in a day two

( dœgr), n. [dagr; in Dan. dögn means the natural day = 24 hours, and answers to Icel. sólar-hringr, whereas Icel. dægr usually means both night and day, so that one day makes two dægr]: hence dægra-mót or dægra-skipti, n., denotes the twilight in morning and evening, Hom. 41, Sks. 218; í degi dægr tvau, í dægri stundir tólf, in a day two dægr, in a dægr twelve hours, Rb. 6; þau (Day and Night) skulu ríða á hverjum tveim dægrum umhverfis jörðina, Edda 7; tuttugu ok fjórar stundir skulu vera í tveimr dægrum, Sks. 54: hann sigldi á átta dægrum til þess er hann tók Eyjar á Íslandi, and below, ek skildumk fyrir fjórum nóttum (viz. Sunday to Thursday) við Ólaf konung Haraldsson, Fms. iv. 280; þeir vóru þrjú dægr í leitinni, Nj. 265; á hverju dægri, Grág. ii. 169; á dægrinu, 360; tvau dægr, Fb. i. 539; þrjú d., 431; skipti þat mörgum dægrum, id.:—in all these passages the sense seems clearly to be as above.

2. in some few cases it seems to be used of the astronomical day = 24 hours, or the Danish dögn; such is the case with the interesting passage Landn. 1. ch. 1; the journey between Iceland and Ireland is here reckoned as five dægr, between Norway and Iceland seven, between Iceland and Greenland four, and to the deserts of Greenland (the east coast) one, etc.: sjau dægra sigling, fjögra d. sigling, fimm dægra haf, i. e. a sail of six, four, five dægr, Landn. 25, 26.

COMPDS: dægrafar, dægrastytting, dægratal.

* * *

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.

* * *

older umb, prep. with acc. and dat.

I. with acc.

1) around (slá hring um e-n);

2) about, all over (hárit féll um hana alla); um allar sveitir, all over the country; mikill um herðar, large about the shoulders, broad-shouldered; liggja um akkeri, to ride at anchor;

3) of proportion; margir voru um einn, many against one; um einn hest voru tveir menn, two men to each horse;

4) round, past, beyond, with verbs denoting motion (sigla vestr um Bretland); leggja um skut þessu skipi, to pass by this ship; ríða um tún, to pass by a place;

5) over, across, along (flytja e-n um haf); kominn um langan veg, come from a long way off; ganga um gólf, to cross the floor (but also to walk up and down the floor); slá, er lá um þvert skipit, a beam that lay athwart the ship; um kné sér, across the knee; e-t er hœgt um hönd, gives little trouble, is ready to hand;

6) of time, during, in the course of (um messuna, um þingit, um sumarit); þat var um nótt, by night; um nætr sem um daga, by night as well as day; lengra en fara megi um dag, in the course of one day;

7) at a point of time (hann kom at höllinni um drykkju); um þat, at that time, then; um þat er, when (um þat, er vér erum allir at velli lagðir);

8) of, about, in regard to a thing; bera um e-t, dœma um e-t, to bear witness, judge about; tala um e-t, to speak of; annast um e-t, to attend to; sviðr um sik, wise of oneself; hvárr um sik, each for himself; var mart vel um hann, he had many good qualities;

9) e-m er ekki um e-t, one does not like (var honum ekki um Norðmenn); with infin., honum er ekki um at berjast í dag, he has no liking to fight to-day; er þér nökkut um, at vér rannsökum þik ok hús þín, have you any objection that we …?; e-m er mikit (lítil) um e-t, one likes it much, little (Guðrúnu var lítil um þat); sá, er mönnum væri meira um, whom people liked better; e-m finnst mikit um e-t, one is much pleased umwith, has a high opinion of (konungi fannst mikit um list þá ok kurteisi þá, er þar var á öllu);

10) because of, for; öfunda e-n um e-t, to envy one for a thing; verða útlagt um e-t, to be fined for a transgression; um sakleysi, without cause;

11) beyond, above; margir fengu eigi hlaupit um röst, more than one mile; hafa vetr um þrítugt, to be thirty-one; e-m um afl, um megn, beyond one’s strength, more than one can do (þetta mál er nökkut þér um megn); kasta steini um megn sér, to overstrain oneself; um of, too much, excessive (þótti mörgum þetta um of); um alla menn fram or um fram alla menn, above all men (hón unni honum um alla menn fram); e-m er e-t um hug, one has no mind for, dislikes (ef þér er nökkut um hug á kaupum við oss);

12) over, across; detta, falla um e-t, to stumble over (féll bóandinn um hann);

13) by; draugrinn hafði þokat at Þorsteini um þrjár setur, by three seats;

14) about; þeir sögðu honum, hvat um var at vera, what it was about, how matters stood; hvat sem um þat er, however that may be; eiga e-t um at vera, to be troubled about a thing (lætr sem hann eigi um ekki at vera); var fátt um með þeim, they were not on good terms;

15) ellipt., ef satt skal um tala, if the truth must be told; þannig sem atburðr hefir orðit um, as things have turned out;

16) as adv., gekk um veðrit, veered round, changed; ríða (sigla) um, to ride (sail) by; langt um, far beyond, quite; fljótit var langt um úfœrt (úreitt), quite impassable; um liðinn, passed by, of time; á þeirri viku, er um var liðin, in the past umweek;

II. with dat.

1) over, esp. poet.; sitja um borðum = sitja yfir borðum; sá es um verði glissir, he that gabbles over a meal;

2) of time, by; um dögum, um nóttum, by day, by night; um sumrum, haustum, vetrum, várum, in the summer, etc.; um vetrum ok sumrum, both winter and summer.

* * *

umb, of, prep. (sounded umm); umb is used in the oldest vellums (the Eluc., Greg., Miracle-book, Jb.), and occurs now and then in later vellums (e. g. Orkn. 218, Fms. x. 378, xi. 63, 64), perh. from being a transcript of an old vellum; in rhymes, umb, tr umbu, Fms. viii. (in a verse of A. D. 1184); for of see ‘of’ at p. 462, col. 2: [A. S. ymbe; Germ. um; um and yfir (q. v.) are identical.]

WITH ACC.

A. Around; silki-hlað um höfuð, Ld. 188; um höfuð henni, 36; hafa um sik belti, Nj. 91, 184; um herðar sér, Ld. 56; leggja linda umb kistu, leggja lindann umb enn vanheila mann, Bs. i. 337; gyrða um sik, Sks.; beta strengi um ásenda … festa endana um steina, Nj. 115; vefjask um fótinn, Fms. iv. 335; upp um herðarnar, Eg. 580; göra garð of engi, Grág. ii. 288; lykja um akra ok eng, Eg. 529; skjóta um hann skjaldborg, Nj. 274; slá hring um e-n, 275, Eg. 88; fara í hring um skipit, Ld. 56; taka um hönd e-m, Ó. H. 176; þar var poki um útan, Ld. 188; honum vefsk tunga um höfuð, Nj. 160; vefsk tunga um tönn (see tönn) … strjúka dúki um augu, Fms. v. 326, Fs. 114 (in a verse); sjó, er fellr um heim allan, Róm. 193: Aðils jarl féll ok mart manna um hann, Eg. 297; tjalda um skip sín, Fms. xi. 63; hafa um sik ( about oneself) fjölmenni, Eg. 12, 38; selit var gört um einn ás, Ld. 280.

II. about, all over, denoting the surface; manna-ferð um héraðit, Ld. 257; fylgja þeim um einn skóg, Karl. 348; hann hafði goðorð suðr um Nesin, Ísl. ii. 207; herja um Skotland, Írland, Fms. i. 23; næfrum var þakt um ræfrit, Eg. 90; dæma för úmögum um þat þing, Grág. i. 127; flýja hingað ok þangat um eyjarnar, Fms. vii. 43; um allar sveitir, all over the country, Boll. 362; kunnigt er mér um allt Ísland, Nj. 32; of allan Noreg, Fms. x. 118; um alla Svíþjóð, Ó. H. 17; um allt ríki sitt, Eg. 278; sitja um mitt landit, about the midland, Fms. i. 26; um miðjan skóginn er smáviði, Eg. 580; sjá um alla veröld, Ó. H. 202; kominn um langan veg, come a long way off, Stj. 366, Skv. 8; of lopt ok um lög, Hkv. 1. 21; fátt kom um lengra, farther off, Fb. ii. 303; hárit féll um hana alla, Landn. 151, Fas. i. 244; hárit hékk ofan um bringu, Fas. ii. 518: mikill um herðar, large about the shoulders, broad-shouldered, Nj. 200; þykkr um bóga, þeim manni er beit á of garðinn, Grág. ii. 286; skalat hann verja um bóstað hans, 222; kveðja um þann vetvang, 106; kveðja búa heiman um þann stað, i. 130, 355: liggja um strengi, Ld. 76; or liggja um akkeri, to ride at anchor, Eg. 261, 374, Fms. ii. 5, ix. 45, x. 351.

2. of proportion; margir vóru um einn, too many against one, Ld. 156; þar vóru fjórir of einn ( four to one) mót Hákoni, Fms. x. 382; eigi minni liðs-munr, en sex mundi vera um Hákonar mann einn, i. 43; um einn hest vóru tveir menn, two men to each horse, vii. 295; sex menn sé um sáld, Grág. ii. 402: Hrafn var mjök einn um sitt, kept for himself, Fs. 29; malit hefi ek mitt of leiti? Gs. 16.

III. off, past, beyond (cp. yfir), with verbs denoting motion; fara … suðr um Stað, Eg. 12; norðr um Stað, Fms. vii. 7; sigla vestr um Bretland, Nj. 281; er þeir kómu fram um Bjarkey, Ó. H. 137; norðr um Jaðar, 182; austan um Foldina, Eg. 81; út um Eldey, Eb. 108; austr um búðina, Nj. 231; ríða um þá þrjá bæi, Grág. i. 432; hann hljóp um þá, ok í fjall upp, passed them by, Landn. 89; sigla svá um oss fram, Orkn. 402; leggja um skut þessu skipi, to pass by this ship, Fms. x. 346; leita langt um skamt fram, Nj. 207 (cp. Lat. quod petis hic est); vaða jörð upp um klaufir, Ld. 336; fram um stafn, Landn. 29; aptr um stafn, Fms. x. 266; honum var úhægt at höggva um bríkina, Sturl. iii. 219; ríða um tún, to pass by a place, Ísl. ii. 252; neðan um sáðlandit, Nj. 82; fara of engi manns, Grág. ii. 277; fara um góð héruð, Landn. 37; ganga upp um bryggjuna, Eg. 195; ganga um stræti, by the road, Korm. 228; róa út um sund, Eg. 385; kominn um langan veg, 410; þeim dropum er renna um þekjuna, Fms. i. 263.

2. over, across, along; sá er annan dregr um eldinn, Fms. i. 305; skyldi ganga um gólf at minnum öllum, to cross the flood, Eg. 253; but also to walk up and down the floor, 247; bera öl um eld, to bear the ale across the fire, Fms. vi. 442; slá um þvert skipit, Nj. 44; sigla vestr um haf, Fms. i. 22; ríða vestr um ár, austr um ár, Nj. 10, 99; suðr um sæ, Eg. 288; flytja e-n um haf, Nj. 128; austan um Kjöl, Ó. H.; sunnan um fjall, Fms. x. 3; suðr um fjall, Eg. 476; um þvera stofu, Fms. vi. 440; um þvera búð, Grág. i. 24; um þvert nesit, Fms. xi. 65; um öxl, round or across the shoulder, Ld. 276; um kné sér, across the knee, Eg. 304: the phrase, mér er e-ð um hönd, difficult to lay hand on, hard, not easy; and again, hægt um hönd, giving little trouble, easy to lay hand on; ykkr er þat hægst um hönd, easiest for you, Nj. 25; þegar eg vil er hægt um hönd, heima á Fróni at vera, Núm.; kastaði (the mail) um söðul sinn, across the saddle, Grett. 93 A.

IV. with adverbs denoting direction, upp um, út um, niðr um, ofan um, inn um, fram um, with acc. or ellipt.; sær féll út ok inn of nökkvann, Edda 36; loginn stóð inn um ræfrit, Eg. 239; hann var kominn upp um ský, Fms. i. 137; út um bringuna, Ld. 150; hann gékk út of Miðgarð, Edda 35; ganga út um dyrr, Eg. 420; fara út um glugg, Fms. ix. 3; út um glugginn, Ld. 278; láta sér um munn fara, to pass out of the mouth, Háv. 51; ferr orð er um munn líðr, Sturl. i. 207.

B. Temp. during, in the course of, cp. Engl. that spring, that summer; um messuna, Fms. x. 109; um þingit, Eg. 765; um sex ár, Stj.; um vetrinn, Eg. 168; of sumarit, Fms. x. 93; um sumarit, Nj. 4; um várit, Eg. 42; um nótt, Grág. i. 115; þat var um nótt, by night, Ld. 152; hann mátti eigi sofa um nætr, Nj. 210; sofa um nóttina, 7; vera þar um nóttina, 252; lengra enn fara megi um dag, in the course of one day, Grág. i. 89; um daginn, for the rest of the day, Ld. 42; um morna, Landn. (in a verse), Ó. H. 44; um nætr sem um daga, by night as well as day, Sks. 20 new Ed.; um allar aldir, Edda; um alla daga, all day long, Skm. 4; um alla sína daga, all his days, Hom. 114; allt um hans æfi, Eg. 268; um aldr, for ever, passim; um tíma, for a while, Mar.; um hríð, um stund, for a while, see stund, hríð; um … sakar, a while, see sök (A. III. 2); um samt, altogether, Sks. 113 B.

2. above, beyond; standa um várþing, Grág. i. 103; um hálfan mánuð, Fms. ix. 526, v. l.; um viku, above a week.

3. at a point of time, at; hann kom at höllinni um drykkju, Nj. 269; of matmál, at meal time, Grág. i. 261; um dagmál, um náttmál, einnhvern dag um þingit, Ld. 290; eitt hvert sinn um haustið, Nj. 26; þat var of vár, Fms. x. 389; um várit urðu mikil tíðendi, 2; þeir höfðu verit á sundi um daginn, Ld. 130; opt um daga, Edda 39; um daginn, the other day: um þat, when; um þat er þrír vetr eru liðnir, Ld. 146; um þat þessir eru bættir, Eg. 426; um þat lýkr, when the end is there, in the end, Fas. ii. 361; ef ek kom eigi aptr um þat, then, at that time, Fms. ii. 58; um þat er vér erum allir at velli lagðir, Eg. 426; um sinn, once, see sinni B, p. 530; um síðir, at last, see síð (II); um leið, at the same time; hér um bil, about so and so; um allt, of allt, always; Kristinn dóin má um allt sækja, at all times, N. G. L. ii. 154; nokkrum sinnum, ok hefir mér ofallt íllt þótt, Fms. v. 205 (see ávallt, p. 47, col. 2).

