go+that+as+it+may

(i. e. ør-), a prefixed particle, altered from us-; the s remains in usall = vesall, see p. 699, col. 2; also spelt er-, er-vita, Hkv.; or eyr-, eyr-grynni, Ó. H. 106; evr-lygi, Eg. (in a verse): [Ulf. us-; O. H. G. ur-; when uncompounded, see ór, mod. úr, p. 472; as a prefix to nouns, ör- or ör-, for which see p. 469, col. 2. Indeed, there is a strong probability that the negative prefix ó- is a contraction, not of un-, but of or-, so that ó-bættr is from or-bættr, ó-verðr from or-verðr, by agglutination of r, whereby the vowel becomes long (as the O. H. G. prefix ar- in A. S. appears â-): this would account for the fact, that in the very oldest and best vellums there is hardly a single instance of ú- for ó-, and this is the sole modern form not only all over Iceland, but also in most popular idioms of Norway and Sweden; a farther proof is that in many words or-, the ancient form, is preserved in a few vellums, especially of the Norse laws, in such rare forms as ör-sekr, ör-bætiligr, ör-vænt, and ó-vænt, where the current form is ó-sekr, etc.; so also, ör-keypis and ó-keypis, ör-grynni and ó-grynni, ör-hóf and ó-hóf. Therefore or-, not un-, is, we believe, the phonetical parent of the later Scandinavian negative prefix ó-. The extensive use of ör- and the utter absence of ú- or un- may be explained by the supposition that, for the sake of uniformity, all words beginning with ör- and un- gradually took the same form; for though in ancient days ör- was more extensively used than it is at present, it can hardly have been the sole form in all words now beginning with ó-]:—ör- is used as denoting a negative, as ör-grynni, a being bottomless; or lack or loss of, as ör-sekr, out of being sekr; ör-verðr.

2. special usages are, what is of yore, as in ör-lög (cp. Germ. ur-, as in ur-theil, Engl. or-deal), ör-nefni, ör-gelmir, ör-vasi.

3. in mod. usage ör- is prefixed to adjectives, = utterly, but only in instances denoting ‘smallness,’ or something negative, e. g. ör-grannr, ör-stuttr, ör-skammr, ör-grunnr, ör-mjör, ör-fátækr, ör-snauðr, ör-eyða, ör-taka, ör-reyta, qq. v.

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(gen. pl. augna), n.

1) eye;

lúka (bregða) upp augum, bregða augum í sundr, to open (lift up) the eyes;

lúka aptr augum, to shift the eyes;

renna (bregða, leiða) augum til e-s, to turn the eyes to;

leiða e-n augum, to measure one with the eyes;

berja augum í e-t, to take into consideration;

koma augum á e-t, to set eyes on, become aware of;

hafa auga á e-u, t have, keep, an eye upon;

segja e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, right in the face;

unna e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls;

e-m vex e-t í augu, one has scruples about;

náit er nef augum, the nose is neighbor to the eyes;

gløggt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp;

mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes;

eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot hide it if a woman loves a man;

2) hole, aperture in a needle (nálarauga), in a millstone (kvarnarauga) or an axe-head;

3) pit full of water.

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n., gen. pl. augna, [Lat. oculus, a dimin. of an obsolete ocus; Gr. οφθαλμός (Boeot. οκταλμός); Sanskr. aksha: the word is common to Sanskrit with the Slavonic, Greek, Roman, and Teutonic idioms: Goth. augo; Germ, auge; A. S. eâge; Engl. eye; Scot. ee; Swed. öga; Dan. öje, etc. Grimm s. v. suggests a relationship to Lat. acies, acutus, etc. The letter n appears in the plur. of the mod. northern languages; the Swedes say ‘ögon,’ oculi, the Danes ‘öjne;’ with the article ‘ögonen’ and ‘öjnene;’ Old Engl. ‘eyne;’ Scot. ‘een’]

I. an eye. It is used in Icel. in a great many proverbs, e. g. betr sjá augu en auga, ‘two eyes see better than one,’ i. e. it is good to yield to advice: referring to love, unir auga meðan á sér, the eye is pleased whilst it can behold (viz. the object of its affection), Fas. i. 125, cp. Völs. rím. 4. 189; eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot bide it, if a woman love a man, i. e. they tell their own tale, Ísl. ii. 251. This pretty proverb is an απ. λεγ. l. c. and is now out of use; it is no doubt taken from a poem in a dróttkvætt metre, (old proverbs have alliteration, but neither rhymes nor assonance, rhyming proverbs are of a comparatively late date): medic., eigi er sá heill er í augun verkir, Fbr. 75; sá drepr opt fæti ( slips) er augnanna missir, Bs. i. 742; hætt er einu auganu nema vel fari, he who has only one eye to lose will take care of it (comm.); húsbóndans auga sér bezt, the master’s eye sees best; glögt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp; mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes, i. e. what is to be hidden must not be done in broad daylight, Hm. 81; náið er nef augum, the nose is near akin to the eyes (tua res agitur paries quum proximus ardet), Nj. 21; opt verðr slíkt á sæ, kvað selr, var skotinn í auga, this often happens at sea, quoth the seal, when he was shot in the eye, of one who is in a scrape, Fms. viii. 402. In many phrases, at unna ( to love) e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls, Nj. 217; þótti mér slökt it sætasta ljós augna minna, by his death the sweetest light of my eyes was quenched, 187: hvert grætr þú nú Skarphéðinn? eigi er þat segir Skarphéðinn, en hitt er satt at súrnar í augum, the eyes smart from smoke, 200: renna, líta augum, to seek with the eyes, to look upon: it is used in various connections, renna, líta ástaraugum, vánaraugum, vinaraugum, trúaraugum, öfundaraugum, girndarauga, with eyes of love, hope, friendship, faith, envy, desire: mæna a. denotes an upward or praying look; stara, fixed; horfa, attentive; lygna, blundskaka, stupid or slow; blína, glápa, góna, vacant or silly; skima, wandering; hvessa augu, a threatening look; leiða e-n a., to measure one with the eyes; gjóta, or skjóta hornauga, or skjóta a. í skjálg, to throw a side glance of dislike or ill-will; gjóta augum is always in a bad sense; renna, líta mostly in a good sense: gefa e-u auga, oculum adjicere alicui; hafa auga á e-u, to keep an eye on it; segja e-m e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, Orkn. 454; at augum, adverb. with open eyes, Hervar. S. (in a verse), etc. As regards various movements of the eyes; ljúka upp augum, to open the eyes; láta aptr augun, to shut the eyes; draga auga í pung, to draw the eye into a purse, i. e. shut one eye; depla augum, to blink; at drepa titlinga (Germ. äugeln, blinzen), to wink, to kill tits with the suppressed glances of the eye; glóðarauga, a suffusion on the eye, hyposphagma; kýrauga. proptosis; vagl á auga, a beam in the eye; skjálgr, Lat. limus; ský, albugo; tekinn til augnanna, with sunken eyes, etc., Fél. ix. 192; a. bresta, in death: hafa stýrur í augum, to have prickles in the eyes, when the eyes ache for want of sleep: vatna músum, ‘to water mice,’ used esp. of children weeping silently and trying to hide their tears. As to the look or expression of the eyes there are sundry metaph. phrases, e. g. hafa fékróka í augum, to have wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, of a shrewd money getting fellow, Fms. ii. 84, cp. Orkn. 330, 188, where krókauga is a cognom.; kvenna-króka, one insinuating with the fair sex; hafa ægishjalm í augum is a metaphor of one with a piercing, commanding eye, an old mythical term for the magical power of the eye, v. Grimm’s D. Mythol. under Ægishjalmr: vera mjótt á milli augnanna, the distance between the eyes being short, is a popular saying, denoting a close, stingy man, hence mjóeygr means close: e-m vex e-t í augu (now augum), to shrink back from, of a thing waxing and growing before one’s eyes so that one dares not face it. As to the shape, colour, etc. of the eye, vide the adj. ‘eygr’ or ‘eygðr’ in its many compds. Lastly we may mention the belief, that when the water in baptism touches the eyes, the child is thereby in future life prevented from seeing ghosts or goblins, vide the words úfreskr and skygn. No spell can touch the human eye; en er harm sá augu hans (that of Loki in the shape of a bird), þá grunaði hann (the giant) at maðr mundi vera, Edda 60; í bessum birni þykist hón kenna augu Bjarnar konungs sonar, Fas. i. 51, vide Ísl. Þjóðs.

II. meton. and metaph. auga is used in a great many connections:

α. astron.; þjaza augu, the eyes of the giant Thiazi, is a constellation, probably the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux; the story is told in the Edda 47, cp. Harbarðsljóð 19; (Snorri attributes it to Odin, the poem to Thor.)

β. botan., auga = Lat. gemma, Hjalt. 38; kattarauga, cat’s eye, is the flower forget-me-not.

γ. the spots that form the numbers on dice, Magn. 530.

δ. the hole in a millstone; kvarnarauga, Edda 79, 221, Hkr. i. 121: the opening into which an axe handle is fastened, Sturl. ii. 91: a pit full of water, Fs. 45: nálarauga, a needle’s eye: vindauga, wind’s eye or window (which orig. had no glass in it), A. S. eag-dura (eye-door); also gluggi, q. v.: gleraugu, spectacles.

ε. anatom., the pan of the hip joint, v. augnakarl, Fms. iii. 392: gagnaugu, temples.

ζ. hafsauga, the bottom of the ocean, in the popular phrase, fara út í hafsauga, descendere ad tartara.

η. poët. the sun is called heimsauga, dagsauga, Jónas 119.

COMPDS either with sing. auga or pl. augna; in the latter case mod. usage sometimes drops the connecting vowel a, e. g. augn-dapr, augn-depra, augn-fagr, etc. auga-bragð (augna-), n. the twinkling of an eye, Hm. 77; á einu a., in the twinkling of an eye, Ver. 32, Edda (pref.) 146, Sks. 559, Rb. 568: a glance, look, snart a., Fms. ii. 174; mikit a., v. 335; úfagrligt a., Fs. 43; hafa a. af e-u, to cast a look at, Fbr. 49, Fms. xi. 424: in the phrase, at hafa e-n (or verða) at augabragði, metaph. to make sport of, to mock, deride, gaze at, Stj. 627, 567, Hm. 5, 29. auga-brun, f. the eye-brow. auga-staðr, m. an eye-mark; hafa a. á e-u, to mark with the eye. auga-steinn (augna-), m. the eye-ball, Hkr. iii. 365, Fms. v. 152. augna-bending, f. a warning glance, Pr. 452. augna-blik, n. mod. = augnabragð, s. augna-bólga, u, f. ophthalmia. augna-brá, f. the eye-lid, D. N. i. 216. augna-fagr and aug-fagr, adj. fair-eyed, Fas. ii. 365, Fms. v. 200. augna-fró, f. a plant, eye-bright, euphrasia, also augna-gras, Hjalt. 231. augna-fræ, n. lychnis alpina. augna-gaman, n. a sport, delight for the eyes to gaze at, Ld. 202, Bær. 17, Fsm. 5 (love, sweetheart). augna-gróm, n. (medic.) a spot in the eye; metaph., ekki a., no mere speck, of whatever can easily be seen. augna-hár, n. an eye-lash. augna-hvannr, m. the eye-lid. augna-hvita, u, f. albugo. augna-karl, n. the pan of the hip joint; slíta or slitna or augnaköllunum, Fas. iii. 392. augna-kast, n. a wild glance, Barl. 167. augna-kláði, a, m. psorophthalmi. augna-krókr, n. the corner of the eye. augna-lag, n. a look, Ld. 154. augna-lok, n. ‘eye-covers,’ eye-lids. augna-mein, n. a disease of the eye. augna-mjörkvi, a, m. dimness of the eye, Pr. 471. augna-ráð, n. expression of the eye. augna-skot, n. a look askance, Gþl. 286, Fs. 44 (of cats). augna-slím, n. glaucoma. augna-staðr, m. the socket of the eye, Magn. 532. augna-sveinn, m. a lad leading a blind man, Str. 46. augn-tepra, u, f. hippus. augna-topt, f. the socket of the eye. augna-verkr, m. pain in the eye, Hkr. ii. 257, Bs. i. 451, Pr. 471, Bjarn. 58. augna-vik, n. pl. = augnakrókr. augna-þungi, a, m. heaviness of the eye, Hkr. ii. 257.

