get wind of

1) weather (gott, illt);

2) wind (tók at lægja veðrit); sigla (stýra) í v. e-m, to get to the wind-ward of one, take the wind out of his sail;

3) quarter, tack; veifði hann rœði annars veðrs til, he steered round with his oar on the other tack;

4) the lower air (þetta smiði var svá mikit vorðit, at þat tók upp ór veðrum); v. rauf upp, the air cleared up;

5) wind, scent; bersi hafði v. af manninum, the bear had wind of the man, scented him; komast við veðri, to be scented, rumoured; láta koma v. á e-n um e-t, to let one get scent of, throw out hints to one about a thing; staðarmenn mæltu mjök á. v., hinted broadly.

(gen. -rs and -rar, pl. -rar), m.

1) wether;

2) battering-ram.

* * *

n. [A. S. and Old Engl. weder; Engl. weather; Germ. wetter; Dan. væder, sounded vǣr-et]:—the weather; kalt, vindlítið veðr, gott veðr, kyrt veðr, Fbr. 256; spurði hvat veðrs væri, id.; í hverju veðri, K. Þ. K.; veðr ræðr akri, Hm., Fms. ix. 353: the air, ná upp ór veðrum, out of the upper air, Edda (pref.); eldr, veðr, jörð, 625. 178,

2. a wind; stormr veðrs, Fms. i. 101; bera klæði í veðr, Eb. 264: wind, a gale, hvasst veðr, a gale, Eg. 196; tók at lægja veðrit, Nj. 124; veðrit óx, 267; reka fyrir veðri ok straumi, Grág. ii. 384; sær eða vötn eða veðr, 275; stór veðr, great gales, Eg. 160; at veðr tvau verði senn í lopti, Fas. ii. 515, passim.

3. naut. phrases; stýra á veðr e-m, Fms. ii. 305; beita undir veðr, Fb. i. 540; reru í kring um Bagla ok á veðr þeim, Fms. viii. 335; á veðr eldinum, 283; sigla á veðr e-m, to get to windward of one, to take the wind out of his sail, Band. 39 new Ed.; veifa ræði veðrs annars til, Hým. 25; láta í veðri vaka, to ‘see which way the wind blows’(?), metaph. to make believe, pretend, see vaka.

4. phrases; hafa veðr af e-u, to get the wind of one, scent him, metaphor from hunting; bersi hafði veðr af manninum, the bear had wind of him, Grett. 101 A; ek hafða veðrit af þeim sem kallaði, Fas. i. 14; komask við veðri, to be scented, rumoured abroad, Fms. vii. 165, Ísl. ii. 482, Rd. 252; Hjalti lét koma veðr á þau ( threw out hints to them) um ræður þær er haun hafði upp-hafit, Ó. H. 59; staðar-menn mæltu mjök á veðr um, hinted broadly, Orkn. 342.

B. COMPDS: veðrabati, veðrabálkr, veðrabrigði, veðrbelgr, veðrblaka, veðrborð, veðrdagr, veðreygr, veðrfall, veðrfastr, veðrfölnir, veðrglöggr, veðrgnýr, veðrgóðr, veðrharðr, veðrhimin, veðrahjálmr, veðrahöll, veðrkænn, veðrlítill, veðrsjúkr, veðrspár, veðrstaða, veðrsæll, veðrtekinn, veðrvandr, veðrviti.

m., gen. veðrar, but veðrs, Stj. 133; [A. S. weder; Engl. wether; Germ. widder; Dan.-Swed. væder, väder]:—a wether; the word is obsolete in Icel. except in poetry (cp. hrútr), Edda (Gl.); þeir glöddusk sem veðrar, Stj. 177; ins hornótta veðrs, 133; veðr, N. G. L. i. 212; veðra-fjörðr, or corrupt, Viðris-fjörðr, in a pun = Hrúta-fjörðr, Grett. (in a verse).

2. a battering-ram. Sks. 411.

II. as a nickname, Landn.

COMPDS: veðrarhorn, veðrarlamb.

* * *

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

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

2) to go;

ganga heim, to go home;

ganga braut, to go away;

ganga til hvílu, to go to bed;

ganga á skip, to go on board;

ganga af skipi, to go ashore;

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

ganga at eiga konu, to marry a woman;

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

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

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

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

7) to prevail;

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

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

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

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

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

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

10) láta ganga e-t, to let go on;

láta höggin ganga, to rain blows;

Birkibeinar létu ganga lúðrana, blew the trumpets vigorously;

11) to succeed;

ef þat gengr eigi, if that will not do;

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

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

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

ganga andæris, to go all wrong;

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

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

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

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

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

15) with preps. and adverbs:

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

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

ganga af trú sinni, to apostatize;

to pass (síðan gengu af páskarnir);

to go off (gekk þegar af höfuðit);

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

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

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

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

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

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

ganga at e-m, to attack one;

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

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

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

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

ganga á bak e-u, to contravene;

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

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

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

ganga fram, to step forward;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ganga í mál, to undertake a case;

ganga með e-m (of a woman), to marry;

ganga með barni, to be with child;

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

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

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

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

ganga móti e-u, to resist, oppose;

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

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

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

ganga saman, to marry;

of an agreement, bargain, to be brought about;

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

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

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

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

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

hversu hefir ykkr til gengit, how have you fared?

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

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

ganga um beina, to wait upon guests;

ganga um sættir, to go between, as peacemaker;

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

ganga undan, to escape to absent oneself;

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

ganga undir e-n, to subject oneself to;

ganga upp, to be wasted (of money);

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

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

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

ganga við staf, to walk with a stick;

ganga við e-u or e-t, to avow;

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

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

slíkt sem yfir hefir gengit, all that has happened;

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

16) refl., gangast.

1) walking (hann mœddist í göngu);

vera í göngu, to be on foot, to walk;

2) course (ganga tungls, vinds).

* * *

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

A. To go:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. Used singly, of various things:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

D. REFLEX.:

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

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

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

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

* * *

(gef; gaf, gáfum; gefinn), v.

1) to give (gefa e-m e-t);

hann gaf þeim góðar gjafar, he gave them good gifts;

gefa e-m ráð, to give one advice;

gefa hljóð, to give a hearing;

gefa e-m sök, e-t at sök, to lay to one’s charge, to bring a charge against one;

gefa slög, to deal blows;

gefa e-m drekka, to give one to drink;

impers., e-m gefr byr (byri), one gets a fair wind (gaf þeim byr ok sigla þeir í haf);

absol., gaf þeim vel, they got a fair wind;

ef fœri gefr á, if you get a chance;

ef yðr (dat.) gefr eigi missýi í þessu máli, if you are not mistaken in this matter;

þat gaf öllum vel skilja, it was clear for all to understand;

2) to give, grant;

gefa heimleyfi, to grant furlough;

gefa e-m grið, to grant quarter or pardon to one;

gefa e-m líf, to grant one his life;

3) to give in matrimony (ek var ung gefin Njáli);

4) to give fodder to cattle, to feed (gefa göltum, nautum, kúm, hestum);

5) gefa staðar, to stop;

lét hann þá staðar gefa róðrinn, he stopped rowing;

6) e-m er e-t svá gefit, or svá gefit um e-t, one is so and so disposed, thinks so and so of a thing (ef þér er þetta svá gefit sem þú segir);

7) with preps.:

gefa sér litit (mikit) af (or at) e-u, to take little (much) notice of;

gefa á e-t, to pour water on;

fig. to press on (gefr Ormr þá á);

gefa e-m til e-s, to give in return for a thing (gefa fé til sátta);

impers., honum hafði vel gefit til (had good luck) um hefndina;

gefa sér mikit (lítit) um e-t, to take great (little) interest in (= gefa sér mikit, lítit, af or at e-u);

gefa sér fátt um e-t, to take coldly, take little notice of;

gefa e-t upp, to give up (gefa upp alla mótstöðu);

gefa sik upp, to surrender;

gefa upp gamalmenni, to give old people up, let them starve;

gefa upp leiguna, to remit the rent;

gefa upp sakir, to remit offences;

upp gefinn, exhausted;

gefa e-t við e-u, to give in payment for;

gefa sik við, to give in (þat er líkara, at ek gefa mik við);

8) refl., gefast.

* * *

pret. gaf, 2nd pers. gaft, mod. gafst, pl. gáfu; pres. gef; pret. subj. gæfi; part. gefinn; with neg. suff. gef-at, gaft-attu, Fm. 7; mid. form gáfumk ( dabat or dabant mihi, nobis), Stor. 23, Bragi, Edda: [Goth. giban = διδόναι; A. S. gifan; Engl. give; Dutch geven; O. H. G. gepan; Germ. geben; Swed. gifva; Dan. give.]

A. To give, with acc. of the thing, dat. of the person; g. gjafar, to give gifts, Fm. 7, Fms. vii. 40, Nj. 29, Hm. 48; mikit eitt skala manni gefa, 51; hann kvaðsk eingin yxn eiga þau áðr at honum þætti honum gefandi (gerundial, worth giving to him), Rd. 256; hann gaf stórgjafir öllu stórmenni, Ld. 114; hann gaf þeim góðar gjafir at skilnaði, Gísl. 9; Rútr gaf henni hundrað álna, Nj. 7; viltú g. mér þá, 73, 75, 281, passim.

II. to give in payment, to pay; gefa vildim vit þér fé til, we will give thee money for it, Nj. 75; yðr væri mikit gefanda (gerundial) til, at þér hefðit ekki íllt átt við Gunnar, you would have given a great deal not to have provoked Gunnar, 98; ek mun g. þér til Guðrúnu dóttur mína ok féit allt, id.: to lay out, hann gaf sumt verðit þegar í hönd, Gísl. 12; gefa e-t við e-u, to pay for a thing; at þér gefit mjök margra Kristinna manna líf við yðvarri þrályndi, that you will cause the loss of many Christian lives with your stubbornness, Fms. iv. 195; þat er líkara at ek gefa mikit við, Nj. 53; gefa sik við e-u, to give oneself to a thing, attend to, be busy about, mod.: gefa í milli, to discount; hygg at hvat þú gefr í milli tveggja systra, Fms. iv. 195 (hence milli-gjöf, discount).

III. in special sense, to give in matrimony; Njáll bað konu til handa Högna ok var hon honum gefin, Nj. 120; Vígdís var meir gefin til fjár en brautargengis, V. had been more wedded to the money than to her advancement, Ld. 26; segir at dóttir þeirra muni eigi betr verða gefin, 114:—gefa saman, to betroth, Fms. x. 381:—in mod. sense to marry, of the clergyman.

2. to give as a dowry, portion; búum þeim er Sveinn hafði gefit til hennar, Fms. x. 310 (hence til-gjöf, dowry); eigi skal ok í klæðum meira heiman gefask með konu en þriðjungr (hence heiman-gjöf, dowry), Gþl. 212:—so also, gefa í erfðir, to give as inheritance, Bs. i. 285:—gefa ölmusu, to give alms, Bs. passim; gefa fátækum, to give to the poor, passim.

IV. to give, grant; hann gaf honum vald yfir öllu landi, Fms. i. 18; gefa heimleyfi, to grant ‘home-leave,’ furlough, ix. 474; gefa orlof, ii. 64; gefa grið, to grant a truce to one, pardon, Nj. 165, Fms. ix. 479; gefa e-m líf, to grant one his life, 470.

V. in various phrases; gefa e-m nafn, to give one a name, Nj. 91, Fms. i. 23, Grág. ii. 146; gefa þakkir, to give thanks, Fms. i. 231; gefa e-m tillæti, to indulge one, Nj. 169; gefa e-m rúm, to give place to one, Fms. ii. 254, vi. 195; gefa ráð, to give counsel, advice, Nj. 75, 78; gefa góð orð, to give good words, answer gently; gefa e-m stór orð, to give one big words, Fms. v. 158; gefa slög, to deal blows, ix. 313; gefa gaum at, to give heed to, Nj. 57, Eg. 551; gefa hljóð, to give a hearing, in public speaking, Nj. 230; gefa tóm, to give time, leisure, 98; gefa ró reiði, to calm one’s wrath, 175:—gefa e-m sök, to bring a charge against, complain of, 82; ok gaf ek þó hjálminum enga sök á því, I did not like the helmet less for that, Ld. 128; at eigi sé mælt, at þú gefir dauðum sök, that thou bringest a charge against a dead man (which was unlawful), Nj. 82; en hvártki okkat gefr þat öðru at sök, neither of us likes the other the less for that, 52; ekki gef ek þér þat at sök þótt þú sér engi bleyðimaðr, 54; engi þorði þó sakir á at gefa, none durst complain, Al. 123; Sigurðr jarl bað konung eigi gefa Þrændum þetta at sök, Fms. i. 57; gefa kæru upp á e-n, to give in a complaint against one, Dipl. ii. 13.

2. gefa sér um …, to give oneself trouble about, take interest in, mostly followed by a noun; gefa sér fátt um e-t, to take coolly; gefa sér mikit um, to take great interest in; Þorfinnr lét gefa honum mat, en gaf sér lítið at honum, but else took little notice of him, Grett. 96; ekki er þess getið, at hann gæfi sér mikit um, that he shewed great interest, Fms. i. 289; mun ek mér ok ekki um þetta gefa, I will let this pass, not take offence at it, Boll. 354; en ef til mín kæmi tveir eða þrír, þá, gaf ek mér ekki um, then I took no notice of it, Fms. ii. 151; konungr gaf sér fátt um þat, Fb. i. 261; hann þóttisk vita hvat keisaranum mislíkaði ok gaf sér þó ekki um at sinni, Fms. vi. 71; ok gáfu sér ekki um viðbúnaðinn, vii. 87; so also, Skúli gaf sér litið at hvat biskup sagði, S. troubled himself little at what the bishop said, Bs. i. 873:—akin is the mod. phrase, eg gef ekki um það, I do not want it; gefðu ekki um það, do not care for it, mind it not; eg gaf ekki um að sjá það, I did not want to see it, etc.

3. gefa staðar, to stop; lét hann þá staðar gefa róðrinn, he stopped rowing, Fms. vi. 384; konungr gaf staðar ok hlýddi til frásagnar þeirra, viii. 400; ok þá er sá íss gaf staðar ok rann eigi, Edda 3; ok þeir gefa eigi stað ferðinni fyrr en þeir kómu norðr, 151 (pref.); svá at staðar gaf (MS. naf) höndin við sporðinn, 40.

VI. to give out, deal out; hón bað gefa sér drekka, bade give him to drink, Eg. 604: to give a dose, gefa e-m eitr, Al. 156:—absol. to give fodder to cattle, gefa göltum, Hkv. 2. 37; gefa nautum, kúm, hestum, Sturl. ii. 42, Gísl. 28:—gefa á, to dash over, of sea-water, cp. ágjöf: to pour water on, var gluggr á ofninum syá at útan mátti á gefa, Eb. 134; síðan lét hann gefa útan á baðit í glugg, 136; gefa á ker, to fill a goblet, Clar.: metaph. to press on, gefr Ormr þá á, Fb. i. 530 (in wrestling).

VII. with prepp., fyrir-gefa, to forgive, freq. in mod. usage, but scarcely found in old writers; so also gefa til, cp. Dan. tilgive, D. N., vide Safn i. 96, (rare and obsolete):—gefa upp, to give up; gefa upp gamalmenni, to give old people up, let them starve, Fms. ii. 225; gefa upp föður eða móður, 227; bændr báðu hann gefa upp eyna, Grett. 145: to remit, en þó vil ek nú upp gefa þér alla leiguna, Nj. 128; gaf honum upp reiði sína, Fms. x. 3, 6; ok gefit oss upp stórsakir, ii. 33; Brján konungr gaf upp þrysvar útlögum sínum inar sömu sakir, Nj. 269: absol., hvárt vilit þér gefa honum upp, pardon him, 205; gefa upp alla mótstöðu, to give up all resistance, Fms. ix. 322; gefa sik upp, to give oneself up, surrender, i. 198; þá gefum vér upp várn stað, 104; gefa upp ríki, konungdóm, to give up the kingdom, abdicate, resign, x. 4, xi. 392: to give up, hand over to one, Magnús konungr gaf honum upp Finnferðina með slíkum skildaga, vii. 135; ek vil gefa ykkr upp búit at Varmalæk, Nj. 25; allir hafa þat skaplyndi at gefa þat fyrst upp er stolit er, 76: to give up, leave off, gefa upp leik, to give up playing, Fas. iii. 530; gefa upp horn, Fms. vi. 241: to exhaust, empty, upp ætlu vér nú gefnar gersimar yðrar, vii. 197.

B. IMPERS., a naut. term; e-m gefr byri, byr (acc. pl. or sing.), one gets a fair wind; gaf þeim byr ok sigla þeir í haf, Nj. 4; gaf þeim vel byri, 138; er þeir vóru búnir ok byr gaf, Eg. 99: so also absol. with or without dat. of the person, gaf kaupmönnum burt af Grænlandi, the sailors got a wind off Greenland, so as to sail from it, Fb. iii. 454; því at eigi gaf suðr lengra, Fms. ii. 185; gaf þeim vel, ix. 268; gaf honum ílla, x. 4; gaf honum eigi austan, Nj. 63: so in the saying, svo gefr hverjum sem hann er góðr.