C. Metaph. usages, of, about, in regard to a thing, Lat. de; halda vörð á um e-t, Eg. ch. 27; annask um e-t, to attend to, Nj. 75, Glúm. 342, Kormak; gefa gaum at um e-t, to give heed to, Ó. H. 215; bera um e-t, dæma um e-t, to bear witness, judge about, Nj. 100; tala um e-t, to speak of, 40; þræta um e-t, to quarrel about; spyrja um e-t, to speer or ask about, 110; göra, yrkja um e-n, Fms. x. 378; halda njósn um e-t, Eg. 72; nefna, búa um mál, Nj. 86; um alla ráða-görð, 101; stefna e-m um e-t, Grág. i. 175, 313, Nj. 87; vera til eptir-máls um e-t, passim; frækinn um allt, in everything, 89; bera gæfu til um e-t, Eg. 76; kappsamr of allt, þeir hyggja þat lög um þat mál, Grág. i. 9; eitt ráð myndi honum um þat sýnask, Nj. 79; kunna hóf at um ágirni sína, Ó. H. 131; þat er um þat átan, er …, N. G. L. i. 19; þau tíðendi er görzk höfðu um ferðir Egils ok stórvirki, Eg. 686; stór úfarar görask of menn þessa, Fms. xi. 151; aumligt er um e-t, Hom. 159 (Ed.); seinkaðisk of svörin, 623. 16; mikit er um fyrirburði slíka, Nj. 119; þá var hvíld á um bardagann, 248; hann telzk undan um förina, Fms. xi. 69; ruðning um kviðinn, Nj.; misfangi um mark, a mistake as to a mark, Grág.; binda um heilt, to bind up a sound limb, Ld. 206: gróa um heilt, to become sound, be healed, Fms. xi. 87, Al. 120; ganga um beina, to attend; leita e-s í um mein hennar, Eg. 565; veita tilkall um arf, Eg.; leita um sættir, grið, Nj. 92; selja laun um liðveizlu, 214: in inscriptions of chapters, um so and so, = Lat. de; um viðrtal Njáls ok Skarphéðins, um misfanga ok um mark, um bæjar bruna, Nj., Grág., Fms.; göra mikit um sik, to make a great fuss, Fb. i. 545; görði mikit um sik ok var sjálfhælinn, Grett. 133 A: vera vel um sik ( of good quality) ok vinsæll, Fms. xi. 118; mey er ok vissa vænsta ok bezt um sik, 104; at hón væri í engum hlut verri um sik, Hkr. ii. 129; sviðr um sik, wise of oneself, Hm. 102; auga blátt ok snart ok vel um sik, Mag. 7; hvárr um sik, each for himself, one by one, Dipl. ii. 11; vér staðfestum þessa articulos hvern um sik ok sér hverja, 13; þykki mér þat undarligt um svá vitran mann, of a man so wise, Eg. 20; var mart vel um hann, he had many good qualities, Rb. 364; þat mátti vera um röskvan mann, Fms. vii. 227.

2. ganga um sýslur manna, to go about or upon men’s business, as an overseer. Eg. 2; ganga um beina, to attend, see beini.

3. e-m er mikit (ekki) um e-t, to like, dislike; Guðrúnu var lítið um þat … lítið ætla ek þeim um þat bræðrum, at …, Ld. 246, 264, Fms. ii. 81; var honum ekki um Norðmenn, Hkr. i. 128; Þórði kvaðsk ekki vera um manna-setur, Ld. 42; er þér nökkut um ( hast thou any objection?), at vér rannsakim þik ok hús þin, Gísl. 53; sá er mönnum væri meira um, whom people liked more, Fms, ix. 36; ef þór er mikit um ráða-hug við mik, if thou art much bent on it, xi. 4.

4. búa um eitt lyndi, to be of one mind, Jb. 396; búa um nægtir, grun, skoll, búa um heilt, see búa (A. II); búa um hvílu, to make a bed; búa um okkr, Nj. 201 (see búa B. I. 2. γ); setjask um kyrt, to settle oneself to rest, take rest, Fas. ii. 530; or sitja um kyrt.

II. because of, for, Lat. ob; öfunda e-n um e-t ( invidere a-i a-d), Nj. 168; reiðask um e-t, um hvat reiddusk goðin þá, Bs. i. 22; telja á e-n of e-t, to blame one for a thing, Nj. 52; berja e-n íllyrðum um slikt, 64; lágu margir á hálsi honum þat, Fms. xi. 336; týna aldri um óra sök, Skv. 3. 49; verða útlagr um e-t, to be fined for a transgression, Grág. i. 16; dæmdr fjörbaugs-maðr um spellvirki, 129; maðr vegr mann um konu, if a man slays a person for [ violating] his wife, 61; um sakleysi, without cause, Nj. 106, 270, Bs. i. 19.

III. beyond, above; fimm hundruð gólfa ok um ( plus) fjórum togum, Gm. 24; kistan var eigi um vættar höfga, Bs. i. 712; margir fengu eigi hlaupit um röst, Karl. 351; lítið um tuttugu menn, Sturl. i. 183; hann var ekki um tvítugan, Róm. 327; hafa vetr um þrítugt, to be one beyond thirty, i. e. thirty-one, Sturl. i. 183: freq. in mod. usage, hafa tvo um þrítugt ( thirty-two), átta um fertugt ( forty-eight), tvo um fimtugt ( fifty-two), einn um áttrætt ( eighty-one); sá dagr, sem um vikur fullar er í árinu, Rb. 128: at yðr verði þat ekki um afl, beyond your strength, more than one can do, Band. 21 new Ed.; um megn, id., Fms. viii. 62; þetta mál er nökkut þér um megn, vi. 18; kasta steini um megn sér, to overstrain oneself: um of, excessive; þótti mörgum þetta um of, Vígl. 18: um fram (q. v.), beyond; um alla menn fram, above all men, Ld. 20, Fms. v. 343; um alla hluti fram, above all things; um þat fram sem ykkr var lofat, Sks.: um hug; vera e-t um hug, to have no mind for, dislike; ef þér er nökkut um hug á kaupum við oss, Nj. 24.

IV. turned over, in exchange; skipta um, snúa um, venda um, see skipta III and snúa A. III.

V. over, across; detta, falla um e-t, to stumble over; hverr féll um annan, of heaps of slain. Eg. 24; fÉll bóandinn um hann, Nj. 96; detta um stein, þúfu, to stumble over a stone, mound; glotta um tönn, see tönn.

VI. by; draugrinn hafði þokat at Þorsteini um þrjár setur, by three seats, Fb. i. 417; hefja upp of faðm saman, by a fathom, Grág. ii. 336; minka um helming, to decrease by one half; hverr um sik, each by himself, Rétt. 114.

VII. about; eiga e-t um at vera, to be troubled about a thing; þeir sögðu honum hvat um var at vera, what it was about, Hrafn. 18; sem engi ótti væri um at vera, no danger, Fms. iv. 57; eiga ekki um at vera, iii. 156; or, eiga um ekki at vera, Gísl. 30; eiga vandræði, fjölskyldi um at vera, Fms. vi. 378, xi. 78; hann segir honum um hvat vera er, what was the matter? Gísl. 36; þann sagði þvílíkt er hann hafði um at vera, Krok.; var fátt um með þeim, they were on cold terms, Nj. 2; var þá ekki lítið um, there was no little fuss about it, Bárð. 174; mikit er um þá maðrinn býr, mart hefir hann að hugsa, a ditty.

VIII. ellipt., til marks um, Nj. 56; þykkir honum vænkask um, Fms. xi. 135; þann mála-búnað at hann verðr sekr um, Nj. 88; ef satt skal um tala, 105; mér hefir tvennt um sýnzk, 3; menn ræddu um at vánt væri skip hans, 282; hér má ek vel svara þér um, 33; hann brá dúki um, Fms. x. 382; enda er þá djöfullinn um (about, lurking) at svíkja þann mann, Hom. 159; þannig sem atburðr hefir orðit um, as things have turned out, Fms. xi. 64; ekki er við menn um at eiga, this is no dealing with men (but with trolls or devils), Nj. 97.

IX. with adverbs; í hring útan um, all round, Eg. 486; gékk um Veðrit, veered round, changed, Bs. i. 775; ríða um, to ride by, Eg. 748; sigla um, to sail by, Fms. x. 23; er konungr færi norðan ok suðr um, Eg. 53; langt um, far beyond, quite; fljótið var langt um úfært, quite impassable, Nj. 63, 144; þessi veðr eru langt um úfær, Grett. 181 new Ed.; cp. mod. það er langt um betra, by far better; kring-um, all around, see A.V.

2. um liðinn, passed by, of time; á þeirri viku er um var liðin, in the past week, Ísl. ii. 332.

WITH DAT.

A. Local, over, Lat. super; but almost entirely confined to poets, sitja um matborði (of Hkr. iii. 109) = sitja yfir matborði, Fms. viii. 51; um verði, over the table, Hm. 30; sitja of (= yfir) skörðum hlut, Ó. H. 150; sá er tvá húskarla á, ok um sjálfum sér, two house-carles besides himself, Grág. (Kb.) i. 10; um alda sonum, Fm. 16; er ek hafðak veldi of héruðum þessum, Clem. 35; hár söngr of svírum, Hornklofi; nema þér syngi um höfði, Hkv. 2; sitja um sínum ver, Vsp.; er ek sat soltin um Sigurði, Gkv. 2. 11; opin-spjallr um e-u, … þagmælskr um þjóðlygi (dat.), Ad. 1; um styrkum ættar stuðli, 12; ægis-hjálm bar ek um alda sonum, meðan ek um menjum lák, Fm. 16; gól um hánum, Vsp.; úlfr þaut um hræfi, Ó. H. (in a verse); see ‘of,’ prep., p. 462, col. 2, and yfir.

B. Of time, by; um dögum, by day, Fms. vi. 98, ix. 48; um nóttum, by night, vii. 166; um haustum, in the autumn, Eb. 216; bæði um haustum ok várum, both in autumn and spring, Sks. 235 B; um sumrum, Fms. vi. 255; um sumrum herjuðu þeir í Noreg, Eb. 3; þakt með ísum um vetrum ok sumrum, both winter and summer, Sks. 181 B; opt um vetnim, Eg. 4; þeir liggja úti hvert sumar, en um vetrum eru þeir heima, Fms. xi. 97. This use with dat. is obsolete in mod. prose.

(-s, -ar), m.

1) kettle, cauldron;

2) hot spring (hverrinn var bæði heitr ok djúpr); holtriða h., ‘rock-cauldron’, cave.

1) interrog., used both substantively and adjectively, who, which, what? hverjar ero þær meyjar? who are these maids? h. á hestinn? who owns the horse? h. er þessi maðr? who is this man? hvern enda? what end?

2) indef. each, every one, as subst., with gen.; manna h., every man; fróðra h., every wise man; h. várr, each of us; as a., h. gumi, every man; hverjan or hvern dag, every day; as adv., í hverju, moment (veðrit óx í hverju);

3) any (fyrir útan hverja hjálp);

4) with the relat. part. ‘er’ or ‘sem’, whosoever, whichever (þá skulu þeir þegar drepa hann h. sem hann er);

5) with another pron. or adj; h. at öðrum, one after another (hverja nótt eptir aðra); at öðru hverju, every now and then, hverir tveir, every two and two; þriðja hvert ár, every three years (= á hverjum þremr árum); hverr … sinn, every one … his (hverr maðr í sínu rúmi);

6) relat. (rare), who, which.

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m., pl. hverar:

I. a cauldron, boiler; hver kringlóttan af eiri, Stj. 564; heyrði til höddu er Þorr bar hverinn, Skálda 168, Hym. 1, 3, 5, 9, 13, 27, 33, 34, 36, 39 (of a boiler); hefja af hvera, Gm. 42, = mod. taka ofan pottinn; in Gkv. 3, 6, 9, 10, ketill and hver are synonymous: hver-gætir, m. a cauldron-keeper, cook, Am. 58: hvera-lundr, m. a cauldron groove, Vsp. 39: Hver-gelmir, m. local name of the northern Tartarus, the abyss, Edda.

II. metaph. in volcanic Icel. this word was taken to express the hot springs, and it is so used to the present day (in pl. often hverir), Sd. 191, Grett. 141 (hverar), Bs. i. 322, Ann. 1294, and freq. in local names. In the west the largest hverar are those in Reykjahólar, Eggert Itin. 382; in the north the Reykja-hver; Hvera-vellir in the wilderness Kjöl, 637; Reykjadals-hverar, among which the largest is the Uxa-hver, and Baðstofu-hver, 640, 641. In the east there are only a few, see Itin. 798; whereas the south is very rich in such springs, especially the neighbourhood of Haukadal (Geysir, Strokkr), see Ann. 1294; Grafar-hver, 890; Reykjaness-hverar, 895, (whence Hver-hólmr, the name of a holm); the springs in Krísuvík, 897; the hverar in Reykja-holt and Reykja-dalr: they are found even in glaciers, as in Torfa-jökull, 766.

COMPDS: hverafuglar, hverahella, hverahrúðr, hveraleir, hveraslý, hverasteinar, hveravatn, hvera-lundr in Vsp. an Icel. origin of this poem is suggested by Prof. Bergmann in his Poëmes Islandaises, Paris 1838, p. 183, as the verse seems to refer to volcanic agencies.

pron. interrog. and indef.; at the present day proncd. hvur, with u throughout, and in mod. printed books usually spelt hvör, a form no doubt derived from the dual hvárr (hvorr), used in a plur. sense: for its declension, see Gramm. p. xxi; an acc. hverjan, Hým. 39; hverjan morgin, Vsp. 22, Fb. ii. 71 (in a verse); hverjan dag, Vþm. 11, 18, 23, 41, Gm. 8, 14, 20, 29; hverjan veg, Vþm. 18; whence the contracted form hvern. [The Gothic has a threefold interrog. pron., a sing. hwas, hwo, hwa; a dual, hwaþar; and a plur. hwarjis, hwarja, hwarjata. To the first of these pronouns answers the old Icel. form hvar, A. S. hwa, Scot. who, Engl. who, Swed. ho, Dan. hvo, cp. Lat. quis; but this pronoun is defective, and remains only in the neut. hvat, q. v., Ulf. hwa, A. S. hwat, Engl. what, Germ. was, Dan.-Swed. hvad, Lat. quid: the dat. masc. hveim is obsolete, Goth. hvamme, Engl. whom, Dan. hvem: the dat. hví (see hvat II, III): a nom. masc. hvar (hva-r) seems to be used a few times in old MSS. (e. g. Kb. of the Grágás), but it is uncertain, as the word is usually abbreviated h^er or h^ur: a gen. sing. hves (Goth. hwes, North. E. whese) occurs, hves lengra, how much farther? Hom. (St.) 50; til hves, to what? 65: possibly the απ. λεγ. hós, Ls. 33, is a remnant of the old gen. To the Goth. dual answers the Icel. hvárr (hvaðarr), q. v. To the Goth. plur. answers the Icel. hverr, with characteristic j, which is used in sing. and plur. alike. In the neut. sing. the two forms, hvat and hvert, are distinguished thus, that hvat (hvað) is interrog., hvert indef., e. g. hvað barn, what bairn? but hvert barn, every bairn.]

A. Interrogative, = Lat. quis, quae, quid? who, what, which? as substantive and adjective, direct and indirect; hvers fregnit mik? Vsp. 22; hverjar ro þær meyjar? Vþm. 48; hverir æsir? 30, Fsm. 8, 34; hverr er sá enn eini? Fas. ii. 529; hverir hafa tekið ofan skjöldu vára? Nj. 68; hverju skal launa kvæðit? Ísl. ii. 230; hverr er sá maðr? Fms. ii. 269; telja til hvers hann hafði neytt eði hvers úneytt, Grág. i. 155; spyrja hverja þeir vilja kveðja, ii. 24; kveða á þingmörk hver eru, i. 100; (segja) hverjar guðsifjar með þeim eru, 30; hugsa til hvers þú munt færr verða, Fms. i. 83; vita hverr þú ert, ii. 269; vita hvert biðja skal, Edda; þeir þóttusk sjá til hvers aetlað var, Fms. ix. 461; eigi veit ek til hvers ek má ætla, Bs. i. 541; hón segir honum hvers efni í eru, how matters stood, 539; þeir vissu hverju hann ætlaði fram at fara, Fms. i. 291; hann segir hverrar ættar Ólafr var, 81; sögðu með hverju (erendi) þeir höfðu farit, Eg. 281.

