convicted

(acc. sekan or sekjan), a.

1) guilty;

láta þann undan setja, er sekr er, to let him escape who is guilty;

sekr e-s or um e-t, guilty of;

2) convicted, outlawed, condemned to outlawry (gøra e-n sekjan, verða sekr um e-t);

sekr skógarmaðr, fjörbaugsmaðr, convicted outlaw;

3) sentenced to pay, mulcted in (verðr hann sekr um þat þrem mörkum);

4) forfeited;

tel ek sekt fé hans allt, I say that all his goods are forfeited.

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adj.; in this word in old vellums a j appears after the k and before a vowel, whence also came the old change of the root vowel; thus, sekjan, sekjum, sekjar; in later vellums this j is dropped, sekan, sekum, etc.: [from sök]:—prop. sentenced, to pay in money or person: esp. of a fine, mulcted, verðr hann sekr um þat þremr, sex mörkum, Grág. i. 37, 296, 363, 375; þá eru þeir sekir fimtán mörkum, N. G. L. i. 21, 359 (else the Grág. has útlagr, q. v.)

II. in Icel. law, convicted, outlawed, condemned to the lesser or greater outlawry; nú verðr maðr sekr at sátt, en þá verðr maðr sekr at sátt, er hann handsalar sekt sína, Grág. (Kb.) ch. 60; sekr skógar-maðr, sekr fjörbaugs-maðr, Grág.; til ek hann eiga at verða um þá sök sekjan skógarmann, prop. = a convicted woodman, Nj. 110: maðr hafði sekr orðit um þræls morð eðr leysings, Íb. 6; but also used singly, ins sekja manns, the outlaws, Grág. i. 360; Gísli verðr sekr, Gísl. 39; verða sekr um víg, Nj. 88, Grett., Gísl., Harð. S., and other Sagas passim.

2. guilty, wicked; hefna sekjum mönnum íllar atferðir, MS. 677. 4; láta þann undan setja er sekr er Nj. 136; eigi göra verkin ein saman manninn sekjan, 656 A. ii. 16; þar til er þeir fara af heiminmn sekir, 625. 66: sekari né dauðlegri, Sks. 533; samt fyrir Guði sekr ert, Pass., N. T., Vídal. passim.

1) bare, naked (lík bert ok blóðugt); undir berum himni, in the open air; hvíla á berri jörðu, on the bare ground;

2) open, clear, manifest; segja e-t berum orðum, in plain words verða berr at e-u, to be convicted of a thing; gøra e-t bert, to make known; gøra sik beran í e-u, to reveal, show one’s mind in a thng; vóru berastir í því þrændir, the Th. were most undisguised in it.

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adj. [A. S. bär; Engl. bare; Germ. bar; Slav. bos; Litt. bosus; the Goth word is not on record, but was prob. sounded basus; the radical form is b-s, not b-r, and it is consequently different from Lat. - perio (in aperio), or bera, ferre, v. Grimm s. v.];:—Lat. nudus, bare, naked; albrynjaðr svá at ekki var bert nema augun, Fms. vii. 45; beran vápnastað, Nj. 9; undir berum himni, under the bare sky, in open air, sub dio, Karl. 544; á beru svæði, in open field; ber sverð, naked swords, Fms. i. 266; ríða berum hestum = berbakt, Dl. ii.

2. metaph. naked, unprotected, Grág. ii. 8; berr er hverr á baki nema sér bróður eigi (a proverb), Nj. 265.

β. uncovered, open, clear, manifest; segja með berum orðum, in clear words, Stj. 447; verða berr at e-u, to be convicted of a thing, 656 A, 25; berar jartegnir, Fms. ii. 221; góran sik beran at e-u, to shew openly, mostly in a bad sense, xi. 55; vóru berastir í því Þrændir, the Th. were most undisguised in it, Hkr. ii. 57; göra bert, to make known, lay bare, Fms. i. 32, vii. 195.

(sónn, satt), a.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WITH ACC.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. Metaph. and in various relations:

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

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

II. denoting in regard to, in respect to:

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

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

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

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

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

IV. denoting the manner or way of doing:

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

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

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

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

VI. connected with nouns,

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

(að), v.

1) to cut into bits;

2) bita út (útbita), with dat., to extend, distend, stretch out.

* * *

beit, bitu, bitið; pres. bít; imperat. bít, 2nd pers. bittú; poët. forms with the negative, beitat, Eg. (in a verse); subj. bítia, Hkv. 2. 31, [Ulf. beitan; Engl. bite; Germ. beizen]:—to bite, Lat. mordere:

I. properly,

1. with the teeth, Eg. 508, N. G. L. i. 351; b. menn (of a dog), Grág. ii. 119; b. skarð ór, Eg. 605: of a horse, N. G. L. i. 392: foxes killing sheep, Bs. ii. 138, N. G. L. ii. 34 (wolf):—to sting, of wasps, gnats, Landn. 146.

2. of grazing animals; b. gras, lauf, skóg, Grág. ii. 229, (hence beit, pasture); hvar hestar þínir bitu gras, Fs. 57: absol. to graze, Karl. 71.

3. of sharp instruments, weapons (vápnbitinn); engir vóru ósárir nema þeir er eigi bitu járn, except those whom iron could not bite, Eg. 33; sverðit beit ekki, did not cut, Nj. 45, Edda 7; ljárnir bíta, 48; fótrinn brotnaði en eigi beit, the sword did not cut but broke the leg, Bjarn. 66.

β. e-m bítr, one’s weapon ( scythe) cuts well, bites; allt bitu honum annan veg vápnin, Eg. 93.

4. of a ship, to cruise; hér er skip … er vér köllum bíta ( bite the wind) allra skipa bezt, the best sailer, Fs. 27: impers., beit þeim eigi fyrir Reykjanes, they could not clear cape R., Landn. 30.

5. in fishing, to bite, take the bait; bítr vel á um daginn, the fishes did bite, Ld. 40; bíta mætti beitfiskr, q. v.

6. bíta á vörrinni, to bite the lip as a token of pain or emotion, Nj. 68; hann hafði bitið á kampinum, had bitten the beard, 209.

II. metaph.:

α. of frost, cold, sickness, and the like.

β. to bite, sting, hurt; hvat mun oss heldr b. orð hans, why should his speech sting us any more? Grett. 95 A; eigi veit ek prestr, nema orðin þín hafi bitið, thy words have bit, Fms. vii. 39.

γ. as a law term; sekt, sök bítr, the guilt strikes the convict, when brought home to him, hence sakbitinn, guilty; pá menn er hvártveggja hafa bitið, lög, réttindi ok svá dómar, convicted in the face of law and justice, Sks. 655 B; um þau mál sem sekt bítr, i. e. unlawful cases, liable to punishment, K. Á. 148; um þat er sekt bítr, Grett. 133 A (new Ed. 1853), Sks. 655.

δ. b. á e-n, to cut deep, affect, make an impression upon; the phrase, láta ekki á sig b., to stand proof against all; þetta lét Kjartan á sik b., K. felt pain from it, Ld. 204; láttu þetta ekki á þik b., do not mind it, id.; rennr þat öðrum opt mjök í brjóst, er á suma bítr ekki (of the conscience), 655 xi.

ε. e-t bítr fyrir, something ‘bites off,’ i. e. is decisive, makes a thing impossible or out of question; þat annat ( the other reason) er þó bítr skjótara, which is still more decided against it, Fms. ii. 266; þeir kváðust þenna kost eigi vilja, ok kváðu þat tvennt til vera er fyrir beit, two decided obstacles, reasons against it, Sturl. iii. 47; þú ert miklu œri maðr at aldri, en svá at vér hafim her lögtekna í Jómsborg, ok bítr þat fyrir, that puts it out of question, makes it impossible, Fms. x. 93; Þorgilsi þykir nú þetta ráð mega fyrir bíta, Th. thought this would be quite sufficient,—fyrir hlíta would here be better,—Ld. 264; þeir höfðu jafnan minna hlut ór málum, þó þetta bití nú fyrir, they always got the worst of it, though this was a thorough beating, Fas. i. 144; (þat er) lögmanni ok lögréttumönnum þykir fyrir b., seems a decisive proof, cuts the case off at once, N. G. L. ii. 21; b. e-m at fullu, to prove fatal to, tell fully upon; hafa mik nú at fullu bitið hans ráð, Fs. 8; Njáls bíta ráðin, a proverb quoted by Arngrim in Brevis Comment., written A. D. 1593, denoting the sagacity of Njal’s schemes; beit þetta ráð, it was effective, Fs. 153; e-m bítr við at horfa, Band. 7 C, is no doubt a false reading, = býðr, which is the reading l. c. of the vellum MS. 2845, vide bjóða.

III. recipr. of horse fight, Rd. 298.

1) fatherhood, paternity; ganga við f. at e-m or e-s, kennast f. e-s, to acknowledge or admit paternity; at f. eða móðerni, on father’s or mother’s side; var hann ljóss ok fagr eptir f. sínu, like his father;

2) patrimony.

* * *

n. fatherhood, paternity, Fms. vii. 164; at f. eðr móðerni, on father’s or mother’s side, Eg. 267, Fms. ix. 251; verða sekr um f., to be convicted of fatherhood, Grág. i. 86; ganga við f., to acknowledge one’s fatherhood, Fms. i. 257, ii. 19, iii. 130; faðerni opp. to móðerni, vi. 223.

β. patrimony, Skv. 3. 67.

γ. a parent, the father; ekki var breytt um f. Kolla, Bjarn. 45 MS. (Ed. wrongly föðurinn); hann var ljóss ok fagr eptir f. sínu, as his father, Edda 7.

