in+the+year+one

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1) year; at ári, next year; telja árum, to count time by years;

2) plenty, abundance, fruitfulnes (þá var ár um öll lönd);

3) the name of the Rune A.

f. oar; draga skip á árum, to pull the boat with oars; þungr undir árum, heavy to pull; draga árar um e-t, to contend for; koma eigi ár sinni fyrlr borð, to be under restraint.

n. first beginning; ár var alda, in times of yore; at morgins ári, um morguninn í ár = árla um morguninn, early in the morning.

1) anciently, of yore;

2) early (ár um morguninn).

from á, river.

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n. [Goth. jêr; A. S. gear; Engl. year; Germ. jabr; the Scandin. idioms all drop the j, as in ungr, young; cp. also the Gr. ωρα; Lat. hora; Ulf. renders not only ετος but also sometimes καιρός and χρόνος by jêr].

I. a year, = Lat. annus, divided into twelve lunar months, each of 30 days, with four intercalary days, thus making 364 days; as the year was reckoned about the middle of the 10th century (the original calculation probably only reckoned 360 days, and made up the difference by irregular intercalary months). About the year 960 Thorstein Surt introduced the sumarauki (intercalary week), to be inserted every seventh year, thus bringing the year up to 365 days. After the introduction of Christianity (A. D. 1000) the sumarauki was made to harmonize with the Julian calendar; but from A. D. 1700 with the Gregorian calendar; v. the words sumarauki, hlaupár, mánuðr, vika, etc., Íb. ch. 4, Rb. 6, Fms. i. 67; telja árum, to count the time by years, Vsp. 6; í ári, used adverb., at present, as yet, Ó. H. 41, 42 (in a verse).

II. = Lat. annona, plenty, abundance, fruitfulness; the phrase, friðr ok ár, Fms. vii. 174, Hkr. Yngl. ch. 8–12; ár ok fésæla, Hkr. l. c.; þá var ár urn öll lönd, id.; létu hlaða skip mörg af korni ok annarri gæzku, ok flytja svá ár í Danmörku, Fms. xi. 8, Sks. 323, Fas. i. 526, Hom. 68; gott ár, Eg. 39; blota til árs, Fms. i. 34.

III. the name of the Rune RUNE (a), Skálda 176; in the A. S. and Goth. Runes the j has the name jêr, gêr, according to the Germ. and Engl. pronunciation of this word; vide p. 2, col. 1.

COMPDS: áratal, ársbót.

I. Lat. olim [Ulf. air = παλαί; Engl. yore], used nearly as a substantive followed by a gen., but only in poetry; in the phrase, ár var alda, in times of yore, in principio, Vsp. 3, Hkv. 2. 1: also, ár var þaz (= þat es), the beginning of some of the mythical and heroical poems, Skv. 3. i, Gkv. 1. 1; cp. árdagar.

II. Lat. mane [A. S. ær; O. H. G. êr; cp. Gr. ηρι-, Engl. early, Icel. árla], rare, (the prolonged form árla is freq.); it, however, still exists in the Icel. common phrase, með morgunsárinu (spelt and proncd. in a single word), primo diluculo; elsewhere poet, or in laws, ár of morgin, early of a morning, Hðm. verse 1, Grág. ii. 280; rísa ár, to rise early, Hm. 58, 59; ár né um nætr, Hkv. 2. 34, etc.; í ár, adverb. = early, Ísl. ii. (Hænsa Þór. S.) 161; snemma í ár, Ld. 46, MS., where the Ed. um morgininn í ár, Fas. i. 503: it also sometimes means for ever, svá at ár Hýmir ekki mælti, for an age he did not utter a word, remained silent as if stupefied, Hým. 25, Lex. Poët.; ara þúfu á skaltu ár sitja, Skm. 27; cp. the mod. phrase, ár ok síð og allan tíð, early and late and always. In compds = Lat. matutinus.

f. [A. S. ár; Engl. oar; Swed. åre], an oar, old form of nom., dat., acc. sing. ́r; dat. ́ru or áru, Eb. 60 new Ed., but commonly ár; pl. árar, Eg. 221, 360, Fms. viii. 189, 417: metaph. in the phrases, koma eigi ár sinni fyrir borð, to be under restraint, esp. in a bad sense, of one who cannot run as fast as he likes, Eb. 170; vera á árum e-s = undir ára burði e-s, v. below; draga árar um e-t, to contend about a thing, the metaphor taken from a rowing match, Fær. 159; taka djúpt í árinni, to dip too deep, overdo a thing.

COMPDS: árarblað, áraburðr, áragangr, árakló, áralag, árarhlumr, árarhlutr, árarstubbi, árartog, árartré.

I) prep.

A. with dative.

I. Of motion;

1) towards, against;

Otkell laut at Skamkatli, bowed down to S.;

hann sneri egginni at Ásgrími, turned the edge against A.;

2) close atup to;

Brynjólfr gengr alit at honum, quite up to him;

þeir kómust aldri at honum, they could never get near him, to close quarters with him;

3) to, at;

koma at landi, to come to land;

ganga at dómi, to go into court;

4) along (= eptir);

ganga at stræti, to walk along the street;

dreki er niðr fór at ánni (went down the river) fyrir strauminum;

refr dró hörpu at ísi, on the ice;

5) denoting hostility;

renna (sœkja) at e-m, to rush at, assault;

gerði þá at þeim þoku mikla, they were overtaken by a thick fog;

6) around;

vefja motri at höfði sér, to wrap a veil round one’s head;

bera grjót at e-m, to heap stones upon the body;

7) denoting business, engagement;

ríða at hrossum, at sauðum, to go looking after horses, watching sheep;

fara at landskuldum, to go collecting rents.

II. Of position, &c.;

1) denoting presence at, near, by, upon;

at kirkju, at church;

at dómi, in court;

at lögbergi, at the hill of laws;

2) denoting participation in;

vera at veizlu, brullaupi, to be at a banquet, wedding;

vera at vígi, to be an accessory in man-slaying;

3) ellipt., vera at, to be about, to be busy at;

kvalararnir, er at vóru at pína hann, who were tormenting him;

var þar at kona nökkur at binda (was there busy dressing) sár manna;

4) with proper names of places (farms);

konungr at Danmörku ok Noregi, king of;

biskup at Hólum, bishop of Holar;

at Helgafelli, at Bergþórshváli;

5) used ellipt. with a genitive, at (a person’s) house;

at hans (at his house) gisti fjölmenni mikit;

at Marðar, at Mara’s home;

at hins beilaga Ólafs konungs, at St. Olave’s church;

at Ránar, at Ran’s (abode).

III. Of time;

1) at, in;

at upphafi, at first, in the beginning;

at skilnaði, at parting, when they parted;

at páskum, at Easter;

at kveldi, at eventide;

at þinglausnum, at the close of the Assembly;

at fjöru, at the ebb;

at flœðum, at the floodtide;

2) adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr’;

at ári komanda, next year;

at vári, er kemr, next spring;

generally with ‘komanda’ understood;

at sumri, hausti, vetri, vári, next summer, &c.;

3) used with an absolute dative and present or past part.;

at sér lifanda, duing his lifetime;

at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all;

at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the hearing of the chief;

at upprennandi sólu, at sunrise;

at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks are past;

at honum önduðum, after his death;

4) denoting uninterrupted succession, after;

hverr at öðrum, annarr at öðrum, one after another;

skildu menn at þessu, thereupon, after this;

at því (thereafter) kómu aðrar meyjar.

IV. fig. and in various uses;

1) to, into, with the notion of destruction or change;

brenna (borgina) at ösku, to burn to ashes;

verða at ormi, to become a snake;

2) for, as;

gefa e-t at gjöf, as a present;

eiga e-n at vin, to have one as friend;

3) by;

taka sverð at hjöltum, by the hilt;

draga út björninn at hlustunum, by the ears;

kjósa at afli, álitum, by strength, appearrance;

4) as regards as to;

auðigr at fé, wealthy in goods;

vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face;

5) as a law term, on the grounds of, by reason of;

ryðja ( to challenge) dóm at mægðum, kvið at frændsemi;

6) as a paraphrase of a genitive;

faðir, móðir at barni (= barns, of a child);

aðili at sök = aðili sakar;

7) with adjectives denoting colour, size, age, of;

hvítr, svartr, rauðr at lit, while, black, red of colour;

mikill, lítill at stœrð, vexti, tall, small of stature;

tvítugr at aldri, twenty years of age;

kýr at fyrsta, öðrum kálfi, a cow that has calved once, twice;

8) determining the source from which anything comes, of, from;

Ari nam ok marga frœði at Þuríði (from her);

þiggja, kaupa, geta, leigja e-t at e-m, to receive, buy, obtain, borrow a thing from one;

hafa veg (virðing) styrk at e-m, to derive honour, power, from one;

9) according, to, after (heygðr at fornum sið);

at ráði allra vitrustu manna, by the advice of;

at landslögum, by the law of the land;

at vánum, as was to be expected;

at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave;

10) in adverbial phrases;

gróa (vera grœddr) at heilu, to be quite healed;

bíta af allt gras at snøggu, quite bare;

at fullu, fully;

at vísu, surely;

at frjálsu, freely;

at eilífu, for ever and ever;

at röngu, at réttu, wrongly, rightly;

at líku, at sömu, equally, all the same;

at mun, at ráði, at marki, to a great extent.

B. with acc., after, upon (= eptir);

sonr á at taka arf at föður sinn, to take the inheritance after his father;

eiga féránsdóm at e-n, to hold a court of execution upon a person;

at þat (= eptir þat), after that, thereafter;

connected with a past part. or a., at Gamla fallinn, after the fall of Gamli;

at Hrungni dauðan, upon the death of Hrungnir.

1) as the simple mark of the infinitive, to;

at ganga, at ríða, at hlaupa, to walk, to ride, to run;

2) in an objective sense;

hann bauð þeim at fara, sitja, he bade (ordered) them to go, sit;

gefa e-m at eta, at drekka, to give one to eat, to drink;

3) denoting design or purpose, in order to (hann gekk í borg at kaupa silfr).

1) demonstrative particle before a comparative, the, all the, so much the;

hón grét at meir, she wept the more;

þykkir oss at líkara, all the more likely;

þú ert maðr at verri (so much the worse), er þú hefir þetta mælt;

2) rel. pron., who, which, that (= er);

þeir allir, at þau tíðindi heyrðu, all those who heard;

sem þeim er títt, at ( as is the custom of those who) kaupferðir reka.

conj., that;

1) introducing a subjective or objective clause;

þat var einhverju sinni, at Höskuldr hafði vinaboð, it happened once that H.;

vilda ek, at þú réðist austr í fjörðu, I should like you to go;

2) relative to svá, denoting proportion, degree;

svá mikill lagamaðr, at, so great a lawyer, that;

3) with subj., denoting end or purpose, in order that (skáru þeir fyrir þá (viz. hestana) melinn, at þeir dœi eigi af sulti);

4) since, because, as (= því at);

5) connected with þó, því, svá;

þó at (with subj.), though, although;

því at, because, for;

svá at, so that;

6) temp., þá at (= þá er), when;

þegar at (= þegar er), as soon as;

þar til at (= þar til er), until, till;

áðr at (= á. en), before;

7) used superfluously after an int. pron. or adv.;

Ólafr spurði, hvern styrk at hann mundi fá honum, what help he was likely to give him;

in a relative sense; með fullkomnum ávexti, hverr at (which) þekkr ok þægiligr mun verða.

negative verbal suffix, = ata; var-at, was not.

n. an incited conflict or fight ( see etja);

odda at, Yggs at, battle.