2. with the notion of Lat. qualis; en hvat kemr þér í hug, hverr ( qualis) ek muna vera þeim Írum, ef? …, Fas. ii. 529; þeim þótti úsýnt hverr friðr gefinn væri, Fms. v. 24; sá einn veit, hverju geði styrir gumna hverr, Hm. 17.

B. Indefinite pronoun, = Lat. quisque, every one, each, used both as substantive and as adjective:

1. as subst.; with gen., þat sæti ætlaði sér hverr sona hans, Fms. i. 7; manna, seggja, lýða, gumna hverr, every one of the men, every man, Hm. 14, 17, 53–55, Sól. 49; fróðra hverr, every wise man, Hm. 7; ráðsnotra hverr, 63: absol., as in the sayings, hverr er sjálfum sér næstr; bærr er hverr at ráða sínu; djarfr er hverrum deildan verð; fróðr er hverr fregnvíss; hverr er sinnar hamingju smiðr; dauðr verðr hverr, Hallfred; hail er heima hverr, Hm.; kveðr hverr sinnar þurftar: lét harm þar tala um hvern þat er vildi, Eb. and passim: with a possess, pron., ef sér ferr hverr várr, each of us, Glúm. 329.

2. as adj., á hverju þingi, Hkr. ii. 300; hverjan dag, every day, Vsp., Vþm., Gm.; í hverri tíð, at any time, Hom. 112; hver undr, Fs. 115; hverjum manni, Nj. 6; meiri ok sterkari hverjum manni, Hkr. i. 148; hver spurning liítr til svara, Sks. 307; hverr gumi, Hm. 13, passim.

3. as adv., í hverju, evermore; veðrit óx í hverju, Fms. vi. 379; þykir harðna sambúðin í hverju, grew ever worse and worse, xi. 441; veðrit óx í hverri, Skáld. H. 4. 14.

II. any; fyrir utan hverja hjálp, Hom. 159: esp. if following after a compar., es meiri fögnuðr boðinn á þessi tíð en á hverri annarri, Hom. (St.); hefir þetta með meirum fádæmum gengit heldr en hvert annarra, Band. 33 new Ed.

III. adding the relat. particle er or sem, whosoever, whichsoever, whatsoever; hvers sem við þarf, Fms. i. 306; þá á þá sök hverr er vill, Grág. i. 10; hverr er svá er spakr, Hom. 2; hverju sinni er, whensoever, Str. 27 and passim.

IV. with another pron. or adj.; hverr at öðrum, one after another, Eg. 91, Fs. 158; hvert at öðru, Fas. ii. 556; hvert sumar frá öðru, Grág. i. 92; hverja nótt eptir aðra, Þiðr. 53, 150; at öðru hverju, now and then, adverbially; hverir tveir, every two and two, by twos, Fms. iv. 299; þriðja hvert ár, every three years, Fas. ii. 64; á hverjum þremr árum, id., Stj. 573; dag inn sjaunda hvern, K. ÞK.; þriðja hvert sumar, Landn. 299; annan hvern dag, níundu hverja nótt, Skm. 21, Nj. 190.

2. hverr … sinn, every … his; hverr maðr í sínu rúmi, Nj. 51; hverr sér, each separately; sér hverr, each in particular, every one; at serhverju hofi, at every single temple, Landn. 336 (App.); þó at ek greina eigi ser hvat, though I do not tell each thing in detail, Bs. i. 64; sérhverja atburði, 134; sérhverjum hlut, Fms. v. 333; sérhverjum þeirra, Nj. 256, Landn. 35, Sturl. ii. 175; sérhvern fingr, Fas. iii. 345; sérhvern mann, Fms. i. 149; allir ok sérhverir, all and several, i. e. everyone, Grág. ii. 36, 140, Eluc. 43, H. E. i. 468; einn ok sérhverr, one and all, every one, Skálda 161; hverr sem einn, each as one, all like one man, 165, Al. 91, 93, Barl. 40, Stj. 4; hvereinn, every one.

C. Relative, = Lat. qui, quae, quod, Engl. who, which, only in later writers of the end of the 13th and the 14th centuries, and since freq. in N. T., Vídal., Hymns; at first it was seldom used but with the particles er, at, as in Engl. who that …, which that …; þat herbergi, í hverju er …, in which that …, Stj.; takandi vátta, hverir at sóru fullan bókareið, Dipl. ii. 2; með fullkomnum ávexti, hverr at þekkr mun verða, Fms. v. 159 and passim: singly, tvær jarðir, hverjar svá heita, Dipl. v. 27; Guðs orð, hver frjófgask munu, Fms. v. 159; Gerhardus, hverr með fögrum píslar-sigri fór brott, Mar.; með hverjum hann hugar-prýði vann, Fb. iii. 567.

(á m., í m.), prep. with gen., among, between; m. vár or vár á m., among us; sat þar Þórhalla m. brúða, Th. sat between the brides; ellipt., ganga meðal, í m., to intercede as peacemaker (gekk þá Njáll í m., svá at hvárir handsöluðu ödrum grið).

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adv. with gen., and á meðal, í meðal:—among, between; á meðal vár, or vár á meðal, among us; á meðal okkar (dual), Bkv. 19; hann settisk niðr á meðal þeirra, Nj. 48; sat þá Þorgerðr meðal brúða, 51; meðal þín ok annarra, 85; meðal Hafrafells ok Króksfjarðar-múla, Gullþ. 3; sumir verða sendir landa meðal, from one land to another, Sks. 54; á meðal anna, Grág. ii. 261; á meðal enna tveggja sömu samhljóða, á meðal enna líkustu greina, Skálda 162: ellipt., mál öll er meðal fóru, Vsp. 30; fannsk þat ekki í tali at þar hefði missætti verit í meðal, Nj. 48; þá gékk Njáll í meðal, N. interceded as peacemaker, 105.

II. metaph., at hann vili nema litla skynsemd heldr enn önga þá er á meðal verðr ennar meiri (= meðal anna?), i. e. when there is a little leisure from graver matters, Skálda 169 (Thorodd); þat er áðr stendr á meðal ykkar má!s, whatsoever is unsettled between you, Fms. xi. 21.

B. In a great many compds, denoting what is intermediate, between, in the middle, the average; or ironically, not over-much, middling; or, lastly, with a negative in the reverse sense, see the following:

I. meðal-auki, a, m. (mod. milligjöf), what is given in the bargain, Ld. 146, Lv. 43. meðal-dagr, m. a day between, Stj. 280: a holy day of second degree, Hom. 142; thus the sixth, the seventh, and from the ninth to the twelfth day of Yule were the middle days, in Easter the second and third day, N. G. L. ii, 358, K. Þ. K. 98: the days between the two spring tides at the first and the last quarter of the moon are called meðaldagar, Rb. 444. Meðal-fell, n. Middle-fell, a local name. Meðal-fells-strönd, f., a local name. Meðalfells-strendingar, m. pl. the men of M., Landn., Sturl. meðal-ferð, f. intercession, Orkn. 270. meðalferðar-maðr, m. an intercessor, Stj. 243. meðal-för, f. = meðalferð, Sturl. ii. 141. meðal-ganga, u, f. intercession, Lv. 71, Sturl. iii. 136: coming between, in a bad sense. Fms. ix. 428, v. l.: intervention between parties fighting, Glúm. 382. meðal-gangi, a, m. an intercessor, Mar. 196, Vídal. meðalgöngu-maðr, m. an intercessor, Th. 24, Finnb. 312. meðal-heimr, m. the middle world, the air, between the sky and the earth, poët., Edda (Gl.) meðal-hóf, n. the right meed and measure; in the saying, vandratað er meðalhófið. meðal-kafli, a, m. the ‘middle-piece,’ the haft of a sword between the two hjalt (q. v.), Eg. 378, 379, Fms. i. 15, iv. 38, Sturl. iii. 283. Meðal-land, n. a land lying between two other lands: a local name, Landn. 267, Nj., in the south-east of Icel. meðal-orpning, f., gramm. an interjection, Skálda 180. meðal-pallr, m. the middle benches in the lögrétta, Nj. 190.

II. average, of extent, quality, in a great many COMPDS: meðal-hestr, -hross, -kýr, -naut, -sauðr, -ær, etc., an average horse, cow, sheep, etc., Grág. i. 504, Jb. 346. meðal-ár, -sumar, -vetr, an average year, summer, winter, B. K. 20, Grág. ii. 326. meðal-lagi, adv., see below, meðal-maðr, m. an average man, in height, strength, or the like, Fms. vii. 101, 239. meðal-spakr, adj. middling-wise, of average intelligence, Hm. meðal-tal, n. an average number; in the phrase, at meðaltali, in the average.

III. with a preceding negation, emphasising a word of abuse, as no common scoundrel, i. e. a great scoundrel or the like; ekki meðal-atferðarleysi, no common slovenness, Fs. 32: eigi meðal-farbauti, no middling destroyer, Fms. xi. 146: eigi meðal-fjándi, no middling fiend, ii. 74: ekki meðal-fól, i. e. no slight fool, Gísl. 139: þat ætla ek at þú sér eigi meðal-karl vándr, Band. 26 new Ed.: eigi meðal-klækismenn, Ísl. ii. 71: eigi meðal-mann-níðingr, a great nithing, Fær. 216: eigi meðal-níðingr, id., Eb. 230: eigi meðal-orðaskvak, Fæ 219: eigi meðal-skræfa, a great coward, Fms. vi. 34: eigi meðal-skömm, a great disgrace, Fs. 37: eigi meðal-snápr, Eb. 242: eigi meðal-úspektarmaðr, Rd. 259: eigi meðal-úvinr, Finnb. 242: eigi meðal-vesalingr, Þórð. 52: eigi meðal-þræli, Eg. 714:—rarely in a good sense, þat er ekki meðal-sæmd, ‘tis no common honour, it is a great honour, Fb. ii. 196.

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

1) day;

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

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

öndverðr dagr, the early day, forenoon;

miðr dagr, midday;

hallandi dagr, declining day;

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

sannr sem dagr, true as day;

í dag, today;

á (or um) daginn, during the day;

sama dags, the same day;

annan dag, the next day;

annars dag, another day;

hindra dags, the day after, tomorrow;

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

dag eptir dag, day after day;

nótt ok dag, night and day;

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

á deyjanda degi, on one’s death-day;

2) pl., days, times;

ef aðrir dagar (better days) koma;

góðir dagar, happy days;

3) esp. pl., lifetime;

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

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

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

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

* * *

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

I. a day; in different senses:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) which (of the two) in pl. of two parties, hvárir sigrast, which of both (hosts) will gain the day;

2) each (of the two); h. við annan, each to the other; sinn veg h., each his own way;

3) at hváru, yet, nevertheless, however.

* * *

pron. interrog. and indef., contr. from hvaðarr, which is obsolete, but occurs thrice in poets of the 10th century, Kormak, Fas. i. 297 (in a verse), Hkr. i. 205 (in a verse): mod. form hvorr, still so proncd. in the south of Icel.: [Goth. hwaþar; A. S. hwæðer, cp. Engl. whether; Hel. hweðar, cp. Germ. weder]:

I. interrog. direct and indirect, whether, which of two, Lat. uter, in a dual sense, distinguished from hverr in plur.: in plur., like Lat. utri, of two parties, hvárir sigrask, either, which of both (hosts) will gain the day, Nj. 198, Fms. x. 199; hvárir ná máli annarra, Nj. 8: in sing., hvárr þeirra, each of them, both, Grág. i. 120: with a possess. pron., hvárr okkar, Nj. 202: hvárr—annarr, one—another, either … the other; hvárr sem ( either) annars frændkonu á, Grág. i. 29; hvárr við annan, Fms. ii. 366; hvárr okkarr við annan, one to another, Fær. 174; annarr hvarr (q. v.), either.

II. indef., each of two; hvárir við aðra, Fms. x. 299, Grág. i. 70; hvarir til annarra, Eg. 126; selja grið hvárir öðrum, Grág. ii. 20; tveggja (gen.) hvárr, either of the twain, 623. 24, Blas. 40, Fms. vii. 157; hvárt … eða, either … or; hvárt er þú vill, láta okkr lifa eðr deyja, Fms. i. 205; á hvára hlið, Rm.; sextigu barna, jafnmart hvárt, syni ok dætr, Stj. 408; hætt er þeirra hvárt, Hm. 87; sinn dag hvárir, Fbr.; sinn veg hvárr, Róm. 347; á sínum stól hvárr þeirra, Stj. 602; mánaðar mat hvars, N. G. L. i. 67, 98, 99; hann kastaði á öxl sér hvárum tveimr, two on each shoulder, Grett. 134 A.

2. adverbial, at hváru, yet, nevertheless, however, often spelt at-vóru, Hom. 116, 119, cp. Hkr. iii. 288; att varu, Al. 30, 137, Hom. 158; sár mun gramr at hváru, but however that may be …, Hallfred; þó at hváru, yet, N. G. L. i. 48; þá á hinn þó at hváru at skuldfesta hann, Grág. i. 233; en hinn selr þó at hváru, yet nevertheless, ii. 253; þót hváru (= þó at h.), 313; þá freistum attvóru, Al. 137, this phrase is now obsolete, and is rare even in old writers.

B. Neut. hvárt, interrog. adverb, whether, direct and indirect; commonly in the first of two correlative clauses, hvárt …, eða or eðr …, whether …, or …, Lat. utrum …, an …, Nj. 205, etc., passim; hvat? … hvárt mægð eðr frændsemi, what? … whether is it affinity or kin? Fb. i. 328; hvárt (better hvat) segi þér til? hvárt skal ek fara eðr eigi, whether shall I go or not? Stj. 602; fæ ek nú varliga séð, hvárt Hrærekr mun fá nauðgat mik til eða eigi at ek láta drepa hann? Ó. H. 74:—but the latter of the two clauses is often dropped; hvárt grætr þú, whether dost thou weep (or not)? what! art thou weeping? Nj. 202; hvárt er rétt, bóndi, whether is it true (or not)? 79; eld kveyki þér nú sveinar, eða hvárt skal nú búa til seyðis? 199; hvárt er Flosi svá nær, at hann megi heyra mál mitt? 200; hvárt er nú engi kona sú er þér er eigandi? Stj. 411, 602; hvat sagðir þú? hvárt eigi þetta? Þiðr. 59; hann vildi vita hvárt hann var í brynju, Ó. H. 74.

2. with adv. er (es, sem), either … or; hvártz sem (sic) maðr verðr sekr at sátt eða á várþingi, Grág. i. 121; hvárt er Hákon Gamli vill eðr eigi, Fms. i. 74; hvárt sem þat er at lögbergi eða í lögréttu, whether it be at the bill of laws or in the legislative chamber? Grág. i. II; hvárt sem þat var í löndum eða í lausa-aurum? Íb. 16; hvárt er friðr er betri eða verri? Ó. H. 208, Fms. iv. 79; hvárt sem þat er heldr í þessarri eðr annarri bók, Stj.

