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1) grasp, hold;

fá fang á e-m or af e-m, to get hold of one (fekk engi þeirra fang á mér);

sá þeir, at þeir fengu ekki fang at Erlingi, they saw that they could not catch H.;

2) wrestling, grappling (taka fang við e-n, ganga til fangs);

ganga á fang við e-n, ganga í fang e-m, to grapple with one, provoke one;

fangs er ván at frekum úlfi, it is hard to deal with a hungry wolf;

3) the space between the arms, the breast and arms;

kom spjótit í fang honum, the spear pierced his breast;

reka í fang e-m, to throw in one’s face;

hafa e-t í fangi sér, to hold in one’s arms, to have in one’s power;

taka í fang sér, to take into one’s arms (tók manninn í fang sér ok bar út);

fœrast e-t í fang, to undertake a thing, take upon oneself;

fœrast e-t ór fangi, to throw off, refuse;

4) catching fish, fishing;

halda (fara) til fangs, to go a-fishing; take, catch, draught (fang þat, er þeir áttu báðir);

5) fœtus in sheep and cows (ef graðungr eltir fang ór kú);

6) pl., föng, baggage, luggage;

föng ok fargögn, luggage and carriage, provisions (öll vóru föng hin beztu);

borð með hinum beztum föngum, a table with the best of cheer;

7) pl. means, opportunily;

engi föng eru önnur á, there is no other choice;

hafa föng á e-u, to be enabled to do a thing (höfðu eigi föng á at reka langt flóttann);

af (eptir) föngum, to the best of one’s power, according to one’s means.

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n. [for the root vide fá]

I. a catching, fetching:

1. catching fish, fishing, Eb. 26, Ám. 32; halda til fangs, to go a-fishing, Ld. 38: a take of fish, stores of fish, hann bað þá láta laust fangit allt, þat er þeir höfðu fangit, Fms. iv. 331; af öllu því fangi er þeir hljóta af dauðum hvölum, Ám. 36; f. þat er þeir áttu báðir, cp. veiði-fang, her-fang, prey.

2. in plur.,

α. baggage, luggage, Nj. 112; föng ok fargögn, luggage and carriage, 266; ok er þeir höfðu upp borit föngin, carriage, Orkn. 324: stores, forn korn ok önnur föng, Fms. iv. 254.

β. provisions, esp. at a feast; öll vóru föng hin beztu, Fms. iv. 102; kostnaðar-mikit ok þurfti föng mikil, Eg. 39; Þórólfr sópask mjök um föng, 42; veizla var hin prúðlegsta ok öll föng hin beztu, 44; hann leitaði alls-konar fanga til bús síns, 68, Fs. 19, 218; hence, borð með hinum beztum föngum, board with good cheer, Fms. i. 66; búa ferð hennar sæmiliga með hinum beztum föngum, x. 102.

γ. metaph. means, opportunity; því at eins at engi sé önnur föng, Fms. iv. 176; meðan svá góð föng eru á sem nú, 209; hafa föng á e-u, or til e-s, to be enabled to do a thing, viii. 143, x. 388, Eb. 114, Gullþ. 30, Eg. 81, Ld. 150, Odd. 18; urðu þá engi föng önnur, there was no help ( issue) for it (but that …), Fms. vii. 311; af (eptir) föngum, to the best of one’s power, x. 355; af beztu föngum býr hón rúmið, Bb. 3. 24; at-föng, q. v.; bú-föng (bú-fang), q. v.; öl-föng, vín-föng, store of ale, wine.

3. the phrase, fá konu fangi, to wed a woman, N. G. L. i. 350: fangs-tíð, n. wedding season, 343; hence kván-fang, ver-fang, marriage.

II. an embryo, fetus, in sheep or kine; ef graðungr eltir fang ór kú, Jb. 303: the phrase, láta fangi, to ‘go back,’ of a cow.

β. a metric. fault, opp. to fall, Fb. iii. 426 (in a verse).

III. that with which one clasps or embraces, the breast and arms; kom spjótið í fang honum, the spear pierced his breast, Gullþ. 23, Fms. ii. 111; reka í fang e-m, to throw in one’s face, Nj. 176; hafa e-t í fangi sér, to hold in one’s arms, Bdl. 344; hné hón aptr í f. honum, Ísl. ii. 275; taka sér í fang, to take into one’s arms, Mark x. 16; cp. hals-fang, embraces.

2. an apron, Edda (Gl.)

