; ok halda þeim veðr í enni sömu höfn, Grág. i. 92; h. (sér) í e-t, to hold oneself fast by, grasp, þú skalt h. í hurðar-hringinn, Dropl. 29; heldr sér í faxit, Sd. 177.

β. so in the phrases, halda barni (manni) undir skírn, vatn, primsignan, biskups hönd, eccl. to hold a bairn ( man) at baptism, prima signatio, confirmation, Grág. i. 29; h. vatni (tárum), to hold one’s tears, 623. 56, Fms. viii. 232, vi. (in a verse); halda munni, to hold one’s tongue, be silent, vii. 227; halda tungu sinni, Þórð.

2. to withhold; þá megu þeir h. tíundum hans í móti, K. Þ. K. 62; h. vætti, Grág. i. 42; h. gögnum, 56; ef goði heldr tylftar-kvið, er hann heldr kviðnum, 58; halda matinum fyrir honum, 47; h. sköttum fyrir e-m, Nj. 8; h. skógar-manni fyrir e-m, Finnb. 334; um þat er hann hefir konunni haldit, Grág. i. 313; héldu bændr gjaldinu, Fms. vii. 302; hélt ek því (i. e. the money) fyrir honum, i. e. paid it not, Ísl. ii. 244.

II. to hold, of a rope or the like; sá maðr hugði h. mundu er festi, … ok h. mundu í slíku veðri, Grág. ii. 361; reip þau tíu er tveggja manna afli haldi hvert, id.; skal hann svá göra at haldi fyrir fyrnsku, 268.

β. to hold, hold out, last; optast halda þar íllviðri litla hríð, Sks. 212; sunnudags-helgi ríss upp á laugardegi, ok heldr ( lasts) til mánadags, N. G. L. i. 138.

III. to keep, retain, Germ. behalten; fá-ein skip héldu seglum sinum, Fms. x. 143; þú skalt jafnan þessu sæti h., Nj. 6; h. bústað sínum, Ld. 26; h. ríki sínu, Al. 58, Fms. i. 13; h. öllum Noregi, viii. 155; h. frelsi ok eignum, vi. 40; h. hlut sínum, to uphold one’s right, Eg. passim; halt sömum vinum sem ek hefi haft, Fas. i. 375; h. hreinleik sínum, Al. 58.

β. to hold, keep safe, preserve; h. hlut sínum, Ld. 54; h. heilsu, Grág. i. 145; h. virðingu sinni, Ld. 16; þá heldr hann kosti sínum, Grág. ii. 209; h. tíma ( honour) sínum, Al. 59; h. lífi ok limum, Eg. 89; h. lífinu, Nj. 111; h. trúnaði sínum, 109; vináttu sinni, Ld. 200; einorð sinni, Fb. ii. 265; h. sér réttum, to keep oneself right, Ld. 158; h. e-m heilum, Odd. 30; h. ríki fyrir e-m, Fms. v. 279; h. manna-forræði fyrir e-m, Hrafn. 19; h. réttu máli fyrir e-m, Fms. vii. 64.

2. to continue to keep, keep all along; h. teknum hætti, Fms. iv. 254; h. vöku, to keep oneself awake, Ld. 152; but h. vöku fyrir e-m, to keep another awake; halda sýslu sinni, Fs. 36; h. högum, to keep grazing, Eb. 104, Ld. 148.

3. to hold, keep one’s stock; ellipt., vetr var íllr ok héldu menn ílla, the winter was cold and it was ill to keep live stock, Sturl. ii. 143, (cp. fjár-höld); hann hélt vel svá at nær lifði hvat-vetna, Hrafn. 22: metaph., ílla hefir þinn faðir þá haldit, Fms. xi. 144; öld hefir ílla haldit, the people have had a sad loss, vi. (in a verse); h. fangi, and also ellipt. halda, of sheep and cattle, opp. to ‘to go back.’

4. phrases, halda njósnum, to keep watch, to spy, Fms. viii. 146, Nj. 113; hann hélt njósnum til Önundar, Landn. 287; hélt konungr njósnum til, ef …, Fms. vii. 128; hann skyldi h. njósnum til ok gera orð konungi, i. 54; h. njósnum til um e-t, iv. 119, Nj. 93; halda njósn (sing.) um skip þat, Eg. 74; þér haldit njósnum nær færi gefr á Arnkatli, Eb. 186; hann lét h. njósnum uppi á landi, Fms. vii. 316; hann hélt fréttum til, ef …, iv. 349.

β. halda (hendi) fyrir auga, to hold ( the hand) before the eyes, shade the eyes, Nj. 132, Fms. v. 196; h. fyrir munn e-m, to hold ( the hand) over one’s mouth; h. hendi yfir e-m, to hold the hand over one, protect one, Nj. 266, Fbr. 22, Korm.; h. hendi um háls e-m, to clasp the hands around one’s neck, Fms. i. 9; h. skildi fyrir e-n, to hold the shield for one as a second in a duel, Ísl. ii. 257, passim; h. e-m til náms, to hold one to the book, make one study, K. Þ. K. 56; h. e-m til virðingar, Ld. 98.

IV. ellipt. (liði, skipi, för, stefnu, etc. understood), to hold, stand in a certain direction, esp. as a naut. term; þeir héldu aptr ( stood back again) um haustið, Eg. 69; treystisk hann eigi á haf at halda, Eb. 6; héldu þeir vestr um haf, id.; stigu þeir á skip sín, ok héldu út ( stood out) eptir firði, Fms. i. 63; þeir héldu þat sama sumar til Íslands, Ld. 6; hann hélt upp eptir hinni eystri kvísl, Fms. vii. 55; h. heim, to hold one’s course, stand homewards, Odd. 30; h. á braut, Grág. i. 92; Hrútr hélt suðr til Eyrar-sunds, Nj. 8; h. eptir e-m, to pursue one, 7; h. undan, to fly, Fms. x. 396, Nj. 98 (on land); kom móti þeim sunnan-veðr með myrkri, ok urðu þeir fyrir at h., to lay one’s course for the wind, A. A. 271; h. útleið, to stand on the outer tack, Eg. 78; h. til, to turn against, attack (on sea), Fms. xi. 72; hélt hann liði sínu suðr á Mæri, i. 62; þeir héldu liði sínu norðr til Þrándheims, id.; Haraldr konungr hélt norðan liði sínu, Eg. 32; héldu þeir skipi því suðr með landi, 69; skipi því lét hann halda vestr til Englands, id.; Unnr hélt skipinu í Orkneyjar, eptir þat hélt Unnr skipi sínu til Færeyja, Ld. 8.

β. to graze, put in the field, of sheep, cattle; þykkir mér þat miklu skipta at þeim sé vel til haga haldit, Eg. 714; hvert Steinarr hafði látið nautum sínum halda, 715; ok bað hann h. nautunum annan veg, 716.

γ. phrases, halda kyrru fyrir, to hold still, remain quiet, Ld. 216, Þórð. 30 new Ed., Nj. 223, 258; Hallr heldr nú til fangs ( went fishing) sem áðr, Ld. 38.