að, dep. [hönk, a bank or coil], in the phrase, e-m á., one gets the worst of it. But it is twisted to another sense in the dream of king Harold, Fms. vi. 312. Shortly before the battle at the river Niz, the king dreamt that king Sweyn pulled the hank of rope out of his hand,—réðu svá flestir at Sveinn mundi fá þat er þeir keptust um, þá mælti Hákon jarl: vera má at svá sé, en vænna þyki mér at Sveini konungi muni áhankast, most men read it so that S. would win the prize of contest, then said earl H.: well that may be so, but it seems more likely to me that king S. will be caught.

s, m., pl. ir: [the etymology of this word has been much contested; some—upon the authority of Snorri, hans menn fóru ‘brynjulausir,’ Hkr. i. 11—derive it from ‘berr’ ( bare) and ‘serkr’ [cp. sark, Scot. for shirt]; but this etymology is inadmissible, because ‘serkr’ is a subst. not an adj.: others derive it from ‘berr’ (Germ. bär = ursus), which is greatly to be preferred, for in olden ages athletes and champions used to wear hides of bears, wolves, and reindeer (as skins of lions in the south), hence the names Bjálfi, Bjarnhéðinn, Úlfhéðinn, (héðinn, pellis,)—‘pellibus aut parvis rhenonum tegimentis utuntur,’ Caes. Bell. Gall. vi. 22: even the old poets understood the name so, as may be seen in the poem of Hornklofi (beginning of 10th century), a dialogue between a Valkyrja and a raven, where the Valkyrja says, at berserkja reiðu vil ek þik spyrja, to which the raven replies, Úlfhéðnar heita, they are called Wolfcoats, cp. the Vd. ch. 9; þeir berserkir er Úlfhéðnar vóru kallaðir, þeir höfðu vargstakka ( coats of wild beasts) fyrir brynjur, Fs. 17]:—a ‘bear-sark,’ ‘bear-coat,’ i. e. a wild warrior or champion of the heathen age; twelve berserkers are mentioned as the chief followers of several kings of antiquity, e. g. of the Dan. king Rolf Krake, Edda 82; a Swed. king, Gautr. S. Fas. iii. 36; king Adils, Hrólf. Kr. S. ch. 16 sqq.; Harald Hárfagri, Eg. ch. 9, Grett. ch. 2, Vd. l. c. (Hornklofi, v. above); the twelve sons of Arngrim, Hervar. S. ch. 3–5, Hdl. 22, 23; the two berserkers sent as a present by king Eric at Upsala to earl Hakon of Norway, and by him presented to an Icel. nobleman, Eb. ch. 25. In battle the berserkers were subject to fits of frenzy, called berserks-gangr (furor bersercicus, cp. the phrase, ganga berserksgang), when they howled like wild beasts, foamed at the mouth and gnawed the iron rim of their shields; during these fits they were, according to popular belief, proof against steel and fire, and made great havoc in the ranks of the enemy; but when the fever abated they were weak and tame. A graphical description of the ‘furor bersercicus’ is found in the Sagas, Yngl. S. ch. 6, Hervar. S. l. c., Eg. ch. 27, 67, Grett. ch. 42, Eb. ch. 25, Nj. ch. 104, Kristni S. ch. 2, 8 (Vd. ch. 46); cp. also a passage in the poem of Hornklofi | grenjuðu berserkir, | guðr var þeim á sinnum, | emjaðu Úlfhéðnar | ok ísarn gniiðu—which lines recall to the mind Roman descriptions of the Cimbric war-cry. In the Icel. Jus Eccles. the berserksgangr, as connected with the heathen age, is liable to the lesser outlawry, K. Þ. K. 78; it is mentioned as a sort of possession in Vd. ch. 37, and as healed by a vow to God. In the Dropl. S. Major (in MS.) it is medically described as a disease (v. the whole extract in the essay ‘De furore Bersercico,’ Kristni S. old Ed. in cake); but this Saga is modern, probably of the first part of the 17th century. The description of these champions has a rather mythical character. A somewhat different sort of berserker is also recorded in Norway as existing in gangs of professional bullies, roaming about from house to house, challenging husbandmen to ‘holmgang’ ( duel), extorting ransom (leysa sik af hólmi), and, in case of victory, carrying off wives, sisters, or daughters; but in most cases the damsel is happily rescued by some travelling Icelander, who fights and kills the berserker. The most curious passages are Glúm, ch. 4, 6, Gísl. ch. 1 (cp. Sir Edm. Head’s and Mr. Dasent’s remarks in the prefaces), Grett. ch. 21, 42, Eg. ch. 67, Flóam. S. ch. 15, 17; according to Grett. ch. 21, these banditti were made outlaws by earl Eric, A. D. 1012. It is worth noticing that no berserker is described as a native of Icel.; the historians are anxious to state that those who appeared in Icel. (Nj., Eb., Kr. S. l. c.) were born Norse (or Swedes), and they were looked upon with fear and execration. That men of the heathen age were taken with fits of the ‘furor athleticus’ is recorded in the case of Thorir in the Vd., the old Kveldulf in Eg., and proved by the fact that the law set a penalty upon it. Berserkr now and then occurs as a nickname, Glúm. 378. The author of the Yngl. S. attributes the berserksgangr to Odin and his followers, but this is a sheer misinterpretation, or perhaps the whole passage is a rude paraphrase of Hm. 149 sqq. In the old Hbl. 37 berserkr and giant are used synonymously. The berserkers are the representatives of mere brute force, and it therefore sounds almost blasphemous, when the Norse Barl. S. speaks of Guðs berserkr (a ‘bear-coat’ or champion of God), (Jesus Kristr gleymdi eigi hólmgöngu sins berserks), 54, 197. With the introduction of Christianity this championship disappeared altogether.

a. Danish;

dönsk tunga, the Danish (or old Scandinavian) language.

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adj., Danir, pl. Danes; Dan-mörk, f. Denmark, i. e. the mark, march, or border of the Danes; Dana-veldi, n. the Danish empire; Dana-virki, n. the Danish wall, and many compds, vide Fms. xi. This adj. requires special notice, because of the phrase Dönsk tunga ( the Danish tongue), the earliest recorded name of the common Scandinavian tongue. It must be borne in mind that the ‘Danish’ of the old Saga times applies not to the nation, but to the empire. According to the researches of the late historian P.A. Munch, the ancient Danish empire, at least at times, extended over almost all the countries bordering on the Skagerac (Vík); hence a Dane became in Engl. synonymous with a Scandinavian; the language spoken by the Scandinavians was called Danish; and ‘Dönsk tunga’ is even used to denote Scandinavian extraction in the widest extent, vide Sighvat in Fms. iv. 73, Eg. ch. 51, Grág. ii. 71, 72. During the 11th and 12th centuries the name was much in use, but as the Danish hegemony in Scandinavia grew weaker, the name became obsolete, and Icel. writers of the 13th and 14th centuries began to use the name ‘Norræna,’ Norse tongue, from Norway their own mother country, and the nearest akin to Icel. in customs and idiom. ‘Swedish’ never occurs, because Icel. had little intercourse with that country, although the Scandinavian tongue was spoken there perhaps in a more antique form than in the sister countries. In the 15th century, when almost all connection with Scandinavia was broken off for nearly a century, the Norræna in its turn became an obsolete word, and was replaced by the present word ‘Icelandic,’ which kept its ground, because the language in the mean time underwent great changes on the Scandinavian continent. The Reformation, the translation of the Old and New Testaments into Icelandic (Oddr Gotskalksson, called the Wise, translated and published the N. T. in 1540, and bishop Gudbrand the whole Bible in 1584), a fresh growth of religious literature, hymns, sermons, and poetry (Hallgrímr Pétrsson, Jón Vídalín), the regeneration of the old literature in the 17th and 18th centuries (Brynjólfr Sveinsson, Arni Magnússon, Þormóðr Torfason),—all this put an end to the phrases Dönsk tunga and Norræna; and the last phrase is only used to denote obsolete grammatical forms or phrases, as opposed to the forms and phrases of the living language. The translators of the Bible often say ‘vort Íslenzkt mál,’ our Icelandic tongue, or ‘vort móður mál,’ our mother tongue; móður-málið mitt, Pass. 35. 9. The phrase ‘Dönsk tunga’ has given rise to a great many polemical antiquarian essays: the last and the best, by which this question may be regarded as settled, is that by Jon Sigurdsson in the preface to Lex. Poët.; cp. also that of Pál Vídalín in Skýr. s. v., also published in Latin at the end of the old Ed. of Gunnl. Saga, 1775.

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(older form if), conj.

1) if, in case (aldri hefðir þú í borgina komit, ef ek hefða vitat); in poetry generally with subj.; vega þú gakk, ef vreiðr séir (sér), if thou be wroth;

2) = hvárt, if, whether (Egill spurði, ef hann vildi upp ór gröfinni);

3) as a relat. part., sá ef = sá er (rare).

n. doubt; ef er á e-u, it is doubtful; ekki er til efs, at, it cannot be doubted that; útan ef, without doubt.

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A. neut. subst., older form if, Barl. 114, 124, Hkv. l. c., Vellekla l. c., Hkv. Hjörv. 33:—doubt, used in plur., hver sé if, what doubt can there be? Vellekla: it still remains in the phrase, mér er til efs, I doubt; en þar sem ef er á, wherever it is doubtful, K. Á. 28; hvervetna þar sem ef er á nokkuru máli, 204; ekki er til efs, at þeir menn ríða at grindhliði, it cannot be doubted, that…, Lv. 19; sæmilig til efs, dubiously good, rather had, Vm. 55; utan ef, without doubt, Fms. vii. 37, Stj. 421; fyrir utan allt ef, H. E. i. 519, Barl. l. c.

B. conj. [Goth. ibai; A. S. and Scot. gif; Engl. if; O. H. G. ipu; Germ. ob; lost in Swed. and Dan.]:—if, in case; en ef þit eigit erfingja, Nj. 3; ef eigi ( unless) væri jafnhugaðr sem ek em, 264; ef þú átt þrjár orrostur við Magnús konung, Fms. vi. 178; ef hann er varmr, if he is warm, 655 xxx. 1: very freq. as a law term = in case that, Grág., N. G. L.; en ef þeir gjalda eigi, þá, i. 127; en ef (MS. en) þeir vilja eigi festa, id.

