error

adj. a απ. λεγ., Hkv. 1. 38, (prob. an error for sve(ip-)vís.)

adj. unstable; sviplig sæla, Al. 115: sightly, ekki sýndisk henni konan sviplig, Ld. 328: sudden, s. atburðr, a sudden accident; hljóp fram piltr einn heldr svipligr, suddenly (prob. an error for ú-svipligr, ill looking, ill-favoured, Cod. Ub.), Grett. 93 new Ed.; konungr varð svipligr við þenna atburð, Fas. iii. 610; íll-svipligr, ill-looking, Fb. i. 260.

* * *

(pl. -jar), f. denial, protest; setja s. fyrir, to deny, repel a charge (hann setti þar s. fyrir, ok bauð skírslur).

* * *

f., gen. synjar, [synja; syn is the root from which syn-ð is a derivative]:—a denial, protest; used in law phrases, koma, setja, hafa syn fyrir, to protest or repel a charge on oath, by ordeal, or the like; ef þeir hafa syn fyrir, þá skulu þeir synja með einseiði, K. Á. 150; hann setti þar syn fyrir, ok bauð skírslur, Fms. ix. 5; bændr kómu þar sumir syn fyrir sik, Hkr. i. 89; hón er sett til varnar á þingum … því er þat orðtak, at ‘syn sé fyrir sett’ þá er hann neitar, Edda 21; the word is freq. in the compd nauð-syn (q. v.), necessity, otherwise obsolete.

II. the name of a goddess, Edda 21; arin-syn, the goddess of the hearth, Þd.; mens Synjar (gen.), the goddess of the necklace, i. e. a woman, Lex. Poët.; according to Edda 21, Syn was the goddess of lawsuits: synjar-spann, N. G. L. i. 258, is prob. an error = smjör-spann.

d, an etymologizing corruption of tortíma, but only in very late vellums and in mod. paper transcripts; Fms. v. 213 is an error, for Fb. ii. (l. c.) 389 has the true old form, cp. N. G. L. ii. 9, v. l. 18; the reading Landn. 254 must be due to the transcriber of the lost vellum.

* * *

m. musical sound, tone.

* * *

f., this word (like nagl, q. v.) was originally a masc. tann or tannr, like maðr, mannr, of which gender there are remnants in pr. names, Hildi-tannr, gen. Hildi-tanns, Edda (in a verse); dat. Hildi-tanni, see hildr B; it then became fem. tönn, gen. tannar, dat. acc. tönn, gen. pl. tanna, dat. tönnum; nom. pl. tenn (as if from maðr), skakkar tenn rhymes with menn, Skíða R. 5, 9; litlar tenn, Al. 3; with article, tennrnar, Fms. xi. 139; brjóta tenn ór höfði manns, Grág. ii. 11; acc. tennar, Bs. i. 641, l. 21 (perh. an error); old poët. pl. teðr rhyming with veðr, Lex. Poët.; mod. plur. is tönnur: [a word common to all Indo-Germ. languages; Goth. tunþus; A. S. tóð; Engl. tooth, pl. teeth; O. H. G. zand; Germ. zahn; Dan. and Swed. tand; Lat. dent-is; Gr. ὀ-δόντ-ος]:—a tooth, including the sense of tusk; teðr hans, Eluc. 49; ór tönnum, Nj. 185; með tönnum, Eg. 233: phrases, glotta um tönn, or við tönn, to grin scornfully, Edda 30, Nj. 182, Ó. H. 114; rjóða tönn á e-m, to redden one’s teeth, taste blood, metaph. from a beast of prey; hefi ek nú nakkvat roðit tönn á þeim er ek tók höndum Hákon jarl, Ó. H. 32: allit., tönn ok tunga, hafa tönn og tungu á öllu, to have tooth and tongue on everything, of a quick-witted child learning to speak; tungan vefst um tönn, see tunga; tungan leikr við tanna sár, the tongue touches on the tooth-wound, a saying, Mkv.; tæja tanna, see tæja; fram-tennr, the front teeth.