δ. eccl. = Lat. paternitas, Bs. ii. 14, 80, 151, Th. 12, Mar., etc.

(gen. fjár), n.

1) cattle, esp. sheep;

þeir ráku féit (the sheep) upp á geilarnar;

gæta fjár, to herd or tend sheep;

ganganda fé, live stock, opp. to ‘dautt fé’, or ‘liggjanda fé,’ valuables, money;

2) property, money (hvárt sem fé þat er land eðr annat fé);

fyrirgøra fé ok fjörvi, to forfeit property and life;

fé er fjörvi firr, life is dearer than money;

fé veldr frænda rógi, money makes foes of kinsmen;

afla sér fjár ok frægðar (frama), to gain wealth and fame;

hér er fé þat (the money), er Gunnarr greiddi;

þiggit þat, herra, fé er í því, there is value in it;

pl. fé (dat. fjám), property, means.

* * *

n., irreg. gen. fjár, dat. fé; pl. gen. fjá, dat. fjám; with the article, féit, féinu, féin, mod. féð, fénu, fén: [Lat. pecu; Goth. faihu; A. S. feoh; Engl. fee; Hel. fehu; O. H. G. fehu; Germ. vieh; Dan. fæ; Swed. få]

I. cattle, in Icel. chiefly sheep; fé né menn, Grett. 101; fjölda fjár, Ld. 210; gæta fjár, to mind sheep, 232; en ef þeir brenna húsin þó at fé manna sé inni, Grág. ii. 164; þeir ráku féit ( the sheep) upp á geilarnar, Ni. 119; kvik-fé, live-stock, q. v.: ganganda fé, id., opp. to dautt fé, dead property, Grág. passim.

COMPDS: fjárbeit, fjárborg, fjárbreiða, fjárdauði, fjárfellir, fjárfóðr, fjárfæði, fjárfæling, fjárganga, fjárgeymsla, fjárgæzla, fjárhagi, fjárheimtur, fjárhirðir, fjárknappr, fjárhundr, fjárhús, fjárkaup, fjárkláði, fjárnyt, fjárpest, fjárrekstr, fjárréttr, fjársauðr.

II. property, money; hvárt sem fé þat er land eðr annat fé, Grág. ii. 237: the allit. phrase, fé ok fjörvi, Sl. 1; hafa fyrir gört fé ok fjörvi, to forfeit property and life, Nj. 191: the proverbs, fé er fjörvi firr, life is dearer than money, 124; fé veldr frænda rógi, money makes foes of kinsmen, Mkv. 1. Common sayings, hafa fullar hendr fjár; afla fjár ok frægðar, to gain wealth and fame, Fms. i. 23 (a standing phrase); afla fjár ok frama, Fs. 7, fjár ok virðingar, id.; seint munu þín augu fylld verða á fénu, Gullþ. 7; þú munt ærit mjök elska féit áðr lýkr, id.; lát mík sjá hvárt fé þetta er svá mikit ok frítt, Gísl. 62; at Þorgils tæki við fjám sínum, Fs. 154; fagrt fé, fine money; at þeir næði féinu, Fms. x. 23; þegn af fé, liberal, Ísl. ii. 344; Auðr tekr nú féit, A. took the money, Gísl. 62; hér er fé þat ( the money) er Gunnarr greiddi mér, Nj. 55; fé þat allt er hann átti, Eg. 98; alvæpni en ekki fé annat, Fms. i. 47: skemman var full af varningi, þetta fé …, v. 255; Höskuldr færði fé allt til skips, Nj. 4; hversu mikit fé er þetta, id.; heimta fé sín, Grág. i. 87; þiggit þat herra, fé er í því, there is value in it, Fms. vii. 197.

COMPDS: fjárafhlutr, fjáraflan, fjárafli, fjárauðn, fjáragirnd, fjárbón, fjárburðr, fjárdráttr, fjárefni, fjáreigandi, fjáreign, fjáreyðsla, fjáreyðslumaðr, fjárfang, fjárfar, fjárforráð, fjárframlag, fjárfundr, fjárgjald, fjárgjöf, fjárgróði, fjárgæzla, fjárgæzlumaðr, fjárhagr, fjárhagamaðr, fjárhald, fjárhaldsmaðr, fjárheimt, fjárhirðsla, fjárhlutr, fjárkaup, fjárkostnaðr, fjárkostr, fjárkrafa, fjárlag, fjárlán, fjárlát, fjárleiga, fjármegin, fjármet, fjármissa, fjármunir, fjárnám, fjárorkumaðr, fjárpína, fjárrán, fjárreiða, fjárreita, fjársaknaðr, fjársekt, fjársjóðr, fjárskaði, fjárskakki, fjárskilorð, fjárskipti, fjárskuld, fjársóan, fjársókn, fjárstaðr, fjártak, fjártal, fjártapan, fjártilkall, fjártillag, fjártjón, fjárupptak, fjárútlát, fjárvarðveizla, fjárvarðveizlumaðr, fjárván, fjárverðr, fjárviðtaka, fjárvöxtr, fjárþarfnaðr, fjárþurð, fjárþurfi.

