common+language

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.

n. reply, now freq. in common language, v. following word.

1) tree;

2) bosom.

* * *

m. [Goth. bagms; A. S. beam, cp. Engl. hornbeam; Germ. baum], a tree, only used in poetry, v. Lex. Poët., never in prose or common language, and alien to all Scandin. idioms: it seems prop. to be used of the branches of a tree (in flower); hár b., the high tree, Vsp. 18; á berki skal þær rista ok á baðmi viðar, Sdm. 11 (referring to the lim-rúnar). Even used metaph. = gremium, sinus; er þá Véa ok Vilja | létztu þér Viðris kvæn | báða í baðm um tekið, when thou tookest both of them into thy arms, embraced them both, Ls. 26; vaxi þér á baðmi ( bosom) barr, Hkv. Hjörv. 16. Cp. hróðrbaðmr (barmr is a bad reading), Vtkv. 8, a fatal twig.

* * *

a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

* * *

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WITH ACC.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. Metaph. and in various relations:

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

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

II. denoting in regard to, in respect to:

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

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

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

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

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

IV. denoting the manner or way of doing:

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

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

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

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

VI. connected with nouns,

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

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

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

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

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

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

a. Danish;

dönsk tunga, the Danish (or old Scandinavian) language.

* * *

adj., Danir, pl. Danes; Dan-mörk, f. Denmark, i. e. the mark, march, or border of the Danes; Dana-veldi, n. the Danish empire; Dana-virki, n. the Danish wall, and many compds, vide Fms. xi. This adj. requires special notice, because of the phrase Dönsk tunga ( the Danish tongue), the earliest recorded name of the common Scandinavian tongue. It must be borne in mind that the ‘Danish’ of the old Saga times applies not to the nation, but to the empire. According to the researches of the late historian P.A. Munch, the ancient Danish empire, at least at times, extended over almost all the countries bordering on the Skagerac (Vík); hence a Dane became in Engl. synonymous with a Scandinavian; the language spoken by the Scandinavians was called Danish; and ‘Dönsk tunga’ is even used to denote Scandinavian extraction in the widest extent, vide Sighvat in Fms. iv. 73, Eg. ch. 51, Grág. ii. 71, 72. During the 11th and 12th centuries the name was much in use, but as the Danish hegemony in Scandinavia grew weaker, the name became obsolete, and Icel. writers of the 13th and 14th centuries began to use the name ‘Norræna,’ Norse tongue, from Norway their own mother country, and the nearest akin to Icel. in customs and idiom. ‘Swedish’ never occurs, because Icel. had little intercourse with that country, although the Scandinavian tongue was spoken there perhaps in a more antique form than in the sister countries. In the 15th century, when almost all connection with Scandinavia was broken off for nearly a century, the Norræna in its turn became an obsolete word, and was replaced by the present word ‘Icelandic,’ which kept its ground, because the language in the mean time underwent great changes on the Scandinavian continent. The Reformation, the translation of the Old and New Testaments into Icelandic (Oddr Gotskalksson, called the Wise, translated and published the N. T. in 1540, and bishop Gudbrand the whole Bible in 1584), a fresh growth of religious literature, hymns, sermons, and poetry (Hallgrímr Pétrsson, Jón Vídalín), the regeneration of the old literature in the 17th and 18th centuries (Brynjólfr Sveinsson, Arni Magnússon, Þormóðr Torfason),—all this put an end to the phrases Dönsk tunga and Norræna; and the last phrase is only used to denote obsolete grammatical forms or phrases, as opposed to the forms and phrases of the living language. The translators of the Bible often say ‘vort Íslenzkt mál,’ our Icelandic tongue, or ‘vort móður mál,’ our mother tongue; móður-málið mitt, Pass. 35. 9. The phrase ‘Dönsk tunga’ has given rise to a great many polemical antiquarian essays: the last and the best, by which this question may be regarded as settled, is that by Jon Sigurdsson in the preface to Lex. Poët.; cp. also that of Pál Vídalín in Skýr. s. v., also published in Latin at the end of the old Ed. of Gunnl. Saga, 1775.

f. she-fox.

* * *

u, f. a fox; this curious word, which answers to Goth. fauhô, O. H. G. foha, only occurs in Edda (Gl.), unless the present Icel. tóa (the common name for a fox) be a corruption of fóa; if not, the etym. of tóa is quite uncertain. It is a common superstition not to call the fox by his right name, whence the variety of names in different languages, and number of synonymes in the same language.

* * *

(hin, hitt), dem. pron.

1) the other; á hinn fótinn, on the other leg; pl. the others, the rest (Kimbi bar sár sín engan mun betr en hinir);

2) emphatically, that; hitt ek hugða, that was what I thought; hitt vil ek vita, that I want to know.

(hin, hit), def. art., before an adjective standing alone or followed by a substantive, the, = inn, enn( eptir hinni eystri kvísl).

* * *

HIN, HIT, the article, an enclitic, which therefore can never serve as an accentuated syllable in a verse, either as rhyme or in alliteration. In good old MSS. (e. g. Cod. Reg. of Sæm.) it is hardly ever spelt with the aspirate, but is written inn, in, it or ið, or enn, en, et or eð, and thus distinguished from the demonstr. pron. hinn; but in the Editions the prob. spurious aspirate has been generally prefixed: an indecl. inu or hinu occurs often in later MSS. of the 14th century, e. g. the Fb.; but as it has not been heard of since and is unknown in the modern language, it simply seems to be a Norwegianism, thus, inu sömu orð, Th. 2; hinnu fyrri biskupa (gen. pl.), H. E. ii. 79; enu instu luti ( res intimas), Hom. 57 (Norse MS.); hinu ágæztu menn (nom. pl.), id.; innu óargu dýra, 657 A. ii. 12: [cp. Goth. jains = ἐκεινος; A. S. geond; Engl. yon; Germ. jener.]

A. The:

I. preceding the noun:

1. before an adjective standing alone or followed by a substantive; inn mæri, inn ríki, inn dimmi dreki, inn mikli mögr, Vsp.; in aldna, id.; inn góða mjöð, the good mead, Gm. 13; inn mæra mjöð, Skm. 16; inn helga mjöð, Sdm. 18; in forna fold, Hým. 24; in fríða frilla, 30; inn fróði jötum, Vþm. 20; inn gamli þulr, 9; inn hára þul, Fm. 34; inn fráni ormr, 19; opt inn betri bilar þá er inn verri vegr, Hm. 127; in alsnotra ambátt, in arma, Þkv.; enn fróði afi, Skm. 2; in ílla mæra, 32; enn fráni ormr, 27; eð manunga man, Hm. 163; enn aldna jötun, 104; en horska mær, 95; it betra, Stor. 22; ena þriðju, the third, Vsp. 20; inn móður-lausi mögr, Fm. 2; it gjalla gull, ok it glóðrauða fé, 9; ið fyrsta orð, Sdm. 14; enu skírleita goði, Gm. 39; in glýstömu græti, Hðm. 1; in svásu goð, Vþm. 17; enum frægja syni, Hm. 141; at ins tryggva vinar, 66; ennar góðu konu, 100; ins svinna mans, 162; ens dýra mjaðar, 141; ens hindra dags, 109; ens unga mans, Skm. 11; ens deykkva hrafns, Skv. 2. 20; æ til ins eina dags, Fm. 10; ena níundu hverja nótt, Skm. 21: with the ordinals, inn fyrsti, þriði …, Gm. 6 sqq., Sdm. 21 sqq.

2. so also before an adverb; it sama, likewise, Hm. 75, Fm. 4, Vþm. 22, 23, Gm. 15, Hdl. 26.

3. as an indecl. particle ‘in’ or ‘en’ before a comparative; in heldr, the more, Hm. 60, Sdm. 36, Hkv. 1. 12, Skv. 1. 21, Gh. 3, Nj. 219; in lengr, the longer, Am. 58, 61; this has been already mentioned s. v. en (p. 127, B. at bottom, and p. 128), but it is almost exclusively poetical.

II. placed between a pronoun and an adjective in the definite form:

1. after a demonstr.; sá inn fráni ormr, Fm. 26; sá inn harði hallr, Gs. 10; sá inn aldni jötun, Skm. 25; sá inn ámáttki jötunn, 10; þat ið mikla men, Þkv. 13; þat ið litla, ‘that the little,’ i. e. the little thing, Ls. 44: þann inn alsvinna jötun, Vþm. 1; þann inn aldna jötun, Fm. 29; þann inn hrímkalda jötun, 38; þess ins alsvinna jötuns, Vþm. 5; þat it unga man, Alm. 6; þann inn aldna jötun, Gm. 50; þau in harðmóðgu ský, 41; sá inn máttki munr, 93; mönnum þeim enum aldrœnum, Hbl. 44; börn þau in blíðu, Og. 9; hrís þat ið mæra, Akv. 5: in prose, fjölmenni þat it mikla, Eg. 46; þetta it mikla skip, Fms. x. 347, passim: with ordinals, segðu þat ið eina, say that the first, Vþm. 20; þat ið þriðja, fjórða …, 20 sqq.

2. after a possessive; síns ins heila hugar, síns ins svára sefa, Hm. 105; þíns ins hvassa hjörs, Fm. 29; minn inn hvassi hjörr, 6; míns ins hvassa hjörs, 28; bækr þínar inar bláhvítu, Hðm.

3. after a pers. pron.: þú hinn armi, thou wretch! Ld. 326; gakk þú hingat hinn mikli maðr! Eg. 488.

III. placed between two nouns in apposition:

1. between a proper name and a title or epithet in the definite form; Sigurðr inn Suðræni, Sigurd the Southerner, Skv. 3. 4; Atli inn Ríki, Akv. 29; Högna ins frækna, Hjalla ins blauða, 23; Guðröðr inn Göfugláti, Ýt.; Hamðir inn hugumstóri, Hðm. 25; Kjötva’nn (= Kjötva enn) Auðga, Hornklofi; Svan enum Rauða, Álfr enn Gamli, Hdl.; as also in prose, Ívarr inn Víðfaðmi, Haraldr enn Hárfagri, Ólafr inn Digri, Knútr inn Fundni, Auðr in Djúpauðga, Þorbjörg in Digra, Hildr in Mjófa, Steinólfr inn Lági, Þorkell inn Hávi, Kjarlakr inn Gamli, Björn inn Austræni, Ólafr inn Hvíti, Hálfdan inn Svarti, Sighvatr inn Rauði, Kyjólfr inn Grá, Gestr inn Spaki; Ari inn Fróði (Aren Froðe contr. = Are enn Froðe, Ó. T. 23, line 1), Ketill inn Heimski, Knútr inn Ríki, Eadvarðr inn Góði, Hálfdan inn Mildi, Ingjaldr inn Illráði, Helgi inn Magri, Úlfr inn Skjálgi, Landn., Fb. iii; cp. Gr. Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων, Σωκράτης ὁ φιλόσοφος, Germ. Nathan der Weise, Engl. Alfred the Great, etc.: of ships, Ormr inn Langi, Ormr inn Skammi.