2. a tusk (of the walrus), Krók. ch. 9, Bs. i. 641; biskups-staf af tönn görvan … grafa tönn, to carve, Bs. i. 143, cp. Skíða R. 199: a thing worked in walrus-tusk, Máríu-skript með tönn …, húslker með tönn, Vm. 22, 54; buðkr með tönn, B. K. 84: in Icel. an ivory box, scent-box, snuff-box, or the like, is called tönn.

3. metaph. the tooth or iron of a plane, hefil-tönn: poët., lagar-tönn, ‘sea-tooth’ = a stone; foldar tönn, ‘earth-tooth,’ id., Lex. Poët.: the golden teeth of Heimdal, the Lucifer of the Northern mythology, represent the rays of the dawn.

4. hildi-tönn, a dog-tooth, usually called víg-tönn; skögul-tönn or skæl-tönn, a tusk; cp. tann-.

COMPDS: tannafar, tannagangr, tannagnastran, tannagnistran.

(að), v. to stray, hover about, = vafka( þeir látu v. við skipin).

* * *

að, = vafka, to stray, hover about; láta vakka við skipin, Fms. viii. 289, Fas. ii. 88.

u, f., prob. an error either from veski or kakki, qq. v. (vatn-kakki); hunang í tunnum eðr vökkum, N. G. L. ii. 254.

(að), v.

1) to warrant, guarantee, answer for;

varða fyrir e-n, to stand bail for one;

ek vil, at Flosi einn varði við mik, my will is that F. alone shall be answerable (for the fines) to me;

2) to bargain for (S. hefir áðr varðat viðinn fyrir þrjú hundruð einlit);

3) to be of importance (ef þér þykkir varða um mína vináttu);

varða e-n, to concern one, be of importance to one (at segja þér þat, er þik varðar);

varða miklu, litlu, engu, to matter much, little, naught;

hann kvað þá engu þat varða, said it was no business of theirs;

varðar engu um vára aptrkomu, it does not matter whether we come back or not;

4) to guard, watch, defend (varða land, alla vega);

varða e-m e-t, to ward a thing off from a person withhold it from him;

varða mér bátinn: to forbid me the boat, by force;

varða e-m, with infin. to hinder, prevent (varðar hann fé váru at komast yfir ána);

5) to be liable to, punishable by (varðar þat fjörbaugsgarð);

hvat varðar, þótt vér reynim, what risk though we try?;

varða e-m e-t, to entail as a penalty upon one (spurði, hvat konu varðaði, ef hón væri í brókum jafnan svá sem karlar);

varða við lög, to be punishable by law (þat ætla ek við lög varða at vinna á Mikjálsdegi);

ok lét varða þriggja marka útlegð, he asked for a fine of three marks;

6) to belong to (sú jörð er klaustrinu varðaði).

f. pile of stones, cairn (hlaða, reisa vörðu).

* * *

að, [Ulf. in fra-wardian; A. S. wardian; Engl. ward, warrant; Germ. warten; Fr. guarder, etc.; cp. vara]:—to warrant, guarantee, answer for; esp. as a law term, björn ok úlfr, þeirra verk skal engi maðr varða, N. G. L. i. 45; varðar hann þat alls ekki nema við Guð, … varða orð ok verk fyrir e-n, Grág. (Kb.) i. 139; handsala-menn þá er varða vildi, at …, Sturl. iii. 43; ek vil at Flosi einn varði við mik, I shall be my sole surety, Nj. 256; vill hann sjálfr varða ( bail) fyrir honum, Þiðr. 75; ef maðr kaupir man at manni, þá skal sa varða, er sölumaðr er, við stinga ok við stjarfa, N. G. L. i. 29; skal bóndi hverr einum húsum varða, at eigi falli krossar, 11; bú hans varðar taki, is bailable, 47; varða taki fyrir e-n, to be bail for a person, 48; varði lóð þar til lokit er, Gþl. 331: ok varða við hey sínu við hey hans. Grág. (Kb.) ii. 96 (Jb. 243); ok skal varða við engi því, Kb. ii. 94: ok svá skulu þeir við varða, Jb. 277; einyrkjar skulu varða fjögur þing. Gþl. 438; skal hann varða þeim af þessum eignum fulla lögskyld, D. N. iii. 88; sá vita-vörðr skal varða þrjár … örtugar, N. G. L. ii. 37; þess viðar er hann hafði áðr varðat fyrir sína hönd, secured, bought, Rd. 253.

