certainly!

* * *

1) certain (þótti honum sér þá vísari dauði en líf); þótt ek vita vísan bana minn, though I know my death is sure; verða e-s v., to ascertain, become aware of (ek mun þessa brátt v. verða af konungi); impers., þessa mun aldri víst verða, this will never be known; verða e-s v. um e-t, af e-u, to get some information of, as to; víss vitandi, knowingly, intentionally;

2) wise (I. var inn vísasti maðr í öllu);

3) known (nú liðu svá sex vetr, at þetta varð eigi vist);

4) neut. as adv., vita e-t víst, to know for certain; þat vil ek víst, surely I will; víst eigi, certainly not, by no means; at vísu, certainly, surely (hann hefir þat at vísu í hug sér); til víss, for certain (sjá, vita kenna e-t til víss) fyrir víst = til víss; acquainted with (dvergar veggbergs vísir).

* * *

adj., gen. pl. víssa, Skm. 17; dat. sing. f. víssi (like hvassa, laussa, laussi); [Ulf. weis, in hindar-weis, un-weis, fulla-weis; A. S. wîs; Engl. wise; O. H. G. wisi; Germ. weise; Dutch wijze; Dan.-Swed. vis]:—certain; þótt ek vita vísan bana minn, Nj. 95; liðu svá sex ár at þetta varð ekki víst, was not known, Ísl. ii. 200; vísar eignir konungs (= vísaeyrir), Fms. vii. 20; úvísa-vargr, see p. 667; verða e-s víss, to ascertain, become aware of; þessa mun ek skjótt víss verða, Nj. 11; ek mun þessa brátt víss verða af konungi, Eg. 54; göra hann varan við svikræði, er hann varð víss, Fms. vi. 41; verða víss þessarrar ráða-görðar, Nj. 80; er Egill er víss orðinn þessara tíðenda, Eg. 406; er þeir vóru vísir orðnir alls ins sanna, 123; mun þessa aldri víst verða, Fb. i. 554: vís ván, þá er þó vís ván, at þeygi vili allir til eins færa ef máli skiptir allra helzt í lögum, Skálda (Thorodd); þá skjótumk ek yfir, sem vís ván er, as is to be expected, id.

II. wise; vísa menn af ú-vísum, Stj. 191, v. l.; inn vísi sagna-maðr Josephus, 43; Ingjaldr var enn vísasti maðr í öllu, Fas. ii. 505, Rb. 466: allit., víssa Vana (gen. pl.), Skm. 17; með vísum Vönum, Vþm. 39, but in this sense ‘vitr’ (q. v.) is more used.

III. neut. as adverb (Germ. ge-wiss); má slíkt víst útrúligt þykkja, Fms. x. 309; þar eru víst píslar-staðir, Sks. 154; vita e-t víst, to know for certain, Rb. 2; þat vil ek víst, surely I will, Nj. 41; þeir báðu hann drekka soðit, hann vill þat víst eigi, that he would by no means do, Fms. i. 35; víst eigi, certainly not, Sturl. i. 84 C; it vísasta, most certainly, Hom. 5; at vísu, certainly, surely; hann hefir þat at vísu í hug sér, Ld. 40; vill konungr nú at vísu láta undan bera, Fms. xi. 69: til víss, for certain; hann lézk kenna Bæring til víss, Bær. 16; er Æsirnir sá þat til víss, at þar var bergrisi kominn, Edda 26; þat vitum vér til víss, at …, Fms. xi. 380; sjá fyrir víst, Stj. 213.

IV. víss vitandi, intentionally, knowingly; in two words, göra víss vitandi, Stj. 39; enda varðar ok fjörbaugs-garð öllum þeim mönnum sem samskipa fénu fara útan vísir vitendr, Grág. (Kb.) i. 243; at hann hafi þá konu fastnat víss vitandi, ii. 35: in mod. usage, vís-vitandi, indecl., in one word.

V. of mind or manners, in compds as bragð-víss, wily; dramb-víss, læ-víss, qq. v.

mod. dans, n. a word of for. origin; [cp. mid. Lat. dansare; Fr. danser; Ital. danzare; Engl. dance; Germ. tanz, tanzen.] This word is certainly not Teutonic, but of Roman or perhaps Breton origin: the Icel. or Scandin. have no genuine word for dancing,—leika means ‘to play’ in general: the word itself (danza, danz, etc.) never occurs in the old Sagas or poetry, though popular amusements of every kind are described there; but about the end of the 11th century, when the Sagas of the bishops (Bs.) begin, we find dance in full use, accompanied by songs which are described as loose and amorous: the classical passage is Jóns S. (A. D. 1106–1121), ch. 13. Bs. i. 165, 166, and cp. Júns S. by Gunnlaug, ch. 24. Bs. i. 237—Leikr sá var kær mönnum áðr en hinn heilagi Jón varð biskup, at kveða skyldi karlmaðr til konu í danz blautlig kvæði ok rægilig; ok kona til karlmanns mansöngs vísur; þenna leik lét hann af taka ok bannaði styrkliga; mansöngs kvæði vildi hann eigi heyra né kveða láta, en þó fékk hann því eigi af komið með öllu. Some have thought that this refers to mythical (Eddic) poetry, but without reason and against the literal sense of the passage; the heathen heroic poems were certainly never used to accompany a dance; their flow and metre are a sufficient proof of that. In the Sturl. (Hist. of the 12th and 13th century) dancing is mentioned over and over again; and danz is used of popular ballads or songs of a satirical character (as those in Percy’s ballads): flimt ( loose song) and danz are synonymous words; the Sturl. has by chance preserved two ditties (one of A. D. 1221, running thus—Loptr liggr í Eyjum, bítr lunda bein | Sæmundr er á heiðum, etr berin ein. Sturl. ii. 62, and one referring to the year 1264—Mínar eru sorgirnar þungar sem blý, Sturl. iii. 317) sufficient to shew the flow and metre, which are exactly the same as those of the mod. ballads, collected in the west of Icel. (Ögr) in the 17th century under the name of Fornkvæði, Old Songs, and now edited by Jon Sigurdsson and Svend Grundtvig. Danz and Fornkvæði are both of the same kind, and also identical with Engl. ballads, Dan. kæmpeviser. There are passages in Sturl. and B.S. referring to this subject — færðu Breiðbælingar Lopt í flimtun ok görðu um hann danza marga, ok margskonar spott annat, Sturl. ii. 57, cp. 62; Danza-Bergr, the nickname of a man (Stud, ii), prob. for composing comic songs; danza-görð, composing comic songs; fylgðar-menn Kolbeins fóru með danza-görð, … en er Brandr varð varr við flimtan þeirra, iii. 80; þá hrökti Þórðr hestinn undir sér, ok kvað danz þenna við raust, 317.

