every+two+days

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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.

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(dat. sumri, pl. sumur), n. summer; um sumarit, in the course of the summer, during the summer; at sumri, next summer; mitt s., midsummer; í s., this summer.

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n., dat. sumri; pl. sumur; sumra, sumrum; in the old language this word was masculine in the form sumarr, of which gender a trace may still be seen in the contracted forms sumri, sumra, sumrum, for a genuine neuter does not admit these contractions. But there remains a single instance of the actual use of the masculine in the rhyme of a verse of the beginning of the 11th century, sumar hv ern frekum erni, Skálda,—from which one might infer that at that time the word was still masc.; if so, it is not likely that in a poem so old as the Vsp. it would be neuter, and ‘sumur’ in ‘of sumur eptir’ perhaps ought to be corrected ‘sumra’ or ‘sumar’ (acc. sing.); as also ‘varmt sumar’ should be ‘varmr sumarr,’ Vþm. 26: [A. S. sumar; a word common to all Teut. languages; in the Orm. sumerr, denoting a long u; the mod. Dan., Germ., and Engl. have sommer, summer, with a double m]:—a summer, passim.

II. mythical, Sumarr, the son of Svásað, Edda 13.

B. CHRONOLOGICAL REMARKS.—The old Northmen, like the Icel. of the present time, divided the year into two halves, summer and winter; the summer began on the Thursday next before the 16th of April in the old calendar, which answers to the 26th of the Gregorian calendar (used in Icel. since A. D. 1700). The Northern and Icelandic summer is therefore a fixed term in the calendar, and consists of 184 days, viz. six months of thirty days, plus four days, called aukanætr (‘eke-nights’). Summer is divided into two halves, each of three months (= ninety days), before and after midsummer (mið-sumar); and the four ‘eke-nights’ are every summer intercalated immediately before midsummer: thus in the Icel. Almanack of 1872—Sumar-dagr fyrsti, or the first summer-day, falls on Thursday the 25th of April; Auka-nætr from the 24th to the 27th of July; Mið-sumar on the 28th of July; Sumar-dagr síðasti, or the last day of summer, on the 25th of October; cp. sumar-nátt siðasta, Gísl. 67. In mod. usage the time from April to October is counted by the summer weeks, the first, second, … twentieth … week of the summer, and in Icel. Almanacks every Thursday during summer is marked by the running number of the week. The ancients, too, counted the summer by weeks, but only down to midsummer, thus, tíu vikur skulu vera af sumri er menn koma til alþingis, K. Þ. K. 166; but in the latter part of the summer they counted either by the weeks from midsummer or by the weeks still left of the summer, thus, hálfum mánaði eptir mitt sumar, Nj. 4; er átta vikur lifa sumars, Grág. i. 122; frá miðju sumri til vetrar, 147; er átta vikur eru til vetrar, Nj. 192; er tveir mánaðir vóru til vetrar, 195; líðr á sumarit til átta vikna, 93; ellipt., var Rútr heima til sex vikna (viz. sumars), 10.

C. COMPDS: sumarauki, sumarávöxtr, sumarbjörg, sumarbók, sumarbú, sumarbær, sumardagr, sumarfang, sumarfullr, sumargamall, sumargjöf, sumarhagi, sumarherbergi, sumarhiti, sumarhluti, sumarhold, sumarhöll, sumarkaup, sumarlangt, sumarliði, sumarligr, sumarmagn, sumarmál, sumarnátt, sumarnætr, SumarPáskar, sumarsetr, sumarskeið, sumarstefna, sumarsöngr, sumartíð, sumartími, sumartungl, sumarverk, sumarviðr.

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

1) day;

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

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

öndverðr dagr, the early day, forenoon;

miðr dagr, midday;

hallandi dagr, declining day;

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

sannr sem dagr, true as day;

í dag, today;

á (or um) daginn, during the day;

sama dags, the same day;

annan dag, the next day;

annars dag, another day;

hindra dags, the day after, tomorrow;

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

dag eptir dag, day after day;

nótt ok dag, night and day;

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

á deyjanda degi, on one’s death-day;

2) pl., days, times;

ef aðrir dagar (better days) koma;

góðir dagar, happy days;

3) esp. pl., lifetime;

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

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

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

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

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

I. a day; in different senses:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(pl. hundruð), n. hundred; tírœtt h. = 100; tólfrœtt h. = 120; hundruðum, by (in) hundreds; as value, one hundred and twenty ells of the stuff wadmal; h. frítt, a hundred paid in cattle; tólf hundruð mórend, twelve hundred in dark-striped wadmal; hundrað silfrs, ? the silver value of 120 ells (= 20 ounces).