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and að, prep., often used ellipt. dropping the case and even merely as an adverb, [Lat. ad; Ulf. at = πρός and παρά, A. S. ät; Engl. at; Hel. ad = apud; O. H. G. az; lost in mod. Germ., and rare in Swed. and Dan.; in more freq. use in Engl. than any other kindred language, Icel. only excepted]:—the mod. pronunciation and spelling is að (aþ); this form is very old, and is found in Icel. vellum MSS. of the 12th century, e. g. aþ, 623. 60; yet in earlier times it was sounded with a tenuis, as we may infer from rhymes, e. g. jöfurr hyggi at | hve ek yrkja fat, Egill: Sighvat also makes it rhyme with a t. The verse by Thorodd—þar vastu at er fjáðr klæðið þvat (Skálda 162)—is hardly intelligible unless we accept the spelling with an aspirate (að), and say that þvað is = þvá = þváði, lavabat; it may be that by the time of Thorodd and Ari the pure old pronunciation was lost, or is ‘þvat’ simply the A. S. þvât, secuit? The Icelanders still, however, keep the tenuis in compounds before a vowel, or before h, v, or the liquids l, r, thus—atyrða, atorka, athöfn, athugi, athvarf, athlægi; atvinna, atvik; atlaga, atlíðanði ( slope), atriði, atreið, atróðr: but aðdjúpr, aðfinsla (critic), aðferð, aðkoma, aðsókn, aðsúgr (crowding), aðgæzla. In some words the pronunciation is irregular, e. g. atkvæði not aðkv-; atburðr, but aðbúnaðr; aðhjúkran not athjúkran; atgörvi not aðgörfi. At, to, towards; into; against; along, by; in regard to; after.

Mostly with dat.; rarely with acc.; and sometimes ellipt.—by dropping the words ‘home,’ ‘house,’ or the like—with gen.

WITH DAT.

A. LOC.

I. WITH MOTION; gener. the motion to the borders, limits of an object, and thus opp. to frá:

1. towards, against, with or without the notion of arrival, esp. connected with verbs denoting motion (verba movendi et eundi), e. g. fara, ganga, koma, lúta, snúa, rétta at…; Otkell laut at Skamkatli, O. louted (i. e. bowed down) towards S., Nj. 77, Fms. xi. 102; sendimaðrinn sneri ( turned) hjöltum sverðsins at konungi, towards the king, i. 15; hann sneri egginni at Ásgrími, turned the edge towards A., Nj. 220; rétta e-t at e-m, to reach, hand over, Ld. 132; ganga at, to step towards, Ísl. ii. 259.

2. denoting proximity, close up to, up to; Brynjólfr gengr … allt at honum, B. goes quite up to him, Nj. 58; Gunnarr kom þangat at þeim örunum, G. reached them even there with his arrows, 115; þeir kómust aldri at honum, they could never get near him, to close quarters, id.; reið maðr at þeim (up to them), 274; þeir höfðu rakit sporin allt at ( right up to) gammanum, Fms. i. 9; komu þeir at sjó fram, came down to the sea, Bárð. 180.

3. without reference to the space traversed, to or at; koma at landi, to land, Ld. 38, Fms. viii. 358; ríða at dyrum, Boll. 344; hlaupa at e-m, to run up to, run at, Fms. vii. 218, viii. 358; af sjáfarganginum er hann gekk at landinu, of the surf dashing against the shore, xi. 6; vísa ólmum hundi at manni, to set a fierce hound at a man, Grág. ii. 118; leggja e-n at velli, to lay low, Eg. 426, Nj. 117; hníga at jörðu, at grasi, at moldu, to bite the dust, to die, Njarð. 378; ganga at dómi, a law term, to go into court, of a plaintiff, defendant, or bystander, Nj. 87 (freq.)

4. denoting a motion along, into, upon; ganga at stræti, to walk along the street, Korm. 228, Fms. vii. 39; at ísi, on the ice, Skálda 198, Fms. vii. 19, 246, viii. 168, Eb. 112 new Ed. (á is perh. wrong); máttu menn ganga bar yfir at skipum einum, of ships alone used as a bridge, Fas. i. 378; at höfðum, at nám, to trample on the slain on the battle-field, Lex. Poët.; at ám, along the rivers; at merkiósum, at the river’s mouth, Grág. ii. 355; at endilöngu baki, all along its back, Sks. 100.

5. denoting hostility, to rush at, assault; renna at, hlaupa at, ganga, fara, ríða, sækja, at e-m, (v. those words), whence the nouns atrenna, athlaup, atgangr, atför, atreið, atsókn, etc.

β. metaph., kom at þeim svefnhöfgi, deep sleep fell on them, Nj. 104. Esp. of weather, in the impers. phrase, hríð, veðr, vind, storm görir at e-m, to be overtaken by a snow storm, gale, or the like; görði þá at þeim þoku mikla, they were overtaken by a thick fog, Bárð. 171.

6. denoting around, of clothing or the like; bregða skikkju at höfði sér, to wrap his cloak over his head, Ld. 62; vefja motri at höfði sér, to wrap a snood round her head, 188; sauma at, to stick, cling close, as though sewn on; sauma at höndum sér, of tight gloves, Bs. i. 453; kyrtill svá þröngr sem saumaðr væri at honum, as though it were stitched to him, Nj. 214; vafit at vándum dreglum, tight laced with sorry tags, id.; hosa strengd fast at beini, of tight hose, Eg. 602; hann sveipar at sér iðrunum ok skyrtunni, he gathers up the entrails close to him and the skirt too, Gísl. 71; laz at síðu, a lace on the side, to keep the clothes tight, Eg. 602.

β. of burying; bera grjót at einum, to heap stones upon the body, Eg. 719; var gör at þeim dys or grjóti, Ld. 152; gora kistu at líki, to make a coffin for a body, Eb. 264, Landn. 56, Ld. 142.

γ. of summoning troops or followers; stefna at sér mönnum, to summon men to him, Nj. 104; stefna at sér liði, Eg. 270; kippa mönnum at sér, to gather men in haste, Ld. 64.

7. denoting a business, engagement; ríða at hrossum, at sauðum, to go looking after after horses, watching sheep, Glúm. 362, Nj. 75; fara at fé, to go to seek for sheep, Ld. 240; fara at heyi, to go a-haymaking, Dropl. 10; at veiðum, a-hunting; at fuglum, a-fowling; at dýrum, a-sbooting; at fiski, a-fishing; at veiðiskap, Landn. 154, Orkn. 416 (in a verse), Nj. 25; fara at landskuldum, to go a-collecling rents, Eg. 516; at Finnkaupum, a-marketing with Finns, 41; at féföngum, a-plundering, Fms. vii. 78; ganga at beina, to wait on guests, Nj. 50; starfa at matseld, to serve at table, Eb. 266; hitta e-n at nauðsynjum, on matters of business; at máli, to speak with one, etc., Fms. xi. 101; rekast at e-m, to pursue one, ix. 404; ganga at liði sér, to go suing for help, Grág. ii. 384.

β. of festivals; snúa, fá at blóti, veizlu, brullaupi, to prepare for a sacrificial banquet, wedding, or the like, hence at-fangadagr, Eb. 6, Ld. 70; koma at hendi, to happen, befall; ganga at sínu, to come by one’s own, to take it, Ld. 208; Egill drakk hvert full er at honum kom, drained every horn that came to him, Eg. 210; komast at keyptu, to purchase dearly, Húv. 46.

8. denoting imaginary motion, esp. of places, cp. Lat. spectare, vergere ad…, to look or lie towards; horfði botninn at höfðanum, the bight of the bay looked toward the headland, Fms. i. 340, Landn. 35; also, skeiðgata liggr at læknum, leads to the brook, Ísl. ii. 339; á þann arminn er vissi at sjánum, on that wing which looked toward the sea, Fms. viii. 115; sár þau er horft höfðu at Knúti konungi, xi. 309.

β. even connected with verbs denoting motion; Gilsáreyrr gengr austan at Fljótinu, G. extends, projects to F. from the east, Hrafh. 25; hjá sundi því, er at gengr þingstöðinni, Fms. xi. 85.

II. WITHOUT MOTION; denoting presence at, near, by, at the side of, in, upon; connected with verbs like sitja, standa, vera…; at kirkju, at church, Fms. vii. 251, K. f). K. 16, Ld. 328, Ísl. ii. 270, Sks. 36; vera at skála, at húsi, to be in, at home, Landn. 154; at landi, Fms. i. 82; at skipi, on shipboard, Grág. i. 209, 215; at oldri, at a banquet, inter pocula; at áti, at dinner, at a feast, inter edendum, ii. 169, 170; at samförum ok samvistum, at public meetings, id.; at dómi, in a court; standa (to take one’s stand) norðan, sunnan, austan, vestan at dómi, freq. in the proceedings at trials in lawsuits, Nj.; at þingi, present at the parliament, Grág. i. 142; at lögbergi, o n the hill of laws, 17, Nj.; at baki e-m, at the back of.

2. denoting presence, partaking in; sitja at mat, to sit at meat, Fms. i. 241; vera at veizlu, brullaupi, to be at a banquet, nuptials, Nj. 51, Ld. 70: a law term, vera at vígi, to be an accessory in manslaying, Nj. 89, 100; vera at e-u simply means to be about, be busy in, Fms. iv. 237; standa at máli, to stand by one in a case, Grág. ii. 165, Nj. 214; vera at fóstri, to be fostered, Fms. i. 2; sitja at hégóma, to listen to nonsense, Ld. 322; vera at smíð, to be at one’s work, Þórð. 62: now absol., vera at, to go on with, be busy at.

3. the law term vinna eið at e-u has a double meaning:

α. vinna eið at bók, at baugi, to make an oath upon the book by laying the band upon it, Landn. 258, Grág., Nj.; cp. Vkv. 31, Gkv. 3. 3, Hkv. 2. 29, etc.: ‘við’ is now used in this sense.

β. to confirm a fact (or the like) by an oath, to swear to, Grág. i. 9, 327.

γ. the law phrase, nefna vátta at e-u, of summoning witnesses to a deed, fact, or the like; nefna vátta at benjum, to produce evidence, witnesses as to the wounds, Nj., Grág.; at görð, Eg. 738; at svörum, Grág. i. 19: this summoning of witnesses served in old lawsuits the same purpose as modern pleadings and depositions; every step in a suit to be lawful must be followed by such a summoning or declaration.

4. used ellipt., vera at, to be about, to be busy at; kvalararnir er at vóru at pína hann, who were tormenting him; þar varstu at, you were there present, Skálda 162; at várum þar, Gísl. (in a verse): as a law term ‘vera at’ means to be guilty, Glúm. 388; vartattu at þar, Eg. (in a verse); hence the ambiguity of Glum’s oath, vask at þar, I was there present: var þar at kona nokkur ( was there busy) at binda sár manna, Fms. v. 91; hann var at ok smíðaði skot, Rd. 313; voru Varbelgir at ( about) at taka af, þau lög …, Fms. ix. 512; ek var at ok vafk, I was about weaving, xi. 49; þeir höfðu verit at þrjú sumur, they had been busy at it for three summers, x. 186 (now very freq.); koma at, come in, to arrive unexpectedly; Gunnarr kom at í því, G. came in at that moment; hvaðan komtú nú at, whence did you come? Nj. 68, Fms. iii. 200.

5. denoting the kingdom or residence of a king or princely person; konungr at Danmörk ok Noregi, king of…, Fms. i. 119, xi. 281; konungr, jarl, at öllum Noregi, king, earl, over all N., íb. 3, 13, Landn. 25; konungr at Dyflinni, king of Dublin, 25; but í or yfir England!, Eg. 263: cp. the phrase, sitja at landi, to reside, of a king when at home, Hkr. i. 34; at Joini, Fms. xi. 74: used of a bishop; biskup at Hólum, bishop of Hólar, Íb. 18, 19; but biskup í Skálaholti, 19: at Rómi, at Rome, Fbr. 198.