β. a wake, Arna S. ch. 2; in Sturl. i. 23; at the banquet in Reykhólar, 1119, the guests amused themselves by dancing, wrestling, and story-telling; þá var sleginn danz í stofu, ii. 117; í Viðvík var gleði mikil ok gott at vera; þat var einn Drottins dag at þar var danz mikill; kom þar til fjöldi manna; ok ríðr hann í Viðvík til danz, ok var þar at leik; ok dáðu menn mjök danz hans, iii. 258, 259; honum var kostr á boðinn hvat til gamans skyldi hafa, sögur eða danz um kveldit, 281;—the last reference refers to the 21st of January, 1258, which fell on a Sunday (or wake-day): in ballads and tales of the Middle Ages the word is freq.:—note the allit. phrase, dansinn dunar, Ísl. Þóðs. ii. 8: the phrases, stiga danz; ganga í danz; brúðir í danz, dansinn heyra; dans vill hun heyra, Fkv. ii. 7. Many of the burdens to the mod. Icel. ballads are of great beauty, and no doubt many centuries older than the ballads to which they are affixed; they refer to lost love, melancholy, merriment, etc., e. g. Blítt lætur veröldin, fölnar fögr fold | langt er síðan mitt var yndið lagt í mold, i. 74; Út ert þú við æginn blá, eg er hér á Dröngum, | kalla eg löngum, kalla eg til þin löngum; Skín á skildi Sól og sumarið fríða, | dynur í velli er drengir í burtu riða, 110; Ungan leit eg hofmann í fögrum runni, | skal eg í hljóði dilla þeim mér unm; Austan blakar laufið á þann linda, 129; Fagrar heyrða eg raddirnar við Niflunga heim; Fagrt syngr svanrinn um sumarlanga tíð, | þá mun list að leika sér mín liljan fríð, ii. 52: Einum unna eg manninum, á meðan það var, | þó hlaut eg minn harm að bera í leyndum stað, 94; Svanrinn víða. svanurinn syngr viða, 22; Utan eptir firðinum, sigla fagrar fleyr | sá er enginn glaður eptir annan þreyr, 110; Svo er mér illt og angrsamt því veldur þú, | mig langar ekki í lundinn með þá jungfrú, Espol. Ann. 1549. The earliest ballads seem to have been devoted to these subjects only; of the two earliest specimens quoted in the Sturl. (above), one is satirical, the other melancholy; the historical ballads seem to be of later growth: the bishops discountenanced the wakes and dancing (Bs. l. c., Sturl. iii), but in vain: and no more telling proof can be given of the drooping spirits of Icel. in the last century, than that dancing and wakes ceased, after having been a popular amusement for seven hundred years. Eggert Olafsson in his poems still speaks of wakes, as an eyewitness; in the west of Icel. (Vestfirðir) they lasted longer, but even there they died out about the time that Percy’s ballads were published in England. The Fornkvæði or songs are the only Icel. poetry which often dispenses with the law of alliteration, which in other cases is the light and life of Icel. poetry; vide also hofmaðr, viki-vakar, etc. In the 15th century the rímur (metrical paraphrases of romances) were used as an accompaniment to the danz, höldar danza harla snart, ef heyrist vísan mín; hence originates the name man-söngr ( maid-song), minne-sang, which forms the introduction to every ríma or rhapsody; the metre and time of the rímur are exactly those of ballads and well suited for dancing. An Icel. MS. of the 17th century, containing about seventy Icel. Fornkvæði, is in the Brit. Mus. no. 11,177; and another MS., containing about twenty such songs, is in the Bodl. Libr. no. 130.

adv. yes indeed, yes certainly.