B. Fé- in COMPDS, usually in sense II, sometimes in sense I: fé-auðna, u, f. money luck. féauðnu-maðr, m. a man lucky in making money, Band. 4. fé-boð, n. an offer of money, Lv. 62, Fms. v. 26, 369, 656 A. 17; a bribe, Grág. i. 72. fébóta-laust, n. adj. without compensation, Glúm. 358. fé-brögð, n. pl. devices for making money, Fms. xi. 423, 623. 21. fé-bætr, f. pl. payments in compensation, esp. of weregild, opp. to mann-hefndir, Nj. 165, Eg. 106, Fs. 53, 74, Ísl. ii. 386. fé-bættr, part. paid for weregild, Gullþ. 12. fé-drengr, m. an open-handed man, Nj. 177. fé-drjúgr, adj. having a deep purse, Ld. 46. fé-fastr, adj. close-fisted, Ísl. ii. 392, Bs. i. 74. fé-fátt, n. adj. in want of money, Eg. 394, Fms. iii. 180, Hkr. iii. 422. fé-fellir, m. losing one’s sheep, Lv. 91. fé-festi, f. close-fistedness, Grett. 155 C. fé-fletta, tt, to strip one of money, cheat one, Fas. iii. 103, v. l. fé-frekr, adj. greedy for money, Rd. 314. fé-föng, n. pl. booty, plunder, spoil, Fms. iii. 18, vii. 78, Eg. 57, 236, Gullþ. 5, Sks. 183 B. fé-gefinn, part. given for (and to) gain, Band. 4, Valla L. 201. fé-girnd, f. avarice, Hom. 86, Al. 4, Pass. 16. 7, 10. fé-girni, f. = fégirnd, Sks. 358, Band. 11, Sturl. i. 47 C. fégjafa-guð, m. the god of wealth, Edda 55. fé-gjald, n. a payment, fine, Nj. 111, 120, Band. 11, Fms. vii. 248. fé-gjarn, adj. greedy, avaricious, Eg. 336, Fs. 133, Nj. 102, Fms. i. 52, vii. 238. fé-gjöf, f. a gift of money, Fs. 11, 21, Fms. i. 53, xi. 325, Ld. 52. fé-glöggr, f. close-handed, Eb. 158. fé-góðr, adj. good, i. e. current, money, D. N. fé-grið, n. pl. security for property, Grág. ii. 21. fé-gyrðill, m. [early Dan. fägürthil], a money bag, purse, worn on the belt, Gísl. 20, Fbr. 66, Þiðr. 35. fé-gætni, f. saving habits, Glúm. 358. fé-göfugr, adj. blessed with wealth, Ísl. ii. 322. fé-hirðir, m. a shepherd, Fas. i. 518, Fms. viii. 342, Gþl. 501: a treasurer, Hkr. i. 36, Eg. 202, Fms. x. 157, vi. 372, viii. 372. fé-hirzla, u, f. a treasury, Fms. vi. 171, vii. 174, Eg. 237, Hom. 9. féhirzlu-hús, n. a treasure-house, Stj. 154. féhirzlu-maðr, m. a treasurer, Karl. 498. fé-hús, n. = fjós, a stall, D. N. (Fr.): a treasury, Róm. 299. fé-kaup, n. a bargain, N. G. L. i. 9. fé-kátliga, adv., Thom. 403. fé-kátr, adj. proud of one’s wealth, Róm. 126. fé-kostnaðr, m. expenditure, expense, Stj. 512, Fms. iv. 215, xi. 202, Hkr. i. 148. fé-kostr, m. = fékostnaðr, Orkn. 40. fé-krókar, m. pl. money-angles, wrinkles about the eyes marking a greedy man (vide auga), Fms. ii. 84. fé-kvörn, f. a small gland in the maw of sheep, in popular superstition regarded, when found, as a talisman of wealth, vide Eggert Itin. ch. 323. fé-lag, n. fellowship, and fé-lagi, a, m. a fellow, vide p. 151. fé-lauss, adj. penniless, Fms. vi. 272, Fs. 79, Gullþ. 5, Landn. 324 (Mant.) fé-lát, n. loss of money, Landn. 195. fé-leysi, n. want of money, Fms. viii. 20. fé-ligr, adj. valuable, handsome, Fms. viii. 206. fé-lítill, adj. short of money, Eg. 691, Sturl. i. 127 C, Fms. v. 182, vi. 271: of little value, Vm. 74, Jm. 13; fé-minstr, yielding the least income, Bs. i. 432. fé-maðr, m. a monied man, Sturl. i. 171, iii. 97, Dropl. 3. fé-mál, n. money affairs, Nj. 5; a suit for money, Fms. viii. 130, Nj. 15, Grág. i. 83. fé-mikill, adj. rich, monied, Sks. 252, Sturl. i. 171 C: costly, Fms. v. 257, xi. 85, Bs. i. 295, Hkr. iii. 247, Eb. 256: expensive, Korm. 224 (in a verse). fé-mildr, adj. open-handed, Nj. 30. fé-missa, u, f. and fé-missir, m. loss of cattle, Jb. 362: loss of money, Grett. 150 C. fé-munir, m. pl. valuables, Hkr. i. 312, Grág. i. 172, Hrafn. 19, 21, Fms. vi. 298, viii. 342. fé-múta, u, f. a bribe in money, Nj. 215, 251, Gullþ. 7, Fms. v. 312, Bs. i. 839, Thom. 72. fé-mætr, adj. ‘money-worth,’ valuable, Fms. i. 105, Ísl. ii. 154, Orkn. 386. fé-neytr ( fé-nýtr), adj. money-worth, Fms. iv. 340, cp. Hkr. ii. 253. fé-nýta, tt, to turn to account, make use of, Bs. i. 760, Grág. ii. 155. fé-penningr, m. a penny-worth, Bs. i. 757. fé-pína, u, f. a fine, H. E. i. 511. fé-prettr, m. a money trick, N. G. L. i. 123. fé-pynd, f. extortion, Bs. i. 757. fé-ráð, n. pl. advice in money-matters, 656 C. 16. fé-rán, n. plunder, Fs. 9, Fms. vi. 263, Fb. i. 215 (in a verse):—execution, confiscation, in the law phrase, féráns-dómr, m. a court of execution or confiscation to be held within a fortnight after the sentence at the house of a person convicted in one of the two degrees of outlawry, vide Grág. Þ. Þ. ch. 29–33, and the Sagas passim, esp. Hrafn. 21, Sturl. i. 135; cp. also Dasent, Introd. to Burnt Njal. fé-ríkr, adj. rich, wealthy, Fms. ix. 272, Gullþ. 7, Ld. 102, Skálda 203. fé-samr, adj. lucrative, Sturl. i. 68 C. fé-sátt ( fé-sætt), f. an agreement as to payment, of weregild or the like, Grág. i. 136, Nj. 189, Ld. 308. fé-sekr, adj. fined, sentenced to a fine, Grág. i. 393. fé-sekt, f. a fine, Nj. 189, Finnb. 276. fé-sinki, f. niggardliness, Sks. 421, 699. fé-sinkr, adj. niggardly, Sturl. i. 162. fé-sjóðr, m., prop. a bag of money, Band. 6, Fbr. 35 new Ed., Nj. 55, Fas. iii. 194: mod. esp. in pl. a treasury, treasure, in Matth. vi. 20, Col. ii. 3, Heb. xi. 26. fé-skaði, a, m. loss in money, Bs. i, Fs. 4, Fms. iv. 327. fé-skipti, n. a sharing or division of property, Nj. 118, Ld. 134. fé-skjálgr, adj., féskjálg augu, eyes squinting for money, Band. 6. fé-skortr, m. shortness of money, Rd. 284. fé-skuld, f. a money debt, Finnb. 350. fé-skurðr, m. detriment, Ld. 44. fé-skygn, adj. covetous, Fms. v. 263. fé-skylft ( fé-skylmt), n. adj., in the phrase, e-n er f., one has many expenses to defray, Grett. 89, 159, Eb. 98. fé-snauðr, adj. poor in money, penniless, Bs. i. 335. fé-sníkja, u, f. ( fé-sníkni), begging, intruding as a parasite, Sks. 669, 451, 585. fé-snúðr, m. lucre, Band. 5, 655 xi. 4. fé-sparr, adj. sparing, close-handed, Band. 6, Fms. iii. 190. fé-spjöll, n. pl. an απ. λεγ. in Vsp. 23, fee-spells, i. e. spells wherewith to conjure hidden treasures out of the earth, where we propose to read,—valði hón (MS. henne, dat.) Herföðr (dat.) … f. spakleg, she (the Vala) endowed the father of hosts (Odin) with wise fee-spells; the passage in Yngl. S. ch. 7—Óðinn vissi of allt jarðfé hvar fólgit var—refers to this very word; Odin is truly represented as a pupil of the old Vala, receiving from her his supernatural gifts. fé-sterkr, adj. wealthy, Fms. iv. 231, Sks. 274. fé-stofn, m. stock. fé-sæla, u, f. wealth, Hkr. i. 15, Edda 16. fé-sæll, adj. wealthy, Edda 15. fé-sök, f. a suit, action for money, Nj. 15, Grág. i. 138. fé-útlega, u, f. a fine, outlay, N. G. L. i. 85. fé-vani, adj. short of money, Fms. iv. 27. fé-ván, f. expectancy of money, Gullþ. 7, Eg. 241, Fms. iv. 27, Orkn. 208. fé-veizla, u, f. contributions, help, Sks. 261, v. l. fé-vél, n. a trick, device against one’s property, N. G. L. i. 34. fé-víti, n. mulct, Grág. fé-vænliga, adv. in a manner promising profit, Fms. v. 257. fé-vænligr, adj. promising profit, profitable, Sturl. i. 138, Fms. v. 257. fé-vænn, adj. = févænligr, Sturl. i. 138. fé-vöxtr, m. increase in property, gain, Eg. 730. fé-þurfi, adj. in need of money, Eb. 164, Fms. ii. 80, Lv. 108, Fas. i. 392. fé-þúfa, u, f. a ‘money-mound,’ used in the Tales like Fortunatus’ purse; in the phrase, hafa e-n fyrir féþúfu, to use one as a milch cow, to squeeze money out of one. fé-þyrfi and fé-þörf, f. need of money, poverty, Rd. 236. fé-örk, f. a money-chest, 224.

(heit; hét, hétum; heitinn), v.

1) to call give a name to;

Grímni mik hétu, they called me G.;

heitinn eptir e-m, called (named) after one;

2) to call on one;

heita e-n á brott, to call on one to be gone, bid one go (heitit mik héðan);

heita á e-n, to exhort one (in battle);

to invoke (heita á hinn heilaga Ólaf);

heita á e-n til e-s, to invoke (appeal to) one for a thing (hann hét á Þór til fulltings);

3) intrans., the pres. ‘heiti’ (not ‘heit’), to be hight, be called;

Óðinn ek, nú heiti, now I am called Odin;

Ólafr heiti ek, my name is O.;

Úlfr hét maðr, there was a man, whose name was U.;

bœr heitir á Bakka (at búrfelli), there is a farm called B.;

heita (to be reckoned) frjáls maðr, hvers manns níðingr;

4) with dat. to promise (heita e-m e-u);

mantu, hverju þú hézt mér, do you remember what you promised me?

heita e-m hörðu, to threaten one;

Bárði var heitit meyjunni, the maid was promised to B.;

5) refl., heitast, to vow, plight one’s faith (þeir hétust reka Hákon ór landi);

heitast e-m, to vow one’s person to one (heitast hinum heilaga Ólafi konungi);

to be betrothed to one.

(heitta, heittr), v.

1) to heat (heita spjót í eldi);

2) to brew (heita mungát, heita öl).

f. brewing (cf. ölheita).

* * *

pres. heit, heitr, and in A. II. heiti, heitir (bisyllabic), in mod. usage heiti through all significations; pret. hét, hétu, 2nd pers. hézt; part. heitinn.

A. [Ulf. haitan = καλειν; A. S. hâtan; Old Engl. hight, pret. hot; O. H. G. haizan; Germ. heissen; Swed. heta; Dan. hede]:

I. trans. with acc. to call, give name to; hve þik hétu hjú? Fsm. 47; Urð hétu eina, Vsp. 20; Heiði hana hétu, 25; Grímni mik hétu, Gm. 49; hve þik heitir halr, Hkv. Hjörv. 14; Hnikar hétu mik, Skv. 2. 18; hétu Þræl, Rm. 8; hétu Erna (Ernu?), 36: the naming of infants was in the heathen age accompanied by a kind of baptism (ausa vatni), vide ausa, p. 35.

2. metaph. to call on one; in the phrase, heita e-n á brott, to turn one out, call on one to be gone; þá er maðr á brott heitinn ef honum er eigi deildr matr at málum, Grág. i. 149; Vermundr hét hann á brott ok kvað hann eigi þar lengr vera skyldu, Sturl. ii. 230; so also, ef bóndi heitr griðmann sinn af vist foráttalaust, Grág. i. 157; eða heitið mik héðan, Ls. 7; ek var heitinn út ( turned out) fjórum sinnum, Sighvat:—with prep., heita á e-n, to call upon one (for help); hón hét á konur at skilja þá, Landn. 49: to exhort one (in battle), hét á Hólmrygi, Hkm. 2; Úlfr hét á oss, Hkr. iii. (in a verse); Gísli spratt upp skjótt ok heitr á menn sína, at skýli, Gísl. 22: to invoke one (a god, saint), hann trúði á Krist, en hét á Þór til sjófara ok harðræða, Landn. 206; hann heitr nú á fulltrúa sína Þorgerði ok Irpu, Fb. i. 213; ef ek heit á guð minn, Mar.; á Guð skal heita til góðra hluta, Sól. 4.

3. part. pass. hight, called; sú gjöf var heitin gulli betri, Ad. 9; löskr mun hann æ heitinn, Am. 57, Fms. vi. 39 (in a verse); sá maðr mun eigi ílla heitinn ( will not get a bad report) í atferð sinni, Sks. 55 new Ed.