2. in other phrases, to get a chance; ef færi (acc.) gefr á, if you get a chance, Nj. 266; halda njósnum, nær bezt gæfi færi á honum, to keep a look-out, when there was best chance to get at him, 113; til þess gefr nú vel ok hógliga, ‘tis a fair and easy opportunity for that, Al. 156; mæltu menn at honum hafði vel gefit til ( had good luck) um hefndina, Fms. vii. 230; ef yðr (dat.) gefr eigi missýni í þessu máli, if you are not mistaken in this matter, Fbr. 32; gaf þeim glámsýni (q. v.) er til vóru komnir, Sturl. i. 179, Stj. 401; þá gaf mér sýn, then I beheld (in a vision), Fms. vii. 163; þat gaf öllum vel skilja, it was clear for all to understand, it lay open to all, vi. 70; e-m gefr á að líta, one can see, i. e. it is open and evident.

C. REFLEX., gefask vel (ílla), to shew oneself, prove good ( bad); það sé ván at þú gefisk honum eigi vel, er þú gefsk öllum öðrum mönnum ílla, Nj. 32; eigi deilir litr kosti ef þú gefsk vel, 78; hversu gafsk Björn þér, Kári, 265; opt hafa mér vel gefisk yður ráð, your counsels have often proved good to me, Ld. 252; hefir þeim þat ok aldri vel gefisk ( it has never turned out well) í þessu landi, Fms. vii. 22; ílla gefask ílls ráð, a saying, Nj. 20; hétu allir góðu um at gefask vel (i. e. to fight manfully), Fms. vii. 262:—to happen, turn out, come to pass, sem síðan gafsk, x. 416; svá honum gafsk, so it turned out for him, Sl. 20; ok svá gæfisk, ef eigi hefði Guð þá sína miskun til sent, and so it would have come to pass, unless …, Fms. x. 395:—gefsk mér svá, it seems to me so, methinks it is so, Karl. 290, 308 (vide A. V. 2. above); þat allsheri at undri gefsk, to all people it is a wonder, Ad. 18; e-m er e-t svá gefit, to be so and so disposed, to think so and so of a thing; ef þér er þetta svá gefit sem þú segir, Fms. v. 236; svá er mér gefit, son minn, at ek em þér fegin orðin, Ó. H. 33; sagði hann at svá mundi jarli gefit, Fms. ix. 244; en svá ætla ek flestum lendum mönnum gefit, at eigi munu skiljask frá Skúla jarli, 429, v. l.; þyki mér ok sem svá muni flestum gefit, at fé sé fjörvi firr, Ld. 266; en þat mun þó mestu um stýra hversu Þórdísi er um gefit, 302; síðan talaði konungr þetta mál við systur sína, ok spurði hversu henni væri um þetta gefit, Fms. ii. 221: of the gifts of nature, mikill máttr er gefinn goðum várum, Nj. 132; ok er þat mál manna, at henni hafi allt verit ílla gefit þat er henni var sjálfrátt, i. e. that she was a bad woman in everything of her own making (but well gifted by nature), 268; ok svá er sagt at honum hafi flestir hlutir höfðinglegast gefnir verit, 254.

2. with prepp., gefask upp, to give up, give in, surrender, Nj. 64, 124, Eg. 79: mod. to lose one’s breath: upp gefinn, upset; eigi þykjumk ek upp gefinn þó at ek sjá smávofur, Grett. 112; eigi þyki mér vit upp gefnir, ef vit veitumk at, 131; en þó at þeir feðgar sé ríkir menn, þá eru vér þó ekki upp gefnir fyrir þeim, Fb. ii. 195: in mod. usage, exhausted, having lost one’s breath, eg er uppgefinn; also of a horse, hann gafsk upp, harm er stað-uppgefinn:—e-m gefsk yfir, to do wrong, commit a fault, fail; þat mæla menn at þessi hlutr hafi konunginum yfir gefisk helzt, Fms. xi. 283; ef göfgum mönnum gáfusk stórir hlutir yfir, if the noble gave gross offence, did evil things, Bs. i. 107; engi er svá vitr at eigi gefisk yfir nokkut sinn, Karl. 451:—to give oneself to one, gefask Kristi, N. G. L. i. 339; gefsk þú hánum þá í dag með Guði, Nj. 157; gefask á vald e-s, to give oneself into another’s power, Fms. ix. 479.

II. recipr. to give to one another; gefask gjöfum, Bret. 48; gáfusk þeir gjöfum áðr þeir skildu, Bs. i. 274.

III. part. gefinn, given to a thing, in a spiritual sense, devout; g. fyrir bækr, lestr, smíðar, etc., given to books, reading, workmanship, etc.

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prep. w. dat.

I. Of place:

1) off, from;

G. hljóp af hesti sínum, G. jumped off his horse;

ganga af mótinu, to go away from the meeting;

Flosi kastaði af sér skikkjunni, threw off his cloak;

Gizzur gekk af útsuðri at gerðinu, from the south-west;

hann hafði leyst af sér skúa sína, he had taken off his shoes;

Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér, throw him off;

tók Gísli þá af sér vápnin, took off his arms;

bréf af Magnúsi konungi, a letter from king Magnus;

land af landi, from one land to the other;

hverr af öðrum, one after another, in succession;

vil ek þú vinnir af þér skuldina, work off the debt;

muntu enga sætt af mér fá, no peace at my hand;

rísa af dauða, to rise from the dead;

vakna af draumi, to awaken from a dream;

lúka upp af hrossi, to open a gate from off a horse;

vindr stóð af landi, the wind blew from the land;

2) out of;

verða tekinn af heimi, to be taken out of the world;

gruflar hón af læknum, she scrambles out of the brook;

Otradalr var mjök af vegi, far out of the way.

Connected with út; föstudaginn fór út herrinn af borginni, marched out of the town.

II. Of time; past, beyond:

af ómagaaldri, able to support oneself, of age;

ek em nú af léttasta skeiði, no longer in the prime of life;

þá er sjau vikur eru af sumri, when seven weeks of summer are past;

var mikit af nótt, much of the night was past.

III. In various other relations:

1) þiggja lið af e-m, to receive help from one;

hafa umboð af e-m, to be another’s deputy;

vera góðs (ills) maklegr af e-m, to deserve good (bad) of one;

féll þar lið mart af Eyvindi, many of Eyvind’s men fell there;

þá eru þeir útlagir ok af goðorði sínu, have forfeited their goðorð;

þá skalt þú af allri fjárheimtunni, forfeit all the claim;

ek skal stefna þér af konunni, summon thee to give up;

2) off, of;

höggva fót, hönd, af e-m, to cut off one’s foot, hand;

vil ek, at þú takir slíkt sem þér líkar af varningi, whatever you like of the stores;

þar lá forkr einn ok brotit af endanum, with the point broken off;

absol., beit hann höndina af, bit the hand off;

fauk af höfuðit, the head flew off;

3) of, among;

hinn efniligasti maðr af ungum mönnum, the most promising of the young men;

4) with;

hláða, (ferma) skip af e-u, to load (freight) a ship with;

fylla heiminn af sínu kyni, to fill the world with his offspring;

5) of (= ór which is more frequent);

húsit var gert af timbr stokkum, was built of trunks of trees;

6) fig., eigi vita menn hvat af honum er orðit, what has become of him;

hvat hefir þú gert af Gunnari, what hast thou done with Gunnar?;

7) denoting parentage, descent, origin;

ok eru af þeim komnir Gilsbekkingar, are descended from them;

kominn af Trójumönnum, descended from the Trojans;

8) by, of (after passive);

ek em sendr hingat af Starkaði, sent hither by;

ástsæll af landsmónnum, beloved of;

9) on account of, by reason of, by;

úbygðr at frosti ok kulda, because of frost and cold;

ómáli af áverkum, speechless from wounds;

af ástæld hans, by his popularity;

af því, therefore;

af hví, wherefor why;

af því at, because;

10) by means of, by;

framfœra e-n af verkum sínum, by means of his own labour;

af sínu fé, by one’s own means;

absol., hann fekk af hina mestu sœmd, derived great honour from it;

11) with adjectives, in regard to;

mildr af fé, liberal of money;

góðr af griðum, merciful;

fastr af drykk, close (stingy) in regard to drink;

12) used absol. with a verb, off away;

hann bað hann þá róa af fjörðinn, to row the firth off;

ok er þeir höfðu af fjörðung, when they had covered one forth of the way;

sofa af nóttina, to sleep the night away.

* * *

prep. often used elliptically by dropping the case, or even merely adverbially, [Ulf. af; A. S. and Engl. of, off; Hel. ab; Germ. ab; Gr. άπό; Lat. a, ab.] With dat. denoting a motion a loco; one of the three prepp. af, ór, frá, corresponding to those in loco—á, í, við, and ad locum—á, í, at. It in general corresponds to the prepp. in loco—á, or in locum— til, whilst ór answers more to í; but it also frequently corresponds to yfir, um or í. It ranges between ór and frá, generally denoting the idea from the surface of, while ór means from the inner part, and frá from the outer part or border. The motion from a hill, plain, open place is thus denoted by af; by ór that from an enclosed space, depth, cavity, thus af fjalli, but ór of a valley, dale; af Englandi, but ór Danmörk, as mörk implies the notion of a deep wood, forest. The wind blows af landi, but a ship sets sail frá landi; frá landi also means a distance from: af hendi, of a glove, ring; ór hendi, of whatever has been kept in the hand (correl. to á hendi and í hendi). On the other hand af is more general, whilst frá and ór are of a more special character; frá denoting a departure, ór an impulse or force; a member goes home af þingi, whereas ór may denote an inmate of a district, or convey the notion of secession or exclusion from, Eb. 105 new Ed.; the traveller goes af landi, the exile ór landi: taka e-t af e-m is to take a thing out of one’s hand, that of taka frá e-m to remove out of one’s sight, etc. In general af answers to Engl. of, off, ór to out of, and frá to from: the Lat. prepp. ab, de, and ex do not exactly correspond to the Icelandic, yet as a rule ór may answer to ex, af sometimes to ab, sometimes to de. Of, off, from among; with, by; on account of by means of, because of concerning, in respect of.

A. Loc.

I. With motion, off, from:

1. prop. corresp. to á,

α. konungr dró gullhring af hendi sér (but á hendi), Ld. 32; Höskuldr lætr bera farm af skipi, unload the ship (but bera farm á skip), id.; var tekit af hestum þeirra, they were unsaddled, Nj. 4; Gunnarr hafði farit heiman af bæ sínum, he was away from home, 82; Gunnarr hljóp af hesti sínum, jumped off his horse (but hl. á hest), 83; hlaupa, stökkva af baki, id., 112, 264 ; Gunnarr skýtr til hans af boganum, from the bow, where af has a slight notion of instrumentality, 96; flýja af fundinum, to fly from off the battle-field, 102; ríða af Þríhyrningshálsum, 206; út af Langaholti, Eg. 744 ; sunnan ór Danmörk ok af Saxlandi, 560; ganga af mótinu, to go from the meeting, Fms. vii. 130; af þeirra fundi reis María upp ok fór, 625. 85 ; Flosi kastaði af ser skikkjunni, threw his cloak off him (but kasta á sik),Nj. 176; taka Hrungnis fót af honum, of a load, burden, Edda 58; land þat er hann fiskði af, from which he set off to fish, Grág. i. 151, is irregular, frá would suit better; slíta af baki e-s, from off one’s back, ii. 9 ; bera af borði, to clear the table, Nj. 75.

β. where it more nearly answers to í; þeir koma af hafi, of sailors coming in (but leggja í haf), Nj. 128 ; fara til Noregs af Orkneyjum (but í or til O.), 131; þeim Agli fórst vel ok komu af hafi i Borgarfjörð, Eg. 392 ; hann var útlagi ( outlawed) af Noregi, where ór would be more regular, 344; af Islandi, of a traveller, Fms. x. 3; búa her af báðum ríkjunum, to take a levy from, 51; hinir beztu bændr ór Norðlendingafjórðungi ok af Sunnlendingafjórðungi, the most eminent Southerners and Northerners, 113; Gizzurr gékk af útsuðri at gerðinu, from south-west, Sturl. ii. 219; prestar af hvárutveggja biskupsdæmi, from either diocess, Dipl. ii. 11; verða tekinn af heimi, to be taken out of the world, 623. 21; gruflar hon af læknum, scrambles out of the brook, Ísl. ii. 340; Egill kneyfði af horninu í einum drykk, drained off the horn at one draught, literally squeezed every drop out of it, Eg. 557; brottuaf herbúðunurn, Fms. x. 343.

γ. of things more or less surrounding the subject, corresp. to yfir or um; láta þeir þegar af sér tjöldin, break off, take down the tents in preparing for battle, Eg. 261; kyrtillinn rifnaði af honum, his coat burst, caused by the swollen body, 602; hann hafði leyst af sér skúa sína, he untied his shoes (but binda á sik), 716; Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér, throw him off, of one clinging to one’s body, 747; tók Gísli þá af sér vápnin, took off his arms, Fms. vii. 39. Of putting off clothes; fara af kápu, Nj. 143; far þú eigi af brynjunni, Bs. i. 541; þá ætlaði Sigurðr at fara af brynjunni, id.; þá var Skarphéðinn flettr af klæðunum, Nj. 209: now more usually fara or klæðum, fötum, exuere, to undress.

δ. connected with út; föstudaginn for út herrinn af borginni, marched out of the town, Nj. 274; ganga út af kirkjunni, to go out of the church, now út úr, Fms. vii. 107: drekki hann af þeirri jörðunni, of something impregnated with the earth, Laekn. 402.

ε. more closely corresponding to frá, being in such cases a Latinism (now frá); bréf af páfa, a pope’s bull, Fms. x. 6; rit af hánum, letter from him, 623. 52; bréf af Magnúsi konungi, a letter from king Magnus, Bs. i. 712; farið þér á brautu af mér í eilífan eld, Hom. 143; brott af drottins augliti, Stj. 43.

ζ. denoting an uninterrupted continuity, in such phrases as land aflandi, from land to land, Eg. 343, Fas. ii. 539; skip af skipl. from ship to ship, Fms. v. 10; brann hvat af öðru, one after another, of an increasing fire, destroying everything, i. 128; brandr af brandi brenn, funi kveykist af funa, one from another, Hm. 56; hverr af öðrum, one after another, in succession, also hverr at öðrum, Eb. 272, 280 (where at in both passages).

2. metaph., at ganga af e-m dauðum, to go from, leave one dead on the spot, of two combatants; en hann segiz bani hins ef hann gekk af dauðum manni, Grág. ii. 88, Hkr. 1. 327; undr þykir mér er bróðir þinn vildi eigi taka af þér starf þetta, would not take this toil from thee, Nj. 77; þegnar hans glöddust af honum, were fain of him, Fms. x. 380; at koma þeim manni af sér er settr var á fé hans, to get rid of, Ld. 52; vil ek þú vinriir af þér skuldina, work off the debt, Njarð. 366; reka af sér, to repel, Sturl. ii. 219; hann á þá sonu er aldri munu af oss ganga, who will never leave us, whom we shall never get rid of, Fas. i. 280; leysa e-n af e-u, to relieve, 64; taka e-n af lífi, to kill, Eg. 48, 416, Nj. 126; af lífdögum, Fms. vii. 204; ek mun ná lögum af því máli, get the benefit of the law in this case, Eg. 468; muntu enga sætt af mér fá, no peace at my hand, 414; rísa af dauða, to rise from death, Fms. ii. 142; guð bætti honum þó af þessi sótt, healed him of this sickness, ix. 390; vakna af sýn, draumi, svefni, to awaken from a vision, dream, sleep, 655 xxxii. I, Gísl. 24, Eb. 192, Fas. i. 41. Rather with the notion out of, in the phrase af sér etc., e. g. sýna e-t af scr, to shew, exhibit a disposition for or against, Ld. 18; gera mikit af sér, to shew great prowess, Ísl. ii. 368; éf þú gerir eigi meira af þér um aðra leika, unless you make more of thyself, Edda 32; Svipdagr hafði mikit af sér gert, fought bravely, Fas. i. 41; góðr (illr) af sér, good ( bad) of oneself, by nature; mikill af sjálfum sér, proud, bold, stout, Nj. 15; ágætastr maðr af sjálfum sér, the greatest hero, Bret.: góðr af ser, excellent, Hrafn. 7; but, on the contrary, af sér kominn, ruinous, in decay; this phrase is used of old houses or buildings, as in Bs. i. 488 = Sturl. l. c.; af sér kominn af mæði can also be said of a man fallen off from what he used to be; kominn af fotum fram, off his legs from age, Sturl. i. 223, Korm. 154 (in a verse).