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n. pl. hundruð; the form hund- (q. v.) only occurs in a few old compd words: [Goth. hunda, pl.; A. S. hund; O. H. G. hunt; the extended form in Hel. and old Frank, hundered; Germ. hundert; Dan. hundrede; Swed. hundra; the inflexive syllable is prob. akin to - ræðr in átt-ræðr]:—a hundred; the Scandinavians of the heathen time (and perhaps also all Teutonic people) seem to have known only a duo-decimal hundred (= 12 × 10 or 120); at that time 100 was expressed by tíu-tíu, cp. Ulf. taihun-taihund = ten-teen; Pal Vídalín says,—hundrað tólfrætt er sannlega frá heiðni til vor komið, en hið tíræða er líkast að Norðrlönd hafi ekki vitað af fyrr en Kristni kom hér og með henni lærdómr þeirrar aldar, Skýr. s. v. Hundrað (fine): but with the introduction of Christianity came in the decimal hundred, the two being distinguished by adjectives,—tólfrætt hundrað = 120, and tírætt hundrað = 100. But still the old popular duodecimal system continued in almost all matters concerned with economical or civil life, in all law phrases, in trade, exchange, property, value, or the like, and the decimal only in ecclesiastical or scholastic matters (chronology, e. g. Íb. ch. 1, 10). At the same time the word in speech and writing was commonly used without any specification of tírætt or tólfrætt, for, as Pal Vídalín remarks, every one acquainted with the language knew which was meant in each case; even at the present time an Icel. farmer counts his flocks and a fisherman his share (hlutr) by the duodecimal system; and everybody knows that a herd or share of one hundred and a half means 120 + 60 = 180. In old writers the popular way of counting is now and then used even in chronology and in computation, e. g. when Ari Frode (Íb. ch. 4) states that the year consists of three hundred and four days (meaning 364); the census of franklins given by the same writer (where the phrase is hundruð heil = whole or full hundreds) is doubtless reckoned by duodecimal, not decimal hundreds, Íb. ch. 10; and in the census of priests and churches taken by bishop Paul (about A. D. 1200) ‘tíræð’ is expressively added, lest duodecimal hundreds should be understood, Bs. i. 136. The Landn. (at end) contains a statement (from Ari?) that Iceland continued pagan for about a hundred years, i. e. from about 874–997 A. D. In the preface to Ólafs S., Snorri states that two duodecimal hundreds (tvau hundruð tólfræð) elapsed from the first colonisation of Iceland before historical writing began (i. e. from about A. D. 874–1115): levies of ships and troops are in the laws and Sagas counted by duodecimal hundreds, e. g. the body-guard of king Olave consisted of a hundred hirð-men, sixty house-carles and sixty guests, in all ‘two hundred’ men, i. e. 240, Mork. 126; the sons of earl Strút-Harald had a hundred men, of whom eighty were billetted out and forty returned, Fms. xi. 88, 89; hálft hundrað, a half hundred = sixty, Mork. l. c.

2. a division of troops = 120; hundraðs-flokkr, Fms. vi. (in a verse).

II. in indef. sense, hundreds, a host, countless number, see hund-, as also in the adverb, phrase, hundruðum, by hundreds (indefinitely), Fms. vi. 407, Þiðr. 275, 524: in mod. usage as adjective and indecl., except the pl. in -uð, thus hundruð ásauðum, Dipl. iv. 10.