β. in poetry often with subj. (as in Engl.); inn þú bjóð, ef Eiríkr sé, if it be Eric, bid him come in, Em. I: nálgastu mik, ef þú megir, if thou may’st, Gm. 53; vega þú gakk, ef þú reiðr sér, if thou be wroth, Ls. 15; ef Gunnars missi, Akv. 11; ef hann at yðr lygi, Am. 31; ef sér geta mætti, Hm. 4; heilindi sitt ef maðr hafa nái (better than nair), 67: ellipt. passages where ‘if’ is omitted, but the subj. retained, v. Lex. Poët.; skór er skapaðr illa eðr skapt sé rangt (= ef skapt sé rangt), Hm. 127; but indic. sometimes occurs, ef hann freginn erat, 30; ef þitt æði dugir (indic.) ok þú Vafþrúðnir vitir (subj.), Vþm. 20: in prose the subj. is rare, and only in peculiar cases, e. g. nú munu vér á þá hættu leggja, ef (if, i. e. granted, supposed that) ek ráða ok binda ek við hann vináttu, Fms. iv. 82; ok bæta um þat, ef konunginum hafi yfirgefizt, xi. 283; þat var háttr Erlings, ef úvinir hans kæmi fyrir hann, vii. 319; en skotið á þá, ef þeir færi nær meginlandi, viii. 419; ef ek lifi ok mega’k ráða, Edda 34.

II. if, whether, Germ. ob, with indic. or subj.; sjá nú, ef Jakob leysir hann af þessum böndum, 655 xxx. 3; þá spyrr Frigg, ef sú kona vissi, then Frigg asks, if the woman knew, Edda 37; hann kom opt á mál við konung, ef hann mundi vilja bæta Þórólf, Eg. 106; Egill spurði, ef hann vildi upp ór gröfinni, 234; at Bölverki þeir spurðu, ef hann væri með böndum kominn, Hm. 109; hitt vil ek fyrst vita, ef þú fróðr sér, Vþm. 6; vittu ef þú hjálpir, see if thou canst help, Og. 5:—this sense is now obsolete, and ‘hvárt’ (hvort) is used

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pers. pron. he.

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pers. pron. masc. he; fem. HÓN or HÚN, she; for the pronunciation of this word see introduction to letter H; as to the inflexion see Gramm. p. xxi; in the MSS. the word is usually abbreviated  = hann; hº or hō = hón; m = hánum; ar = hennar; i or e = henni: the old dat. masc. was hánum, as shewn by rhymes, mána vegr und hánum, Haustl.; but in Icel. it was no doubt sounded h́num, by way of umlaut; it was then sounded hónum with a long vowel, and lastly honum with a short vowel, which also is the mod. form; the old MSS. often spell hánum in full; the spelling hönum in old printed books recalls the old form h́num; from Pass. 9. 7 it may be seen that in the middle of the 17th century the dative was sounded precisely as at present.

2. sing. fem. hón (ho in mod. Norse, hoo in Lancashire) seems to be the older form; the MSS. use both forms hón and hún, but the former is the usual one; it was prob. sounded h́n, which again points to a long root vowel, hánn, hána? [Cp. Ulf. is; Germ. er; A. S., Engl., and Hel. he; old Fris. hi; in the Scandin. idioms with a suffixed demonstrative particle, vide Gramm. p. xxviii; Dan. and Swed. han, hun, etc.]

B. As this word appears almost in every line only special usages need be mentioned, as, ef maðr færir ómaga fram ok beri fé undir hann (acc., sc. ómagi), eðr eigi hann (nom., the same) fé, þá skal hann (nom., sc. maðr) beiða hann (acc., sc. ómagi) með vátta, at hann (nom., the same) seli hánum (dat., sc. maðr) fjár-heimting á hönd þeim mönnum er hann (nom., sc. ómagi) á fé undir, Grág. i. 279; here the context is very perplexing, chiefly owing to the identity of acc. and nom. sing. masc., but also because the pron. is sometimes demonstr., sometimes reflexive; in the latter case an Icel. would now say sér instead of hánum: so also, þá skal hann beiða samþingis-goða, at hanu fái honum (i. e. sibi) mann, 10: again, skal hann selja sókn ok vörn ef hann vill, ok svá varðveizlu fjár síns þess er hann á hér eptir, 146; þá skal hón ráða við ráð frænda síns ( her) nokkurs, 307; Gunnarr kenndi féit at þat var hit sama sem hann (i. e. Njal) hafði honum (i. e. to Gunnar) greitt, Nj. 56.

II. the pers. pron. is often prefixed to a pr. name, as a sign of familiarity; farit upp til hestsins ok gætið hans Kols, Nj. 56; eðr hverr maðr er hann Gunnarr, what sort of a man is Gunnar? 51; ok hleypr á hann Þorkel upp, 114; ok leitið ér at honum Höskuldi, go and look after Hoskuld, 171; sæmd er ek veitta honum Þórólfi bróður þínum, Eg. 112; segir hann Pálnir, Fms. xi. 47; hón Ingibjörg, 49; hann Gísli, Grett. (in a verse); ok berjask við hann Ólaf, Fagrsk. 86; hans Vígólfs, Sól.; svá er, segir hann Þórðr, Ísl. ii. 329:—this has become very freq. in mod. conversational usage, so that a person (nay, even an animal or a ship that has a name) is scarcely ever named without the pron., bidd’ ‘ann Jón að koma, segð’ ‘onum Jóni, vekt’ ‘ana Sigríði; hún Sigga litla, hann Jón litli, etc.; or of ponies, sækt’ ‘ann Brún, legð’ á ‘ana Skjónu; cp. the dialogue in Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 612,—ég skal fylla mína hít, segir ‘ún Hvít, ég ét sem ég þoli, segir ‘ann boli, etc.; or Kvöldv. ii. 197,—taktú þarna frá ‘enni Reyðr og gefð’ ‘enni Hyrnu, hún Húfa hefir flækt sig í niðrbandinu.

III. er hann = who, that; sá maðr er hann vill, Grág. i. 19, 27, 36, vide p. 132.

2. answering to Fr. on, Germ. man, Engl. one; væri sverðit til tækt er hann vildi, when one wished, Eg. 505; but this use is very rare.

(að), v. = morgna.

(að), v.

1) to waste or pine away (m. ok þorna);

2) to cause to pine (þik morn morni!).

* * *

að, [Ulf. maurnan = μεριμναν; A. S. murnan; Engl. mourn; O. H. G. mornen]:—to mourn; in prose only used in the phrase, morna ok þorna, to mourn and wither away; nú vil ek heldr bera harm ok áhyggju ok morna hér ok þorna, þann veg sem auðnar, heldr en þú sért eigi í þeim stöðum sem þér þykir gott, Fas. ii. 235; hón mornaði öll ok þornaði, ok lifði þó mjök lengi við þessi úhægindi, Bjarn. 69:—in poets, móðir Atla, hón skyli morna, a curse, may the mourn! Og. 30; at ér í maura mornit haugi, that ye may mourn in mounds of ants, a curse, i. e. may be tormented, Fas. i. 436 (in a verse); þik morn morni, a curse, Sks. 31.

n. the name of an abode of fire; in the old mythology peopled by Múspells lýðir, the men of Muspell, a host of fiends, who are to appear at Ragnarok and destroy the world by fire; the prose in Edda 3 may have been derived from some lost verses of the Völuspá, for the name appears at the end of that poem (Vsp. 51) as if it were already known; it occurs nowhere else in the Norse mythical songs, except in Ls. 42 (múspells-megir). Múspells-heimr, the abode of Muspell, Edda 4. This interesting word was not confined to the Norse mythology, but appears twice in the old Saxon poem Heliand—mutspelli cumit on thiustra naht, also thiof ferit, m. comes in dusky night, as a thief fares, i. e. but the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, 2 Pet. iii. 10; and, mutspellis megin obar man ferit, the main of m. fares over men, see Schmeller’s Edition; a third instance is in an Old High German poem on the Last Day—dâr ni mac denne mac andremo helfan vora demo muspille = there no man can help another against the muspell-doom. In these instances muspell therefore stands for the day of judgment, the last day, and answers to Ragnarok of the Northern mythology. The etymology is doubtful, for spell may be = the weird, doom, = Lat. Fatum; or it may be = spoil, destruction; the former part mut or muod is more difficult to explain. The Icel. mús is an assimilated form.

the negative prefix un-. See ‘ú-’.

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or ú-, the negative prefix before nouns and verbs, [Goth., Engl., and Germ. un-; Dan. and Swed. û-, the nasal being absorbed.] The Icel. at a very early date changed this ú into ó, for the very oldest and best vellums use ó, not only the Greg., Eluc., Íb., the Miracle-book (Bs. i. 333 sqq.), but also the Grág., the Cod. Reg. of the Sæm. Edda, etc.; in later vellums of the better kind ú and ó are used promiscuously; till about the union with Norway the ú prevailed, and is chiefly used in vellums of the 14th century; but in the 15th the ó again took its old place, and has been retained ever since, agreeably with the usual pronunciation. The ó is therefore the proper Icel. form, e. g. ó-vitr = Engl. un-wise; that it was sounded thus even in the 12th century is also shewn by the treatise of the second grammarian (Gramm. p. i, col. 1),—ó eðr ú þat skiptir orðum, svá sem er satt eðr ó-satt (ú-satt), Skálda 171. This change of spelling in the MSS. about (or a little before) the union with Norway cannot have been owing to any change in pronunciation, but was simply a Norwegianism, as were many other cases, e. g. the dropping the h before liquids, contrary to the Icel. pronunciation. On the other hand, as for the rest of Scandinavia, the ú has been retained in Denmark and in the east of Norway; but ó in the west and north of Norway (see Ivar Aasen’s Dict.), as also in mod, Swed. (e. g. o-möjlig = Germ. un-möglich). In early Swed. (in the laws) u and o are used indifferently. The Orkneys seem to have followed the Icel., to judge from a rhyme in the poem Jd. composed by bishop Bjarni (died A. D. 1222), a native of the Orkneys,— ó-teitan mik sútar, the metre of which requires a half rhyme, a rule followed strictly throughout that poem.

B. Of the compds with ú- or ó-, all but a few words are from un-; these exceptional words appear to be contractions, either,

α. from ör-, where we have such double forms as ör-sekr and ó-sekr, N. G. L. i. 379; ör-viti and ó-viti, ó-verðr and ör-verðr, ó-vænn and ör-vænn, ör-hæfi and ú-hæfa, ör-keypis and ó-keypis, ú-dæmi qs. ör-dæmi (?), ó-bóta qs. ör-bóta (?), ó-birgr and ör-birgr; perh. also ú-helgi qs. ör-helgi, ú-heilagr qs. ör-heilagr; cp. also such words as ú-megin and ör-megna, ú-synja qs. ör-synja (?).

β. from of-, esp. before a labial or dental; thus, of-vægr and ó-vægr, ó-frýnn qs. of-frýnn, ó-sköp = of-sköp (?), ó-freskr qs. of-freskr, ó-fyrirsynju qs. of-fyrirsynju (?), ó-hljóð or ú-hljóð qs. of-hljóð (?), of-dæll and ó-dæll, of-ljóss and ó-ljóss. In some of these instances doubt may arise, for a double set of compds might have sprung up. On the other hand, the great number of compds with ur-, er- in German and Saxon, and the scarcity of such words in the Norse tongue, lead to the conclusion that many of these compds in the course of time have been lost or replaced by ú-; cp. also of-allt and á-valt, (of-saka and á-saka, of-brýði and á-brýði, of-munir and á-munr, af-vöxtr and á-vöxtr, af-burðr and of-burðr?). Since in most Editions the spelling with ú- has been adopted in these classes of words, they must be sought for under that head.