2. metaph. to be of importance; ef þér þykkir varða um mína vináttu, Fms. ii. 119; lézk hann skyldr at segja þér þat er þik varðar, Glúm.; þá hluti er þeim þætti sik varða, Eb. 112; v. mikla, litlu, önga, to matter much, little, naught: um þá hluti er mér þykkir mestu varða, Fms. ii. 120, v. 102: varðar engu um vára aptrkvámu, vi. 13; varðar mest til allra orða, at …, Lil.: with a double dat., e-m varðar e-u, miklu varðar þeim, at þeir sé, Gþl. ix: acc., hvat mun v. þótt vér heyrim, what will it matter? i. e. why not hear it? Fms, vii, 60, vi. 95: hvat mun v. (þótt ek eta)? Eg. 604: acc. of the person, þat varðar þik engu, ‘tis no business of thine; þeir spurðu hví hann var þar kominn, hann kvað þá engu þat varða, Þorf. Karl. 414: so in mod. usage, þig varðar ekki um það, ‘tis no business of thine!

II. to guard, defend; varða sjálfs þíns land, Lv.; v. e-m e-t, to ward a thing off from a person, i. e. In warn one off from a thing (= Lat. arcere); varða mér bátinn, to forbid me the boat, by force, Fms. vii. 32; v. mér skarðit, Ölk. 37: v. fé váru at komask yfir ána, Krók. 38; v. þeim öll vöð ok vatns-föll á ánni, Stj. 394; hann kvaðsk mundu varða, at eigi kæmisk hann þar útan, Rd. 244: to guard, þá vegu er hann varðaði, Sól. 1; er þú á haugi sitr ok varðar alla vega, Skm. 11. Fsm.: of boundaries, himinn varðar fyrir ofan, en hafit Rauda fyrir útan, Ísl. ii. 489; þaðan ræðr á … þaðan varðar lækr er, fellr, D. I. 577.

III. as a law term, denoting the fine, punishment, and liability legally incurred, absol. or with dat. of the person (Gr. ὀφείλω, ὀφλισκάνω), to be liable to, finable, punishable; þeim varðar elði þeirra, Grág. (Kb.) i. 108; varðar þeim þat ekki við lög, they incur no penalty by the law …, 44, passim: the penalty (amount) in acc., slíkt (acc.) varða bjargir hins, ii. 25; ljúgvitni varðar skóggang, varða N.M. marka sekð, to be finable so many marks: þá varðar ekki þótt gögnum sé haldit, Kb. i. 143; eigi varðar haga-beit, ii. 107; varðaði eigi um bjargir hans, Sturl. i. 92 C; hvat konu varðaði, ef …, Ld. 136, Grág. in countless instances; skóggangr (nom.) varðar, ef …, Grág. ii. 89 (is prob. an error for acc.); skyldi varða fjörbaugs-garði (better garð, acc.) et váttum kæmi við, Bs. i. 25

n. [A. S. wæpen-getæc; Engl. wapentake]

I. a weapon-grasping, a law phrase; in their assemblies the ancients used to express their consent bv waving or brandishing their weapons, ‘si placuit [sententia] frameas concutiunt, honoratissimum assensus genus est armis laudare,’ Tacit. Germ. ch. 11; ‘more Dacorum tela mutuae voluntatis pacto una concusserunt,’ Dudo De Moribus et Actis Normannorum, iii. 96; ‘collisione armorum et contactu,’ Andreas Suneson (Lex Scan.); var Sverri gefit konungs-nafn á þessu átta-fylkna-þingi ok dæmt með vápna-taki. Fms. viii. 41; æptu allir upp með vápna-taki, at þeir skyldi allir vera útlægir, Hkr. iii. 325, v. l.