6. in denoting a man’s abode (vide p. 5, col. 1, l. 27), the prep. ‘at’ is used where the local name implies the notion of by the side of, and is therefore esp. applied to words denoting a river, brook, rock, mountain, grove, or the like, and in some other instances, by, at, e. g. at Hofi (a temple), Landn. 198; at Borg ( a castle), 57; at Helgafelli (a mountain), Eb. constantly so; at Mosfelli, Landn. 190; at Hálsi (a hill), Fms. xi. 22; at Bjargi, Grett. 90; Hálsum, Landn. 143; at Á ( river), 296, 268; at Bægisá, 212; Giljá, 332; Myrká, 211; Vatnsá, id.; þverá, Glúm. 323; at Fossi (a ‘force’ or waterfall), Landn. 73; at Lækjamoti (waters-meeting), 332; at Hlíðarenda ( end of the lithe or hill), at Bergþórshváli, Nj.; at Lundi (a grove), at Melum (sandhill), Landn. 70: the prep. ‘á’ is now used in most of these cases, e. g. á Á, á Hofi, Helgafelli, Felli, Hálsi, etc.

β. particularly, and without any regard to etymology, used of the abode of kings or princes, to reside at; at Uppsölum, at Haugi, Alreksstöðum, at Hlöðum, Landn., Fms.

γ. konungr lét kalla at stofudyrum, the king made a call at the hall door, Eg. 88; þeir kölluðu at herberginu, they called at the inn, Fms. ix. 475.

7. used ellipt. with a gen., esp. if connected with such words as gista, to be a guest, lodge, dine, sup (of festivals or the like) at one’s home; at Marðar, Nj. 4; at hans, 74; þingfesti at þess bóanda, Grág. i. 152; at sín, at one’s own home, Eg. 371, K. Þ. K. 62; hafa náttstað at Freyju, at the abode of goddess Freyja, Eg. 603; at Ránar, at Ran’s, i. e. at Ran’s house, of drowned men who belong to the queen of the sea, Ran, Eb. 274; at hins heilaga Ólafs konungs, at St. Olave’s church, Fms. vi. 63: cp. ad Veneris, εις Κίμωνος.

B. TEMP.

I. at, denoting a point or period of time; at upphafi, at first, in the beginning, Ld. 104; at lyktum, at síðustu, at lokum, at last; at lesti, at last, Lex. Poët., more freq. á lesti; at skilnaði, at parting, at last, Band. 3; at fornu, in times of yore, formerly, Eg. 267, D. I. i. 635; at sinni, as yet, at present; at nýju, anew, of present time; at eilífu, for ever and ever; at skömmu, soon, shortly, Ísl. ii. 272, v. l.

II. of the very moment when anything happens, the beginning of a term; denoting the seasons of the year, months, weeks, the hours of the day; at Jólum, at Yule, Nj. 46; at Pálmadegi, on Palm Sunday, 273; at Páskum, at Easter; at Ólafsvöku, on St. Olave’s eve, 29th of July, Fms.; at vetri, at the beginning of the winter, on the day when winter sets in, Grág. 1. 151; at sumarmálum, at vetrnáttum; at Tvímánaði, when the Double month (August) begins, Ld. 256, Grág. i. 152; at kveldi, at eventide, Eg. 3; at því meli, at that time; at eindaga, at the term, 395; at eykð, at 4 o’clock p. m., 198; at öndverðri æfi Abra hams, Ver. II; at sinni, now at once, Fms. vi. 71; at öðruhverju, every now and then.

β. where the point of time is marked by some event; at þingi, at the meeting of parliament (18th to the 24th of June), Ld. 182; at féránsdómi, at the court of execution, Grág. i. 132, 133; at þinglausnum, at the close of the parliament (beginning of July), 140; at festarmálum, eðr at eiginorði, at betrothal or nuptials, 174; at skilnaði, when they parted, Nj. 106 (above); at öllum minnum, at the general drinking of the toasts, Eg. 253; at fjöru, at the ebb; at flæðum, at flood tide, Fms. viii. 306, Orkn. 428; at hrörum, at an inquest, Grág. i. 50 (cp. ii. 141, 389); at sökum, at prosecutions, 30; at sinni, now, as yet, v. that word.

III. ellipt., or adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr,’ of the future time:

1. ellipt., komanda or the like being understood, with reference to the seasons of the year; at sumri, at vetri, at hausti, at vári, next summer, winter…, Ísl. ii. 242; at miðju sumri, at ári, at Midsummer, next year, Fas. i. 516; at miðjum vetri, Fms. iv. 237,

2. adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr;’ at ári komanda, Bárð. 177; at vári er kemr, Dipl. iii. 6.

IV. used with an absolute dat. and with a pres. part.:

1. with pres. part.; at morni komanda, on the coming morrow, Fms. i. 263; at sér lifanda, in vivo, in his life time, Grág. ii. 202; at þeim sofundum, illis dormientibus, Hkr. i. 234; at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all, Fms. x. 329; at úvitanda konungi, illo nesciente, without his knowledge, 227; at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the chief’s bearing, 235.

2. of past time with a past part. (Lat. abl. absol.); at hræjum fundnum, on the bodies being found, Grág. ii. 87; at háðum dómum ok föstu þingi, during the session, the courts being set, i. 484; at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks past, Band. 13; at svá búnu, so goru, svá komnu, svá mæltu (Lat. quibus rebus gestis, dictis, quo facto, dicto, etc.), v. those words; at úreyndu, without trial, without put ting one to the test, Ld. 76; at honum önduðum, illo mortuo.

3. ellipt. without ‘at;’ en þessum hlutum fram komnum, when all this has been done, Eb. 132.

V. in some phrases with a slight temp, notion; at görðum gildum, the fences being strong, Gþl. 387; at vörmu spori, at once, whilst the trail is warm; at úvörum, unawares, suddenly, Nj. 95, Ld. 132; at þessu, at this cost, on that condition, Eb. 38, Nj. 55; at illum leiki, to have a narrow escape, now við illan leik, Fms. ix. 473; at því, that granted, Grág. ii. 33: at því, at pessu, thereafter, thereupon, Nj. 76.

2. denoting succession, without interruption, one after another; hverr at öðrum, annarr maðr at öðrum, aðrir at öðrum; eina konu at annarri, Eg. 91, Fms. ii. 236, vi. 25, Bs. i. 22, 625. 80, H. E. i. 522.

C. METAPH. and in various cases:

I. denoting a transformation or change into, to, with the notion of destruction; brenna at ösku, at köldum kolum, to burn to ashes, to be quite destroyed, Fms. i. 105, Edda 3, Sturl. ii. 51: with the notion of transformation or transfiguration, in such phrases as, verða at e-u, göra e-t at e-u, to turn it into:

α. by a spell; verða at ormi, to become a snake, Fms. xi. 158; at flugdrekum, Gullþ. 7; urðu þau bönd at járni, Edda 40.

β. by a natural process it can often be translated by an acc. or by as; göra e-n at urðarmanni, to make him an outlaw, Eg. 728; græða e-n at orkumlamanni, to heal him so as to maim him for life, of bad treatment by a leech, Eb. 244: in the law terms, sár görist at ben, a wound turning into a ben, proving to be mortal, Grág., Nj.; verða at ljúgvætti, to prove to be a false evidence, Grág. i. 44; verða at sætt, to turn into reconciliation, Fms. i. 13; göra e-t at reiði málum, to take offence at, Fs. 20; at nýjum tíðindum, to tell as news, Nj. 14; verða fátt at orðum, to be sparing of words, 18; kveðr (svá) at orði, to speak, utter, 10; verða at þrifnaði, to geton well, Fms. vii. 196: at liði, at skaða, to be a help or hurt to one; at bana, to cause one’s death, Nj. 223, Eg. 21, Grág. ii. 29: at undrum, at hlátri, to become a wonder, a laughing-stock, 623. 35, Eg. 553.

II. denoting capacity, where it may be translated merely by as or for; gefa at Jólagjöf, to give for a Christmas-box, Eg. 516; at gjöf, for a present; at erfð, at láni, launum, as an inheritance, a loan; at kaupum ok sökum, for buying and selling, Ísl. ii. 223, Grág. i. 423; at solum, ii. 204; at herfangi, as spoil or plunder; at sakbótum, at niðgjöldum, as a compensation, weregeld, i. 339, ii. 171, Hkr. ii. 168; taka at gíslingu, to take as an hostage, Edda 15; eiga e-n at vin, at óvin, to have one as friend or foe, illt er at eiga þræl at eingavin, ‘tis ill to have a thrall for one’s bosom friend (a proverb), Nj. 77; fæða, eiga, at sonum (syni), to beget a son, Edda 8, Bs. i. 60 (but eiga at dóttur cannot be said); hafa möttul at yfirhöfn, Fms. vii. 201; verða nökkut at manni (mönnum), to turn out to be a worthy man; verða ekki at manni, to turn out a worthless person, xi. 79, 268.

2. in such phrases as, verða at orðum, to come towards, Nj. 26; var þat at erindum, Eg. 148; hafa at veizlum, to draw veizlur ( dues) from, Fms. iv. 275, Eg. 647; gora e-t at álitum, to take it into consideration, Nj. 3.

III. denoting belonging to, fitting, of parts of the whole or the like; vóru at honum (viz. the sword) hjölt gullbúin, the sword was ornamented with a hilt of gold, Ld. 330; umgörð at ( belonging to) sverði, Fs. 97 (Hs.) in a verse; en ef mór er eigi at landinu, if there be no turf moor belonging to the land, Grág. ii. 338; svá at eigi brotnaði nokkuð at Orminum, so that no harm happened to the ship Worm, Fms. x. 356; hvatki er meiðir at skipinu eðr at reiðinu eðr at viðum, damage done t o …, Grág. ii. 403; lesta ( to injure) hús at lásum, við eðr torfi, 110; ef land hefir batnað at húsum, if the land has been bettered as to its buildings, 210; cp. the phrase, göra at e-u, to repair: hamlaðr at höndum eðr fótum, maimed as to hands or feet, Eg. 14; heill at höndum en hrumr at fótum, sound in band, palsied in foot, Fms. vii. 12; lykill at skrá, a key belonging, fitting, to the latch; hurð at húsi; a key ‘gengr at’ ( fits) skrá; and many other phrases. 2. denoting the part by which a thing is held or to which it belongs, by; fá, taka at…, to grasp by …; þú tókt við sverði hans at hjöltunum, you took it by the bill, Fms. i. 15; draga út björninn at hlustum, to pull out the bear by the ears, Fas. ii. 237; at fótum, by the feet, Fms. viii. 363; mæla ( to measure) at hrygg ok at jaðri, by the edge or middle of the stuff, Grág. i. 498; kasta e-m at höfði, head foremost, Nj. 84; kjósa e-n at fótum, by the feet alone, Edda 46; hefja frændsemi at bræðrum, eða at systkynum, to reckon kinship by the brother’s or the sister’s side, Grág. i. 28; kjósa at afli, at álitum, by strength, sight, Gs. 8, belongs rather to the following.

IV. in respect of, as regards, in regard to, as to; auðigr at fé, wealthy of goods, Nj. 16, 30, 51; beztir hestar at reið, the best racehorses, 186; spekingr at viti, a man of great intellect, Ld. 124; vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face, Nj. 30, Bs. i. 61; kvenna vænst at ásjónu ok vits munum, of surpassing beauty and intellect, Ld. 122; fullkominn at hyggju, 18; um fram aðra menn at vinsældum ok harðfengi, of surpassing popularity and hardihood, Eb. 30.

2. a law term, of challenging jurors, judges, or the like, on account of, by reason of; ryðja ( to challenge) at mægðum, guðsifjum, frændsemi, hrörum …; at leiðarlengd, on account of distance, Grág. i. 30, 50, Nj. (freq.)