B. As value, a hundred, i. e. a hundred and twenty ells of the stuff wadmal, and then simply value to that amount (as a pound sterling in English). All property, real as well as personal, is even at present in Icel. taxed by hundreds; thus an estate is a ‘twenty, sixty, hundred’ estate; a franklin gives his tithable property as amounting to so and so many hundreds. As for the absolute value of a hundred, a few statements are sufficient, thus e. g. a milch cow, or six ewes with lambs, counts for a hundred, and a hundrað and a kúgildi (cow’s value) are equal: the charge for the alimentation of a pauper for twelve months was in the law (Jb. 165) fixed to four hundred and a half for a male person, but three hundred and a half for a female; cp. also the phrase, það er ekki hundrað í hættunni, there is no hundred at stake, no great risk! In olden times a double standard was used,—the wool or wadmal standard, called hundrað talið = a hundred by tale, i. e. a hundred and twenty ells as stated above, and a silver standard, called hundrað vegit, a hundred by weight, or hundrað silfrs, a hundred in silver, amounting to two marks and a half = twenty ounces = sixty örtugar; but how the name hundred came to be applied to it is not certain, unless half an örtug was taken as the unit. It is probable that originally both standards were identical, which is denoted by the phrase, sex álna eyrir, six ells to an ounce, or a hundred and twenty ells equal to twenty ounces (i. e. wadmal and silver at par); but according as the silver coinage was debased, the phrases varied between nine, ten, eleven, twelve ells to an ounce (N. G. L. i. 80, 81, 387, 390, passim), which denote bad silver; whereas the phrase ‘three ells to an ounce’ (þriggja álna eyrir, Sturl. i. 163, passim, or a hundred in wadmal equal to half a hundred in silver) must refer either to a double ell or to silver twice as pure: the passage in Grág. i. 500 is somewhat obscure, as also Rd. 233: the words vegin, silfrs, or talin are often added, but in most cases no specification is given, and the context must shew which of the two standards is there meant; the wool standard is the usual one, but in cases of weregild the silver standard seems always to be understood; thus a single weregild (the fine for a man’s life) was one hundred, Njála passim.

2. the phrases, hundrað frítt, a hundred paid in cattle, Finnb. 236; tólf hundruð mórend, twelve hundred in dark striped wadmal, Nj. 225; hundrað í búsgögnum ok í húsbúningi, Vm. 65; hundraðs-gripr, hestr, hross, kapall, hvíla, sæng, rekkja, psaltari, etc., a beast, a horse, a bed, etc., of a hundred’s value, Am. 2, 10, Vm. 25, 39, 60, 153, Jm. 3, 30; hundraðs-úmagi, a person whose maintenance costs a hundred, Vm. 156; hundraðs virði, a hundred’s value, 68. For references see the Sagas and laws passim, and for more information see Mr. Dasent’s Essay in Burnt Njal.

C. A hundred, a political division which in olden times was common to all Teut. nations, but is most freq. in old Swedish laws, where several hundreds made a hérað or shire; cp. the A. S. and Engl. hundred, Du Cange hundredum; old Germ. hunderti, see Grimm’s Rechts Alterthümer; the centum pagi of Caesar, Bell. Gall. iv. ch. 1, is probably the Roman writer’s misconception of the Teut. division of land into hundreds; this is also the case with Tacit. Germ. ch. 12: cp. the Swed. local names Fjaðrunda-land, Áttundaland, and Tíunda-land, qs. Fjaðr-hunda land, Átthunda land, Tíhunda land, i. e. a combination of four, eight, ten hundreds. The original meaning was probably a community of a hundred and twenty franklins or captains. This division is not found in Icel.

1) season, a period of six months, half year (ár heitir tvau m.); sams misseris, in the same season;

2) in pl. twelvemonth, year (er þau höfðu ásamt verit ein m., áttu þau son); önnur m., the next twelvemonth; á tveim hinum fyrrum misserum, in the two preceding years; öllum misserum, all the year round.

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also spelt missari, n., usually in pl.; [from a compd word, the former part of which is miss, denoting the alternation, change of the seasons, for misseri is for the year what mál is for the day; the inflexive syllable -eri is uncertain, but not from ár, see Grimm’s Gramm. ii. 471 (note): to derive this old true Teut. word from Lat. semester is inadmissible, for the sense of a period of six months is not the original one: A. S. missare.]

B. A season, or in plur. the seasons, of the year (Germ. Jahres-zeit); mál ok misseri, Hm. 57; sams misseris, at the same season, Gkv. 1. 8; skulu bændr timbr í tupt færa á misseri, en gör á tólf mánuðum, N. G. L. i. 387.