β. heitinn, the late, of one dead; eptir Odd heitinn föður sinn, Dipl. iv. 13; Salgerðr h., the late S., Vm. 37: very freq. in mod. usage, hann Jón heitinn, hún Guðrún heitin, etc.

II. absol. or intrans., in which case pres. bisyllabic heiti (not heit), to be hight, be called, as in Goth. the pass. of haitan; Andvari ek heiti, A. am í hight, Skv. 2. 2; Ólafr heiti ek, Fms. x. 226; ek heiti Ari, Íb. (fine); Jósu vatni, Jarl létu heita, Rm. 31; Óðinn ek nú heiti, Yggr ek áðan hét, Gm. 54; Gangráðr ek heiti, Vþm. 8; Ask veit ek standa, heitir Yggdrasill, Vsp. 19: esp. freq. in an hist. style in introducing a person for the first time, Mörðr hét maðr, hann átti dóttur eina er Unnr hét, móðir hennar hét Þorgerðr, Rútr hét bróðir hans, Nj. 1, 2; þau áttu eptir dóttur er Þuríðr hét, hinn elzti son Bjarnar hét Grímkell, Ísl. ii. 4; Oddr hét maðr, son Önundar breiðskeggs, hann átti þá konu er Jórunn hét; annarr son þeirra hét Þóroddr en annarr Þorvaldr, Þuriðr hét dóttir Odds en önnur Jófriðr, 121, 122; Þorsteinn hét maðr, hann var Egilsson, en Ásgerðr hét móðir Þorsteins, 189; þau gátu son, ok var vatni ausinn ok hét Þórólfr, 146, etc.; and in endless instances answering to Engl. there was a man, and his name was ( he was hight) so and so. The ancients said, hve (or hversu) heitir þú, ‘how’ art thou named? Germ. wie heisst du? thus, hve þú heitir? hve þik kalla konir? answer, Atli ek heiti, and hve þú heitir, hála nágráðug? Hrímgerðr ek heiti, Hkv. Hjörv. 14–17; hve sú jörð heitir, hve sá himinn heitir, hversu máni heitir, hve sjá sól heitir, etc., Alm. 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, Vþm. 11, 13, 15, 17; the northern Icelanders still say, hvers’ (i. e. hversu) heitir maðrinn, sælir verið þér, hvörs’ heitir maðrinn? answer, Hrólfr heitir hann, Asgrímsson að norðan, Sig. Pétr. in Hrólfr (a play), p. 4: in mod. usage, hvat ( what) heitir þú? hvað heitir þú? Eg heiti Jón, Stef. Ól.: the same phrase occurs now and then in old writers, hvat heitir bær sjá? Ld. 234; hvat heitir hón? Helga heitir hón, Ísl. ii. 201 (Cod. Holm. hvart = hversu?): as also in the poem Fsm. (but only preserved in paper MSS.) 9, 11, 13, 19, 23, 31, 35, 37; but hve, 46, 47.

β. of places, often with dat. and prep. of the place; á þeim bæ er á Brjámslæk heitir, Bs. i. 379; land pat er í Hvammi heitir, Gísl. 121; bær hans hét á Stokkum, Fb. iii. 324; á þeim bæ er at Hóli heitir, Hrafn. 5; ok því heitir þat síðan í Geitdal, 3; bær heitir á Bakka, á Meðalhúsum, at Búrfelli, á Auðúlfsstöðum, at Svínavatni, í Vestrhópi, í Sléttadal, Ísl. ii. 322–325.

2. to be called, reckoned so and so; þá heitir hón sönn at sök, then she stands convicted, N. G. L. i. 351; þú skalt frá þessum degi frjáls maðr heita, Ld. 50; heit hvers manns níðingr ella, Nj. 176; heldr en h. kotkarl, eigi er þat nafn fyrir-lítanda, at heita húskarlar konungs, Sks. 270; sá er vill heitinn horskr, Hm. 61.

3. reflex., hétomc, to name oneself or to be called; hétomc Grímnir, hétomc Gangleri, einu nafni hétomc aldregi, hétomc Þundr fyrir þat, Gm. 46, 48, 54.

B. With dat., [cp. Goth. fauraga heitan; A. S. hâtan, pret. het; Germ. verheissen]:—to promise, with dat. both of the person and thing, or the thing in infin., or absol.; heita hörðu, to threaten, Am. 78; h. góðu, Sól.; h. bölvi, Hdl. 49; afarkostum, Fms. i. 75; hann heitr þeim þar í mót fornum lögum, Ó. H. 35; engu heit ek um þat, 167; mantú nokkut hverju þú hézt mér í fyrra, Anal. 190; at lítið mark sé at, hverju þú heitr, Fms. vii. 120; fyrir þau hin fögru fyrirheit er þú hézt þeim manni, er bana-maðr hans yrði—þat skal ek efna sem ek hét þar um, i. 217; kom Þorsteinn þar, sem hann hafði heitið, as he had promised, 72; þú munt göra okkr slíka sæmd sem þú hefir heitið, Nj. 5; Njáll hét at fara, 49.

II. to make a vow, the vow in dat., the god or person invoked with prep. and acc. (h. á e-n), cp. A. above; þat sýndisk mönnum ráð á samkomunni, at h. til verðr-bata, en um þat urðu menn varla ásáttir hverju heita skyldi, vill Ljótr því láta h. at gefa til hofs, en bera út börn en drepa gamal-menni, Rd. 248; þá heitr Ingimundr prestr at bóka-kista hans skyldi á land koma ok bækr, Bs. i. 424; ok skyldu menn taka at heita, þeir hétu at gefa …, 483; hét Haraldr því til sigrs sér, at hann skyldi taka skírn, Fms. i. 107; eptir þat hét hón miklum fégjöfum á hinn helga Jón biskup, Bs. i. 201 and passim, esp. in the Miracle-books.

III. reflex. and pass. to plight oneself, be betrothed; þá sá hón þat at ráði ok með henni vinir hennar at heitask Þórólfi, Eg. 36; þeim hétumk þá þjóðkonungi, Skv. 3. 36: to betroth, varkat ek heima þá er (hón) þér heitin var, when she (the bride) was given to thee, Alm. 4; kom svá, at Bárði var heitið meyjunni, that the maid was betrothed to B., Eg. 26.

2. to vow, plight one’s faith; þeir hétusk reka Hákon ór landi, Jd.: to vow one’s person to one, at hann heitisk hinum heilaga Ólafi konungi, Hkr. iii. 288: to bind oneself, þá menn er honum höfðu heitisk til föruneytis, Fms. vii. 204.

1) known (þér munu kunnar leiðir);

kunnr at e-u, known for something (þú ert kunnr at drengskap);

2) familiar;

þeir vóru mjök kunnir áðr, intimate friends.

* * *

adj., older kuðr, which form is freq. in poets, Hm. 56, and in old MSS.; dat. fem. sing. kuðri ( notae) rhymed with Súðvík ( Southwark), Ó. H. (in a verse), as in the compds ú-kuðr etc.; [Goth. kunþs; A. S. cuð, whence Engl. un-couth, prop. = strange; Germ. kund]:—known; vil ek göra þér kunnt, hvat vera skal um þínn hag, 655 ix. A. 2; var mér kunnara um Bárð. Eg. 39; þér munu kunnar leiðir, Fms. i. 71; jókk því es mér varð síðan kunnara, Íb. (pref.); jafn-kunnr; Björn var frægr maðr ok mörgum kuðr (kunnr, Ó. H. 53, l. c.) at sýn ok at máli, Hkr. ii. 78: familiar, grannar þínir ok kunnir menn, neighbours and friends, Hom. 151; vinir hans ok kunnir menn, Sks. 109; þeir vóru mjök kunnir áðr, intimate friends, Ld. 166.

2. with prep.; kunnr at e-u, known, convicted of; verðr hann at því kunnr eða sannr, N. G. L. i. 16, Gþl. 17: in a good sense, en þú, Einarr, ert k. at drengskap, Fms. vi. 21; emk kuðr at slíku, Fms. vi. (in a verse); kuðr at máli = málkunnugr, ‘speech friend,’ on speaking terms, Hm. 56: nafn-kunnr, famous; ú-kunnr, unknown.

adj. convicted, declared guilty, Grág. ii. 63, Sturl. i. 101.

* * *

1) speech, faculty of speech (þrøngdi svá sóttarfari konungs, at hann misti málsins);

þau hafa ekki mál, they are dumb;

2) language, tongue;

norrønt mál, the Norse tongue;

3) speech, speaking (hvárt er Flosi svá nær, at hann megi heyra mál mitt);

4) colloquy, talk, speech;

koma á mál (or at máli) við e-n, to come to talk with, speak to;

finna (hitta) e-n at máli, to obtain speech with;

krefja e-n máls, to ask an interview with;

leita mills við e-n (spyrja e-n máls, mæla mál of e-m), to broach a subject to one;

bera mál á e-t, hafa e-t á (or at) máli, to speak (talk) of (allir menn höfðu á máli, hversu fríðr maðr hann var);

lúka sínu máli, to end one’s speech;

þat er mál manna, at, people say that;

5) tale, story;

nú er þar til máls at taka, now it must be told;

6) saw, saying;

fornt (fornkveðit) mál er, at, it is an old saw that;

7) diction, construction of sentences;

8) sentence;

tvau mál, two sentences;

fullt mál, a full period;

9) suit, action, cause;

hefja mál á hendr e-m, to bring an action against one;

búa mál, to prepare a suit;

sœkja mál, to prosecute;

10) stipulation, agreement (ek vil halda mil við hann þan, sem mælt vóru);

lauss allra mála, free of all stipulations;

11) case, matter, affair (þetta mál var við Jórunni rœtt);

svá er mál með vexti, the matter stands thus;

var þat annat mál, another matter;

miðla mál, to mediate;

tillagagóðr inna stœrri mála, a good counsellor in great matters;

hafa sitt mál, to have one’s own way, have one’s will (honum eirir illa, of hann hefir eigi sitt mál);

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

e-t skiptir miklu (litlu) máli, it is of great (small) importance;

12) three months (mál ok misseri).