3. færask e-t í fang, to have in one’s grip, metaph. to undertake a thing, Fms. vii. 136; færask e-t ór fangi, to throw off, refuse, Sturl. iii. 254: the phrase, hafa fullt í fangi, to have one’s hands full.

4. wrestling, grappling with, Ísl. ii. 445, 446, 457; taka fang við e-n, Edda 33; ganga til fangs, Gþl. 163: the saying, fangs er ván at frekum úlfi, there will be a grapple with a greedy wolf, Eb. 250, Ld. 66, Fms. v. 294, Skv. 2. 13.

β. the phrases, ganga á fang við e-n, to grapple with one, provoke one, Ld. 206; ganga í fang e-m, id., Band. 31; slíka menn sem hann hefir í fangi, such men as he has to grapple with, Háv. 36; fá fang á e-m, or fá fang af e-m, to get hold of one; fékk engi þeirra fang á mér, Nj. 185, Fms. x. 159; sá þeir, at þeir fengu ekki f. af Erlingi, they saw that they could not catch E., vii. 300, xi. 96.

5. an armful; skíða-fang, viðar-fang, an armful of fuel: Icel. call small hay-cocks fang or föng, hence fanga hey upp, to put the hay into cocks: fanga-hnappr, m. a bundle of hay, armful.

IV. in the compds vet-fangr, hjör-fangr, etc. the f is = v, qs. vet-vangr, hjör-vangr, vide vangr.

COMPDS: fangabrekka, fangafátt, fangahella, fangakviðr, fangalauss, fangaleysi, fangalítill, fangamark, fangaráð, fangastakkr, fangaváttr.

d and að, [Lat., an eccl. word], to give the ‘prima signatio’ or ‘signaculum crucis’ a religious act, preliminary to christening; persons thus signed with the cross were catechumens, and if adults they could join in the social life among Christians; they were also admitted to a special part of the mass (primsigndra messa = the mass for the ‘prime-signed’), whereas all intercourse with heathens was forbidden. An infant who died, having received the prima signatio, but not baptism, was to be buried in the outskirts of the churchyard, where the consecrated and unconsecrated earth meet, and without burial service,—ef barn andask primsignt, ok hefir eigi verit skírt (primsignt ok hefir eigi meiri skírn, Sb. l. c.) ok skal þat grafa við kirkju-garð út, þar er mætisk vígð mold ok úvígð, ok syngva eigi legsöng yfir, K. Þ. K. (Kb.) 7. A monster-shapen infant was to receive the prima signatio, but not baptism, and then to be left to die (exposed) at the church door—þat barn (a monster-child) skal ok til kirkju bera, láta primsigna, leggja fyrir kirkju-dyr, gæti inn nánasti niðr til þess er önd er ór, N. G. L. i. 339; í þessi efan primsigni prestr ok skíri, iii. 251; hann primsignaði hann fyrst ok skírði hann síðan eptir siðvenju, Barl. 147. The words in the English Prayer Book—‘and do sign him (her) with the sign of the cross’—are remains of the ‘signaculum crucis’ of the ancient church. During the heathen age the Scandinavian merchants and warriors who served among Christians abroad in England or Germany used to take the prima signatio, for it enabled them to live both among Christians and heathens without receiving baptism and forsaking their old faith; ek em primsigndr at eins en eigi skírðr, I am ‘prime-signed,’ but not baptized, Fms. ii. 240, Valla L. 205, Kristni S. ch. 1, 2, Fb. i. 346, 357, ii. 137, 243; England var Kristið ok hafði lengi verit þá er þetta var tíðenda, Aðalsteinn konungr var vel Kristinn … hann bað Þórólf ok þá bræðr at þeir skyldi láta primsignask, þvíat þat var þá mikill siðr, bæði með kaupmönnum ok þeim er á mála gengu með Kristnum mönnum, þvíat þeir menn, er primsigndir vóru, höfðu allt samneyti við Kristna menn ok svá heiðna, en höfðu þat at átrúnaði er þeim var skapfeldast, Eg. 265, Gísl. 96: see also Vita Anscarii, ch. 24. These ‘prime-signed’ men, returning to their native land, brought with them the first notions of Christianity into the heathen Northern countries, having lived among Christians, and seen their daily life and worship, and they undoubtedly paved the way for the final acceptance of the Christian faith among their countrymen. It may even be that some strange heathen rites of the last days of paganism, such as the bjannak (q. v.), the sprinkling of infants with water, were due to this cause.