II. WITHOUT MOTION:

1. denoting direction from, but at the same time continuous connection with an object from which an act or thing proceeds, from; tengja skip hvárt fram af stafni annars, to tie the ships in a line, stem to stern, Fms. i. 157, xi. 111; svá at þeir tóku út af borðum, jutted out of the boards, of rafters or poles, iv. 49; stjarna ok af sem skaft, of a comet, ix. 482; lúka upp af hrossi, to open a gate from off a horse, Grág. ii. 264; hon svarar af sínu sæti sem álpt af baru, Fás. i. 186; þar er sjá mátti utau af firði, af þjóðleið, that might be seen from the fareway on the sea when sailing in the firth, Hkr. ii. 64; þá mun hringt af (better at) Burakirkju, of bells rung at the church, Fms. xi. 160; gengr þar af Meðalfellsströnd, projects from, juts out, of a promontory, Ld. 10.

2. denoting direction alone; upp af víkinni stóð borg mikil, a burg inland from the inlet, Eg. 161; lokrekkja innar af seti, a shut bed inward from the benches in the hall, Ísl. ii. 262; kapella upp af konungs herbergjum, upwards from, Fms. x. 153; vindr stóð af landi, the wind stood off the land, Bárð. 166.

β. metaph., stauda af e-u, vide VI. 4.

γ. ellipt., hallaði af norðr, of the channel, north of a spot, Boll. 348; also, austr af, suðr af, vestr af, etc.

3. denoting absence; þingheyendr skulu eigi vera um nótt af þingi ( away from the meeting), eðr lengr, þá eru þeir af þingi ( away from (be meeting) ef þeir eru or ( out of) þingmarki, Grág. i. 25; vera um nótt af várþingi, 115; meðan hann er af landi héðan, abroad, 150.

β. metaph., gud hvíldi af öllum verkum sínum á sjaunda degi, rested from his labours, Ver. 3.

4. denoting distance; þat er komit af þjóðleið, out of the high road, remote, Eg. 369; af þjóðbraut, Grág. ii. 264, i. 15; Otradalr (a farm) var mjök af vegi, far out of the way, Háv. 53.

B. TEMP, past, from, out of, beyond:

1. of a person’s age, in the sense of having past a period of life; af ómaga aldri, of age, able to support oneself, Grág. i. 243; af aeskualdri, stricken in years, having past the prime of life, Eg. 202; lítið af barnsaldri, still a child, Ld. 74; ek em nú af léttasia skeiði, no longer in the prime of life, Háv. 40.

2. of a part or period of time, past; eigi síðar en nótt er af þingi, a night of the session past, Grág. i. 101; þá er sjau vikur eru af sumri, seven weeks past of the summer, 182; tíu vikur af sumri, Íb. 10; var mikit af nótt, much of the night was past, Háv. 41; mikið af vetri, much of the winter was past, Fas. ii. 186; þriðjungr af nótt, a third of the night past, Fms. x. 160; stund af degi, etc.; tveir mánoðr af sumri, Gþl. 103.

3. in adverbial phrases such as, af stundu, soon; af bragði, at once; af tómi, at leisure, at ease; af nýju, again; af skyndingu, speedily; af bráðungu, in a hurry, etc.

C. In various other relations:

I. denoting the passage or transition of an object, concrete or abstract, of, from.

1. where a thing is received, derived from, conferred by a person or object; þiggja lið af e-m, to derive help from, Edda 26; taka traust af e-m, to receive support, comfort from, Fms. xi. 243; taka mála af e-m, to be in one’s pay, of a soldier, Eg. 266; halda land af e-m, to hold land of any one, 282; verða viss af e-m, to get information from, 57, Nj. 130; taka við sök af manni (a law term), to undertake a case, suit, Grág. i. 142; hafa umboð af e-m, to be another’s deputy, ii. 374; vera góðs (ills) maklegr af e-m, to deserve good (bad) of, Vd. 88 (old Ed., the new reads frá), Fs. 45; afla matar af eyjum, to derive supplies from, Eb. 12.

2. where an object is taken by force:

α. prop. out of a person’s hand; þú skalt hnykkja smíðit af honum, wrest it out of his hand, Nj. 32; cp. taka, þrífa, svipta e-u (e-t) af e-m, to wrest from.

β. metaph. of a person’s deprival of anything in general; hann tók af þér konuna, carried thy wife off, Nj. 33; tók Gunnarr af þér sáðland þitt, robbed thee of seedland, 103; taka af honum tignina, to depose, degrade him, Eg. 271; vinna e-t af e-m, to carry off by force of arms, conquer, Fms. iii. 29; drepa menn af e-m, for one, slay one’s man, Eg. 417; fell þar lið mart af Eyvindi, many of Eyvind’s people fell there, 261.

γ. in such phrases as, hyggja af e-u (v. afhuga), hugsa af e-u, to forget; hyggja af harmi; sjá af e-u, to lose, miss; var svá ástúðigt með þeim, at livargi þóttist mega af öðrum sjá, neither of them could take his eyes off the other, Sturl. i. 194; svá er mörg við ver sinn vær, at varla um sér hon af hoiuun nær, Skálda 163.

3. denoting forfeiture; þá eru þeir útlagir, ok af goðorði sínu, have forfeited their priesthood, Grág. i. 24; telja hann af ráðunum fjár síns alls, to oust one, on account of idiocy or madness, 176; verða af kaupi, to be off the bargain, Edda 26; þá skalt þú af allri fjárheimtunni, forfeit all the claim, Nj. 15; ek skal stefna þér af konunni, summon thee to forfeit, a case of divorce, id.; ella er hann af rettarfari um hana, has forfeited the suit, Grág. i. 381.

β. ellipt., af ferr eindagi ef, is forfeited, Grág. i. 140.

II. denoting relation of a part to a whole, off, of, Lat. de; höggva hönd, höfuð, fót af e-um, to cut one’s hand, head, foot off, Nj. 97, 92, Bs. i. 674; höggva spjót af skapti, to sever the blade from the shaft, 264; hann lét þá ekki hafa af föðurarfi sínum, nothing of their patrimony, Eg. 25; vil ek at þú takir slíkt sem þér líkar af varningi, take what you like of the stores, Nj. 4; at þú eignist slíkt af fé okkru sem þú vili, 94.

β. ellipt., en nú höfum vér kjörit, en þat er af krossinum, a slice of, Fms. vii. 89; Þórðr gaf Skólm frænda sínum af landnámi sínu, a part of, Landn. 211; hafði hann þat af hans eigu er hann vildi, Sturl. ii. 169; þar lá forkr einn ok brotið af endanum, the point broken off, Háv. 24, Sturl. i. 169.

γ. absol. off; beit hann höndina af, þar sem nú heitir úlfliðr, bit the hand off, Edda 17; fauk af höfuðit, the head flew off, Nj. 97; jafnt er sem þér synist, af er fótrinn, the foot is off, id.; af bæði eyru, both ears off, Vm. 29.

2. with the notion of—among; mestr skörungr af konum á Norðrlöndum, the greatest heroine in the North, Fms. i. 116; hinn efniligasti maðr af ungum mönnum í Austfjörðum, the most hopeful of youths in the Eastfirths, Njarð. 364; af ( among) öllurn hirðmönnuni virði konungr mest skáld sín, Eg. 27; ef hann vildi nokkura kaupa af þessum konum, Ld. 30; ör liggr þar útiá vegginum, ok er sú af þeirra örum, one of their own arrows, Nj. 115.

β. from, among, belonging to; guð kaus hana af ollum konum sér til móður, of the Virgin Mary, Mar. A. i. 27.

γ. metaph., kunna mikit (lítið) af e-u, to know much, little of, Bragi kann mest af skáldskap, is more cunning of poetry than any one else, Edda 17.

δ. absol. out of, before, in preference to all others; Gunnarr bauð þér góð boð, en þú vildir eingi af taka, you would choose none of them, Nj. 77; ráða e-t af, to decide; þó mun faðir minn mestu af ráða, all depends upon him, Ld. 22; konungr kveðst því mundu heldr af trúa, preferred believing that of the two, Eg. 55; var honum ekki vildara af ván, he could expect nothing better, 364.

3. with the additional sense of instrumentality, with; ferma skip af e-u, to freight a ship with, Eg. 364; hlaða mörg skip af korni, load many ships with corn, Fms. xi. 8; klyfja tvá hesta af mat, Nj. 74; var vágrinn skipaðr af herskipum, the bay was covered with war ships, 124; fylla ker af glóðum, fill it with embers, Stj. 319; fylla heiminn af sínu kyni, to fill the world with his offspring, Ver. 3.

III. denoting the substance of which a thing is made, of; used indifferently with ór, though ór be more frequent; þeir gerðu af honum jörðina, af blóði hans sæinn ok vötnin, of the creation of the world from the corpse of the giant Ymir; the poem Gm. 40, 41, constantly uses ór in this sense, just as in modern Icelandic, Edda 5; svá skildu þeir, at allir hlutir væri smíðaðir af nokkru efni, 147 (pref.); húsit var gert af timbrstokkum, built of trunks of timber, Eg. 233; hjöhin vóru af gulli, of gold, golden, Fms. i. 17; af osti, of cheese, but in the verse 1. c. ór osti, Fms. vi. 253; línklæði af lérepti, linen, Sks. 287.

2. metaph. in the phrases, göra e-t af e-n ( to dispose of), verða af ( become of), hvat hefir þú gört af Gunnari, what hast thou done with Gunnar? Njarð. 376; hvat af motrinuni er orðit, what has become of it? of a lost thing, Ld. 208; hverfr Óspakr á burt, svá eigi vita menn hvat af honum er orðit, what has become of him? Band. 5.

IV. denoting parentage, descent, origin, domicile, abode:

1. parentage, of, from, used indifferently with frá; ok eru af þeim komnir Gilsbekkingar, descend from them, but a little below—frá honum eru konmir Sturlungar, Eb. 338, cp. afkvæmi; af ætt Hörðakára, Fms. i. 287; kominn af Trojumönnum, xi. 416; af Ása-ætt (Kb. wrongly at), Edda I.

β. metaph., vera af Guði (theol.), of God, = righteous, 686 B. 9; illr ávöxtr af íllri rót, Fms. ii. 48; Asia er kölluð af nafni nokkurar konu, derives her name from, Stj. 67; af honum er bragr kallaðr skáldskapr, called after his name, Edda 17.

2. of domicile; af danskri tungu, of Danish or Scandinavian origin, speaking the Danish tongue, Grág. ii. 73; hvaðan af löndum, whence, native of what country? Ísl.

β. especially denoting a man’s abode, and answering to á and í, the name of the farm (or country) being added to proper names, (as in Scotland,) to distinguish persons of the same name; Hallr af Síðu, Nj. 189; Erlingr af Straumey, 273; Ástríðr af Djúpárbakka, 39; Gunnarr af Hlíðarenda (more usual frá); þorir haklangr konungr af Ögðum, king of Agdir, Eg. 35, etc.; cp. ór and frá.

V. denoting a person with whom an act, feeling, etc. originates, for the most part with a periphrastic passive:

1. by, the Old Engl. of; as, ek em sendr hingað af Starkaði ok sonum hans, sent hither by, Nj. 94; inna e-t af hendi, to perform, 257; þó at alþýða væri skírð af kennimönnum, baptized of, Fms. ii. 158; meira virðr af mönnum, higher esteemed, Ld. 158; ástsæll af landsmönnum, beloved, íb. 16; vinsæll af mönnum, Nj. 102; í allgóðu yfirlæti af þeim feðgum, hospitably treated by them, Eg. 170; var þá nokkut drukkið af alþjóð, there was somewhat hard drinking of the people, Sturl. iii. 229; mun þat ekki upp tekið af þeim sükudólgum mínum, they will not clutch at that, Nj. 257; ef svá væri í hendr þér búit af mér, if í had so made everything ready to thy hands, Ld. 130; þá varð fárætt um af föður hans, his father said little about it, Fms. ii. 154.

2. it is now also sometimes used as a periphrase of a nom., e. g. ritað, þýtt af e-m, written, translated, edited by, but such phrases scarcely occur in old writers.

VI. denoting cause, ground, reason:

1. originating from, on account of, by reason of; af frændsemis sökum, for kinship’s sake, Grág. ii. 72; ómáli af áverkum, speechless from wounds, 27; af manna völdum, by violence, not by natural accident, of a crime, Nj. 76; af fortölum Halls, through his pleading, 255; af ástsæld hans ok af tölum þeirra Sæmundar, by his popularity and the eloquence of S., Íb. 16; af ráðum Haralds konungs, by his contriving, Landn. 157; úbygðr af frosti ok kulda, because of frost and cold, Hkr. i. 5.

β. adverbially, af því, therefore, Nj. 78; af hví, why? 686 B. 9; þá verðr bóndi heiðinn af barni sínu, viz. if he does not cause his child to be christened, K. Þ. K. 20.

2. denoting instrumentality, by means of; af sinu fé, by one’s own means, Grág. i. 293; framfæra e-n af verkum sinum, by means of one’s own labour, K. Þ. K. 142; draga saman auð af sökum, ok vælum ok kaupum, make money by, 623. I; af sínum kostnaði, at hi s own expense, Hkr. i. 217.

β. absol., hún fellir á mik dropa svá heita at ek brenn af öll, Ld. 328; hann fékk af hina mestu sæmd, derived great honotur from it, Nj. 88; elli sótti á hendr honum svá at hann lagðist í rekkju af, he grew bedridden from age, Ld. 54; komast undan af hlaupi, escape by running, Fms. viii. 58; spinna garn af rokki, spin off a wheel (now, spinna á rokk), from a notion of instrumentality, or because of the thread being spun out (?), Eb. 92.

3. denoting proceeding, originating from; lýsti af höndum hennar, her hands spread beams of light, Edda 22; allir heimar lýstust ( were illuminated) af henni, id.; en er lýsti af degi, when the day broke forth, Fms. ii. 16; lítt var lýst af degi, the day was just beginning to break, Ld. 46; þá tók at myrkja af nótt, the ‘mirk-time’ of night began to set in, Eg. 230; tók þá brátt at myrkva af nótt, the night grew dark, Hkr. ii. 230.

4. metaph., standa, leiða, hljótast af, to be caused by, result from; opt hlýtst íllt af kvenna hjali, great mischief is wrought by women’s gossip (a proverb), Gísl. 15, 98; at af þeim mundi mikit mein ok úhapp standa, be caused by, Edda 18; kenna kulda af ráðum e-s, to feel sore from, Eb. 42; þó mun her hljótast af margs manns bani, Nj, 90.

5. in adverbial phrases, denoting state of mind; af mikilli æði, in fury, Nj. 116; af móð, in great emotion, Fms. xi. 221; af áhyggju, with concern, i. 186; af létta, frankly, iii. 91; af viti, collectedly, Grág. ii. 27; af heilu, sincerely, Eg. 46; áf fári, in rage; af æðru, timidly, Nj. (in a verse); af setning, composedly, in tune, Fms. iii. 187; af mikilli frægð, gallantly, Fas. i. 261; af öllu afli, with all might, Grág. ii. 41; af riki, violently, Fbr. (in a verse); af trúnaði, confidently, Grág. i. 400.

VII. denoting regard to, of, concerning, in respect of, as regards:

1. with verbs, denoting to tell of, be informed, inquire about, Lat. de; Dioscorides segir af grasi því, speaks of, 655 xxx. 5; er menn spurðu af landinu, inquired about it, Landn. 30; halda njósn af e-u, Nj. 104; er þat skjótast þar af at segja, Eg. 546, Band. 8.

β. absol., hann mun spyrja, hvárt þér sé nokkut af kunnigt hversu for með okkr, whether you know anything about, how, Nj. 33; halda skóla af, to hold a school in a science, 656 A. i. 19 (sounds like a Latinism); en ek gerða þik sera mestan mann af öllu, in respect of all, that you should get all the honour of it, Nj. 78.

2. with adjectives such as mildr, illr, góðrafe-u, denoting disposition or character in respect to; alira manna mildastr af fo, very liberal, often-banded, Fms. vii. 197; mildr af gulli, i. 33; góðr af griðum, merciful, Al. 33; íllr af mat en mildr af gulli, Fms. i. 53; fastr af drykk, close, stingy in regard to, Sturl. ii. 125; gat þess Hildigunnr at þú mundir góðr af hestinum, that you would be good about the horse, Nj. 90, cp. auðigr at, v. at, which corresponds to the above phrases; cp. also the phrase af sér above, p. 4, col. I, ll. 50 sqq.

VIII. periphrasis of a genitive (rare); provincialis af öllum Predikaraklaustrum, Fms. x. 76; vera af hinum mesta fjandskap, to breathe deep hatred to, be on bad terms with, ix. 220; af hendi, af hálfu e-s, on one’s behalf, v. those words.

IX. in adverbial phrases; as, af launungu, secretly; af hljóði, silently; v. those words.

β. also used absolutely with a verb, almost adverbially, nearly in the signification off, away; hann bað þá róa af fjörðinn, pass the firth swiftly by rowing, row the firth off, Fms. ix. 502; var pá af farit þat seni skerjóttast var, was past, sailed past, Ld. 142; ok er þeir höfðu af fjórðung, past one fourth of the way, Dropl. 10: skína af, to clear up, of the skv, Eb. 152; hence in common language, skína af sér, when the sun breaks forth: sofa af nóttina, to sleep it away, Fms. ii. 98; leið af nóttin, the night past away, Nj. 53; dvelja af stundir, to kill the time, Band. 8; drepa af, to kill; láta af, to slaughter, kill off;

γ. in exclamations; af tjöldin, off with the awnings, Bs. i. 420, Fins, ix. 49.