V. with prep.; halda á e-u, to hold, wield in the hand, freq. in mod. usage, h. á bók, penna, fjöðr, hníf, skærum, nál, etc.; hafði hverr þat er hélt á, Nj. 279; h. á sverði, Fb. i. 33; hann tók við öxinni ok hélt (viz. á), ok sá á, Eg. 180: to hold fast, heldr nú maðr á manni, Fas. i. 12; eigi máttu helvítis byrgi h. á honum, 656 C. 6; ef hann heldr á fénu ( withholds it), Grág. i. 427.

β. [Germ. anhalten], to hold to a thing, go on with, be busy about; h. á sýslu, to be busy, Rm. 14; h. á keri, qs. halda á drykkju, to go on drinking, carousing, Hm. 18: h. á hinni sömu bæn, Stj. 417; h. á fyrirsátrum við e-n, Þórð. 51 new Ed.; h. á búnaði sínum, Ld. 164; hélt hann þá á búnaði sínum sem skjótligast, Fms. ix. 215, x. 119, Sturl. ii. 245; þogar á bak Jólum hélt Ólafr konungr á búningi, Fms. v. 41; hann heldr nú á málinu, Nj. 259; nú heldr Þórðr á málinu ok verðr Oddný honum gipt, Bjarn. 11, Konr. (Fr.); h. á tilkalli, Fms. i. 84; h. á þessum sið, xi. 41; h. á för, to go on with one’s journey, Sighvat; gengu síðan brott ok héldu á ferð sinni, and went on their journey, Sturl.;—whence the mod. phrase, halda áfram, to go on, which seems not to occur in old writers.

2. halda e-u fram, to hold up, make much of; bróðir minn mun mér mjök hafa fram haldit fyrir ástar sakir, Nj. 3.

β. to hold on doing, (hence fram-hald, continuation); halda fram upp-teknu efni, Fms. i. 263; slíku hélt hann fram meðan hann lifði, iv. 254; hélt hann (fram) teknum hætti um veizlurnar, id., Grett. 14.

3. halda saman, to hold together, Eluc. 6, Fms. vii. 140, Rb. 340.

4. halda e-u upp, to hold aloft, Yngvarr hélt upp vísu þeirri, Eg. 152; steinninn heldr upp annarr öðrum, Rb. 390; h. upp árum, to hold up the oars, cease pulling, Fas. ii. 517, N. G. L. i. 65.

β. to uphold, maintain, support; halda upp hofi, Landn. 64, Eb. 24; h. upp hofum ok efla blót, Fms. i. 91; h. upp kirkju, K. Þ. K. 52; h. upp Kristninni, Fms. i. 32: to keep going, h. upp bardaga, orrostu, xi. 66, 188, 340.

γ. to discharge; h. upp féráns-dómi, Grág. i. 120; h. upp lögskilum, 145; h. upp svörum, Ó. H. 174; h. upp kostnaði, Eg. 77; h. upp gjaldi, Grág. i. 384; gjöldum, Fms. i. 81; h. upp bót, Grág. ii. 182; bótum, Eb. 100, 162, N. G. L. i. 311; ef hann heldr upp yfirbót ( penance) þeirri, Hom. 70; h. upp bænum fyrir e-m, to pray for one, Fms. xi. 271; hélt hann því vel upp sem vera átti, discharged it well, x. 93.

δ. halda sér vel upp, to hold oneself well up, Sturl.

ε. metaph., skal-at hann lögvillr verða, svá at honum haldi þat uppi (i. e. went unpunished), Grág. i. 316; ok heldr honum þat uppi ( that will save him), ef hann er rétt-hafi at orðinn, ii. 242.

5. halda e-u við, to maintain a thing, Hkr. i. 195.

VI. impers.,

1. to continue, last; hélt því nokkura stund dags, Fms. x. 125: hélt því lengi um vetrinn, Ld. 288; regni hélt haustnótt gegnum, Fms. vi. 83.

2. with prep. við, to be on the brink of; hélt þá við atgöngu, they were within a hair’s breadth of coming to fight, Hkr. i. 143; hélt þá við vandræði, Fms. ix. 434; heldr við bardaga, vi. 8; heldr nú við hót, it is little short of a threat, i. 305; hélt við blót, x. 106; ok hélt við flótta, i. 174; hélt við meiðingar, Nj. 21, Sd. 143; henni hélt við, at hón mundi drepa hana, Nj. 118; þeim hélt við váða sjálfan, Ó. H. 168; konungi hélt við, hvárt hann mundi standask eðr eigi, Mag. 100; honum hélt við kafnan, Bs. i. 18; hélt þó við at þeir mundi berjask, Fs. 53.

B. WITH ACC. to hold:

I. to hold in possession, a fief, land, estate, office, or the like; þeir héldu alla hina beztu staði með sjónum, Fms. xi. 131; þeir er áðr höfðu haldit land af Dana-konungi, i. 232; Eirekr skyldi h. land af Aðalsteini konungi, 23; Vemundr hélt Firða-fylki, Eg. 12; hélt hann þat ríki undir Knút konungi, Ísl. ii. 242; í þeirri borg héldu þeir langfeðgar fimmtán konungdóma, Ver. 37; h. land sem leigu-land, Grág. ii. 278; konungrinn heldr af Guði nafnit, Sks. 599 B; prestar er kirkjur halda, H. E. i. 486; sá prestr er heldr Pétrs-kirkju, N. G. L. i. 312; presta þeirra er kirkju halda, 346; skal sá maðr ráða er kirkju heldr, K. Þ. K. 60; Ólafs kirkju þá er Væringjar halda (the parish church of W.), Hkr. iii. 408.

2. halda ábyrgju, ábyrgð á e-n, to have the responsibility of a thing, Grág. ii. 399, K. Þ. K. 66; h. grip, to be in the possession of, Grág. i. 438, ii. 190; h. skóla, to keep a school, Mar.; h. fylgð, to perform, Fms. ix. 279; eiga vandræði at h., to be in a strait, difficulty, Eb. 108.

II. to hold, keep, observe, a feast, holiday, or the like; halda kirkju-dag, K. Þ. K. 42; í hvers minning heldr þú þenna dag? Nj. 157; h. helgan þvátt-dag hvern, Pr. 437; h. helga daga, Sl.; h. Jóla-dag, Páska, Hvíta-sunnu, Rb. 134; minnstú að h. helgan hvíldar-daginn Drottins Guðs þíns (the Fourth Commandment in the Icel. version); h. heilagt, to keep holiday, Dipl. ii. 14; í dag þá hátíð höldum vér til himna sté vor Herra, Hólabók 54; er Júdar héldu hátíðligt, Stj. 110; (hence forn-haldinn, time-honoured): of the day-marks (vide dagr, p. 95), er þaðan haldinn miðr-morgin, Hrafn. 9.