1) measure (fimm álna er hátt mál hans);

leggja, bera mál við e-t, to measure (hann lagði mál við öll in stœrstu tré);

2) time, high time (mál er upp at standa);

sagði, at þá var mið nótt ók at enn væri mál at sofa, and still time to sleep;

3) meal;

í eitt mál, at einu máli, for one single meal;

deila mat at málum, to deal out food at each meal.

n. inlaid ornaments (on the hilts and guards of swords).

* * *

n., old pl. m́l, 673. 47, Greg.; [Ulf. maþl = ἀγορά; Hel. mahal = speech, meeting; Dan. maal; from the old Teut. maþl or mahal was formed the mid. Lat. mallum = parliament, public meeting (Du Cange), and mallum again was in Norman-French rendered by parliament.]

A. Speech, faculty of speech; mál heitir orð …, Edda 110; þau hafa ekki mál, they are dumb, Fms. i. 97, Fs. i. 250; þröngdi svá sóttar-fari konungs at hann misti málsins, x. 148; þeir hafa eigi manns rödd né mál, Rb. 348; þeir hafa gauð fyrir mál, 346; mál, heyrn, sjón, Edda 6.

II. speech as spoken, language, tongue; Norrænt mál, the Norse tongue, Fms. vii. 165; Gírskt mál, Greg. 75; í máli þeirra, til várs máls, in our tongue; í hverju máli, Skálda 161, 168; í vóru máli, 163, 166, 167, 169; í málinu, 165; kynnask várt mál at ráða þat er á Norrænu er ritað, Bs. i. 59; nema mál á Danska tungu, Grág.; rita at Norrænu máli, Hkr. (pref.); þeir skildu eigi hans mál, þá mælti kvinnan á Norrænu, Fs. 136.

2. speech, speaking; hvárt er Flosi svá nær at hann megi heyra mál mitt, Nj. 36, 200; ver eigi nær honum en mál nemi, Fms. iv. 28; en skáldskapr var honum svá tiltækr, at hann mælti af tungu fram sem annat mál, 374; engi var svá vitr at snjallara mál mundi fram bera, vii. 158; snjallr í máli ok talaðr vel. ix. 535; skilr þú nokkut hérmanna mál, Fas. ii. 512; en er hann lauk sínu máli, Ld. 106, 130, Íb. 12; ok fara svá öllu máli um sem hann hafi áðr ekki um mælt, Grág. i. 40; ef hann kveðr svá at ok hafði í máli sínu, ‘heilt ráð ok heimolt,’ en eigi ella, 317; kveðr jarl þings ok mælti þeim málum á þinginu at Hákon jarl skyldi heita vargr í véum, Fms. xi. 40; tína fyrir mér öll þau mál ok athæfi er hafa þarf fyrir konungi, Sks. 301.

3. speaking one to another, colloquy; vera á máli, to deliberate, converse, Vtkv., 1; hann kom opt á mál við konung, Eg. 106; engi þorði at krefja hann máls, 601; Þórdís gékk til máls við Egil frænda sinn, 765; þegar er þeir fundu menn at máli, Fms. i. 204; ef þeir vildu hafa hans mál, 241; síðan hættu þau málinu, Nj. 10; hann leitaði þá máls um við Ásgerði hverju þat gegndi, Eg. 703; ok spyrja hana máls hvar til þessi svör skulu koma, Hkr. i. 77; þat var karl ok kerling, mælti hann mál af þeim ok spurði, Fas. iii. 525; höfðu menn at máli (people noticed, of something extraordinary), at…, Fms. vii. 301; allir menn höfðu á máli, er Ólaf sá, hversu fríðr maðr hann var, Ld. 88; bera mikit mál á, Fms. x. 93; þat var mál manna, people said that; or, þat er mál manna, people say, Nj. 268, Eg. 29, Fms. vii. 150.

4. a tale, narrative; nú er þat til máls at taka (of resuming the narrative after an episode), to take up the story again, Ld. 314, Nj. 16, 29, 135, 148, 196; er fyrr var getið í þessu máli, Fms. xi. 41; þar hef ek upp þat mál, Eg. 735.

5. a saw; þat er fornt mál (‘tis an old saw), at bísna skal at betr verði, Fms. x. 261, Glúm. 344; á líti þeir mál in fornu, look to the old wise sayings, Sighvat (forn-mæli, q. v.)

6. gramm. diction, construction of sentences; mál ok hættir, Edda 49; ef þat mál ( figure of speech) er upp er tekit haldi of alla vísu-lengd, 123; breyta háttum með máli einu, to vary the verses with the sentences, Edda 124 (for specimens see lit. 9–23); tvau mál, two sentences; fullt mál, a full period; hér lýkr máli, lúka heilu máli, a sentence closes; annat ok þriðja vísu-orð er sér um mál, ok er þat stál kallat, of the intercalary sentences in poetry, Edda 125; þeir kölluðu at hann hafði eigi rétt ort at máli, Fms. v. 209; samhljóðendr megu ekki mál eðr atkvæði göra einir við sik, Skálda; hér er mál fullt í hverju vísu-orði, Edda; Skáldskapar-mál, poetical diction, id.; bragar-mál, id., 124.

7. mál is the name of old songs containing old saws or sentences, such as the Háva-mál; as also of poems in a dialogue (mál); all such poems were in a peculiar metre called mála-háttr, which is opposed to the epic kviðu-háttr, thus, Grímnis-mál, Vafþrúðnis-mál, Alvís-mál, Hamðis-mál, Hákonar-mál, Eiríks-mál; in some instances the name has been applied erroneously, e. g. Atla-mál; the Rígs-mál is a name given in modern times, the old name was Rígs-þula.

B. As a law phrase, with the notion of public speaking, action, or the like:

1. a suit, action, cause; hefja mál á hendr e-m, Fms. vii. 130; hafa mál á höndum, Grág. i. 38; sókn skal fyrr fara fram hvers máls en vörn, nema þat sé allt eitt, ok sé þat annars máls sókn er annars er vörn, 59; Njáll nefndi vátta ok sagði únýtt málit, Nj. 36; ekki á Bjarkeyjar-réttr á því máli at standa, Fms. vii. 130; þeir veittu Gizuri hvíta at hverju máli, Nj. 86; báru þeir kvið um mál Otkels, 87; færa mál fram at dómi, Grág, i. 135; sækja mál, to prosecute, Nj. 86, 99; sækja mál lögliga ok réttliga, Fms. vii. 133; Gunnarr sótti málit þar til er hann bauð til varna, Nj. 36; en um tólf mánuðr stendr þeirra mál, the case stands over for twelve months, Grág. i. 143; sækja mál á þingi, Nj. 36; færa vörn fyrir mál, 87; mál kemr í dóm, Glúm. 365; höfða mál, to institute a suit, Grág. i. 142; búa mál, to prepare a suit, of the preliminaries, Glúm. 365, passim; leggja mál undir e-n (as umpire), Nj. 105; hafa sitt mál, to get one’s verdict, win the suit, passim; vera borinn máli, to be cast, convicted, N. G. L. i. 122: to be beaten, get the worst, passim: vígs-mál, legorðs-mál, fé-mál, etc.

2. an indictment, charge;þá eru þeir varðir máli ef þeir fá þann bjargkvið, Grág. i. 54; ok versk hann þá málinu, 317; at upp skyldi vera rannsókn en þau ór málinu ef hann hittisk eigi þar, Ld. 44; ek vil svara því máli, I will answer that charge, Nj. 99; ok bað Sigurð Hranason svara þar málum fyrir sik, Fms. vii. 130; á hann kost at láta varða skóggang eða görtæki, ef hann vill til hins meira máls færa ok skal hann stefna ok láta varða skóggang, Grág. i. 430; hann spurði alla ena beztu menn, hvert mál þeim þætti Gunnarr eiga á þeim nöfnum fyrir fjörráðin, Nj. 105; leynd mál, hidden charges, Grág. i. 362.

3. procedure, order; at alþingis-máli réttu ok allsherjar-lögum, Nj. 87: pleading, enda er svá sem þeir mæli eigi þeim m́lum nema þeir vinni eiða at, Grág. ii. 342.

4. stipulation, agreement; mál meginlig, Vsp.; bregða máli, Grág. i. 148; ok skilja þeir eigi þat mál görr, en svá, 136; nema þau vili annat mál á göra, 336; en ek skal lauss allra mála ef hann kemr eigi svá út, Ísl. ii. 217; skulu þeirra manna mál standask, Grág. i. 296: engagement, ok vitja málanna fyrir hönd okkra beggja, Fms. xi. 104.

5. transactions; en hvert sem at þessum málum var setið lengr eða skemr, Ld. 22.