δ. in the phrases, þar af, thence; hér af, hence, Fms. ii. 102; af fram, straight on, Nj. 144; now, á fram, on, advance.

X. it often refers to a whole sentence or to an adverb, not only like other prepp. to hér, hvar, þar, but also redundantly to hvaðan, héðan, þaðan, whence, hence, thence.

2. the preposition may sometimes be repeated, once elliptically or adverbially, and once properly, e. g. en er af var borit at borðinu, the cloth was taken off from the table, Nj. 176; Guð þerrir af (off, away) hvert tár af ( from) augum heilagra manna, God wipes off every tear from the eyes of his saints, 655 xx. vii. 17; skal þó fyrst bætr af lúka af fé vegaiula, pay off, from, Gþl. 160, the last af may be omitted—var þá af borið borðinu—and the prep. thus be separated from its case, or it may refer to some of the indecl. relatives er or sem, the prep. hvar, hér, þar being placed behind them without a case, and referring to the preceding relative, e. g. oss er þar mikit af sagt auð þeim, we have been told much about these riches, Band. 24; er þat skjótast þar af at segja, in short, shortly. Eg. 546; þaðan af veit ek, thence í infer, know, Fms. i. 97.

XI. it is moreover connected with a great many verbs besides those mentioned above, e. g. bera af, to excel, whence afbragð, afbrigði; draga af, to detract, deduct, hence afdráttr; veita ekki af, to be hard with; ganga at, to be left, hence afgangr; standast af um e-t, to stand, how matters stand; sem af tekr, at a furious rate; vita af, to be conscious, know about (vide VII).

D. As a prefix to compounds distinction is to be made between:

I. af privativum, denoting diminution, want, deduction, loss, separation, negation of, etc., answering indifferently to Lat. ab-, de-, ex-, dis-, and rarely to re- and se-, v. the following COMPDS, such as segja, dicere, but afsegja, negare; rækja, colere, but afrækja, negligere; aflaga, contra legem; skapligr, normalis, afskapligr, deformis; afvik, recessus; afhús, afhellir, afdalr, etc.

II. af intensivum, etymologically different, and akin to of, afr-, e. g. afdrykkja = ofdrykkja, inebrietas; afbrýði, jealously; afbendi, tenesmus; afglapi, vir fatuus, etc. etc. Both the privative and the intensive af may be contracted into á, esp. before a labial f, m, v, e. g. á fram = af fram; ábrýði = afbrýði; ávöxtr = afvöxtr; áburðr = afburðr; ávíta = afvíta (?). In some cases dubious. With extenuated and changed vowel; auvirðiligr or övirðiligr, depreciated, = afv- etc., v. those words.

* * *

(ber; bar, bárum; borinn), v.

I.

1) to bear, carry, convey (bar B. biskup í börum suðr í Hvamm);

bera (farm) af skipi, to unload a ship;

bera (mat) af borði, to take (the meat) off the table;

bera e-t á hesti, to carry on horseback;

2) to wear (bera klæði, vápn, kórónu);

bera œgishjálm, to inspire fear and awe;

3) to bear, produce, yield (jörðin berr gras; tré bera aldin, epli);

4) to bear, give birth to, esp. of sheep and cows;

kýr hafði borit kálf, had calved;

absol., ván at hón mundi bera, that the cow would calve;

the pp. is used of men; hann hafði verit blindr borinn, born blind;

verða borinn í þenna heim, to be born into this world;

þann sóma, sem ek em til borinn, born to;

borinn e-m, frá e-m (rare), born of;

Nótt var Nörvi borin, was the daughter of N.;

borinn Sigmundi, son of S.;

5) bera e-n afli, ofrafli, ofrliði, ofrmagni, ofríki, to bear one down, overcome, oppress, one by odds or superior force;

bera e-n ráðum, to overrule one;

bera e-n málum, to bear one down (wrongfully) in a lawsuit;

bera e-n sök, to charge one with a fault;

bera e-n bjóri, to make drunk with beer;

verða bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise;

borinn verkjum, overcome by pains;

þess er borin ván, there is no hope, all hope is gone;

borinn baugum, bribed; cf. bera fé á e-n, to bribe one;

6) to lear, be capable of bearing (of a ship, horse, vehicle);

þeir hlóðu bæði skipin sem borð báru, with as much as they could carry;

fig., to sustain, support (svá mikill mannfjöldi, at landit fekk eigi borit);

of persons, to bear up against, endure, support (grief, sorrow, etc.);

absol., bar hann drengiliga, he bore it manfully;

similarly, bera (harm) af sér, berast vel (illa, lítt) af;

bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore up bravely;

hversu berst Auðr af um bróðurdauðann, how does she bear it?

hon berst af lítt, she is much cast down;

bera sik vel upp, to bear well up against;

7) bera e-t á, e-n á hendr e-m, to charge or tax one with (eigi erum vér þess valdir, er þú berr á oss);

bera (kvið) á e-n, to give a verdict against, declare guilty (í annat sinn báru þeir á Flosa kviðinn);

bera af e-m (kviðinn), to give a verdict for;

bera e-t af sér, to deny having done a thing;

bera or bera vitni, vætti, to bear witness, testify;

bera or bera um e-t, to give a verdict in a case;

bera e-n sannan at sök, to prove guilty by evidence;

bera e-n undan sök, to acquit;

bera í sundr frændsemi þeirra, to prove (by evidence) that they are not relations;

bera e-m vel (illa) söguna, to give a favourable (unfavourable) account of one;

refl. (pass.), berast, to be proved by evidence (þótt þér berist þat faðerni, er þú segir);

8) to set forth, report, tell;

bera e-m kveðju (orð, orðsending), to bring one a greeting, compliments (word, message);

bera or bera fram erindi sín fyrir e-n, to state (tell) one’s errand or to plead one’s case before one;

bera e-m njósn, to apprise one;

bera e-t upp, to produce, mention, tell;

bera upp gátu, to give (propound) a riddle;

bera upp erindi sín, to state one’s errand;

bera saman ráð sín, to consult together;

eyddist það ráð, er þeir báru saman, which they had designed;

9) to keep, hold, bear, of a title (bera jarlnafn, konnungsnafn);

bera (eigi) giptu, gæfu, hammingju, auðnu til e-s, (not) to have the good fortune to do a thing (bar hann enga gæfu til at þjóna þér);

bera vit, skyn, kunnáttu á e-t, to have knowledge of, uniderstanding about;

vel viti borinn, endowed with a good understanding;

bera hug, áræði, þor, traust til e-s, to have courage, confidence to do a thing;

bera áhyggju fyrir e-u, to be concerned about;

bera ást, elsku, hatr til e-s, to bear affection, love, hatred to;

10) to bear off or away, carry off (some gain);

bera sigr af e-m, af e-u, to carry off the victory from or in;

hann hafði borit sigr af tveim orustum, he had been victorious in two battles;

bera hærra (lægra) hlut to get the best (the worst) of it;

bera efra (hærra) skjöld, to gain the victory;

bera hátt (lágt) höfuðit, to bear the head high (low), to be in high (low) spirits;

bera halann bratt, lágt, to cock up or let fall the tail, to be in high or low spirits;

11) with preps.:

bera af e-m, to surpass;

en þó bar Bolli af, surpassed all the rest;

bera af sér högg, lag to ward off, parry a blow or thrust;

bera eld at, to set fire to;

bera fjötur (bönd) at e-m, to put fetters (bonds) on one;

bera vápn á e-n, to attack one with sharp weapons;

bera á or í, to smear, anoint (bera vatn í augu sér, bera tjöru í höfuð sér);

bera e-t til, to apply to, to try if it fits (bera til hvern lykil af öðrum at portinu);

bera e-t um, to wind round;

þá bar hann þá festi um sik, made it fast round his body;

bera um með e-n, to bear with, have patience with;

bera út barn, to expose a child;

12) refl., berast mikit (lítit) á, to bear oneself proudly (humbly);

láta af berast, to die;

láta fyrir berast e-s staðar, to stay, remain in a place (for shelter);

berast e-t fyrir, to design a thing (barst hann þat fyrir at sjá aldregi konur);

at njósna um, hvat hann bærist fyrir, to inquire into what he was about;

berast vápn á, to attack one another;

berast at or til, to happen;

þat barst at (happened) á einhverju sumri;

ef svá harðliga kann til at berast, if that misfortune does happen;

berast í móti, to happen, occur;

hefir þetta vel í móti borizt, it is a happy coincidence;

berast við, to be prevented;

ok nú lét almáttugr guð við berast kirkjubrunann, prevented, stopped the burning of the church;

II. impers., denoting a sort of passive or involuntary motion;

1) with acc., it bears or carries one to a place;

alla berr at sama brunni, all come to the same well (end);

bar hann (acc.) þá ofan gegnt Ösuri, he happened to come down just opposite to Ö.;

esp. of ships and sailors; berr oss (acc.) til Íslands eða annarra landa, we drift to Iceland or other countries;

þá (acc.) bar suðr í haf, they were carried out southwards;

Skarpheðin (acc.) bar nú at þeim, S. came suddenly upon them;

ef hann (acc.) skyldi bera þar at, if he should happen to come there;

e-n berr yfir, one is borne onwards, of a bird flying, a man riding;

hann (acc.) bar skjótt yfir, it passed quickly (of a flying meteor);

2) followed by preps.:

Gunnar sér, at rauðan kyrtil bar við glugginn, that a red kirtle passed before the window;

hvergi bar skugga (acc.) á, there was nowhere a shadow;

e-t berr fram (hátt), is prominent;

Ólafr konungr stóð í lyptingu ok bar hann (acc.) hátt mjök, stood out conspicuously;

e-t berr á milli, comes between;

leiti (acc.) bar á milli, a hill hid the prospect;

fig. e-m berr e-t á milli, they are at variance about a thing;

mart (acc.) berr nú fyrir augu mér, many things come now before my eyes;

veiði (acc.) berr í hendr e-m, game falls to one’s lot;

e-t berr undan, goes amiss, fails;

bera saman, to coincide;

bar nöfn þeirra saman, they had the same name;

fig., with dat.; bar öllum sögum vel saman, all the stories agreed well together;

fund várn bar saman, we met;

3) bera at, til, við, at hendi, til handa, to befall, happen, with dat. of the person;

svá bar at einn vetr, it happened one winter;

þó at þetta vandræði (acc.) hafi nú borit oss (dat.) at hendi, has befallen us;

bar honum svá til, it so befell him;

þat bar við (it so happened), at Högni kom;

raun (acc.) berr á, it is proved by fact;

4) of time, to fall upon;

ef þing (acc.) berr á hina helgu viku, if the parliament falls in the holy week;

bera í móti, to coincide, happen exactly at the same time;

5) denoting cause;

e-t berr til, causes a thing;

konungr spurði, hvat til bæri úgleði hans, what was the cause of his grief;

ætluðu þat þá allir, at þat mundi til bera, that that was the reason;

berr e-m nauðsyn til e-s, one is obliged to do a thing;

6) e-t berr undir e-n, falls to a person’s lot;

hon á arf at taka, þegar er undir hana berr, in her turn;

e-t berr frá, is surpassing;

er sagt, at þat (acc.) bæri frá, hvé vel þeir mæltu, it was extraordinary how well they spoke;

7) e-t berr bráðum, happens of a sudden;

e-t berr stóru, stórum (stœrrum), it amounts to much (more), it matters a great deal (more), it is of great (greater) importance;

8) absol. or with an adv., vel, illa, with infin.;

e-m berr (vel, illa) at gera e-t, it becomes, beseems one (well, ill) to do a thing (berr yðr vel, herra, at sjá sannindi á þessu máli);

used absol., berr vel, illa, it is beseeming, proper, fit, or unbeseeming, improper, unfit (þat þykkir eigi illa bera, at).

(að), v. to make bare (hon beraði likam sinn).

f. she-bear, = birna.

* * *

u, f.

I. [björn], a she-bear, Lat. ursa; the primitive root ‘ber’ remains only in this word (cp. berserkr and berfjall), björn (q. v.) being the masc. in use, Landn. 176, Fas. i. 367, Vkv. 9: in many Icel. local names, Beru-fjörðr, -vík, from Polar bears; fem. names, Bera, Hallbera, etc., Landn.

II. a shield, poët., the proverb, baugr er á beru sæmstr, to a shield fits best a baugr (q. v.), Lex. Poët., Edda (Gl.); hence names of poems Beru-drápa, Eg.

bar, báru, borit, pres. berr,—poët. forms with the suffixed negative; 3rd pers. sing. pres. Indic. berrat, Hm. 10; 3rd pers. sing. pret. barat, Vellekla; 1st pers. sing. barkak, Eb. 62 (in a verse); barkat ek, Hs. 8; 2nd pers. sing. bartattu; 3rd pers. pl. bárut, etc., v. Lex. Poët. [Gr. φέρειν; Lat. ferre; Ulf. bairan; A. S. beran; Germ. gebären; Engl. bear; Swed. bära; Dan. bære].

A. Lat. ferre, portare:

I. prop. with a sense of motion, to bear, carry, by means of the body, of animals, of vehicles, etc., with acc., Egil tók mjöðdrekku eina mikla, ok bar undir hendi sér, Eg. 237; bar hann heim hrís, Rm. 9; konungr lét bera inn kistur tvær, báru tveir menn hverja, Eg. 310; bera farm af skipi, to unload a ship, Ld. 32; bera (farm) á skip, to load a ship, Nj. 182; tóku alla ösku ok báru á á ( amnem) út, 623, 36; ok bar þat ( carried it) í kerald, 43, K. Þ. K. 92; b. mat á borð, í stofu, to put the meat on table, in the oven; b. mat af borði, to take it off table, Eb. 36, 266, Nj. 75, Fms. ix. 219, etc.

2. Lat. gestare, ferre, denoting to wear clothes, to carry weapons; skikkja dýr er konungr hafði borit, Eg. 318; b. kórónu, to wear the crown, Fms. x. 16; atgeir, Nj. 119; vápn, 209: metaph., b. ægishjálm, to inspire fear and awe; b. merki, to carry the flag in a battle, Nj. 274, Orkn. 28, 30, 38, Fms. v. 64, vi. 413; bera fram merki, to advance, move in a battle, vi. 406.

3. b. e-t á hesti (áburðr), to carry on horseback; Auðunn bar mat á hesti, Grett. 107; ok bar hrís á hesti, 76 new Ed.; þeir báru á sjau hestum, 98 new Ed.

II. without a sense of motion:

1. to give birth to; [the root of barn, bairn; byrja, incipere; burðr, partus; and burr, filius: cp. Lat. parĕre; also Gr. φέρειν, Lat. ferre, of child-bearing.] In Icel. prose, old as well as mod., ‘ala’ and ‘fæða’ are used of women; but ‘bera,’ of cows and sheep; hence sauðburðr, casting of lambs, kýrburðr; a cow is snembær, siðbær, Jólabær, calves early, late, at Yule time, etc.; var ekki ván at hon ( the cow) mundi b. fyr en um várit, Bs. i. 193, 194; kýr hafði borit kálf, Bjarn. 32; bar hvárrtveggi sauðrinn sinn burð, Stj. 178: the participle borinn is used of men in a great many compds in a general sense, aptrborinn, árborinn, endrborinn, frjálsborinn, goðborinn, höldborinn, hersborinn, konungborinn, óðalborinn, samborinn, sundrborinn, velborinn, úborinn, þrælborinn, etc.; also out of compds, mun ek eigi upp gefa þann sóma, sem ek em til borinn, … entitled to by inheritance, Ld. 102; hann hafði blindr verit borinn, born blind, Nj. 152, Hdl. 34, 42, Vsp. 2: esp. borinn e-m, born of one, Rm. 39, Hdl. 12, 23, 27, Hðm. 2, Gs. 9, Vþm. 25, Stor. 16, Vkv. 15; borinn frá e-m, Hdl. 24: the other tenses are in theol. Prose used of Christ, hans blezaða son er virðist at láta berast hingað í heim af sinni blezaðri móður, Fms. i. 281; otherwise only in poetry, eina dóttur (acc.) berr álfröðull (viz. the sun, regarded as the mother), Vþm. 47; hann Gjálp um bar, hann Greip um bar …, Hdl. 36: borit (sup.), Hkv. 1. 1.

β. of trees, flowers; b. ávöxt, blóm …, to bear fruit, flower … (freq.); bar aldinviðrinn tvennan blóma, Fms. ix. 265; cp. the phrase, bera sitt barr, v. barr.

2. denoting to load, with acc. of the person and dat. of the thing:

α. in prop. sense; hann hafði borit sik mjök vápnum, he had loaded himself with arms, i. e. wore heavy armour, Sturl. iii. 250.