* * *

(segi, sagða, sagðr), v.

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

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

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

segja tíðendi, to tell news;

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

sem áðr sagði, as was told before;

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

2) to say, declare, in an oath;

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

3) law phrases;

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

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

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

segja fram sök, to declare one’s case;

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

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

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

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

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

segja frá e-u, to tell, relate;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

segja e-n upp, to give one up;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A. To say, in the oldest poems chiefly,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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(-pta, -ptr), v.

1) to divide;

s. e-u í tvá staði, to divide into two parts;

s. e-u með sér, to divide between themselves (sumum mönnum skiptu þeir með sér til ánauðar);

2) to share, deal out (nornir skipta geysiújafnt);

enda skipti guð með oss, and so may God judge between us;

3) to shift, change (s. litum, nafni, skapi);

4) þat skiptir engu (litlu, miklu), it is of no (little, great) importance, it makes no (little, great) difference;

mik skiptir engu, it is of no moment to me, does not concern me;

s. máli, to be of importance (þótti henni allmiklu máli s., at þér tœkist stórmannliga);

eiga máli at s. um e-t, to have a right to deal with, be concerned about, a thing;

þat mun tveimr s., it will turn out in one of two ways;

sér Pálnatoki, at mun tveimr um s., that it will turn out one way or the other;

þat skipti mörgum hundruðum, it was a matter of (it amounted to) many hundreds;

sitr Ólafr nú at búi sínu, svá at vetrum skipti, for several years;

5) absol. to come about, happen;

ef því er at s., if it comes to that;

því er at s. þó, it will however turn out so;

6) with preps., s. sér af e-u, to take part in, concern oneself with a thing (Glúmr skipti sér ekki af um búsýslu);

s. e-u fyrir e-t, to exchange a thing for another;

undarliga skiptit ér til, ye do strangely with things;

impers., skiptir e-n veg til, it turns out, comes to pass (þannig skipti til sem úlíkligra mundi þykkja);

s. um e-u, to change;

s. um trúnaði sínum, to go over to the other side;

s. um e-t, to change (s. um bústað, lánardróttna, nafn);

s. um, to come to a crisis, turn one way or other (skjótt mun um s.);

s. e-u við e-n, to exchange with one another (s. höggum við e-n);

s. orðum við e-n, to bandy words with one;

s. ríki við e-n, to share the kingdom with (sá hann engan annan sinn kost en s. ríki við Harald);

7) refl., skiptast, to divide themselves, disperse (skiptust þeir, snøru sumir norðr); to change (þá skiptust tungur á Englandi, er Vilhjálmr bastarðr vann England);

recipr., skiptast e-u við, to make an exchange;

s. gjöfum (höggum) við, to exchange presents (blows);

s. við um róðr, to row by turns.

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t, [A. S. scyftan; Engl. shift; Dan. skifte]:—to make a division of a thing, with dat. of the thing; to part, share, divide; skipta e-u í hluti, Eluc. 8; s. hrepp í fjórðunga, Grág. i. 443; s. liði í sveitir, Fms. ix. 511, x. 268; skipta þeir nú félagi sínu, Ld. 192; s. arfi, Eg. 197; s. með sér úmögum, Grág. i. 237 sqq.; sumum mönnum skiptu þeir með sér til ánauðar, Fms. i. 77; tóku þeir at herfangi allt fólk ok skiptu milli skipanna, vii. 195; s. vatni með mönnum, Grág. ii. 290; s. landi með okkr, 254; konungr skipti landi með sonum sínum, Fms. i. 6: s. e-u við e-n, to share it with another, Eg. 333, Fms. vii. 176; s. sundr, to part asunder, divide; ef sundr er skipt lögunum, þá mun sundr skipt friðinum, Nj. 164: to share, nornir skipta geysi-újafnt, Edda 11; enda skipti Guð með okkr, Nj. 165; látum s. Guð giptu, Fms. viii. (in a verse).

2. so in the phrases, vil ek mér engu af skipta, I will take no share for myself, will take no part in, Bs. i. 7, Band. 9 new Ed.; skipta sér lítið af e-u, Hom. (St.), Fas. iii. 529; s. mér engu af við þik, to leave thee alone, Fms. ii. 162; Þorgils bað hann sér ekki s. af við hana, heed her not, vii. 219; Glúmr skipti sér ekki af um búsýslu, Glúm. 335; þat er hann skipti sér af um mál manna, when he took part in men’s affairs, Ld. 98.

3. acc., skipta bækr í kapítala, Skálda 174; jörðin var í brott skipt, Stj. 26; s. föng sin, Hom. 151; s. fé sitt, 152: this usage is due to the influence of Latin, and is rare in classical writings, old or mod., cp. Grág. i. 84; s. sitt líf í betra efni, Mar.

II. to shift, change, also with dat.; skipta litum, to change colour, Rb. 354; s. göngu sinni, 100; s. nafni, Fms. xi. 416; s. skapi, Nj. 217; s. skaplyndi, Fms. vii. 113; s. um trúnaði sínum, to turn to the other side, x. 125: rarely with acc., skipta í ýmis kvikendi (cp. skiptingr), Barl. 25.

2. skipta e-u, to be of importance to a matter, to change or alter it; eigi skiptir þat arfi, it does not change the inheritance, Grág. i. 183; eiga máli at s. um e-t, to be concerned about a thing, Nj. 87, 240; þótti henni allmiklu máli s., it concerned her much, Ó. H. 31, 97; þat skiptir engu, it does not matter, Fms. vi. 14; þykki mér þat miklu s., Eg. 714; kveðsk ok engu máli þykkja s., it did not matter to him, Ísl. ii. 350; mik skiptir öngu, Nj. 33; ek ætla mik öngu s. hverr þú ert, Fms. x. 295; eigi þykki mér s. (‘tis indifferent to me) í hverjum flokki ek em, Ó. H. 204; þik mun litlu s. um mína liðsemd, thou wilt get but little good from my help, Eg. 722; ef máli skiptir, if it be of importance, Skálda 162; hitt skiptir hana enn meira, it is of more moment for her, Ld. 136; þik mun þat eigi (engu?) skipta, 72; hvat mun þik þat s., dæmðr ertú nú til dauða, Fs. 96; eigi mun þat nú s., Nj. 134; til alls er jarli þótti skipta, Fms. xi. 128; þat skiptir hverr byðr, it makes all the difference, i. 181; þá skipti hversu gott væri mitt yfir-bragð, ef mikit er, Fb. i. 391; þat mun tveimr skipta, one of the two, of two extremes, Ld. 34, Fms. vii. 95; sér Pálnatóki, at mun tveimr um skipta, it must turn one way or the other, of the decisive moment, xi. 96; um þenna mann mun stórum s., Ó. H. 140; eigi skiptir þat (þá at) högum til, ‘tis not as it should be, Fb. 1. 331, Fs. 79: þat skipti mörgum hundraðum, it is a matter of many hundreds, amounts to several hundreds, Eb. 328, Bs. ii. 56; sitr Ólafr nú at búi sínu svá at vetrum skipti, for several years, Ld. 110; matlausir svá at mörgum dægrum skipti, Fms. ii. 97, Bs. i. 339, Fb. i. 431; það skiptir tugum, etc.

3. þannig skipti til (it so turned out, it came to pass) sem úlikligra mundi þykkja, Fms. vii. 161: skipta til = skipa til, to arrange, dispose, Bjarn. 6l; skipta um, to come to a crisis, turn one way or other, Glúm. 369; skjótt mun um skipta, Ó. H. 209; láta þann verða fund okkarn, at um skipti með oss, 94.

III. to exchange; skipta e-u við e-n, to exchange with another; s. höggum við e-n, Ó. H. 214; s. orðum við e-n, Nj. 62; skipta jörðum í aðrar, to exchange them with others, Gþl. 60, Barl. 4, 75, 106; vildi Sveinn skipta hornum við nafna sinn, Orkn. 246; s. orðum við e-n, s. til, undarliga skipti ér til, ye make strange shifts with things, turn them up and down, Ó. H. 67; s. um e-t, to exchange; s. um bústaði, lánar-drottna, namn, Nj. 29, 57, Fms. xi. 426, Rb. 300; hann skipti þar um er honum þótti þurfa, Nj. 122 (um-skipti).

IV. absol. to change, come about, happen; ef þeir eigu nokkuru at s., Sks. 252 B; ef því er at skipta, if that is to happen, if it comes to that, Eg. 426; þótt því sé at s., Nj. 168, Fms. vi. 416, Ó. H. 33; þvi er at skipta þó, it will however turn out so, Fær. 32.

B. Reflex. to divide themselves, disperse; skiptusk þeir, snöru sumir norðr, Fms. v. 44; skiptask til landa, Hom. 129.

2. to turn oneself, change; náliga mátti kalla at hann skiptisk í allan annan mann, Sturl. i. 125 C; líkamir várir skiptask til meiri dýrðar, Eluc. 43; nema fleira hafi skipzk (= skipask) um hagi þína, Fas. i. 72; þar skiptisk stórum sólar-gangr, varies much, Sks. 200 B; þá skiptusk tungur ( changed) á Englandi, er Vilhjalmr bastarðr vann England, Ísl. ii. 221; þá er tungur skiptusk, Rb. 340.

II. recipr., skiptask e-u við, to make an exchange; skiptask gjöfum við, to exchange presents, Eg. 250, Njarð. 362, Fms. xi. 224; skiptask orðum, málum við, Ld. 38, Fms. vii. 138; s. höggum við, Eg. 221; skiptask við um róðr, to row by turns, 362: mod., skiptask á um e-t, id.; skiptask drottins-dagar á stöfum, to change alternately, Rb. 488; skiptask til vöku, to take turns in watching, Stj. 394.

III. pass., skiptast manna á milli, Sks. 442.

(gen. skjaldar, dat. skildi; pl. skildir, acc. skjöldu), m. shield;

hafa e-n at skildi fyrir sér, to have another as a shield before one;

bera efra (hærra) skjöld, to have the best of it, to gain the day;

þjóna undir þann skjöld, to serve under that standard;

leika tveim skjöldum, to play a double game;

koma í opna skjöldu, to attack in flank (from the left);

skjóta skildi yfir e-n, to protect one.

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m., gen. skjaldar, dat. skildi; an old dat. in poets skjaldi,—hj aldrs á mínum skj aldi, Eb. 27 new Ed. (in a verse); h aldorð í bug skj aldi, Fms. vi. (in a verse); h aldir fast ok skj aldi, Kormak: plur. skildir; acc. skjöldu, mod. skildi: [Ulf. skildus = θυρεός, Ephes. vi. 16; Dan. skjold; Swed. sköld; common to all Teut. languages: it is commonly derived from skjól, shelter, although the short root vowel and the final d of skild speak against this: ‘skillingr’ or ‘skildingr’ ( a shilling) may be a derivative from ‘skildus,’ from the shape, and from the painted or scratched ‘ring’ on the shields; see below: in fact, an old poet (Bragi) calls the shield ‘the penny of the hall of Odin.’]

A. A shield, the generic name; the special names are, rönd, rít, baugr, targa, lind; þeir höfðu ekki langa skjöldu, Fas. i. 379; góðan skjöld ok þjökkan á hálsi, Sks. 407; skjöld á hlið, Bjarn. 62, and so in countless instances.