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adv., also spelt júr, Skálda 163 (Thorodd), Art. 126: in mod. usage proncd. double, jur-jór or jir-jór (sounded yer-yor), which word was at the end of the last century still used in the north of Iceland (Thingeyjar-sýsla): [it is a compd particle, from já = yea and r, which may be a pers. pron., analogous to the early Gmn. jâ ich! jâ dû! jâ sî! jâ ir! Grimm’s Gramm. iii. 765; other Teutonic languages have preserved this particle, although in a somewhat different sense, mid. H. G. jâra or jâr-ia, jâra-ja]:—yea, yes! with emphasis, yea, in sooth, yes indeed, yes certainly, as a reply to an expression of doubt or denial. Of this interesting particle only six instances are found in old writers:—three in O. H. L., biskup leit útar í kirkjuna ok sá hvar Ólafr stóð ok mælti, nú er konungr út kominn, þeir sögðu at hann var eigi út kominn.—Answer, Jaur, sagði biskup, sá er sannr konungr, er nú er út kominn, 10; hvat er nú um félag þat er konungrinn á með yðr? þeir drápu niðr höfði ok kváðusk ekki haus félag hafa.—Jaur, sagði hann, þér sögðusk víst vera hans félagar, 45; Maðr svarar, hvá mælir þú þat ?—Jaur, segir hann, þat var mér þá í hug, etc., 69; one in Thorn, (the Norse Recension), ekki var ek þar nærri, ok því sá ek enga þessa hluti, ekki heyrða ek ok þat er þú segir í frá.—Jaur, segir hann, Guð þat veit, at ek em uruggr um þat at ek sá þik þar, 246; one in Art. 126 (spelt júr); and lastly, one in Thorodd, austr, eárn, eir, júr, eyrir, vín, Skálda 163. Gudmund Andreae mentions this particle as in use in his time, and as sounded jör-jur, e. g. er ekki dagr?—answer, jör-jur! viltú ekki þetta?—answer, jör-jur! but his derivation from Lat. jure is erroneous.

* * *

1) certain (þótti honum sér þá vísari dauði en líf); þótt ek vita vísan bana minn, though I know my death is sure; verða e-s v., to ascertain, become aware of (ek mun þessa brátt v. verða af konungi); impers., þessa mun aldri víst verða, this will never be known; verða e-s v. um e-t, af e-u, to get some information of, as to; víss vitandi, knowingly, intentionally;

2) wise (I. var inn vísasti maðr í öllu);

3) known (nú liðu svá sex vetr, at þetta varð eigi vist);

4) neut. as adv., vita e-t víst, to know for certain; þat vil ek víst, surely I will; víst eigi, certainly not, by no means; at vísu, certainly, surely (hann hefir þat at vísu í hug sér); til víss, for certain (sjá, vita kenna e-t til víss) fyrir víst = til víss; acquainted with (dvergar veggbergs vísir).

* * *

adj. [Germ. gewiss]; viss and víss are two forms of the same word, the former of a more limited use, = certain, sure; thus Icel. say, það er vísast ( it is most likely); but það er vissast, ‘tis safest; er sú regla vissust, the safest rule, Rb. 262; see víss.

adj. part. regenerate, born again; þars hón aptrborin aldri verði, the sense is doubtful, it seems to mean = endrborin, regenerate; it will suit the context only if we suppose that suicides could not be born again; they certainly could walk again, v. aptrganga. Högni seems to fear that, if she died a natural death, Brynhilda would perhaps be endrborin, Skv. 3. 44.

(gen. áss and ásar; pl. æsir, acc. æsi and ásu), m. one of the old heathen gods in general, or esp. one of the older branch, in opp. to the younger ones (the Vanir).

(gen. áss, pl. ásar), m.

1) a thick pole, main beam (in a house);

2) in a ship, yard of a sail (beitiáss);

3) rocky ridge.

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m. [Ulf. ans = δοκός; cp. Lat. asser, a pole], gen. áss, dat. ási, later ás, pl. ásar, acc. ása:

1. a pole, a main rafter, yard;

α. of a house; selit var gört um einn as, ok stóðu út af ásendarnir, Ld. 280; Nj. 115, 202; drengja við ása langa (acc. pl.), Fms. vii. 54, Sks. 425, Pm. 11, Dipl. iii. 8, Hom. 95; sofa undir sótkum ási, Hkr. i. 43; cp. Caes. Bell. Gall. 5. ch. 36, Fs. 62: in buildings áss gener. means the main beam, running along the house, opp. to bitar, þvertré, a cross-beam, v. mæniráss, brúnáss, etc.: the beams of a bridge, Fms. ix. 512; in a ship, beitiáss, a yard of a sail: also simply called áss, Ýt. 23, Fs. 113; vindáss, a windlass (i. e. windle-ass, winding-pole).

2. metaph. a rocky ridge, Lat. jugum, Eg. 576, Fms. viii. 176. Ás and Ásar are freq. local names in Iceland and Norway.

COMPD: ássstubbi.

m. [that the word existed in Goth. may be inferred from the words of Jornandes—Gothi proceres suos quasi qui fortunâ vincebant non pares homines sed semideos, id est Anses, vocavere. The word appears in the Engl. names Osborn, Oswald, etc. In old German pr. names with n, e. g. Ansgâr, A. S. Oscar: Grimm suggests a kinship between áss, pole, and áss, deus; but this is uncertain. In Icel. at least no such notion exists, and the inflexions of the two words differ. The old gen. asar is always used in the poems of the 10th century, Korm. 22 (in a verse), etc.; dat. æsi, in the oath of Glum (388), later ás; nom. pl. æsir; acc. pl. ásu (in old poetry), æsi (in prose). The old declension is analogous to árr; perhaps the Goth. form was sounded ansus; it certainly was sounded different from ans, δοκός]:—the Ases, gods, either the old heathen gods in general, or esp. the older branch, opp. to the new one, the dî ascripti, the Vanir, q. v., Edda 13 sqq.

β. the sing. is used particularly of the different gods, e. g. of Odin; ölverk Ásar, the brewing of the As (viz. Odin), i. e. poetry, Korm. 208 (in a verse); of Loki, Bragi, etc.; but κατ εξοχην it is used of Thor, e. g. in the heathen oaths, segi ek þat Æsi (where it does not mean Odin), Glúm. 388; Freyr ok Njörðr ok hinn almátki Áss, Landn. (Hb.) 258: in Swed. åska means lightning, thunder, qs. ás-ekja, the driving of the As, viz. Thor: áss as a prefix to pr. names also seems to refer to Thor, not Odin, e. g. Ásbjörn = Þorbjörn, Ásmóðr = Þormóðr (Landn. 307 in a verse). In Scandinavian pr. names áss before the liquid r assumes a t, and becomes ást (Ástríðr, not Ásríðr; Ástráðr = Ásráðr); and sometimes even before an l, Ástlákr—Áslákr, Fb. i. 190; Ástleifr—Ásleifr, Fms. xi. (Knytl. S.)