2. to keep; halda orð sín, to keep one’s word, Fms. x. 95; höldum öll einka-mál vár, vii. 305; h. sættir, Nj. 57; gerðú svá vel, félagi, at þú halt vel sætt þessa, 111, Sturl. iii. 153, Fs. 65, Gullþ. 20; hann kvaðsk vilja hafa svardaga af þeim ok festu, at halda, Nj. 164; h. eið, Sturl. iii. 153; h. frið, to keep peace, Greg. 7; ef þú vilt nokkura hluti eigi h. þá er ek hefi á lagt við þik, Eg. 738: to observe faith, law, rite, etc., halda átrúnað, Fms. i. 34, x. 277; h. Guðs lög ok landsins, vii. 305; h. lands lög, viii. 155; h. ein lög, 625. 52; hafa ok halda þau lög, Fms. i. 34; h. Kristilega trú, K. Á. 74; h. mál (orð) e-s, Greg. 17; h. alla hluti með athugasamlegu minni, Sks. 439.

3. to keep, tend; halda geitr, Hkv. 2. 20 (exactly as in Gothic).

III. to uphold, maintain, support; þykkir mér þér sé nú ísjár-vert, hvárt þú munt fá haldit þik eðr eigi, Nj. 155; munu vér þó ekki einhlitir at h. oss eptir þessi verk, Háv. 50; at hón mætti með valdi h. sik ok menn sína, Fas. i. 375; þat væri nokkurr várkunn, at þú héldir frænda þinn eðr fóstbróður, en þetta er alls engi (at) halda útlaga konungs, Ó. H. 145; enda ætla ek lítinn viljann til at h. vini þína, Fms. vii. 244; því at Eysteinn konungr kenndi Inga konungi, at hann héldi þá menn, 248; ef þú heldr hann ( upholdest him) til þess at ganga á vini mína, Eg. 339; viljum vér allir fylgja þér ok þik til konungs halda, Fms. i. 34; Stephanus skyldi h. hann til laga ok réttinda, Sks. 653; h. e-n til ríkis, Fb. i. 236; vinsæld föður hans hélt hann mest til alþýðu vináttu, Fms. vii. 175; þeir sem upp h. ( sustain) þenna líkama, Anecd. 4.

β. phrases, halda e-m kost, borð, to keep at board, entertain, Fms. ix. 220, x. 105, 146, Nj. 6; or, halda e-n at klæðum ok drykk, Ó. H. 69; h. stríð, bellum gerere (not class.), Fms. x. 51; h. úfrið, Fas. ii. 539.

2. halda sik, to comfort oneself, Sks. 281, Hom. 29; kunna sik með hófi at h., Sturl. iii. 108; h. sik ríkmannliga, to fare sumptuously, Ld. 234; hann hélt betr húskarla sína en aðrir, Fms. vii. 242; h. mjök til skarts, to dress fine, Ld. 196; þar var Hrefna ok hélt allmjök til skarts, id.; hann var hægr hvers-dagliga, ok hélt mjök til gleði, Sturl. iii. 123; hélt hann hér mjök til vinsælda ok virðinga, he enjoyed much popularity and fame, Ld. 298.

β. ellipt. (sik understood), at h. til jafns við e-n, to bear up against one, to be a match for one, Ld. 40; ef þér hefir eigi til þess hug eðr afl at h. til jafns við e-n húskarl Þorsteins, Eg. 714; h. til fullnaðar, to stand on one’s full rights; ef þær taka eigi fullrétti, eðr h. eigi til fullnaðar, Grág. ii. 109; h. fullara, to hold one above other men, Ó. H. (in a verse); lét konungr þá h. mjök til ( make great preparations) at syngja messu hátíðliga, Hkr. i. 287.

3. to hold forth, put forward; at þeim inyiidi þungbýlt vera í nánd honum, ef þeir héldi nokkurn annan fyrir betra mann en hann, Ld. 26; síðan hélt konungr Erling fyrir tryggvan mann, Fms. ix. 399.

β. to hold, deem, be of opinion; the old writers seem not to use the word exactly in this sense, but near to it come such phrases as, hón hélt engan hans jafningja innan hirðar hvárki í orðum né öðrum hlutum, i. e. she held him to be above all men, Ld. 60; halda menn hann fyrir konung, Fb. i. 216; still closer, halda menn at Oddný sé nú betr gipt, Bjarn. 12 (but only preserved in a paper MS.): this sense is very freq. in mod. usage, to hold, mean, eg held það; eg held ekki, I think not; (hence hald, opinion.)

γ. phrases, halda mikit upp á e-n, to hold one in much esteem, love, Stj. 33; halda af e-m, id., Fas. i. 458, ii. 63, 200, iii. 520, esp. freq. in mod. usage, (upp-á-hald, af-hald, esteem.)

4. to hold on, keep up; halda varnir, to keep up a defence, Sks. 583; halda vörð, to keep watch, Eg. 120, Grág. i. 32, 264; halda njósn, Eg. 72, 74, Fms. xi. 46; halda tal af e-m, to speak, communicate with one, ii. 88.

5. to hold, be valid, be in force, a law term; á sú sekt öll at halda, Grág. i. 89; á þat at h. allt er þeir urðu á sáttir, 86; enda á þat at h. með þeim síðan, ii. 336.

IV. to hold, compel, bind (with the notion of obligation or duty); heldr mik þá ekki til utan-ferðar, Nj. 112; þó heldr þik várkunn til at leita á, i. e. thou art excused, thou hast some excuse in trying, 21; var auðsætt hvat til hélt um sættir, Bjarn. 70; þik heldr eigi hér svá mart, at þú megir eigi vel bægja héraðs-vist þinni, Eb. 252; þar mælir þú þar, er þik heldr várkunn til at mæla, Nj. 227; ek mun vera vinr hans, ok alla þá, er at mínum orðum láta, halda til vináttu við hann, i. e. I will be his friend, and all those who lend ear to my words I will hold to friendship with him, Eg. 18.

2. halda sik frá e-u, to keep oneself from, to refrain from a thing, Sks. 276 B; h. sik frá munaðlífi, Post. 656 A. ii. 16, Hom. 53, 135; h. sik aptr af e-u, to abstain from, Hkr. i. 512.

V. absol. to be the cause of, be conducive to a thing; heldr þar margt til þess, there are many reasons for this, Nj. 192; vildim vér vita hvat til heldr, Fms. vii. 106; en hann vissi eigi hvat til hafði haldit, er hann kom eigi, xi. 11; margir hlutir héldu til þess, Eg. 38; þat hélt til þess, at …, Al. 94; hélt til þess ( conduced to it) góðgirnd hans, stórmennska ok vitsmunir, Fs. 29; hefir þat mjök til haldit, er ek hefi svá lengi dvalizt, at ek ætlaða, Ld. 32; hann lét bæði til h. vingan ok mágsemd, Fs. 24; heldr þat mest til at þá var komit útfall sjávar, Ld. 56; hélt þat mest til þess, at hann gafsk bezt í öllum mannraunum, 60; þat eitt hélt til, at þeir fóru eigi málum á hendr Þórði, at þeir höfðu eigi styrk til, 138.