II. special phrases; halda skildi fyrir e-m (e-n), to hold one’s shield, as a second in a holmganga, Glúm. 332, Korm. 88; or, fyrir e-n, Ísl. ii. 257; era héra at borgnara þótt hæna beri skjöld, Fms. vii. 116: hafa e-n at skildi, to have another as one’s shield, i. e. seek shelter behind him, Nj. 8; bera efra skjöld, to carry the highest shield, gain the day, Fas. i. 383, Fms. x. 394: þjóna undir þann skjöld, to serve under that shield, that standard, vii. 293; þjóna undir sama skjöld, viii. 109: binda öllum jafnan skjöld, to tie the same shield to all, treat all in one fashion (metaphor from a withy-shield?), Clem. 44: leika tveim skjöldum, to play with two shields, play a double game (metaphor from the red and white shields, see B), Am. 70, Hkr. i. (in a verse): koma í opna skjöldu, to fall into the open (hollow) shield, to attack in flank ( from the left), Fms. vi. 408, Stj. 365, Eg. 295, Fb. ii. 123; rennir sá maðr í kirkjugarð, ok sækir þingat skjöld, and seeks protection there, N. G. L. i. 352; múrr ok skjöldr, Mar.

III. of any shield-formed thing; tólgar-s., a round piece of tallow; also of shield-like spots on cattle or whales: of a white tablet in churches, Vm. 142, 162, 168, Ám. 55, Pm. 17: brjóst-skjöldr, a round brooch.

IV. a pr. name, Nj., Hkr. (of the son of Odin, the ancestor of the Danish kings); Skjöldungar, Edda; Skjöldr Skánunga goð, Fb. iii. 246.

COMPDS: skjaldarband, skjaldarbukl, skjaldarfetill, skjaldarjötunn, skjaldarrönd, skjaldarskirfl, skjaldarsporðr.

B. Remarks on the shield.—A shield was raised as a signal in time of war; a red shield betokened war (rauðr skjöldr, her-skjöldr), a white shield peace (hvítr skjöldr, friðar-skjöldr, a peace-shield); in a battle the red shield was hoisted, Hkv. 1. 33; but, bregða upp friðar skildi, to hoist the (white) shield of peace, was a sign that the battle was to cease; hann lét skjóta upp skildi hvítum, Fagrsk. 6l, Fms. vii. 23; hence also the phrase, bera herskjöld, or, fara herskildi, to harry, overrun a land with the ‘war shield,’ see frið-skjöldr and her-skjöldr (s. v. herr). War ships were lined from stem to stern with a wall of shields,—skip skarat skjöldum, or skjaldat skip; hann kom í Bjarnar-fjörð með al-skjölduðu skipi, síðan var hann Skjaldar-Björn kallaðr, Landn. 156. The halls of the ancients were hung all round with a row of shields, Gm. 9, Edda 2, Eg. 43, see the curious story in Fas. iii. 42. For the shield-wall in battles see skjald-borg. Ancient sayings; nú er skarð fyrir skildi, now there is a gap for a shield, a breach in the fence, of a heavy loss, such as the death of a person, nú er skarð fyrir skildi, nú er svanrinn nár á Tjörn, Jón Þorl.; höggva skarð í skildi e-s, to cut a notch in one’s shield, inflict a severe blow, Orkn. (in a verse). Shields were furnished with a painted or carved ‘ring’ representing mythological or heroic subjects; these rings are the earliest works of Northern art on record, hence come the names rít, baugr, rönd, of which rít points to scratching (whereas Bragi used ‘fá’ = to paint); rauðum skildi, rönd var ór gulli, Hkv. 1. 33. Such shields were a lordly gift, and gave rise to several ancient poems treating of the subjects carved or painted on the shield, such as the famous Haust-löng by Thjodolf, the Ragnars-kviða by Bragi, the two Beru-drápur (Shield-songs) by Egill; these ‘shield-lays’ were afterwards the sources of the writer of the Edda, but only a few fragments are preserved; (cp. the Greek lay on ‘the shield of Heracles,’ and the lay on Achilles’ shield in the Iliad.)

* * *

(er; var, várum or vórum; verit), v.

1) to be, exist; þeir menn vóru, er, there were men who;

2) to be, happen; þat var, at hón fór brott, so it was that she went away; en er váraði, var þar búskortr, there was scarcity in the household; hvat er henni, what is the matter with her! þat var einn dag, at, it happened one day that; kann (má) v., at, it is possible, it may be that;

3) to last; meðan þingit væri, while the Thing lasted;

4) láta e-n v., to leave one alone (lát mik v. ok ger mér ekki illt); bað hann láta v., begged him to leave it undone, not to do it;

5) to dwell, stay; hann bað hana vera í búð sinni, he asked her to stay in his booth; hann var á Höskuldsstöðum um nótt, he passed a night at H.;

6) with infin., hlymr var at heyra, a clattering was to be heard; þar var at sjá, there was to be seen; v. at gera e-t, to be doing a thing; kvað hann v. at telja silfr, said he was counting the money; denoting necessity, a thing about to happen, or to be done; nú er þeim út at ganga öllum, er leyft er, now all those must go out to whom leave is given; er nú eigi Kára at varast, now there is no need to beware of K.; nú er þar til máls at taka, at, now it is to be told that; nú er at segja frá Skamkatli, now we must tell of S.;

7) with a predicate (noun, a., or adv.); v. konungr, Jarl, biskup, to be king, earl, bishop; v. glaðr, sæll, hryggr, ungr, gamall, to be glad, happy, sad, young, old; v. vel, illa til e-s, to be well, ill-disposed towards one; þat er illa, it is sad; vera spakliga í heraði, to behave gently; orð kvað þá Vingi þats án veri, words which he had better not have said;

8) impers., e-m er varmt, heitt, kalt, one is warm, cold;

9) with past participles in passive sense; v. kallaðr, sagðr, tekinn, to be called, said, taken;

10) with preps., v. af e-u, to be off, out of (v. af klæðum); v. at e-u, to be busy at; verkmenn váru at arningu, they were ploughing; to be present (þar varstu at); ek var at ok vafk, I was about weaving; þeir höfðu verit at þrjú sumur, they had been busy at it for three summers; v. eptir, to be left, remain (A. kvazt vilja v. eptir ok hvílast); v. fyrir, to lead ( see fyrir); v. til, to exist; v. um, undir, see um, undir.

1) stay, sojourn; ef hann á sér í vá veru, if he has a corner to stay in;

2) comfort (slíkt er válaðs v.).

* * *

u, f.

1. = væra, a shelter; at þeir hefði né eina veru ( comfort) af eldinum, Eb. 100 new Ed. (v. l. 9): a mansion, í míns föðurs húsi eru margar verur, John xiv. 2: in the allit. phrases, eigi vist né veru, Fb. iii. 457; hvárki vist né veru, Grett. 142 new Ed.; vist né væri, Fb. iii. 52; ef hann á sér í vá veru, Hm. 25.

2. [vera = to be], a dwelling; seg mér í hverjum staðum þín vera er, Barl. 79; skaut í hug honum vesöld sinnar veru, 196.

(-s, -ar), m. dream; eigi er mark at draumum, dreams are not worth noticing; segja em draum, to tell one’s dream to another; ráða draum, to read (interpret) a dream; draumr rætist, a dream proves true; vakna eigi við góðan draum, to awake from a bad dream; em er draums, one dreams, is in a trance.

* * *

m. [A. S. dreâm; Hel. drôm; Engl. dream; Swed.-Dan. dröm; Germ. traum; Matth. i. and ii, and by a singular mishap Matth. xxvii. 19, are lost in Ulf., so that we are unable to say how he rendered the Gr. οναρ:—the A. S. uses dreâm only in the sense of joy, music, and dreamer = a harper, musician, and expresses draumr, Engl. dream, by sveofnas,—even the Ormul. has dræm = a sound; so that the Engl. dream seems to have got its present sense from the Scandin. On the other hand, the Scandin. have dream in the proper sense in their earliest poems of the heathen age, ballir draumar, Vtkv. I; Hvat er þat draurna, Em. I; it is used so by Bragi Gamli (9th century), Edda 78 (in a verse); cp. draum-þing, Hkv. 2. 48, whilst the A. S. sense of song is entirely strange to Icel.: it is true that svefnar (pl.) now and then occurs in old poets = Lat. somnium, but this may be either from A. S. influence or only as a poetical synonyme. Which of the two senses is the primitive and which the metaph.?]:—a dream. Many old sayings refer to draumr,—vakandi d., a day dream, waking dream, like the Gr. υπαρ; von er vakandi draumr, hope is a waking dream, or von er vakanda manns d.; ekki er mark at draumum, dreams are not worth noticing, Sturl. ii. 217; opt er ljotr d. fyrir litlu, Bs. ii. 225. Icel. say, marka drauma, to believe in dreams, Sturl. ii. 131; segja e-m draum, to tell one’s dream to another, Nj. 35; ráða draum, to read (interpret) a dream, Fms. iv. 381, x. 270, xi. 3; draumr rætisk, the dream proves true, or (rarely) draum (acc.) ræsir, id., Bret.; vakna við vándan (eigi góðan) draum, to wake from a bad dream, of a sudden, violent awakening, Fms. iii. 125, ix. 339, Stj. 394, Judg. viii. 21, 22; vakna af draumi, to waken from a dream; dreyma draum, to dream a dream; láta e-n njóta draums, to let one enjoy his dream, not wake him: gen. draums is used adverb. in the phrase, e-m er draums, one is benumbed, dreamy: stóð hann upp ok fylgði englinum, ok hugði sér draums vera, Post. 656 C; draums kveð ek þér vera, Hkv. Hjörv. 19; þótti honum sjálfum sem draums hefði honum verit, O. H. L. 81; hence comes the mod. e-m er drums, of stupid insensibility. Passages referring to dreams—Hkr. Hálfd. S. ch. 7, Am. 14. 25, Edda 36, Íb. ch. 4, Nj. ch. 134, Ld. ch. 33, Gunnl. S. ch. 2, 13, Harð. S. ch. 6, Lv. ch. 21 (very interesting), Gísl. ch. 13, 24 sqq., Glúm. ch. 9, 21, Þorst. Síðu H., Vápn. 21, Bjarn. 49, Fbr. ch. 16, 37, Þorl. S. ch. 7, Sturl. i. 200, 225, ii. 9, 99, 190, 206–216, iii. 251–254, 272, Rafns S. ch. 7, 14, Laur. S. ch. 2, 65, Sverr. S. ch. 1, 2, 5, 42, Fms. vi. 199, 225, 312, 403, 404, vii. 162, Jómsv. S. ch. 2, etc. etc.

COMPDS: draumamaðr, draumaráðning, draumaskrimsl, draumavetr.

1) half; hálfr mánaðr, half a month, fortnight; til hálfs by a half; hálfr annar, þriði, fjórði, &c., one, two, three and a half; hálft annat hundrað, one hundred and a half; hálfr þriði tøgr manna, twenty-five men;

2) neut. ‘hálfu’, by half, with a comparative in an intensive sense, much, far; hálfu verri, far worse; hálfu meira, far more; hálfu siðr, far less.

* * *

adj., hálf (hlf), hálft, freq. spelt halbr, halb er öld hvar, Hm. 52; [Goth. halbs; A. S. healf; Engl. half; Hel. halba; Germ. halb; Dan. halv; Swed. half]:—half; hálfr mánuðr, half a month, a fortnight, Nj. 4; þar átti hann kyn hálft, Eg. 288; hálf stika, half a yard, Grág. i. 498; hálf Jól, the half of Yule, Fs. 151, passim: adverb. phrases, til hálfs, by a half, Eg. 258, 304; aukinn hálfu, increased by half, doubled, Grág. i. 157, Gþl. 24.