COMPDS: ásagisling, ásaheiti, ÁsaÞórr, ásaætt.

* * *

(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.

* * *

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.

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f. bell (hann vígði klukkur ok bjöllur).

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u, f. a bell, certainly an Engl. word imported into Icel. along with Christianity; bjöllu gætir, the keeper of the bell, is a nickname given by the heathen Icel. to a missionary, A. D. 998, Kristni S. (in a verse): hann vígði klukkur ok bjöllur, Bs. i. 65, Fms. i. 233: bjalla is now esp. used of small bells, e. g. on the horns of sheep, but klukka of a church bell; cp. dynbjalla, Grett.

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1) bud;

2) point of time (í þetta brum).

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I. neut. a bud, Lat. gemma; þá hit fyrsta tók brum at þrútna um várit á öllum aldinviði til laufs, Sks. 105; af bruminu, Bs. ii. 165; birki-brum, a birch-bud, Eyvind (in a verse), Lex. Poët.

II. metaph. and masc. spring, only in the phrase, öndverðan brum (acc.), in the early spring time, Sighvat (in a verse); í öndverðan brum þinna daga, Bs. ii. 7.

β. a moment, in the phrase, í þenna (sama) brum; í þenna brum kom Hringr Dagsson, in the description of the battle at Stiklastað, Ó. H. 218, cp. Fms. v. 81 (where v. l. tíma); ‘í þessu bruni,’ Fms. ix. 24. is certainly a misspelling for ‘í þenna brum:’ cp. also the compd word nýa-brum, novelty, newfangledness.

(gen. dags, dat. degi; pl. dagar), m.

1) day;

at kveldi skal dag leyfa, at eventide shall the day be praised;

dagr kemr upp í austri, sezt í vestri, the day rises in the east, sets in the west;

öndverðr dagr, the early day, forenoon;

miðr dagr, midday;

hallandi dagr, declining day;

at kveldi dags, síð dags, late in the day;

sannr sem dagr, true as day;

í dag, today;

á (or um) daginn, during the day;

sama dags, the same day;

annan dag, the next day;

annars dag, another day;

hindra dags, the day after, tomorrow;

dag frá degi, hvern dag frá öðrum, from day to day;

dag eptir dag, day after day;

nótt ok dag, night and day;

dögunum optar, more times than there are days, over and over again;

á deyjanda degi, on one’s death-day;

2) pl., days, times;

ef aðrir dagar (better days) koma;

góðir dagar, happy days;

3) esp. pl., lifetime;

á dögum e-s, um daga e-s, in the days of, during or in the reign of;

eptir minn dag, when I am dead (gaf honum alla sína eign eptir sinn dag);

mátti hann eigi lengr gefa en um sína dagi, than for his lifetime;

ráða (taka) e-n af dögum, to put to death.

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m., irreg. dat. degi, pl. dagar: [the kindred word dœgr with a vowel change from ó (dóg) indicates a lost root verb analogous to ala, ól, cp. dalr and dælir; this word is common to all Teutonic dialects; Goth. dags; A. S. dag; Engl. day; Swed.-Dan. dag; Germ. tag; the Lat. dies seems to be identical, although no interchange has taken place]

I. a day; in different senses:

1. the natural day:—sayings referring to the day, at kveldi skal dag leyfa, at eventide shall the day be praised, Hm. 80 ; allir dagar eiga kveld um síðir; mörg eru dags augu, vide auga; enginn dagr til enda tryggr, no day can be trusted till its end; allr dagr til stefnu, Grág. i. 395, 443, is a law phrase,—for summoning was lawful only if performed during the day; this phrase is also used metaph. = ‘plenty of time’ or the like: popular phrases as to the daylight are many—dagr rennr, or rennr upp, and kemr upp, the day rises, Bm. 1; dagr í austri, day in the east, where the daylight first appears; dagsbrún, ‘day’s brow,’ is the first streak of daylight, the metaphor taken from the human face; lysir af degi, it brightens from the day, i. e. daylight is appearing; dagr ljómar, the day gleams; fyrir dag, before day; móti degi, undir dag, about daybreak; komið at degi, id., Fms. viii. 398; dagr á lopti, day in the sky; árla, snemma dags, early in the morning, Pass. 15. 17; dagr um allt lopt, etc.; albjartr dagr, hábjartr d., full day, broad daylight; hæstr dagr, high day; önd-verðr d., the early day = forenoon, Am. 50; miðr dagr, midday, Grág. i. 413, 446, Sks. 217, 219; áliðinn dagr, late in the day, Fas. i. 313; hallandi dagr, declining day; at kveldi dags, síð dags, late in the day, Fms. i. 69. In the evening the day is said to set, hence dag-sett, dag-setr, and dagr setzt; in tales, ghosts and spirits come out with nightfall, but dare not face the day; singing merry songs after nightfall is not safe, það kallast ekki Kristnum leyft að kveða þegar dagsett er, a ditty; Syrpuvers er mestr galdr er í fólginn, ok eigi er lofat at kveða eptir dagsetr, Fas. iii. 206, Ísl. Þjóðs. ii. 7, 8: the daylight is symbolical of what is true or clear as day, hence the word dagsanna, or satt sem dagr, q. v.