β. but mostly in a metaph. sense; b. e-n ofrafli, ofrmagni, ofrliði, ofríki, magni, to bear one down, to overcome, oppress one, by odds or superior force, Grág. i. 101, ii. 195, Nj. 80, Hkr. ii. 371, Gþl. 474, Stj. 512, Fms. iii. 175 (in the last passage a dat. pers. badly); b. e-n ráðum, to overrule one, Nj. 198, Ld. 296; b. e-n málum, to bearhim down (wrongfully) in a lawsuit, Nj. 151; b. e-n bjóri, to make drunk, Vkv. 26: medic., borinn verkjum, sótt, Bjarn. 68, Og. 5; bölvi, Gg. 2: borne down, feeling heavy pains; þess er borin ván, no hope, all hope is gone, Ld. 250; borinn sök, charged with a cause, Fms. v. 324, H. E. i. 561; bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise, Fms. iv. 111; b. fé, gull á e-n, to bring one a fee, gold, i. e. to bribe one, Nj. 62; borinn baugum, bribed, Alvm. 5; always in a bad sense, cp. the law phrase, b. fé í dóm, to bribe a court, Grág., Nj. 240.

3. to bear, support, sustain, Lat. sustinere, lolerare, ferre:

α. properly, of a ship, horse, vehicle, to bear, be capable of bearing; þeir hlóðu bæði skipin sem borð báru, all that they could carry, Eb. 302;—a ship ‘berr’ ( carries) such and such a weight; but ‘tekr’ ( takes) denotes a measure of fluids.

β. metaph. to sustain, support; dreif þannig svá mikill mannfjöldi at landit fékk eigi borit, Hkr. i. 56; but metaph. to bear up against, endure, support grief, sorrow, etc., sýndist öllum at Guð hefði nær ætlað hvat hann mundi b. mega, Bs. i. 139; biðr hann friðar ok þykist ekki mega b. reiði hans, Fms. iii. 80: the phrase, b. harm sinn í hljóði, to suffer silently; b. svívirðing, x. 333: absol., þótti honum mikit víg Kjartans, en þó bar hann drengilega, he bore it manfully, Ld. 226; er þat úvizka, at b. eigi slíkt, not to bear or put up with, Glúm. 327; b. harm, to grieve, Fms. xi. 425: in the phrases, b. sik, b. af sér, berask, berask vel (illa, lítt), to bear oneself, to bear up against misfortune; Guðrúnu þótti mikit fráfall Þorkels, en þó bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore her bravely up, Ld. 326–328; lézt hafa spurt at ekkjan bæri vel af sér harmana, Eb. 88; berask af; hversu bersk Auðr af um bróðurdauðann? (how does she bear it?); hón bersk af lítt ( she is much borne down) ok þykir mikit, Gísl. 24; niun oss vandara gört en öðrum at vér berim oss vel (Lat. fortiter ferre), Nj. 197; engi maðr hefði þar jamvel borit sik, none bad borne himself so boldly, Sturl. iii. 132; b. sik vel upp, to bear well up against, bear a stout heart, Hrafn. 17; b. sik beiskliga ( sorely), Stj. 143; b. sik lítt, to be downcast, Fms. ii. 61; b. sik at göra e-t, to do one’s best, try a thing.

III. in law terms or modes of procedure:

1. bera járn, the ordeal of bearing hot iron in the hand, cp. járnburðr, skírsla. This custom was introduced into Scandinavia together with Christianity from Germany and England, and superseded the old heathen ordeals ‘hólmganga,’ and ‘ganga undir jarðarmen,’ v. this word. In Norway, during the civil wars, it was esp. used in proof of paternity of the various pretenders to the crown, Fms. vii. 164, 200, ix. Hák. S. ch. 14, 41–45, viii. (Sverr. S.) ch. 150, xi. (Jómsv. S.) ch. 11, Grett. ch. 41, cp. N. G. L. i. 145, 389. Trial by ordeal was abolished in Norway A. D. 1247. In Icel. It was very rarely mentioned, vide however Lv. ch. 23 (paternity), twice or thrice in the Sturl. i. 56, 65, 147, and Grág. i. 341, 361; it seems to have been very seldom used there, (the passage in Grett. S. l. c. refers to Norway.)

2. bera út (hence útburðr, q. v.), to expose children; on this heathen custom, vide Grimm R. A. In heathen Icel., as in other parts of heathen Scandinavia, it was a lawful act, but seldom exercised; the chief passages on record are, Gunnl. S. ch. 3 (ok þat var þá siðvandi nokkurr, er land var allt alheiðit, at þeir menn er félitlir vórn, en stóð ómegð mjök til handa létu út bera börn sín, ok þótti þó illa gört ávalt), Fs. Vd. ch. 37, Harð. S. ch. 8, Rd. ch. 7, Landn. v. ch. 6, Finnb. ch. 2, Þorst. Uxaf. ch. 4, Hervar. S. ch. 4, Fas. i. 547 (a romance); cp. Jómsv. S. ch. 1. On the introduction of Christianity into Icel. A. D. 1000, it was resolved that, in regard to eating of horse-flesh and exposure of children, the old laws should remain in force, Íb. ch. 9; as Grimm remarks, the exposure must take place immediately after birth, before the child had tasted food of any kind whatever, and before it was besprinkled with water (ausa vatni) or shown to the father, who had to fix its name; exposure, after any of these acts, was murder, cp. the story of Liafburga told by Grimm R. A.); v. Also a Latin essay at the end of the Gunnl. S. (Ed. 1775). The Christian Jus Eccl. put an end to this heathen barbarism by stating at its very beginning, ala skal barn hvert er borit verðr, i. e. all children, if not of monstrous shape, shall be brought up, N. G. L. i. 339, 363.

β. b. út (now more usual, hefja út, Am. 100), to carry out for burial; vera erfðr ok tit borinn, Odd. 20; var hann heygðr, ok út borinn at fornum sið, Fb. i. 123; b. á bál, to place (the body and treasures) upon the pile, the mode of burying in the old heathen time, Fas. i. 487 (in a verse); var hon borin á bálit ok slegit í eldi, Edda 38.

B. Various and metaph. cases.

I. denoting motion:

1. ‘bera’ is in the Grág. the standing law term for delivery of a verdict by a jury (búar), either ‘bera’ absol. or adding kvið ( verdict); bera á e-n, or b. kvið á e-n, to give a verdict against, declare guilty; bera af e-m, or b. af e-m kviðinn, to give a verdict for; or generally, bera, or b. um e-t, to give a verdict in a case; bera, or b. vitni, vætti, also simply means to testify, to witness, Nj. 111, cp. kviðburðr ( delivering of verdict), vitnisburðr ( bearing witness), Grág. ii. 28; eigi eigu búar ( jurors) enn at b. um þat hvat lög eru á landi hér, the jurors have not to give verdict in (to decide) what is law in the country, cp. the Engl. maxim, that jurors have only to decide the question of evidence, not of law, Grág. (Kb.) ch. 85; eigi eru búar skildir at b. um hvatvetna; um engi mál eigu þeir at skilja, þau er erlendis ( abroad) hafa görzt, id.; the form in delivering the verdict—höfum vér ( the jurors), orðit á eitt sáttir, berum á kviðburðinn, berum hann sannan at sökinni, Nj. 238, Grág. i. 49, 22, 138, etc.; í annat sinn báru þeir á Flosa kviðinn, id.; b. annattveggja af eðr á; b. undan, to discharge, Nj. 135; b. kvið í hag ( for), Grág. i. 55; b. lýsingar vætti, Nj. 87; b. vitni ok vætti, 28, 43, 44; b. ljúgvitni, to bear false witness, Grág. i. 28; b. orð, to bear witness to a speech, 43; bera frændsemi sundr, to prove that they are not relations, N. G. L. i. 147: reflex., berask ór vætti, to prove that oneself is wrongly summoned to bear witness or to give a verdict, 44: berask in a pass. sense, to be proved by evidence, ef vanefni b. þess manns er á hönd var lýst, Grág. i. 257; nema jafnmæli berisk, 229; þótt þér berisk þat faðerni er þú segir, Fms. vii. 164; hann kvaðst ætla, at honum mundi berask, that he would be able to get evidence for, Fs. 46.

β. gener. and not as a law term; b. á, b. á hendr, to charge; b. e-n undan, to discharge, Fs. 95; eigi erum vér þessa valdir er þú berr á oss, Nj. 238, Ld. 206, Fms. iv. 380, xi. 251, Th. 78; b. e-m á brýnn, to throw in one’s face, to accuse, Greg. 51; b. af sér, to deny; eigi mun ek af mér b., at… ( non diffitebor), Nj. 271; b. e-m gott vitni, to give one a good…, 11; b. e-m vel (illa) söguna, to bear favourable (unfavourable) witness of one, 271.

2. to bear by word of mouth, report, tell, Lat. referre; either absol. or adding kveðju, orð, orðsending, eyrindi, boð, sögu, njósn, frétt…, or by adding a prep., b. fram, frá, upp, fyrir; b. kveðju, to bring a greeting, compliment, Eg. 127; b. erindi (sín) fyrir e-n, to plead one’s case before one, or to tell one’s errand, 472, 473; b. njósn, to apprise, Nj. 131; b. fram, to deliver (a speech), talaði jungherra Magnús hit fyrsta erindi (M. made his first speech in public), ok fanst mönnum mikit um hversu úbernsliga fram var borit, Fms. x. 53; (in mod. usage, b. fram denotes gramm. to pronounce, hence ‘framburðr,’ pronunciation); mun ek þat nú fram b., I shall now tell, produce it, Ld. 256, Eg. 37; b. frá, to attest, relate with emphasis; má þat frá b., Dropl. 21; b. upp, to produce, mention, tell, þótt slík lygi sé upp borin fyrir hann, though such a lie be told him, Eg. 59; þær (viz. charges) urðu engar upp bornar ( produced) við Rút, Nj. 11; berr Sigtryggr þegar upp erindi sín (cp. Germ. ojfenbaren), 271, Ld. 256; b. upp gátu, to give (propound) a riddle, Stj. 411, Fas. i. 464; b. fyrir, to plead as an excuse; b. saman ráð sín, or the like, to consult, Nj. 91; eyddist þat ráð, er þeir báru saman, which they had designed, Post. 656 A. ii; b. til skripta, to confess (eccl.), of auricular confession, Hom. 124, 655 xx.

II. in a metaphorical or circumlocutory sense, and without any sense of motion, to keep, hold, bear, of a title; b. nafn, to bear a name, esp. as honour or distinction; tignar nafn, haulds nafn, jarls nafn, lends manns nafn, konungs nafn, bónda nafn, Fms. i. 17, vi. 278, xi. 44, Gþl. 106: in a more metaph. sense, denoting endowments, luck, disposition, or the like, b. (ekki) gæfu, hamingju, auðnu til e-s, to enjoy (enjoy not) good or bad luck, etc.; at Þórólfr mundi eigi allsendis gæfu til b. um vináttu við Harald, Eg. 75, 112, 473, Fms. iv. 164, i. 218; úhamingju, 219; b. vit, skyn, kunnáttu á (yfir) e-t, to bring wit, knowledge, etc., to bear upon a thing, xi. 438, Band. 7; hence vel (illa) viti borinn, well (ill) endowed with wit, Eg. 51; vel hyggjandi borinn, well endowed with reason, Grág. ii; b. hug, traust, áræði, þor, til e-s, to have courage, confidence … to do a thing, Gullþ. 47, Fms. ix. 220, Band. 7; b. áhyggju, önn fyrir, to care, be concerned about, Fms. x. 318; b. ást, elsku til e-s, to bear affection, love to one; b. hatr, to hate: b. svört augu, to have dark eyes, poët., Korm. (in a verse); b. snart hjarta, Hom. 5; vant er þat af sjá hvar hvergi berr hjarta sitt, where he keeps his heart, Orkn. 474; b. gott hjarta, to bear a proud heart, Lex. Poët., etc. etc.; b. skyndi at um e-t, to make speed with a thing, Lat. festinare, Fms. viii. 57.

2. with some sense of motion, to bear off or away, carry off, gain, in such phrases as, b. sigr af e-m, af e-u, to carry off the victory from or in …; hann hafði borit sigr af tveim orrustum, er frægstar hafa verit, he had borne off the victory in two battles, Fms. xi. 186; bera banaorð af e-m, to slay one in a fight, to be the victor; Þorr berr banaorð af Miðgarðsormi, Edda 42, Fms. x. 400: it seems properly to mean, to bear off the fame of having killed a man; verðat svá rík sköp, at Regin skyli mitt banorð bera, Fm. 39; b. hærra, lægra hlut, ‘to bear off the higher or the lower lot,’ i. e. to get the best or the worst of it, or the metaphor is taken from a sortilege, Fms. ii. 268, i. 59, vi. 412; b. efra, hærra skjöld, to carry the highest shield, to get the victory, x. 394, Lex. Poët.; b. hátt (lágt) höfuðit, to bear the head high (low), i. e. to be in high or low spirits, Nj. 91; but also, b. halann bratt (lágt), to cock up or let fall the tail (metaph. from cattle), to be in an exultant or low mood: sundry phrases, as, b. bein, to rest the bones, be buried; far þú til Íslands, þar mun þér auðið verða beinin at b., Grett. 91 A; en þó hygg ek at þú munir hér b. beinin í Norðrálfunni, Orkn. 142; b. fyrir borð, to throw overboard, metaph. to oppress; verðr Þórhalli nú fyrir borð borinn, Th. was defied, set at naught, Fær. 234; b. brjóst fyrir e-m, to be the breast-shield, protection of one, Fms. vii. 263: also, b. hönd fyrir höfuð sér, metaph. to put one’s hand before one’s head, i. e. to defend oneself; b. ægishjálm yfir e-m, to keep one in awe and submission, Fm. 16, vide A. I. 2.

III. connected with prepp., b. af, and (rarely) yfir (cp. afburðr, yfirburðr), to excel, surpass; eigi sá hvárttveggja féit er af öðrum berr, who gets the best of it, Nj. 15; en þó bar Bolli af, B. surpassed all the rest, Ld. 330; þat mannval bar eigi minnr af öðrum mönnum um fríðleik, afi ok fræknleik, en Ormrinn Langi af öðrum skipum, Fms. ii. 252; at hinn útlendi skal yfir b. ( outdo) þann sem Enskir kalla meistara, xi. 431: b. til, to apply, try if it fits; en er þeir báru til (viz. shoes to the hoof of a horse), þá var sem hæfði hestinum, ix. 55; bera til hvern lykil at öðrum at portinu, Thom. 141; b. e-t við, to try it on (hence viðburðr, experiment, effort): b. um, to wind round, as a cable round a pole or the like, Nj. 115; þá bar hann þá festi um sik, made it fast round his body, Fms. ix. 219; ‘b. e-t undir e-n’ is to consult one, ellipt., b. undir dóm e-s; ‘b. e-t fyrir’ is to feign, use as excuse: b. á, í, to smear, anoint; b. vatn í augu sér, Rb. 354; b. tjöru í höfuð sér, Nj. 181, Hom. 70, 73, cp. áburðr; b. gull, silfr, á, to ornament with gold or silver, Ld. 114, Finnb. 258: is now also used = to dung, b. á völl; b. vápn á e-n, to attack one with sharp weapons, Eg. 583, Fms. xi. 334: b. eld at, to set fire to, Nj. 122; b. fjötur (bönd) at e-m, to put fetters (bonds) on one, Fms. x. 172, Hm. 150: metaph. reflex., bönd berask at e-m, a law term, the evidence bears against one; b. af sér, to parry off; Gyrðr berr af sér lagit, G. parries the thrust off, Fms. x. 421; cp. A. II. 3. β.

IV. reflex., berask mikit á (cp. áburðr), to bear oneself proudly, or b. lítið á, to bear oneself humbly; hann var hinn kátasti ok barst á mikit, Fms. ii. 68, viii. 219, Eb. 258; b. lítið á, Clem. 35; láta af berask, to die; Óttarr vill skipa til um fjárfar sitt áðr hann láti af b., Fms. ii. 12: berask fyrir, to abide in a place as an asylum, seek shelter; hér munu vit láta fyrir b., Fas. iii. 471; berask e-t fyrir, to design a thing, be busy about, barsk hann þat fyrir at sjá aldregi konur, Greg. 53; at njósna um hvat hann bærist fyrir, to inquire into what he was about, Fms. iv. 184, Vígl. 19.

β. recipr. in the phrase, berask banaspjót eptir, to seek for one another’s life, Glúm. 354: b. vápn á, of a mutual attack with sharp weapons, Fms. viii. 53.

γ. pass., sár berask á e-n, of one in the heat of battle beginning to get wounds and give way, Nj.:—berask við, to be prevented, not to do; ok nú lét Almáttugr Guð við berast kirkjubrunnann, stopped, prevented the burning of the church, Fms. v. 144; en mér þætti gott ef við bærist, svá at hón kæmi eigi til þín, vi. 210, vii. 219; ok var þá búit at hann mundi þegar láta hamarinn skjanna honum, en hann lét þat við berask, he bethought himself and did not, Edda 35; því at mönnum þótti sem þannig mundi helzt úhæfa við berask, that mischief would thus be best prevented, Sturl. ii. 6, iii. 80.