3. in arithm. denoting proportion; at helmingi, þriðjungi, fjórðungi, tíunda hluta, cp. Lat. ex asse, quadrante, for the half, third… part; máttr skal at magni (a proverb), might and main go together, Hkr. ii. 236; þú munt vera at því mikill fræðimaðr á kvæði, in the same proportion, as great, Fms. vi. 391, iii. 41; at e-s hluta, at… leiti, for one’s part, in turn, as far as one is con cerned, Grág. i. 322, Eg. 309, Fms. iii. 26 (freq.): at öðrum kosti, in the other case, otherwise (freq.) More gener., at öllu, öngu, in all (no) respects; at sumu, einhverju, nokkru, partly; at flestu, mestu, chiefly.

4. as a paraphrase of a genitive; faðir, móðir at barni (= barns); aðili at sök (= sakar a.); morðingi at barni (= barns), faðerni at barni (barns); illvirki at fé manna (cp. Lat. felo de se), niðrfall at sökum (saka), land gangr at fiskum (fiska), Fms. iv. 274, Grág. i. 277, 416, N. G. L. i. 340, K. Þ. K. 112, Nj. 21.

5. the phrase ‘at sér,’ of himself or in himself, either ellipt. or by adding the participle görr, and with the adverbs vel, ilia, or the like; denoting breeding, bearing, endowments, character …; væn kona, kurteis ok vel at sér, an accomplished, well-bred, gifted lady, Nj. I; vitr maðr ok vel at sér, a wise man and thoroughly good in feeling and bearing, 5; þú ert maðr vaskr ok vel at þér, 49; gerr at sér, accomplished, 51; bezt at sér görr, the finest, best bred man, 39, Ld. 124; en þó er hann svá vel at sér, so generous, Nj. 77; þeir höfðingjar er svá vóru vel at sér, so noble-minded, 198, Fms. i. 160: the phrase ‘at sér’ is now only used of knowledge, thus maðr vel að sér means clever, a man of great knowledge; illa að sér, a blockhead.

6. denoting relations to colour, size, value, age, and the like; hvitr, svartr, grár, rauðr … at lit, white, swarthy, gray, red … of colour, Bjarn. 55, 28, Ísl. ii. 213, etc.; mikill, lítill, at stærð, vexti, tall, small of size, etc.; ungr, gamall, barn, at aldri, young, old, a child of age; tvítugr, þrítugr … at aldri, twenty, thirty … years of age (freq.): of animals; kyr at fyrsta, öðrum … kálfi, a cow having calved once, twice…, Jb. 346: value, amount, currency of money, kaupa e-t at mörk, at a mark, N. G. L. 1. 352; ok er eyririnn at mörk, amounts to a mark, of the value of money, Grág. i. 392; verðr þá at hálfri murk vaðmála eyrir, amounts to a half a mark, 500.

β. metaph. of value, connected with verbs denoting to esteem, hold; meta, hafa, halda at miklu, litlu, vettugi, engu, or the like, to hold in high or low esteem, to care or not to care for (freq.): geta e-s at góðu, illu, öngu, to mention one favourably, unfavourably, indifferently … (freq.), prop. in connection with. In many cases it may be translated by in; ekki er mark at draumum, there is no meaning in dreams, no heed is to be paid to dreams, Sturl. ii. 217; bragð er at þá barnið finnr, it goes too far, when even a child takes offence (a proverb): hvat er at því, what does it mean? Nj. 11; hvert þat skip er vöxtr er at, any ship of mark, i. e. however small, Fms. xi. 20.

V. denoting the source of a thing:

1. source of infor mation, to learn, perceive, get information from; Ari nam ok marga fræði at Þuríði, learnt as her pupil, at her hands, as St. Paul at the feet of Gamaliel, (just as the Scotch say to speer or ask at a person); Ari nam at Þorgeiri afraðskoll, Hkr. (pref.); nema kunnáttu at e-m, used of a pupil, Fms. i. 8; nema fræði at e-m, xi. 396.

2. of receiving, acquiring, buying, from; þiggja e-t at e-m, to receive a thing at his hands, Nj. 51; líf, to be pardoned, Fms. x. 173; kaupa land at e-m, to buy it from, Landn. 72, Íb. II, (now af is more freq. in this sense); geta e-t at e-m, to obtain, procure at one’s hands, impetrare; þeirra manna er þeir megu þat geta at, who are willing to do that, Grág. i. I; heimta e-t at e-m (now af), to call in, demand (a debt, money), 279; fala e-t at e-m (now af), to chaffer for or cheapen anything, Nj. 73; sækja e-t at e-m, to ask, seek for; sækja heilræði ok traust at e-m, 98; leiga e-t at e-m (now af), to borrow, Grág. ii. 334; eiga e-t (fé, skuld) at e-m, to be owed money by any one, i. 399: metaph. to deserve of one, Nj. 113; eiga mikit at e-m, to have much to do with, 138; hafa veg, virðing, styrk, at, to derive honour, power from, Fms. vi. 71, Eg. 44, Bárð. 174; gagn, to be of use, Ld. 216; mein, tálma, mischief, disadvantage, 158, 216, cp. Eg. 546; ótta, awe, Nj. 68.

VI. denoting conformity, according to, Lat. secundum, ex, after; at fornum sið, Fms. i. 112; at sögn Ara prests, as Ari relates, on his authority, 55; at ráði allra vitrustu manna, at the advice of, Ísl. ii. 259, Ld. 62; at lögum, at landslögum, by the law of the land, Grág., Nj.; at líkindum, in all likelihood, Ld. 272; at sköpum, in due course (poet.); at hinum sama hætti, in the very same manner, Grág. i. 90; at vánum, as was to be expected, Nj. 255; at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave, Eg. 35; úlofi, Grág. ii. 215; at ósk, vilja e-s, as one likes…; at mun, id. (poet.); at sólu, happily (following the course of the sun), Bs. i. 70, 137; at því sem …, as to infer from …, Nj. 124: ‘fara, láta, ganga at’ denotes to yield, agree to, to comply with, give in, Ld. 168, Eg. 18, Fms. x. 368.

VII. in phrases nearly or quite adverbial; gróa, vera græddr, at heilu, to be quite healed, Bárð. 167, Eb. 148; bíta at snöggu, to bite it bare, Fms. xi. 6; at þurru, till it becomes dry, Eb. 276; at endilöngu, all along, Fas. ii; vinnast at litlu, to avail little, 655 x. 14; at fullu, fully, Nj. 257, Hkr. i. 171; at vísu, of a surety, surely, Ld. 40; at frjálsu, freely, 308; at líku, at sömu, equally, all the same, Hom. 80, Nj. 267; at röngu, wrongly, 686 B. 2; at hófi, temperately, Lex. Poët.; at mun, at ráði, at marki, to a great extent; at hringum, utterly, all round, (rare), Fms. x. 389; at einu, yet, Orkn. 358; svá at einu, því at einu, allt at einu, yet, however, nevertheless.

VIII. connected with comparatives of adverbs and adjectives, and strengthening the sense, as in Engl. ‘the,’ so much the more, all the more; ‘at’ heldr tveimr, at ek munda gjarna veita yðr öllum, where it may be translated by so much the more to two, as I would willingly grant it to all of you; hon grét at meir, she grat (wept) the more, Eg. 483; þykir oss at líkara, all the more likely, Fms. viii. 6; þess at harðari, all the harder, Sturl. iii. 202 C; svá at hinn sé bana at nær, Grág. ii. 117; at auðnara, at hólpnara, the more happy, Al. 19, Grett. 116 B; þess at meiri, Fms. v. 64; auvirðismaðr at meiri, Sturl. ii. 139; maðr at vaskari, id.; at feigri, any the more fey, Km. 22; maðr at verri, all the worse, Nj. 168; ok er ‘at’ firr…, at ek vil miklu heldr, cp. Lat. tantum abest… ut, Eg. 60.

β. following after a negation; eigi at síðr, no less, Nj. 160, Ld. 146; eigi… at meiri maðr, any better, Eg. 425, 489; erat héra at borgnara, any the better off for that, Fms. vii. 116; eigi at minni, no less for that, Edda (pref.) 146; eigi at minna, Ld. 216, Fms. ix. 50; ekki at verri drengr, not a bit worse for that, Ld. 42; er mér ekki son minn at bættari, þótt…, 216; at eigi vissi at nær, any more, Fas. iii. 74.

IX. following many words:

1. verbs, esp. those denoting, a. to ask, enquire, attend, seek, e. g. spyrja at, to speer (ask) for; leita at, to seek for; gæta, geyma at, to pay attention to; huga, hyggja at; hence atspurn, to enquire, aðgæzla, athugi, attention, etc.

β. verbs denoting laughter, play, joy, game, cp. the Engl. to play at …, to laugh at …; hlæja, brosa at e-u, to laugh, smile at it; leika (sér) at e-u, to play at; þykja gaman at, to enjoy; hæða, göra gys at …, to make sport at …

γ. verbs denoting assistance, help; standa, veita, vinna, hjálpa at; hence atstoð, atvinna, atverk:—mode, proceeding; fara at, to proceed, hence atför and atferli:—compliance; láta, fara at e-u, v. above:— fault; e-t er at e-u, there is some fault in it, Fms. x. 418; skorta at e-u, to fall short of, xi. 98:—care, attendance; hjúkra at, hlýja at, v. these words:—gathering, collecting; draga, reiða, flytja, fá at, congerere:—engagement, arrival, etc.; sækja at, to attack; ganga at, vera at, to be about; koma at, ellipt. to arrive: göra at, to repair: lesta at, to impair (v. above); finna at, to criticise (mod.); telja at, id.: bera at, to happen; kveða at e-m, to address one, 625. 15, (kveða at (ellipt.) now means to pronounce, and of a child to utter (read) whole syllables); falla at, of the flood-tide (ellipt.): metaph. of pains or straits surrounding one; þreyngja, herða at, to press hard: of frost and cold, with regard to the seasons; frjósa at, kólna at, to get really cold (SI. 44), as it were from the cold stiffening all things: also of the seasons themselves; hausta, vetra að, when the season really sets in; esp. the cold seasons, ‘sumra at’ cannot be used, yet we may say ‘vára að’ when the spring sets in, and the air gets mild.

δ. in numberless other cases which may partly be seen below.

2. connected ellipt. with adverbs denoting motion from a place; norðan, austan, sunnan, vestan at, those from the north, east…; utan at, innan at, from the outside or inside.

3. with adjectives (but rarely), e. g. kærr, elskr, virkr (affectionate), vandr (zealous), at e-m; v. these words.

WITH ACC.

TEMP.: Lat. post, after, upon, esp. freq. in poetry, but rare in prose writers, who use eptir; nema reisi niðr at nið (= maðr eptir mann), in succession, of erecting a monument, Hm. 71; in prose, at þat. posthac, deinde, Fms. x. 323, cp. Rm., where it occurs several times, 2, 6, 9, 14, 18, 24, 28, 30, 35; sonr á at taka arf at föður sinn, has to take the inheritance after his father, Grág. i. 170 new Ed.; eiga féránsdóm at e-n, Grág. i. 89; at Gamla fallinn, after the death of G., Fms. x. 382; in Edda (Gl.) 113 ought to be restored, grét ok at Oð, gulli Freyja, she grat (wept) tears of gold for her lost husband Od. It is doubtful if it is ever used in a purely loc. sense; at land, Grág. (Sb.)ii. 211, is probably corrupt; at hönd = á hönd, Grág. (Sb.) i. 135; at mót = at móti, v. this word.

☞ In compounds (v. below) at- or að- answers in turn to Lat. ad- or in- or con-; atdráttr e. g. denotes collecting; atkoma is adventus: it may also answer to Lat. ob-, in atburðr = accidence, but might also be compared with Lat. occurrere.

and að, the mark of the infinitive [cp. Goth. du; A. S. and Engl. to; Germ. zu]. Except in the case of a few verbs ‘at’ is always placed immediately before the infinitive, so as to be almost an inseparable part of the verb.