2. of different days; í dag, to-day, Grág. i. 16, 18, Nj. 36, Ld. 76, Fms. vi. 151; í gær-dag, yesterday; í fyrra dag, the day before yesterday, Háv. 50; í hinni-fyrra dag, the third day; annars dags, Vígl. 23, Pass. 50. I; hindra dags, the hinder day, the day after to-morrow, Hm. 109; dag eptir dag, day after day, Hkr. ii. 313; dag frá degi, from day to day, Fms. ii. 230; hvern dag frá öðrum, id., Fms. viii. 182; annan dag frá öðrum. id., Eg. 277; um daginn, during the day; á dögunum. the other day; nótt ok dag, night and day; liðlangan dag, the ‘life-long’ day; dögunum optar, more times than there are days, i. e. over and over again, Fms. x. 433; á deyjanda degi, on one’s day of death, Grág. i. 402.

β. regu-dagr, a rainy day: sólskins-dagr, a sunny day; sumar-dagr, a summer day; vetrar-dagr, a winter day; hátíðis-dagr, a feast day; fegins-dagr, a day of joy; dóms-dagr, the day of doom, judgment day, Gl. 82, Fms. viii. 98; hamingju-dagr, heilla-dagr, a day of happiness; gleði-dagr, id.; brúðkaups-dagr, bridal-day; burðar-dagr, a birthday.

3. in pl. days in the sense of times; aðrir dagar, Fms. i. 216; ek ætlaða ekki at þessir dagar mundu verða, sem nú eru orðnir, Nj. 171; góðir dagar, happy days, Fms. xi. 286, 270; sjá aldrei glaðan dag (sing.), never to see glad days.

β. á e-s dögum, um e-s daga eptir e-s daga, esp. of the lifetime or reign of kings, Fms.; but in Icel. also used of the lögsögumaðr, Jb. repeatedly; vera á dögum, to be alive; eptir minn dag, ‘after my day,’ i. e. when I am dead.

γ. calendar days, e. g. Hvíta-dagar, the White days, i. e. Whitsuntide; Hunda-dagar, the Dog days; Banda-dagr, Vincula Petri; Höfuð-dagr, Decap. Johannis; Geisla-dagr, Epiphany; Imbru-dagar, Ember days; Gang-dagar, ‘Ganging days,’ Rogation days; Dýri-dagr, Corpus Christi; etc.

4. of the week-days; the old names being Sunnu-d. or Drottins-d., Mána-d., Týs-d., Öðins-d., Þórs-d., Frjá-d., Laugar-d. or Þvátt-d. It is hard to understand how the Icel. should be the one Teut. people that have disused the old names of the week-days; but so it was, vide Jóns S. ch. 24; fyrir bauð hann at eigna daga vitrum mönnum heiðnum, svá sem at kalla Týrsdag Óðinsdag, eðr Þórsdag, ok svá um alla vikudaga, etc., Bs. i. 237, cp. 165. Thus bishop John (died A. D. 1121) caused them to name the days as the church does (Feria sccunda, etc.); viz. Þriði-d. or Þriðju-d., Third-day = Tuesday, Rb. 44, K. Þ. K. 100, Ísl. ii. 345; Fimti-d., Fifth-day—Thursday, Rb. 42, Grág. i. 146, 464, 372, ii. 248, Nj. 274; Föstu-d., Fast-day = Friday; Miðviku-d., Midweek-day = Wednesday, was borrowed from the Germ. Mittwoch; throughout the 12th and 13th centuries, however, the old and new names were used indiscriminately. The question arises whether even the old names were not imported from abroad (England); certainly the Icel. of heathen times did not reckon by weeks; even the word week (vika) is probably of eccl. Latin origin (vices, recurrences). It is curious that the Scandinavian form of Friday, old Icel. Frjádagr, mod. Swed.-Dan. Fredag, is A. S. in form; ‘Frjá-,’ ‘Fre-,’ can hardly be explained but from A. S. Freâ-, and would be an irregular transition from the Norse form Frey. The transition of ja into mod. Swed.-Dan. e is quite regular, whereas Icel. ey (in Frey) would require the mod. Swed.-Dan. ö or u sound. Names of weekdays are only mentioned in Icel. poems of the 11th century (Arnór, Sighvat); but at the time of bishop John the reckoning by weeks was probably not fully established, and the names of the days were still new to the people. 5. the day is in Icel. divided according to the position of the sun above the horizon; these fixed traditional marks are called dags-mörk, day-marks, and are substitutes for the hours of modern times, viz. ris-mál or miðr-morgun, dag-mál, há-degi, mið-degi or mið-mundi, nón, miðr-aptan, nátt-mál, vide these words. The middle point of two day-marks is called jafn-nærri-báðum, in modern pronunciation jöfnu-báðu, equally-near-both, the day-marks following in the genitive; thus in Icel. a man asks, hvað er fram orðið, what is the time? and the reply is, jöfnubáðu miðsmorguns og dagmála, half-way between mid-morning and day-meal, or stund til (to) dagmála; hallandi dagmál, or stund af ( past) dagmálum; jöfnu-báðu hádegis og dagmúla, about ten or half-past ten o’clock, etc. Those day-marks are traditional in every farm, and many of them no doubt date from the earliest settling of the country. Respecting the division of the day, vide Pál Vídal. s. v. Allr dagr til stefnu, Finnus Johann., Horologium Island., Eyktamörk Íslenzk (published at the end of the Rb.), and a recent essay of Finn Magnusson.

II. denoting a term, but only in compounds, dagi, a, m., where the weak form is used, cp. ein-dagi, mál-dagi, bar-dagi, skil-dagi.