6. a case; lá ek þá í vöggu er þær skyldu tala um mitt mál, Fas. i. 340; mál hans stendr í miklum háska, Mar.; en þó skaltu svá um þitt mál hugsa, … at þá munt þú skamt eiga úlifat, Nj. 85; at hvárir-tveggju hafi nakkvat síns máls, Jb. 12; þat er mál Sigurðar konungs at mæla til Inga konungs, Fms. vii. 221; festi járnburð, at svá skyldi sanna mál hans, 230; honum eirir ílla ef hann hefir eigi sitt mál, Ísl. ii. 237; þá skal sá þeirra hafa sitt mál er eið vill at vinna, Grág. i. 393; Þórólfr bað Ölvi byrja mál sitt við konung, Eg. 62; at vit fáim rétt af þessu máli, 40; flytja mál sitt, Ld. 180; muntú mér verða at trúa til málanna þinna allra, Fms. xi. 104; allir er eiðsvarar erut við þetta mál, Nj. 192; eiga síðan allt mitt mál undir yðr fóstbræðrum, Fas. ii. 532; þetta mál var við Jórunni rætt, Ld. 22; þykki mér nú vandast málit, Nj. 4; svá er mál með vexti, the case is this, Lv. 43, Fas. iii. 59; var þat annat m., another affair, Nj. 256; ekki eru þau efni í um várt mál, Ld. 76; konungr átti dóm á þeirra máli, id.; ber hann upp fyrir bróður sinn málit, hann berr upp málit ok biðr Unnar, ok undra ek er þú ferr með því máli, Fas. i. 364; Austmaðrinn heldr nú á málinu við bónda Nj. 259; ef þér vilit göra málit at álitum, 3; svara þessu máli, Fms. vii. 124; miðla mál, to mediate, Íb. 12; inna stærri mála, in important cases, Nj. 2.

7. special phrases, e-t skiptir miklu, litlu … máli, to bear much or little upon a case, to be of great (small …) importance, Eg. 742, Ó. H. 31, passim: skiptir þá eigi máli, Grág. i. 43; varða máli, id.; ef honum þætti máli varða at hann næði því, Rd. 260: þú kvaddir þess kviðar er eigi átti máli at skipta um víg Auðúlfs, who had no concern with the slaying of A., Nj. 87.

C. COMPDS, máls- and mála-: máls-afglöpun, f. a false or collusive action, whereby the suit is lost, Grág. i. 494. máls-bót, f. an excuse, exculpation, Fms. vii. 207; esp. in plur., hafa sér e-ð til málsbóta, to use as an excuse. mála-efni, n. pl. a cause, its circumstances and nature, Nj. 47, Háv. 51; íll málaefni, a bad case, Fs. 41. 138, Ó. H. 150, Band. 12. máls-endi, a, m., see málsemd. máls-eyrendi, n. a discourse, Sturl. i. 140. mála-ferli, n. pl. lawsuits, litigation, Fs. 47, Eg. 644, Nj. 78, Sturl. i. 105, Fær. 109. mála-flutningr, m. the conduct of a suit, Hrafn. 17. mála-fylgjumaðr ( mála-fylgismaðr), m. a lawyer; mikill m., a great taker up of suits, Nj. 1, Bs. i. 82. máls-fylling, f. the conclusion of a case, Fb. iii. 451. máls-grein, f. a sentence, Skálda 174, 181, Bs. i. 753 ( a passage in a letter): a phrase, Stj. 79, Edda 49; partr málsgreinar = pars orationis, Skálda 180: diction, style, Edda 120. mála-háttr, m. [mál, háttr], a kind of metre, Edda 142, where a specimen is given. máls-hattr, m. a phrase, Stj. 67, 126: = málsgrein, Skálda 170: a proverb, saying, Fms. ii. 33, Fas. iii. 104, Stj. 133, passim. málshátta-safn, n. a collection of proverbs. mála-hlutr or máls-hlutr or -hluti, a, m. one side of a case or suit eiga enn þyngra málahlut, Ísl. ii. 172; þá ferr ílla m. várr ( our case), Lv. 95: a share, mun sá verða m. várr beztr, Nj. 88; nú kann vera, at ek kunna ekki at sjá málahlut til handa mér, en vilja munda ek halda sæmd minni, Sturl. i. 105. mála-kosta, u, f. a complaint, pleading in a case, Sturl. i. 613, H. E. i. 457. mála-leitan, f. a negotiation, the mooting a question, Eg. 521, Eb. 130, Fms. vii. 299, Orkn. 56. mála-lenging, f. useless prolongation. mála-lok, n. pl. the end of a case, conclusion, Eb. 106, Nj. 102, Bs. i. 68. mála-lyktir, f. pl. = málalok, Eb. 24, 36, Nj. 88, Fms. vii. 14. máls-löstr, m. bad grammar, Skálda 181. mála-maðr, m. = málafylgju-maðr, Dropl. 6, Ld. 298, Boll. 354. mála-mannligt, n. adj. like, worthy of a málamaðr, Bs. i. 751. máls-metandi, part., m. maðr, a person of mark. mála-mynd, f.; til málamyndar, only for appearance, not seriously. máls-orð, n. a word in a sentence, Edda 124, 126, 128. máls-partr, m. a part of speech, Skálda 185: a part in a suit, mod. máls-rödd, f. = málrómr, Stj. 81. mála-skil, n. pl. knowledge of proceeding. Sturl. iii. 10. mála-skot, n. an appeal in a case, K. Á. 218. mála-sóku, f. a lawsuit, prosecution, Nj. 248. máls-spell, n. a flaw in a suit, Nj. 170, Fms. x. 12. mála-sönnun, f. evidence, Mar. mála-tilbúningr or mála-tilbúnaðr, m. the preparation of a suit, Grág. i. 490, Eb. 282, Nj. 36, 100. mála-tilleitan, f. = málaleitan, Þórð. 67. mála-vöxtr, m. the state of a case, Fms. vi. 11, Al. 113, Bs. i. 67, Nj. 79. máls-þörf, f. a wish to speak, Fms. vi. 374.

n. [Ulf. mêl = χρόνος, καιρός; A. S. mâl; Engl. meal; Germ. mahl; Dan. and Swed. maal, mâl = a mark]:—a measure: hann mælti grundvöll undir húss, þat var þeirra átrúnaðr ef málit gengi saman, þá er optarr væri reynt, at þess manns ráð mundi saman ganga, ef mál-vöndrinn þyrri, en þróask ef hann vissi til mikilleiks, gékk nú málit saman ok var þrem sinnum reynt, Korm. 8; fimm álna er hátt mál hans, Fms. vi. 929; ganga undir mál, to undergo a mál (for measuring one’s height); þat sögðu menn at þeir hefði jafnmiklir menn verit, þá er þeir gengu undir mál, Ld. 178; leggja, bera mál við, to measure; hann lagði mál við öll in stærstu tré, 216; með því sama máli sem þér mælit út mun yðr verða aptr mælt, Mar.; bar hón mál á, ok þurfti þá þrjár álnar ok þver hönd, Bs. ii. 168; kunna maga mál, to know the measure of one’s stomach, Hm. 20.

2. a length of sixteen fathoms, D. N. (Fr.)

B. Temp. [Ulf. mêl = χρόνος, καιρός], a ‘meal,’ of time, i. e. a certain portion of time:

I. time, high time; skipverjum þótti mál ór hafi, Landn. 206: with infin., Vsp. 14, Hm. 111, Skm. 10, Bm. 1; mönnum væri mál at lýsa sökum sínum, Nj. 149; at mál væri at ganga at sofa, Fms. ii. 138; mælti biskup at mál væri at sofa, 139; sagði mál at ríða, Orkn. 48: adding a dat., mál er mér at ríða, Hkv. 2. 47: ok er mál at vit farim, Fær. 255; mál er at leita at hestum várum, Korm. 182; ok er allt mál at ættvíg þessi takisk af, Ld. 258; ok er nú mál at hætta, Fms. vi. 212: e-m er mál (of stools):—í mál, in due time; þóat í mál yrði borinn kviðrinn, Grág. i. 54.

2. the moment, nick of time (mál, q. v.); at hann var þar þá nótt, ok á því máli …, of an alibi, N. G. L. i. 309.

II. the meal-time, morning and evening, Edda 103; hence of cattle, missa máls, to miss the time, sheep lost or astray for a day so that they cannot be milked, Grág. ii. 230, 231; kvikfénaðr missir máls, Snót; hence málnyta. q. v.; deila mat at málum, to deal out meat at each meal, Grág. i. 149; í hvert mál, Hm. 36; í eitt mál, for one single ‘meal,’ Karl. 347, Grág. i. 293; fæða þá í tvau mál, ii. 400; í bæði mál (see i B, p. 317): at því máli = Germ. diesmahl, Korm. (in a verse); þat er ok mitt ráð þó þat sé at fyrra máli at menn snæði nokkut, Fb. ii. 676; þat vilda ek at þær æti at einu máli kýr Hálfdanar bróður míns, Ó. H. 64; ef ættak at málungi mat, if I had meat from meal to meal, Hm.

2. of the day marks; dag-mál = day-meal = 9 o’clock A. M.; and nátt-mál, night-time = 9 o’clock P. M.; í fyrra málið, to-morrow morning; eg skal koma í fyrra málið.

III. of the seasons of the year; í misseri eru mál tvau, í máli eru mánuðr þrír, Rb. 6; mál ok misseri, Hm.; sumar-mál, the time when summer sets in (middle of April), opp. to vetr-nætr, when winter sets in; hríð-mál. q. v.