2. metaph. a vote or decree, resolution passed at a public assembly; veita göra vápnatak, eiga v. at e-u; skulu þingmenn honum jörð dæma ok veita honum v. til þess, at hann knegi verja jörð sína með lögum ok dómi, N. G. L. i. 89; þá eigu býjar-menn at leggja dóm á ok veita v. at, Grág. ii. 409 (referring to Norway); beiddi þess alla er á vóru þinginu, liðsmenn, bændr ok bæjarmenn, at þeir skyldi göra v. at því, at dæma með lögum …, Fms. vii. 293; áttu þeir handfesti ok v. at þessu heiti er konungr mælti fyrir, viii. 55; var þá gört lögtekit, ok átt v. at, at Sveinn konungr skyldi kjósa þann af sonum sínum sem hann vildi til konungs eptir sik í Danmörk, xi. 213; njóti sá vátta sinna ok æsti bændr vápnataks, N. G. L. i. 250; þá eigu þingmenn honum með vápnataki jörð at skeyta, 96; ef maðr rýfr þann dóm er dæmdr er á alþingi, ok v. er at átt innan Lögréttu ok útan, Js. 7, N. G. L. ii. 190; ok vér saman settum ok samþyktum ok lýst vár þá í Túnsbergi fyrir almúganum ok v. á tekit ( resolved) at fyrir lög skyldi dæma …, iii. 206.

II. in the Icel. parliament (alþingi) the word assumed a peculiar sense, for in the Grág. ‘vápnatak’ means the breaking up of the session, when the men resumed their weapons, which had been laid aside during the session (see vápnaburðr, vápn A); þat skal vera fjórtán nóttum eptir vápnatak, en þat heitir v. er alþýða ríðr af alþingi, Hrafn. 19, referring to the middle of the 10th century, where however it may be an anachronism; but in the Grágás and in Icel. of the 12th and 13th centuries it was a standing term, see Grág. passim; eptir vápnatak, i. 80; fjórtán nóttum eptir vápnatak, 123, 194, ii. 178.

III. in that part of England which formed the ancient Denelagu, ‘wæpentak’ or ‘wapentagia’ came to mean a subdivision, answering to ‘hundred’ in the Saxon shires. Although altered in sense, this word was no doubt imported from the Danish, for in Leges Edvardi Confessoris, ch. 30, the words ‘sub lege Anglorum’ and ‘lingua Anglica’ are simply an error of a scribe for Danorum, Danica, for ‘taka’ is not A. S., but Norse, see Konrad Maurer, Germania xiv. 317 sqq.

f. craft, work, in timber or metals, Ísl. ii. 321 (verksmíð mik inn is undoubtedly an error for mikla); engi var hann verksmíðar-maðr, no craftsman, Band. 3 new Ed.

* * *

1) error, falsehood;

2) heresy;

3) delusion.

(-ta, -tr), v.

1) to lead astray (nótt hefir mik villt); ok er svá villt fyrir mér, at, I am so bewildered that;

2) to falsify, counterfeit (v. heimildir á. fé); villtar rúnar, dark, obscure runes; rísta (rúnar) villt, to mis-write, write wrong; v. leitina fyrir e-m, to confound the search, put one on a wrong scent;

3) refl., villast, to go astray, lose one’s way (hafði hann villzt ok snúizt frá guði); with gen., nú villtust þeir vegar, now they lost the road; villtust hundarnir farsins, the hounds lost the track; þeim öllum villtist sýn, at engi þeira mátti finna hann, they were all so bewildered that none of them could find him.

* * *

t, to bewilder; ok er svá villt fyrir mér ( there is such bewilderment before me) at ek veit eigi frá mér, Háv. 56.