VI. to hold, comprise; sólar-öld heldr tuttugu ok átta ár, Rb. 510; h. skor (of weight), Grág. i. 500.

☞ In some instances the use of dat. and acc. wavers, e. g. halda húsum, to keep up the houses, Grág. ii. 278, 335; h. hliði, to keep the gate in repair, 265; but halda hlið (acc.), 332: to keep, observe, h. lögum, griðum, boðorðum, Glúm. 333, Grág. i. 357, ii. 166, 623. 28; hélt hann þessu sumu, Fms. x. 416 (Ágrip); halda ílla orðum, vii. (in a verse); þeir er því þingi áttu at h., Glúm. 386; h. sáttum, St. 17; h. eiðum, Bkv. 18; Gizuri þótti biskup h. ríkt ( protect strongly) brennu-mönnum, Sturl. i. 201 C; Guð er sínum skepnum heldr (keeps, protects) ok geymir, Mar.; þá hélt engi kirkju mönnum, … kept no man safe, Fms. ix. 508; h. njósn (acc.) um e-t, Eg. 74; h. til njósn, 72; njósnir, Fms. xi. 46. In most of these instances the acc. is the correct case, and the dat. is due either to careless transcribers or incorrect speaking: in some instances an enclitic um has been taken for a dative inflexion, thus e. g. sáttum haldi in Stor. l. c. is to be restored to sátt um haldi; eiðum haldit in Bkv. l. c. to eið (for eiða) um haldit; in others the prep. um has caused the confusion, as ‘halda njósn um at’ has been changed into halda njósnum at. But in the main the distinction between the use of dat. and acc. is fixed even at the present time: the acc. seems to represent the more primitive usage of this verb, the dat. the secondary.

C. REFLEX.:

I. to hold oneself, to stay; héldusk þeir þá ekki fyrir norðan Stað, Fms. i. 63; mátti hann eigi þar haldask, Landn. 246; h. á baki, to keep oneself on horseback, keep one’s seat, Grág. ii. 95; munu þeir skamma stund hér við haldask, Nj. 247: to be kept, remain, þá skal hann h. með Helju, Edda 39: to resist, megu vér ekki við h. fyrir ofreflis-mönnum þessum, Nj. 254; hélzk þá ekki við honum, Eg. 289; mann er svá hefir haldisk við höfuð-syndum, Hom. 157.

β. to hold out, last, continue; ok hélzk ferillinn, Eg. 579; hélzk undr þetta allt til dags, Nj. 272 (twice); hélzk konungdómr í kyni hans, Rb. 394; lengi síðan hélzk bruna-öld með Svíum, Yngl. S.; lengi hélzk þat í ætt þeirri, at …, Eg. 770; hélzk vinátta með þeim, Nj. 66; þat hefir enn haldizk í ætt hans, Fms. iv. 8; ok hefir þat haldizk ( it has continued to be so) síðan er ek hefi hann séð, Ld. 174; honum haldisk (imperat.) sigr ok langt líf, Ver. 57; betr þætti mér, at hún héldisk þér, that it (the luck) would hold out for thee, Fb. ii. 74; ef hann helzk í útrú sinni, if he perseveres in his untruth, 623. 26.

γ. to be kept safe and sound; menn allir héldusk ( all bands were saved) ok svá fé, Ld. 8, Fs. 143; þar héldusk menn allir ok mestr hluti fjár, Eg. 405; hafði fé vel haldizk, has been well kept, done well, Ld. 34.

δ. to be valid, stand; eigu þau handsöl hennar at haldask, Grág. i. 334; engi má haldask dómr hans, Edda 15; skyldu þau (the truce) haldask um þingit, Nj. 348.

2. impers., mér helzk, e-m helzk vel, ílla, á e-u, to have a good hold, have luck with a thing; mér helzk lítt á sauða-mönnum, Grett. 110 A.

3. recipr., haldask á, to hold or pull one against another, wrestle, (hence á-höld); var sagt Magnúsi, at þeir héldisk á úti, that they were fighting outside, Sturl. ii. 44.

II. part. pass. haldinn, [Dan. holden], so ‘holden,’ in such and such a state; vel haldinn, in good condition, faring well, well to do, Eg. 20, 234; hugðusk þar ok haldnir ( safe) mundu vera, Ver. 34; þungliga h., very sick, Eg. 565, Hkr. ii. 199; vel haldinn, doing well; tak heldr annat fé, svá mikit, at þú þykisk vel haldinn af, i. e. fully satisfied, having got full redress, Boll. 350; Sveinn sagði, at hann vill hafa tvá hluti fjárins, Hrani sagðisk ekki af því haldinn ( satisfied) vera, Fms. iv. 31: in the phrase, heilu ok höldnu, safe and sound, Bs. i. 191, Fms. xi. 376, Hkr. i. 319; með höldnu hljóði, preserving the sound, Skálda 175.

2. ok mun þykkja sér misboðit ef þú ert haldinn (kept, protected), Finnb. 344.

β. kept, observed, Fms. xi. 99.

γ. held in custody, in prison, Bs. i. 419, Sturl. i. 151.

III. gerund., haldandi, holding good, valid; sá dómr er eigi haldandi, is not valid, K. Á. 304; af öllu afli er friðr haldandi, Hom. 5.

2. part. act., með upp haldandi höndum, with uplifted hands, Bs. i. 684.

(-ar, -ir), m.

1) lot;

bera (leggja) hluti í skaut, to throw the lots into a cloth (lap of a garment);

skera (marka) hluti, to mark the lots;

2) amukt, talisman (hlutr er horfinn or pússi þínum);

3) share, allotment, portion (hann fœrði Ølvi skip sin ok kallar þat vera hans hlut);

4) part (of a whole);

höggva í tvá hluti, to cut in two parts;

mestr hlutr liðs, the most part of the company;

meiri hlutr dómanda, the majority of the judges;

tveim hlutum dýrra, twice as dear;

5) participation;

eiga hlut í e-u or at e-u, to have part in, be concerned in (mér uggir, at hér muni eigi gæfumenn hlut í eiga);

þar er þú ættir hlut at, wherein thou wast concerned;

6) condition, position, lot;

eiga hlut e-s, to be in one’s place (position);

ef þú ættir minn hlut, if thou wert in my place;

láta hlut sinn, to be worsted;

sitja yfir hlut e-s, to oppress, weigh a person down;

leggja hlut sinn við e-t, to cast in one’s lot with, to espouse a cause;

hafa (fá) hærra, meira (lægra) hlut, to get the best (worst) of it;

7) thing;

allir hlutir, all things;

kynligr hlutr, a strange thing;

um alla hluti, in all things, in all respects.

* * *

m., the original form was diphthongal, hlautr, like the Gothic, as is borne out by the kindred and derivative words hlaut, hleyti, q. v.; the acc. was weakened into o, hlotr, Fms. xi. 128; and lastly into u, hlutr; old nom. pl. hlotar, Jómsv. S. l. c., but commonly hlutir; gen. sing. hlutar: [Goth. hlauts = κληρος, Mark xv. 24, Col. i. 12, Ephes. i. 11, Luke i. 9; A. S. and Hel. hlot; Engl. lot; Germ. loos; Dan. lod; Swed. lott; the Goth., Germ., and earliest Scandin. have a long vowel, and prob. also A. S. and O. H. G. (hlôt, not hlot); the Ormul. spells lott with a short vowel, as is the case also in Icel., Dan., Swed., and Engl.]