I. it is used either,

1. as, a simple mark of the infinitive, only denoting an action and independent of the subject, e. g. at ganga, at hlaupa, at vita, to go, to run, to know; or,

2. in an objective sense when following such verbs as bjóða segja…, to invite, command …; hann bauð þeim at ganga, at sitja, be bade, ordered them to go, sit, or the like; or as gefa and fá; gefa e-m at drekka, at eta, to give one to drink or to eat, etc. etc.

β. with the additional notion of intention, esp. when following verba cogitandi; hann ætlaði, hafði í hyggju at fara, he had it in his mind to go (where ‘to go’ is the real object to ætlaði and hafði í hyggju).

3. answering to the Gr. ινα, denoting intention, design, in order to; hann gékk í borg at kaupa silfr, in order to buy, Nj. 280; hann sendi riddara sína með þeim at varðveita þær, 623. 45: in order to make the phrase more plain, ‘svá’ and ‘til’ are frequently added, esp. in mod. writers, ‘svá at’ and contr. ‘svát’ (the last however is rare), ‘til at’ and ‘til þess at,’ etc.

II. in the earlier times the infin., as in Greek and Lat., had no such mark; and some verbs remain that cannot be followed by ‘at;’ these verbs are almost the same in Icel. as in Engl.:

α. the auxiliary verbs vil, mun ( μέλλω), skal; as in Engl. to is never used after the auxiliaries shall, will, must; ek vil ganga, I will go; ek mun fara, (as in North. E.) I mun go; ek skal göra þat, I shall do that, etc.

β. the verbs kunna, mega, as in Engl. I can or may do, I dare say; svá hygginn at hann kunni fyrir sökum ráða, Grág. ii. 75; í öllu er prýða má góðan höfðingja, Nj. 90; vera má, it may be; vera kann þat, id.: kunnu, however, takes ‘at’ whenever it means to know, and esp. in common language in phrases such as, það kann að vera, but vera kann þat, v. above.

γ. lata, biðja, as in Engl. to let, to bid; hann lét (bað) þá fara, he let (bade) them go.

δ. þykkja, þykjast, to seem; hann þykir vera, he is thought to be: reflex., hann þykist vera, sibi videtur: impers., mér þykir vera, mibi videtur, in all cases without ‘at.’ So also freq. the verbs hugsa, hyggja, ætla, halda, to think, when denoting merely the act of thinking; but if there be any notion of intention or purpose, they assume the ‘at;’ thus hann ætlaði, hugði, þá vera góða menn, he thought them to be, acc. c. inf.; but ætlaði at fara, meant to go, etc.

ε. the verbs denoting to see, bear; sjá, líta, horfa á … ( videre); heyra, audire, as in Engl. I saw them come, I heard him tell, ek sá þá koma, ek heyrði hann tala.

ζ. sometimes after the verbs eiga and ganga; hann gékk steikja, be went to roast, Vkv. 9; eiga, esp. when a mere periphrasis instead of skal, móður sína á maðr fyrst fram færa (better at færa), Grág. i. 232; á þann kvið einskis meta, 59; but at meta, id. l. 24; ráða, nema, göra …, freq. in poetry, when they are used as simple auxiliary verbs, e. g. nam hann sér Högna hvetja at rúnum, Skv. 3. 43.

η. hljóta and verða, when used in the sense of must (as in Engl. he must go), and when placed after the infin.of another verb; hér muntu vera hljóta, Nj. 129; but hljóta at vera: fara hlýtr þú, Fms. 1. 159; but þú hlýtr at fara: verða vita, ii. 146; but verða at vita: hann man verða sækja, þó verðr (= skal) maðr eptir mann lifa, Fms. viii. 19, Fas. ii. 552, are exceptional cases.

θ. in poetry, verbs with the verbal neg. suffix ‘-at,’ freq. for the case of euphony, take no mark of the infinitive, where it would be indispensable with the simple verb, vide Lex. Poët. Exceptional cases; hvárt sem hann vill ‘at’ verja þá sök, eða, whatever he chooses, either, Grág. i. 64; fyrr viljum vér enga kórónu at bera, en nokkut ófrelsi á oss at taka, we would rather bear no crown than …, Fms. x. 12; the context is peculiar, and the ‘at’ purposely added. It may be left out ellipt.; e. g. þá er guð gefr oss finnast (= at finnast), Dipl. ii. 14; gef honum drekka (= at drekka), Pr. 470; but mostly in unclassical writers, in deeds, or the like, written nastily and in an abrupt style.

and að, conj. [Goth. þatei = οτι; A. S. þät; Engl. that; Germ, dass; the Ormul. and Scot. at, see the quotations sub voce in Jamieson; in all South-Teutonic idioms with an initial dental: the Scandinavian idioms form an exception, having all dropped this consonant; Swed. åt, Dan. at]. In Icel. the Bible translation (of the 16th century) was chiefly based upon that of Luther; the hymns and the great bulk of theol. translations of that time were also derived from Germany; therefore the germanised form það frequently appears in the Bible, and was often employed by theol. authors in sermons since the time of the Reformation. Jón Vidalin, the greatest modern Icel. preacher, who died in 1720, in spite of his thoroughly classical style, abounds in the use of this form; but it never took root in the language, and has never passed into the spoken dialect. After a relative or demonstr. pronoun, it freq. in mod. writers assumes the form eð, hver eð, hverir eð, hvað eð, þar eð. Before the prep. þú (tu), þ changes into t, and is spelt in a single word attú, which is freq. in some MS.;—now, however, pronounced aððú, aððeir, aððið …, = að þú…, with the soft Engl. th sound. It gener. answers to Lat. ut, or to the relat. pron. qui.

I. that, relative to svá, to denote proportion, degree, so…, that, Lat. tam, tantus, tot…, ut; svá mikill lagamaðr, at…, so great a lawyer, that…, Nj. 1; hárið svá mikit, at þat…, 2; svá kom um síðir því máli, at Sigvaldi, it came so far, that…, Fms. xi. 95, Edda 33. Rarely and unclass., ellipt. without svá; Bæringr var til seinn eptir honum, at hann … (= svá at), Bær. 15; hlífði honum, at hann sakaði ekki, Fas. iii. 441.

II. it is used,

1. with indic, in a narrative sense, answering partly to Gr. οτι, Lat. quod, ut, in such phrases as, it came to pass, happened that …; þat var einhverju sinni, at Höskuldr hafði vinaboð, Nj. 2; þat var á palmdrottinsdag, at Ólafr konungr gékk út um stræti, Fms. ii. 244.

2. with subj. answering to Lat. acc. with infin., to mark the relation of an object to the chief verb, e. g. vilda ek at þú réðist, I wished that you would, Nj. 57.

β. or in an oblique sentence, answering to ita ut…; ef svá kann verða at þeir láti…, if it may be so that they might…, Fms. xi. 94.

γ. with a subj. denoting design, answering to ϊνα or Lat. ut with subj., in order that; at öll veraldar bygðin viti, ut sciat totus orbis, Stj.; þeir skáru fyrir þá melinn, at þeir dæi eigi af sulti, ut ne fame perirent, Nj. 265; fyrsti hlutr bókarinnar er Kristindómsbálkr, at menn skili, in order that men may understand, Gþl. p. viii.

III. used in connection with conjunctions,

1. esp. þó, því, svá; þó at freq. contr. þótt; svát is rare and obsolete.

α. þóat, þótt (North. E. ‘thof’), followed by a subjunctive, though, although, Lat. etsi, quamquam (very freq.); þóat nokkurum mönnum sýnist þetta með freku sett… þá viljum vér, Fms. vi. 21: phrases as, gef þú mér þó at úverðugri, etsi indignae (dat.), Stj. MS. col. 315, are unclass., and influenced by the Latin: sometimes ellipt. without ‘þó,’ eigi mundi hón þá meir hvata göngu sinni, at (= þóat) hon hraeddist bana sinn, Edda 7, Nj. 64: ‘þó’ and ‘at’ separated, svarar hann þó rétt, at hann svari svá, Grág. i. 23; þó er rétt at nýta, at hann sé fyrr skorinn, answering to Engl. yet—though, Lat. attamen —etsi, K. Þ. K.

β. því at, because, Lat. nam, quia, with indic.; því at allir vóru gerfiligir synir hans, Ld. 68; því at af íþróttum verðr maðr fróðr, Sks. 16: separated, því þegi ek, at ek undrumst, Fms. iii. 201; því er þessa getið, at þat þótti, it i s mentioned because …, Ld. 68.

γ. svá at, so that, Lat. ut, ita ut; grátrinn kom upp, svá at eingi mátti öðrum segja, Edda 37: separated, so … that, svá úsvúst at …, so bad weather, that, Bs. i. 339, etc.

2. it is freq. used superfluously, esp. after relatives; hver at = hverr, quis; því at = því, igitur; hverr at þekkr ok þægiligr mun verða, Fms. v. 159; hvern stvrk at hann mundi fá, 44; ek undrumst hvé mikil ógnarraust at liggr í þér, iii. 201; því at ek mátti eigi þar vera elligar, því at þar var kristni vel haldin, Fas. i. 340.

IV. as a relat. conj.:

1. temp, when, Lat. quum; jafnan er ( est) mér þá verra er ( quum) ek fer á braut þaðan, en þá at ( quum) ek kem, Grett. 150 A; þar til at vér vitum, till we know, Fms. v. 52; þá at ek lýsta (= þá er), when, Nj. 233.

2. since, because; ek færi yðr (hann), at þér eruð í einum hrepp allir, because of your being all of the same Rape, Grág. i. 260; eigi er kynlegt at ( though) Skarphéðinn sé hraustr, at þat er mælt at…, because (since) it is a saying that…, Nj. 64.

V. in mod. writers it is also freq. superfluously joined to the conjunctions, ef að = ef, si, (Lv. 45 is from a paper MS.), meðan að = meðan, dum; nema að, nisi; fyrst að = fyrst, quoniam; eptir að, síðan að, postquam; hvárt að = hvárt, Lat. an. In the law we find passages such as, þá er um er dæmt eina sök, at þá eigu þeir aptr at ganga í dóminn, Grág. i. 79; ef þing ber á hina helgu viku, at þat á eigi fyrir þeim málum at standa, 106; þat er ok, at þeir skulu reifa mál manna, 64; at þeir skulu með váttorð þá sök sækja, 65: in all these cases ‘at’ is either superfluous or, which is more likely, of an ellipt. nature, ‘the law decrees’ or ‘it is decreed’ being understood. The passages Sks. 551, 552, 568, 718 B, at lokit (= at ek hefi lokit), at hugleitt (= at ek hefi h.), at sent (= at ek hefi sent) are quite exceptional.

and að, an indecl. relat. pronoun [Ulf. þatei = ος, ος αν, οστις, οσπερ, οιος, etc.; Engl. that, Ormul. at], with the initial letter dropped, as in the conj. at, (cp. also the Old Engl. at, which is both a conj. and a pronoun, e. g. Barbour vi. 24 in Jamieson: ‘I drede that his gret wassalage, | And his travail may bring till end, | That at men quhilc full litil wend.’ | ‘His mestyr speryt quhat tithings a t he saw.’—Wyntoun v. 3. 89.) In Icel. ‘er’ (the relat. pronoun) and ‘at’ are used indifferently, so that where one MS. reads ‘er,’ another reads ‘at,’ and vice versâ; this may easily be seen by looking at the MSS.; yet as a rule ‘er’ is much more freq. used. In mod. writers ‘at’ is freq. turned into ‘eð,’ esp. as a superfluous particle after the relative pron. hverr (hver eð, hvað eð, hverir eð, etc.), or the demonstr. sá (sá eð, þeir eð, hinir eð, etc.):—who, which, that, enn bezta grip at ( which) hafði til Íslands komið, Ld. 202; en engi mun sá at ( cui) minnisamara mun vera, 242; sem blótnaut at ( quae) stærst verða, Fms. iii. 214; þau tiðendi, at mér þætti verri, Nj. 64, etc. etc.

n. collision (poët.); odda at, crossing of spears, crash of spears, Höfuðl. 8.