COMPDS: málamatr, málamjólk, málsverðr.

n. [Ulf. mêl = γραφή and γράμμα; Hel. mâl = imago, effigies; cp. also Goth. maljan = γράφειν, whence mod. Germ. mahlerei, mahlen, = pingere]:—prop. ‘a drawing,’ but it is used in old writers only of inlaid ornaments on spear’s heads or on the hilts and guards of swords; görir Þorgrímr þar af spjót, mál vóru í, Gísl. 18; hann hafði króka-spjót í hendi haugtekit ok allgóð mál í, Ld. 78; spjót, þá fann hann blóð í málunum, Glúm. 344; stál bjartra mála, Korm. 1; gull-mál (q. v.), Þiðr. 110; stála-mál, inlaid work of steel, Ht. R. 33. For specimens of ‘mál’ see Worsaae, Nos. 325, 331; a plate with inlaid work on the outside and a Runic inscription on the inside was found in Oct. 1870 in the cairn Greenmount in Ireland, and is described by Major-General Lefroy.

COMPDS: málajárn, málasax, málaspjót, málasteinn.

* * *

(að), v.

1) to try (p. má ek þetta);

2) to examine (p. sök, mil);

3) to find out; ef ek prófa þetta sannindi, if find this to be true;

4) to prove (by evidence).

* * *

and próva, að, [Engl. prove; Germ. prüfen; Lat. probare]:—to try, put on trial, Al. 88, Stj. 145; þá skulum vit til prófa, Grett. 158 A; þeir vildu prófa hvárt …, Fms. vi. 156; prófa má ek þetta, Ísl. ii. 12: to shew, give evidence, ok prófa slíkir af sjálfum sér at lítil mildi muni búa í annars brjósti, Al. 96.

2. to examine; prófa mál, Al. 7; p. ok dæma, Bs. i. 720; en ef þetta er prófat á þingi, Nj. 99: to enquire, Fms. x. 131; þá skal próva ef nokkurir vissu, K. Á. 18; ef ek p. þetta allt sannindi, if I find it all to be true, Fms. i. 295; p. með líkindum, Stj. 105.

II. reflex., prófaðisk svá til, it proved so, Stj. 160; sem síðan prófaðisk, Fms. i. 59.

2. part., prófaðr, proved, convicted of; sem at öðru verða prófaðir, Gþl. (pref. ix); nú höfu vér prófat, we have found that …, Mar.; ok er svá próvað fyrir biskupi, K. Á. 64, Bs. i. 755; nema þeir fengi af sér prófat, unless they can clear themselves of it; sökum prófaðrar harðfengi, Eb. 42.

(að), v. to do harm, scathe (jarl kvað þat ekki s. mundu); impers., hvat sem at var gört, sakaði hann (acc.) ekki, no matter what they did, no harm came to him; recipr., at vér skylim sjálfir um sakast, that we should injure one another.

(að), v. to blame, find fault with; s. sik um e-t, to blame oneself for (ekki mun tjá at s. sik um orðinn hlut); recipr., sakast um e-t, to blame one another for a thing; s. sáryrðum, to bandy cutting words.

* * *

að, [sök; Ulf. sakan = μάχεσθαι, ἐπιτιμαν, ga-sakan = ἐλέγχειν, A. S. sacan; cp. sókn, sækja, sekr]:—prop. ‘to fight,’ which remains in Hom. 30.

2. to blame, find fault with; saka sik um e-t, to blame oneself for a thing, Nj. 20, Fms. xi. 2; sakask um e-t, to blame one another, Fb. ii. 25, Al. 81; Þorvaldr lét ekki tjóa at sakask um verkit, Glúm. 374; cp. the saying, tjáir ekki að sakast um orðinn hlut, no use to cry over spilt milk; sakask við e-n, to throw the blame on, to scold, Mart. 121; sakask sáryrðum, to come to words, Ls. 5.

3. part. sakaðr, charged, accused, Gþl. 548: in the phrase, sakaðr ok sifjaðr, foe and friend, 14, 67, 547: convicted, guilty, Fms. ix. 427.

II. to hurt, harm, scathe; þér skal ekki saka, Nj. 53; jarl kvað þat ekki saka mundu, Orkn. 408: impers., sakaði hann (acc.) ekki, Fms. i. 104; Skúta sakaði ekki, Rd. 295: sakaðr, hurt, wounded, Sturl. iii. 267; var ekki borð sakat (damaged) í skipi þeirra, Ld. 76; mun ek göra ráð fyrir svá at ekki saki til, Fms. i. 189; Ólafr kvað ekki til mundu saka, Ld. 76.

2. recipr., eigi hygg ek okkr myni úlfa dæmi, at vér skylim sjálfir um sakask, that we should destroy one another like wolves, Hom. 30.

d, to call a thing by its right name; at styðja, reka, eðr sannkenna, Edda (Ht.): part. convicted of, s. at svikum, Al. 124.

(sónn, satt), a.

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

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

part. duly proved, Fs. 97, Fms. ii. 57, vi. 144, vii. 115: s. at e-u, convicted of, Rd. 285.

part. convicted, guilty, H. E. i. 467, ii. 71.

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(segi, sagða, sagðr), v.

1) to say, tell (seg þú mér þat, er ek spyr þik);

þeir sögðu, at þeir skyldu aldri upp gefast, they said they would never yield;

segja e-m leið, to tell the way, esp. on the sea, to pilot;

segja tíðendi, to tell news;

impers. it is told (hér segir frá Birni bunu);

sem áðr sagði, as was told before;

segjanda er allt vin sínum, all can be told to a friend;

2) to say, declare, in an oath;

ek segi þat guði (Æsi), I declare to God (to the ‘Áss’);

3) law phrases;

segja sik í þing, lög, to declare oneself member of a community;

segja sik ór þingi, lögum, to declare oneself out of, withdraw from, a community;

segja skilit við konu, to declare oneself separated from, divorce, one’s wife;

segja fram sök, to declare one’s case;

segja lög, to recite the law, of the lögsögumaðr;

4) to signify, mean (þetta segir svá);

5) with preps., segja e-n af e-u, to declare one off a thing, take it from him;

segja e-t á e-n, to impose on (bœta at þeim hluta, sem lög segði á hann); to announce (segja á reiði, úsátt sína);

segja eptir e-m, to tell tales of one;

segja frá e-u, to tell, relate;

Unnr, er ek sagða þér frá, U. of whom I told thee;

segja fyrir e-u, to prescribe (svá var með öllu farit, sem hann hafði fyrir sagt);

segja fyrir skipi, to bid God-speed to a ship;

segja e-t fyrir, to predict, foretell (segja fyrir úorðna hluti);

segja e-u sundr, í sundr, to break up, dissolve (segja sundr friði, frændsemi, hjúskap);

segja til e-s, to tell, inform of (segit honum ekki til, hvat þér hafit gört við hrossit);

segja til nafns síns, segja til sín, to tell (give) one’s name;

segja upp e-t, to pronounce (segja upp dóm, gørð);

segja upp lög, to proclaim the law (from the law-hill);

segja e-n upp, to give one up;

segja upp e-u, to declare at an end (segja upp friði, griðum);

segja upp þjónustu við e-n, to leave one’s service;

6) refl., segjast, to declare of oneself;

hann sagðist þá vaka, he said that he was awake;

kristnir menn ok heiðnir sögðust hvárir ór lögum annarra, they declared themselves each out of the other’s laws;

láta (sér) segjast, to let oneself be spoken to, listen to reason;

impers., e-m segist svá, one’s tale runs so.

* * *

pres. segi, segir, segi, pl. segjum, segit, segja; pret. sagði, pl. sögðu; pres. subj. segja; pret. segða, segðir, segði; imperat. seg, segðú; part. sagðr: doubtful forms are sagat, sagaðr, Merl. 2. 4: a pres. indic. seg, segr, ek seg, Grág. i. 64, 134; segr hann, Fms. x. 421; segsk, Grág.i. 159, ii. 57: with a neg. suff. segr-at, Grág. ii. 214; sagðit, Hým. 14; segit-a, tell ye not! Vkv. 21: an older form seggja with a double g is suggested in Lex. Poët. in two or three passages, cp. A. S. secgan, as also seggr; but in Haustl. l. c. the g in ‘sagna’ is soft, and not hard (gg) as in mod. Icel. pronunciation, and sagna would fairly rhyme with segjaandum: [a word common to all Teut. languages, except that, strangely enough, no Goth. form is recorded, for Ulf. renders λαλειν, λέγειν, εἰπειν, by maþljan, quiþan, rodjan; so it may be that the earliest sense was not to say = Lat. dicere, but a limited one, to tell, proclaim; A. S. secgan; Engl. say; Dan. sige; Swed. segja.]

A. To say, in the oldest poems chiefly,

I. to tell, report, Lat. narrare, dicere; segðu, imperat. tell thou me! say! Vþm. 11, 13, 15. 17, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 34, 36, 38, 40, 42, Alm. 10, 12, 14, 16. etc., Skm. 3; segðu mér ór helju ek man ór heimi, Vtkv. 6; atgeirinn sagði ( foretold) manns bana, eins eðr fleiri, Nj. 119; mér segir svá hugr um, my mind tells me, I have a foreboding; eigi segir mér vel hugr um þessa ferð, Ld. 366; sagði honum mjök úvænt hugr um hennar hag, Fms. x. 215; sagðit honum hugr vel þá, Hým. 14; seg oss draum þinn, Nj. 95; hann segir honum greiniliga slíkt er hann spurði, Fms. ii. 99; þessi saga er nú ætlu vér at segja, viii. 1 (see saga); hann spurði hvers synir þeir væri,—þeir sögðu, Nj. 125; fór sveinninn ok sagði til Haralds, Fms. vii. 167; hvat hark var þat?—Honum var sagt, 168; svá hafa spakir menn sagt, Ib. 6; svá sagði Þorkell oss, 5; svá sagði Teitr oss, id.; svá sagði oss Úlfhéðinn Gunnarsson, 9; þenna atburð sagði Teitr oss, at því es Kristni kom á Ísland, 13; en Hallr sagði oss svá, 15; svá sagði hann oss, id.; en honum sagði Þórarinn bróðir hans, 16; es sannliga es sagt, at fyrst færi til Íslands, 4; hvatki er missagt es í fræðum þessum (pref.); þar sagði hann eigi koma dag á vetr, Landn. (pref.); svá segja vitrir menn, … en svá er sagt, 25; svá sagði Sæmundr prestr enn fróði, 27; er svá sagt, at honum hafi flestir hlutir höfðingligast gefnir verit, Nj. 254: of inscriptions, writing, segja þær (the Runes) formála þenna allan, Eg. 390; segja bækr, at …, 625. 88; skal sú skrá hafa sitt mál, er lengra segir, Grág. i. 7: segja leið, to tell the way, to guide, esp. on the sea, to pilot, Fms. xi. 123, Eg. 359 (leið-sögn, leiðsögu-maðr):—to tell, bid, far þú ok seg Agli, at þeir búisk þaðan fimmtán, Nj. 94; hann sendi húskarl at segja Steinari, at hann færði bústað sinn, to tell S. to change his abode, Eg. 749; segðu honum að koma, tell him to come!