* * *

1) speech, faculty of speech (þrøngdi svá sóttarfari konungs, at hann misti málsins);

þau hafa ekki mál, they are dumb;

2) language, tongue;

norrønt mál, the Norse tongue;

3) speech, speaking (hvárt er Flosi svá nær, at hann megi heyra mál mitt);

4) colloquy, talk, speech;

koma á mál (or at máli) við e-n, to come to talk with, speak to;

finna (hitta) e-n at máli, to obtain speech with;

krefja e-n máls, to ask an interview with;

leita mills við e-n (spyrja e-n máls, mæla mál of e-m), to broach a subject to one;

bera mál á e-t, hafa e-t á (or at) máli, to speak (talk) of (allir menn höfðu á máli, hversu fríðr maðr hann var);

lúka sínu máli, to end one’s speech;

þat er mál manna, at, people say that;

5) tale, story;

nú er þar til máls at taka, now it must be told;

6) saw, saying;

fornt (fornkveðit) mál er, at, it is an old saw that;

7) diction, construction of sentences;

8) sentence;

tvau mál, two sentences;

fullt mál, a full period;

9) suit, action, cause;

hefja mál á hendr e-m, to bring an action against one;

búa mál, to prepare a suit;

sœkja mál, to prosecute;

10) stipulation, agreement (ek vil halda mil við hann þan, sem mælt vóru);

lauss allra mála, free of all stipulations;

11) case, matter, affair (þetta mál var við Jórunni rœtt);

svá er mál með vexti, the matter stands thus;

var þat annat mál, another matter;

miðla mál, to mediate;

tillagagóðr inna stœrri mála, a good counsellor in great matters;

hafa sitt mál, to have one’s own way, have one’s will (honum eirir illa, of hann hefir eigi sitt mál);

hafa mikit til síns máls, to have much in support of one’s case;

e-t skiptir miklu (litlu) máli, it is of great (small) importance;

12) three months (mál ok misseri).

1) measure (fimm álna er hátt mál hans);

leggja, bera mál við e-t, to measure (hann lagði mál við öll in stœrstu tré);

2) time, high time (mál er upp at standa);

sagði, at þá var mið nótt ók at enn væri mál at sofa, and still time to sleep;

3) meal;

í eitt mál, at einu máli, for one single meal;

deila mat at málum, to deal out food at each meal.

n. inlaid ornaments (on the hilts and guards of swords).

* * *

n., old pl. m́l, 673. 47, Greg.; [Ulf. maþl = ἀγορά; Hel. mahal = speech, meeting; Dan. maal; from the old Teut. maþl or mahal was formed the mid. Lat. mallum = parliament, public meeting (Du Cange), and mallum again was in Norman-French rendered by parliament.]

A. Speech, faculty of speech; mál heitir orð …, Edda 110; þau hafa ekki mál, they are dumb, Fms. i. 97, Fs. i. 250; þröngdi svá sóttar-fari konungs at hann misti málsins, x. 148; þeir hafa eigi manns rödd né mál, Rb. 348; þeir hafa gauð fyrir mál, 346; mál, heyrn, sjón, Edda 6.

II. speech as spoken, language, tongue; Norrænt mál, the Norse tongue, Fms. vii. 165; Gírskt mál, Greg. 75; í máli þeirra, til várs máls, in our tongue; í hverju máli, Skálda 161, 168; í vóru máli, 163, 166, 167, 169; í málinu, 165; kynnask várt mál at ráða þat er á Norrænu er ritað, Bs. i. 59; nema mál á Danska tungu, Grág.; rita at Norrænu máli, Hkr. (pref.); þeir skildu eigi hans mál, þá mælti kvinnan á Norrænu, Fs. 136.

2. speech, speaking; hvárt er Flosi svá nær at hann megi heyra mál mitt, Nj. 36, 200; ver eigi nær honum en mál nemi, Fms. iv. 28; en skáldskapr var honum svá tiltækr, at hann mælti af tungu fram sem annat mál, 374; engi var svá vitr at snjallara mál mundi fram bera, vii. 158; snjallr í máli ok talaðr vel. ix. 535; skilr þú nokkut hérmanna mál, Fas. ii. 512; en er hann lauk sínu máli, Ld. 106, 130, Íb. 12; ok fara svá öllu máli um sem hann hafi áðr ekki um mælt, Grág. i. 40; ef hann kveðr svá at ok hafði í máli sínu, ‘heilt ráð ok heimolt,’ en eigi ella, 317; kveðr jarl þings ok mælti þeim málum á þinginu at Hákon jarl skyldi heita vargr í véum, Fms. xi. 40; tína fyrir mér öll þau mál ok athæfi er hafa þarf fyrir konungi, Sks. 301.

3. speaking one to another, colloquy; vera á máli, to deliberate, converse, Vtkv., 1; hann kom opt á mál við konung, Eg. 106; engi þorði at krefja hann máls, 601; Þórdís gékk til máls við Egil frænda sinn, 765; þegar er þeir fundu menn at máli, Fms. i. 204; ef þeir vildu hafa hans mál, 241; síðan hættu þau málinu, Nj. 10; hann leitaði þá máls um við Ásgerði hverju þat gegndi, Eg. 703; ok spyrja hana máls hvar til þessi svör skulu koma, Hkr. i. 77; þat var karl ok kerling, mælti hann mál af þeim ok spurði, Fas. iii. 525; höfðu menn at máli (people noticed, of something extraordinary), at…, Fms. vii. 301; allir menn höfðu á máli, er Ólaf sá, hversu fríðr maðr hann var, Ld. 88; bera mikit mál á, Fms. x. 93; þat var mál manna, people said that; or, þat er mál manna, people say, Nj. 268, Eg. 29, Fms. vii. 150.

4. a tale, narrative; nú er þat til máls at taka (of resuming the narrative after an episode), to take up the story again, Ld. 314, Nj. 16, 29, 135, 148, 196; er fyrr var getið í þessu máli, Fms. xi. 41; þar hef ek upp þat mál, Eg. 735.

5. a saw; þat er fornt mál (‘tis an old saw), at bísna skal at betr verði, Fms. x. 261, Glúm. 344; á líti þeir mál in fornu, look to the old wise sayings, Sighvat (forn-mæli, q. v.)

6. gramm. diction, construction of sentences; mál ok hættir, Edda 49; ef þat mál ( figure of speech) er upp er tekit haldi of alla vísu-lengd, 123; breyta háttum með máli einu, to vary the verses with the sentences, Edda 124 (for specimens see lit. 9–23); tvau mál, two sentences; fullt mál, a full period; hér lýkr máli, lúka heilu máli, a sentence closes; annat ok þriðja vísu-orð er sér um mál, ok er þat stál kallat, of the intercalary sentences in poetry, Edda 125; þeir kölluðu at hann hafði eigi rétt ort at máli, Fms. v. 209; samhljóðendr megu ekki mál eðr atkvæði göra einir við sik, Skálda; hér er mál fullt í hverju vísu-orði, Edda; Skáldskapar-mál, poetical diction, id.; bragar-mál, id., 124.

7. mál is the name of old songs containing old saws or sentences, such as the Háva-mál; as also of poems in a dialogue (mál); all such poems were in a peculiar metre called mála-háttr, which is opposed to the epic kviðu-háttr, thus, Grímnis-mál, Vafþrúðnis-mál, Alvís-mál, Hamðis-mál, Hákonar-mál, Eiríks-mál; in some instances the name has been applied erroneously, e. g. Atla-mál; the Rígs-mál is a name given in modern times, the old name was Rígs-þula.

B. As a law phrase, with the notion of public speaking, action, or the like:

1. a suit, action, cause; hefja mál á hendr e-m, Fms. vii. 130; hafa mál á höndum, Grág. i. 38; sókn skal fyrr fara fram hvers máls en vörn, nema þat sé allt eitt, ok sé þat annars máls sókn er annars er vörn, 59; Njáll nefndi vátta ok sagði únýtt málit, Nj. 36; ekki á Bjarkeyjar-réttr á því máli at standa, Fms. vii. 130; þeir veittu Gizuri hvíta at hverju máli, Nj. 86; báru þeir kvið um mál Otkels, 87; færa mál fram at dómi, Grág, i. 135; sækja mál, to prosecute, Nj. 86, 99; sækja mál lögliga ok réttliga, Fms. vii. 133; Gunnarr sótti málit þar til er hann bauð til varna, Nj. 36; en um tólf mánuðr stendr þeirra mál, the case stands over for twelve months, Grág. i. 143; sækja mál á þingi, Nj. 36; færa vörn fyrir mál, 87; mál kemr í dóm, Glúm. 365; höfða mál, to institute a suit, Grág. i. 142; búa mál, to prepare a suit, of the preliminaries, Glúm. 365, passim; leggja mál undir e-n (as umpire), Nj. 105; hafa sitt mál, to get one’s verdict, win the suit, passim; vera borinn máli, to be cast, convicted, N. G. L. i. 122: to be beaten, get the worst, passim: vígs-mál, legorðs-mál, fé-mál, etc.

2. an indictment, charge;þá eru þeir varðir máli ef þeir fá þann bjargkvið, Grág. i. 54; ok versk hann þá málinu, 317; at upp skyldi vera rannsókn en þau ór málinu ef hann hittisk eigi þar, Ld. 44; ek vil svara því máli, I will answer that charge, Nj. 99; ok bað Sigurð Hranason svara þar málum fyrir sik, Fms. vii. 130; á hann kost at láta varða skóggang eða görtæki, ef hann vill til hins meira máls færa ok skal hann stefna ok láta varða skóggang, Grág. i. 430; hann spurði alla ena beztu menn, hvert mál þeim þætti Gunnarr eiga á þeim nöfnum fyrir fjörráðin, Nj. 105; leynd mál, hidden charges, Grág. i. 362.

3. procedure, order; at alþingis-máli réttu ok allsherjar-lögum, Nj. 87: pleading, enda er svá sem þeir mæli eigi þeim m́lum nema þeir vinni eiða at, Grág. ii. 342.

4. stipulation, agreement; mál meginlig, Vsp.; bregða máli, Grág. i. 148; ok skilja þeir eigi þat mál görr, en svá, 136; nema þau vili annat mál á göra, 336; en ek skal lauss allra mála ef hann kemr eigi svá út, Ísl. ii. 217; skulu þeirra manna mál standask, Grág. i. 296: engagement, ok vitja málanna fyrir hönd okkra beggja, Fms. xi. 104.

5. transactions; en hvert sem at þessum málum var setið lengr eða skemr, Ld. 22.

6. a case; lá ek þá í vöggu er þær skyldu tala um mitt mál, Fas. i. 340; mál hans stendr í miklum háska, Mar.; en þó skaltu svá um þitt mál hugsa, … at þá munt þú skamt eiga úlifat, Nj. 85; at hvárir-tveggju hafi nakkvat síns máls, Jb. 12; þat er mál Sigurðar konungs at mæla til Inga konungs, Fms. vii. 221; festi járnburð, at svá skyldi sanna mál hans, 230; honum eirir ílla ef hann hefir eigi sitt mál, Ísl. ii. 237; þá skal sá þeirra hafa sitt mál er eið vill at vinna, Grág. i. 393; Þórólfr bað Ölvi byrja mál sitt við konung, Eg. 62; at vit fáim rétt af þessu máli, 40; flytja mál sitt, Ld. 180; muntú mér verða at trúa til málanna þinna allra, Fms. xi. 104; allir er eiðsvarar erut við þetta mál, Nj. 192; eiga síðan allt mitt mál undir yðr fóstbræðrum, Fas. ii. 532; þetta mál var við Jórunni rætt, Ld. 22; þykki mér nú vandast málit, Nj. 4; svá er mál með vexti, the case is this, Lv. 43, Fas. iii. 59; var þat annat m., another affair, Nj. 256; ekki eru þau efni í um várt mál, Ld. 76; konungr átti dóm á þeirra máli, id.; ber hann upp fyrir bróður sinn málit, hann berr upp málit ok biðr Unnar, ok undra ek er þú ferr með því máli, Fas. i. 364; Austmaðrinn heldr nú á málinu við bónda Nj. 259; ef þér vilit göra málit at álitum, 3; svara þessu máli, Fms. vii. 124; miðla mál, to mediate, Íb. 12; inna stærri mála, in important cases, Nj. 2.

7. special phrases, e-t skiptir miklu, litlu … máli, to bear much or little upon a case, to be of great (small …) importance, Eg. 742, Ó. H. 31, passim: skiptir þá eigi máli, Grág. i. 43; varða máli, id.; ef honum þætti máli varða at hann næði því, Rd. 260: þú kvaddir þess kviðar er eigi átti máli at skipta um víg Auðúlfs, who had no concern with the slaying of A., Nj. 87.

C. COMPDS, máls- and mála-: máls-afglöpun, f. a false or collusive action, whereby the suit is lost, Grág. i. 494. máls-bót, f. an excuse, exculpation, Fms. vii. 207; esp. in plur., hafa sér e-ð til málsbóta, to use as an excuse. mála-efni, n. pl. a cause, its circumstances and nature, Nj. 47, Háv. 51; íll málaefni, a bad case, Fs. 41. 138, Ó. H. 150, Band. 12. máls-endi, a, m., see málsemd. máls-eyrendi, n. a discourse, Sturl. i. 140. mála-ferli, n. pl. lawsuits, litigation, Fs. 47, Eg. 644, Nj. 78, Sturl. i. 105, Fær. 109. mála-flutningr, m. the conduct of a suit, Hrafn. 17. mála-fylgjumaðr ( mála-fylgismaðr), m. a lawyer; mikill m., a great taker up of suits, Nj. 1, Bs. i. 82. máls-fylling, f. the conclusion of a case, Fb. iii. 451. máls-grein, f. a sentence, Skálda 174, 181, Bs. i. 753 ( a passage in a letter): a phrase, Stj. 79, Edda 49; partr málsgreinar = pars orationis, Skálda 180: diction, style, Edda 120. mála-háttr, m. [mál, háttr], a kind of metre, Edda 142, where a specimen is given. máls-hattr, m. a phrase, Stj. 67, 126: = málsgrein, Skálda 170: a proverb, saying, Fms. ii. 33, Fas. iii. 104, Stj. 133, passim. málshátta-safn, n. a collection of proverbs. mála-hlutr or máls-hlutr or -hluti, a, m. one side of a case or suit eiga enn þyngra málahlut, Ísl. ii. 172; þá ferr ílla m. várr ( our case), Lv. 95: a share, mun sá verða m. várr beztr, Nj. 88; nú kann vera, at ek kunna ekki at sjá málahlut til handa mér, en vilja munda ek halda sæmd minni, Sturl. i. 105. mála-kosta, u, f. a complaint, pleading in a case, Sturl. i. 613, H. E. i. 457. mála-leitan, f. a negotiation, the mooting a question, Eg. 521, Eb. 130, Fms. vii. 299, Orkn. 56. mála-lenging, f. useless prolongation. mála-lok, n. pl. the end of a case, conclusion, Eb. 106, Nj. 102, Bs. i. 68. mála-lyktir, f. pl. = málalok, Eb. 24, 36, Nj. 88, Fms. vii. 14. máls-löstr, m. bad grammar, Skálda 181. mála-maðr, m. = málafylgju-maðr, Dropl. 6, Ld. 298, Boll. 354. mála-mannligt, n. adj. like, worthy of a málamaðr, Bs. i. 751. máls-metandi, part., m. maðr, a person of mark. mála-mynd, f.; til málamyndar, only for appearance, not seriously. máls-orð, n. a word in a sentence, Edda 124, 126, 128. máls-partr, m. a part of speech, Skálda 185: a part in a suit, mod. máls-rödd, f. = málrómr, Stj. 81. mála-skil, n. pl. knowledge of proceeding. Sturl. iii. 10. mála-skot, n. an appeal in a case, K. Á. 218. mála-sóku, f. a lawsuit, prosecution, Nj. 248. máls-spell, n. a flaw in a suit, Nj. 170, Fms. x. 12. mála-sönnun, f. evidence, Mar. mála-tilbúningr or mála-tilbúnaðr, m. the preparation of a suit, Grág. i. 490, Eb. 282, Nj. 36, 100. mála-tilleitan, f. = málaleitan, Þórð. 67. mála-vöxtr, m. the state of a case, Fms. vi. 11, Al. 113, Bs. i. 67, Nj. 79. máls-þörf, f. a wish to speak, Fms. vi. 374.

n. [Ulf. mêl = χρόνος, καιρός; A. S. mâl; Engl. meal; Germ. mahl; Dan. and Swed. maal, mâl = a mark]:—a measure: hann mælti grundvöll undir húss, þat var þeirra átrúnaðr ef málit gengi saman, þá er optarr væri reynt, at þess manns ráð mundi saman ganga, ef mál-vöndrinn þyrri, en þróask ef hann vissi til mikilleiks, gékk nú málit saman ok var þrem sinnum reynt, Korm. 8; fimm álna er hátt mál hans, Fms. vi. 929; ganga undir mál, to undergo a mál (for measuring one’s height); þat sögðu menn at þeir hefði jafnmiklir menn verit, þá er þeir gengu undir mál, Ld. 178; leggja, bera mál við, to measure; hann lagði mál við öll in stærstu tré, 216; með því sama máli sem þér mælit út mun yðr verða aptr mælt, Mar.; bar hón mál á, ok þurfti þá þrjár álnar ok þver hönd, Bs. ii. 168; kunna maga mál, to know the measure of one’s stomach, Hm. 20.