β. a fight or bait of wild animals, esp. of horses, v. hesta-at and etja.

the negative verbal suffix, v. -a.

(gen. sing. alnar or álnar; pl. alnar or álnir), f. = öln;

1) the old Icelandic ell (about half a yard);

2) unit of value, an ell of woollen stuff (alin vaðmáls), = one sixth of an ounce(eyrir).

* * *

f. A dissyllabic form alun appears in old poetry, v. Lex. Poët. In early prose writers a monosyllabic form öln prevails in nom. dat. acc. sing., D. I. i. 310. l. 22 (MS. of the year 1275), 314. l. 16 (MS. year 1250), 311, 312. l. 16, 313. l. 7, 89. l. 1. Nom. pl., α. the old, alnar; β. the later, alnir: the former in -ar, in D. I. i. 309 (a MS. of the year 1275), 310–312 (MS. year 1370), 313, 316. l. 19, 318. 1. 15. The pl. in -ir, D. I. i. 89 sqq., in MSS. of the 13th and 14th centuries. In the contracted form aln- the simple radical vowel soon became a diphthongal á, viz. álnar, álnir, álnum, álna, and is at present so spelt and pronounced. We find an acute accent indeed in álna (gen pl.), D. I. i. 313. l. 25 (MS. year 1375), and dinar, id. l, 7; álnom, 1. 28; ölnum with changed vowel, N. G. L. i. 323 (in an Icel. transcript). The present declension is, nom. acc. alin, gen. álnar; pl. nom. acc. álnir, gen. álna, dat. alnum.

I. properly the arm from the elbow to the end of the middle finger [Gr. ώλένη, Lat. ulna, cp. A. S. el-boga, Engl. el-bow, etc.]; almost obsolete, but still found in the words ölbogi qs. öln-bogi, ‘elbow,’ and úlf-liðr, prop. uln- or óln-liðr, wrist, commonly pronounced unl-liðr [false etymol., v. Edda, p. 17]; cp. Ísl. Þjóðs. ii. 19, where tungl (luna) and unl- rhyme. Freq. in poetry in such compounds as alun-leygr, -brandr, ölun-grjót, alnar-gim, alin-leygr, the standing poët, name of gold and gems being ignis or lapis cubiti.

II. mostly metaph.:

1. an ell, [Ulf. aleina; A. S. eln; Engl. ell; O. H. G. elina; Dan. alen; Lat. ulna, cp. cubitum] ; the finger, arm, foot were the original standards for measure. The primitive ell measured the length from the elbow to the point of the second finger, and answered to about half a yard Engl. = 18 inches. The Icel. ell before the year 12OO measured just half a yard. About this year, by a law of bishop Paul, the ell was doubled into a stika, a stika being precisely = two ells = an Engl. ell of that time. To prevent the use of bad measure, a just and lawful stika (yard) was marked on the walls of the churches, esp. that at Thingvellir, as an authorised standard, Páls S. ch. 9, Bs. i. 135, D. I. i. 309, 316, Jb. Kb. 26; ensk lérept tveggja álna, English linen of two ells measure, id.; þat er mælt, at at graftar kirkju hverri skal mæla stiku lengd, þá er rétt sé at hafa til álna máls, ok megi menn þar til ganga ef á skilr um alnar, 309. During the whole of the 15th century the Icel. trade was mainly in British hands; thus the Engl. double ell probably prevailed till the end of the 15th or beginning of the 16th century. The Hanse Towns ell = 21 1/11 inches was then introduced, and abolished in the year 1776, when the Dan. ell = 24 inches came into use. At present the Hanse Towns ell is called Íslenzk alin (Icel. ell), and the original half-yard ell is quite obsolete; cp. Jón Sigurðsson in D. I. i. 306–308, and Pál Vidal. s. v. alin.

2. a unit of value, viz. an ell (half-yard measure) of woollen stuff (vaðmál); the vaðmál (Halliwell wadmal, Engl. woadmal, Orkn. and Shell, wadmaal and vadmel) was in Icel. the common medium of payment, whence an ell became the standard unit of value or property, whether in land or chattels; 120 ells make a hundred, v. that word. In D. I. i. 316 we are told that, about the year 1200, three ells were equal in value to one ounce of ordinary silver, whence the expression þriggja álna eyrir (a common phrase during the 13th century). The value of the ell of vaðmal, however, varied greatly; during the 11th and 12th centuries six ells made an ounce, D. I. i. 88. In Norway we find mentioned níu, ellifu álna aurar (nine, eleven ells to an ounce). In Grág. (Kb.) ii. 192, § 245, it is said that, about the year 1000, four ells in Icel. made an ounce, and so on; vide Dasent, Essay in 2nd vol. of Burnt Njal., and Pal Vidal. s. v. alin.

COMPDS: álnarborð, álnarbreiðr, alnarkefli, álnartíund, álnarvirði, álnasök.

m. heathen priest; chief (in Iceland during the republic).

* * *

a, m. [Ulf, renders ἱερεύς by gudja (ufar-gudja, ahumista-gudja, etc.), ἱερατεία by gudjinassus, ἱερατεύειν by gudjinôn; an Icel. gyði, gen. gyðja, would answer better to the Goth. form, but it never occurs, except that the fem. gyðja = goddess and priestess points not to goði, but to a masc. with a suppressed final i, gyði; a word coting occurs in O. H. G. glossaries, prob. meaning the same; and the form guþi twice occurs on Danish-Runic stones in Nura-guþi and Saulva-guþi, explained as goði by P. G. Thorsen, Danske Runem.; (Rafn’s explanation and reading of Nura-guþi qs. norðr á Gauði, is scarcely right): with this exception this word is nowhere recorded till it appears in Icel., where it got a wide historical bearing]:—prop. a priest, sacerdos, and hence a liege-lord or chief of the Icel. Commonwealth.

A. HISTORICAL REMARKS.—The Norse chiefs who settled in Icel., finding the country uninhabited, solemnly took possession of the land (land-nám, q. v.); and in order to found a community they built a temple, and called themselves by the name of goði or hof-goði, ‘temple-priest;’ and thus the temple became the nucleus of the new community, which was called goðorð, n.:—hence hof-goði, temple-priest, and höfðingi, chief, became synonymous, vide Eb. passim. Many independent goðar and goðorð sprang up all through the country, until about the year 930 the alþingi (q. v.) was erected, where all the petty sovereign chiefs (goðar) entered into a kind of league, and laid the foundation of a general government for the whole island. In 964 A. D. the constitution was finally settled, the number of goðorð being fixed at three in each þing ( shire), and three þing in each of the three other quarters, (but four in the north); thus the number of goðar came to be nominally thirty-nine, really thirty-six, as the four in the north were only reckoned as three, vide Íb. ch. 5. On the introduction of Christianity the goðar lost their priestly character, but kept the name; and the new bishops obtained seats in the Lögrétta (vide biskup). About the year 1004 there were created new goðar (and goðorð), who had to elect judges to the Fifth Court, but they had no seats in the Lögrétta, and since that time the law distinguishes between forn ( old) and ný ( new) goðorð;—in Glúm. ch. 1 the word forn is an anachronism. It is curious that, especially in the 12th century, the goðar used to take the lesser Orders from political reasons, in order to resist the Romish clergy, who claimed the right of forbidding laymen to be lords of churches or to deal with church matters; thus the great chief Jón Loptsson was a sub-deacon; at last, about 1185, the archbishop of Norway forbade the bishops of Icel. to ordain any holder of a goðorð, unless they first gave up the goðorð, fyrir því bjóðum vér biskupum at vígja eigi þá menn er goðorð hafa, D. I. i. 291. In the middle of the 13th century the king of Norway induced the goðar to hand their power over to him, and thus the union with Norway was finally brought about in the year 1262; since that time, by the introduction of new codes (1272 and 1281), the name and dignity of goðar and goðorð disappeared altogether, so that the name begins and ends with the Commonwealth.

B. DUTIES.—In the alþingi the goðar were invested with the Lögrettu-skipan (q. v.), that is to say, they composed the Lögrétta (the Legislative consisting of forty-eight members—on the irregularity of the number vide Íb. ch. 5), and were the lawgivers of the country; secondly, they had the dómnefna (q. v.), or right of naming the men who were to sit in the courts, vide dómr:—as to their duties in the quarter-parliaments (vár-þing) vide Grág. Þ. Þ. and the Sagas. The authority of the goðar over their liegemen at home was in olden times somewhat patriarchal, vide e. g. the curious passage in Hænsaþ. S. ch. 2; though no section of law relating to this interesting part of the old history is on record, we can glean much information from the Sagas. It is to be borne in mind that the goðar of the Saga time (10th century) and those of the Grágás and Sturlunga time (12th and 13th centuries) were very different; the former were a kind of sovereign chiefs, who of free will entered into a league; the latter had become officials, who for neglecting their duties in parliament might be fined, and even forfeit the goðorð to their liegemen, vide Grág. Þ. Þ. Neither þing (q. v.) nor goðorð was ever strictly geographical (such is the opinion of Konrad Maurer), but changed from time to time; the very word goðorð is defined as ‘power’ (veldi), and was not subject to the payment of tithe, K. Þ. K. 142. The goðorð could be parcelled out by inheritance or by sale; or they might, as was the case in the latter years of the Commonwealth, accumulate in one hand, vide esp. Sturl. passim, and Grág. The liegemen (þingmenn) were fully free to change their lords (ganga í lög með goða, ganga ór lögum); every franklin (þingmaðr) had in parliament to declare his þingfesti, i. e. to name his liegeship, and say to what goði and þing he belonged, and the goði had to acknowledge him; so that a powerful or skilful chief might have liegemen scattered all over the country. But the nomination to the courts and the right of sitting in the legislative body were always bound to the old names, as fixed by the settlement of the year 964; and any one who sought the name or influence of a goði had first (by purchase, inheritance, or otherwise) to become possessor of a share of one of the old traditionary goðorð; see the interesting chapter in Nj. The three goðar in one þing ( shire) were called sam-goða, joint-goðar; for the sense of allsherjar-goði vide p. 17.

C. NAMES.—Sometimes a chief’s name referred to the god whom he especially worshipped, as Freys-Goði, Hrafn., Gísl., whence Freys-gyðlingar, q. v.; (the ör-goði is dubious); more frequently the name referred to the liegemen or county, e. g. Ljósvetninga-Goði, Tungu-Goði, etc.; but in the Saga time, goði was often added to the name almost as a cognomen, and with some, as Snorri, it became a part of their name (as Cato Censor in Latin); hann varðveitti þá hof, var hann þá kallaðr Snorri Goði, Eb. 42; seg, at sá sendi, er meiri vin var húsfreyjunnar at Fróðá en Goðans at Helgafelli, 332. Names on record in the Sagas:—men living from A. D. 874 to 964, Hallsteinn Goði, Landn., Eb.; Sturla Goði, Landn. 65; Jörundr Goði and Hróarr Tungu-Goði, id.; Ljótólfr Goði, Sd.; Hrafnkell Freys-Goði, Hrafn.; Oddr Tungu-Goði, Landn.; Þormóðr Karnár-Goði, Vd.; Áskell Goði, Rd.; Úlfr Ör-goði, Landn.; Grímkell Goði, Harð. S.; Þorgrímr Freys-goði, Gísl. 100, 110:—964 to 1030, Arnkell Goði, Landn., Eb.; Þorgrímr Goði, Eb.; Geirr Goði, Landn., Nj.; Runólfr Goði, id.; Þóroddr Goði, Kristni S.; Þormóðr Allsherjar-Goði, Landn.; Þorgeirr Goði, or Ljósvetninga-Goði, Nj., Landn.; (Þorkell Krafla) Vatnsdæla-Goði, Vd.; Helgi Hofgarða-Goði, Landn., Eb.; Snorri Hlíðarmanna-Goði, Lv.; Þórarinn Langdæla-Goði, Heiðarv. S.; and last, not least, Snorri Goði:—in the following period goði appears, though very rarely, as an appellative, e. g. Þormóðr Skeiðar-Goði (about 1100):—of the new goðar of 1004, Höskuldr Hvítaness-Goði, Nj.:—used ironically, Ingjaldr Sauðeyja-Goði, Ld.