2. with prepp.; segja eptir e-m, to tell tales of one, inform against, Al. 125; hann sagði eptir mér, segðu ekki eptir mér!—s. frá e-u (frá-sögn), to tell, relate, Nj. 96; þar er hón nú, Unnr, er ek sagða þér frá, U., of whom I told thee, 3; eigi má ofsögum segja frá vitsmunum þínum, Ld. 132: s. fyrir, to dictate, Fms. vii. 226, Fb. iii. 533, Nj. 256: to foretel, Rb. 332; s. fyrir úorðna hluti, Fms. i. 76, viii. 5: segja fyrir skipi, to bid Godspeed to a ship (on her first voyage), ix. 480: to prescribe, Ld. 54; þeir sigldu um nóttina, en hann sagði fyrir ( piloted) með viti ok gæfu, Bs. i. 562: s. manni fyrir jörðu, to give notice as to the redemption of an estate, Gþl. 295–297, 301 sqq.:—segja til, to give up; s. til nafns sins, to give one’s name (on being asked), Hbl.; hvat er nafn höfðingja yðvars? Rútr segir til sin. R. told his name (said, my name is R.) Nj. 8; sagði Örnólfr til svá-felldra itaka, Dipl. i. 1; skal ek hér fá þér sæmd ok virðing, þá er þú kannt mér sjálfr til s., Eg. 312.

3. impers. it is told: hér hefsk Landnáma-bok, ok segir í hinum fyrsta kapitula, hversn, Landn. 24: hér segir frá Birni bunu, 39; segir nokkut af hans orrostum, Fms. viii. 3; sem segir í sögu hans, i. 4 (see saga); sem áðr sagði, … sem sagði fyrr, as was told before, x. 382, 410.

II. to say, pronounce, declare; eg seg þat Guði, I declare to God (in an oath, cp. Engl. ‘so help me, God’), Grág. i. 64, 134; ok segi ek þat Æsi, Glúm. 388.

2. so in the law phrases, segja sik í þing, lög, and the like, to declare oneself in a community, to enter a community under the law; as also, segja sik ór þingi, lögum, to declare oneself out of, to withdraw from, a community, Grág. and the Sagas passim; segja skilit við konu, to declare oneself separated from, to divorce one’s wife, Nj. 50; segja þing laust, to declare a meeting at an end, Grág, i. 116:—segja lög, to say the law, used of the speaker’s (lögsögu-maðr) decisions; syni Erlings segi ek engi lög, i. e. I give no sentence for him, Fms. ix. 331: iron., sögðu sverð þeirra ein lög öllum Svíum, ii. 315; s. prófan (á) málum, K. Á. 216; s. dóm, to give sentence.

3. with prepp.; s. e-n af e-n, to ‘declare a person off a thing,’ i. e. take it from him; hann sagði Vastes af drottningar-dómi ok öllu því ríki, Sks. 462; þá er hann þegar sagðr af lærðra manna tign, 694; skipta svá miklum ríkdómi, ok segja hann af einhverjum ok til annars, i. e. to take it from one and give it to another, Fms. ix. 330; þann dag segja lög mann at aptni af griði, Grág. i. 146; s. e-n afhendan, to declare a person off one’s hands, give him up, Fs. 34:—s. e-t á, to announce:þú skalt segja á reiði mína, Nj. 216; s. á úsátt sína, 256; bæta at þeim hluta sem lög segði á hann, as the law declared, imposed, Fms. x. 152:—s. aptr, to break up, dissolve; s. friði aptr, N. G. L. i. 103:—segja sundr = segja aptr, s. sundr griðum, frændsemi, Fms. ix. 276, x. 133, Fas. ii. 136:—s. fram, to say, pronounce, esp. of pleading, to read; s. fram sök and the like, Grág., Nj. passim:—s. fyrir, see l. 2:—s. upp, to pronounce; er hann hafði þenna kost upp sagðan, Fms. xi. 284: segja upp görð, dóm, sætt, to pronounce sentence, as a judge or umpire, Grág., Nj. Band. 12, passim; s. upp lög, to proclaim the law from the law-hill (the act was called upp-saga), Ib. 17, Bs. i. 25; at hann segði upp lögin, Nj. 164: s. e-n upp, to give one up, Sturl. iii. 181 C: segja e-u upp, to declare at an end; segja upp friði, griðum, Fms. x. 133; segja upp þjónustu við e-n, to leave one’s service, Hkr. iii. 68. to speak, talk; skaut konungr á erendi, talaði hátt ok hvellt ok segir svá—þat er …, Fms. i. 215; ‘þenna kost viljum vér,’ segir Skapti, Nj. 150; ‘frauva,’ segir hann, ‘þat er satt er þú mælir,’ Fms. x. 421. 2. in a dialogue: segir hann, segir hón, says he, says she, etc.; ‘Kenni ek víst,’ segir Otkell,—‘Hverr á,’ segir Skamkell; ‘Melkólfr þræll,’ segir Otkell,—‘Kenna skulu þá fleiri,’ segir Skamkell, ‘en vit tveir,’ 75; Gunnarr mælti—‘Veiztú hvat þér mun verða at bana?’—‘Veit ek,’ segir Njáll,—‘Hvat?’ segir Gunnarr;—‘Þat sem allir munn sízt ætla,’ segir Njáll, 85; and so in countless instances.

IV. to signify, mean; þetta segir svá, Fms. viii. 239; ‘fiat voluntas tua,’ þat segir svá, ‘verði þinn vili,’ Hom. 157.

B. Reflex. to declare of oneself; hann sagðisk þá vaka, he said that he was awake, Nj. 153; sagðisk Haraldr vilja leggja við hann vináttu, Fms. i. 53; þeir sem sögðusk segja fyrir úvorðna hluti, 76; at þú sér annarr en þú segisk, Fas. ii. 544, freq. esp. in mod. usage, for the old writers in this case prefer kveðsk, káðusk (from kveða).

II. as a law phrase, þú segsk í þing með Áskatli goða, Nj. 231; maðr skal segjask í þing með goða þeim er hann vill, Grág. i. 159; nefndu hvárir vátta, Kristnir menn ok heiðnir, ok sögðusk hvárir ór lögum annarra, Nj. 164 (Id. 11, Bs. i. 22); hón sagðisk í ætt sína, she told her origin, i. e. she was exactly like her parents, Njarð. 382: impers. phrase, e-m segisk svá, one’s tale runs so; honum sagðisk svá til, his story runs; or, honum segist vel, he speaks well; honum sagðist vél í dag, he preached well to-day! það segist á e-u, there is a penalty on it, ‘tis not allowed; láta sér segjask. to let oneself be spoken to, be reasonable, Am. 29, and in mod. usage.

III. part., sönnu sagðr, convicted of, Sdm. 25; Jupiter vill vita hvárt hann er sönnu sagðr, if the charge is true, Bret. 12: gerund., in the saying, segjanda er allt vin sínum, all can be said to a friend, one can open one’s, heart to him. Eg. 330.

IV. pass. it is said; svá segisk, at …, Fms. i. 98; þessi kvikendi segjask augnafull umhverfis, Hom. 48; hann segisk ( is said to be, Lat. dicitur) skapaðr ór jörðn, Eluc. 21; segist í hverri viku sálu-messa, Dipl. i. 8; Zabulon, þat má hér segjast bygging, Stj.; ef nokkut riptist eðr af segðist, Dipl. iii. 11; segist þetta með öngu móti aptr, cannot be refuted, Fms. ix. 476, Hom. 154; af sögðum bæjum, aforesaid, Vm. 84; fyrr-sagðr, aforesaid; but this passive is unclassical, being taken from the Latin, and rare even in mod. usage.

V. segendr, part. pl. (seggendr, with a double g. Haustl.), sayers, reporters; sjáendr eða segendr, Grág. ii. 88. segjands-saga, u, f. a hearsay tale; skoluð ér hér vera ok sjá þau tíðendi er hér görask, er yðr þá eigi segjanz-saga til, þvíat ér skolut frá segja ok yrkja um síðan, Ó. H. 206; hence the mod. það er segin saga, a told tale, a thing of course [cp. Fr. ca va sans dire].

adj. free, not convicted; eigi ann ek þess Þóri at fara sektalausum ( unconvicted) af þessum fundi, Lv. 45; sektalaust, with impunity, N. G. L. i. 349, K. Á. 176, Jb. 22 B, Sks. 602 B, Gþl. 23.

adj. convicted by evidence, Gþl. 393.