2. a length of sixteen fathoms, D. N. (Fr.)

B. Temp. [Ulf. mêl = χρόνος, καιρός], a ‘meal,’ of time, i. e. a certain portion of time:

I. time, high time; skipverjum þótti mál ór hafi, Landn. 206: with infin., Vsp. 14, Hm. 111, Skm. 10, Bm. 1; mönnum væri mál at lýsa sökum sínum, Nj. 149; at mál væri at ganga at sofa, Fms. ii. 138; mælti biskup at mál væri at sofa, 139; sagði mál at ríða, Orkn. 48: adding a dat., mál er mér at ríða, Hkv. 2. 47: ok er mál at vit farim, Fær. 255; mál er at leita at hestum várum, Korm. 182; ok er allt mál at ættvíg þessi takisk af, Ld. 258; ok er nú mál at hætta, Fms. vi. 212: e-m er mál (of stools):—í mál, in due time; þóat í mál yrði borinn kviðrinn, Grág. i. 54.

2. the moment, nick of time (mál, q. v.); at hann var þar þá nótt, ok á því máli …, of an alibi, N. G. L. i. 309.

II. the meal-time, morning and evening, Edda 103; hence of cattle, missa máls, to miss the time, sheep lost or astray for a day so that they cannot be milked, Grág. ii. 230, 231; kvikfénaðr missir máls, Snót; hence málnyta. q. v.; deila mat at málum, to deal out meat at each meal, Grág. i. 149; í hvert mál, Hm. 36; í eitt mál, for one single ‘meal,’ Karl. 347, Grág. i. 293; fæða þá í tvau mál, ii. 400; í bæði mál (see i B, p. 317): at því máli = Germ. diesmahl, Korm. (in a verse); þat er ok mitt ráð þó þat sé at fyrra máli at menn snæði nokkut, Fb. ii. 676; þat vilda ek at þær æti at einu máli kýr Hálfdanar bróður míns, Ó. H. 64; ef ættak at málungi mat, if I had meat from meal to meal, Hm.

2. of the day marks; dag-mál = day-meal = 9 o’clock A. M.; and nátt-mál, night-time = 9 o’clock P. M.; í fyrra málið, to-morrow morning; eg skal koma í fyrra málið.

III. of the seasons of the year; í misseri eru mál tvau, í máli eru mánuðr þrír, Rb. 6; mál ok misseri, Hm.; sumar-mál, the time when summer sets in (middle of April), opp. to vetr-nætr, when winter sets in; hríð-mál. q. v.

COMPDS: málamatr, málamjólk, málsverðr.

n. [Ulf. mêl = γραφή and γράμμα; Hel. mâl = imago, effigies; cp. also Goth. maljan = γράφειν, whence mod. Germ. mahlerei, mahlen, = pingere]:—prop. ‘a drawing,’ but it is used in old writers only of inlaid ornaments on spear’s heads or on the hilts and guards of swords; görir Þorgrímr þar af spjót, mál vóru í, Gísl. 18; hann hafði króka-spjót í hendi haugtekit ok allgóð mál í, Ld. 78; spjót, þá fann hann blóð í málunum, Glúm. 344; stál bjartra mála, Korm. 1; gull-mál (q. v.), Þiðr. 110; stála-mál, inlaid work of steel, Ht. R. 33. For specimens of ‘mál’ see Worsaae, Nos. 325, 331; a plate with inlaid work on the outside and a Runic inscription on the inside was found in Oct. 1870 in the cairn Greenmount in Ireland, and is described by Major-General Lefroy.

COMPDS: málajárn, málasax, málaspjót, málasteinn.

* * *

1) forward; hann féll f. á. fœtr konungi, he fell forward on his face at the king’s feet; f. rétt, straight on; koma f., to reappear;

2) out of the house; opp. to inn, innarr( var hon ávalt borin f. ok innarr);

3) on the fore part, in front, opp. to aptr( maðr f., en dýr aptr); aptr ok f., fore and aft, of a ship;

4) joined with preps. and particles, bíða f. á dag, f. á nótt, to wait far into the day, or night; bíða f. um jól, to wait till after Yule; fyrir lög f., in spite of the law; f. undan eyjunni; off the island;

5) of time, hversu er f. orðit, how late is it, what time is it? f. orðit dags, late in the day.

* * *

adv.—the Icel. has a triple adverbial form, fram, denoting the going to a place (ad locum); frammi, the being in a place (in loco); framan, the going from a place (a loco)—compar. framarr (mod. framar) or fremr, = Goth. framis; superl. framast (framarst) or fremst: proncd. with a double m = framm; and that such was the case in olden times may be seen from Fms. vi. 385 and Skálda 168, 171. This adv. with its compds and derivatives may be said to have been lost in Germ. as well as Engl., and at a very early time. Even Ulf. uses fram as a prep. in the sense of ἀπό, like the A. S. and Engl. from, Swed. från: only in two passages Ulf. uses fram as adv., viz. Rom. xiii. 12, where he renders ‘the night is far spent’ (nóttin er um liðin of the Icel. N. T.) by framis galeiþan, which recalls to mind the Icel. fram-liðinn = deceased, past; and Mark i. 19, where προβαίνειν is rendered by gaggan framis = Icel. ganga framarr or ganga fram; cp. also the Goth. compds fram-gahts = progress, Philipp. i. 25; fram-aldrs = stricken in years; fram-vigis = Icel. fram-vegis; fram-vairþis = further: in O. H. G. vram = ultra still occurs, but is now lost in Germ. as well as in Engl.: the Icel., on the other hand, makes a clear distinction between the prep. frá ( from) and fram, on, forward, = Gr. πρόσω, Lat. porro, pro-; in some compds the sense from appears, e. g. framandi, a stranger,—Ulf. framaþeis, prop. one who is far off or from far off; so also fram-liðinn, gone, past; ganga fram, to die.

A. fram, forward, (opp. to aptr, backward); aðra leið aptr en fram, 655 xxxii. 18; hann féll fram á fætr konungi, he fell forward on his face at the king’s feet, Eg. 92; stefna fram ( to go on) hina neðri leið, 582; brautin liggr þar fram í milli, id.; cf þeir vilja fram, or, fram á leið, forward, Sks. 483; fram rétt, straight on, Fms. ii. 273, v. l.; fram, fram! on, on! a war cry, Ó. H. 215: koma fram, to reappear, arrive, after being long unheard of; hann kom fram í Danmörku, Fms. i. 62; hann kom fram í kaupstað þeim er …, Ísl. ii. 332; ok kómu þar fram, er Kirjálar vóru á fjalli, Eg. 58: the phrase, fram í ættir, in a far or distant degree (of relationship), 343: people in Icel. in the 14th century used to say, fram til Noregs, up to Norway (cp. up to London), Dipl. ii. 15, 16.

II. fram is generally applied to any motion outwards or towards the open, opp. to inn, innar; thus fram denotes the outer point of a ness, fram á nes; Icel. also say, fram á sjó, towards the high sea, (but upp or inn at landi, landwards); also, towards the verge of a cliff or the like, fram á hamarinn (bergit), Eg. 583: when used of a house fram means towards the door, thus, fara fram í dyr (eldhús), but inn or innar í baðstofu (hence fram-bær), var hón ávalt borin fram ok innar, she was borne in a litter out and in, Bs. i. 343: of a bed or chair fram denotes the outside, the side farthest from the wall, horfir hón til þils, en bóndi fram, she turned her face to the wall, but her husband away from it, Vígl. 31.

β. again, Icel. say, fram á dal, up dale, opp. to ofan dalinn, down dale.

III. without motion, the fore part, opp. to aptr, hinder part (cp. fram-fætr); aptr krókr en fram sem sporðr, Fms. ii. 179; maðr fram en dýr aptr (of a centaur), 673. 2, Sks. 179; aptr ok fram, fore and aft, of a ship, Fms. ix. 310.

IV. joined with prepp. or particles, Lat. usque; bíða fram á dag, fram á nótt, fram í myrkr, to wait far into the day, night, darkness, Bs. ii. 145; bíða fram yfir, er fram um Jól, etc., to bide till after Yule; um fram, past over; sitja um þat fram er markaðrinn stóð, to stay till the fair is past, Fb. i. 124; fram um hamarinn (bergit), to pass the cliff, Eg. 582; ríða um fram, to ride past or to miss, Nj. 264, mod. fram hjá, cp. Germ. vorbei:—metaph., vera um fram e-n, above, surpassingly; um fram aðra menn, Fb. i. 91, Fms. vi. 58, passim; um alla hluti fram, above all things: yfir alla hluti fram, id., Stj. 7: besides, Sks. 41 new Ed.: fyrir lög fram, in spite of the law, Fms. iii. 157; fyrir rétt fram, 655 xx. 4; fyrir lof fram, without leave, Grág. i. 326; fyrir þat fram, but for that, ii. 99: the phrase, fyrir alla hluti fram, above all things, 623. 19.

β. temp., fyrir fram means beforehand, Germ. voraus; vita, segja fyrir fram, to know, tell beforehand, Germ. voraus-sagen.

γ. fram undan, projecting, stretching forward; fram undan eyjunni, Fms. ii. 305.

δ. the phrase, fram, or more usually fram-orðit, of time, hvað er fram-orðit, how late is it? i. e. what is the time? Ld. 224; þá var fram-orðit, it was late in the day, Clem. 51; þá er fram var orðit, 623. 30: dropping ‘orðit,’ þeir vissu eigi hvat fram var (qs. fram orðit), they did not know the time of day, K. Þ. K. 90: with gen., fram-orðit dags, late in the day, Fms. xi. 10, Ld. 174; áfram, on forward, q. v.

V. with verbs,

α. denoting motion, like pro- in Latin, thus, ganga, koma, sækja, falla, fljóta, renna, líða, fara … fram, to go, come, flow, fare … forward, Eg. 136, Fms. ii. 56, Jb. 75, passim: of time, líða fram, Bs. ii. 152 (fram-liðinn).

β. rétta, halda fram, to stretch, hold forth, Nj. 3; flytja, bera, draga, leiða, færa, selja, setja fram, to bring … forward, Sks. 567; leggja fram, to ‘lay forth,’ discharge, Fms. v. 293, Nj. 3, 11; bjóða fram, to offer; eggja, hvetja fram, to egg on; segja fram, to pronounce; standa, lúta fram, etc.

γ. sjá, horfa, stökkva … fram fyrir sik, to look, jump forward, opp. to aptr fyrir sik, Nj. 29:—impers., e-m fer fram, to grow, make progress; skara fram úr, to stand out.

B. frammi, (for the pronunciation with a double m vide Skálda 169,) denotes in or on a place, without motion, and is formed in the same way as uppi from upp, niðri from niðr; Icel. thus say, ganga fram, niðr, upp, to go on, go down, go up; but vera frammi, niðri, uppi, to be in, etc.; if followed by a vowel, the final i may be dropt, thus, vera frammi á dal, or framm’ á dal, Hrafn. 6; sitja framm’ fyrir hásæti (= frammi fyrir), Ó. H. 5; just as one may say, vera niðr’ á (qs. niðri á) engjum, upp’ á (= uppi á) fjalli: as to direction, all that is said of fram also applies to frammi, only that frammi can but denote the being in a place; Icel. thus say, frammi á dal in a dale, frammi í dyrum in-doors, frammi á fjalli on a fell, frammi á gólfi on the floor, frammi á sjó, etc.; þeir Leitr sitja frammi í húsum, Fær. 181, cp. also Hrafn. 1; sitja (standa) frammi fyrir e-m, to sit ( stand) before one’s face, Hkr. ii. 81.

II. metaph. the phrase, hafa e-t frammi, to perform a thing, Nj. 232, Sks. 161: to use, shew, in a bad sense, of an insult, threatening, or the like; hafa þeir f. mikil-mæli ok heita afarkostum, Hkr. i. 191: the particle í is freq. prefixed, hafa í frammi, (not á frammi as áfram, q. v.); svá fremi skaltú rógit í frammi hafa, Nj. 166; þarftú þá fleira í frammi at hafa en stóryrði ein ok dramblæti, Fas. i. 37; hafðú í frammi kúgan við þá uppi við fjöllin, Ísl. ii. 215: to exercise, Bs. i. 852; hafa f. ípróttir, Fms. ix. 8 (rare); láta, leggja f., to contribute, produce, Fas. iii. 118, Fms. vi. 211.

C. framan, from the front side; framan at borðinu, to the front of the table, Fb. ii. 302; framan at e-u, in the face or front of (opp. to aptan að, from behind); skaltú róa at framan borðum skútunnar, thou shall row towards the boards of the boat, of one boat trying to reach another, Háv. 46; taka framan af e-u, to take ( cut) from the fore part, Od. xiv. 474; framan á skipinu, the fore part of the ship, Fms. ii. 179; framan um stafninn, vi. 78.

β. temp., framan af sumri, vetri, hausti, váti, the beginning, first part of summer …; also simply framan af, in the beginning.

γ. of the fore part of the body; nokkut hafit upp framan nefit, Ld. 272; réttnefjaðr ok hafit upp í framan-vert, a straight nose and prominent at the tip, Nj. 29; framan á brjóstið, on the breast; framan í andlitið, in the face; framan á knén, í stálhúfuna framan, Fms. viii. 337; framan á þjóhnappana, Sturl. i. 14 (better aptan á).

δ. with the prep. í preceding; í framan, adv. in the face; rjóðr í framan, red in the face; fölr í framan, pale-faced, etc., freq. in mod. use.

2. fyrir framan, before, in front of, with acc. (opp. to fyrir aptan, behind); fyrir framan slána, Nj. 45; fyrir framan hendr honum, 60; fyrir framan hamarinn, Eg. 583; fyrir framan merki, Fms. i. 27, ii. 84: as adv., menn stóðu með vápnum fyrir framan þar sem Flosi sat, before F. ‘s seat, Nj. 220; þá var skotið aptr lokhvílunni ok sett á hespa fyrir framan, Fms. ii. 84: að framan, above.

3. as framan is prop. an adv. from the place, Icel. also say, koma framan af dal, framan af nesi, framan ór dyrum, etc., to come down the dale, etc., vide fram above.