2. between an appellative and an adjective; sveinn inn hvíti, Ls. 20; hendi inni hægri, 61; þengill inn meins-vani, Gm. 16; seggr inn ungi, Skm. 2; skati inn ungi, Hdl. 9; brúðr in kappsvinna, Am. 75; hest inn hraðfæra, Gh. 18; varr inn vígfrækni, gumi inn gunnhelgi, Hðm. 30; auð inn fagra, Skv. 1. 13; orm inn frána, 1, 11; fjánda inn fólkská, Fm. 37; konungr inn Húnski, Skv. 3. 8, 18, 63, 64; orð ið fyrra, Og. 9; mál ið efsta, 16; seggr inn suðræni, Akv. 3; seggr inn æri, 6; mar’inum mélgreypa, 3, 13; borg inni há, 14; sól inni suðrhöllu, 30; veðrs ens mikla, Hkv. 1. 12; handar ennar hægri, Ls. 38, 61; vífs ins vegliga, Am. 54; konung inn kostsama, Hkm.; gramr inn glaðværi, id.; hlut inn mjóvara, Ýt. 13; konungr inn kynstóri, fylkir inn framlyndi, hilmi’nom hálsdigra, konu’na Dönsku, hverr’ enni Heinversku, Hornklofi, Sæm. (Möb.) 228–231; við arm inn vestra, Sighvat; so also in prose passim.

B. When there was no adjective the article became a suffix to the noun (see Gramm. pp. xix, xx), a usage common even in early prose, but extremely rare in poetry; the reason is, not that the poems were composed before the suffixed article had come into use, but that the metres themselves in which all the old poems were composed are older than that usage, and are not well adapted to it, so that the absence of the article became traditional. The old poem Harbarðsljóð makes an exception, no doubt not from being later than all other poems, but from being composed in a peculiar metre, half verse and half prose; thus in that single poem alone there are nearly twenty instances, or about twice or thrice as many as in all the other poems together:—váginn, Hbl. 2, 13, 15; sundit, 1, 3, 8, 13; verðinum, 4; eikjunni, 7; skipit, id.; stöðna, landit, id.; leiðina, 55; höfuðit, 15; bátinum, 53; veggsins, stokksins, steinsins, 56; matrinn, 3: other solitary instances are, goðin öll, Vsp. 27 (prob. somewhat corrupt); eiki-köstinn, Gh. 20; vömmin vár, Ls. 52.

II. in prose, old and modern, the suffixed article occurs at every step; only one or two instances are worth noticing as peculiar to the Icelandic:

1. as vocative in addressing; konan, O woman! mjöðnannan, id., Sighvat (in a verse of A. D. 1018, and so in mod. usage); elskan! hjartað! heillin! ástin, my love! dear! heart! þursinn! Fas. i. 385; hundarnir! = ω κύνες, Od. xxii. 35: also with another word, barnið gott, good child! Þrúðnaþussinn, thou monster giant! Miðgarðs-ormrinn! Fas. i. 373.

2. esp. if with a possessive adjective following, as in Gr. οὑμός, τοὐμόν, τἀμά, etc.; elskan mín, ástin mín, hjartað mitt, góðrinn minn! hér er nú ástin mín, here is my darling! Sturl. ii. 78, of a father presenting a darling child to a friend; and so in mod. usage: as abuse, hundrinn þinn, thou dog! Ísl. ii. 176; þjófrinn þinn! Fms. vii. 127; dyðrillinn þinn! ii. 279; hundinum þínum! vi. 323: this use is not confined to the vocative, e. g. konan mín biðr að heilsa, my wife (kona mín is never used); maðrinn minn, my husband; biddu foreldrana þína ( ask thy parents) að lofa þér að fara; augun hans, his eyes, Pass. 24. 4; hugrinn vor og hjartað sé, our mind and heart (cp. Gr. τω ἐμω θυμω), 43. 5; svo hjartað bæði og málið mitt | mikli samhuga nafnið þitt, 10. 7; gef þú að móður-málið mitt, 35. 9; bókin mín, my favourite book, my own book; as also, fáðu mér hattinn minn, vetlingana mína, skóna mína, give me my hat, gloves, shoes; tungan í þér, augun í þér, thy tongue, thy eyes; höfuðið á mér, fætrnir á mér, my head, my feet; hendrnar á þér (‘á mér, á þér’ are here equivalent to a possessive, see p. 37, C. IV), thy hands, cp. Homer, τα σα γούνατα; hestana þína, Gr. ϊππους τους σούς: similar is the instance, vömmin vár, the sins of ours, Ls. 52; this may be a remnant of a time when the article was used separately, even with an indefinite adjective.

3. a double article, one suffixed to the noun and the other prefixed to the word in apposition; hirðin sú in Danska, Fms. vi. 323; þau in stóru skipin, viii. 384 and passim: again, when a noun is put in the genitive after another noun the former has no article; as the Engl. phrase ‘the fish of the sea and the fowl of the air’ is in Icel. ‘fiskar sjávarins og fuglar loptsins:’ but this belongs to the syntax; see also Grimm’s D. G. iv. 432.

C. SPECIAL CHANGES, in mod. usage:

I. the demonstr. pron. sá, sú, það has in speech generally taken the place of inn, in, it; thus, sá gamli maðr, sú gamla kona, það gamla skáld; sometimes the article is dropped altogether, e. g. á fimta degi, on the fifth day (= á enum fimta degi); á sömn stundu, in the same hour; even in old writers this is found, með sömu ætlan, Bs. i. 289; á níundu tíð dags, Stj. 41, (but rarely); yet the old form is often retained in writing.

II. in case A. II. the article may be dropped; þann gamla maim, þá gömlu konu, það gamla skáld, þú armi, etc.; sá ráða-góði, sú goðum-líki, sá ágæti Odysseifr, sú vitra Penelopa, sá Jarðkringjandi Pósídon, Od. passim (in Dr. Egilsson’s translation).

III. in case A. III. 1. the article is also dropped, Knútr Ríki, Haraldr Hárfagri; even old writers (esp. in later vellums) omitted it now and then, Hálfdan Svarta, Fms. i. 1; Haraldr Grænski, 90; Haraldr Hárfagri, 192; Óttarr ungi, Hdl.: even in the Sæm. Cod. Reg., Völsungr ungi, Skv. 3. 1, 3.

IV. in case A. III. 2. the pronouns sá, sú, það, and hinn, hin, hit may be used indiscriminately, although the former is more usual.

V. lastly, in case B. the suffixed article has gained ground, and is in modern prose used more freq. than in ancient.

☞ CONCLUSION.—The old poetical language, with the sole exception of a single poem, had no article in the modern and proper sense; in every instance the ‘inn, in, it’ bears the character of a demonstrative pronoun, preceding an adjective and enhancing and emphasising its sense, like the pers. pron. hann, q. v.; but it is never attached to a single substantive; when the adjective was placed in apposition after a noun, the pronoun came to stand as an enclitic just after the noun, and was sounded as if suffixed thereto; at last it was tacked as an actual suffix to single nouns standing without apposition, and thus the true suffixed article gradually arose, first in speech, then in writing; whereas at the same time the old pronominal enclitic (A. I-III) gradually went out of use, and was either dropped or replaced by the stronger demonstrative pronoun ‘sá, sú.’

HIN, HITT, demonstr. pron., prob. identical in etymology with the preceding word, from which it is however distinguished,

1. by the neut. hitt, Dan. hint;

2. by the initial aspirate, which is never dropped;

3. by being a fully accentuated pronoun, so that the h can stand as an alliterative letter, e. g. handar ennar hægri | mun ek hinnar geta, Ls.; veitkat ek hitt hvart Heita | hungr …, Hallfred; Hitt kvað þá Hamðir, etc., Hom. 23, 25, Korm. 40; Raun er hins at Heinir | hræ …; Skáld biðr hins at haldi | hjálm …, Sighvat, Hkv. Hjörv. 26: [Ulf. jains = ἐκεινος; A. S. geond; Engl. yon; Germ. jener.]

A. This pronoun is used,

I. in a demonstr. sense, emphatically and without being opp. to a preceding demonstr.; raun er hins at …, it is proved that …; skáld biðr hins, at …, Sighvat; veitkat ek hitt hvat (hvárt) …, Hallfred; hitt ek hugða, emphatically, that was what I thought, I thought forsooth, Hm. 98; hitt kvað pá Hróðrglóð, Hðm. 13; hitt kvað þá Hamðir, 25; hitt vil ek vita, that I want to know, Vþm. 3, 6; þó ek hins get, ef …, yet I guess, that if …, Skm. 24; vita skal hitt, ef …, Korm. 40 (in a verse), Ísl. ii. 225 (in a verse); hitt var fyrr = in former times, formerly, Ýt., Fs. 94 (in a verse); hinn er sæll, er …, he is happy, that …, Hm. 8; maðr hinn er …, ‘man he that’ = the man who, 26; hinn er Surts ór Sökkdölum, Edda 51 (in a verse); veitat hinn er tin tannar, hinn er um eyki annask, Kormak (in a verse); handar innar hægri mun ek hinnar geta, er …, the right hand, that hand namely, which …, Ls. 38; this usage scarcely occurs except in old poetry.

II. demonstr. referring to another pronoun, denoting the former, farther, the other, = Dan. hiin, hint, Germ. jener, cp. Gr. ἐκεινος, Lat. ille; freq. in prose, old and mod.; fóru þeir með þau skip er þeim þóttu bezt en brenndu hin, Fms. v. 8; Kimbi bar sár sitt engan mun betr en hinir, er hann hafði áðr á fært, 92; en hitt er meira, at hann lætr sér annarra manna fé jafnheimilt, Eg. 47; kemr örvar-oddrinn í strenglag hinnar örvarinnar, Fb. iii. 405; er þú hefir mik fyrir lagt á hinu áðr, 407; hinir frændr þínir, ii. 425; á hinn fótinn, on that, the other leg, Nj. 97; þat er válítið, … hitt er undr …, Ls. 33; hinir hlaða seglunum ok bíða, Fms. x. 347; ef hinn ( the other part) er eigi þar við staddr, Grág. i. 52; hvárt hinn ( the other one) hefir jafnmikit fé hins ( of the other one) er austr er, 220; rétt er at kveðja frá hennar heimili ef hann veit hvártki hinna (gen. pl.), 339; ok vill annarr hluta en annarr eigi … ok verðr sem hinn mæli ekki um er eigi vill hluta, 393; ef maðr sendir annan mann til eindaga, ok erat hinn skyldr við at taka, id.; þess á milli er hón fór at sofa á kveldit, ok hins er hón var klædd, Ld. 14; ærit fögr er mær sjá, … en hitt veit ek eigi hvaðan þjófs-augu eru komin í ættir várar, forsooth she is a beautiful girl, but yet I know not, Nj. 2:—demonstr. in the sense of this (but rare), stjörnur þær er nær eru leiðar-stjöruu ganga aldri undir með oss, en í Blálandi eðr Arabia ganga hinar stjörnur, these very stars, Rb. 468: phrases, hitt ok annat, this and the other, Rd. 235; mod. hitt og þetta.

B. COMPOUND FORMS, hinn-ug, hinn-og, or hins-ig, mod. hins-egin, also hizig, q. v. [from vegr], adv. the other way; þótt Gísl þykki hinsig (hinn veg, v. l.) eigi síðr til vísa, Fms. vii. 46; hinnig værir þú undir brún at líta sem …, Nj. 55: locally, there, in the other place, illic, ok láta bera vætti þat hinneg var nefnt, Grág. i. 90; heimta af erfingja ef hinnig er eigi til, K. Þ. K. 28; brenndi þar ok görði hervirki eigi minna enn hinneg, Fms. vi. 340; ef hinnig mundi kostr, K. Þ. K. 24; eigi er hægra undir þeim at búa fyrir kulda sakir, enn hinnog er fyrir ofrhita sakir, Sks. 196; því at hón er kaldari hér en hizug, 70: temp. the other day, formerly (rare), er ek hinnig mælta, Og. 11.