2. to falsify, forge, counterfeit, as a law term; um fé þat er hann hafði markat, ok villt á heimildir, Lv. 48; hinn skal segja heimili sitt, en ef hann villir heimili sitt, N. G. L. i. 223; er þeim lítið fyrir at villa járnburð þenna, Ó. H. 140; sá maðr hefir viljat villa leitina fyrir oss (cp. Dan. ‘bringe en paa vildspor’), Fms. i. 72; hvárt sem þeir villa ( give a false account of) faðerni eðr móðerni eða bæði, Grág. i. 357; ef hann leynir fé eðr villir heimildir, gives a false title, Jb. 336; hvar þess er aðrir taka arf enn erfingi réttr fyrir því at kyn var villt, Grág. i. 191; villir hann vísdóm allan, to belie, Fms. vii. (in a verse); draumar villa oss, ef …, do our dreams belie us, if …, Gísl. (in a verse); villtar rúnir, falsified. Am. 9; rísta villt, to write falsely, mis-write, 12; allr lands-lýðr syrgði hann villtan, Hkr. i. 102 (Fms. x. 379).

II. reflex. to go astray, miss the way; kenndi þá hvárr öðrum þat er þeir höfðu villzk, Bs. i. 288; hafði hann villzk ok snúisk frá guði, Fb. ii. 392; nú villask þeir þaðan á braut, Grág. ii. 312; þá er frá honum villtisk, 192: with gen., nú villtusk þeir vegar, lost the road, Fms. ii. 77; villisk er nú vegarins, Valla L. 217; villtusk hundarnir farsins, the hounds lost the track, Hom. 120.

2. metaph., þat verðr mörgum manni, at um myrkvan staf villisk, Eg. (in a verse); ef þeim villask váttar, Grág. ii. 209; villtusk allir spådómar, Rb. 381; ok er svá villt fyrir mér ( I am so bewildered) at ek veit eigi frá mér, Háv. 56; þeim öllum villtisk sýn, at engi þeirra mátti finna hann, Fb. ii. 385; villtisk hann mér ok mátti ek eigi finna hann, Karl. 309; hón villtisk öll frá mér ( she forsook me quite) ok lagði hón íllt fyrir sik, Clem. 137.

d, = vingask, N. G. L. i. 137 (prob. only an error).

adj. biassed, partial in one’s friendship; eigi var hann v. í dómum, be was no respecter of persons in his judgment, Orkn. 160; vinhallr undir höfðingja, Bs. i. 142; at erki-biskup hafi nökkut v. verit í málinu, Fms. viii. 100, ix. 331, v. l.

2. = vinhollr, an affectionate friend, Þorst. Síðu H. 171: prob. only an error (hallr for hollr).

adj. [Dan. venne-huld], true, steadfast as a friend, affectionate as a friend, Orkn. 460, Fms. vii. 103, passim.

2. = vinhallr, Fms. ix. 331 (if not an error, as is vice versa the Þorst. Síðu H. 171).

adj., in Vsp. 28 as epithet of a battle-field, prob. an error for vígskár, q. v.

or vétt-vangr, later vett-fangr, changing v into f; vatfangr, Nj. 100, is simply an error; [from vangr = a field, spot; the former part, vett or vætt, is less clear, but prob. from váttr, vætti, = the place of witness or evidence, or from vega = locus actionis?]:—a law term, the place of summons, locus actionis, where an act or deed, such as a battle, assault, manslaughter, has taken place, cp. Grág. i. 349, cited below; chiefly used of the summoning of witnesses; the vettvang was the space within a bow-shot (örskot) from the spot all around, see Grág. ii. 19 (Vígsl. ch. 14); ef maðr hefnir sín á öðrum vettvangi en til hans var hlaupit á, 91; á þeim vettvangi, 9; hvárt sem þeir eru á véttvangi eðr annars-staðar, 23; búa skal kveðja níu búa heiman frá vettvangi, i. 349 (in case of adultery); þá er næstir eru vetfangi, 461; á öðrum vettvangi, Kb. i. 158; skal kveðja heiman frá vettvangi, ii. 48; þat vórti þá lög, at vígsakar skyldi sækja á því þingi er næst var vettvangi, Jb. 8; kveðja um áljóts-ráð þau er á vettvangi eru ráðin, Giág.; á þeim vettvangi, Nj. 230; Helgi fékk bana á þeim vettvangi, or vættvangi, 218; vetfangi, 110; ef maðr er veginn á vetvangi, N. G. L. i. 163; hann kemr á vettfanginn, ok sér þar ný tiðendi, ok þó mikil, Ísl. ii. 371; Þórðr kom á vættfang, Sturl. ii. 92 C; sótti þá Saul fram af vætfanginum ( from the battle-place) með ópi ok eggjan, Stj. 453 (1 Sam. xiv. 20); ríðr Sámr austr á heiðina ok at þar er vetfangit (sic) hafði verit, Hrafn. 28, and passim in the laws and Sagas.