2. with the notion of brief, scant, little; sjá hálf hýnótt, that little night, Skm. 42; hálf stund, a little while; eg skal ekki vera hálfa stund að því, i. e. I shall have done presently, in a moment; cp. hálb er öld hvar, only half, Hm. 52; með hálfum hleif, with half a loaf, a little loaf of bread, 51: an Icel. says to his guest, má eg bjóða þér í hálfum bolla, í hálfu staupi, hálfan munnbita, and the like.

II. in counting Icel. say, hálfr annarr, half another, i. e. one and a half; h. þriði, half a third, i. e. two and a half; h. fjórði, three and a half; h. fimti, four and a half, etc.; thus, hálfan annan dag, one day and a half; hálft annað ár, hálfan annan mánuð, h. aðra nótt; hálf önnur stika, a yard and a half, Grág. i. 498; hálfa fimtu mörk, four marks and a half, 391; hálft annat hundrað, one hundred and a half, Sturl. i. 186; hálfr þriði tögr manna, two decades and a half, i. e. twenty-five, men, Ísl. ii. 387; hálfan fimta tög skipa, Hkr. iii. 374: similar are the compd adjectives hálf-þrítugr, aged twenty-five; hálf-fertugr, aged thirty-five; hálf-fimtugr, hálf-sextugr, -sjötugr, -áttræðr, -níræðr, -tíræðr, i. e. aged forty-five, fifty-five, sixty-five, seventy-five, eighty-five, ninety-five, and lastly, hálf-tólfræðr, one hundred and fifteen, Eg. 84, Fms. i. 148, Greg. 60, Stj. 639, Bs. i. 54, 101, Hkr. (pref.), Mar. 32, Íb. 18, Grett. 162, Fs. 160: also of measure, hálf-fertugr föðmum, Landn. (App.) 324, Fms. vii. 217; hálf-þrítugt tungl, a moon twenty-five days’ old, Rb. 26: contracted, hálf-fjórðu mörk, three marks and a half, Am. 63; hálf-fimtu mörk, four marks and a half, Jm. 36: as to this use, cp. the Germ. andert-halb, dritt-halb, viert-halb, etc., Gr. τρίτον ἡμιτάλαντον ( two talents and a half), Lat. sestertius.

III. neut. hálfu with a comparative, in an intensive sense, far; hálfu verri, worse by half, far worse; hálfu meira, far more, Fms. vi. 201; hálfu heilli! Fb. i. 180; hálfu síðr, far less, Þórð. 41 new Ed., Fb. ii. 357; fremr hálfu, much farther ago, Hðm. 2; h. lengra, Bs. ii. 48; h. betri, better by half; h. hógligra, far snugger, Am. 66; hálfu sæmri, Fb. ii. 334.

β. with neg. suff.; hálft-ki, not half; at hálft-ki má óstyrkð ór bera, Greg. 54.

IV. a pr. name, rare, whence Hálfs-rekkr, m. pl. the champions of king Half, Fas.: Hálf-dan, m. Half-Dane, a pr. name, cp. Healf-Danes in Beowulf, Fms.

B. The COMPDS are very numerous in adjectives, nouns, and participles, but fewer in verbs; we can record only a few, e. g. hálf-afglapi, a, m. half an idiot, Band. 4 new Ed. hálf-aukinn, part. increased by half, H. E. ii. 222. hálf-áttræðr, see above. hálf-bergrisi, a, m. half a giant, Eg. 23. hálf-berserkr, m. half a berserker, Sd. 129. hálf-björt, n. adj. half bright, dawning. hálf-blandinn, part. half blended, Stj. 85. hálf-blindr, adj. half blind. hálf-bolli, a, m. half a bowl (a measure), N. G. L. ii. 166. hálf-breiðr, adj. of half breadth, Jm. 2. hálf-brosandi, part. half smiling. hálf-bróðir, m. a half brother (on one side). hálf-brunninn, part. half burnt. hálf-bræðrungr, m. a half cousin, K. Á. 140. hálf-búinn, part. half done. hálf-dauðr, adj. half dead, Sturl. ii. 54, Magn. 530, Hkr. iii. 366. hálf-daufr, adj. half deaf. hálf-deigr, adj. damp. hálf-dimt, n. adj. half dark, in twilight. hálf-drættingr, m. a fisher-boy, who gets half the fish he catches, but not a full ‘hlutr.’ hálf-ermaðr, part. half sleeved, Sturl. iii. 306. hálf-etinn, part. half eaten, Al. 95. hálf-eyrir, m. half an ounce, Fms. x. 211. hálf-fallinn, part. half fallen, K. Á. 96; h. út sjór, of the tide. hálf-farinn, part. half gone. hálf-fertrugr, hálf-fimti, hálf-fimtugr, hálf-fjórði, see above (II). hálf-fífl, n. and hálf-fífla, u, f. half an idiot, Fms. vi. 218, Bs. i. 286. hálf-fjórðungr, m. half a fourth part, Bs. ii. 170. hálf-frosinn, part. half frozen. hálf-fúinn, part. half rotten. hálf-genginn, part. halving. hálf-gildi, n. half the value, Gþl. 392. hálf-gildr, adj. of half the value, N. G. L. hálf-gjalda, galt, to pay half, N. G. L. i. 174. hálf-grátandi, part. half weeping. hálf-gróinn, part. half healed. hálf-görr, part. half done, only half done, left half undone, Fms. ii. 62; litlu betr en hálfgört, Greg. 24. hálfgörðar-bóndi, a, m. a man who has to furnish half a levy, D. N. hálf-hélufall, n. a slight fall of rime, Gísl. 154. hálf-hlaðinn, part. half laden, Jb. 411. hálf-hneppt, n. adj. a kind of metre, Edda 139. hálf-hræddr, adj. half afraid. hálf-kirkja, u, f. a ‘half-kirk,’ = mod. annexía, an annex-church, district church, or chapel of ease, Vm. 126, H. E. i. 430, ii. 138, Am. 28, Pm. 41, Dipl. v. 19; distinction is made between al-kirkja, hálf-kirkja, and bæn-hús, a chapel. hálf-kjökrandi, part. half choked with tears. hálf-klæddr, part. half dressed. hálf-konungr, m. a half king, inferior king, Fms. i. 83. hálf-kveðinn, part. half uttered; skilja hálfkveðit orð, or hálfkveðna vísu = Lat. verbum sat, MS. 4. 7. hálf-launat, n. part. rewarded by half, Fms. ii. 62, Grág. i. 304. hálf-leypa, u, f. a half laupr (a measure), B. K. passim, hálf-leystr, part. half loosened, Greg. 55. hálf-lifandi, part. half alive, half dead, Mar. hálf-litr, adj. of a cloak, of two colours, one colour on each side, Fms. ii. 70, Fas. iii. 561, Sturl. ii. 32, iii. 112, Fær. 227, Bs. i. 434. hálf-ljóst, n. adj.; pá er hálfljóst var, in twilight, Sturl. iii. 193. hálf-lokaðr, part. half locked. hálf-mætti, n. ‘half might,’ opp. to omnipotence, Skálda 161. hálf-mörk, f. half a mark, Vm. 80, 126. hálf-nauðigr, adj. half reluctant, Fms. xi. 392. hálf-neitt, n. adj. ‘half-naught,’ trifling, Fas. i. 60. hálf-níð, n. half a lampoon, Fms. iii. 21. hálf-níræðr, see above (II). hálf-nýtr, adj. of half use, Rb. 86. hálf-opinn, adj. half open. hálf-prestr, m. a ‘half-priest,’ a chaplain to a hálfkirkja, Sturl. ii. 178. hálf-pund, n. half a pound, Gþl. 343. hálf-raddarstafr, m. a semivowel, Skálda 176, 178. hálf-reingr, a, m. a half scamp, Bs. i. 517. hálf-rétti, n. a law term (cp. fullrétti, p. 177), a slight, a personal affront or injury of the second degree, liable only to a half fine; e. g. hálfréttis-orð is a calumny in words that may be taken in both senses, good and bad; whereas fullréttis-orð is downright, unmistakable abuse, Grág. ii. 144; hence the phrases, mæla, göra hálfrétti við e-n, i. 156, 157, ii. 153. hálfréttis-eiðr, m. an oath of compurgation to be taken in a case of h., N. G. L. i. 352. hálfréttis-maðr, m. a man that has suffered hálfrétti, Gþl. 105, 200. hálfréttis-mál, n. a suit of a case of h., N. G. L. i. 314. hálf-róinn, part. having rowed half the way, half-way, Fms. viii. 312. hálf-róteldi, n., prob. corrupt, Fms. xi. 129. hálf-rými, n. a naut. term, half a cabin, one side of a ship’s cabin, Fms. viii. 138, ix. 33, x. 157, Hkr. i. 302. hálfrýmis-félagar, m. pl. messmates in the same h., Edda 108. hálfrýmis-kista, u, f. a chest or bench belonging to a h., Fms. viii. 85. hálf-rökit (-rökvit, -rökvat), n. adj. half twilight, in the evening, Grett. 137, 140 A; hálf-rökvat is the mod. form, which occurs in Grett. 79 new Ed., Jb. 176, Al. 54; vide rökvit. hálf-sagðr, part. half told; in the saying, jafnan er hálfsögð saga ef einn segir = audiatur et altera pars, Grett. 121. hálf-sextugr, see hálfr II. hálf-sjauræðr, adj. = hálfsjötugr, Stj. 48. hálf-sjötugr, see hálfr II. hálf-skiptr, part. = hálflitr, Fms. ii. 170, Sturl. iii. 112. hálf-sleginn, part. half mown, of a field. hálf-slitinn, part. half worn. hálf-sofandi, part. half asleep. hálf-sótt, n. part. half passed; hálfsótt haf, a half-crossed sea. hálf-systkin, n. pl. half brother and sister, cp. hálfbróðir. hálf-systur, f. pl. half sisters. hálf-tíræðr, see hálfr II. hálf-troll, n. half a giant, Eg. 1, Nj. 164 (a nickname). hálf-tunna, u, f. half a tun, Vm. 44. hálf-unninn, part. half done, Fas. ii. 339. hálf-vaxinn, part. half grown. hálf-vegis, adv. by halves. hálf-virði, n. half worth, Jb. 403, Glúm. 347, Sturl. ii. 132. hálf-visinn, part. and hálf-vista, adj. half withered, and medic. palsied on one side. hálf-viti, a, m. a half-witted man. hálf-votr, adj. half wet. hálf-vætt, f. half weight (a measure), Dipl. iv. 8, Fas. iii. 383. hálf-þrítugr, see hálfr II; spelt half-ðritogr, Js. 79. hálf-þurr, adj. half dry. hálf-þverrandi, part. half waning, Js. 732 (of the moon). hálf-þynna, u, f. a kind of small axe, Gþl. 103, 104, Lv. 35. hálf-ærinn, part. half sufficient, Fms. viii. 440. hálf-ærr, adj. half mad, Sks. 778.