2. denoting motion, hither, thither; hinnig deyja ór Helju halir, Vþm. 43; renna hinnig, Gh. 18; ríða hinig, Fm. 26: koma hinig, Gs. 18.

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(gen. pl. tungna), f.

1) tongue; skœðar tungur, evil tongues; hafa tungu fyrir e-m, to have a tongue for a person, be the spokesman; gæti hann, að honum vefist eigi tungan um höfuð, let him take heed that his tongue do not twist a noose for his own neck;

2) tongue, language (þá skiptust tungur í Englandi, er Vilhjálmr bastarðr vann England); dönsk t., the Danish (Norse) tongue;

3) tongue of land (Ö. nam tungu alla milli Hvítar ok Reykjadalsár).

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u, f., gen. pl. tungna; [Goth. tuggo; common to all Teut. languages; cp. Lat. lingua]:—a tongue, Sól. 44, Grág. ii 11, passim: metaph. usages, hraðmælt tunga, Hm. 28; skæðar tungur, evil tongues, Nj. 264; hafa tungu fyrir e-m, to have tongue for a person, be the spokesman, Fms. vi. 223; harðr í tungu, Hallfred; skáldskapr var honum svá tiltækr, at hann kvað af tungu fram sem annað mál, Ó. H. 171; hann sá eld mikinn í tungna líkjum, Hom. 91; lof-tunga, ‘praise-tongue,’ flatterer, a nickname.

2. sayings; tunga er höfuðs-bani, ‘tongue is head’s bane,’ is the ruin of a man, Hm. 72; e-t leikr á tveim tungum, N. G. L. i. 211 (see leika II. 4); tungan leikr við tanna sar, the tongue touches sores of the teeth, Mkv.; hann hefir tönn og tungu á öllu, of a ready tongue; gæti hann, at honum vefisk eigi tungan um hófuð, let him beware lest his tongue winds round his head, i. e. let him beware of loose talk, (a long tongue being = inconsiderate tongue that works evil), Nj. 160, Þorst. Síðu H. 178; also, e-m vefsk tunga um tönn, to be disconcerted: a person endowed with poetical gifts is believed to have a tongue longer than other men (the tongue-tip reaching to the nostrils), Ísl. Þjóðs. ii. 557; to this refers the legend of Hallbjörn hali, síðan togar hann á honum tunguna, ok kvað vísu þessa, then be stretched his tongue and said, Fb. i. 215; on the other hand, of words spoken in an evil hour, it is said that fiends have stretched (pulled) a man’s tongue, troll toga tungu ór höfði e-m (see troll): in nursery talk, swearing is said to leave a black spot on the tongue, blótaðu ekki, það kemr svartr blettr á tunguna á þér!

II. a tongue, language; Dönsk tunga, the Danish (Norse) tongue, see Danskr; tungan er vér köllum Norrænu, Fms. xi. 412; vitr maðr ok kunni margar tungur, 298; þar eru tungur sjau ok tuttugu, 414; hverega tungu er maðr skal ríta annarrar tungu stöfum, þá verðr sumra stafa vant, af því at eigi finnsk þat hljóð í tungunni sem stafirnir hafa þeir er af ganga, … nú eptir þeirra dæmum, alls vér erum einnar tungu, … or vóru teknir þeir (stafir) er eigi gegna atkvæðum várrar tungu, Thorodd; ein var þá tunga á Englandi, sem í Noregi ok í Danmörku, en þá skiptusk tungur í Englandi er Vilhjálmr bastarðr vann England, Ísl. ii. 221; Danskir, Sœnskir eða Norrænir ór þeirra konunga veldi þriggja er vár tunga er … af öllum tungum öðrum enn af Danskri tungu, Grág. ii. 72; tungna-grein, tungna-skipti, division of tongues, Stj.

III. metaph. of tongue-formed things, a tongue of land at the meeting of two rivers (= Gr. μεσοποταμία); í tungu einni milli gilja tveggja, Valla L. 223, Sd. 141; Önundr nam tungu alla milli Hvítár ok Reykjadalsár, Landn. 60; frá Flókadalsár-ósi til Reykja-dalsár-óss, ok tungu þá alla er þar var á milli, Eg. 186; very freq. in Icel, local names, Tunga, Tungur, Tungna-jökull, Tungna-fell, Tungu-á, Tungu-heiðr, Hróars-tunga, Biskups-tungur, Stafholts-tungur, Skaptár-tunga, Landn., map of Icel.: Tungu-goði, a, m. a nickname: Tungu-menn, m. pl. men from T., Landn., Sturl.

2. the tongue of a balance, in tungu-pundari; in the poets, a sword is slíðr-tunga, hjalta-tunga, slither-tongue, hilt-tongue, and the like, Lex. Poët.

B. COMPDS: tungubragð, tungufimi, tunguhapt, tunguhvass, tungulauss, tungumjúkr, tunguníð, tungupundari, tungurætr, tungnaskipti, tunguskorinn, tunguskæði, tunguskæðr, tungusnjallr, tungusótt, tungusætr, tunguvarp.

(gen., dat., and acc. bróður, pl. brœðr), m.

1) brother;

2) friar.

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gen. dat. acc. bróður; pl. nom. acc. bræðr, gen. bræðra, dat. bræðrum: in mod. common usage irregular forms occur, as gen. sing. bróðurs; nom. sing., and gen. dat. acc. are also sometimes confounded, esp. in keeping the nom. form bróðir through all cases, or even the reverse (but rarely) in taking bróður as a nom.; another irregularity is acc. pl. with the article, bræður-nar instead of bræður-na, which latter form only survives in writing, the former in speaking. There is besides an obsolete poetical monosyllabic form brœðr, in nom. dat. acc. sing. and nom. acc. pl.; gen. sing. bræðrs; cp. such rhymes as brœðr—œðri, in a verse of Einar Skúlason (died about 1170); bræðr (dat.) Sinfjötla, Hkv. 2. 8, as nom. sing., Fagrsk. 54, v. l. (in a verse), etc., cp. Lex. Poët. This form is very rare in prose, vide however Nj., Lat. Vers. Johnsonius, 204, 333, v. 1., and a few times in Stj., e. g. síns bræðr, sinn bræðr, 160; it seems to be a Norse form, but occurs now and then in Icel. poetry even of the 15th century, e. g. bræðr nom. sing. rhymes with ræðr, Skáld H. 3. 11, G. H. M. ii. 482, but is quite strange to the spoken language: [Gr. φράτηρ; Lat. frāter; Goth. brôþar; A. S. brôðar; Engl. brother; Germ. bruder; Swed.-Dan. broder, pl. brödre]:—a brother: proverbs referring to this word—saman er bræðra eign bezt at sjá, Gísl. 17; einginn or annars bróðir í leik; móður-bræðrum verða menn líkastir, Bs. i. 134: a distinction is made between b. samfeðri or sammæðri, a brother having the same father or mother, Grág. i. 170 sqq.: in mod. usage more usual al-bróðir, brother on both sides; hálf-bróðir, a half-brother; b. skilgetinn, frater germanus móður-bróðir, a mother’s brother; föður-bróðir, a father’s brother, uncle; afa-bróðir, a grand-uncle on the father’s side; ömmu bróðir, a grand-uncle on the mother’s side; tengda-bróðir, a brother-in-law: in familiar talk an uncle is called ‘brother,’ and an aunt ‘sister.’ The ties of brotherhood were most sacred with the old Scandinavians; a brotherless man was a sort of orphan, cp. the proverb, berr er hverr á baki nema sér bróður eigi; to revenge a brother’s slaughter was a sacred duty; nú tóku þeir þetta fastmælum, at hvárr þeirra skal hefna annars eðr eptir mæla, svá sem þeir sé sambornir bræðr, Bjarn. 58: the word bróðurbani signifies a deadly foe, with whom there can be no truce, Hm. 88, Sdm. 35, Skm. 16, Hdl. 28; instances from the Sagas, Dropl. S. (in fine), Heiðarv. S. ch. 22 sqq., Grett. S. ch. 50. 92 sqq., E ch. 23, Ld. ch. 53 sqq., etc. The same feeling extended to foster-brotherhood, after the rite of blending blood has been performed; see the graphical descriptions in Fbr. S. (the latter part of the Saga), Gísl. ch. 14 sqq., etc. The universal peace of Fróði in the mythical age is thus described, that ‘no one will draw the sword even if he finds his brother’s slayer bound,’ Gs. verse 6; of the slaughter preceding and foreboding the Ragnarök ( the end of the world) it is said, that brothers will fight and put one another to death, Vsp. 46.

II. metaph.:

1. in a heathen sense; fóst-bróðir, foster-brother, q. v.; eið-bróðir, svara-bróðir, ‘oath-brother;’ leik-bróðir, play-brother, play-fellow: concerning foster-brothership, v. esp. Gísl. ii, Fbr., Fas. iii. 375 sqq., Hervar. S., Nj. 39, Ls. 9, the phrase, blanda blóði saman.

2. in a Christian sense, brother, brethren, N. T., H. E., Bs.

β. a brother, friar; Svörtu-bræðr, Blackfriars; Berfættu-bræðr, q. v.; Kórs-bræðr, Fratres Canonici, Bs., etc.

COMPDS:

I. sing., bróður-arfr, m. a brother’s inheritance, Orkn. 96, Fms. ix. 444. bróður-bani, a, m. a brother’s bane, fratricide, Ld. 236, Fms. iii. 21, vide above. bróðiir-baugr, m. weregild due to the brother, N. G. L. i. 74. bróður-blóð, n. a brother’s blood, Stj. 42. Gen. iv. 10. bróður-bætr, f. pl. weregild for a brother, Lv. 89. bróður-dauði, a, m. a brother’s death, Gísl. 24. bróður-deild, f. = bróðurhluti, Fr. bróður-dóttir, f. a brother’s daughter, niece, Grág. i. 170, Nj. 177; bróðurdóttur son, a brother’s son, N. G. L. i. 76. bróður-dráp, n. the slaying of a brother, Stj. 43, Fms. v. 290. bróður-gildr, adj. equal in right (inheritance) to a brother, Fr. bróður-gjöld, n. pl. = bróður-bætr, Eg. 312. bróður-hefnd, f. revenge for the slaying of a brother, Sturl. ii. 68. bróður-hluti, a, m. the share (as to weregild or inheritance) of a brother, Grág. ii. 175. bróður-kona, u, f. a brother’s wife, K. Á. 142. bróöur-kván, f. id., N. G. L. i. 170. bróður-lóð, n. a brother’s share of inheritance. bróður-son, m. a brother’s son, nephew, Nj. 122, Grág. i. 171, Gþl. 239, 240; bróðursona-baugr, Grág. ii. 179.