4. ‘framan til’ in a temp. sense, up to, until; nú líðr til þings framan, it drew near to the time of parliament, Nj. 12; líðr nú til þings framan, Ld. 88; leið nú framan til Jóla, Ísl. ii. 42; framan til Páska, Stj. 148; framan til vetrnátta, D. N.; framan til þess er hann átti við Glám, Grett. 155; framan til Leiðar, Anal. 172; frá upphafi heims framan, from the beginning of the world, Ver. 1; in mod. usage simply fram in all such instances.

D. Compar. framarr, farther on; superl. framast, fremst, farthest on:

1. loc., feti framarr, a step farther on, Lv. 59; þar er þeir koma framast, the farthest point they can reach, Grág. i. 111; þar sem hann kömr framast, 497; hvar hann kom framarst, Fms. xi. 416; svá kómu þeir fremst at þeir unnu þá borg, i. 114; þeir eru mest til þess nefndir at framast ( foremost) hafi verit, Ísl. ii. 368; þeir er fremst vóru, Fms. v. 78.

2. temp. farthest back; er ek fremst um man, Vsp. 1; hvat þú fyrst um mant eða fremst um veizt, Vþm. 34; frá því ek má fremst muna, Dipl. v. 25.

II. metaph. farther, more, superl. farthest, most; erat hann framarr skyldr sakráða við menn, Grág. i. 11; nema vér reynim oss framarr, Fær. 75; meta, hvárra þörf oss litisk framarr ganga, whose claim appeared to us the strongest, Dipl. ii. 5.

β. with dat., venju framarr, more than usual; því framarr sem, all the more, Fms. i. 184.

γ. with ‘en’ following; framar en, farther than, more than; mun hér því ( therefore) framarr leitað en hvarvetna annars-staðar, Fms. i. 213; at ganga framarr á hendr Þorleiki en mitt leyfi er til, Ld. 154; hversu Þorólfr var framarr en ek, Eg. 112; framarr er hann en ek, he is better than I, Nj. 3; sókn framarr ( rather) en vörn, 236; framarr en ( farther than) nú er skilt, Js. 48; því at hann væri framarr en aðrir menn at sér, better than other men, Mar. 25.

2. superl., svá sem sá er framast ( foremost) elskaði, Fs. 80; svá sem framast má, 655 xi. 2; sem Guð lér honum framast vit til, Js. 5: with gen., konungr virði hann framast allra sona sinna, Fms. i. 6; at Haraldr væri framast þeirra bræðra, 59; framast þeirra at allri sæmd, viii. 272.

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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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.

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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.

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(hin, hitt), dem. pron.

1) the other; á hinn fótinn, on the other leg; pl. the others, the rest (Kimbi bar sár sín engan mun betr en hinir);

2) emphatically, that; hitt ek hugða, that was what I thought; hitt vil ek vita, that I want to know.

(hin, hit), def. art., before an adjective standing alone or followed by a substantive, the, = inn, enn( eptir hinni eystri kvísl).

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HIN, HIT, the article, an enclitic, which therefore can never serve as an accentuated syllable in a verse, either as rhyme or in alliteration. In good old MSS. (e. g. Cod. Reg. of Sæm.) it is hardly ever spelt with the aspirate, but is written inn, in, it or ið, or enn, en, et or eð, and thus distinguished from the demonstr. pron. hinn; but in the Editions the prob. spurious aspirate has been generally prefixed: an indecl. inu or hinu occurs often in later MSS. of the 14th century, e. g. the Fb.; but as it has not been heard of since and is unknown in the modern language, it simply seems to be a Norwegianism, thus, inu sömu orð, Th. 2; hinnu fyrri biskupa (gen. pl.), H. E. ii. 79; enu instu luti ( res intimas), Hom. 57 (Norse MS.); hinu ágæztu menn (nom. pl.), id.; innu óargu dýra, 657 A. ii. 12: [cp. Goth. jains = ἐκεινος; A. S. geond; Engl. yon; Germ. jener.]

A. The:

I. preceding the noun:

1. before an adjective standing alone or followed by a substantive; inn mæri, inn ríki, inn dimmi dreki, inn mikli mögr, Vsp.; in aldna, id.; inn góða mjöð, the good mead, Gm. 13; inn mæra mjöð, Skm. 16; inn helga mjöð, Sdm. 18; in forna fold, Hým. 24; in fríða frilla, 30; inn fróði jötum, Vþm. 20; inn gamli þulr, 9; inn hára þul, Fm. 34; inn fráni ormr, 19; opt inn betri bilar þá er inn verri vegr, Hm. 127; in alsnotra ambátt, in arma, Þkv.; enn fróði afi, Skm. 2; in ílla mæra, 32; enn fráni ormr, 27; eð manunga man, Hm. 163; enn aldna jötun, 104; en horska mær, 95; it betra, Stor. 22; ena þriðju, the third, Vsp. 20; inn móður-lausi mögr, Fm. 2; it gjalla gull, ok it glóðrauða fé, 9; ið fyrsta orð, Sdm. 14; enu skírleita goði, Gm. 39; in glýstömu græti, Hðm. 1; in svásu goð, Vþm. 17; enum frægja syni, Hm. 141; at ins tryggva vinar, 66; ennar góðu konu, 100; ins svinna mans, 162; ens dýra mjaðar, 141; ens hindra dags, 109; ens unga mans, Skm. 11; ens deykkva hrafns, Skv. 2. 20; æ til ins eina dags, Fm. 10; ena níundu hverja nótt, Skm. 21: with the ordinals, inn fyrsti, þriði …, Gm. 6 sqq., Sdm. 21 sqq.

2. so also before an adverb; it sama, likewise, Hm. 75, Fm. 4, Vþm. 22, 23, Gm. 15, Hdl. 26.

3. as an indecl. particle ‘in’ or ‘en’ before a comparative; in heldr, the more, Hm. 60, Sdm. 36, Hkv. 1. 12, Skv. 1. 21, Gh. 3, Nj. 219; in lengr, the longer, Am. 58, 61; this has been already mentioned s. v. en (p. 127, B. at bottom, and p. 128), but it is almost exclusively poetical.

II. placed between a pronoun and an adjective in the definite form:

1. after a demonstr.; sá inn fráni ormr, Fm. 26; sá inn harði hallr, Gs. 10; sá inn aldni jötun, Skm. 25; sá inn ámáttki jötunn, 10; þat ið mikla men, Þkv. 13; þat ið litla, ‘that the little,’ i. e. the little thing, Ls. 44: þann inn alsvinna jötun, Vþm. 1; þann inn aldna jötun, Fm. 29; þann inn hrímkalda jötun, 38; þess ins alsvinna jötuns, Vþm. 5; þat it unga man, Alm. 6; þann inn aldna jötun, Gm. 50; þau in harðmóðgu ský, 41; sá inn máttki munr, 93; mönnum þeim enum aldrœnum, Hbl. 44; börn þau in blíðu, Og. 9; hrís þat ið mæra, Akv. 5: in prose, fjölmenni þat it mikla, Eg. 46; þetta it mikla skip, Fms. x. 347, passim: with ordinals, segðu þat ið eina, say that the first, Vþm. 20; þat ið þriðja, fjórða …, 20 sqq.

2. after a possessive; síns ins heila hugar, síns ins svára sefa, Hm. 105; þíns ins hvassa hjörs, Fm. 29; minn inn hvassi hjörr, 6; míns ins hvassa hjörs, 28; bækr þínar inar bláhvítu, Hðm.

3. after a pers. pron.: þú hinn armi, thou wretch! Ld. 326; gakk þú hingat hinn mikli maðr! Eg. 488.

III. placed between two nouns in apposition:

1. between a proper name and a title or epithet in the definite form; Sigurðr inn Suðræni, Sigurd the Southerner, Skv. 3. 4; Atli inn Ríki, Akv. 29; Högna ins frækna, Hjalla ins blauða, 23; Guðröðr inn Göfugláti, Ýt.; Hamðir inn hugumstóri, Hðm. 25; Kjötva’nn (= Kjötva enn) Auðga, Hornklofi; Svan enum Rauða, Álfr enn Gamli, Hdl.; as also in prose, Ívarr inn Víðfaðmi, Haraldr enn Hárfagri, Ólafr inn Digri, Knútr inn Fundni, Auðr in Djúpauðga, Þorbjörg in Digra, Hildr in Mjófa, Steinólfr inn Lági, Þorkell inn Hávi, Kjarlakr inn Gamli, Björn inn Austræni, Ólafr inn Hvíti, Hálfdan inn Svarti, Sighvatr inn Rauði, Kyjólfr inn Grá, Gestr inn Spaki; Ari inn Fróði (Aren Froðe contr. = Are enn Froðe, Ó. T. 23, line 1), Ketill inn Heimski, Knútr inn Ríki, Eadvarðr inn Góði, Hálfdan inn Mildi, Ingjaldr inn Illráði, Helgi inn Magri, Úlfr inn Skjálgi, Landn., Fb. iii; cp. Gr. Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων, Σωκράτης ὁ φιλόσοφος, Germ. Nathan der Weise, Engl. Alfred the Great, etc.: of ships, Ormr inn Langi, Ormr inn Skammi.

2. between an appellative and an adjective; sveinn inn hvíti, Ls. 20; hendi inni hægri, 61; þengill inn meins-vani, Gm. 16; seggr inn ungi, Skm. 2; skati inn ungi, Hdl. 9; brúðr in kappsvinna, Am. 75; hest inn hraðfæra, Gh. 18; varr inn vígfrækni, gumi inn gunnhelgi, Hðm. 30; auð inn fagra, Skv. 1. 13; orm inn frána, 1, 11; fjánda inn fólkská, Fm. 37; konungr inn Húnski, Skv. 3. 8, 18, 63, 64; orð ið fyrra, Og. 9; mál ið efsta, 16; seggr inn suðræni, Akv. 3; seggr inn æri, 6; mar’inum mélgreypa, 3, 13; borg inni há, 14; sól inni suðrhöllu, 30; veðrs ens mikla, Hkv. 1. 12; handar ennar hægri, Ls. 38, 61; vífs ins vegliga, Am. 54; konung inn kostsama, Hkm.; gramr inn glaðværi, id.; hlut inn mjóvara, Ýt. 13; konungr inn kynstóri, fylkir inn framlyndi, hilmi’nom hálsdigra, konu’na Dönsku, hverr’ enni Heinversku, Hornklofi, Sæm. (Möb.) 228–231; við arm inn vestra, Sighvat; so also in prose passim.

B. When there was no adjective the article became a suffix to the noun (see Gramm. pp. xix, xx), a usage common even in early prose, but extremely rare in poetry; the reason is, not that the poems were composed before the suffixed article had come into use, but that the metres themselves in which all the old poems were composed are older than that usage, and are not well adapted to it, so that the absence of the article became traditional. The old poem Harbarðsljóð makes an exception, no doubt not from being later than all other poems, but from being composed in a peculiar metre, half verse and half prose; thus in that single poem alone there are nearly twenty instances, or about twice or thrice as many as in all the other poems together:—váginn, Hbl. 2, 13, 15; sundit, 1, 3, 8, 13; verðinum, 4; eikjunni, 7; skipit, id.; stöðna, landit, id.; leiðina, 55; höfuðit, 15; bátinum, 53; veggsins, stokksins, steinsins, 56; matrinn, 3: other solitary instances are, goðin öll, Vsp. 27 (prob. somewhat corrupt); eiki-köstinn, Gh. 20; vömmin vár, Ls. 52.

II. in prose, old and modern, the suffixed article occurs at every step; only one or two instances are worth noticing as peculiar to the Icelandic:

1. as vocative in addressing; konan, O woman! mjöðnannan, id., Sighvat (in a verse of A. D. 1018, and so in mod. usage); elskan! hjartað! heillin! ástin, my love! dear! heart! þursinn! Fas. i. 385; hundarnir! = ω κύνες, Od. xxii. 35: also with another word, barnið gott, good child! Þrúðnaþussinn, thou monster giant! Miðgarðs-ormrinn! Fas. i. 373.

2. esp. if with a possessive adjective following, as in Gr. οὑμός, τοὐμόν, τἀμά, etc.; elskan mín, ástin mín, hjartað mitt, góðrinn minn! hér er nú ástin mín, here is my darling! Sturl. ii. 78, of a father presenting a darling child to a friend; and so in mod. usage: as abuse, hundrinn þinn, thou dog! Ísl. ii. 176; þjófrinn þinn! Fms. vii. 127; dyðrillinn þinn! ii. 279; hundinum þínum! vi. 323: this use is not confined to the vocative, e. g. konan mín biðr að heilsa, my wife (kona mín is never used); maðrinn minn, my husband; biddu foreldrana þína ( ask thy parents) að lofa þér að fara; augun hans, his eyes, Pass. 24. 4; hugrinn vor og hjartað sé, our mind and heart (cp. Gr. τω ἐμω θυμω), 43. 5; svo hjartað bæði og málið mitt | mikli samhuga nafnið þitt, 10. 7; gef þú að móður-málið mitt, 35. 9; bókin mín, my favourite book, my own book; as also, fáðu mér hattinn minn, vetlingana mína, skóna mína, give me my hat, gloves, shoes; tungan í þér, augun í þér, thy tongue, thy eyes; höfuðið á mér, fætrnir á mér, my head, my feet; hendrnar á þér (‘á mér, á þér’ are here equivalent to a possessive, see p. 37, C. IV), thy hands, cp. Homer, τα σα γούνατα; hestana þína, Gr. ϊππους τους σούς: similar is the instance, vömmin vár, the sins of ours, Ls. 52; this may be a remnant of a time when the article was used separately, even with an indefinite adjective.

3. a double article, one suffixed to the noun and the other prefixed to the word in apposition; hirðin sú in Danska, Fms. vi. 323; þau in stóru skipin, viii. 384 and passim: again, when a noun is put in the genitive after another noun the former has no article; as the Engl. phrase ‘the fish of the sea and the fowl of the air’ is in Icel. ‘fiskar sjávarins og fuglar loptsins:’ but this belongs to the syntax; see also Grimm’s D. G. iv. 432.

C. SPECIAL CHANGES, in mod. usage:

I. the demonstr. pron. sá, sú, það has in speech generally taken the place of inn, in, it; thus, sá gamli maðr, sú gamla kona, það gamla skáld; sometimes the article is dropped altogether, e. g. á fimta degi, on the fifth day (= á enum fimta degi); á sömn stundu, in the same hour; even in old writers this is found, með sömu ætlan, Bs. i. 289; á níundu tíð dags, Stj. 41, (but rarely); yet the old form is often retained in writing.

II. in case A. II. the article may be dropped; þann gamla maim, þá gömlu konu, það gamla skáld, þú armi, etc.; sá ráða-góði, sú goðum-líki, sá ágæti Odysseifr, sú vitra Penelopa, sá Jarðkringjandi Pósídon, Od. passim (in Dr. Egilsson’s translation).

III. in case A. III. 1. the article is also dropped, Knútr Ríki, Haraldr Hárfagri; even old writers (esp. in later vellums) omitted it now and then, Hálfdan Svarta, Fms. i. 1; Haraldr Grænski, 90; Haraldr Hárfagri, 192; Óttarr ungi, Hdl.: even in the Sæm. Cod. Reg., Völsungr ungi, Skv. 3. 1, 3.

IV. in case A. III. 2. the pronouns sá, sú, það, and hinn, hin, hit may be used indiscriminately, although the former is more usual.