C. IMPERS.:—with a sort of passive sense, both in a loc. and temp. sense, and gener. denotes an involuntary, passive motion, happening suddenly or by chance:

I. with acc. it bears or carries one to a place, i. e. one happens to come; the proverb, alla (acc.) berr at sama brunni, all come to the same well (end), Lat. omnes una manet nox; bar hann þá ofan gegnt Özuri, he happened to come in his course just opposite to Ö., Lat. delatus est, Dropl. 25: esp. of ships or sailors; nú berr svá til ( happens) herra, at vér komum eigi fram ferðinni, berr oss (acc.) til Íslands eðr annara landa, it bore us to I., i. e. if we drive or drift thither, Fms. iv. 176; þá (acc. pl.) bar suðr í haf, they drifted southwards, Nj. 124.

β. as a cricketing term, in the phrase, berr (bar) út knöttinn, the ball rolls out, Gísl. 26, cp. p. 110 where it is transit.; berr Gísli ok út knöttinn, vide Vígl. ch. 11, Grett. ch. 17, Vd. ch. 37, Hallfr. S. ch. 2.

γ. Skarpheðin (acc.) bar nú at þeim, Sk. came suddenly upon them, Nj. 144; bar at Hróaldi þegar allan skjöldinn, the shield was dashed against H.’s body, 198; ok skyldu sæta honum, ef hann (acc.) bæri þar at, if he should per chance come, shew himself there, Orkn. 406; e-n berr yfir, it bears one, i. e. one is borne onwards, as a bird flying, a man riding; þóttist vita, at hann (acc.) mundi fljótara yfir bera ef hann riði en gengi, that he would get on more fleetly riding than walking, Hrafn. 7; hann (acc.) bar skjótt yfir, he passed quickly, of a flying meteor, Nj. 194; e-n berr undan, escapes.

2. also with acc. followed by prepp. við, saman, jafnframt, hjá, of bodies coinciding or covering one another: loc., er jafnframt ber jaðrana tungls ok sólar, if the orb of the moon and sun cover each other, Rb. 34; þat kann vera stundum, at tunglit (acc.) berr jafht á millum vár ok sólar (i. e. in a moon eclipse), 108; ber nokkut jaðar (acc.) þess hjá sólar jaðri, 34; Gunnarr sér at rauðan kyrtil (acc.) bar við glugginn, G. sees that a red kirtle passed before the window, Nj. 114; bar fyrir utan þat skip vápnaburð (acc.) heiðingja (gen. pl.), the missiles of the heathens passed over the ship without hurting them, flew too high, Fms. vii. 232; hvergi bar skugga (acc.) á, nowhere a shadow, all bright, Nj. 118; þangat sem helzt mátti nokkut yfir þá skugga bera af skóginum, where they were shadowed (hidden) by the trees, Fms. x. 239; e-t berr fram (hátt), a body is prominent, Lat. eminet; Ólafr konungr stóð í lyptingunni, bar hann (acc.) hátt mjök, king O. stood out conspicuously, ii. 308; b. yfir, þótti mjök bera hljóð (acc.) þar yfir er Ólafr sat, the sound was heard over there where O. sat, Sturl. i. 21; b. á milli, something comes between; leiti (acc.) bar á milli, a hill hid the prospect, Nj. 263: metaph., e-m berr e-t á milli, they come to dissent, 13, v. 1.; b. fyrir augu (hence fyrirburðr, vision), of a vision or the like; mart (acc.) berr nú fyrir augu mér, ek sé …, many things come now before my eyes, 104; hann mundi allt þat er fyrir hann hafði borit, i. e. all the dream, 195; eina nótt berr fyrir hann í svefni mikla sýn, Fms. i. 137, Rd. 290; veiði (acc.) berr í hendr e-m (a metaphor from hunting), sport falls to one’s lot; hér bæri veiði í hendr nú, here would be a game, Nj. 252; e-t berr undan (a metaphor from fishing, hunting term), when one misses one’s opportunity; vel væri þá … at þá veiði (acc.) bæri eigi undan, that this game should not go amiss, 69; en ef þetta (acc.) berr undan, if this breaks down, 63; hon bað hann þá drepa einhvern manna hans, heldr en allt (acc.) bæri undan, rather than that all should go amiss, Eg. 258: absol., þyki mér illa, ef undan berr, if I miss it, Nj. 155; viljum vér ekki at undan beri at…, we will by no means miss it…, Fms. viii. 309, v. 1. The passage Bs. i. 416 (en fjárhlutr sá er átt hafði Ari, bar undan Guðmundi) is hardly correct, fjárhlut þann would run better, cp. bera undir, as a law term, below.

II. adding prepp.; b. við, at, til, at hendi, at móti, til handa …, to befall, happen, Lat. accidere, occurrere, with dat. of the person, (v. atburðr, viðburðr, tilburðr); engi hlut skyldi þann at b., no such thing should happen as…, Fms. xi. 76; svá bar at einn vetr, it befell, x. 201; þat hefir nú víst at hendi borit, er…, Nj. 174; þó þetta vandræði (acc.) hafi nú borit oss (dat.) at hendi, Eg. 7; b. til handa, id., Sks. 327; bar honum svá til, so it befell him, Fms. xi. 425; at honum bæri engan váðaligan hlut til á veginum, that nothing dangerous should befall him on the way, Stj. 212; bæri þat þá svá við, at hann ryfi, it then perchance might happen, that …, 102; þat bar við at Högni kom, 169, 172, 82; raun (acc.) berr á, it is proved by the fact, event, Fms. ix. 474, x. 185.

2. temp., e-t berr á, it happens to fall on …; ef þing (acc.) ber á hina helgu viku, if the parliament falls on the holy week (Whitsun), Grág. i. 106; ef Crucis messu (acc.) berr á Drottins dag, Rb. 44; berr hana (viz. Petrs messu, June 29) aldrei svá optarr á öldinni, 78; þat er nú berr oss næst, what has occurred of late, Sturl. iii. 182: b. í móti, to happen exactly at a time; þetta (acc.) bar í móti at þenna sama dag andaðist Brandr biskup, Bs. i. 468; b. saman, id.; bar þat saman, at pá var Gunnarr at segja brennusöguna, just when G. was about telling the story, Nj. 269.

3. metaph. of agreement or separation; en þat (acc.) þykir mjök saman b. ok þessi frásögn, Fms. x. 276: with dat., bar öllum sögum vel saman, all the records agreed well together, Nj. 100, v. l.; berr nú enn í sundr með þeim, Bjarna ok Þorkatli at sinni, B. and Th. missed each other, Vápn. 25.

4. denoting cause; e-t (acc.) berr til …, causes a thing; ætluðu þat þá allir, at þat mundi til bera, that that was the reason, Nj. 75; at þat beri til skilnaðar okkars, that this will make us to part (divorce), 261; konungr spurði, hvat til bæri úgleði hans, what was the cause of his grief? Fms. vi. 355; þat berr til tunglhlaups, Rb. 32.

β. meiri ván at brátt beri þat (acc.) til bóta, at herviliga steypi hans ríki, i. e. there will soon come help (revenge), Fms. x. 264; fjórir eru þeir hlutir er menn (acc.) berr í ætt á landi hér, there are four cases under which people may be adopted, Grág. i. 361.

γ. e-t berr undir e-n, falls to a person’s lot; hon á arf at taka þegar er undir hana berr, in her turn, 179; mikla erfð (acc.) bar undir hana, Mar. (Fr.); berr yfir, of surpassing, Bs. ii. 121, 158; b. frá, id. (fráburðr); herðimikill svá at þat (acc.) bar frá því sem aðrir menn, Eg. 305; er sagt, at þat bæri frá hve vel þeir mæltu, it was extraordinary how well they did speak, Jb. 11; bar þat mest frá hversu illa hann var limaðr, but above all, how…, Ó. H. 74.

5. with adverbial nouns in a dat. form; e-t berr bráðum, happens of a sudden; berr þetta (acc.) nú allbráðum, Fms. xi. 139; cp. vera bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise (above); berr stórum, stærrum, it matters a great deal; ætla ek stærrum b. hin lagabrotin (acc.), they are much more important, matter more, vii. 305; var þat góðr kostr, svá at stórum bar, xi. 50; hefir oss orðit svá mikil vanhyggja, at stóru berr, an enormous blunder, Gísl. 51; svá langa leið, at stóru bar, Fas. i. 116; þat berr stórum, hversu mér þóknast vel þeirra athæfi, it amounts to a great deal, my liking their service, i. e. I do greatly like, Fms. ii. 37; eigi berr þat allsmám hversu vel mér líkar, in no small degree do I like, x. 296.

β. with dat., it is fitting, becoming; svá mikit sem landeiganda (dat.) berr til at hafa eptir lögum, what he is legally entitled to, Dipl. iii. 10; berr til handa, it falls to one’s lot, v. above, Grág. i. 93.

III. answering to Lat. oportet, absolutely or with an adverb, vel, illa, with infinit.; e-m berr, it beseems, becomes one; berr þat ekki né stendr þvílíkum höfuðfeðr, at falsa, Stj. 132; berr yðr (dat.) vel, herra, at sjá sannindi á þessu máli, Fms. ix. 326; sagði, at þat bar eigi Kristnum mönnum, at særa Guð, x. 22; þá siðu at mér beri vel, Sks. 353 B: used absol., berr vel, illa, it is beseeming, proper, fit, unbeseeming, unfit, improper; athæfi þat er vel beri fyrir konungs augliti, 282; þat þykir ok eigi illa bera, at maðr hafi svart skinn til hosna, i. e. it suits pretty well, 301: in case of a pers. pron. in acc. or dat. being added, the sentence becomes personal in order to avoid doubling the impers. sentence, e. g. e-m berr skylda (not skyldu) til, one is bound by duty; veit ek eigi hver skylda (nom.) yðr (acc.) ber til þess at láta jarl einn ráða, Fms. i. 52: also leaving the dat. out, skylda berr til at vera forsjámaðr með honum, vii. 280; eigi berr hér til úviska mín, it is not that I am not knowing, Nj. 135.

IV. when the reflex. inflexion is added to the verb, the noun loses its impers. character and is turned from acc. into nom., e. g. þar (þat?) mun hugrinn minn mest hafa fyrir borizt, this is what I suspected, fancied, Lv. 34; cp. hugarburðr, fancy, and e-t berr fyrir e-n (above, C. I. 2); hefir þetta (nom.) vel í móti borizt, a happy coincidence, Nj. 104; ef svá harðliga kann til at berask, if the misfortunes do happen, Gþl. 55; barsk sú úhamingja (nom.) til á Íslandi, that mischief happened (no doubt the passage is thus to be emended), Bs. i. 78, but bar þá úhamingju …; þat (nom.) barsk at, happened, Fms. x. 253; fundir várir (nom.) hafa at borizt nokkurum sinnum, vii. 256; þat barsk at á einhverju sumri, Eg. 154; bærist at um síðir at allr þingheimrinn berðist, 765, cp. berast við, berask fyrir above (B. V.): berast, absol., means to be shaken, knocked about; var þess ván, at fylkingar mundu berast í hergöngunni, that they would be brought into some confusion, Fms. v. 74; Hrólfr gékk at ramliga, ok barst Atli (was shaken, gave away) fyrir orku sakir, þar til er hann féll. Fas. iii. 253; barst Jökull allr fyrir orku sakir (of two wrestling), Ísl. ii. 467, Fms. iii. 189: vide B. IV.

D. In mod. usage the strong bera—bar is also used in impersonal phrases, denoting to let a thing be seen, shew, but almost always with a negative preceding, e. g. ekki bar (ber) á því, it could ( can) not be seen; að á engu bæri, láta ekki á bera ( to keep tight), etc. All these phrases are no doubt alterations from the weak verb bera, að, nudare, and never occur in old writers; we have not met with any instance previous to the Reformation; the use is certainly of late date, and affords a rare instance of weak verbs turning into strong; the reverse is more freq. the case.

* * *

(tek; tók, tókum; tekinn), v.

1) to take, catch, seize (tóku þeir laxinn ok otrinn ok báru með sér);

G. tók inni vinstri hendi spjótit á lopti, G. caught the spear with his left hand;

man hón taka fé okkart allt með ráni, she will take all our goods by force;

taka e-n höndum, to seize one, take captive;

tökum vápn vár, let us take to our weapons;

2) fig., taka trú, to take the faith, become a Christian;

taka skírn, to be baptized;

taka hvíld, to take a rest;

taka flótta, to take to flight;

taka rœðu, umrœðu, to begin a parley;

taka ráð, to take a counsel (= taka til ráðs);

taka e-n orðum, to address one;

taka sættir or sættum, to accept terms;

taka þenna kost, to take this choice;

taka stefnu, to fix a meeting;

taka boði, to accept an offer;

taka sótt, to be taken ill;

taka úgleði, to get out of spirits;

taka andviðri, to meet with contrary winds;

taka konung, to take, elect a king;

taka konu, to take a wife;

taka úkunna stigu, to take to unknown ways;

taka e-n or e-m vel, to receive one well;

taka e-t þvert, to take a thing crossly, deny flatly;

taka upp höndum, to raise the hands;

3) to reach, stretch forth, touch;

fremri hyrnan tók viðbeinit, the upper horn caught the collar bone;

því at ek tek eigi heim í kveld, for I shall not reach home to-night;

hárit tók ofan á belti, the hair came down to her waist;

4) to reach and take harbour (þeir tóku land á Melrakka-sléttu);

5) to take, hold, of a vessel (ketill, er tók tvær tunnur);

6) to be equivalent to, be worth (hringrinn tók tólf hundruð mórend);

7) with infin., to begin (hann tók at yrkja, þegar er hann var ungr);

nú taka öll húsin at lóga, now the whole house began to blaze;

impers., þá tók at lægja veðrit, then the wind began to fall;

8) to touch, regard, concern (þat allt, sem leikmenn tekr);

9) to catch (up), come up with (hann var allra manna fóthvatastr, svá at engi hestr tók hann á rás);

10) to start, rush (Eirikr tók út or stofunni, en konungr bað menn hlaupa eptir honum);

taka á rás, taka frá, to take to running, run away (svá illt sem nú er frá at taka, þá mun þó síðarr verra);

11) impers. it is taken;

þá tók af veðrit (acc.) then the storm abated;

kom á fótinn, svá at af tók, the stroke came on his leg, so that it was cut off;

sýnina tekr frá e-m, one becomes blind;

tók út skip Þangbrands, Th.’s ship drifted out;

um várit er sumarhita tók, when the summer heat set in;

12) with preps, and advs., taka e-n af lífi, lífdögum, taka e-n af, to take one’s life, put to death;

taka e-n af nafni ok veldi, to deprive one of his title and power;

taka af hesti, to take (the saddle) off a horse;

taka e-t af e-m, to take a thing from one, deprive one of (er vér tókum seglit af honum, þá grét hann);

taka af sér ópit, to cease weeping;

taka e-t af e-m, to get frotn one (tekr hann af öllu fólki mikil lof);

taka mikinn (mikil), lítinn (lítil) af e-u, to make (say) much, little of;

hón tók lítil af öllu, she said little about it, took it coldly;

øngan tek ek af um liðveizlu við þik, I will not pledge myself as to helping thee;

taka e-t af, to choose, take;

G. bauð þér góð boð, en þú vildir engi af taka, G. made thee good offers, but thou wouldst take none of them;

fara sem fœtr mega af taka, at the top of one’s speed;

hann sigldi suðr sem af tók, as fast as possible;

to abolish, do away with (lagði á þat allan hug al taka af heiðni ok fornar venjur);

taka e-t aptr, to take back, render void (taka aptr þat, er ek gef); to recall (taka aptr orð, heil sín);

taka á e-u, to touch (hón tók á augum hans);

taka vel, auðvelliga, lítt, illa á e-u, to take (a thing) well, in good part, ill, in ill part (fluttu þeir þetta fyrir jarli, en hann tók vel á);

taka e-t á sik, to take upon oneself (kvaðst heldr vilja taka þat á sik at gefa honum annát augat);

tóku þeir á sik svefn mikinn, they fell fast asleep;

taka arf eptir e-n, to inherit one;

taka e-t eptir, to get in return;

með því at þú gerir svá, sem ek býð þér, skaltu nökkut eptir taka, thou shalt have some reward;

taka e-t frá e-m, to take a thing away from one (þeir tóku spjótin frá þeim ok báru út á ána);

taka e-n frá e-u, to deprive one of (taka e-n frá landi, ríki);

taka e-t fyrir e-t, to take in return for (hann keypti sveinana ok tók fyrir þá vesl gott ok slagning); to take for, look upon as (lökum vér þat allt fyrir satt; því tek ek þat fyrir gaman);

taka fyrir e-t, to refuse (tók E. eigi fyrir útanferð at sumri);

taka hendi í e-t, to thrust one’s hand into;

taka í hönd e-m, to shake hands with one;

taka í móti, to offer resistance (þeir brendu víða bygðina, en bœndr tóku ekki í móti);

taka niðr, to pull down, demolish (taka niðr til grundvallar allt þat verk); to graze a little, = taka til jarðar (þeir láta nú taka niðr hesta sína);

taka niðri, to touch (feel) the bottom;

taka ofan, to take down (Högni tekr ofan atgeirinn); to pull down (hann hafði látil taka ofan skála sinn);

taka í sundr, to cut asunder;

impers., slœmdi sverðinu til hans, svá at í sundr tók manninn, so that the man was cleft asunder;

taka til e-s, to take to (tóku þá margir til at níða hann);

taka til máls (orðs, orða), to begin to speak;

nú er þar til máls at taka, at, now we must take up the story at this point, that;

taka til varnar, to begin the defence;

taka til e-s, to have recourse to, resort to (taka e-t til ráðs, bragðs); to concern (þetta mál, er til konungs tók);

láta e-t til sín taka, to let it concern oneself, meddle with (Gísli lét fátt til sín taka);

taka e-n til e-s, to choose, elect (Ólafr var til konungs tekinn um allt land);

absol., taka til, to begin (hann hélt allt austr um Svínasund, þá tók til vald Svíakonungs);

taka e-t til, to take to, do;

ef hann tekr nökkut illt til, if he takes to any ill;

taka um e-t, to take hold of, grasp (nú skaltu taka um fót honum);

taka e-t undan, to take away;

impers., undan kúnni tók nyt alla, the cow ceased to give milk;

taka undan, to run away, escape (B. tók undan með rás);

taka undir e-t, to take hold under a thing;

hann tók undir kverkina ok kyssti hana, he took her by the chin and kissed her;

to undertake, take upon oneself;