III. jis a pr. name, Dagr, (freq.); in this sense the dat. is Dag, not Degi, cp. Óðinn léði Dag (dat.) geirs síns, Sæm. 114.

COMPDS: dagatal, dagsbrun, dagshelgi, dagsljós, dagsmark, dagsmegin, dagsmunr.

(gen. hattar, dat. hetti; pl. hettir, acc. höttu), m. hood.

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m., hattar, hetti, acc. pl. höttu, a later form hattr, Dropl. 13, Eg. 407, Nj. 32, 46, Gísl. 55, O. H. L. 46, as also in mod. usage; [the A. S. hôd, Engl. hood, O. H. G. huot, Dutch hoed, Germ. hut may perhaps be identical; but A. S. hæt, Engl., Dan., and Swed. hat certainly answer to the old höttr, cp. also hetta, q. v.]:—a hood, in olden times only a cowl fastened to a cloak, as is seen from numerous instances. Fms. i. 149, ii. 72, viii. 368, x. 225, 229, 301, Eg. 375, 407, Grág. ii. 132: a cowl of felt, þófa-höttr, Dropl. 13, Nj. 179.

2. of a gorgeous foreign hood or turban from the east, Fms. xi. 77, 85; called Gerzkr ( Russian) in Nj. 46, Gísl. 55, or Girskr ( Greek) in O. H. L. 46; Danskr höttr, a Danish hood, Ó. H.: a hat in the mod. sense was unknown to the men of old; even the hat-like helmet was called stál-húfa, a steel cap, not stál-höttr.

II. in poetry the head is called hattar land, hauðr, -stallr, -fell, -steði, the land, knoll, fell, stithy of the hood; or hatt-staup, n. a hat-knoll, Ad.: Odin is represented wearing a hött, and so the helmet is called the hood of Odin, etc.; as also Ála höttr: the vaulted sky is foldar höttr = earth’s hood, Lex. Poët.: dular-h., huldar-h., a hiding hood, hood of disguise. hattar-maðr, m. a hooded man, man in disguise, Rd. 272; Síð-höttr, ‘Deep-hood,’ was a favourite name of Odin from his travelling in disguise, cp. Robin Hood.

III. a pr. name, Fas.

n. poet. disturbance, strife (?).

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m.; the mod. form njóli is no doubt a corruption from hvannjóli (q. v.), by dropping the former part of the compd, but retaining the final n, which was transferred to the latter part of the compd, just as in Dan. paa = opp-aa: [ jol = angelica sylvestris, Ivar Aasen]:—wild angelica; the word is recorded in the Edda Lauf., and occurs in Ls. 3,—jól (acc.) ok áfu færi ek Ása sonum ok blend ek þeim svá meini mjöð, denoting that Loki threatened to poison their ale with ill-flavoured herbs (the passage must certainly be so taken, and not as suggested s. v. áfr, p. 40).

(mjó, mjótt), a.

1) thin, slender, slim; mjótt band, a slender cord;

2) pointed (m. knífsoddr);

3) narrow, opp. to breiðr( þar var mjótt sund ok djúpt).

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adj., fem. mjó, neut. mjótt, with a characteristic v, which reappears before a vowel, thus mjóvan, mjóvar, mjóvir, mjóvum; often spelt with f, mjófan, etc.; in mod. usage by elision, mjóan, etc. The forms vary in three ways, mjór, mjár, mær, analogous to sjór, sjár, sær, α. mjár, mjá, mjátt; mjá (acc. n. pl.), Stj. 201, and foot-note 21; mjár farvegr, Fms. ix. 366, v. l.; mjátt, Js. 55, Thom. 153; miaua (= mjáva) vatni, D. N. i. 81. β. mær; mævar skeiðir, the slim, narrow ships, Fms. i. 170 (in a verse),—certainly thus, not as explained in Lex. Poët. p. 567, col. 1; as also mævar hlaupsíldr, the slim herrings, in Eyvind’s verse (Hkr. i. 185); in me-fingr = mæ-fingr = mjó-fingr, taper-fingered, epithet of a lady, Hðm.: af þeim meiði er mer (i. e. mær) sýndisk, of the twig which was slim to behold, Vsp.; in the spelling of Cod. Reg. of Sæm. Edda e, ę, or æ are freq. all written with the letter e, so that mér ( mihi) and mær ( tenuis) would all be spelt alike; this reading was suggested as early as by Rask in the edition of 1818, see Bugge’s remarks in Philol. Tidsskr. 6th vol.: in Mæv-eið (= the narrow isthmus) in Shetland, Mk. 98, called Mawid in a Videsse of 1516 A. D.; at present Mawie or Mavis-grind, as opp. to another isthmus called Brae, i. e. Breið-eið = the Broad isthmus; cp. also Moorness = the little ness, in Shetl.

II. compar., an older form mjóvari, mjávari, Ýt.; superl. mjóvastr, but obsolete, and replaced by a contracted mjóri, mjóstr, in mod. usage mjórri, mjóstr.

B. Thin, slim, taper; svá mjó, so slim in the waist, Bs. ii. 168; mjórar konu, Bjarn. (in a verse); mjóva mey, Korm.; mjótt band, Edda 20; mjór kvistr, Fas. iii. 33; með mjófu járni, Fær. 238; mjór Mistilteinn, Vsp.; mjófum knífsoddi, Fs. 144; mjófum fléttingum, Karl. 335; yxn mjá ok mjök visin, Stj. 201; þar sem hann var mjóstr, Fms. vii. 264:—of cloth, stiku breið en eigi mjóri, Grág. i. 498; jaðarflá vara eðr mjó, 499; sitja mjótt, Band. 38 new Ed.: sayings, mjór er mikils vísir, Fms. v. 176 (in a verse); mjótt er mundangs-hóf, Bs. i. (in a verse), Js. 55 (mjátt).