II. in plur. esp. with a distributive or numeral pronoun, the ‘seasons,’ a circuit of seasons = a twelvemonth, a year; ein misseri, Gkv. 1. 9; þetta varð a einum misserum, Bs. i. 466; ein misseri stendr þeirra mál, Grág. i. 377; ok er þau höfðu ásamt verit ein misseri áttu þau son, Finnb. 294; önnur misseri, the next twelvemonths, Fms. v. 193; hver missari, vii. 129; á hverjum misserum, every season, Grág. i. 284; hann hafði þrennar veizlur á hverjum misserum, Fms. iv. 254 (vetri, Ó. H. 113, l. c.); tvau (or tvenn) missari, two years, Grág. i. 287; á tveim inum fyrrum misserum, Fms. viii. 173; nokkur misseri, some seasons, some time, Glúm. 372; þat (viz. thirty-six days) er inn tíundi hlutr allra missara, the tenth part of a whole year, Hom. 73; Færeyingar hafa nýtt kjöt öllum misserum, all the year round, Fær. 248; fîska-stöð öllum misserum, at all seasons, Ld. 4; en þó muntú þessi missari ( the current year) verða at búa í Tungu, 246; þá búa er þau misseri hafa þar búit, Grág. ii. 124; fyrir fardaga eða á miðjum misserum, 216; hann skyldi vera þar öll þau misseri, Nj. 209, Fms. vii. 137; þeir bjuggu þar fjóra vetr …, á inum fyrstum misserum, i. 265; en er á leið misserin, when the seasons drew to a close, Fas. ii. 523; þá var svá komit misserum at nótt var farljós, Fbr. 97 new Ed.; liðu nú af misserin, ok um várit eptir fór …, Sturl. i. 35.

2. of a period of six months, half-year; menn höfðu talið í tveim misserum fjóra daga ens fjórða hundraðs, Íb. 6; ár heitir tvau misseri, Rb. 6: the following instances may be doubtful, taka tveggja missera vist, Grág. i. 152; sex misseri = three years (or = six years?), 264; þrjú missari, three half-years (or = three twelvemonths?), Fms. vi. 341 (cp. in the verse þrjú missarin þessi, as also the context of the passage, friðr namsk ár it þriðja, short above); fjögurra missera björg, Grág. i. 264.

COMPDS: misseramót, misseraskipti, misseratal, misserisvist.

1) assembly, meeting;

esp. for purposes of legislation, a parliament;

slíta þingi, segja þing laust, to dissolve a meeting;

2) parish;

3) district, county, shire;

vera í þingi goða, to be in the district of such and such a goði, to be his liegeman, in his jurisdiction;

4) interview, of lovers;

vera í þingum við konu, to have a love intrigue with a woman (þat var talat, at Þorbjórn væri í þingum við Þórdísi);

5) in pl. things articles, valuables (síðan tók hón þing sín, en Þorsteinn tók hornin).

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n. [no Goth. þigg is recorded; A. S. and Hel. þing; Engl. thing; O. H. G., Germ., and Dutch ding; Dan.-Swed. ting.]

A. A thing, Lat. res. In the Icel. this sense of the word is almost unknown, although in full use in mod. Dan.-Swed. ting, where it may come from a later Germ. influence.

II. in plur. articles, objects, things, esp. with the notion of costly articles: þeir rannsaka allan hans reiðing ok allan hans klæðnað ok þing, articles, Sturl. iii. 295; þau þing (articles, inventories) er hann keypti kirkjunni innan sik, Vm. 20; þessi þing gaf Herra Vilkin kirkjunni í Klofa,—messu-klæði, kaleik, etc., 26.

2. valuables, jewels (esp. of a married lady), the law often speaks of the ‘þing’ and the ‘heimanfylgja;’ ef maðr fær konu at lands-lögum réttum … þá skulu lúkask henni þing sín ok heimanfylgja, Gþl. 231; hann hafði ór undir-heimum þau þing at eigi munu slík í Noregi, Fms. iii. 178; siðan tók hón þing sín, 195; eptir samkvámu ( marriage) þeirra þá veitti Sveinn konungr áhald þingum þeim er ját vóru ok skilat með systur hans, x. 394; maðr skal skilja þing með frændkonu sinni ok svá heiman-fylgju, N. G. L. ii; skal Ólafr lúka Geirlaugu þing sín, svá mikil sem hón fær löglig vitni til, D. N. i. 108; þinga-veð, a security for a lady’s paraphernalia, D. N. passim.