H. kvaðst ekki taka mundu undir vandræði þeira, H. said he would have nothing to do with their troubles;

taka undir e-t með e-m, to back, help one in a thing (vil ek, at þér takit undir þetta mál með mér);

þau tóku undir þetta léttiliga, they seconded it readily;

hann tók seinliga undir, he was slow to answer;

taka undir, to echo, resound (fjöllin tóku undir);

taka e-t undir sik, to take on hand (Gizurr tók undir sik málit); to lay hold of (hann tekr undir sik eignir þær, er K. átti í Noregi);

taka e-t upp, to pick up (S. tók upp hanzka sinn);

taka upp fé fyrir e-m, to seize on, confiscate;

taka upp borð, to set up the tables before a meal, but also to remove them after a meal;

taka upp bygð sína, to remove one’s abode;

hón tekr mart þat upp, er fjarri er mínum vilja, she takes much in hand that is far from my will;

drykk ok vistir, svá sem skipit tók upp, as the ship could take;

taka upp ný goðorð, to establish new priesthoods;

taka upp verknað, to take up work;

taka upp stœrð, to take to pride;

taka upp sök, to take up a case;

taka upp draum, to interpret a dream;

taka e-t upp, to choose (seg nú skjótt, hvern kost þú vill upp taka);

absol., taka upp, to extend, rise (rekkjustokkr tekr upp á millum rúma okkarra);

taka út, to run out (E. tók út ór stofunni);

taka við e-u, to receive (A. hafði tekit við föðurarf sínum);

taka vel við e-m, to receive one well, give one a hearty welcome;

taka við trú, to take the faith;

þeir tóku vel við, they made a bold resistance;

tók við hvárr af öðrum, one took up where the other left off;

taka yfir e-t, to extend over (hann skal eignast af Englandi þat, sem uxahúð tekr yfir);

impers. to come to an end, succeed (kveðst nú vænta, at nú mundi yfir taka);

þeir munu allt til vinna at yfir taki við oss, to get the better of us;

13) refl., takast;

1) taking, capture, of a fortress, prisoner;

2) taking, seizing, of property;

3) revenue, = tekja( með öllum tökum ok skyldum).

* * *

pres. tek, tekr; tökum, takit, taka; pret. tók, tókt (tókst), tók, pl. tóku; subj. tæki (tœki); imperat. tak, taktú; part. tekinn: with neg. suff. tek’k-at ek, I take not, Kristni S. (in a verse); tak-a-ttu, take thou not, Fas. i. (in a verse); tekr-at, Grág. (Kb.) i. 9: [Ulf. têkan, pret. taitok = απτεσθαι; Swed. take; Dan. tage, sounded tā, ‘du tar det ikke, vil du ta det;’ Engl. take is a word borrowed from the Dan., which gradually displaced the Old Engl. niman.]

A. To take hold of, seize, grasp; taka sér alvæpni, Eg. 236; tóku menn sér þar byrðar ok báru út, Egill tók undir hönd sér mjöð-drekku, 237; nú taki hest minn, ok skal ek ríða eptir honum, 699; tóku þeir skíð sín ok stigu á, 545; hann tók inni vinstri hendi spjótið ok skaut, Nj. 42; lauk upp kistu ok tók upp góð kvennmanna-klæði, Ld. 30; hann tekr nú bogann, … tekr nú kaðal einn, Fas. ii. 543; taka upp net, K. Þ. K. 90; hross skal maðr taka ok teyma ok hepta, þótt heilagt sé, id.

2. to seize; þeir tóku þar herfang mikit, Nj. 43; tóku skipit ok allt þat er á var, Fms. vii. 249; þeir tóku þar skútu, viii. 438; tóku skip hans, landtjald, klæði, ix. 275; taka fé okkat allt með ráni, Nj. 5; engi maðr skal fyrir öðrum taka, Gþl. 473; hann leiddi þik til arfs … munu taka óvinir þínir ef þú kemr eigi til, Nj. 4; þeir tóku bæinn, seized, Sturl. ii. 149; kona hafði tekit ( stolen) … ok vildi hann refsa henni, Fms. vii. 330.

3. to catch; Skotar munu hafa tekit njósnir allar, Nj. 126; standi menn upp ok taki hann, 130; hann skyldi taka hundinn, 114; þeir tóku á sundi mann einn, Fms. vii. 225; gröf, at taka í dýr, Flóv. 33; taka höndum, to lay hold of, take captive, Nj. 114, 275; in a good sense, Fms. x. 314.

4. taka e-n af lífi, to take one from life, Fms. x. 3, Eg. 70; taka e-n af lífdögum, id., Fms. vii. 204: ellipt., taka af (af-taka), to take one off, put to death, Js. 23; taka e-n af nafni ok veldi, to deprive of …, Eg. 268; tóku þeir af eignum jarla konungs, Fms. i. 6: taka af e-m, to take a thing from one, x. 421, Nj. 103, 131, Eg. 120, Ld. 288; taka frá e-m, to take from, off, Nj. 253, K. Þ. K. 48; taka ofan, to take down, pull down, Nj. 119, 168; taka ór, to set apart, 232; taka undir sik, to take under oneself, subject, Fms. x. 24: to take charge of, Nj. 110, Eg. 725: taka upp, to take up, pick up, assume, 23.

5. to take, grasp; taka í hönd e-m, to shake hands, Nj. 129; taka á lopti, to interrupt, Fms. x. 314; taka í ketil, of the ordeal, Grág. i. 381, Gkv. 3. 7; taka í jörð, to graze, of an animal, Bs. i. 338; jó lætr til jarðar taka, Skm. 15; skulu þér láta taka niðr hesta yðra, to graze a little, Band. 14 new Ed.; tók einn þeirra niðr í sinn klæðsekk, Stj.

II. metaph., taka upphaf, to begin, Hom. 49; taka vöxt ok þroska, to increase, Rb. 392; taka konungdóm, Eg. 646; taka ráð, 49; taka skírn, 770; taka trú, to take the faith, become a Christian, Nj. 273; taka hvíld, to take rest, 43, 115; taka á sik svefn, 252; taka ræðu, to begin a parley, Eg. 578; taka umræðu, id., Nj. 146; þau taka þá tal, Ld. 72, Fms. ii. 254; taka nærri sér, see nær l. 2; taka á sik göngu, Fbr. 101 new Ed.; taka á sik svefn, Nj.; taka eld, to light a fire, 199; taka e-n orðum, to address; taka í sætt, to receive into reconciliation, Eg. 168; taka sættir, to accept terms, id. (also taka sættum, id.); taka þenna kost, 280; taka samheldi, Fms. ix. 344; ok tóku þat fastliga, at friðr skyldi standa, declared firmly that, x. 40, v. l.; taka stefnu, to fix a meeting, xi. 400; tóku þeir stefnu í milli sín, 402; nú er svá tekið um allt landit, at …, fixed by law that …, Gþl. 275; þeir tóku fastmælum sín í milli, at …, Bret. 82; taki í lög, to take into fellowship, Fms. xi. 96; lög-taka, cp. lófa-tak, vápna-tak; Gunnarr bauð þér góð boð enn þú vildir engi af taka, thou wouldst accept none of them, Nj. 77; tók hann þann kost af, at leggja allt á konungs vald, Fms. iv. 224; ok þat tóku þeir af, ix. 367; Ólafr kvaðsk þat mundu af taka, Ld. 72; taka e-t til ráðs, or taka ráðs, bragðs, to resort to, Nj. 75, 124, 199: also, taka e-t til, to resort to, 26, Fms. xi, 253, passim (til-tæki); taka mót, to receive, Edda 15; taka e-t við, to receive in return, Fms. ii. 269; taka bætr fyrir e-t, xi. 253; með því þú görir sem ek býð þér, skaltú nökkuð eptir taka, take some reward for it, Ld. 44; þat er bæði at vér róum hart, enda mun nú mikit eptir taka, a great reward, Finnb. 232 (eptir-tekja); taka fæðu, to take food; taka corpus Domini, Mar.; taka samsæti, Fms. ii. 261; taka arf, Eg. 34; taka erfð, Gþl. 241; taka fé eptir föður sinn, Fms. xi. 47; taka laun, Nj. 68; taka veizlu, to take, receive a veizla (q. v.), Fms. xi. 239; konungr … hann tekr ( receives) af mörgum, skal hann því mikit gefa, 217; taka mikit lof, x. 367; taka helgun af Guði, Rb. 392; taka heilsu, to recover, Stj. 624; ek skal taka hæði-yrði af þér, Nj. 27; taka af honum rán ok manntjón, Ld. 64; taka úskil af íllum mönnum, Greg. 44; taka píslir ok dauða, 656 B. 30; drap hann þar menn nökkura, þótti mönnum hart at taka þat af útlendum manni, Bs. i. 19; þeir tóku mikinn andróða, Fms. viii. 438; taka andviðri, Eg. 87; þeir tóku norðan-veðr hörð, were overtaken by, Nj. 124; taka sótt, to be taken sick or ill (North E. to take ill), 29, Fms. xi. 97, Eg. 767; taka þyngd. id., Ísl. ii. 274; taka fótar-mein, Nj. 219; taka úgleði, to get out of spirits, Eg. 322; hann tók þá fáleika ok úgleði, Fms. vii. 103; hann tók langt kaf, 202; taka arftaki, to adopt, Grág. i. 232; taka konung, to take, elect a king, Fms. ix. 256; taka konu, to take a wife, x. 397; hann kvángaðisk ok tók bróður-dóttur þess manns er Finnr hét, 406; tók Magnús konungr Margrétu, 413; taka konu brott nauðga, to carry off a woman, Grág. i. 353; tók hann þá til háseta, he hired them, Eg. 404; taka far or fari, Landn. 307, Grág. ii. 406 (far, ii. 3); taka úkunna stigu, to take to unknown ways, Fms. viii. 30; taka ferð, to start, Stj.; taka til konungs, or the like, Eg. 367, 400, Fms. vii. 252; taka til siðar, Sks. 313; taka e-n vel, to receive well; ok taki ér, herra, vel þá Hjalta ok Gizur, Bs. i. 19; tók Skota-konungr hann vel, Fms. xi. 419; taka e-t þvert, to take a thing crossly, deny flatly, Nj. 26; taka fyrir e-t, to stop, interrupt, refuse, Fms. x. 251.

III. to reach, stretch forth, touch; hann beit skarð, allt þat er tennr tóku, Eg. 605; eigi djúpara enn þeim tók undir hendr, Ld. 78; skurðrinn tók á framan-verðan bakkann, Krók.; hyrnan tók andlitið, Nj. 253; rödd tekr eyru, Skálda 175; döggskórinn tók niðr akrinn upp-standanda, Fas. i. 173; hafði flóð tekit þær, swept them away, Fms. xi. 393; spjót langskept svá at vel taki skipa meðal, Sks. 385; nef hans tók austr til landsenda … véli-fjarðar tóku norðr í Finnabú, Fms. viii. 10; tekr mörkin náliga allt it efra suðr, Eg. 58; þvíat ekki tek ek heim í kveld, Nj. 275; mun ek taka þangat í dag? Hbl.; bóndans bót tekr fyrir ( encompasses) konu, hans ok börn ok hjón, N. G. L. i. 341; taka niðri, to take the ground, of a ship or thing floating, Fas. iii. 257; svá at upp tekr um klaufir, Boll. 336; at eigi tæki hann (acc.) regnit, Stj. 594; skulu vér varask, at eigi taki oss þau dæmi, Hom. 70; svá mikit er uxa-húð tekr yfir, Fas. i. 288; nær því er þú sér at taka mun en ekki ór hófi, Sks. 21; hundr bundinn svá at taki eigi til manna, Grág. ii. 119; taka höndum upp, to lift up hands, Bs. i. 735, Edda 22; ek sé fram undir brekkuna, at upp taka spjóts-oddar fimtán, Finnb. 286; þetta smíði (Babel) tók upp ór veðrum, Edda 146 (pref.); hárit tók ofan á belti, Nj. 2; stöpul er til himins tæki, 645. 71; hér til tekr en fyrsta bók, reaches here, 655 vii. 4; taka mátti hendi til fals, Eg. 285; þeir tóku fram árum, took the oars, Fms. vii. 288; smeygði á sik ok tók út höndunum, 202; þeir tóku undun, to escape, viii. 438: to reach, land, take harbour, gaf honum vel byri ok tóku Borgarfjörð, Nj. 10; tóku þeir Friðar-ey, 268; þeir tóku land á Melrakka-sléttu, Ísl. ii. 246; byrjaði vel ok tóku Noreg, Ld. 72, 310; tóku þar land sem heitir Vatnsfjörðr, Landn. 30: ellipt., hann tók þar sem nú heitir Herjólfs-höfn, id.; þeir tóku fyrir sunnan land, 175.

2. to take, hold, of a vessel; ketill or tók tvær tunnur, Fb. i. 524; lands þess er tæki ( of the value of) fjóra tigi hundraða, Sturl. i. 98, v. l.; hringrinn tók tólf hundruð mórend, Nj. 225: so in the phrase, það tekr því ekki, it is not worth the while; þann enn eina grip er hann átti svá at fé tæki, the sole object of value he had, Bs. i. 636.

3. spec. usages; fara sem fætr mega af taka, Finnb. 288; konur æpa sem þær megu mest af taka, Al. 47, (aftak, aftaka-veðr, q. v.), Karl. 109, 196; fóru hvárir-tveggju sem af tók, went as fast as possible, Fms, iv. 304; hann sigldi suðr sem af tók, Eg. 93: in the phrase, taka mikinn, lítinn … af e-u, to make much, little of, take it to heart or lightly; mikit tekr þú af þessu, thou takest it much to heart, Lv. 10; öngan tek ek af um liðveizlu við þik, I will not pledge myself as to helping thee, Ld. 105; eigi töku vér mikit af at tortryggva þá bók, þótt mart sé undarligt í sagt, we will not strongly question the truth of the book, although many wonders are told therein, Sks. 78; Óspakr kvað hana mikit af taka, said he used very strong language, Ld. 216; mikinn tekr þú af, segir konungr, thou settest much by it, said the king, Fms. vi. 206: munda ek sýnu minna hafa af tekit ef ek væra údrukkinn, I would have kept a better tongue, xi. 112; Þórvarðr tók eigi af fyrir útanferð sína, did not quite refuse the going abroad, Sturl. iii. 244; hann kvaðsk eigi taka mega af því hvat mælt væri, he did not much mind what folks said, Nj. 210; hón tók lítið af öllu, said little about it, took it coolly, Eg. 322; tók hann minna af enn áðr við Íslendinga, he spoke not so strongly of them as he used to do, Glúm. 328; ok er sendi-menn kómu tók hann lítið af, Fms. x. 101; Flosi svaraði öllu vel, en tók þó lítið af, F. gave a civil but reserved answer, Nj. 180.