2. narrow; stigrinn var mjór ok þröngr, Fær. 48; skipit var heldr mjótt, Fms. ii. 50; mjótt sund, Grett. 83; mjór farvegr, Fms. ix. 366; grafir djúpari ok mjóri, Sks. 426: a nickname, Mjóvi, the Slim, or en Mjóva. II. in local names, Mjóvi-dalr, Mjóvi-fjörðr, Mjóva-nes, Mjó-sund or Mý-syndi, Dan. Mysunde in Slesvig; Mæv-eið, Munch’s Norg. Beskr.

C. COMPDS: mjó-beina or mjó-beinn, adj. slim leg, a nickname, Landn., Korm. mjó-eygr, adj. narrow-eyed, of one whose eyes are set close together, Eb. 258, see the remarks s. v. auga. mjóf-dœlingr, m. a man from Mjóvidalr, Landn. mjó-fingraðr, adj. taper-fingered, Rm. (Bugge), of a lady. mjó-hljóðaðr, adj. thin-voiced. mjó-hryggr, m. the small of the back. mjó-hundr, m. [Dan. mynde], a greyhound, Sks. 81. mjó-leitr, adj. narrow-faced, referring to the distance between the eyes, Bergb.-þ. 124, Fas. ii. 118. mjó-nefr, adj. thin nose, a nickname for a close man, Ó. H. 31. mjó-skíð, n. the slim wand, for this must be the true reading in the verse in Bjarn., the miðskipa of the MSS. = miôsciþa; and mjóskið rökra = the slim twilight wand, = a taper, is a poët. circumlocution of a lady’s name, Ey-kyndill (= Island-taper), mjó-slegin, part. beaten thin. Fas. ii. 581. mjó-syndi, n. a narrow sound, straight lane, see above.

(sónn, satt), a.

1) true (sónn saga); hón sagði þór satt frá Geirróði, she told Thor the truth about G.; nú skal ek segja þér it sanna, now I will tell thee the truth; hafa e-t fyrir satt, to be sure (convinced) of; hafa sannara, to be in the right (skal konungr um segja, hvárir sannara hafi); gøra e-t satt, to make good, prove (hvern veg gørir þú þat satt); s. sem dagr, true as day, clear as noonday (= dagsannr); sönnu sagðr, justly charged; með sönnu, at sönnu, in truth, truly; til sanns, certainly, for certain (vita e-t til sanns);

2) meet, proper (væri þat sannara, at þú værir drepinn);

3) s. at e-u, convicted of, (proved) guilty of (s. at sökinni).

1) truth (vita sann á e-u); fœra e-m heim sanninn, to tell one the bitter truth;

2) fairness; e-t er nær sanni, is fair or reasonable; ástir þeirra vóru at góðum sanni, they loved each other fittingly;

3) estimation; bœtta e-t við góðra manna sann, according to the estimate of good men.

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m. (saðr, Am. 6). justice, equity, as also evidence, proof; kenn mér engan sann, do not teach me any lessons, Fms. iii. 85; færa e-m heim sanninn, to tell one the bitter truth or the real state of things, Lv. 20; e-t er nær sanni, near the truth, fair, reasonable, moderate, Fb. iii. 451, Fms. vii. 238 (x. 420); ástir þeirra vóru at góðum sanni, they loved one another fairly, Bjarn. 12; vil ek bæta þat með sann ( estimation) góðra manna, Sturl. iii. 139, Fbr. 43 new Ed.; skulu þeir göra þér sæmðir við várn sann, as we may deem fair, Sturl. iii. 151; Þorgils skyldi sæma Halldór nokkuru eptir því sem sannr hans (i. e. Th.’s) væri til, 168; eigi vitu vér sann á því, we know not the truth thereof, have no proof of it, Fms. vii. 275; mjök þykki mér hann bera sinn sann á þetta, Fs. 46; hón kvaðsk hafa sinn sann við (for sitt satt), 170.

(sónn, satt), a.

1) true (sónn saga); hón sagði þór satt frá Geirróði, she told Thor the truth about G.; nú skal ek segja þér it sanna, now I will tell thee the truth; hafa e-t fyrir satt, to be sure (convinced) of; hafa sannara, to be in the right (skal konungr um segja, hvárir sannara hafi); gøra e-t satt, to make good, prove (hvern veg gørir þú þat satt); s. sem dagr, true as day, clear as noonday (= dagsannr); sönnu sagðr, justly charged; með sönnu, at sönnu, in truth, truly; til sanns, certainly, for certain (vita e-t til sanns);

2) meet, proper (væri þat sannara, at þú værir drepinn);

3) s. at e-u, convicted of, (proved) guilty of (s. at sökinni).

1) truth (vita sann á e-u); fœra e-m heim sanninn, to tell one the bitter truth;

2) fairness; e-t er nær sanni, is fair or reasonable; ástir þeirra vóru at góðum sanni, they loved each other fittingly;

3) estimation; bœtta e-t við góðra manna sann, according to the estimate of good men.