II. pl., bræðra-bani, v. bróðurbani, Fbr. 165. bræðra-búr, n. a friar’s bower in a monastery, Dipl. v. 18. bræðra-börn, n. pl. cousins (agnate), Gþl. 245. bræðra-dætr, f. pl. nieces(of brothers), Gþl. 246. bræðra-eign, f. property of brothers, Gísl. 17. bræðra-garðr, m. a ‘brothers-yard,’ monastery, D. N. bræðra-lag, n. fellowship of brethren, in heathen sense = fóstbræðralag, Hkr. iii. 300; of friars, H. E., D. I.; brotherhood, Pass. 9. 6. bræðra-mark, n. astron., the Gemini, Pr. 477. bræðra-skáli, a, m. an apartment for friars, Vm. 109. bræðra-skipti, n. division of inheritance among brothers, Hkr. iii. 52, Fas. i. 512. bræðra-synir, m. pl. cousins (of brothers), Gþl. 53.

að, [cp. Lat. Frūgi, frux, fructus, frui; A. S. brucan; Germ. brauchen; Dan. bruge; Swed. bruke, borrowed from Germ.]:—to use, with acc., borrowed from Germ. through Dan.; it seems not to have come into use before the 17th century; it never occurs in the Icel. N. T., and even not in Pass.; in Vídalín (died A. D. 1720) it is used now and then; and at present, although used in common talk, it is avoided in writing. It is curious that the language has no special expression for to use, Lat. uti (hafa, beita neyta, or other words indirectly bearing that sense are used); derived forms—as brúkandi, brúkanligr, adj., óbrúkanligr, adj. unfit, useless—are used, but sound ill. brúkan, f. use, is preferred for brúk, n., Dan. brug = use, etc.

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(geng; gekk, gengum; genginn), v.

1) to walk (reið jarl, en Karkr gekk);

2) to go;

ganga heim, to go home;

ganga braut, to go away;

ganga til hvílu, to go to bed;

ganga á skip, to go on board;

ganga af skipi, to go ashore;

with infin., ganga sofa or at sofa, to go to sleep;

ganga at eiga konu, to marry a woman;

3) to go about grazing, to graze (kálfrinn gekk í túni um sumarit);

4) of a ship, to run, sail (gekk skipit brátt út á haf);

5) to stretch out, extend, project (nes mikit gekk í sæ út);

6) of report, tales, to be current (litlar sögur megu ganga af hesti mínum);

7) to prevail;

gekk þaðan af í Englandi Valska, thereafter the French tongue prevailed in E.;

8) of money, to be current (peningar þeir, sem nú ganga);

of laws, to be valid (þau lög, er gengu á Uppsalaþingi);

of sickness, plague, famine, to rage (þá gekk landfarsótt, drepsótt, hallæri);

9) to go on, last (gnustu þá saman vápnin, ok gekk þat um hríð);

impers., gekk því lengi, so it went on for a long while;

10) láta ganga e-t, to let go on;

láta höggin ganga, to rain blows;

Birkibeinar létu ganga lúðrana, blew the trumpets vigorously;

11) to succeed;

ef þat gengr eigi, if that will not do;

impers., svá þykt, at þeim gekk þar eigi at fara, so close, that they could not go on there;

þeim gekk ekki fyrir nesit, they could not clear the ness;

12) to turn out, go in a specified way;

ganga andæris, to go all wrong;

mart gengr verr en varir, many a thing goes worse than is looked for;

gekk þeim lítt atsókinn, they made little progress with the attack;

impers., e-m gengr vel (illa), one fares (goes on, gets on) well (badly);

13) with acc., ganga e-n á bak, to force one to go backwards (harm gengr bjöninn á bak);

14) with dat., to discharge (gekk bann þá blóði);

15) with preps. and adverbs:

ganga af e-u, to depart from, leave (þá gekk af honum móðrinn);

ganga af vitinu, to go out of one’s wits;

ganga af trú sinni, to apostatize;

to pass (síðan gengu af páskarnir);

to go off (gekk þegar af höfuðit);

to be left as surplus (þat er af skuldinni gekk);

nú gengr honum hey af, now he has some hay left;

ganga af sér, to go to extremities, to go beyond oneself (mjök ganga þeir fóstbrœðr nú af sé);

ganga aptr, to revert (return) to the former proprietor (síðan gengu þau lönd aptr undir Árna);

to be void, annulled (þá skal kaup aptr ganga);

of a ghost, to walk again; of a door, to close, shut (gekk eigi aptr hurðin);

ganga at e-m, to attack one;

ganga at e-u, to agree to, accept a choice or offer (Flosi gekk fljótt at þessu öllu); to fit (skaltu fá mér lukla þá, sem ganga at kistum yðrum);

ganga á e-t, to encroach upon (ganga á ríki e-s); to break (ganga á orð sín, eiða, grið, sættir, trygðir); to pierce, penetrate;

hann var í panzara, er ekki gekk á, that was proof against any weapons;

ganga á vald e-s or e-m, ganga á hönd (hendr) e-m, to submit to, give oneself up to, surrender to one;

ganga á bak e-u, to contravene;

ganga eptir e-u, to go for, go to fetch (göngum heim eptir verðinu); to pursue, claim;

ganga eptir, to prove true, be fulfilled (þetta gekk allt eptir, sem M. sagði fyrir);

ganga frá e-u, to part with, lose (sumir munu ganga frá öllu fénu);

ganga fram, to step forward;

ganga fram vel, to go forward bravely, in a battle;

to come to pass, come into execution (skal þess bíða, er þetta gengr fram);

to increase (fé Hall gerðar gekk fram ok gørðist allmikit);

to depart this life (H. bóndi gengr fram til frænda sinna);

ganga fyrir e-n, to present oneself before one (ganga fyrir konung);

ganga fyrir e-u, to take charge of, manage (var þar mart fólk, en húsbóndi gekk svá fyrir, at ekkert skorti); to yield to, be swayed by (hann gekk þá fyrir fortölum hennar);

ganga í gegn e-m, to set oneself against one;

ganga í gegn e-u, to confess, acknowledge;

maðr gengr í gegn, at á braut kveðst tekit hafa, the man confessed and said that he had taken it away;

ganga í mál, to undertake a case;

ganga með e-m (of a woman), to marry;

ganga með barni, to be with child;

ganga með burði (of animals), to be with young;

ganga með e-u, to assist in, plead (ganga með máli, bónorði);

ganga milli (á m., í m.), to go between, intercede;

ganga móti (á m., í m.) e-m, to go to meet one;

ganga móti e-u, to resist, oppose;

to confess, = ganga í gegn, ganga við e-u;

ganga nær e-m, to be troublesome to one (þótti hón œrit nær ganga Þórgerði);

ganga e-m nær, to approach, come near to one (sá hefir á brott komizt, er næst gekk Gunnari um alla hluti);

ganga saman, to marry;

of an agreement, bargain, to be brought about;

saman gekk kaupit með þeim, they came to a bargain;

ganga sundr (í s.), to go asunder, part;

ganga til, to go up to a thing (gangit til ok hyggit at); of the wind, to veer (veðrit gekk til útsuðrs);

e-m gengr e-t til e-s, one has some reason for doing a thing;

en þat gekk mér til þess (that was my reason), at ek ann þér eigi;

hversu hefir ykkr til gengit, how have you fared?

Loka gekk lítt til, it fared ill with L.;

ganga um e-t, to go about a thing;

ganga um beina, to wait upon guests;

ganga um sættir, to go between, as peacemaker;

ganga um e-n, to befall, happen to one (þess, er um margan gengr guma); of the wind, to go round, veer (gekk um veðrit ok styrmdi at þeim); to manage (fékk hón svá um gengit, at);

ganga undan, to escape to absent oneself;

g. undir e-t, to take upon oneself, undertake (a duty);

ganga undir e-n, to subject oneself to;

ganga upp, to be wasted (of money);

to get loose, to he torn loose (þeir glímdu svá at upp gengu stokkar allir á húsinu);

of a storm, gale, to get up, rise (veðr gekk upp);

of an ice-bound river, áin var gengin upp, swollen with ice;

ganga við staf, to walk with a stick;

ganga við e-u or e-t, to avow;

ganga yfir e-t, to go beyond, disregard (hann vildi eigi ganga yfir þat, er hann vissi réttast);

ganga yfir e-n, to overcome, to befall, happen to one;

slíkt sem yfir hefir gengit, all that has happened;

eitt skal yfir okkr ganga, we shall share one fate;

16) refl., gangast.

1) walking (hann mœddist í göngu);

vera í göngu, to be on foot, to walk;

2) course (ganga tungls, vinds).

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pret. gekk or gékk, 2nd pers. gékkt, mod. gékst; pl. gengu, geingu, or géngu, and an old poët. gingu; gengengu in Vsp. 12 is a mere misspelling (vide Sæm. Möb. 258); pres. geng, pl. göngum; pret. subj. gengi (geingi); imperat. gakk and gakktú; with the neg. suffix geng-at, gengr-at, gékk-at, gakk-attu, passim; a middle form göngumk firr, go from me, Gm. 1: a contracted form gá occurs now and then in mod. hymns; it is not vernacular but borrowed from Germ. and Dan.: [cp. Ulf. gaggan; A. S. and Hel. gangan; Scot. and North. E. gang, mod. Engl. go; Dan.-Swed. gange or gå; Germ. gehen; Ivar Aasen ganga: Icel., Scots, and Norsemen have preserved the old ng, which in Germ. and Swed.-Dan. only remains in poetry or in a special sense, e. g. in Germ. compds.]

A. To go:

I. to walk; reið jarl en Karkr gékk, Fms. i. 210, Rm. 1, 2, 6, 14, 23, 24, 30, Edda 10, Grág. ii. 95, passim; ganga leiðar sinnar, to go one’s way, Fms. x. 290, Krók. 26: adding acc., g. alla leið, Fms. xi. 202, 299; g. berg, to climb a cliff; g. afréttar, to search the fell-pastures (fjallganga), Háv. 39; also g. ( to climb) í fjall, í kletta, Fms. x. 313: Icel. also say, ganga skó og sokka, to wear out shoes and socks; hann gékk tvenna skó; ganga berserks gang, q. v.

β. absol. to go a-begging, Grág. i. 226, 232, Ísl. ii. 25; ganga vergang, húsgang, id. (göngumaðr).

II. adding adverbs, infinitives, adjectives, or the like,

α. an adverb denoting direction; g. út ok inn, Vkv. 4, Lv. 26; g. inn, Fms. i. 16, vi. 33; g. út, to go out, Lat. exire, Nj. 194; g. aptr, to return, Fms. x. 352; g. fram, to step forward, Hm. 1, Eg. 165; g. upp, to go up, ashore; g. ofan, niðr, to go down; g. heiman, 199; g. heim, to go home; gakk hingat, come hither! 488; g. móti, í gegn e-m, to go against, to meet one; g. braut, to go away; g. til e-s, or at e-m, to go to one; g. frá e-m, to leave one; g. með e-m, to go with one; g. hjá, to pass by; g. saman, to go together; g. yfir, to go over; g. gegnum, to go through; g. undir, to go under; g. undan, fyrir, to go before; g. eptir, to go behind; g. um, to rove, stroll about, and so on passim; g. í sæti, to go to one’s seat, take a seat, Eg. 551; g. til hvílu, to go to bed, Nj. 201; g. til matar, to go to dinner, Sturl. iii. 111, Eg. 483; g. til vinnu, verks, to go to one’s work, cp. Hm. 58; g. í kirkju, to go to church, Rb. 82; g. á fjall, to go on the fells, Hrafn. 34; g. á skip, to go on board, Fms. x. 10; g. af skipi, to go ashore.

β. with infin., in old poems often dropping ‘at;’ ganga sofa, to go to sleep, Fm. 27; g. at sofa, Hm. 19; g. vega, to go to fight, Vsp. 56, Ls. 15; g. at eiga konu, to go to be married, Grág. i. 318.

γ. with an adj.; g. hræddr, to be afraid; g. úviss, to be in ignorance, etc., Fms. vii. 271, Sks. 250, 688.