A. A lot; the ceremony of drawing lots was like that described in Homer; each party marked his lot (skera or marka hluti), which was then thrown into a sheet (lap of a garment, bera or leggja hluti í skaut), and a third person came and drew a lot out; (it was not thrown out by shaking.) This drawing of lots was originally a sacred ceremony; it was used in sacrifices (by way of augury, see below), in sharing booty or an inheritance; in law the order in which suits came on was decided by lot, in banquets the seats of honour were so assigned (e. g. who was to sit next to the daughter of the house), etc. Many words in the language refer to this old rite, and the ceremony is thus described: en hluti skyldi skera ok í skaut bera, Fms. vii. 140; kom þat ásamt með þeim at hluti skyldi bera í skaut, … skyldi því hvárir-tveggju una sem hlutr segði, vóru þá hlutir markaðir; þá mælti Norðbrikt til Gyrgis: ‘lát mik sjá hversu þú markar þinn hlut at vit markim eigi báðir einn veg;’ hann gerði svá; síðan markaði Norðbrikt sinn hlut, ok kastaði í skaut ok svá báðir þeir; síðan gékk sá maðr at er til (upp, v. l.) skyldi taka, ok tók upp annan hlutinn milli fingra sér …; síðan var at hugat þeim hlutinum ok kenndu þar allir mark Gyrgis, vi. 136, 137: hverr maðr er sök hefir með at fara í dóm, þá skal hlut bera í skaut, einn, þótt hann hafi fleiri sakar í dóm þann, hverr maðr skal merkja hlut sinn ok bera alla saman í skaut, ok skal maðr taka fjóra hluti senn upp, Grág. i. 37; bjóða til hlutfalla ok bera þar hluti í skaut, 74; menn báru þá hluti sína í skaut ok tók jarlinn upp; … svá sagði hlutr til, at Egill skyldi sitja hjá jarls-dóttur um kveldit, Eg. 247; en þá er tólfmenningr var skipaðr til at sitja ok settir hlutir til hverr næst skyldi sitja Ástríði, dóttur Vigfúss hersis, ok hlaut Eyjólfr ávalt at sitja hjá henni, Glúm. 331: nú ræða þeir um goðorðit ok verða eigi ásáttir, vildi hverr sinn hlut ( case) fram draga; þá leggja þeir hluti í skaut, ok kom jafnan upp hlutr Silfra, Fs. 68; þeir lögðu hluti á, ok hlaut Þrándr, Fær.

2. of sacrifice; vóru þá görvir hlutir af vísinda-mönnum ( soothsayers), ok feldr blótspánn til, en svá gékk fréttin, at …, Fas. i. 452; cp. hristu teina ok á hlaut sá, Hym. 1; and, þá kná Hænir hlautvið kjósa (= taka upp hluti), Vsp. l. c.; see also hlaut, hlauttein, p. 270.

II. the hlutir were talismans or little images, which people used to wear on their persons; síðan tekr jarl skálar ( scales) góðar … ok fylgðu tvau met ( weights), annat af gulli en annat af silfri; þar var á líkneskja manns, ok hétu þat hlutar (hlotar sem fornmönnum var títt at hafa, add. in v. l.), ok fylgði sú náttúra, at þá er jarl lagði þá í skálarnar, ok kvað á hvat hvárr skyldi merkja, ok ef sá kom upp ( turned up) er hann vildi, þá breylti sá í skálinni svá at varð glamm af. Jarl gaf Einari skálarnar ok varð hann glaðr við ok síðan kallaðr Einarr Skálarglam, Jómsv. S. (1824) 37, 38; hlutr er horfinn ór pússi þínum sá er Haraldr konungr gaf þér í Hafrsfirði, ok er hann nú kominn í holt þat er þú munt byggja, ok er á hlutnum markaðr Freyr af silfri, Fs. 19; ok vili Freyr þar láta sinn hlut niðr koma er hann vill sitt sæmdar-sæti setja, 22; cp. Landn., hann sendi Finna tvá í hamförum til Íslands eptir hlut sínum, 174; hann hefir líkneski Þórs í pungi sínum af tönn gört …; nú fannsk engi sá ‘hlutr’ í hans valdi, Fs. 97: the ‘gumna heillir’ or talismans, mentioned in Sdm., were prob. hlutir.

B. Metaph., without the actual drawing of lots:

I. a share, allotment, portion; skal þat þeirra er biskup lofar skilnað, hafa slíkan hlut fjár ( portion) við annat, Grág. i. 329: of booty, hann færði Ölvi skip sín ok kallar þat vera hlut hans, Nj. 46: of a finder’s share, heimtir hlut af sauðunum, Háv. 40; halda til hlutar, id.

β. esp. of a fisherman’s share of the catch, Band. 4, cp. Höfuðl. 1; a fishing boat has one or two hundred … í hlut, each of the crew (hásetar) taking his ‘hlutr,’ and besides this there was a færis-hlutr ( line share) or netja-hlutr ( net share), skips-hlutr (ship’s share), and lastly for-manns-hlutr (foreman’s share, he getting double); see the remarks on aflausn.

γ. a share, lot, portion, of inheritance, often in early Dan. law, where the daughter received a half, the brother a whole portion, sun til ful lot, oc dotær til half lot, Wald. Sjæll. Lov., p. 1;—whence in Dan. broder-lod, söster-lod, = a brother’s, sister’s portion; en komi jafnmikit fé á hlut hvers þeirra, Grág. (Kb.) i. 220: of duty, kom þat á hlut Andreas postula, 625. 64.

2. metaph. phrases; láta hlut sinn, to let go one’s share, be worsted, Fms. i. 74, Fb. ii. 62; þeirra h. brann við, got singed, Hkr. ii. 178; þinn hlutr má ekki verða betri en góðr, thy case cannot be better than good, is as good as it can be, Nj. 256; ella muntú finna á þínum hlut, thou shalt find it to thy cost, Ld. 98; þeirra h. varð æ minni ok minni, their lot grew ever worse and worse, Fms. x. 250; eigi skyldi hennar h. batna við þat, her case should not mend with that, Nj. 52; sitja yfir hlut e-s, to oppress, weigh a person down, Eg. 512, Nj. 89, Fb. iii. 450; mínka sinn hlut, to yield one’s lot ( right), 451; láta sinn (hlut) undir liggja, to let one’s lot be the nethermost, Bárð.; leggja hlut sinn við e-t, to throw in one’s lot with a thing, to espouse a cause, run a risk, Lv. 45 (twice), Fb. iii. 166, Sturl. i. 162 C; eigi mundi svá Sverrir gera, ef hann ætti várn hlut, S. would not do so if he had our lot, our cards in his hand, Fms. viii. 392; eigi mundir þú svá renna frá þínum manni, ef þú ættir minn hlut, xi. 72; hafa (fá) hærra (meira, lægra) hlut, to get the better ( less) share, to get the best ( worst) of it, to win or lose, Eb. 194, Fs. 32, 113, Nj. 90, 224, Fas. i. 252, Fms. vi. 412, viii. 284, Hkv. 2. 19; hafa allan hlut mála, Bs. i. 82; eiga hlut at e-u, to own a share in, take part ( interest) in, interfere ( meddle) in a thing, be concerned about, Eb. 124, Nj. 27, 101, 119, Fms. xi. 83; þar er þú ættir hlut at, wherein thou wast concerned, Nj. 54; nú mun eigi mega sitjanda hlut í eiga, to take a sitter’s part in it, i. e. not stir in the matter, 110; hér munu eigi gæfu-menn í hlut eiga, 179; hafa inn vesta hlut af, to behave meanly, Eg. 271.