2. goðorð mentioned by name,—in the south, Allsherjar-goðorð, Landn. (App.) 336; Dalverja-goðorð, Sturl. ii. 48; Lundarmanna-goðorð, i. 223; Reykhyltinga-goðorð, 104, iii. 166, 169; Bryndæla-goðorð, Kjaln. S. 402: in the north, Ljósvetninga-goðorð, Lv. ch. 30; Möðruvellinga-goðorð, Bs. i. 488; Vatnsdæla-goðorð, Fs. 68; Fljótamanna-goðorð, Sturl. i. 138: in the west, Snorrunga-goðorð, 55; Jöklamanna-goðorð, iii. 166; Rauðmelinga-goðorð, Eb. 288; Reyknesinga-goðorð, Sturl. i. 9, 19; Þórsnesinga-goðorð, 198: the new godords of the Fifth Court, Laufæsinga-goðorð, Nj. 151; Melamanna-goðorð, id., Band., Sturl. i. 227. Passages in the Sagas and Laws referring to goðar and goðorð are very numerous, e. g. Íb. ch. 5, Nj. ch. 98, Grág., Lögréttu-þáttr, and Þ. Þ. passim, esp. ch. 1–5, 17, 35, 37, 39, 44, 58, 60, 61, Lv. ch. 4 (interesting), Vd. ch. 27, 41 (in fine), and 42, Vápn., Hrafn. ch. 2, Eb. ch. 10, 56, Sturl. iii. 98, 104, passim; for the accumulation of godords, see i. 227 (3, 22), Bs. i. 54; for the handing over the godords to the king of Norway, D. I. i; and esp. article 3 of the Sáttmáli, D. I. i. 631, 632. The godords were tithe-free, ef maðr á goðorð, ok þarf eigi þat til tíundar at telja, vald er þat en eigi fé:, K. Þ. K. 142.

COMPDS: goðakviðr, goðalýrittr, goðaþáttr.

II. = goð, i. e. good genius, in the Icel. game at dice called goða-tafl, with the formula, heima ræð eg goða minn bæði vel og lengi, … og kasta eg svo fyrir þig, cp. also ást-goði.

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n. pl. Yule, a great midwinter feast in the heathen time, afterwards applied to Christmas.

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n. pl., in rhymes, gólig, Jóla, Ó. H. (in a verse); [A. S. geôl, sometimes used of the whole month of December, whereas December is also called æra geola = fore Yule, and January æftera geola = after Yule; the plur. in Icel. perhaps refers to this double month. The origin and etymology of the word Yule is much contested, and has been treated at length by Grimm (Gesch. der Deutschen Sprache), who tries to make out a relation between the Lat. Jūlus or Jūlius and the Teut. Yule, the one being a midsummer month, the other a midwinter month; like former etymologists, he also derives the word from hjól, a wheel, as referring to the sun’s wheeling round at midwinter and midsummer time. The resemblance of the words is striking, as also the old northern celebration of the midsummer feast Jónsvaka (see below), which was in fact a kind of midsummer Yule.]

B. Yule, a great feast in the heathen time, afterwards applied to Christmas (as still in North. E.) In Icel. popular usage Yule-eve is a kind of landmark by which the year is reckoned, so that a man is as many years old as he has passed Yule nights, hafa lifað (so and so) margar Jóla-nætr; for the year counts from Yule night, whence the phrase, vera ílla or vel á ár kominn, to become well or ill in the year; thus a person born shortly before Yule is ‘ílla á ár kominn,’ for at next Yule he will be reckoned one year old, whereas one born just after it is ‘vel á ár kominn.’ The heathen Yule lasted thirteen days, whence are derived the names Þrettándi, the thirteenth = Epiphany, i. e. the 6th of January, as also the Engl. ‘Twelfth-night;’ it is however probable that the heathen feast was held a little later than the Christian (see hökunótt). The heathen Yule was a great merry-making, and tales of ghosts, ogres, and satyrs were attached to it, esp. the Jóla-sveinar or ‘Yule-lads,’ a kind of goblins or monster satyrs, thirteen in number, one to each day of the feast, sons of the kidnapping hag Grýla (q. v.), whose names were used to frighten children with, see Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 219, 220. As the night lengthens and the day shortens, the ghosts gain strength, and reach their highest at Yule time, see Grett. ch. 34–37, 67–70, Eb. ch. 34, Flóam. S. ch. 22. The day next before Yule is called atfanga-dagr (q. v.) Jóla, when stores were provided and fresh ale brewed, Jóla-öl. Passages in the Sagas referring to Yule are numerous, e.g. Hervar. S. ch. 4, Hálfd. S. Svarta ch. 8, Har. S. Hárf. ch. 16 (in a verse), Hák. S. Góða ch. 12, 15, 19, Ó. H. ch. 151, Eb. ch. 31, Landn. 3. ch. 15 (in the Hb.), Bjarn. 51 sqq., Sturl. iii. 127. As for Yule games cp. the Norse and Danish Jule-buk, Jola-geit (Ivar Aasen) = a Yule goat, Dan. Jule-leg = a Yule game.

II. in poetry a feast (generally); hugins jól, a raven’s feast, Fms. vi. 255 (in a verse), cp. Bjarn. 36.

COMPDS: Jólaaptan, Jólabál, Jólaboð, Jólabók, Jóladagr, Jóladrykkja, Jólafasta, Jólafriðr, Jólaföstubók, Jólaföstutíð, Jólagjöf, Jólagrið, Jólahald, Jólahelgi, Jólahöll, Jólakveld, Jólales, Jólamorgin, Jólanótt, Jólaskrá, Jólasveinar, Jólatíð, Jólatíðir, Jólatíðabók, Jólatungl, Jólaveizla, Jólavist, Jólaöl.

(öll, allt), a.

1) all, entire, whole;

hón á allan arf eptir mik, she has all the heritage after me;

af öllum hug, with all (one’s) heart;

hvítr allr, white all over;

bú allt, the whole estate;

allan daginn, the whole day;

í allri veröld, in the whole world;

allan hálfan mánuð, for the entire fortnight;

with addition of ‘saman’;

allt saman féit, the whole amount;

um þenna hernað allan saman, all together;

2) used almost adverbially, all, quite, entirely;

klofnaði hann allr í sundr, he was all cloven asunder, kváðu Örn allan villast, that he was altogether bewildered;

var Hrappr allr brottu, quite gone;

allr annarr maðr, quite another man;

3) gone, past;

áðr þessi dagr er allr, before this day is past;

var þá óll þeirra vinátta, their friendship was all over;

allt er nú mitt megin, my strength is exhausted, gone;

4) departed, dead (þá er Geirmundr var allr);

5) neut. sing. (allt) used. as a subst. in the sense of all, everything;

eigi er enn þeirra allt, they have not yet altogether won the game;

þá var allt (all, everybody) við þá hrætt;

hér er skammætt allt, here everything is transient;

with a compar. all the more (því öllu þungbærri);

with gen., allt missera (= öll misseri), all the year round;

allt annars, all the rest;

at öllu annars, in all other respects;

alls fyrst, first of all;

alls mest, most of all;

in adverbial phrases: at öllu, in all respects, in every way;

í öllu, in everything;

með öllu, wholly, quite;

neita með öllu, to refuse outright;

6) pl. allir (allar, öll), as adj. or substantively, all (þeir gengu út allir);

ór öllum fjórðungum á landinu, from all the quarters of the land;

allir aðrir, all others, every one else;

flestir allir, nearly all, the greatest part of;

gen. pl. (allra) as an intensive with superlatives, of all things, all the more;

nú þykkir mér þat allra sýnst, er, all the more likely, as;

allra helzt, er þeir heyra, particularly now when they hear;

allra sízt, least of all.

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öll, allt, and alt, adj. [Ulf. alls = πας, άπας, όλος; A. S. eall; Engl. and Germ. all].

A. In sing. as adj. or substantively, cunctus, totus, omnis:

I. all, entire, the whole; hón á allan arf eptir mik, she has all my heritage after me, Nj. 3; um alla þingsafglöpun, every kind of þ., 150; gaf hann þat allt, all, 101; at öllum hluta, in totum, Grág. i. 245; allr heilagr dómr, the whole body of Christians, ii. 165; á öllu því máli, Fms. vii. 311; allu fólki, thewhole people, x. 273; hvitr allr, white all over, 655 xxxii. 21; bú allt, thewhole estate, Grág. i. 244; fyrir allt dagsljós, before any dawn of light, Hom. 41: with the addition of saman = άπας—Icel. now in fem. sing. and n. pl. say öll sömun, and even n. sing. allt samant; in old writers saman is indecl.,—the whole, Germ. sänmtlich, zusammen; allt saman féit, thewhole amount, entire, Grág. ii. 148; þenna hernað allan saman, all together, Fms. i. 144; fyrir allan saman ójafnað þann, Sd. 157. Metaph. in the phrase, at vera ekki allr þar sem hann er sénn (séðr), of persons of deep, shrewd characters, not to be seen through, but also with a feeling of something ‘uncanny’ about them, Fms. xi. 157 (a familiar phrase); ekki er oil nótt úti enn, sagði draugrinn, the night is not all over yet, said the ghost, ‘the Ides are not past’ (a proverb), v. Ísl. Þjóðs.

2. all, entire, full; allan hálfan mánuð, for the entire fortnight, Nj. 7; þar til er Kjartani þykir allt mál upp, until Kjartan thought it was high time, of one nearly (or) well-nigh drowned, Hkr. i. 286.

II. metaph. past, gone, dead, extinct; perh. ellipt., vera allr í brottu, quite gone, Eb. 112 new Ed.; var Hrappr þá allr í brottu, Nj. 132; then by an ellipsis of ‘brottu,’ or the like, allr simply = past, gone:

α. past, of time; seg þú svá fremi frá því er þessi dagr er allr, when this day is past, Nj. 96, Fms. ii. 38, 301; var þá öll þeirra vinátta, their friendship was all gone, Fms. ix. 428; allt er mi mitt megin, my strength is gone, exhausted, Str.

β. dead; þá er Geirmundr var allr, gone, dead, Landn. (Hb.) 124; síz Gunnarr at Hlíðarenda var allr, since G. of Lithend was dead and gone (v. l. to lézt), Nj. 142; sem faðir þeirra væri allr, after his death, Stj. 127; þá er Nói var allr, 66; en sem hann var allr, 100; eptir þat er Sara var öll, after all Sara’s days were over, 139, 140, 405; á vegum allr hygg ek at at ek verða munu, that I shall perish on the way, Gg. verse 5; með því at þú ert gamlaðr mjök, þá munu þeir eigi út koma fyr en þú ert allr, Háv. 57; still freq. in Swed., e. g. blifwa all af bekumring, be worn out with sorrow; vinet blev alt, fell short; tiden er all, past.

III. used almost adverbially, when it may be translated by all, quite, just, entirely; klofnaði hann allr í sundr, was all cloven asunder, Nj. 205; er sá nú allr einn í þínu liði er nú hefir eigi höfuðs, ok hinn, er þá eggiaði hins versta verks er eigi var fram komit, where it seems, however, rather to mean one and the same … or the very same …, thus, and he is now one and the same man in thy band, who has now lost his head, and he who then egged thee on to the worst work when it was still undone, or the very same, … who, Nj. 213; vil ek at sú görð häldist öll, in all its parts, 256; kváðu Örn allan villast, that he was all bewildered, Ld. 74.