2. in a more special sense; g. til einvígis, bardaga, to go to a duel, battle, Nj. 64; g. á hólm (hólmganga), Eg. 504, 506; g. á eintal, Nj. 103; g. til máls við e-n, to speak to one, Eg. 199, 764; g. í glímu, to go a-wrestling, Ísl. ii. 246; g. á fang, id., Ld. 206; g. í danz, to go a-dancing; g. til skripta, to go to shrift, Hom. 157; g. at brúðkaupi, to go to be married, Fms. vii. 278; g. í skóla, klaustr, to go to school, go into a cloister (as an inmate), (hence skóla-genginn, a school-man, scholar), Bs. passim; g. í þjónustu, to take service, Nj. 268; g. í lið með e-m, to enter one’s party, side with one, 100; g. í lög, to enter a league with one; g. ór lögum, to go out of a league, passim; g. í félag, ór félagi, id.; g. á mala, to take service as a soldier, 121; g. á hönd, g. til handa, to submit to one as a liegeman, surrender, Eg. 19, 33, Ó. H. 184, Fms. vii. 180; g. á vald e-m, to give oneself up, Nj. 267; g. á hendr e-m, to encroach upon, Ver. 56; g. í skuld, to bail, Grág. i. 232, Dipl. ii. 12; g. í trúnað, to warrant, Fms. xi. 356; g. til trygða, Nj. 166, and g. til griða, to accept truce, surrender, Fas. ii. 556; g. í mál, to enter, undertake a case, Nj. 31; g. í ánauð, to go into bondage, Eg. 8; g. til lands, jarðar, ríkis, arfs, to take possession of …, 118, Stj. 380, Grág., Fms. passim; g. til fréttar, to go to an oracle, take auspices, 625. 89; g. til Heljar, a phrase for to die, Fms. x. 414; g. nær, to go nigh, go close to, press hard on, Ld. 146, 322, Fms. xi. 240 (where reflex.); var sá viðr bæði mikill og góðr því at Þorkell gékk nær, Th. kept a close eye on it, Ld. 316.

B. Joined with prepp. and adverbs in a metaph. sense:—g. af, to depart from, go off; þá gékk af honum móðrinn ok sefaðisk hann, Edda 28; þá er af honum gékk hamremin, Eg. 125, Eb. 136, Stj. 118; g. af sér, to go out of or beyond oneself; mjök g. þeir svari-bræðr nú af sér, Fbr. 32; í móti Búa er hann gengr af sér ( rages) sem mest, Fb. i. 193; þá gékk mest af sér ranglæti manna um álnir, Bs. i. 135: so in the mod. phrases, g. fram af sér, to overstrain oneself; and g. af sér, to fall off, decay: to forsake, g. af trú, to apostatize, Fms. ii. 213; g. af vitinu, to go out of one’s wits, go mad, Post. 656 C. 31; g. af Guðs boðorðum, Stj. passim: to pass. Páskar g. af, Ld. 200: to be left as surplus (afgangr), Rb. 122, Grág. i. 411, K. Þ. K. 92:—g. aptr, to walk again, of a ghost (aptrganga), Ld. 58, Eb. 278, Fs. 131, 141, passim; and absol., g. um híbýli, to hunt, Landn. 107: to go back, be void, of a bargain, Gþl. 491:—g. at e-m, to go at, attack, Nj. 80, 160: to press on, Grág. i. 51, Dipl. ii. 19 (atgangr): g. at e-u, to accept a choice, Nj. 256; g. at máli, to assist, help, 207: to fit, of a key, lykla þá sem g. at kístum yðrum, Finnb. 234, Fbr. 46 new Ed., N. G. L. i. 383: medic. to ail, e-ð gengr at e-m; ok gengr at barni, and if the bairn ails, 340, freq. in mod. usage of ailment, grief, etc.:—g. á e-t, to go against, encroach upon; ganga á ríki e-s, Fms. i. 2; g. upp á, to tread upon, vii. 166; hverr maðr er ólofat gengr á mál þeirra, who trespasses against their measure, Grág. i. 3: to break, g. á orð, eiða, sættir, trygðir, grið, Finnb. 311, Fms. i. 189, Ld. 234; g. á bak e-u, to contravene, Ísl. ii. 382; ganga á, to go on with a thing, Grág. ii. 363; hence the mod. phrase, mikið gengr á, much going on; hvað gengr á, what is going on? það er farið að g. á það (of a task or work or of stores), it is far advanced, not much left:—g. eptir, to go after, pursue, claim (eptirgangr), Nj. 154, Þórð. 67, Fms. vii. 5; g. eptir e-m, to humour one who is cross, in the phrase, g. eptir e-m með grasið í skónum; vertu ekki að g. eptir stráknum; hann vill láta g. eptir ser (of a spoilt boy, cross fellow): to prove true, follow, hón mælti mart, en þó gékk þat sumt eptir, Nj. 194; eptir gékk þat er mér bauð hugr um, Eg. 21, Fms. x. 211:—g. fram, to go on well in a battle, Nj. 102, 235, Háv. 57 (framgangr): to speed, Nj. 150, Fms. xi. 427: to grow, increase (of stock), fé Hallgerðar gékk fram ok varð allmikit, Nj. 22; en er fram gékk mjök kvikfé Skallagríms, Eg. 136, Vígl. 38: to come to pass, skal þess bíða er þetta gengr fram, Nj. 102, Fms. xi. 22: to die, x. 422:—g. frá, to leave (a work) so and so; g. vel frá, to make good work; g. ílla frá, to make bad work; það er ílla frá því gengið, it is badly done:—g. fyrir, to go before, to yield to, to be swayed by a thing; heldr nú við hót, en ekki geng ek fyrir slíku, Fms. i. 305; þó at vér gangim heldr fyrir blíðu en stríðu, ii. 34, Fb. i. 378, Hom. 68; hvárki gékk hann fyrir blíðyrðum né ógnarmálum, Fms. x. 292; hann gékk þá fyrir fortülum hennar, Bs. i. 742: in mod. usage reflex., gangast fyrir íllu, góðu: to give away, tók hann þá at ganga fyrir, Fb. i. 530: Icel. now say, reflex., gangast fyrir, to fall off, from age or the like (vide fyrirgengiligr): to prevent, skal honum þá eigi fyrnska fyrir g., N. G. L. i. 249; þá er hann sekr þrem mörkum nema nauðsyn gangi fyrir, 14; at þeim gangi lögleg forföll fyrir, Gþl. 12:—g. í gegn, to go against, to meet, in mod. usage to deny, and so it seems to be in Gþl. 156; otherwise in old writers it always means the reverse, viz. to avow, confess; maðr gengr í gegn, at á braut kveðsk tekit hafa, the man confessed and said that he had taken it away, Ísl. ii. 331; ef maðr gengr í gegn legorðinu, Grág. i. 340; sá goði er í gegn gékk ( who acknowledged) þingfesti hans, 20; hann iðraðisk úráðs síns, ok gékk í gegn at hann hefði saklausan selt herra sinn, Sks. 584,—this agrees with the parallel phrase, g. við e-t, mod. g. við e-u, to confess, both in old and mod. usage, id.:—g. hjá, to pass by, to waive a thing, Fms. vi. 168:—g. með, to go with one, to wed, marry (only used of a woman, like Lat. nubere), þú hefir þvert tekit at g. með mér, Ld. 262, Sd. 170, Grág. i. 178, Þiðr. 209, Gkv. 2. 27, Fms. xi. 5: medic., g. með barni, to go with child, i. 57; with acc. (barn), Bs. i. 790, and so in mod. usage; a mother says, sama sumarið sem eg gékk með hann (hana) N. N., (meðgöngutími); but dat. in the phrase, vera með barni, to be with child; g. með burði, of animals, Sks. 50, Stj. 70; g. með máli, to assist, plead, Eg. 523, Fms. xi. 105, Eb. 210; g. með e-u, to confess [Dan. medgaae], Stj., but rare and not vernacular:—g. milli, to go between, intercede, esp. as a peacemaker, passim (milli-ganga, meðal-ganga):—g. í móti, to resist, Nj. 90, 159, 171: of the tide, en þar gékk í móti útfalls-straumr, Eg. 600:—g. saman, to go together, marry, Grág. i. 324, Fms. xi. 77: of a bargain, agreement, við þetta gékk saman sættin, Nj. 250; saman gékk kaupit með þeim, 259:—g. sundr, to go asunder, part, and of a bargain, to be broken off, passim:—g. til, to step out, come along; gangit til, ok blótið, 623. 59; gangit til, ok hyggit at, landsmenn, Fms. iv. 282: to offer oneself, to volunteer, Bs. i. 23, 24: the phrase, e-m gengr e-ð til e-s, to purpose, intend; en þat gékk mér til þess ( that was my reason) at ek ann þér eigi, etc., Ísl. ii. 269; sagði, at honum gékk ekki ótrúnaðr til þessa, Fms. x. 39; gékk Flosa þat til, at …, Nj. 178; gengr mér meirr þat til, at ek vilda firra vini mína vandræðum, Fms. ii. 171; mælgi gengr mér til, ‘tis that I have spoken too freely, Orkn. 469, Fms. vi. 373, vii. 258: to fare, hversu hefir ykkr til gengið, how have you fared? Grett. 48 new Ed.; Loka gékk lítt til, it fared ill with L., Fb. i. 276: mod., þat gékk svá til, it so happened, but not freq., as bera við is better, (tilgangr, intention):—g. um e-t, to go about a thing; g. um sættir, to go between, as peacemaker, Fms. v. 156; g. um beina, to attend guests, Nj. 50, passim: to manage, fékk hón svá um gengit, Grett. 197 new Ed.; hversu þér genguð um mitt góðs, 206: to spread over, in the phrase, má þat er um margan gengr; þess er um margan gengr guma, Hm. 93: to veer, go round, of the wind, gékk um veðrit ok styrmdi at þeim, the wind went round and a gale met them, Bs. i. 775:—g. undan, to go before, escape, Ver. 15, Fms. vii. 217, Blas. 49: to be lost, wasted, jafnmikit sem undan gékk af hans vanrækt, Gþl. 338: to absent oneself, eggjuðusk ok báðu engan undan g., Fms. x. 238:—g. undir, to undertake a duty, freq.: to set, of the sun, Rb. 468, Vígl. (in a verse): to go into one’s possession, power, Fms. vii. 207;—g. upp, to be wasted, of money, Fær. 39, Fms. ix. 354: of stones or earth-bound things, to get loose, be torn loose, þeir glímdu svá at upp gengu stokkar allir í húsinu, Landn. 185; flest gékk upp þat sem fyrir þeim varð, Háv. 40, Finnb. 248; ok gékk ór garðinum upp ( was rent loose) garðtorfa frosin, Eb. 190: to rise, yield, when summoned, Sturl. iii. 236: of a storm, gale, to get up, rise, veðr gékk upp at eins, Grett. 94, Bárð. 169; gengr upp stormr hinn sami, Bs. ii. 50: of an ice-bound river, to swell, áin var ákafliga mikil, vóru höfuðísar at báðum-megin, en gengin upp ( swoln with ice) eptir miðju, Ld. 46, Fbr. 20 new Ed., Bjarn. 52; vötnin upp gengin, Fbr. 114; áin var gengin upp ok íll yfirferðar, Grett. 134:—g. við, in the phrase, g. við staf, to go with a staff, rest on it: with dat., g. við e-u, to avow (vide ganga í gegn above):—g. yfir, to spread, prevail, áðr Kristnin gengi yfir, Fms. x. 273; hétu á heiðin goð til þess at þau léti eigi Kristnina g. yfir landit, Bs. i. 23: the phrase, láta eitt g. yfir báða, to let one fate go over both, to stand by one another for weal and woe; hefi ek því heitið honum at eitt skyldi g. yfir okkr bæði, Nj. 193, 201, 204, Gullþ. 8: so in the saying, má þat er yfir margan gengr, a common evil is easier to bear, Fbr. 45 new Ed. (vide um above); muntu nú verða at segja slíkt sem yfir hefir gengið, all that has happened, Fms. xi. 240; þess gengr ekki yfir þá at þeir vili þeim lengr þjóna, they will no longer serve them, come what may, Orkn. 84: to overrun, tyrannize over, þeir vóru ójafnaðar menn ok ganga þar yfir alla menn, Fms. x. 198 (yfirgangr): to transgress, Hom. 109: to overcome, þótti öllum mönnum sem hann mundi yfir allt g., Fms. vii. 326: a naut. term, to dash over, as spray, áfall svá mikit at yfir gékk þegar skipit, Bs. i. 422; hence the metaph. phrase, g. yfir e-n, to be astonished; það gengr yfir mig, it goes above me, I am astonished.