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adj., fem. sönn, neut. satt for sannt, Dan. sandt; an older form saðr, as also saðrar, saðri, see introduction to letter N; cp. sannari, sannastr: with suffix satt-na, Bs. i. 469, v. l.: [Goth. sunis is assumed from Ulf. sunjeins = ἀληθής, sunja = ἀλήθεια; A. S. and Hel. sôð; Engl.sooth; O. H. G. sunnis; old Frank, sone; cp. Germ. ver-söhnen, all with a radical u sound, whereas Swed.-Dan. sann, sand; Lat. -sons, -sontis, is the same word; the old Norse law term, sannr at sök, or ú-sannr, eigi sannr at sök, exactly answers to the Lat. law term ‘in-sons’; thus Lat. injuriae insons is literally rendered in Icel. by ‘ú-sannr at sök.’]:—sooth, true; allit., vitni salt ok sært, D. N. ii. 140; sönn saga, Ld. 52; sönn sök, Hm. 119; sannar jarteinir, Eg. 476; segja satt, to say sooth, Vþm. 43, Ld. 194, Eb. 47 new Ed.; hafa e-t fyrir satt, to believe to be true, be convinced of, Nj. 10; eigi er þat satt, Fs. 97; þat er satt, ‘tis true, Bs. i. 469; hverir sannara hafa, Fas. i. 317, N. G. L. i. 40; hann kveðsk sagt hafa sem hann vissi sannast, Ld. 194; it sannasta, Vþm. 42; mála sannast, Ísl. ii. 125:—at sönnu. forsooth, Sks. 491 B, MS. 655 xiii. A. 2, 633. 31: in mod. used as Germ. zwar (‘tis true enough …, but); með sönnu, Ld. 76; til sanns. forsooth, Fms. vi. 41, 128, Gþl. 315, Eg. 458, 568; vera, verða sannr at e-n, to be convicted of, be guilty of; þeir báru Gunnar sannan at sökinni, Nj. 87, Eb. 22 new Ed.; þeir er sannir urðu at á verkum við Sigurð konung, Fms. vii. 248; er áðr hefir kuðr ok saðr orðinn at þjófskap, Grág. ii. 189, Fs. 97, 159; er hann sönnu sagðr, is he justly charged? Bret. 12; þá þykkir þú bleyði borinn eða sönnu sagðr, Sdm. 25.

2. sincere; með sönnu hugskoti, Mar.: due, meet, væri þat sannara at þú værir drepinn, Gísl. 50.

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f. sale; hafa (eiga) e-t til sölu, to have on sale, for sale.

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u, f., also later form sál, f., gen. sálar, which form prevails in mod. usage, but the old writers prefer the weak form, thus sála, Hom. 31, 89; gen. sing. sálu, K. Á. 76; dat. sálu, passim (e. g. Hallfred, l. c.); acc. sáluna, Fms. viii. 252. v. l.; pl. sálur, Stj. 243, Hom. 30, MS. 671. 5, Sks. 99 C; gen. pl. sálna, H. E. i. 499, passim. The word is certainly Teutonic, but hardly Scandinavian, and was probably adopted from the Saxon with the introduction of Christianity; it is therefore only used in a religious and ecclesiastical sense: it first occurs in Hallfred (ef sálu minni vissak borgit); it never occurs in heathen poems, for the sálfastr, in Gísl. 120 (where, however, it is put in the mouth of a ‘prime-signed’ man) is, like other verses in that Saga, of later composition (12th century): [Ulf. saiwala = ψυχή; A. S. sawl and sawle Engl. soul; Hel. seola; O. H. G. sala, etc.]:— the soul; sálin, líkamr ok sála, Hom. 89; allra þeirra sálir, Gþl. 69, passim in old and mod. usage, N. T., Pass., Vídal.

B. In COMPDS, in old writers sálu-, not sálar-: sálu-bati, a, m. = sálubót, Bs. ii. 147. sálu-bót, f. the soul’s health, Hkr. ii. 347, Grág. i. 144, 202, Fms. vii. 76. sálu-búð, f. a ‘soul’s booth,’ hospital, Thom. sálu-eldar, n. pl. funeral fires, Róm. 211, 234. sálu-félag, n. ‘soul’s communion,’ Fb. i. 268. sálu-gipt and sálu-gjöf, f. a soul’s gift, B. K. 55, 110, Grág. i. 202, K. Á. 72, Vm. 143, Jm. 3. sálu-Háski, a, m. ‘soul’s danger,’ perdition, Stj. 21, Dipl. ii. 14, (sálar-háski, id., Sturl. i. 122, Sks. 447.) sálu-hjálp, f. ‘soul’s help,’ salvation, Orkn. 492, N. T., Pass., Vídal. sálu-hlið, n. a ‘soul’s gate,’ a lich-gate, Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 282. sálu-hús, n. a ‘soul’s house,’ hospital, Stj. 216. sálu-messa, u, f. a ‘soul’s mass,’ requiem, Bs. i. 712, Vm. 30, 144, Dipl. iv. 8, Pm. 97. sálu-sár, n. ‘soul’s wound,’ Hom. 70. sálu-skaði, a, m. ‘soul’s scathe,’ perdition, Fms. Hi. 170. sálu-stofa, u, f. = sáluhús, Kálfsk., Boldt. sálu-tíðir, f. pl. = sálumessa, Fms. x. 149, Bs. i. 173, 712, Stat., D. N., Stj. 238; sálutíða-kver, Pm. 14. sálu-tjón, n. ‘soul’s-tine,’ perdition, Sks. 358, Bs. ii. 68. sálu-þarfligr, adj. useful for the soul, Stat. 291. salu-þurft, f. the soul’s need, H. E. i. 252, Hom. 92. sálu-þörf, f. id., Hom. 158. sálu-öl, n. a funeral feast, N. G. L. i. 14. sálu-öldr, n. = sáluöl (see erfi, which is the heathen word), N. G. L. i. 15. ☞ In mod. compds sometimes sálar-, but sálu-hjálp, -hlið, -messa, not sálar-hjálp, etc.

skopti, skopta, to float atop (like hair); skopta ek upp, I rose to the surface, emerged, Fbr., Fb. ii. 215 (in a verse); this certainly is the sense, and not as explained in Lex. Poët.