II. a part, Lat. pars; enn efra hlut Hrunamanna-hrepps, Landn. 312: mestr h. liðs, the most part of the body, Eg. 275; meiri hlutr, búa, dómanda …, the majority of the neighbours, judges …, Nj. 237, Grág. i. 79; tíundi h. eyrir, a tenth part of an ounce, 357: byggja jörð til hlutar, to lease an estate in shares, N. G. L. i. 137: sjau hlutum ljósari, seven times brighter, Eluc. 44; tveim hlutum dýrra, twice as dear, Landn. 243; eins hlutar ( on the one hand) … annars hlutar ( on the other hand), 625. 172.

III. a case, thing, Lat. res; hvern hlut, everything, Nj. 53; á engum hlut, in nothing, Fms. ii. 27; í öllum hlutum, in everything, passim; allir hlutir, all things, Edda 147 (pref.); aðra hluti, other things, Fms. i. 213; alla hluti þá er …, all things whatsoever, Ld. 18; allir þeirra hlutir, all their things, Fms. x. 250; fjórir eru þeir hlutir ( cases) er menn ber í átt, Grág. i. 361; hverngi hlut ( reason) er maðr vill til þess færa, 179; fyrir tengda sakir ok annarra stórra hluta er hér hvarfla í milli, Nj. 147; undarlegr, kynlegr h., a strange thing, Ld. 200, Fms. x. 169; iðna slíka hluti, Grág. i. 149; eru þér stórir hlutir á höndum, Fms. vii. 30: a deed, fact, orðinn h., a bygone thing, Fr. fait accompli, Nj. 20; einn lítill h., a little thing, small matter, Fms. ix. 448.

β. with neg. adv. = Engl. naught; görðit hlut þiggja, Am. 94; ekki lyt (lyf MS.), Skv. 1. 9; engi hluta(r), noways, 656 C. 25.

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(-ta, -tr), v.

1) to light up, illuminate (sól skal l. allan heim ok verma); impers., ok lýsir allt lopt af faxi hans, and from his mane is lighted up all the sky; lýsir af e-u, it shines, glitters (lýsti ok af hjálminum, er sólin skein á); lýsir, it gets light, it dawns (um morguninn, er lýsa tók);

2) to manifest, show, exhibit (Heinir lýstu mikinn drengskap);

3) to proclaim, publish, give notice of, as a law term; with acc., l. frumhlaup, sár, víg á hendr e-m, to charge one with, indict one for, an assault, wound, manslaughter; with dat., l. vígi á hendr sér, to declare oneself to be the cause of a death;

4) to publish, proclaim, with dat. (lýsir hann þingreið sinni); l. yfir e-u, to make known (S. lýsir erindi sínu fyrir jarli);

5) impers., nú lýsir hér yfir því, at hún, now it became clear, that she;

6) to illuminate (a book).

f. gleam, shimmering light (ek sé lýsu nökkura til hafsins).

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t, [ljós; Dan. lyse; Swed. liusa], to lighten, illumine; hón (the sun) skal lýsa allan heim ok verma, Sks. 38; sól lýsir tungl, Rb. 448, passim, Hom. 128, MS. 656 C. 2; æ lýsir mön af mari, to shed light, Vþm.; lýsa blinda, to give light to the blind, 677. 5, 656 B. 12:—to light up, lýsa lampa, Str. 18, Sks. ii. 177: lýsa kirkju, to light up a church, D. I. passim, Vm. passim: to illuminate a book, en Magnus prestr hefir skrifat upp þaðan, ok lýst alla, Fb. (inscription):—of the daylight, to dawn, lítt var lýst af degi, Ld. 46; um morguninn er lýsa tók, Fms. i. 111; þegar er lítt var lýst, Ó. H. 115.

2. impers. it shines, beams; lýsti ok mjök af hjálmi hans er sólin skein á, Fms. i. 44; fyrir þínar sakar lýsir allan heim, by thee light shines on all the world, Hom. 31.

II. metaph. to explain, Sks. 193, 587.

2. to manifest, shew, exhibit; lýsa ótrúleik, Eg. 64; lýsa hug sinn, to declare one’s mind, Grág. i. 8; Heinir lýstu mikinn drengskap, Fms. ix. 344: pass., sem lýsisk í sögunni, xi. 440; hann lýsti meir í því ríki sitt ok þrályndi en réttlæti, Bs. i. 17; ok sagði hvern fjandskap menn höfðu þar við hann lýst, 19; segir at þau lýsti mikla þverlyndi ok ákaflyndi í þessu, Ó. H. 144.

3. to proclaim, publish, give notice of, as a law term: with acc., menn skulu í dag ok á morgun lýsa sakar þær allar, er til fjórðungs-dóms skulu …, ef maðr vill lýsa sök á hönd manni, Grág. i. 18; lýsa frumhlaup, sár, eðr víg á hendr manni, to charge a person, make an indictment against, ii. 34; víg lýsir þú, Hkv. 2. 8.

β. with dat., lýsa vígi á hendr sér, to declare oneself to be the cause of a death; immediately after the deed the slayer had to declare himself, otherwise the deed was counted for murder, see the remarks s. v. morð, and the Laws and Sagas passim.

γ. to publish, proclaim, with dat.; hón lýsti því, at hón myndi til alþingis ríða, Nj. 12; Halldórr lýsir þingreið sinni, Ld. 236; lýsa dómum sínum, Sks. 641:—lýsa e-u yfir, better is lýsa yfir e-u, to make known, Fms. viii. 93, xi. 6: impers., nú lýsir hér yfir því, er margir mæltu, at hón þótti nokkut vergjörn, xi. 25: absol., ef maðr lýsir til fimmtardóms um bjargir manna, Grág. i. 73; hann skal lýsa et næsta sumar til fram-færslu þess ómaga, 129.

δ. to publish the bans of marriage.

(gen. sakar, pl. sakar or sakir), f.