V. lastly, in case B. the suffixed article has gained ground, and is in modern prose used more freq. than in ancient.

☞ CONCLUSION.—The old poetical language, with the sole exception of a single poem, had no article in the modern and proper sense; in every instance the ‘inn, in, it’ bears the character of a demonstrative pronoun, preceding an adjective and enhancing and emphasising its sense, like the pers. pron. hann, q. v.; but it is never attached to a single substantive; when the adjective was placed in apposition after a noun, the pronoun came to stand as an enclitic just after the noun, and was sounded as if suffixed thereto; at last it was tacked as an actual suffix to single nouns standing without apposition, and thus the true suffixed article gradually arose, first in speech, then in writing; whereas at the same time the old pronominal enclitic (A. I-III) gradually went out of use, and was either dropped or replaced by the stronger demonstrative pronoun ‘sá, sú.’

HIN, HITT, demonstr. pron., prob. identical in etymology with the preceding word, from which it is however distinguished,

1. by the neut. hitt, Dan. hint;

2. by the initial aspirate, which is never dropped;

3. by being a fully accentuated pronoun, so that the h can stand as an alliterative letter, e. g. handar ennar hægri | mun ek hinnar geta, Ls.; veitkat ek hitt hvart Heita | hungr …, Hallfred; Hitt kvað þá Hamðir, etc., Hom. 23, 25, Korm. 40; Raun er hins at Heinir | hræ …; Skáld biðr hins at haldi | hjálm …, Sighvat, Hkv. Hjörv. 26: [Ulf. jains = ἐκεινος; A. S. geond; Engl. yon; Germ. jener.]

A. This pronoun is used,

I. in a demonstr. sense, emphatically and without being opp. to a preceding demonstr.; raun er hins at …, it is proved that …; skáld biðr hins, at …, Sighvat; veitkat ek hitt hvat (hvárt) …, Hallfred; hitt ek hugða, emphatically, that was what I thought, I thought forsooth, Hm. 98; hitt kvað pá Hróðrglóð, Hðm. 13; hitt kvað þá Hamðir, 25; hitt vil ek vita, that I want to know, Vþm. 3, 6; þó ek hins get, ef …, yet I guess, that if …, Skm. 24; vita skal hitt, ef …, Korm. 40 (in a verse), Ísl. ii. 225 (in a verse); hitt var fyrr = in former times, formerly, Ýt., Fs. 94 (in a verse); hinn er sæll, er …, he is happy, that …, Hm. 8; maðr hinn er …, ‘man he that’ = the man who, 26; hinn er Surts ór Sökkdölum, Edda 51 (in a verse); veitat hinn er tin tannar, hinn er um eyki annask, Kormak (in a verse); handar innar hægri mun ek hinnar geta, er …, the right hand, that hand namely, which …, Ls. 38; this usage scarcely occurs except in old poetry.

II. demonstr. referring to another pronoun, denoting the former, farther, the other, = Dan. hiin, hint, Germ. jener, cp. Gr. ἐκεινος, Lat. ille; freq. in prose, old and mod.; fóru þeir með þau skip er þeim þóttu bezt en brenndu hin, Fms. v. 8; Kimbi bar sár sitt engan mun betr en hinir, er hann hafði áðr á fært, 92; en hitt er meira, at hann lætr sér annarra manna fé jafnheimilt, Eg. 47; kemr örvar-oddrinn í strenglag hinnar örvarinnar, Fb. iii. 405; er þú hefir mik fyrir lagt á hinu áðr, 407; hinir frændr þínir, ii. 425; á hinn fótinn, on that, the other leg, Nj. 97; þat er válítið, … hitt er undr …, Ls. 33; hinir hlaða seglunum ok bíða, Fms. x. 347; ef hinn ( the other part) er eigi þar við staddr, Grág. i. 52; hvárt hinn ( the other one) hefir jafnmikit fé hins ( of the other one) er austr er, 220; rétt er at kveðja frá hennar heimili ef hann veit hvártki hinna (gen. pl.), 339; ok vill annarr hluta en annarr eigi … ok verðr sem hinn mæli ekki um er eigi vill hluta, 393; ef maðr sendir annan mann til eindaga, ok erat hinn skyldr við at taka, id.; þess á milli er hón fór at sofa á kveldit, ok hins er hón var klædd, Ld. 14; ærit fögr er mær sjá, … en hitt veit ek eigi hvaðan þjófs-augu eru komin í ættir várar, forsooth she is a beautiful girl, but yet I know not, Nj. 2:—demonstr. in the sense of this (but rare), stjörnur þær er nær eru leiðar-stjöruu ganga aldri undir með oss, en í Blálandi eðr Arabia ganga hinar stjörnur, these very stars, Rb. 468: phrases, hitt ok annat, this and the other, Rd. 235; mod. hitt og þetta.

B. COMPOUND FORMS, hinn-ug, hinn-og, or hins-ig, mod. hins-egin, also hizig, q. v. [from vegr], adv. the other way; þótt Gísl þykki hinsig (hinn veg, v. l.) eigi síðr til vísa, Fms. vii. 46; hinnig værir þú undir brún at líta sem …, Nj. 55: locally, there, in the other place, illic, ok láta bera vætti þat hinneg var nefnt, Grág. i. 90; heimta af erfingja ef hinnig er eigi til, K. Þ. K. 28; brenndi þar ok görði hervirki eigi minna enn hinneg, Fms. vi. 340; ef hinnig mundi kostr, K. Þ. K. 24; eigi er hægra undir þeim at búa fyrir kulda sakir, enn hinnog er fyrir ofrhita sakir, Sks. 196; því at hón er kaldari hér en hizug, 70: temp. the other day, formerly (rare), er ek hinnig mælta, Og. 11.

2. denoting motion, hither, thither; hinnig deyja ór Helju halir, Vþm. 43; renna hinnig, Gh. 18; ríða hinig, Fm. 26: koma hinig, Gs. 18.

* * *

1) stratum, layer;

2) due place, right position;

leggja stýri í lag, to ship the rudder;

ganga ór lagi, to go wrong;

fóru nú brýnn hans í lag, his brows became smooth and straight;

koma lagi á e-t, to put to rights, get a thing into order;

komast vel í lag, to fall into good order;

3) companionship, fellowship;

leggja (binda) saman lag sitt, to enter into fellowship;

4) living together (hann réðst til lags við Beru);

5) cohabitation;

eiga lag við konu, to cohabit;

6) market price, tax;

leggja lag á varning manna, to set or regulate the market price;

7) thrust, stab (with a knife, sword, or spear);

8) air, tune;

9) adverbial phrases:

í tvennu lagi, in two parts, double;

í öllu lagi, in every respect, quite;

í sumu (mörgu) lagi, in same (many) respects;

with compar. or superl., denoting degree;

í meira lagi, considerably, rather;

í fyrra lagi, rather early, among the earliest;

í verra lagi, among the worst;

í hljóðara lagi, rather silent;

í nærra lagi, rather close;

þann dag svaf Unnr í lengra lagi, U. slept that day longer than she was wont;

Helias var í fyrsta lagi spámanna, H. was one of the first of prophets;

í elzta lagi sona hans, among the oldest of his sons;

minnsta lag, the least share.

* * *

n. [leggja], a stratum, layer; vóru þá Varbelgir at taka af þau lög sem eptir vóru brúarinnar, Fms. ix. 512: freq. in mod. usage, e. g. lag í vegg, a layer or course of masonry.

II. metaph. shape, Lat. forma:

1. a laying in order, due place, right position; leggja stýri í lag, to ship the rudder in its place, hook it on, Fms. vii. 47; leggja stýri ór lagi, to unship the rudder, Al. 67; ganga ór lagi, to be displaced, get wrong, Fms. viii. 291; fóru nú brýnn hans í lag, his brows became smooth and straight, of a man frowning, Eg. 306; koma lagi á e-t, to make a thing right, get a thing into order, Fms. xi. 28; hann kvaðsk eigi lagi mundu á koma fyrir næstu vetrnætr, 67; fylkingar hans komask vel í lag, his ranks fell into good order, Al. 142; brugðit er nú lagi ór því sem vant er, i. e. matters go wrong, not as they were wont to go, Grett. 183 new Ed.; nærri lagi, pretty well.

2. companionship, fellowship, in an enterprise of peace or war; leggja saman lag sitt, to enter into fellowship, Orkn. 88; þeir áttu mikit lag við Þveræinga, Lv. 73; bundu þeir jarl lag sitt saman, Fms. i. 20; kom til lags við Sigurð jarl sá maðr er hét Rauðr, 194; þá réðsk til lags með honum Einarr þambarskelfir, v. 4; taka e-n til lags ok félagsskapar, x. 202; hann fór til lags með Sörkvi Karli ok herjaði, Nj. 183: of living together, hann réðsk til lags við Beru, Gullþ. 13; fé-lag, q. v.: cohabitation, eiga lag við konu, to cohabit, Karl. 47, Þiðr. 247, Ver. 27, H. E. i. 247, Fms. vi. 122; taka konu til lags, Bs. i. 852; fylgja e-m at lagi (i. e. not in wedlock), Sturl. i. 94, 97; fá lag konu, Þiðr. 299.

3. market price, tax, as e. g. in Icel. the godi of a district had to ‘lay,’ i. e. set or regulate the market price, Hænsaþ. S. ch. 2; gjalda allt at því lagi sem þar gengr, Grág. i. 213; leggja lag á mjöl, ii. 404; leggja lag á varning manna, Ísl. ii. 126; sagði þann vanda at hann legði lag á varning manna, id.; hundraðs-lag, B. K. 53; fjár-lag, tax, Grág. i. 500.

4. a thrust, stab, Nj. 97, 253, Eg. 231, 379, Orkn. 450, Fms. ii. 94, and passim; see leggja.

5. regular time; árar-lag (q. v.), a boating term, time, stroke; hafðu lagið, keep time! hafa seint, fljótt lagið, kunna ekki árarlagið: so in the saying, allt vill lagið hafa, all things require time and tact, or require to be done in a due manner; ó-lag, disorder; það er allt í ólagi, það er ólag á því:—naut., lag is the lull between the breakers, the nick of time for landing; but ólag, the wrong time, when the breakers are dashing against the shore; one of these waves is called dauða-lag, see the interesting passage in Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 660.

6. [Engl. lay], an air, tune; hétu þeir er bundnir vóru á hinn heilaga Thorlák biskup, at þeir skyldi lausir verða, lögum nokkrum (söngum, v. l.), Sturl. ii. 33: freq. in mod. usage, esp. of hymns, hymna-lag, a hymn-tune, of the Ambrosian hymns; sálma-lag, a psalm-tune; vísna-lag, a song-tune; rímna-lag, a ballad-air: also used of metres, in old metric, Haðar-lag, Edda (Ht.) 140; Togdrápu-lag, 137; tog-lag, 138; Fornyrða-lag, 142; Bálkar-lag, id.; Galdra-lag, 143; Flagða-lag, 245; it is possible that songs composed in these metres were a kind of ‘airs’ accompanied by singing.

II. adverb. in layers; í tvennu lagi, in two layers, double, Fms. i. 156; í öllu lagi, in every respect, in everything, quite, Band. 6 new Ed.; í mörgu lagi, in many respects, Fms. vi. 133, Fs. 123; í sumu lagi, in some respects, Fms. vi. 207.

2. with compar. or superl., denoting degree; í meira lagi, considerably, rather, Þiðr. 80; í fyrra lagi, rather early, among the earlier, Ísl. ii. 126; minnsta lag, the least share, Sturl. iii. 238; í verra lagi, among the worst, Hrafn. 9; í hljóðara lagi, rather silent, Sks. 370; í fastara lagi, Str. 9; í lengra lagi, þann dag svaf Unnr í lengra lagi, U. slept that day longer than she was wont, Ld. 14; í lægra lagi, Stj. 107; í hærra lagi, í fremra, síðara lagi, passim; í mesta lagi, very greatly; sá er í mesta lagi strauma þeirra er á Breiðafirði eru, Ld. 56, Stj. 156; í heldra lagi, Fms. ii. 72, Al. 92; Helias var í fyrsta lagi spámanna, H. was one of the first of prophets, Ver. 29; í elzta lagi sona hans, among the oldest of his sons, Fagrsk. 12; í nærra lagi, rather close, Konr. 3; í flesta lagi, very numerous, Gísl. 26:—sér í lagi, laid by itself, apart, D. N. ii. 93; meðallagi (q. v.), average.

COMPDS: lagskona, lagsmaðr.

B. Lög, only in plur., [prop. what is ‘laid,’ cp. Germ. gesetz, Gr. θεσμός; the Engl. law seems to be a Scandin. word, for Germ. and Saxon use other words; Dan. lov; Swed. lag]:—law; proverbs, með lögum skal land byggja en með ólögum eyða, Nj. 106; svo eru lög sem hafa tog, Kveldv. i. 45: various law phrases, segja lög, to say the law, tell what is law, esp. technically used of the law-speaker who had to read the law in public, and who, in cases of dispute, had to say what was the law; svá er mælt at sá maðr skal vera nokkorr ávallt á landi óru er skyldr sé til þess at segja lög mönnum, ok heitir sá lögsögu-maðr, Grág. i. 1; biskup skal lög segja en eigi leikmenn, Bs. i. 720; hlýðir þat hvergi at hafa eigi lög í landi, Nj. 149; sem ek veit sannast ok réttast ok helzt at lögum, in the oath formula, 232; leiða í lög, to introduce a law; eptir þat leiddi Skapti Þóroddsson í lög fimmtardóm ok allt þat er upp var talit, 151; þú hefir þó mest at gört, segir Gestr, þótt öðrum verði auðit í lög at leiða, 163; taka e-t í lög, id., Bs. i. 158; leggja lög á e-t, id.; dæma e-m lög, Eg. ch. 57; mæla lög, Fms. vii. 142; ræna e-n lögum, Ld. 102; bjóða, festa lög fyrir sik, N. G. L. passim; setja lög, Fms. xi. 75, Fb. ii. 48; halda vel log sín, 76.

II. law community, communion, as also a law-district; þyki mér sem málum várum sé komit í únýtt efni, ef eigi hafa ein lög allir, en ef sundr-skipt er lögunum þá mun sundr-skipt friðinum, Nj. 164; í hverri þessi deild landsins er sitt lögþing ok sín lög, yfir hverjum lögum er lögmaðr, Ó. H. 65; þrælar mínir eru ekki í lögum eðr landsrétt við aðra menn, id.; kaupeyri mun ek fá þér svá mikinn at þú megir ganga í hraustra manna lög, Ld. 254; þóat menn vildi þangat ráðask er eigi vóru í þessum lögum, Fms. xi. 76; sögðusk hvárir ór lögum við aðra, Nj. 164; leiða e-n í lög, to introduce a person as a lawful citizen, naturalise, Grág. i. 357; eru þeir nú leiddir í lög með þeim Jómsvíkingum, Fms. xi. 80; lendum mönnum ok sýslumönnum í hverjum lögum ( law community) sem þeir sjá at bezt ber ok hæfir, Gþl. 56; innan laga várra, N. G. L. i. 7; ef maðr kemr ór lögum várum í fylki annat með bú sitt, 98; en þat görðisk þar, at annarr maðr at öðrum nefndi sér vátta ok sögðusk hvárir ór lögum við aðra enir Kristnu menn ok enir heiðnu, Bs. i. 22: in a geographical sense, almost as a local name, Gulaþings-lög, Eiðsævis-lög, Þrænda-lög, passim:—in nicknames of great lawyers, Laga-Eiðr, Bárð. new Ed.; Laga-Ulfljótr, Þórð. (1860) 94.