II. in mod. usage hálf is freq. used = rather, e. g. hálf-kalt, adj. rather cold: hálf-feginn, adj., eg er hálffeginn, I am rather glad: e-m er hálf-íllt, hálf-bumult, hálf-óglatt, n. adj. one feels rather ill: hálf-hungraðr, hálf-svangr, hálf-soltinn, hálf-þyrstr, adj. rather hungry, rather thirsty, etc., and in endless compds.

a. white (hvítt silfr); h. á hár, white-haired.

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adj. [Ulf. hweits = λευκός; A. S. hwít; Engl. white; Hel. huît; O. H. G. hwîz; Germ. weiss; Swed. hvit; Dan. hvid]:—white; hvít skinn, white fur, 4. 24; h. motr, a white cap, Ld. 188; h. skjöldr, a white shield, Fms. x. 347; hit hvíta feldarins, Fbr. 148; hvítt blóm, white blossom, 4. 24; hvítt hold, white flesh (skin), id.; hvít hönd, a white band, Hallfred; h. háls, a white neck, of a lady, Rm.; h. hestr, a white horse, Fms. ix. 527; hvítr á har, white-haired, vi. 130; h. maðr ( fair of hue) ok vænn í andliti, x. 420; hvítan mann ok huglausan, Ld. 232; hvít mörk, white money, of pure silver, opp. to grátt ( grey) silver, B. K. 95; hvítr matr, white meat, i. e. milk, curds, and the like, opp. to flesh, in the eccl. law, K. Þ. K. 126; hvítr dögurðr, a white day meal, Sighvat; hvíta-matr, id, K. Þ. K. 102; mjall-hvítr, fann-h., snjó-h., drift-h., white as driven snow; al-h., white allover.

B. Eccl. use of the word white:

I. at the introduction of Christianity, neophytes in the week after their baptism used to wear white garments, called hvíta-váðir, f. pl. white weeds, as a symbol of baptism cleansing from sin and being a new birth; a neophyte was called hvít-váðungr, m. a ‘ white-weedling,’ one dressed in white weeds, Niðrst. 111: the Sagas contain many touching episodes of neophytes, esp. such as were baptized in old age, and died whilst in the white weeds; þat er sögn flestra manna at Kjartan hafi þann dag görzt handgenginn Ólafi konungi er hann var færðr ór hvíta-váðum ok þeir Bolli báðir, Ld. ch. 40; síðan hafði konungr þá í boði sínu ok veitti þeim ena virðuligustu veizlu meðan þeir vóru í hvítaváðum, ok lét kenna þeim heilög fræði, Fms. i. 230; Glúmr (Víga-Glúm) var biskupaðr í banasótt af Kol biskupi ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Glúm. 397; Bárðr tók sótt litlu síðar enn hann var skírðr ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Fms. ii. 153; Ólafr á Haukagili var skírðr ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Fs. (Vd.) 77; var Tóki síðan skírðr af hirðbiskupi Ólafs konungs, ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Fb. ii. 138; síðan andaðisk Gestr í hvítaváðum, Bárð. (sub fin.) Sweden, but above all Gothland, remained in great part heathen throughout the whole of the 11th century, after the neighbouring countries Denmark and Norway had become Christian, and so we find in Sweden Runic stones referring to Swedes who had died in the white weeds, some abroad and some at home; sem varð dauðr íhvítaváðum í Danmörku, Baut. 435; hann varð dauðr í Danmörku í hvítaváðum, 610; þeir dó í hvítaváðum, 68; sem dó í hvítaváðum, 271; hann varð dauðr í hvítaváðum, 223, 497. Churches when consecrated used to be dressed out with white; var Kjartan at Borg grafinn, þá var kirkja nyvígð ok í hvítaváðum, Ld. 230.

II. the white garments gave rise to new words and phrases amongst the first generation of northern Christians:

1. Hvíta-Kristr, m. ‘ White-Christ,’ was the favourite name of Christ; hafa láti mik heitan Hvíta-Kristr at viti eld, ef…, Sighvat; another poet (Edda 91) uses the word; and in prose, dugi þú mér, Hvíta-Kristr, help thou me, White-Christ! Fs. 101; ok þeir er þann sið hafa taka nafn af þeim Guði er þeir trúa á, ok kallaðr er Hvíta-Kristr ok því heita þeir Kristnir, mér er ok sagt at H. sé svá miskunsamr, at …, Fms. i. 295; en ef ek skal á guð nacquat trúa, hvat er mér þá verra at ek trúa á Hvíta-Krist en á annat guð? Ó. H. 204; Arnljótr svarar, heyrt hefi ek getið Hvíta-Krists, en ekki er mér kunnigt um athöfn hans eða hvar hann ræðr fyrir, 211; en þó trúi ek á Hvíta-Krist, Fb. ii. 137.

2. the great festivals, Yule (see Ld. ch. 40), Easter and Pentecost, but especially the two latter, were the great seasons for christening; in the Roman Catholic church especially Easter, whence in Roman usage the first Sunday after Easter was called Dominica in Albis; but in the northern churches, perhaps owing to the cold weather at Easter time, Pentecost, as the birthday of the church, seems to have been specially appointed for christening and for ordination, see Hungrv. ch. 2, Thom. 318; hence the following week was termed the Holy Week (Helga Vika). Hence; Pentecost derived its name from the white garments, and was called Hvíta-dagar, the White days, i. e. Whitsun-week; frá Páskadegi inum fýrsta skulu vera vikur sjau til Drottins-dags í Hvítadögum; Drottinsdag í Hvítadögum skulu vér halda sem hinn fyrsta Páskadag, K. Þ. K. 102; þváttdag fyrir Hvítadaga = Saturday next before Whitsunday, 126, 128; Páskadag inn fyrsta ok Uppstigningar-dag ok Drottinsdag í Hvítadögum, 112; þá Imbrudaga er um Hvítadaga verða, 120; vóru afteknir tveir dagar í Hvítadögum, Bs. i. 420; um várit á Hvítadögum, Orkn. 438: Hvítadaga-vika, u, f. White-day week = Whitsun-week, K. Þ. K. 126: in sing., þeir kómu at Hvítadegi (= Whitsunday) til Björgynjar, Fms. x. 63, v. 1.: Hvítadaga-helgi, f. the White-day feast, Whitsuntide, Fms. viii. 373, xi. 339, Sturl. iii. 206: Hvítadaga-hríð, a snow storm during the White days, Ann. 1330: Hvít-Drottins-dagr, m. the White Lord’s day, i. e. Whitsunday, the northern Dominica in Albis, Rb. 484, Fms. vii. 156, Bs. i. 62, where it refers to the 20th of May, 1056, on which day Isleif the first bishop of Iceland was consecrated. The name that at last prevailed was Hvíta-sunna, u, f. Whitsun, i. e. White-sun, D. N. ii. 263, 403: Hvítasunni-dagr, m. Whitsuday, Fb. ii. 546, Fms. viii. 63, v. l.: Hvítasunnudags-vika, u, f. Whitsun-week, Fb. ii. 546; Páskaviku, ok Hvítasunnudagsviku, ok þrjár vikur fyrir Jónsvöku, ok svá fyrir Michials-messu, N. G. L. i. 150; hvítasunnudagshátíð, Thom. 318. As the English was the mother-church of that of Norway and Iceland, the Icelandic eccl. phrases are derived from the English language. See Bingham’s Origg. s. vv. White Garments, and Dominica in Albis, where however no reference is given to Icel. writers. In modern Denmark and Norway the old name has been displaced by Pindse, i. e. Pfingsten, derived from the Greek word, whereas in Icel., as in Engl., only the name Hvítasunna is known, ☞ In Denmark the people make a practice of thronging to the woods on Whitsun morning to see the rising of the sun, and returning with green branches in their hands, the trees being just in bud at that season.

C. COMPDS: hvítabjörn, hvítadagar, hvítagnípa, hvítalogn, hvítamatr, Hvítasunna, hvítaváðir, hvítavalr, hvítarmr, hvítbránn, hvítbrúnn, hvítdreki, Hvítdrottinsdagr, hvítfaldaðr, hvítfjaðraðr, hvítflekkóttr, hvítfyrsa, hvítfyssi, hvíthaddaðr, hvíthárr, hvítjarpr, hvítklæddr, hvítmelingar, hvítröndóttr, hvítskeggjaðr, hvítskinn, hvítváðungr.

II. as pr. names, Hvítr, Engl. White, Dan. Hvid, Landn.; esp. as a surname, Hvíti, the White, Óláfr Hvíti, Þorsteinn Hvíti, Landn.: Hvít-beinn, m. White-hone, a nickname, Landn.; as also Hvíta-skáld, Hvíta-ský, Hvíta-leðr, Hvíta-kollr, Landn.: in local names, Hvíta-býr, Whitby; Hvíta-nes, Hvíta-dalr, Landn.; Hvít-á, the White-water, a name of several Icel. rivers flowing from glaciers, Hvítár-vellir, Hvítár-síða, Landn.; Hvítramanna-land, White-men’s-land, old name of the southern part of the present United States, Landn.

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(lítil, lítit), a.

1) little, small in size (lét hann læsa þá í lítilli stofu); at ek var ekki l. maðr vexti, that I was not small of stature;

2) small in amount, degree, etc. (lítil var gleði manna at boðinu); sumar þetta var l. grasvöxtr, a small (bad) crop; landit er skarpt ok lítit matland, bad for foraging; hann er l. blótmaðr, no great worshipper; þat er lítit mál, that is a small matter; var hans móðerni lítit, of low rank; jarl hafði hann lengi lítinn mann gört, treated him shabbily; l. fyrir sér, of little account (þér munut kalla mik lítinn mann fyrir mér);

3) of time, short, brief; litla stund, for a short while; litlu siðarr, a little while after.

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lítil, lítið, adj., and lítt adverb.; gen. lítils, lítillar, lítils; dat. litlum, lítilli, litlu; acc. lítinn, litla, lítið: plur. litlir, litlar, lítil; gen. lítilla; dat. litlum; acc. litla, litlar, lítil; compar. minni; superl. minnstr (q. v.): [Ulf. leitils = μικρός, ὀλίγος; A. S. lytel; Engl. little; O. H. G. luzil; Swed. liten; Dan. liden and lille: in Germ. the word was replaced by klein, prop. = bright = Engl. clean, but luzel remains in local names such as Lützel-stein = La Petite Pierre in Alsace]:—little, of stature; litlir menn ok smáir, Landn. 145; lítið barn, a little bairn, Ísl. ii. 326; ok sér hvar lá maðr … ok var sá eigi lítill, Edda 29; ekki lítill maðr vexti, 30; Þórr er lágr ok lítill, 33; svá lítinn sem þér kallit mik, þá …, id.; hvat er þat it litla ( the little puny thing) er ek þat löggra sé’k, Ls. 44; inn Litli, a freq. nickname, Landn.:—small, of things, litla breiðöxi, Hkr. iii. 16; fjórar litlar munnlaugar, Dipl. iii. 47; opt veltir lítil þúfa miklu hlassi, a saying, a little mound may often upset a big wagon load, Al. 32; lítilla (gen. pl.) sanda, lítilla sæva, Hm. 52; opt kaupir sér í litlu lof, 51; Eiríkr konungr hafði lönd lítil, Fms. i. 23; en þótt einnhverr bæri litla byrði, þá varð þat skjótt mikill eldr, vi. 153.