COMPDS: vettvangsbjargir, vettvangsbúi.

n. a house in which a meeting is held, Fb. ii. 49 (where it is an error for hús-þing, Ó. H. 45, l. c.); the word is rare in old writers, because parliaments of old were held in the open air: the word is esp. used of the Jewish synagogue, Greg. 48, Mar.: also for the Roman praetorium or a judgment-hall, John xviii. 28; so also in mod. usage, cp. Jb. 21.

n. adj. an error for vingott, Rd. 289, v. l.

n. (an error for -myrkr, for mistr is spelt with i, not y?), fog-mist, Mar. 1051.

m. [this word is derived from þreskja and völlr, and prop. means a threshing-floor, because in ancient times the floor at the entrance was used for threshing, but it then came to mean the block of wood or stone beneath the door, doorsill or threshold; and that in ancient times it was so, is borne out by phrases as, Gríma sat á þreskeldi, Fbr.; or, stíga yfir þresköldinn, Eb. l. c.; or, þresköldrinn var hár fyrir durunum, O. H. L. 85; see the references. The latter part of the compd, -öldr, is from a time when the older ld had not as yet become assimilated into ll. The word is declined like völlr; nom. þreskjöldr, or, dropping the j, þresköldr: acc. þreskjöld or þresköld, Bs. i. 44, Fms. v. 140, Fbr. 14, Korm. 10, Eb. 220, Fs. 68, Edda ii. 122, Hkr. iii. 116, N. G. L. i. 18, 431: dat. þreskeldi, Fms. ii. 149, Fbr. 98 new Ed., N. G. L. i. 18, 431; in rhymes eldhúss þresk eldi, Kormak: nom. plur. þreskeldir, Bs. i. 736; acc. þresköldu, Stj. 436 (spelt þrescavlldo): examples are wanting of gen. sing. and plur.

2. but as the etymology was forgotten, the forms soon got confused, e. g. the curious various readings to N. G. L. ii. 110, þreskilldi, þreskjalda, þreskalda, þreskalla, þreskaldi, þreskolli, þreskæli, all dat.: acc. sing. changing ö into e, þreskelld, Stj. 436 (Cod. A): dat. changing e into i, þreskildi (as if from skjöldr), H. E. i. 496, N. G. L. ii. l. c. The form þrepskjöldr, found in mod. Icel. books, is a bad attempt at an etymology, as if it were derived from þrep and skjöldr. The form tréskjöldrinn, O. H. L. 85. l. 21, is prob. merely a scribe’s error,

3. at last came the mod. form þröskuldr, declined as a regular substantive (like Höskulldr), Sturl. iii. 33; [A. S. þerscwold or þerscold; Engl. threshold; Dan. tærskel; O. H. G. dirscuwili.]

B. A threshold, passim, see above.

2. metaph. an isthmus or ridge flooded at high water, between the mainland and an island; þeir réru inn til Arneyjar-sunds …; var þar svá, til farit at þröskuldr lá á sundinu, en djúpt at tvá vega, var þar riðit at fjörum, en eigi flóðum, Sturl. iii. 33 (the ridges leading to the island Langey, in Skarðströnd in western Icel., are still locally called ‘Þröskuldar’).