COMPDS: lagaafbrigði, lagabeiðsla, lagaboð, lagaboðorð, lagabók, lagabrjótr, lagabrot, Lagabætir, lagadeilur, lagadómr, lagaeiðr, lagaflækjur, lagafrestr, lagafrétt, lagagipt, lagagrein, lagagæzla, lagahald, lagahellur, lagahlýðni, lagakaup, lagakefli, lagakvánfang, lagalauss, lagaleiga, lagalyriti, lagalöstr, lagamaðr, lagamál, lagaorð, lagapróf, lagarefsing, lagarétting, lagaréttr, lagaripting, lagasetning, lagaskilnaðr, lagaskilorð, lagaskipan, lagaskipti, lagasnápr, lagasókn, lagastefna, lagatak, Lagatíð, lagaundanfærsla, lagaúrskurðr, lagavápn, lagavegr.

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(skýt; skaut, skutum; skotinn), v.

1) to shoot with a weapon, with dat. (skjóta öru, spjóti, kólfi);

vera skotinn spjóti í gegnum, to be shot through with a spear;

skjóta af boga, to shoot with a bow;

with the object shot at in acc. (skjóta dýr, mann, sel, fugl);

skjóta at e-m, til e-s, to shoot at one;

skjóta til hœfis, to shoot at a mark;

2) to shoot push or shove quickly;

skjóta brú af, to draw the bridge off or away;

skjóta skildi fyrir sik, to put a shield before one;

skjóta loku fyrir, to shoot the bolt, lock the door;

skjóta frá lokum, to unlock;

skjóta e-u fyrir borð, to ‘shoot’ overboard;

skjóta skipum á vatn, to launch ships;

skjóta báti, to launch a boat from the shore;

skjóta útan báti, to shove out a boat;

skjóta hesti uridir e-n, to put a horse under one, to mount him;

var mér hér skotit á land, I was put ashore here;

skjóta e-u niðr, to thrust it down (hann skaut svá fast niðr skildinum, at);

skjóta e-m brott or undan, to let one escape;

skjóta undan peningum, to abstract, embezzle money;

skjóta e-u í hug e-m to suggest to one (þá skaut guð því ráði í hug þeim);

skjóta upp hvítum skildi, to hoist a white shield;

skjóta upp vita, skjóta eldi í vita, to light up a beacon;

skjóta land-tjaldi, to pitch a tent;

skjóta á fylking, to draw up in battle array;

skjóta á husþingi, to call a meeting together;

skjóta á eyrendi, to make a speech;

skjóta fótum undir sik, to take to one’s heels, to run;

barnit skaut öndu upp, the child began to breathe;

skjóta e-u of öxl, to throw off one’s shoulder;

3) to transfer a case to another;

vér tólf dómendr, er málum þessum er t il skotit, to whom these suits are handed over;

skýt ek því til gúðs ok góðra manna, at, I call God and all good men to witness, that;

4) to pay (hann skaut einn fyrir sveitunga sína alla);

5) impers., e-u skýtr upp, it shoots up, emerges, comes forth;

upp skýtr jörðunni þá ór sænum, then the earth rises from the sea;

skaut upp jörðu dag frá degi, the earth appeared day by day (as the snow melted);

þó at þér skyti því í hug, though it shot into thy mind, occurred to thee;

þeim skaut skelk í bringu, they were panic-stricken;

sem kólfi skyti, swift as a dart;

6) refl., skjótast.

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skýt, pret. skaut, skauzt (skauztu rhyming with laust, Fms. vi. in a verse), skaut, pl. skutu; subj. skyti; imperat. skjót, skjóttú; part. skotinn: [A. S. sceôtan, scyttan; Engl. shoot and shut; Dan. skyde; Germ. schiessen.]

A. To shoot with a weapon, the weapon being in dat.; skjóta öru (örum), spjóti, fleini, skutli, kesju, kólfi …, Fms. i. 44, x. 308, 362, Eg. 380; þeir þykkjask eigi hafa skotið betra skot, Fms. vii. 211; vera skotinn spjóti í gögnum, shot through with a spear, Nj. 274: the object shot at in acc., skjóta dýr, fugla, sela, Edda 16, Nj. 95, Ld. 56, Fms. x. 356, 362, and passim: also, s. til e-s, to shoot at; s. til fugls, Orkn. 346; s. til hæfis, to shoot at a mark, Fms. ii. 268; s. kesju at e-m, Eg. 380; allir skutu at Baldri, Edda 37.

II. to shoot, to push or shove quickly; skjóta loku fyrir (or frá) hurðu (dyrum), to shoot the bolt, lock the door; s. frá lokum, to unlock, Lv. 60; hann lagðisk niðr ok skaut fyrir loku, Eg. 601; skaut hann þá frá lokum, Fms. vi. 189; þeir lögðu hann í kistu ok skutu síðan fyrir borð, and shot the chest overboard, Eg. 127; skaut Egill yfir brúnni, E. shot the bridge over the ditch, 531; s. brú af, to draw the bridge off or away, Fms. xi. 370; s. skipum á vatn, to launch the ships into water, ix. 501; s. báti, to launch a boat from the shore, Nj. 133; s. útan báti, to shove out a boat, 272; brauð þat er hón hafði í ofninn skotið, Hom. 114; menn er í ofn vóru skotnir, 117; var þeim skotið í eld brennanda, Eg. 232; then in all kinds of relations, s. hesti uudir e-n, to put a horse under one, mount him, Eg. 397, 602, Fms. vii. 21; var mér hér skotið á land, I was put ashore here, Nj. 45; s. e-m upp á land, id., Fms. i. 131; s. barni heim af fóstri, to send back a bairn from the fóstr, Grág. i. 276; s. e-m brott, to let one escape, Fms. ix. 420; s. e-m undan, id., vi. 116, vii. 250; s. niðr úmaga, to leave a pauper behind, place him there, Grág. i. 296, 297; s. fé á brott (undan), to abstract, embezzle money, 334; þetta líkar Þórdísi ílla ok skýtr undan peningunum, Korm. 150; skjóttú diametro sólarinnar í tvá staði, divide it into two, Rb. 462; þá skaut Guð því ráði í hug þeim, put this rede into their mind, 655. 3; s. upp hvítum skildi, to hoist a white shield, Fms. x. 347; s. upp vita, to light up the beacon, Hkr. i. 148; þá varð engum vita upp skotið, Orkn. 266; vita-karlinn skaut eldi í vitann, lighted up the beacon, Fms. viii. 188; s. land-tjaldi, to pitch a tent, Nj. 157; var skotið um hann skjaldborg, 274; s. á skjaldborg, to draw up a s., Fms. vii. 70; s. á fylking, to draw up in battle array, Ó. H. 209; s. á húsþingi, to call a meeting together, Eg. 357; s. á eyrendi, to make a speech, Fms. i. 215; skýtr or skýtsk mjök í tvau horn um e-t, see horn B.I. 2; s. fótum undir sik, to take to one’s heels, to run, Fms. viii. 358; hann skaut sér út hjá þeim, shot out, escaped, vi. 189; harm hljóp upp á altarit, ok skaut á knjám sínum, ix. 462; barnit skaut öndu upp, the bairn began to breathe, Hkr. ii. 199; s. skildi fyrir sik, to put a shield before one, Eg. 378, Nj. 156; s. skjóli yfir e-n, to protect (see skjól); Máriusúðin skaut lykkjunum, she (the ship) shivered, Fms. viii. 199; þá segisk, at hann skyti í fyrstu þessu orði, eldisk árgalinn nú, he is said to have let this word slip, to have said, vi. 251; s. e-u of öxl, to throw it off one’s shoulder, Gg. 6; s. e-u á frest, to put off, delay: skjóta augum, to look askance, Eg. (in a verse), from which the mod. gjóta augum is a corruption.

III. metaph. to shift or transfer a case to another, appeal; skutu þau til ráða Ólafs, Ld. 74; s. þrætu til ór skurðar e-s, Fms. vii. 203; því skýt ek til Guðs, i. 3; s. sínu máli á Guðs vald, x. 103; s. þessu máli til Frosta-þings …, þeir skutu þangat sínu máli, i. 32; vér tólf dómendr, er málum þessum er til skotið, Nj. 188; s. máli á fylkis-þing, N. G. L. i. 21; skýt ek því til Guðs ok góðra manna, Nj. 176; menn þá er hann skaut ráðum undir, whom he took as his counsel, Fms. vii. 308.

IV. [A. S. scot; Engl. shot, scot, see skot, I and II]:—to pay; rétt er at fimm búar virði gripinn, ok skal hann þá skjóta í móti slíku, er þeir virða gripinn dýrra enn hans skuld var fyrir öndverðu, Grág. i. 412; skjóta fé saman, to club money together, make a collection, Mar.; þeir skutu saman fjár-hlutum sínum hverr eptir efnum, Hom, 123 (samskot); hann skaut einn fyrir sveitunga sína alla ( he paid their scot) þá er þeir sátu í skytningum, Ld. 312 (see skytningr).

V. impers., e-u skýtr upp, it shoots up, emerges, comes forth; upp skýtr jörðunni þá ór sænum, Edda 44; skaut upp jörðu dag frá degi, the earth appeared day by day (as the snow melted), Fms. ii. 228; þó at þér skyti því í hug, though it shot into thy mind, occurred to thee, Band. 37 new Ed.; þeim skaut skelk í bringu, they were panic-stricken, Ld. 78, Eg. 49, Fb. i. 418 (see skelkr); mjök skýtr mornar vakri, she is much tossed, Hallfred; sveita skaut á skjaldrim, the shield-rim was blood-shot, blood-stained, Orkn. (in a verse); sem kólfi skyti, swift as a dart, Fms. ii. 183.

B. Reflex. to shoot, start, move, slip away; Skíði frá ek at skauzt á fætr, S. started to his feet, Skíða R. 52; Björn skauzk aptr síðan at baki Kára, B. shot or slipped behind Kári’s back, Nj. 262; at menn hans skytisk eigi frá honum, lest they should slip away, abscond, Fms. vii. 49; vildi ljósta Gretti, en hann skautzk undan, started away from the blow, Grett. 91 A; þeir fálmauðu af hræðslu, ok skutusk hingað ok þingat undan geislum hans, Niðr. 5; þó at fé hans skjótisk fyrir garðsenda, to slip through by the end of the fence, Grág. ii. 263; nú skýzk maðr undan tali (evades,) N. G. L. i. 97; kemr í hug, at hann mun skotisk hafa undan, ok vilja eigi fara, Ísl. ii. 334: skjótask yfir (impers.), to skip, slip over; mér hefir skotisk yfir að telja hann, þeim hafði yfir skotisk um þetta, they had made a false calculation, Ld. 100; þá skjótumk ek mjök yfir, then I am much mistaken, Skálda (Thorodd); skýzt þeim mörgum vísdómrinn sem betri ván er at, Grett. 25 new Ed.: skjótask e-m, to fail; margir skutusk honum, many forsook him, Fms. i. 22; skutusk þá margir við Þórð í trúnaðinum, many proved false to Thord, Sturl. iii. 75 C; vildi dýrið ljósta þeim hramminum seni heill var, ok skauzk á stúfinn, and stumbled, reeled on the stump of the other leg, Grett. 101 A; hann var nokkut við aldr, ok skauzk á fótum ( and tottered on his legs), ok þó hinn karlmannligsti, Háv. 45: also in the law phrase, hafa e-u fyrir skotið, to have a case forfeited, N. G. L. i. 52, 53; ef hann stefnir eigi … þá er þeim váttum fyrir skotið, then the witnesses are valueless, 54 (cp. Dan. for-skyde).

2. reflex., in the mod. skjótask, to go on a short errand, pay a short visit; viltu ekki skjótast með bréfið að tarna? eg ætla að skjútast inn sem snöggvast, bíddu meðan eg skýzt inn, and the like.

II. recipr., skjótask á, to exchange shots, Fms. i. 93, vii. 54.

III. part., of corn, to shoot; rúgakr al-skotinn, Þiðr. 180.

(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.)

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

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

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

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

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

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older umb, prep. with acc. and dat.

I. with acc.

1) around (slá hring um e-n);

2) about, all over (hárit féll um hana alla); um allar sveitir, all over the country; mikill um herðar, large about the shoulders, broad-shouldered; liggja um akkeri, to ride at anchor;

3) of proportion; margir voru um einn, many against one; um einn hest voru tveir menn, two men to each horse;

4) round, past, beyond, with verbs denoting motion (sigla vestr um Bretland); leggja um skut þessu skipi, to pass by this ship; ríða um tún, to pass by a place;

5) over, across, along (flytja e-n um haf); kominn um langan veg, come from a long way off; ganga um gólf, to cross the floor (but also to walk up and down the floor); slá, er lá um þvert skipit, a beam that lay athwart the ship; um kné sér, across the knee; e-t er hœgt um hönd, gives little trouble, is ready to hand;

6) of time, during, in the course of (um messuna, um þingit, um sumarit); þat var um nótt, by night; um nætr sem um daga, by night as well as day; lengra en fara megi um dag, in the course of one day;

7) at a point of time (hann kom at höllinni um drykkju); um þat, at that time, then; um þat er, when (um þat, er vér erum allir at velli lagðir);

8) of, about, in regard to a thing; bera um e-t, dœma um e-t, to bear witness, judge about; tala um e-t, to speak of; annast um e-t, to attend to; sviðr um sik, wise of oneself; hvárr um sik, each for himself; var mart vel um hann, he had many good qualities;

9) e-m er ekki um e-t, one does not like (var honum ekki um Norðmenn); with infin., honum er ekki um at berjast í dag, he has no liking to fight to-day; er þér nökkut um, at vér rannsökum þik ok hús þín, have you any objection that we …?; e-m er mikit (lítil) um e-t, one likes it much, little (Guðrúnu var lítil um þat); sá, er mönnum væri meira um, whom people liked better; e-m finnst mikit um e-t, one is much pleased umwith, has a high opinion of (konungi fannst mikit um list þá ok kurteisi þá, er þar var á öllu);

10) because of, for; öfunda e-n um e-t, to envy one for a thing; verða útlagt um e-t, to be fined for a transgression; um sakleysi, without cause;

11) beyond, above; margir fengu eigi hlaupit um röst, more than one mile; hafa vetr um þrítugt, to be thirty-one; e-m um afl, um megn, beyond one’s strength, more than one can do (þetta mál er nökkut þér um megn); kasta steini um megn sér, to overstrain oneself; um of, too much, excessive (þótti mörgum þetta um of); um alla menn fram or um fram alla menn, above all men (hón unni honum um alla menn fram); e-m er e-t um hug, one has no mind for, dislikes (ef þér er nökkut um hug á kaupum við oss);

12) over, across; detta, falla um e-t, to stumble over (féll bóandinn um hann);

13) by; draugrinn hafði þokat at Þorsteini um þrjár setur, by three seats;

14) about; þeir sögðu honum, hvat um var at vera, what it was about, how matters stood; hvat sem um þat er, however that may be; eiga e-t um at vera, to be troubled about a thing (lætr sem hann eigi um ekki at vera); var fátt um með þeim, they were not on good terms;

15) ellipt., ef satt skal um tala, if the truth must be told; þannig sem atburðr hefir orðit um, as things have turned out;

16) as adv., gekk um veðrit, veered round, changed; ríða (sigla) um, to ride (sail) by; langt um, far beyond, quite; fljótit var langt um úfœrt (úreitt), quite impassable; um liðinn, passed by, of time; á þeirri viku, er um var liðin, in the past umweek;

II. with dat.

1) over, esp. poet.; sitja um borðum = sitja yfir borðum; sá es um verði glissir, he that gabbles over a meal;

2) of time, by; um dögum, um nóttum, by day, by night; um sumrum, haustum, vetrum, várum, in the summer, etc.; um vetrum ok sumrum, both winter and summer.

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an enclytic particle, see ‘of,’ p. 462, col. 2.

adv. too; see ‘of,’ p. 462, col. 2, and p. 463, col. 1.

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.

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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.