C. Used singly, of various things:

1. of cattle, horses, to graze (haga-gangr); segja menn at svín hans gengi á Svínanesi, en sauðir á Hjarðarnesi, Landn. 124, Eg. 711; kálfrinn óx skjótt ok gékk í túni um sumarit, Eb. 320; Freyfaxi gengr í dalnum fram, Hrafn. 6; þar var vanr at g. hafr um túnit, Nj. 62; þar var til grass (görs) at g., Ld. 96, Grág. passim; gangandi gripr, cattle, beasts, Bjarn. 22; ganganda fé, id., Sturl. i. 83, Band. 2, Ísl. ii. 401.

2. of shoals of fish, to go up, in a river or the like (fiski-ganga, -gengd); vötn er netnæmir fiskar g. í, Grág. i. 149; til landauðnar horfði í Ísafirði áðr fiskr gékk upp á Kvíarmiði, Sturl. ii. 177; fiskr er genginn inn ór álum, Bb. 3. 52.

3. of the sun, stars, vide B. above, (sólar-gangr hæstr, lengstr, and lægstr skemstr = the longest and shortest day); áðr sól gangi af Þingvelli, Grág. i. 24; því at þar gékk eigi sól af um skamdegi, Landn. 140, Rb. passim:—of a thunder-storm, þar gékk reiði-duna með eldingu, Fb. iii. 174:—of the tide, stream, water, vide B. above, eða gangi at vötn eða skriður, K. Þ. K. 78.

4. of a ship, gékk þá skipit mikit, Eg. 390, Fms. vi. 249; létu svá g. suðr fyrir landit, Eg. 78; lét svá g. suðr allt þar til er hann sigldi í Englands-haf, Ó. H. 149; réru nótt ok dag sem g. mátti, Eg. 88; gékk skipit brátt út á haf, Ó. H. 136.

β. to pass; kvað engi skip skyldi g. (go, pass) til Íslands þat sumar, Ld. 18.

II. metaph. to run out, stretch out, project, of a landscape or the like; gengr haf fyrir vestan ok þar af firðir stórir, Eg. 57; g. höf stór ór útsjánum inn í jörðina; haf (the Mediterranean) gengr af Njörva-sundum (the Straits of Gibraltar), Hkr. i. 5; nes mikit gékk í sæ út, Eg. 129, Nj. 261; í gegnum Danmörk gengr sjór (the Baltic) í Austrveg, A. A. 288; fyrir austan hafs-botn þann (Bothnia) er gengr til móts við Gandvík (the White Sea), Orkn. begin.: frá Bjarmalandi g. lönd til úbygða, A. A. 289; Europa gengr allt til endimarka Hispaniae, Stj. 83; öllum megin gengr at henni haf ok kringir um hana, 85; þessi þinghá gékk upp ( extended) um Skriðudal, Hrafn. 24: of houses, af fjósi gékk forskáli, Dropl. 28.

2. to spread, branch out; en af því tungurnar eru ólíkar hvár annarri, þær þegar, er ór einni ok hinni sömu hafa gengit eða greinzt, þá þarf ólíka stafi í at hafa, Skálda (Thorodd) 160: of a narrative, gengr þessi saga mest af Sverri konungi, this story goes forth from him, i. e. relates to, tells of him, Fb. ii. 533; litlar sögur megu g. af hesti mínum, Nj. 90; um fram alla menn Norræna þá er sögur g. frá, Fms. i. 81.

III. to take the lead, prevail; gékk þaðan af í Englandi Valska, thereafter (i. e. after the Conquest) the Welsh tongue prevailed in England, Ísl. ii. 221; ok þar allt sem Dönsk tunga gengi, Fms. xi. 19; meðan Dönsk tunga gengr, x. 179:—of money, to be current, hundrað aura þá er þá gengu í gjöld, Dropl. 16; eigi skulu álnar g. aðrar en þessar, Grág. i. 498; í þenna tíð gékk hér silfr í allar stórskuldir, 500, Fms. viii. 270; eptir því sem gengr ( the course) flestra manna í millum, Gþl. 352:—of laws, to be valid, ok var nær sem sín lög gengi í hverju fylki, Fms. iv. 18; Óðinn setti lög í landi sínu þau er gengit höfðu fyrr með Ásum, Hkr. i. 13; þeirra laga er gengu á Uppsala-þingi, Ó. H. 86; hér hefir Kristindóms-bálk þann er g. skal, N. G. L. i. 339; sá siðr er þá gékk, Fb. i. 71, (vide ganga yfir):—of sickness, plague, famine, to rage, þá gékk landfarsótt, bóla, drepsótt, hallæri, freq.; also impers., gékk því hallæri um allt Ísland, Bs. i. 184; mikit hallæri ok hart gékk yfir fólkið, 486, v. l.; gékk sóttin um haustið fyrir sunnan land; þá gékk mest plágan fyrri, Ann. 1402, 1403.

IV. to go on, last, in a bad sense, of an evil; tókst síðan bardagi, ok er hann hafði gengit um hríð, Fs. 48: impers., hefir þessu gengit ( it has gone on) marga manns-aldra, Fms. i. 282; gékk því lengi, so it went on a long while, Grett. 79 new Ed.; gékk þessu enn til dags, Nj. 272; ok gékk því um hríð, 201; ok gékk því allan þann dag, Fms. vii. 147; lát því g. í allt sumar, xi. 57; gengr þessu þar til er …, Fb. i. 258.

V. denoting violence; létu g. bæði grjót ok vápn, Eg. 261; létu þá hvárir-tveggju g. allt þat er til vápna höfðu, Fms. ix. 44; láta höggin g., to let it rain blows, Úlf. 12. 40; háðung, spottyrði, hróp ok brigzl hver lét með öðrum g. á víxl, Pass. 14. 3, (vápna-gangr); Birkibeinar róa þá eptir, ok létu g. lúðrana, and sounded violently the alarum, Fms. ix. 50, (lúðra-gangr); láta dæluna g., to pour out bad language, vide dæla.

VI. to be able to go on, to go, partly impers.; ef þat gengr eigi, if that will not do, Fms. vi. 284; svá þykt at þeim gékk þar ekki at fara, they stood so close that they could not proceed there, Nj. 247; þá nam þar við, gékk þá eigi lengra, there was a stop; then it could go no farther, Fms. xi. 278; leiddu þeir skipit upp eptir ánni, svá sem gékk, as far as the ship could go, as far as the river was navigable, Eg. 127: esp. as a naut. term, impers., e. g. þeim gékk ekki fyrir nesið, they could not clear the ness; þá gengr eigi lengra, ok fella þeir þá seglið, Bs. i. 423; at vestr gengi um Langanes, 485, v. l.

VII. with adverbs; g. létt, fljótt, to go smoothly; g. þungt, seint, to go slowly; oss munu öll vápna-viðskipti þungt g. við þá, Nj. 201; þungt g. oss nú málaferlin, 181; gékk þeim lítt atsóknin, Stj. 385; at þeim feðgum hefði þá allir hlutir léttast gengit, Bs. i. 274; seint gengr, Þórir, greizlan, Ó. H. 149; g. betr, verr, to get the better, the worse; gékk Ribbungum betr í fyrstu, Fms. ix. 313; gengu ekki mjök kaupin, the bargain did not go well, Nj. 157, cp. ganga til (B. above):—to turn out, hversu g. mundi orrostan, 273; gékk þá allt eptir því sem Hallr hafði sagt, 256; ef kviðir g. í hag sækjanda, if the verdict goes for the plaintiff, Grág. i. 87; þótti þetta mál hafa gengit at óskum, Dropl. 14; mart gengr verr en varir, a saying, Hm. 39; þykir honum nú at sýnu g. ( it seems to him evident) at hann hafi rétt hugsað, Fms. xi. 437; g. andæris, to go all wrong, Am. 14; g. misgöngum, to go amiss, Grág. i. 435; g. e-m í tauma, to turn false ( crooked); þat mun mér lítt í tauma g. er Rútr segir, Nj. 20; g. ofgangi, to go too high, Fms. vii. 269.

VIII. of a blow or the like; hafði gengit upp á miðjan fetann, the axe went in up to the middle of the blade, Nj. 209; gékk þegar á hol, 60; gékk í gegnum skjöldinn, 245, Fb. i. 530.

IX. of law; láta próf g., to make an enquiry; láta vátta g., to take evidence, D. N.

X. to be gone, be lost; gékk hér með holdit niðr at beini, the flesh was torn off, Fb. i. 530: esp. in pass. part. genginn, dead, gone, eptir genginn guma, Hm. 71; moldar-genginn, buried, Sl. 60; hel-genginn, 68; afli genginn, gone from strength, i. e. powerless, Skv. 3. 13.

β. gone, past; gengið er nú það görðist fyr, a ditty; mér er gengið heimsins hjól, gone for me is the world’s wheel ( luck), a ditty.

XI. used as transit. with acc.; hann gengr björninn á bak aptr, he broke the bear’s back in grappling with him, Finnb. 248; ok gengr hana á bak, ok brýtr í sundr í henni hrygginn, Fb. i. 530.

2. medic. with dat. to discharge; ganga blóði, to discharge blood (Dan. blodgang), Bs. i. 337, 383; Arius varð bráðdauðr ok gékk ór sér öllum iðrum, Ver. 47.

D. REFLEX.:

I. singly, gangask, to be altered, to change, be corrupted; gangask í munni, of tradition; var þat löng ævi, ok vant at sögurnar hefði eigi gengisk í munni, Ó. H. pref.; má því eigi þetta mál í munni gengisk hafa, Fb. ii. Sverr. S. pref.; ok mættim vér ráða um nokkut, at málit gengisk, that the case could miscarry, be lost, Glúm. 380:—láta gangask, to let pass. waive; lét Páll þá g. þá hluti er áðr höfðu í millum staðit, Sturl. i. 102; ef þú lætr eigi g. þat er ek kref þik, Fms. xi. 61.