II. metaph. as a gramm. term, a figure of speech, when one word ends and the next begins with the same consonant; þenna löst köllu vér þresklld, Skálda (Edda ii. 122; þræsklld, 412, l. c.)

(pl. -ir), f. thousand.

* * *

f.; sérhverja þúsund, Stj. 298; á þúsund (dat.), Sks. 705; tvær, þrjár … þúsundir, 623. 53: in mod. usage it is mostly neut. (influenced by Latin?), but also fem. It is spelt þús-hund, Barl. 53; þús-hundum, Fms. vi. 409 (v. l.), Geisli 49; another form þús-hundrað (q. v.) is freq., esp. in Stj., Barl.; this double form -hund and -hundrað answers to the equally double form of ‘hundred,’ see p. 292, and is a proof that þúsund is a compound word, the latter part of which is ‘hund’ or ‘hundred;’ the etymology of the former part ‘þús’ is less certain; it is, we believe, akin to þysja, þyss, þaus-nir (a lost strong verb þúsa, þaus, þusu); þúsund would thus literally mean a swarm of hundreds: [in Goth. the gender varies, þûsundi, pl. þusundjos = χίλιοι, or þusundja, neut.; A. S. þûsend; Engl. thousand; O. H. G. dusunta; Germ. tausend, qs. dausend; Swed. tusende and tusen; Dan. tusinde; Dutch tuysend: this word is also common to the Slavon. languages: again, the Lapp, duhat and Finn. tuhat are no doubt borrowed from the Slavon. or Scandin.; the Gr., Lat., and Sansk. use other words]—a thousand.

B. There is little doubt that with the ancient heathen Scandinavians (and perhaps all Teutons), before their contact with the civilised southern people, the notion of numbers was limited, and that their thousand was not a definite number, but a vague term, denoting a swarm, crowd, host (cp. the Gr. μυρίοι): in ancient lays it occurs thrice (Hkv., Em., Fas. i. 502), but indefinitely; hvat þrym er þar sem þúsund bifisk eðr mengi til mikit, what a din is there as if a thousand were shaking, or an over-mickle multitude, Em. 2; sjau þúsundir, Hkv. 1. 49, literally = seven thousands, but in fact meaning seven hosts of men.

2. the dat. pl. þúsundum is, like huudruðum, used adverbially = by thousands, in countless numbers, Fms. vi. 409 (in a verse), Geisli 49.

3. in the ancient popular literature, uninfluenced by southern writers, ‘þúsund,’ as a definite number, occurs, we think, not half-a-dozen times. As the multiple of ten duodecimal hundreds, ere the decimal hundred was adopted, ‘þnsund’ would mean twelve decimal hundreds; and such is its use in the Sverris Saga, Fms. viii. 40, where one vellum says ‘tvær þúsundir,’ whilst the others, by a more idiomatic phrase, call it ‘twenty hundreds.’

II. in ecclesiastical writers, and in annals influenced by the Latin and the like, it is frequent enough; tíu þúsundir, fjórtán þúsundir, Fms. i. 107, 108 (annalistic records); fimm þúsundir, xi. 386, Al. 111; tíu þúsundum, Sks. 705; tíu þúsundum sinna hundrað þúsunda, Hom.; þúsund þúsunda, a thousand of thousands, i. e. a million, (mod.); hundrað þúsundir rasta ok átta tigir þúsunda, … hundrað þúsund mílna, Fb. i. 31 (in the legend of Eric the Far-traveller and Paradise, taken from some church-legend); fjórar þúsundir, Þiðr. 234: or of the years of the world, sex þúsundir vetra, Fs. 197; sjau þúsundir vetra, Landn. 34.