B. As a law phrase [see Þingvöllr]:

I. an assembly, meeting, a general term for any public meeting, esp. for purposes of legislation, a parliament, including courts of law; in this sense þing is a standard word throughout all Scandinavian countries (cp. the Tyn-wald, or meeting-place of the Manx parliament): technical phrases, blása til þings, kveðja þings, stefna þing, setja þing, kenna þing (N. G. L. i. 63); helga þing, heyja þing, eiga þing; slíta þingi, segja þing laust, to dissolve a meeting, see the verbs: so also a þing ‘er fast’ when sitting, ‘er laust’ when dissolved (fastr I. γ, lauss II. 7); Dróttins-dag hinn fyrra í þingi, ríða af þingi, ríða á þing, til þings, vera um nótt af þingi, öndvert þing, ofanvert þing, Grág. i. 24, 25; nú eru þar þing ( parliaments) tvau á einum þingvelli, ok skulu þeir þá fara um þau þing bæði (in local sense), 127; um várit tóku bændr af þingit ok vildu eigi hafa, Vápn. 22; hann hafði tekit af Vöðla-þing, skyldi þar eigi sóknar-þing heita, Sturl. i. 141: in countless instances in the Sagas and the Grág., esp. the Nj. passim, Íb. ch. 7, Gísl. 54–57, Glúm. ch. 24, 27, Eb. ch. 9, 10, 56, Lv. ch. 4, 15–17: other kinds of assemblies in Icel. were Leiðar-þing, also called Þriðja-þing, Grág. i. 148; or Leið, q. v.; hreppstjórnar-þing (see p. 284); manntals-þing; in Norway, bygða-þing, D. N. ii. 330; hús-þing, vápna-þing, refsi-þing, v. sub vocc.:—eccl. a council, H. E. i. 457, Ann. 1274; þing í Nicea, 415. 14.

2. a parish (opp. to a benefice); in Iceland this word is still used of those parishes whose priest does not reside by the church, no manse being appointed as his fixed residence; such a parish is called þing or þinga-brauð (and he is called þinga-prestr, q. v.), as opp. to a ‘beneficium,’ Grág. i. 471, K. Þ. K. 30, 70, K. Á. passim; bóndi er skyldr at ala presti hest til allra nauðsynja í þingin, Vm. 73; tíundir af hverjum bónda í þingunum, 96, Bs. i. 330, H. E. ii. 48, 85, 128.

3. an interview, of lovers, H. E. i. 244; þat var talat at Þorbjörn væri í þingum við Þórdísi, Gísl. 5; nær þú á þingi mant nenna Njarðar syni, Skm. 38; man-þing, laun-þing.

II. loc. a district, county, shire, a þing-community, like lög (sec p. 369, col. 2, B. II); a ‘þing’ was the political division of a country; hence the law phrase, vera í þingi með goða, to be in the district of such and such a godi, to be his liegeman, cp. þingfesti; or, segjask or þingi, see the Grág., Nj., and Sagas, passim; full goðorð ok forn þing, Grág. i. 15; í því þingi eðr um þau þing, 85. In later times Icel. was politically divided into twelve or thirteen counties. In old days every community or ‘law’ had its own assembly or parliament, whence the double sense of ‘lög’ as well as of ‘þing.’