IV. with prepp.; taka af hesti, to take (the saddle) off a horse, Nj. 4, 179; taka af sér ópit, to cease weeping, Ölk. 35; taka skriðinn af skipinu, Fms. ii. 305; taka e-t af, to abolish, vii. 1, x. 152, Ísl. ii. 258:—taka á e-u, to touch (á-tak), Nj. 118; þegar sem nær þeim er komit ok á þeim tekit, Stj. 76; sá er tekr fyrst á funa, Gm.; þat er ok, áðr þeir taki á dómum sinum ( ere they deliver sentence), at þeir skolu eið vinna áðr, Grág. i. 64; taka vel, auðvelliga, lítt, ekki vel, ílla … á e-u, to take a thing so and so, take it well, in good part, ill, in ill part, etc., Ld. 50, 248, Fms. xi. 124, Nj. 206, 265; Gunnarr talaði fátt um ok tók á öngu úlíkliga, 40; tak glaðan á ( cheerfully) við konunginn, Fms. xi. 112; þeir höfðu sagt hversu hann hafði á tekit þeim feðgum, Rd. 284; Leifr tekr á þessu eigi mjök, Fb. ii. 397; tók Börkr (á) því seinliga, Eb. 15 new Ed.:—taka eptir, to notice, observe, Sturl. i. 2 (eptir-tekt):—taka móti, to withstand, resist, Nj. 261, Fms. ix. 307, 513 (mót-tak):—taka með, to reserve, accept, iv. 340, xi. 427 (með-taka): taka við, hann tókþar ok við mörg önnur dæmi, bæði konunga æfi, he tacked to it many records, the lives of kings, etc., Ó. H. (pref.): this isolated phrase has led editors (but wrongly) to substitute hann ‘jók’ þar við:—taka aptr, to take back, render void, undo, Bs. i. 631, Nj. 191, Sks. 775; eigi má aptr taka unnit verk, a saying, Fms. ii. 11: to recall, unsay, mun ek þau orð eigi aptr taka, Ld. 42, Fms. ii. 253:—taka í, to pull off; taktu í hann, to pull his stocking off:—taka um, to take hold of, grasp, Eg. 410, Hkr. ii. 322:—taka upp, to pick up, assume; niðr at fella ok upp at taka, 625. 68, Eg. 23; taka upp borð, to put up the tables before a meal; tekr upp borð ok setr fyrir þá Butralda, Fbr. 37; vóru borð upp tekin um alla stofuna ok sett á vist, Eg. 551: but also to remove them after a meal (= taka borð ofan), 408, Hkr. ii. 192, Fms. i. 41, Orkn. 246 (see borð II); taka upp vist, to put food on the table, Vm. 168; taka upp bygð sína, to remove one’s abode, passim; taka upp, of a body, to take up, disinter, Hkr. ii. 388; taka upp, to seize on, confiscate, Nj. 73, 207, Ld. 38, Eg. 73; þeir tóku upp ( laid waste) þorp þat er heitir Tuma-þorp, Fms. i. 151; var þá tekin upp bygð Hrolleifs, Fs. 34; hón tekr þat mart upp er fjarri er mínum vilja, Nj. 6l; at þú gefir ró reiði ok takir þat upp er minnst vandræði standi af, 175; taka upp verknað, to take up work, Ld. 34; taka upp stærð, to take to pride, Fms. x. 108; halda upp-teknu efni, i. 263; taka upp sök, mál, to take up a case, Nj. 31, 71, 231: to interpret, eigi kann ek öðruvís at ráða þenna draum … glíkliga er upp tekit, Sturl. iii. 216; ok skal svá upp taka ‘síks glóð,’ þat er ‘gull,’ Edda 127; kvæði, ef þau eru rétt kveðin ok skynsamliga upp tekin, Hkr. (pref.); tók hann svá upp, at honum væri eigi úhætt, Fms. ix. 424; drykk ok vistir svá sem skipit tók upp, as the ship could take, iv. 92; er þat skip mikit, ok mun þat taka oss upp alla, Nj. 259; þat hjóna er meira lagði til félags skal meira upp taka, Gþl. 220; þótti þeim í hönd falla at taka upp land þetta hjá sér sjálfum, Ld. 210; skal sá sem at Kálfafelli býr taka upp vatn at sínum hlut, Vm. 168; taka upp giptu hjá Dana-konungi, Fms. xi. 426; taka upp goðorð, Nj. 151, 168, Grág. i. 24; taka upp þing. Ann. 1304 ( to restore); tókusk þá upp lög ok landsréttr, Fs. 27; taka upp vanda, Fms. vii. 280:—taka til, to take to; hefna svá at ekki fýsi annan slík firn til at taka, 655 xiii. A. 3; tóku margir þá til at níða hann, Bs. i; taka til ráða, ráðs, bragðs, Nj. 19, 75, 124; hann tók til ráða skjótt, 19; enn þó munu vér þat bragðs taka, 199; hvat skal nú til ráða taka, 124; ef hann tekr nökkut íllt til, 26; hverja úhæfu er hann tekr til, Fms. xi. 253; taka til máls, to take to talking, Nj. 16, 71; taka til orðs, or orða, 122, 230, 264; hann tók nú til at segja söguna, to take to telling a story; taka til varnar, to begin the defence, Grág. i. 60, Nj. 271; nú er þar til at taka, at …, 74; er blót tóku til, Landn. 111; þá tók til ríki Svía-konungs, Fms. iv. 118; um Slésvík þar sem Dana-ríki tók til, xi. 417: to concern, þat mun taka til yðar, Hom. 150; þetta mál er til konungs tók, Fms. xi. 105; láta til sín taka, to let it concern oneself, meddle with, Band. 23 new Ed.; Gísl lét fátt til sín taka, Fms. vii. 30; vil ek nú biðja þik at þú létir ekki til þín taka um tal várt, Nj. 184: to have recourse to, þú tekr eigi til þeirra liðsinnis ef ekki þarf, Fms. vii. 17, Grág. i. 41; taka til segls, Eg. 573, Fms. ix. 22; taka til sunds, 24; taka til e-s, to note, mark, with dislike:—taka undir, to take under a thing; hann tók undir kverkina, took her by the chin, Nj. 2; þá tók Egill undir höfða-hlut Skalla-grími, Eg. 398: to undertake, þat mál er þeir skyldi sjálfir undir taka, Hkr. i. 266; þá skal hann taka undir þá sömu þjónostu, Ó. H. 120: to back, second, hann kvaðsk ekki mundu taka undir vandræði þeirra, Nj. 182; undir þann kviðling tók Rúnolfr goði, ok sótti Hjalta um goðgá, Bs. i. 17: ek mun taka undir með þér ok styðja málit, Fms. xi. 53; hann tók ekki undir þat ráð, Fb. ii. 511; þau tóku undir þetta léttliga, seconded it readily, Ld. 150; hann tók seinliga undir, Nj. 217; hann hafði heyrt tal þeirra ok tók undir þegar, ok kvað ekki saka, Ld. 192: göra tilraun hversu þér tækit undir þetta, Fb. i. 129: to echo, blésu herblástr svá at fjöllin tóku undir, Fas. i. 505; taka undir söng, to accompany singing:—taka við, to receive; nú tóktú svá við sverði þessu, Fms. i. 15; siðan hljópu menn hans, enn hann túk við þeim, 105; jörð tekr við öldri, Hm.; til þess er akkerit tók við, grappled, took hold, Dan. holde igen, Fms. x. 135. v. l.; þar til er sjár tók við honum, Edda 153 (pref.); taka við ríki, Eg. 241, Fms. i. 7; taka við trú, Nj. 158, 159; taka við handsölum á e-u, 257; ef maðr görr við at taka við dæmdum úmaga, Grág. i. 258; taka vel við e-m, to receive well, Nj. 5; ekki torleiði tekr við yðr, no obstacle stops you, Al. 120; þeir tóku við vel ok vörðusk, made a bold resistance, Fms. i. 104; eggjuðu sumir at við skyldi taka, vii. 283; at þeir skyldi verja landit, en þeir vildu eigi við taka, xi. 386; ganga fram á mel nökkurn, ok segir Hrútr at þeir mundu þar við taka, Ld. 62; þar stóð steinn einn mikill, þar bað Kjartan þá við taka, 220; seg þú æfi-sögu þína, Ásmundr, en þá skal Egill við taka, tell thy life’s tale, Asmund, and then shall Egil take his turn, Fas. iii. 374; tók við hvárr af öðrum, one took up where the other left off:—taka yfir, hann vildi eigi til ráða nema hann ætlaði at yfir tæki, Fms. iv. 174; þeir munu allt til vinna, at yfir taki með oss, Nj. 198; at eyrendi þeirra skyldi eigi lyktuð né yfir tekin, Fms. iv. 224.

V. to take to, begin:

1. with infin., tóku menn at binda sár sín, Eg. 93; hann tók at yrkja þegar er hann var ungr, 685; hans afli tók at vaxa, Fms. viii. 47; á þeim veg er ek tæka ganga, Sks. 3; taka at birtask, 568; tekr at dimma, birta … rigna, it gets dim, takes to darken … rain; allt þat er hann tekr at henda, Nj. 5; þá tók at lægja veðrit, 124; tók þá at morna, 131; tók þá at nátta, Fms. ix. 54; kvölda tekr = Lat. vesperascit, Luke xxiv. 29.

2. in other phrases, taka á rás, to take to running, to run, Nj. 253, Eg. 216, 220, Eb. 62 (hófu á rás, 67 new Ed.), Hrafn. 7: ellipt., tók bogmaðr ok hans menn á land upp undan, they took to the inland and escaped, Fms. ix. 275; tók hann þegar upp um brú, viii. 169; svá íllt sem nú er frá at taka (to escape, shun), þá mun þó síðarr verr, Fs. 55; taka flótta, to take to flight, Hm. 30; Eirekr tók út ór stofunni, took out of the room, ran out, Sturl. ii. 64; þeir tóku út eitt veðr allir, stood out to sea with the same wind, Fb. ii. 243.

VI. with dat., to take to, receive (perh. ellipt. for taka við- e-u); jarl tók vel sendi-mönnum ok vináttu-málum konungs, Fms. i. 53; konungr tók honum vel ok blíðliga, vii. 197; tekit mundu vér hafa kveðju þinni þóttú hefðir oss fyrri fagnat, Ld. 34; Grímr tók því seinliga, Eg. 764; Sigurðr tók því máli vel, 38, Fms. x. 2; konungr tók þá vel orðum Þórólfs, Eg. 44; hann tók því þakksamliga, Fms. i. 21; taka vel þeirra eyrendum, x. 33; Barði tók þessu vel, Ld. 236; Hákon tók því seinliga, Fms. i. 74; eigi mun konungr taka því þótt slík lygi sé upp borin fyrir hann, Eg. 59; tók Brynjólfr þá sættum fyrir Björn, 168; Njáll átti hlut at, at þeir skyldi taka sættum, Nj. 120; taka handsölum á fé, 257; taka heimildum á e-u, Fms. x. 45; taka fari, Grág. ii. 399, Nj. 111, 258 (see far); taka bóli, to take a farm (on lease), Gþl. 328, 354; mun ek máli taka fyrir alla Íslenzka menn þá er á skipi eru, speak for them, Bs. i. 421.

VII. impers. it is taken; hann brá upp hendinni ok tók hana af honum ok höfuðit af konunginum, Nj. 275; ok tók af nasarnar, Fms. x. 135, v. l.; þá tók af veðrit (acc.), the weather ‘took up’ (as is said in North of England), the storm abated. Fas. i. 157; svá at þar tæki af vega alla, all roads were stopped, Fms, iii. 122; af þeim tók málit ok görask úfærir, Fas. ii. 549; kom á höndina fyrir ofan úlflið svá at af tók, Nj. 84; kom á fótinn svá at af tók, 123; þá tók efa af mörgum manni, Fms. iii. 8; sýnina tekr frá e-m, to become blind, x. 339; undan kúnni tók nyt alla, Eb. 316; jafnskjótt tók ór verkinn allan, Fms. iv. 369; tók út skip Þangbrands ór Hitará, she drifted out, Bs. i. 15; í þat mund dags er út tók eykðina, when the time of ‘eykð’ was nearly passed, Fms. xi. 136; um várit er sumar-hita tók, when the summer heat set in, Fs. 67; réru svá skjótt at ekki tók (viz. þá) á vatni, Fms. vii. 344.

2. as a naut. term, to clear, weather a point; veðr var litið ok tók þeim skamt frá landi, the weather was still, and they kept close in shore, Fms. vi. 190: hence the mod. naut. phrase, e-m tekr, to clear, weather; mér tók fyrir nesit, I cleared, weathered the ness; vindr þver, svo að þeim tekr ekki.

3. þar er eigi of tekr torf eðr grjót, where neither is at hand, Grág. ii. 262; þau dæmi tekr til þessa máls, the proofs of this are, that when …, Hom. 127.

B. Reflex., takask mikit á hendr, to take much in hand, Band. 3, Nj. 228, Fms. i. 159; tókumk ek þat á hendr, xi. 104; láta af takask, to let oneself be deprived of, Eg. 296; takask e-n á hendr.

2. to be brought about, take effect, succeed; cp. þykkir mikit í hættu hversu þér teksk, Ld. 310; þat tóksk honum, he succeeded, Bárð. 167; tekst þá tveir vilja, it succeeds when two will, i. e. joint efforts prevail, a saying:—takask til, to happen; Ásgrími tóksk svá til (it so happened to A.), sem sjaldan var vant, at vörn var í máii hans, Nj. 92; ef svá vill til takask. Fas. i. 251; svá erviðliga sem þeim hafði til tekizk at herja á þá feðga, Fms. i. 184; mér hefir úgiptuliga tekizk, Ld. 252; þætti mér allmiklu máli skipta at þér tækisk stórmannliga, that thou wouldst behave generously, Hkr. ii. 32; hefir þetta svá tekizk sem ván var at, er hann var barn at aldri, 268.

3. to take place, begin; tóksk orrosta, Nj. 8; teksk þar orrosta, 122; ráð takask, of a marriage; en ef þá takask eigi ráðin, if the wedding takes not place then, Grág. i. 311; lýkr svá at ráðin skyldi takask, 99; ráð þau skyldi takask at öðru sumri, Eg. 26, Fms. x. 40: to be realised, hvatamaðr at þessi ferð skyldi takask, Ld. 240; síðan er mægð hafdi tekizk með þeim, since they had intermarried, Eg. 37; takask með þeim góðar ástir, they came to love one another much, of newly-married people, passim; féráns dómr teksk, Grág. i. 95; takask nú af heimboðin, to cease, Ld. 208; ok er allt mál at ættvíg þessi takisk af, 258.

II. recipr., takask orðum, to speak to one another, Fms. xi. 13; ok er þeir tókusk at orðum, spurði hann …, Eg. 375; bræðr-synir takask arf eptir, entreat one another, Gþl. 241; ef menn takask fyrir árar eða þiljur, take from one another, 424: takask á, to wrestle, Bárð. 168; takask fangbrögðum, Ld. 252, Ísl. ii. 446: takask í hendr, to shake hands, Grág. i. 384, Nj. 3, 65.

III. part. tekinn; vóru þá tekin ( stopped) öll borgar-hlið ok vegar allir, at Norðmönnum kæmi engi njósn, Fms. vi. 411: Steinþórr var til þess tekinn, at …, S. was particularly named as …, Eb. 32, 150; hann var til þess tekinn, at honum var verra til hjóna en öðrum mönnum, Grett. 70 new Ed. (cp. mod. usage, taka til e-s, to wonder at): lá hann ok var mjök tekinn, very ill, Sturl. i. 89: Álfhildr var þungliga tekin, ok gékk henni nær dauða, Fms. iv. 274; hann var mjök tekinn ok þyngdr af líkþrá, ii. 229; þú ert Ílla at tekin fyrir vanheilsu sakir, vii. 244; ú-tekin jörð, an untaken, unclaimed estate, Sturl. iii. 57, Gþl. 313.

2. at af teknum þeim, except, Fms. x. 232; at af teknum úvinum sínum, 266, (Latinism.)

* * *

a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

* * *

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WITH ACC.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. Metaph. and in various relations:

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

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

II. denoting in regard to, in respect to:

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

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

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

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

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

IV. denoting the manner or way of doing:

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

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

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

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

VI. connected with nouns,

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

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

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

2) to go;

ganga heim, to go home;

ganga braut, to go away;

ganga til hvílu, to go to bed;

ganga á skip, to go on board;

ganga af skipi, to go ashore;

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

ganga at eiga konu, to marry a woman;

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

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

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

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

7) to prevail;

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

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

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

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

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

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

10) láta ganga e-t, to let go on;

láta höggin ganga, to rain blows;

Birkibeinar létu ganga lúðrana, blew the trumpets vigorously;

11) to succeed;

ef þat gengr eigi, if that will not do;

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

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

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

ganga andæris, to go all wrong;

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

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

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

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

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

15) with preps. and adverbs:

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

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

ganga af trú sinni, to apostatize;

to pass (síðan gengu af páskarnir);

to go off (gekk þegar af höfuðit);

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

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

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

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

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

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

ganga at e-m, to attack one;

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

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

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

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

ganga á bak e-u, to contravene;

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

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

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

ganga fram, to step forward;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

ganga í mál, to undertake a case;

ganga með e-m (of a woman), to marry;

ganga með barni, to be with child;

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

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

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

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

ganga móti e-u, to resist, oppose;

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

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

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

ganga saman, to marry;

of an agreement, bargain, to be brought about;

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

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

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

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

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

hversu hefir ykkr til gengit, how have you fared?

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

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

ganga um beina, to wait upon guests;

ganga um sættir, to go between, as peacemaker;

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

ganga undan, to escape to absent oneself;

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

ganga undir e-n, to subject oneself to;

ganga upp, to be wasted (of money);

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

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

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

ganga við staf, to walk with a stick;

ganga við e-u or e-t, to avow;

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

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

slíkt sem yfir hefir gengit, all that has happened;

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

16) refl., gangast.