1) charge, the offence charged;

sönn sök, a true charge;

gera sakar á hendr sér, to incur charges;

gera sakir við e-n, to do offence or harm to one;

sannr at sök, proved (found) guilty;

gefa e-m (upp) sakir, to remit a charge;

gefa e-m sök (sakar) á e-u, gefa e-m e-t at sök, to make a charge against one;

fœrast undan sökum, to plead not guilty;

vera (bundinn) í sökum við e-n, to have done offence to one (konungr tók stór gjöld af bóndum þeim, er honum þóttu í sökum við sik);

2) suit, action, in court;

eiga sök á e-u, to have a ground for complaint;

ek á sjálfr sök á því, that is my own affair;

sækja e-n sökum, to prosecute one;

svæfa allar sakar, to settle all causes;

fara með sökina, to conduct the suit;

segja fram sök sína, to declare ones suit;

3) effect;

hafa ekki at sök, to effect nothing;

tók Þóroddr þá at vanda um kvámur hans, ok hafði ekki at sök, but to no effect;

4) cause, reason (þótti konungi sakir til, þótt hann hefði eigi komit);

fyrir hverja sök, for the sake of what, why?

fyrir þá (þessa) sök, for that reason, therefore;

af þeim sökum, from that cause (svá lauk þessu, at húsfreyja lézt af þeim sökum);

fyrir e-s sakir or sökum, for the sake of, because of;

fyrir ástar sakir, for love’s sake;

with respect to (skyldi boðit verða sem vegligast, bæði fyrir tilfanga sakir ok fjölmennis);

fyrir mínum sökum, for my sake, for my part;

um sakar þínar, for thy sake;

of time, um nokkurra nátta sakir, for a few nights;

of (um) stundar sakir, for a while;

um sinns sakir, for this once;

um nætr sakir, for one night;

sakir e-s, sökum e-s = fyrir sakir e-s, fyrir sökum e-s.

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f., gen. sakar, dat. sök, and older saku, which occurs on Runic stones; pl. sakar, later sakir; a gen. sing. söku or saku (from saka, u, f.) remains in the compds söku-dólgr, söku-nautr: [Ulf. sakjo = μάχη; A. S. sacu; Engl. sake; Germ. sache; Dan. sag; Swed. sak.]

A. A charge, then the offence charged, guilt, crime, like Lat. crimen; göra sakar á hendr sér, to incur charges, Ld. 44; sannr at sök, guilty, Nj. 87, Grág. i. 75; sök er sönn, a true charge, 294; sakar allar skulu liggja niðri meðal okkar, Grág. i. 362; svæfa sakar, Gm. 15; semr hann dóma ok sakar leggr, Vsp. 64; ef sakar görask þær skal fé bæta, Ísl. ii. 380; bæta sakir þær allar með fé er görzk höfðu í þeim málum, Eg. 98; nú er sagt hvaðan sakar görðusk, Hkv.; veiztú hverjar sakir ek á við konung þenna? … hann hefir drepit föður minn, Fas. ii. 532; þeim megin siglu er menn eigu síðr sakir við menn, Grág. ii. 137; gefa e-m upp sakir, to remit a charge, Ld. 44; or, gefa e-m sakir, id., Fms. x. 326; gefa e-m sök (sakar) á e-u, to make a charge against one, Landn. 145; gefa e-m e-t að sök, id., Fms. i. 37; bera sakar á e-n, to bring a charge against, Hkr. i. 168; eiga sakar við e-n, to have a charge against a person; færask undan sökum, to plead not guilty, Fms. xi. 251; verjask sök, id., Grág. i. 38; lúka sökum með sér, to settle the charges brought by one against the other, 361; líta á sakar úreiðr, Fms. i. 15; vera bundinn í sökum við e-n, to stand committed, Eg. 589, Fms. i. 61.

2. the offence charged; falla í sök, to fall into crime, Sks. 575; fyrir sakir ( for wrongs committed) skyldi niðr falla þriðjungr gjalda, Fms. ix. 227; dauða verðr fyrir sökina, Sks. 575 B; fyrir-gef oss várar sakar ( our trespasses), Hom. 158; fyrir hví var hann píndr, eða hvat sök görði hann? Bs. i. 9.

II. a law phrase, a plaint, suit, action in court; ef hann á sök at sækja, þá er …, Grág. i. 64; sakar-aðili, a plaintiff, Grág. passim; eiga sök í dómi, i. 74; sækjandi ok sakar verjandi, 17; á sá sök er …, he owns the case, i. e. is the right plaintiff, 38; fara með sök, to conduct a suit, 37, Nj. 86; færa fram sök, Grág. i. 83; segja fram sök, 39, 43, Nj. 36, 87, 110, 187; sök fyrnisk, is prescribed, Grág. i. 381; í salti liggr sök ef sækendr duga, see salt; göra tvær sakar ór vígi ok fram hlaupi, ii. 35; hafa sök at sækja, or, hafa sök at verja, i. 37, 76; hafa sök á hendi e-m, 75; hluta sakir, 74, 104; lýsa sakar, 19, Nj. 110; lýsa sök á hönd e-m, 18, 19, 110; selja e-m sök á hendr e-m, at þú mættir hvárki sækja þína sök né annarra, 99; sækja svá sök sína, Grág. i. 75; hafa sök at sækja, etc.; verja sök, 298; eiga sök á e-u, to have a suit against one, of the injured person; hvat hafðir þú til gört áðr?—þat er hann átti enga sök á, what hast thou done?—That for which he had no ground for complaint, i. e. which did not concern him, Nj. 130; eg á sjálfr sök á því, that is my own affair; dómar fara út til saka, the courts are sitting to hear the pleadings, 295; því at eins verðr sökin ( the action) við hann, ef …, 405; bjóða sök á þingi, N. G. L. i. 20; sökin Tyrfings, the case of T., Nj. 100, 101; þriggja þinga sök, a case lasting three sessions, Grág. i. 441, ii. 233; tólf aura, sex aura, merkr, þriggja marka sök, an action for three marks, N. G. L. i. 81, 82, Grág. i. 405, ii. 113; víg-sök, a case of manslaughter; fjörbaugs-sök, skóggangs-sök, a case, action of outlawry, passim; borgit málinu ok svá sökinni, the case and the suit, Nj. 36.

2. spec., persecution; sök eða vörn, Grág. i. 17, (rare, see sókn); at sökum öllum ok svá at vörnum, 104.

3. phrases; hafa ekki at sök, to no effect; hann kvað sér þó þungt, at nokkut mundi at sök hafa, Eb. 53 new Ed.; tók Þóroddr at vanda um kvámur hans, ok hafði ekki (not eigi) at sök, 50 new Ed.; ok hafði ekki vætta at sök, Fms. viii. 18; hann eggjar lið sitt ok hafði gott at sök, Flóv. 44.

III. a ‘sake,’ cause; eru fleiri vinda sakir, are there more causes of the winds? Rb. 440; þótti konungi sakir til þótt hann hefði eigi komit, Fms. xi. 13; hann skal segja hvat at sökum er, what is the reason, cause? Grág. i. 310; sú var sök til þess, at …, Fms. i. 153; brýnar sakar, Al. 7; fyrir hverja sök, for the sake of what? wherefore? Fms. i. 81; af sök nökkurar óvináttu, for the sake of, because of, Hom. 20.