C. HISTORICAL REMARKS.—In Norway the later political division and constitution of the country dates from king Hacon the Good and his counsellors Thorleif the Wise and earl Sigurd. As king Harold Fairhair was the conqueror of Norway, so was his son Hacon her legislator as also the founder of her constitution, and of her political division into ‘þings;’ for this is the true meaning of the classical passage,—hann (king Hacon) lasgði mikinn hug á laga-setning í Noregi, hann setti Gulaþings-lög ok Frostaþings-lög, ok Heiðsævis-lög fyrst at upphafi, en áðr höfðu sér hverir fylkis-menn lög, Ó. H. 9; in Hkr. l. c. the passage runs thus—hann setti Gulaþings-lög með ráði Þorleifs spaka, ok hann setti Frostaþings-lög með ráði Sigurðar jarls ok annara Þrænda þeirra er vitrastir vóru, en Heiðsævis-lög hafði sett Hálfdan svarti, sem fyrr er ritað, Hkr. 349 new Ed.; the account in Eg. ch. 57, therefore, although no doubt true in substance, is, as is so often the case in the Sagas, an anachronism; for in the reign of Eric ‘Bloodaxe,’ there were only isolated fylkis-þing, and no Gula-þing. In later times St. Olave added a fourth þing, Borgar-þing, to the three old ones of king Hacon (those of Gula, Frosta, and Heiðsævi); and as he became a saint, he got the name of legislator in the popular tradition, the credit of it was taken from Hacon, the right man; yet Sighvat the poet speaks, in his Bersöglis-vísur, of the laws of king Hacon the foster-son of Athelstan. Distinction is therefore to be made between the ancient ‘county’ þing and the later ‘united’ þing, called lög-þing (Maurer’s ‘ding-bund’); also almennilegt þing or almanna-þing, D. N. ii. 265, iii. 277; fjórðunga þing, ii. 282; alþingi, alls-herjar-þing. The former in Norway was called fylkis-þing, or county þing; in Icel. vár-þing, héraðs-þing, fjórðungs-þing (cp. A. S. scîrgemot, a shiremote). Many of the old pre-Haconian fylkis-þing or shiremotes seem to have continued long afterwards, at least in name, although their importance was much reduced; such we believe were the Hauga-þing (the old fylkis-þing of the county Westfold), Fms. viii. 245, Fb. ii. 446, iii. 24; as also Þróndarness-þing, Arnarheims-þing, Kefleyjar-þing, Mork. 179.

II. in Iceland the united þing or parliament was called Al-þingi; for its connection with the legislation of king Hacon, see Íb. ch. 2–5 (the chronology seems to be confused): again, the earlier Icel. spring þings (vár-þing), also called héraðs-þing ( county þing) or fjórðunga-þing ( quarter þing), answer to the Norse fylkis-þing; such were the Þórness-þing, Eb., Landn., Gísl., Sturl.; Kjalarness-þing, Landn. (App.); Þverár-þing, Íb.; also called Þingness-þing, Sturl. ii. 94; Húnavatns-þing, Vd.; Vöðla-þing, Lv., Band.; Skaptafells-þing, Nj.; Árness-þing, Flóam. S.; þingskála-þing, Nj.; Hegraness-þing, Glúm., Lv., Grett.; Múla-þing (two of that name), Jb. (begin.), cp. Grág. i. 127; Þorskafjarðar-þing, Gísl., Landn.; Þingeyjar-þing, Jb.; further, Krakalækjar-þing, Dropl. (vellum, see Ny Fél. xxi. 125); Sunnudals-þing, Vápn.; þing við Vallna-laug, Lv.; þing í Straumfirði, Eb.; Hvalseyrar-þing, Gísl.; or þing í Dýrafirði, Sturl.; Fjósatungu-þing, Lv.

III. in Sweden the chief þings named were Uppsala-þing, Ó. H.; and Mora-þing (wrongly called Múla-þing, Ó. H. l. c., in all the numerous vellum MSS. of this Saga; the Icelandic chronicler or the transcriber probably had in mind the Icel. þing of that name).

IV. in Denmark, Vebjarga-þing, Knytl. S.; Íseyrar-þing, Jómsv. S.

V. in the Faroe Islands, the þing in Þórshöfn, Fær.: in Greenland, the þing in Garðar, Fbr.

VI. freq. in Icel. local names, Þing-völlr, Þing-vellir (plur.) = Tingwall, in Shetland; Þing-nes, Þing-eyrar, Þing-ey, Þing-eyri (sing.); Þing-múli, Þing-skálar, etc., Landn., map of Icel.; Þing-holt (near Reykjavik).

D. COMPDS: þingsafglöpun, þingsboð, þingabrauð, þingadeild, þingadómr, þingakvöð, þingaprestr, þingasaga, þingatollr, þingaþáttr.