II. metaph. usages; sumar þetta var lítill grasvöxtr, ok varð alllítil heybjörg manna, a small, bad crop, Ísl. ii. 130; landit er skarpt ok lítið matland, bad for foraging, Fms. vii. 78; ef atfærsla þeirra væri svá lítil, at …, K. Þ. K. 94:— small in degree, lítil var gleði manna at boðinu, small cheer, Ísl. ii. 251; hann er lítill blótmaðr, no great worshipper, 398; þat er lítið mál, that is a small matter, 206; lítil tíðindi, Fms. xi. 118:—small, of value, ok verðit þér lítlir drengir af, ef þér launit engu, Nj. 68; töldu fyrir honum hversu jarl hafði hann lengi gört lítinn mann ( treated him shabbily), Fms. i. 54; nú munt þú, segir hón, lengi lítill konungr, ef þú villt ekki atfærask, vii. 243; ok vara ( was not) sá af litlu skapi, Al. 2; meta lítils, to value lightly, Ld. 174; lítill karl, mean churl! Fbr. 39 new Ed.; var hans móðerni lítið, of low rank, Fms. vii. 63; þér munut kalla mik lítinn mann ( a puny man) fyrir mér ok uni ek því ílla, Edda 33; hann var skald ok eigi lítill fyrir sér, Ísl. ii. 323.

2. neut. as subst.; hafa lítið af ríki, a small portion, Fms. i. 52; svá at litlu loddi við, Nj. 28, Fms. xi. 102, Fs. 87.

3. temp. small, brief; á lítilli stundu, Al. 32; litlu síðarr, a little while after, Nj. 4, Fms. vi. 60; bíða um lítla stund, vii. 141.

COMPDS: litlastofa, lítilsháttar, lítilsverðr, lítilsvægi.

B. COMPDS: lítilfjörligr, lítilgæft, lítilhugaðr, lítilhæfr, lítillátask, lítillátliga, lítillátligr, lítillátr, lítilleikr, lítilleitr, lítilliga, lítilligr, lítillækka, lítillæta, lítillæti, lítilmagni, lítilmannliga, lítilmannligr, lítilmenni, lítilmennska, lítilmótliga, lítilmótligr, lítilræði, lítilsigldr, lítilskeyta, lítiltrúaðr, lítilvægligr, lítilvægr, litilyrkr, lítilþægr.

(gen. -ar), m. veto, interdict; verja e-t lýriti, to put a veto on, forbid by law.

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m., or better lýritr or lýrittr, gen. lyritar (but lyrits, Grág. ii. 233), dat. lyriti, plur. lyritar. N. G. L. ii. 94, Jb. 193; the quantity cannot be ascertained because the vellums do not distinguish between long and short vowels; it is spelt with one t throughout the Grág. (Kb.); the alliterative phrase lagalyritr, as also the invariable spelling in the Grágás, shew that the word had no initial h. Former attempts at an etymology, from læ and rifta (Björn á Skarðsá), hlýrar and réttir (Pal Vídal.), lygi and rift (Fritzner), must be dismissed; tiie spelling lyriftar, which once or twice occurs in Norse MSS. of the 14th century (N. G. L. i. 394, ii. 94, v. l. 19), is probably a mere corruption. Lyritr is a compd word from lög, law, and rör or reyr, a landmark, which word in the old Swed. law exactly answers to lyrit in the Norse law; lyrit is thus qs. lý-ryr-ti, by assimilation and by weakening the y into i, lyritti; the t being inflexive: its literal sense, therefore, is a lawful rör or landmark. In Sweden there were often five mark-stones, but it is added (Schlyter iii. s. v. rör)—fiuri stenar oc þri stenar mughu rör heta = four stones and even three stones may be called rör, i. e. make a ‘law-rör,’ a lawful landmark, a lyrit; this, we believe, is the etymology of this much-contested word. About the gender (masc., not fem.) there can be no doubt, from the numerous instances in the Grágás; but in the 13th century the word began to become neuter, thus we have lyritit, Grág. (Kb.) i. 103, lines 14 and 21, but lyritinn several times in the same page: nom. lyriti in Grág. (Sb.) ii. 226; and elalausu lyriti, Nj. passim.

B. SENSE:

I. prop. when the boundary of a field or estate was to be drawn, the law prescribed that a mark-stone (mark-steinn) should be raised on the spot, and three other stones laid beside it; these three stones were called landmark-stones (lyrit-steinar or lyritar); by their number and position they were distinguished from all other stones in the field, see N. G. L. ii. 94, cp. note 19 (Jb. 193).

II. metaph. in the Icel. law, a full title of possession, lawful claim to right or property; thus defined by Konrad Maurer—‘Lyrit bedeutet in der Grágás und in den ältern Sagas, das volle Eigentums-recht, oder auch den Bann, der dem Grunde gentümer zum Schutze seines Eigentumes, dem Goden aber Kraft seiner Amtsgewalt zusteht:’

1. the earliest kind was probably the land-lyrit or ‘land-ban;’ this law term was originally borrowed from the mark-stones themselves, and then came to mean a full title to land, field, pasture, or estate, Grág. ii. 224, 225:—eignar-lyritr, full lawful possession, a legal title of ownership; hafa eignar-lyrit fyrir landi, 204, 222.

2. a veto; Goða-lyritr, the veto of a Goði ( Priest), forbidding the court or neighbours to deliver a sentence or verdict in a case, and thus quashing the suit. A Goði alone, by virtue of his office, was entitled to stop a court in this way, whether personally or by one of his liegemen, so that if any one else wished thus to stop a suit, he had first to go to his liegelord (Goði) and be authorised by him to do so; cp. the phrases, taka lyrit af Goða, selja lyrit, ef Goði færir lyrit sinn sjálfr fram, and similar law phrases, Grág. i. 109–111, cp. esp. Þ. Þ. ch. 38; neglect of this was contempt of court, punishable by the lesser outlawry. The word lyritr occurs at every step in the Grágás, esp. in the phrase, verja lyriti, or verja e-t lyriti, to defend through a lyrit, i. e. to put under veto, to vindicate one’s right, forbid, or the like; eigi varðar hagabeit, nema lyriti sé varið, Grág. ii. 224; verja lyriti haga, 225; þótt maðr veri fleirum lyriti (dat.), 226, Nj.; láta lyrit koma fyrir sök, to stop on a case, Grág. i. 109; kaupa land lagn kaupi ok lyritar, to buy land by a lawful bargain and with full tide of possession, ii. 213; eptir þat nefndi Þorkéll sér vátta, ok setti (varði?) þeim lyriti, ok fyrirbauð þeim at dæma, Lv. 31; ok er únýt stefna hans eðr lyriti (lyritr?), Grág. ii. 226; hann (the Goði) skal nefna sér vátta, áðr hann færi lyrit fram, í þat vætti, at ek ver lyriti, goða-lyriti, löglyriti fullum dómendum at dæma um sök þá … enda skal hann svá verja kviðmönnum lyriti, at bera kviðu um hann, i. 111; ek ver lyriti mínum, löglyriti dómendum at dæma, id.; færa lyrit sinn fram, to utter one’s veto, id.; fara með land-lyriti, ii. 225.

COMPDS: lyritareiðr, lyritarvarzla, lyritarvörn.

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(nái, náða, nát), v.

1) to get hold of, reach, overtake, with dat. (Ingimundr hleypr nú í skóginn ok náðu þeir honum ekki); ná til e-s, to reach one (með sverðinu);

2) to get, obtain (er hann náði konungs fundi); vér höfum eigi nát lögum, we have not had a lawful trial;

3) with infin., to be able, be allowed (náði engi maðr at bera konungsnafn, nema hann einn); heilindi sitt ef maðr hafa náir, if a man may enjoy his good health;

4) impers., kennimenn þeir er á þvísa landi næði, those clergymen who were to be got in this country;

5) refl., nást, to be caught; ef þat náist eigi, if that cannot be attained; recipr., to reach one another; þar var mýrlent ok máttu þeir eigi nást til, they could not come to close quarters.

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pres. nái, náir, nái, (mod. næ, nær, nær); pl. nám; reflex. náisk, mod. næst; pret. náði; subj. næði; part. náð, better náit; pret. infin. náðu, Fms. vi. 409 (in a verse): with neg. suff. náði-t, could not, Geisli 19, Sighvat (Ó. H. 218): [Dan. naa, akin to ná-, = to come near.]

B. To reach, catch, overtake, and the like, with dat.; þá mun Sveinn eptir leggja ok hans menn ok vilja ná þér, to overtake thee, Fb. ii. 8; bjarndýri er ek náða á Íslandi, Fs. 27; þegar at ek nái honum, Fær. 94; náit þér honum eigi, Nj. 63; Sigurðr var manna fóthvatastr, fengu þeir honum ekki náit at sinni, Fagrsk. 167; allir hans menn þeir sem náit var, who were caught, O. H. L. 17; þótti þá ván at braut mundi ná heininni, to get it out, Edda 59; Helgi býr ferð sína at ná í braut Yrsu, Fas. i. 32; en er þeir náðu stokkunum, Eg. 90: ná til, to reach; ef höfuðit næði til bolsins, 625. 97; ná til eins með sverði, Dropl. 25.

II. metaph. to get, obtain; hann vill biðja sér konu ok náir hann eigi ráðinu, Nj. 259; at hann náir eigi víngarðinum af honum, Stj. 600; menn þá er eigi máttu þjónustu ná, Sól. 60; ok þó eigi ráðit hvárt vér næðim þeirri er oss er meiri hugr á, Fms. iv. 196; skal Steinþórr ná lögum, Eb. 226; vér höfum eigi náð lögum, we have not had a lawful trial. Eg. 353; láti hann eigi þessu ná, Gísl. 63: the saying, gott meðan góðu náir, ‘tis good as long as it lasts; ok er hann náði konungs fundi, Ísl. ii. 234; ná máli e-s, Nj. 8.

2. hann skal allt féit láta virða, þat er hann náir, so much of it as he can, Grág. i. 208; ef hann náir, if he can, Eg. 114; miklu meiri en aðrir menn, er þeir náðu framast, much beyond those who succeeded best, Hom. 127.

III. followed by an infin., to be able, be allowed; svá at þeir nái at flytja eyrendi sín, Ó. H. 54; heilindi sitt ef maðr hafa náir, Hm. 67; ok nái hann þurrfjallr þruma, 29; ef þú segja né náir einum allan hug, 122; enginn þeirra náði at koma inn um Þrándheims-minni, Fms. i. 55; náði engi maðr at bera konungs nafn nema hann einn, 1; lát mik ná at þegja fyrir þér, vii. 119; ef sá randviðr röskvask næði, Stor. 11; ná komask, Sól. 1; svá at eigi nái nökkurr undan at flýja, Stj. 594; er oss orðinn mikill tíma-dagr er vér náðum þik at finna, Fb. i. 237; hón bað grátandi at hón næði son sinn til kirkju at færa, Orkn. 174.

2. periphrast., hann náði leggja, eyða, skína, líta, he did lay, did waste, shine, behold, see Lex. Poët.

IV. impers., ef því um náir, if it is possible, if that can be done, Grág. i. 2; Ísleifr var miklu nýtri en aðrir kenni-menn þeir er á þvísa landi næði, Isleif was much before all other clergymen who were then to be got in the county, Íb. 14.

V. reflex. to be caught; fátt náðisk af kirkju-viðinum, Ld. 328; ef þat náisk eigi, if that cannot be attained, Fms. xi. 59; Glúmr gékk þá at ok náisk jafnaðr, Glúm. 356.

2. recipr. to reach one another; þar var mýrlent ok máttu þeir eigi násk til, they could not come to close quarters, Fms. xi. 354.