2. e-m gengsk hugr við e-t, to change one’s mind, i. e. to be moved to compassion, yield; sótti hón þá svá at honum gékksk hugr við, Eb. 264; þá gékksk Þorgerði hugr við harma-tölur hans, Ld. 232; ok mun honum g. hugr við þat, svá at hann mun fyrirgefa þér, Gísl. 98; nú sem hann grét, gékksk Ísak hugr við, Stj. 167; er sendimaðr fann at Birni gékksk hugr við féit, Ó. H. 194; við slíkar fortölur hennar gékksk Einari hugr (E. was swayed) til ágirni, Orkn. 24.

II. with prepp. (cp. B. above); gangask at, to ‘go at it,’ engage in a fight; nú gangask þeir at fast, Dropl. 24, Ísl. ii. 267; gengusk menn at sveitum, of wrestlers, they wrestled one with another in sections (Dan. flokkevis), Glúm. 354; þeir gengusk at lengi, Finnb. 248:—gangask fyrir, vide B. above:—gangask í gegn, at móti, to stand against, fight against; at vér látim ok eigi þá ráða er mest vilja í gegn gangask (i. e. the extreme on each side), Íb. 12, cp. Fms. ii. 241; at þeir skipaði til um fylkingar sínar, hverjar sveitir móti skyldi g., i. e. to pair the combatants off, ix. 489; þeir risu upp ok gengusk at móti, Stj. 497. 2 Sam. ii. 15:—g. nær, to come to close quarters (Lat. cominus gerere), Nj. 176, Fms. xi. 240:—gangask á, to dash against one another, to split; á gengusk eiðar, the oaths were broken, Vsp. 30: to be squared off against one another, sú var görð þeirra, at á gengusk vígin húskarlanna, Rd. 288; ekki er annars getið en þeir léti þetta á gangask, i. e. they let it drop, Bjarn. 47; gangask fyrir, to fall off, Fms. iii. 255:—gangask við, to grow, gain strength; áðr en við gengisk hans bæn, before his prayer should be fulfilled, x. 258; ef þat er ætlað at trúa þessi skuli við g., Nj. 162; hétu þeir fast á guðin, at þau skyldi eigi láta við garrgask Kristniboð Ólafs konungs, Fms. ii. 32; þetta gékksk við um öll þau fylki, vii. 300; mikit gékksk Haraldr við (H. grew fast) um vöxt ok afl, Fb. i. 566; Eyvindr hafði mikið við gengizk um menntir, E. had much improved himself in good breeding, Hrafn. 24; vildi hann prófa hvárr þeirra meira hafði við gengisk, which of them had gained most strength, Grett. 107: to be in vogue, in a bad sense, ok löngum við gengisk öfund ok rangindi, Fms. i. 221, cp. Pass. 37. 7:—gangask ór stað, to be removed, Fms. xi. 107.

III. in the phrase, e-m gengsk vel, ílla, it goes well, ill with one, Hom. 168, Am. 53; ílls gengsk þér aldri, nema …, the evil will never leave thee, thou wilt never be happy, unless …, 65.

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(hefi; hafða, höfðum; hafðr), v.

1) to have (þeir höfðu sjau skip ok flest stór);

hafa elda, to keep up a five;

2) to hold, celebrate (hafa vinaboð, blót, þing);

3) to keep, retain (rifu þær vefinn í sundr, ok hafði hverr þat er hélt á);

4) to use (tvau net eru rý, ok hafa eigi höfð verit);

orð þau sem hann hafði um haft, which he had made use of;

hafa fagrmæli við e-n, to flatter one;

hafa hljóðmæli við e-n, to speak secretly to one;

hafa tvimæli á e-u, to speak doubtfully of a thing;

hafa viðrmæli um e-t, to use mocking words;

hann var mjök hafðr við mál manna, much used to, versed in, lawsuits;

5) to have, hold, maintain;

hafa vináttu við e-n, to maintain friendship with one;

hafa hættumikit, to run a great risk;

hafa heilindi, to have good health;

6) to bring, carry;

hafa e-n heim með sér, to bring one home;

hann hafði lög, út hingat ór Noregi, he brought laws hither from Norway;

hafa sik (to betake oneself) til annara landa;

7) to take, carry off;

troll hafi þik, the trolls take thee;

8) to get, gain, win;

hann hafði eigi svefn, he got no sleep;

hefir sá jafnan, er hættir, he wins that ventures;

hafa gagn, sigr, to gain victor;

hafa meira hlut, to get the upper hand, gain the day;

hafa betr (verr), to get the better (worse) of it;

hafa sitt mál, to win one’s suit;

hafa tafl, to win the game;

hafa erendi, to do one’s errand, succeed;

hafa bana, to suffer death, to die;

hafa sigr, to be worsted;

hafa góðar viðtökur, to be well received;

hafa tíðindi af e-m, to get tidings of, or from, one;

hafa sœmd, óvirðing af e-m, to get honour, disgrace from one;

with gen., hafa e-s ekki, to fail to catch one (hann kemst á skóg undan, ok höfðu þeir hans ekki);

ekki munu vér hans hafa at sinni, we shall not catch him at present;

9) to wear carry (clothes, weapons);

hann hafði blán kyrtil, he wore a blue kirtle;

hafa kylfu í hendi sér, to have a club in one’s hand;

10) to behave, do, or fare, so an so esp. with an adv.;

hafa vel, illa, vetr, to behave (do) well, badly, be worse;

hafa sik vel, to behave;

hafa vel, to be well off or happy;

hafa hart, to be in a wretched plight;

11) with infin., hafa at varðveita, to have in keeping at selja, to have on sale;

lög hafið þér at mæla, you are right;

12) hafa e-n nær e-u, to expose one to (þú hafðir svá nær haft oss úfœru);

hafa nær e-u, to come near to, esp. impers.;

nær hafði okkr nú, it was a narrow escape;

svá nær hafði hausinum, at, the shot so nearly touched the head, that;

ok er nær hafði, skipit mundi fljóta, when the ship was on the point of flloating;

13) as an auxiliary verb, in the earliest time with the pp. of transitive verbs in acc.;

hefir þú hamar um fólginn, hast thou hidden the hammer?;

ek hefi sendan mann, I have sent a man;

later with indecl. neut. pp.;

hefir þú eigi sét mik, hast thou not seen me?;

14) with preps.:

hafa e-t at, to do, act;

hann tók af þér konuna, en þú hafðir ekki at, but thou didst not stir, didst take it tamely;

absol., viltu þess freista, ok vita hvat at hafi, wilt thou try and see what happens?;

hafa e-t at hlífiskildi (skotspœni), to use as a shield (as a target);

hafa e-n háði, hlátri, to mock, laugh at;

hafa e-t at engu, vettugi, to hold for naught, take no notice of;

hafa sakir á e-n have charges against one;

hafa á rás, to take to one’s heels, run off;

hafa e-t eptir, to do or repeat a thing after one;

hafa e-t fram, to produce (vápn þorgils vóru fram höfð); to carry out, hold forth;

hafa mál fram, to proceed with a suit;

var um búit, ekki fram haft, all was made ready but nothing done;

hafa e-t frammi, í frammi, to use, make use of (hafa í frammi kúgan);

ok öll lögmæt skil frammi hafa, and discharge all on official duties;

hafa e-t fyrir satt, to hold for true;

eigi em ek þar fyrir sönnu hafðr, I am not truly aimed for that, it is a false charge;

hafa e-n fyrir sökum um e-t, to charge one with;

hafa í hótum við e-n, to threaten one;

hafa e-t með höndum, to have in hand;

höfum eiai sigrinn ór hendi, let not victory slip out of our hands;

hafa ór við e-n, to behave so and so towards one (hefir þú illa ór haft við mik);

hafa e-t til e-s to use for (höfðu þeir til varnar skot ok spjót); to be a reason or ground for;

vér hyggjum þat til þess haft vera, at þar hafi menn sézt, we believe the foundation of the story is that men have been seen there;

hafa mikit (lítit) til síns máls, to have much (little) in support of one’s case;

hafa e-t til, to have at hand, possess;

orð þau, sem hann hafði um haft, the words which he had used;

keisari hafði fátt um, did not say much;

hafa e-n undir, to get one under, subdue one;

hafa e-t uppi, to take (heave) up (hafa uppi fœri, net);

Skarpheðinn hafði uppi øxina, S. heaved up the axe;

hafa flokk uppi, to raise a party, to rebel;

hafa uppi tafl, to play at a game;

hafa e-n uppi, to bring one to light;

hafa uppi rœður, to begin a discussion;

hafa e-t úti, to have done, finished (hafa úti sitt dagsverk);

hafa við e-m, to be a match for one;

hafa sik við, to exert oneself;

hafa mikit (lítit) við, to make a great (little) display;

hann söng messu ok bafði mikit við, and made much of it;

hann bad jarl leita, bann hafði lítit við þat, he did it lightly;

haf ekki slíkt við, do not say so;

haf þú lítit við at eggja sonu þina, refrain from egging on thy sons;

15) refl., hafast.

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pret. hafði; subj. hefði; pres. sing. hefi (less correctly hefir), hefir, hefir; plur. höfum, hafit, hafa: the mod. pres. sing. is monosyllabic hefr or hefur, and is used so in rhymes—andvara engan hefur | … við glys heims gálaus sefur, Pass. 15. 6, but in print the true old form hefir is still retained; the monosyllabic present is used even by old writers in the 1st pers. before the personal or negative suffix, e. g. hef-k and hef-k-a ek for hefi-g and hefig-a ek, see e. g. Grág. (Kb.) 79, 82, in the old oath formula, hef-k eigi, Hallfred; hef ek, Fms. iii. 10 (in a verse); but not so in 3rd pers., e. g. hefir-a or hefir-at, Grág. l. c.: imperat. haf, hafðu: part. pass. hafðr, neut. haft;—hafat is an απ. λεγ., Vsp. 16, and is prob. qs. hafit from hefja, to heave, lift: [Ulf. haban; A. S. habban; Engl. have; Hel. hebben; Germ. haben; Dutch hebben; Dan. have, Swed. hafva: it is curious the Lat. form habere retains the consonant unchanged, cp. the Romance forms, Ital. avere, Fr. avoir, Span. haber, etc. ☞ Hafa is a weak verb, and thus distinguished from hefja (to lift, begin), which is a strong verb, answering to Lat. capere, incipere; but in sundry cases, as will be seen below, it passes into the sense of this latter word; as also in some instances into that of another lost strong verb, hafa, hóf, to behave, and hœfa, to hit]:—to have.

A. To have; hann hafði með sér ekki meira lið, Fms. i. 39; hafði hverr hirð um sik, 52; höfðu þeir áttján skip, viii. 42; Sverrir hafði tvau hundrað manna, … þeir höfðu annan samnað á landi, 328; hann hafði mikit lið ok frítt, x. 36; þeir höfðu sjau skip ok flest stór, 102; hafa fjölmennar setur, Eb. 22; hann hafði menn sína í síldveri, Eg. 42; mun ek naut hafa þar sem mér þykkir hagi beztr, 716.

II. to hold:

1. to keep, celebrate; hafa ok halda, Dipl. i. 6; hafa átrúnað, 10; hafa dóma, 12; hafa blót, Fms. iv. 254; hafa vina-veizlu, id.; hafa vina-boð, Nj. 2; hafa Jóla-boð, Eg. 516; hafa þing, Fms. ix. 449; hafa haust-boð, Gísl. 27; hafa drykkju, Eb. 154; hafa leik, Fms. x. 201, passim.