C. REMARKS.—The popular way of counting high numbers was not by thousands, but by tens (decades) and duodecimal hundreds as factors; thus ten … twenty hundreds, and then going on three, four, five, six … tens of hundreds (a ‘ten of hundreds’ being = 1200). The following references may illustrate this—tíu hundruð, ellefu hundruð, tólf hundruð, þrettán hundruð, fimtán hundruð …, Íb. 17, Ó. H. 119, 201, Fms. vii. 295, xi. 383, 385. From twenty and upwards—tuttugu hundrað manna, twenty hundreds of men, Fms. vii. 324, viii. 40; hálfr þriðitugr hundraða skipa, two tens and a half hundreds of ships, i. e. twenty-five hundreds, Fas. i. 378; þrjá tigu hundraða manna, three tens of hundreds of men, Fms. viii. 311; var skorat manntal, hafði hann meirr enn þrjá tigu hundraða manna, vii. 204; þrír tigir hundraða, D. N. v. 18; user fjorir tigir hundraða manna, nearly four tens of hundreds of men, Fms. vii. 275; á fimta tigi hundraða, on the fifth ten of hundreds, i. e. from four to five tens of hundreds, viii. 321; sex tigir hundraða, six tens of hundreds, 311, xi. 390; sex tigu hundraða manna, Fb. ii. 518, D. I. i. 350,—all odd amounts being neglected. The highest number recorded as actually reckoned in this way is ‘six tens of hundreds’ (fimtán tigir hundraða, fifteen tens of hundreds, Fms. viii. 321, v. l., is a scribe’s error): it is probable that no reckoning exceeded twelve tens of hundreds. All high multiples were unintelligible to the ancients; the number of the Einherjar in Walhalla is in the old lay Gm. thus expressed,—there are ‘five hundred doors in Walhalla, and five tens beside (the ‘five tens’ are, by the way, merely added for alliteration’s sake), and eight hundred Einherjar will walk out of each door when they go out to fight the Wolf’ (on the Day of final Doom). There seems to have been some dim exaggerated notion of a definite thousand in an ancient lay, only preserved in a half alliterative prose paraphrase, Fas. i. 502, where a mythical host is given thus,—there were thirty-three phalanxes, each of five ‘thousand,’ each thousand of thirteen hundreds, each hundred four times counted. The armies in the battle of Brawalla, the greatest of the mythical age, are given, not in numbers, but by the space the ranks occupied, Skjöld. S. ch. 8. This resembles the story in Ó. H. ch. 59, of the two young brothers, king’s sons: when asked what they would like to have most of, the one said: ‘Cows.’ ‘And how many?’ ‘As many,’ said he, ‘as could stand packed in a row round the lake (Mjösen in Norway) and drink.’ ‘But you?’ they asked the other boy: ‘House-carles’ (soldiers), said he. ‘And how many?’ ‘As many,’ said he, ‘as would in one meal eat up all my brother’s cows.’ Add also the tale of the King and the Giant, and the number of the giant’s house-carles, Maurer’s Volksagen 306. No less elementary was the rule for division and fractions, of which a remarkable instance is preserved in an ancient Icelandic deed, called Spákonu-arfr, published in D. I. i. 305. See also the words tigr, hundrað, skor, skora, and the remarks in Gramm. p. xix. The Homeric numeration, as set forth in Mr. Gladstone’s Homeric Studies, vol. iii, p. 425 sqq., is highly interesting, and bears a striking resemblance to that of the ancient Scandinavians. We may notice that in Iceland land and property are still divided into hundreds (hundreds of ells = 120), see hundrað B; in this case a thousand is never used, but units and hundreds of hundreds as factors, thus, sex tögu hundraða, in Reykh. Máld, (a deed of the 12th century), and so still in mod. usage; a wealthy man of the 15th century is said to have bequeathed to his daughters in land, ‘tólf hundruð hundraða ok ellefu-tíu og tvau hundruð betr, en í lausafé fimm hundruð hundraða,’ i. e. twelve hundreds of hundreds and ‘eleventy’ and two hundreds, and in movables five hundreds of hundreds, Feðga-æfi 16 (by the learned Bogi Benidiktsson of Staðarfell in Iceland, A. D. 1771–1849); sjau hundruð hundraða og þrjátigi hundruð betr, 21; hann eptir-lét börnum sínum fjármuni upp á níu hundruð hundraða, 22,—a proof that in very remote times, when this valuation of land first took place, ‘thousand’ was still unknown as a definite number.