2. adverbial phrases; fyrir sakar (sakir) e-s, for the sake of, because of; fyrir sakir orma, Al. 1; beztr kostr fyrir sakir frænda …, Glúm. 348; er þér þat sjálf-rátt fyrir sakir höfðing-skapar þíns, Nj. 266; fyrir tignar sakir várrar ok lands siðar, 6; fyrir styrks sakar ok megins, Eg. 107; fyrir úrækðar sakar, … fyrir veðrs sakar, K. Þ. K.; fyrir ástar sakir, Nj. 3: leaving out ‘fyrir,’ whereby sakar (acc.) becomes quite a preposition; sakir harma várra, Lv. 67; sakar refsingar ok ástar sakar við hina, Sks. 666 B; sakir þess at hann var ekki skáld, Fb. i. 215; sakir (þess) at hann var gamall, Fas. iii. 260: acc., fyrir þínar sakir, Nj. 140; fyrir várar sakir, Fms. vii. 190; um sakar e-s, id.; um konu sakar, Grág. ii. 62; of óra sök, Skv. 3. 49: temp., um nökkorra nátta sakir, for a few nights, Fms. i. 213; of stundar sakir, for a while, Nj. 139, Al. 99, Fms. xi. 107; um viku sakir, a week’s respite, Eg.; um hríðar sakar, a while, Mar., Al. 83; gefa mat um máls sakir, for one meal, Vm. 16; um sinn sakir, for this once, Ld. 184, 196, 310, Þórð. 36 new Ed.:—dat. plur. sökum, placed after a genitive, in which case even indeclinable fem. nouns for the sake of euphony assume a final s; af hennar sökum, for her sake, Ver. 44; af frændsemis sökum, Grág. ii. 72; af hræsnis sökum, Hom. 23; at sinn sakum, for this once, Sks. 483 B; fyrir þeim sökum, on that account, Grág. i. 48; fyrir veðrs sökum, K. Þ. K.; fyrir aldrs sökum, for old sake, Fms. xi. 50; fyrir veilendi sökum, Grág. i. 41; fyrir fáfræðis sökum ok úgá, Bs. i. 137; fyrir mínum sökum, for my sake, Þorst. St. 54; at hann mundi eigi mega vera einn konungr fyrir Áka sökum, Fms. xi. 46; sökum snjóvar, Lv. 25; fylgir þar enn sökum þess því goðorði alþingis-helgun, Landn. 336 (Append.), and passim.

B. COMPDS: sakaraðili, sakaráberi, sakabætr, sakadólgr, sakareyrir, sakarferli, sakafullr, sakargipt, sakalauss, sakamaðr, sakarspell, sakarstaðr, sakartaka, sakartökuváttr, sakartökuvætti, sakarvandræði, sakarvörn.

(verð; varð, urðum; orðinn, vorðinn), v.

1) to happen, come to pass;

ætluðu allir, at þeir myndi tala um mál sitt, en þat varð ekki, but it came not to pass, it was not so;

þá varð óp mikit at lögbergi, then there arose a great shout at the Lawhill;

2) verða e-m, to happen to, befall one (slikt verðr opt ungum mönnum);

þat varð Skarphéðni, at stökk í sundr skóþvengr hans, it happened to S. that his shoe-string snapped asunder;

sjaldan verðr víti vörum, the wary man will seldom make a slip;

e-m verðr þörf e-s, one comes to be in need of;

3) to happen to be, occur;

í lœk þann, er þar verðr, in the brook that happens to be there;

varð fyrir þeim fjörðr, they came on a fjord;

verða á leið e-s, to be on one’s path, happen to one;

4) verða brottu, to leave, absent oneself (þeir sá þann sinn kost líkastan at verða á brottu);

verða úti, to go away (verð úti ok drag ongan spott at oss);

to perish in a storm from cold (sumir urðu úti);

þeim þótti honum seint heim verða, they thought that he was long in coming home;

5) with acc. to lose;

kváðust okkr hafa orðit bæði, said that they had lost us both;

6) followed by a noun, a., pp., adv., as predicate, to become;

þá verðr þat þinn bani, it will be thy death;

verða glaðr, hryggr, reiðr, to become glad, sad, angry;

verða dauðr to die (áðr Haraldr inn hárfagri yrði dauðr) with participles;

ok varð ekki eptir honum gengit, he was not pursued;

verða þeir ekki fundnir, they could not be found;

blóð hans varð ekki stöðvat, the blood could not be staunched;

þeim varð litit til hafs, they happened to look seaward;

impers., e-m verðr bilt, one is amazed;

Kolbeini varð ekki fyrir, K. lost his head, was paralysed;

with adverbs; hann varð vel við skaða sinn, he bore his loss well, like a man;

jarl varð illa við þetta, the earl was vexed by this;

7) with infin., denoting necessity, one must, needs, is forced, obliged to do;

þat verðr hverr at vinna, er ætlat er, every one must do the work that is set before him;

þar er bera verðr til grjót, where stones have to be carried;

verð ek nú flýja, now I must flee;

8) with preps., verða af e-u, to come to pass (var um rœtt, at hann skyldi leita fara, en eigi varð af);

varð ekki af ferðinni, the journey came to nought was given up;

verðr þetta af, at hann tekr við sveinunum, the end was that at last he took the boys;

starf ok kostnaðr varð af þessu, trouble and expenses arose from this;

livat verðr af e-u, what becomes of;

hvat varð af húnum mínum, what has become of my cubs?;

verða at e-u, to become (verða at undri, undrsjónum);

veiztu, hvat þér mun verða at bana, knowest thou what will be the cause of thy death?;

verða at engu, to come to nothing;

verða á, to come on, happen;

þvat sem á yrði síðan, whatever might happen later on;

e-m verðr á, one makes a blunder, mistake (þótti þér ekki á verða fyrir honum, er hann náði eigi fénu?);

verða eptir, to be left (honum varð þar eptir geit ok hafr);

verða fyrir e-u, to meet with (verða fyrir goða reiði);

to forebode (verða fyrir stórfundum);

verða fyrir e-m, to be in one’s way, as a hindrance (því meira sem oss verðr fyrir, því harðara skulu þér niðr koma);

verða í, to happen (tókust nú upp leikar sem ekki hefði í orðit);

verða til e-s, to come forth to do a thing, be ready to;

en sá er nefndr Hermóðr, er til þeirar farar varð, who undertook this journey;

verða við e-m, to respond to (bið ek þik, at þú verðir við mér, þó at engi sé verðleiki til).

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pres. verð, verðr, verð; pret. varð, vart (mod. varðst), varð; pl. urðu; subj. yrði: imperat. verð; part. orðinn; pl. orðnir, spelt phonetically ornir, Niðrst. 6: in later vellums occur freq. the forms vurðu, vyrði, vorðinn, see Introd.; but the old poets use it for alliteration as if it began with a vowel: with neg. suff. verðr-at, Fm. 6; varð-at, Vþm. 38; urðu-a it, Gh. 3; urðu-t. Lex. Poët.: [Ulf. wairþan = γίγνεσθαι, ἔσεσθαι; A. S. weorðan; Old Engl. worth, as in the phrase ‘woe worth the day!’ Germ. werden; Dan. vorde; Swed. varda.]