2. to hold, observe; hlýðir þat hvergi at hafa eigi lög í landi, Nj. 149; skal þat hafa, er stendr …, Grág. i. 7; skal þat allt hafa er finsk á skrá þeirri …, id.; en hvatki es mis-sagt es í fræðum þessum, þá es skylt at hafa þat (to keep, hold to be true) es sannara reynisk, Íb. 3; ok hafða ek (I kept, selected) þat ór hvárri er framarr greindi, Landn. 320, v. l.

3. to hold, keep, retain; ef hann vill hafa hann til fardaga, Grág. i. 155; skal búandinn hafa hann hálfan mánuð, 154; ok hafði hvárr þat er hélt á, Nj. 279; hitt skal hafa er um fram er, Rb. 56; kasta í burt þrjátigi ok haf þat sem eptir verðr, 494.

4. to hold an office; hafa lögsögu, to hold the office of lögsaga, Íb. passim; hafa jarldóm, konungdóm, passim; þat höfðu haft at fornu Dana-konungar, Eg. 267; þér berit konunga-nöfn svá sem fyrr hafa haft ( have had) forfeðr yðrir, en hafit lítið af ríki, Fms. i. 52; hafa ríki, to reign, Hkr. pref.

5. phrases, hafa elda, to keep a fire, cook, Fms. xi. 129; hafa fjárgæzlu, to tend sheep, Eg. 740; hafa embætti með höndum, Stj. 204; hafa gæzlur á e-u, Fms. ix. 313; hafa … vetr, to have so many winters, be of such an age (cp. Fr. avoir … ans), Íb. 15; margir höfðu lítið fátt þúsund ára, Ver. 7: hafa vörn í máli, Nj. 93; hafa e-t með höndum, to have in hand, Fms. viii. 280, ix. 239; hafa e-t á höndum, Grág. i. 38; hafa fyrir satt, to hold for true, Fms. xi. 10; hafa við orð, to intimate, suggest, Nj. 160; hafa e-t at engu, vettugi, to hold for naught, take no notice of, Fas. i. 318.

6. with prepp. or infin.,

α. with prep.; hafa til, to have, possess; ef annarr þeirra hefir til enn annarr eigi, þá er sá skyldr til at fá honum er til hefir, Grág. i. 33; ef annarr hefir til …, id.; þér ætlið at ek muna eigi afl til hafa, Ld. 28.

β. with infin.; hafa at varðveita, to have in keeping, Eg. 500; lög hafit þér at mæla, you have the law on your tongue, i. e. you are right, Nj. 101; hörð tíðindi hefi ek at segja þér, 64; sá er gripinn hefir at halda, Grág. i. 438; hafa at selja, to have on sale, Ld. 28.

III. to use; var haft til þess sker eitt, Eb. 12; þá höfðu þeir til varnar skot ok spjót, Fms. vii. 193; er þín ráð vóru höfð, that thy advice was taken, Fs. 57; Gríss hafði þessi ráð, Fms. iii. 21; ek vil at þat sé haft er ek legg til, x. 249; þykki mér þú vel hafa ( make good use of) þau tillög er ek legg fyrir þik, xi. 61; til þess alls er jarli þótti skipta, þá hafði hann þessa hluti, 129; tvau ný (net), ok hafa eigi höfð verit ( which have not been used), haf þú ( take) hvárt er þú vilt, Háv. 46; þær vil ek hafa enar nýju, en ek vil ekki hætta til at hafa enar fornu, id.; önnur er ný ok mikil ok hefir ( has) til einskis höfð ( used) verið, id.; buðkr er fyrir húslker er hafðr, Vm. 171; gjalda vápn þau er höfð eru, N. G. L. i. 75; þat hafði hann haft ( used) fyrir skála, Edda 29; þeir vóru hafðir til at festa með hús jafnan, Nj. 118; sá hólmr var hafðr til at …, Fms. i. 218; hann skyldi hafa hinn sama eið, x. 7; orð þau sem hann hafði ( had) um haft ( used), Nj. 56; orð þau er hann hafði ( made use of) í barnskírn, K. Þ. K. 14.

2. more special phrases; hafa fagrmæli við e-n, to flatter one, Nj. 224; hafa hljóðmæli við e-n, to speak secretly to one, 223; allmikil fjölkyngi mun vera við höfð áðr svá fái gört, Edda 27; hafa mörg orð um e-t, Ld. 268; hafa tvímæli á e-u, to discuss, doubt, speak diffidently of a thing, Lv. 52; hafa viðrmæli um e-t, to use mocking words, Nj. 89; hafa nafn Drottins í hégóma, to take the Lord’s name in vain, Fms. i. 310; (hann var) mjök hafðr við mál manna, much used to, versed in lawsuits, Dropl. 8: hafa sik til e-s, to use oneself to a thing, i. e. to do a mean, paltry thing; þeir er til þess vilja hafa sik, at ganga í samkundur manna úboðit, Gþl. 200; ef hann vill sik til þessa hafa, Fms. i. 99: hafa sik við, to exert oneself; skaltú ok verða þik við at hafa um þetta mál, ef þú getr þat af þér fært, Grett. 160: hafa e-n at skotspæni, to use one as a target, Nj. 222; hafa e-n at hlífi-skildi sér, to use one as a shield, 262; hafa e-n at ginningar-fifli, auga-bragði, háði, hlátri, Hm. 133, Nj. 224, passim.

IV. to have, hold, maintain, of a state or condition; hafa vináttu við e-n, to maintain friendship with one, Sks. 662; hafa vanmátt, to continue sick, Eg. 565; hafa hættu-mikit, to run a great risk, Nj. 149; hafa vitfirring, to be insane, Grág. i. 154; hafa heilindi, to have good health, 26, Hm. 67; hafa burði til e-s, to have the birthright to a thing. Eg. 479; hafa hug, áræði, hyggindi, to have the courage …, Hom. 28; hafa vit ( to know), skyn, greind … á e-u, to have understanding of a thing; hafa gaman, gleði, skemtun, ánægju af e-u, to have interest or pleasure in a thing; hafa leiða, ógeð, andstygð, hatr, óbeit á e-u, to dislike, be disgusted with, hate a thing; hafa elsku, mætr, virðing á e-u, to love, esteeem … a thing; hafa allan hug á e-u, to bend the mind to a thing; hafa grun á e-m, to suspect one; hafa ótta, beyg af e-u, to fear a thing; and in numberless other phrases.

2. with prepp.:

α. hafa e-t frammi (fram), to carry out, hold forth; hafa frammi róg, Nj. 166; hafa mál fram, to proceed with a suit, 101; stefnu-för, 78; heitstrengingar, Fms. xi. 103; ok öll lögmælt skil frammi hafa, and discharge all one’s official duties, 232; var um búit en ekki fram haft, all was made ready, but nothing done, viii. 113; beini má varla verða betri en hér er frammi hafðr, xi. 52; hafðú í frammi ( use) kúgan við þá uppi við fjöllin, Ísl. ii. 215; margir hlutir, þó at hann hafi í frammi, Sks. 276.

β. hafa mikit, lítið fyrir e-u, to have much, little trouble about a thing; (hence fyrir-höfn, trouble.)

γ. hafa við e-m (afl or the like understood), to be a match for one, Fms. vii. 170, Lv. 109, Nj. 89, Eg. 474, Anal. 176; hafa mikit, lítið við, to make a great, little display; (hence við-höfn, display, pomp); hann söng messu ok hafði mikit við, he sang mass and made a great thing of it, Nj. 157; þú hefir mikit við, thou makest a great show of it, Boll. 351; hann bað jarl leita, hann hafði lítið við þat, he did it lightly, Nj. 141; haf ekki slíkt við, do not say so, Ld. 182.

B. To take, carry off, win, wield, [closely akin to Lat. capere]:

I. to catch, take, esp. in the phrase, hafa ekki e-s, to miss one; hann kemsk á skóg undan, ok höfðu þeir hans ekki, he took to the forest and they missed him, Nj. 130; ekki munu vér hans hafa at sinni, we sha’nt catch him at present, Fms. vi. 278; hafða ek þess vætki vífs, Hm. 101; þeygi ek hana at heldr hefik, 95: in swearing, tröll, herr, gramir hafi þik, the trolls, ghosts, etc. take thee! tröll hafi líf, ef …, Kormak; tröll hafi Trefót allan! Grett. (in a verse); tröll hafi þína vini, tröll hafi hól þitt, Nj.; herr hafi Þóri til slægan, confound the wily Thorir! Fms. vi. 278, v. l. (emended, as the phrase is wrongly explained in Fms. xii. Gloss.); gramir hafi þik! vide gramr.

II. to carry, carry off, bring; hafði einn hjartað í munni sér, one carried the heart off in his mouth, Nj. 95; hann hafði þat ( brought it) norðan með sér, Eg. 42; hafði Þórólfr heim marga dýrgripi, 4; hann hafði með sér skatt allan, 62; skaltú biðja hennar ok hafa hana heim hingat, Edda 22; fé þat er hann hafði ( had) út haft ( carried from abroad), Gullþ. 13; á fimm hestum höfðu þeir mat, Nj. 74; bókina er hann hafði ( had) út haft, Fms. vii. 156; konungr hafði biskup norðr til Björgynjar með sér, viii. 296; biskup lét hann hafa með sér kirkju-við ok járn-klukku, Landn. 42; hann hafði með sér skulda-lið sitt ok búferli, Eb. 8; hann tók ofan hofit, ok hafði með sér flesta viðu, id.; ok hafa hana í brott, Fms. i. 3; tekr upp barnit, ok hefir heim með sér, Ísl. ii. 20; hann hafði lög út hingat ór Noregi, he brought laws hither from Norway, Íb. 5; haf þú heim hvali til bæjar, Hým. 26; ok hafa hann til Valhallar, Nj. 119.

III. to take, get; hann hafði þá engan mat né drykk, he took no food nor drink, Eg. 602; hann hafði eigi svefn, he got no sleep, Bs. i. 139.

2. to get, gain, win; öfluðu sér fjár, ok höfðu hlutskipti mikit, Eg. 4; eigi þarftú at biðja viðsmjörs þess, þvíat hann mun þat alls ekki hafa, né þú, for neither he nor thou shall get it, Blas. 28; jarl vill hafa minn fund, he will have a meeting with me, 40, Skv. 1. 4: the sayings, hefir sá jafnan er hættir, he wins that risks, ‘nothing venture, nothing have,’ Hrafn. 16; sá hefir krás er krefr, Sl. 29.

3. phrases, hafa meira hlut, to get the better lot, gain the day, Nj. 90, Fms. xi. 93; hafa gagn, sigr, to gain victory, ix. 132, Eg. 7, Hkr. i. 215, Ver. 38; hafa betr, to get the better; hafa verr, miðr, to have the worst of it, Fms. v. 86, Þorst. S. St. 48, passim; hafa mál sitt, to win one’s suit, Grág. i. 7, Fms. vii. 34; hafa kaup öll, to get all the bargain, Eg. 71; hafa tafl, to win the game, Fms. vii. 219; hafa erendi, to do one’s errand, succeed, Þkv. 10, 11, Fas. ii. 517: hafa bana, to have one’s bane, to die, Nj. 8; hafa úsigr, to be worsted, passim; hafa úfrið, to have no peace; hafa gagn, sóma, heiðr, neisu, óvirðing, skömm, etc. af e-u, to get profit, gain, honour, disgrace, etc. from a thing; hafa e-n í helju, to put one to death, Al. 123; hafa e-n undir, to get one under, subdue him, Nj. 95, 128; höfum eigi, sigrinn ór hendi, let not victory slip out of our hands, Fms. v. 294.