IV. neut. sing. used as a subst. in the sense of all, everything, in every respect; ok for svá með öllu, sem …, acted in everything as…, Nj. 14, Ld. 54; ok lát sem þú þykist þar allt eiga, that you depend upon him in all, Fms. xi. 113; eigi er enn þeirra allt, they have not yet altogether won the game, Nj. 235: í alls vesöld, in all misery, Ver. 4; alls mest, most of all, especially, Fms. ii. 137 C, Fs. 89 (in a verse); in mod. usage, allra mest, cp. below. The neut. with a gen.; allt missera, all the year round, Hom. 73; allt annars, all the rest, Grág. ii. 141; at öllu annars, in all other respects, K. Þ. K. 98; þá var allt (all, everybody) við þá hrætt, Fas. i. 338. In the phrases, at öllu, in all respects, Fms. i. 21, Grág. i. 431; ef hann á eigi at öllu framfærsluna, if he be not the sole supporter, 275: úreyndr at öllu, untried in every way, Nj. 90; cp. Engl. not at all, prop. not in every respect, analogous to never, prop. not always: fyrir alls sakir, in every respect, Grág. ii. 47, Fas. i. 252: í öllu, in everything, Nj. 90, 228: með öllu, wholly, quite, dauðr með öllu, quite dead, 153; neita með öllu, to refuse outright, Fms. i. 35, 232, Boll. 342: um allt, in respect of everything, Nj. 89; hence comes the adverb ávalt, ever = of allt = um allt, prop. in every respect, v. ávalt.

V. the neut. sing. allt is used as an adv., right up to, as far as, all the way; Brynjólfr gengr allt at honum, close to him, Nj. 58; kómu allt at bænum, 79; allt at búðardyrunum, right up to the very door of the booth, 247; allt norðr urn Stað, all along north, round Cape Stad, Fms. vii. 7; suðr allt í Englands haf, iv. 329; verit allt út í Miklagarð, as far out as Constantinople, ii. 7, iv. 250, 25; allt á klofa, Bárð. 171.

2. everywhere, in all places; at riki Eireks konungs mundi allt yfir standa í Eyjunum, might stretch over the whole of the Islands, Eg. 405; Sigröðr var konungr allt um Þrændalög, over all Drontheim, Fms. i. 19; bjoggu þar allt fyrir þingmenn Runólfs goða, the liegemen of R. the priest were in every house, ii. 234 ( = í hverju húsi, Bs. i. 20); allt norðr um Rogaland, all the way north over the whole of R., Fms. iv. 251; vóru svirar allt gulli búnir, all overlaid with gold, vi. 308; hafið svá allt kesjurnar fyrir, at ekki megi á ganga, hold your spears everywhere (all along the line) straight before you, that they (the enemy) may not come up to you, 413; allt imdir innviðuna ok stafnana, vii. 82.

3. nearly = Lat. jam, soon, already; vóru allt komin fyrir hann bréf, warrants of arrest were already in his way, Fms. vii. 207; var allt skipat liðinu til fylkingar, the troops were at once drawn up in array, 295; en allt hugðum vér ( still we thought) at fara með spekt um þessi héruð, Boll. 346.

4. temp. all through, until; allt til Júnsvöku, Ann. 1295; allt um daga Hákonar konungs, all through the reign of king Hacon, Bs. i. 731.

5. in phrases such as, allt at einu, all one, all in the same way, Fms. i. 113. In Icel. at present allt að einu means all the same: allt eins, nevertheless; ek ætla þó utan a. eins, Ísl. ii. 216; hann neitaði allt eins at…, refused all the same, Dipl. iii. 13; allt eins hraustliga, not the less manly, Fms. xi. 443. The mod. Icel. use is a little different, namely = as, in similes = just as; allt eins og blómstrið eina (a simile), just as the flower, the initial words of the famous hymn by Hallgrim.

6. by adding ‘of’ = far too …, much too …, Karl. 301 (now freq.)

7. with a comparative, much, far, Fms. vi. 45 (freq.)

VI. neut. gen. alls [cp. Ulf. allis = όλως; A. S. ealles], used as an adv., esp. before a negative (ekki, hvergi), not a bit, not at all, no how, by no means; þeir ugðu alls ekki at sér, they were not a bit afraid, Nj. 252; hræðumst vér hann nú alls ekki, we do not care a bit for him, 260; á hólmgöngu er vandi en alls ekki ( none at all) á einvigi, Korm. 84; en junkherra Eiríkr þóttist ekki hafa, ok kallaði sik Eirík alls ekki (cp. Engl. lackland), Fms. x. 160; alls hvergi skal sök koma undir enn þriðja mann, no how, in no case, by no means, Grág. i. 144: sometimes without a negative following it; ær alls geldar, ewes quite barren, Grág. i. 502; hafrar alls geldir, id.; alls vesall, altogether wretched, Nj. 124; alls mjök stærist hann nú, very much, Stj.; a. mest, especially, Fs. 89, Fms. ii. 137. In connection with numbers, in all, in the whole; tólf vóru þau alls á skipi, twelve were they all told in the ship, Ld. 142; tíu Íslenzkir menn alls, 164; alls fórust níu menn, the slain were nine in all, Ísl. ii. 385; verða alls sárir þrír eða fleiri, Grág. ii. 10; alls mánuð, a full month, i. 163; þeir ala eitt barn alls á aefi sinni, Rb. 346.

β. with addition of ‘til’ or ‘of’ = far too much; alls of lengi, far too long a time, Fms. i. 140; hefnd alls til lítil, much too little, vi. 35.

B. In pl. allir, allar, öll, as adj. or substantively:

1. used absol. all; þeir gengu út allir, all men, altogether, Nj. 80; Síðan bjoggust þeir heiman allir, 212; Gunnarr reið ok beir allir, 48; hvikit þér allir, 78, etc.

2. as adj., alla höfðingja, all the chiefs, Nj. 213; ór öllum fjórðungum á landinu, all the quarters of the land, 222; at vitni guðs ok allra heilagra manna, all the saints, Grág. ii. 22; í allum orrostum, in all the battles, Fms. x. 273; Josep ok allir hans ellifu bræðr, Stj., etc.

3. by adding aðrir, flestir, etc.; allir aðrir, all other, everyone else, Nj. 89, Fms. xi. 135: flestir allir, nearly all, the greatest part of, v. flestr; in mod. use flestallir, flest being indecl.: allir saman, altogether, Nj. 80.

4. adverb., Gregorius hafði eigi öll fjögr hundruð, not all, not quite, four hundred, Fms. vii. 255.

5. used ellipt., allir ( everybody) vildu leita þér vegs, Nj. 78.

6. gen. pl. allra, when followed by superl. neut. adj. or adv., of all things, all the more; en nú þyki mér þat allra sýnst er …, all the more likely, as …, Ld. 34; allra helzt er þeir heyra, particularly now when they hear, Fms. ix. 330; allra helzt ef hann fellr meir, all the rather, if …, Grág. ii. 8; allra sízt, least of all, 686 B. 2; bæn sú kemr til þess allra mest, especially, Hom. 149: very freq. at present in Icel., and used nearly as Engl. very, e. g. allra bezt, the very best; a. hæst, neðst, fyrst, the very highest, lowest, foremost, etc.

C. alls is used as a prefix to several nouns in the gen., in order to express something common, general, universal.

COMPDS: allsendis, allsháttar, allsherjar, allsherjarbúð, allsherjardómr, allsherjarfé, allsherjargoði, allsherjarlið, allsherjarlýðr, allsherjarlög, allsherjarþing, allskonar, allskostar, allskyns, allsstaðar, allsvaldandi, allrahanda, allraheilagra.

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

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

* * *

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

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

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

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

COMPDS: misseramót, misseraskipti, misseratal, misserisvist.

1) temporary dwellings booth;

farmanna búðir, merchants’ booths; esp. of the temporary dwellings at the Icelandic parliament;

tjalda búð, to fit up a booth (with tent-roof and hangings);

2) abode, dwelling place;

fara búðum, to change one’s abode;

hafa harða, kalda búð, to have a hard, cold abode.

(= búið, búit), used as adv., may be;

búð svá sé til ætlat, may be, it will come so to happen;

búð eigi hendi hann slíka úgiptu í annat sinn, may be he will not have such misfortune again.

* * *

I. [Engl. booth; Germ. bude; Dan. bod: not from búa], a booth, shop; farmanna búðir, merchants’ booths: setja búðir, Eg. 163; hafa búðir á landi, Grág. i. 91, the booths in the harbour being but temporary and being removed as soon as the ship went to sea.

β. specially used of the temporary abodes in the Icel. parliament, where, as the meeting only lasted two weeks a year, the booths remained empty the rest of the year; hence tjalda ( to dress) búðir, viz. during the session for the use of its owner. But every goði ( priest) and every family had their own ‘booth,’ which also took their names from a single man or ruling family, e. g. Allsherjar b., Sturl. ii. 44; Snorra b., 125; b. Skapta, Nj. 220; b. Hafliða, Sturl. i. 44: from families or districts, Ölfusinga b., Nj. 181; Möðruvellinga b., 182, 247; Skagfirðinga b., 182; Jöklamanna b., Sturl. ii. 158; Austfirðinga b., 158, 159; Saurbæinga b., 82; Dalamanna b., Nj. 48; Mosfellinga b., 164; Rangæinga b., 48, 180; Ljósvetninga b., 183, 223; Norðlendinga b., 228; Vatnsfirðinga b., 248; Vestfirðingu b., Bs. i. 21; Svínfellinga b., Lv. 18; Skarðverja b., Sturl. i. 199, etc.: other names, Byrgis-búð, 31; Grýta, ii. 45; Dilkr, 158; Valhöll, 126; Hlað-búð, 82, Nj. 244; Virkis-búð, 247. As the alþing was a public meeting, other booths are also mentioned, e. g. Trúða búðir, booths of Jugglers, Troubadours, Grág. ii. 84; Ölbúð, an Ale-booth, beer-shop, Sturl. ii. 125; Sútara búð, a Souter’s (cobbler’s) booth, Grág. ii. 84; Sverð-skriða b., a Tanner’s booth, id.; and Göngumanna búðir, Beggars’ booths, a troop of beggars being an appendage to any old feast or public meeting, cp. Gísl. 54–56: the law (Grágás) forbade the sheltering of beggars at the parliament, but in vain; see numberless passages referring to alþing or fjórðungsþing, esp. Grág. Þ. Þ., Nj., Sturl., Gísl. l. c., Korm. S., Kristni S. A short treatise, called ‘Catastasis of Booths,’ composed about A. D. 1700, is mentioned in Dasent’s Burnt Njal; but it is the mere work of a scholar, not founded upon tradition. As búð is opposed to bú, as a temporary abode to a permanent fixed one, so búðsetumaðr (búð-seta), a cottager, is opposed to bóndi; fara búðum is to change one’s abode, Hkr. ii. 110; Mýramanna-búð, Band. (MS.)

γ. in eccl., Tjald-búð is the Tabernacle.

2. in the compds í-búð, sam-búð, etc., ‘búð’ is a different word, being simply formed from the verb búa, and of late formation, prob. merely a rendering of Lat. habitatio; whilst búð, a booth, is not related to búa.

II. esp. in compds, í-búð, living in; sam-búð, living together; vás-búð, a cold berth, i. e. wet and cold; hafa harða, kalda búð, to have a hard, cold abode, Fms. x. 158 (belongs perh. to I.)

COMPDS: búðardvöl, búðardyr, búðargögn, búðarhamarr, búðarketill, búðarkviðr, búðarlið, búðarmaðr, búðarnagli, búðarrúm, búðarsetumaðr, búðarstaðr, búðarsund, búðartópt, búðarveggr, búðarvirki, búðarvist, búðarvörðr.

* * *

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

mod. dans, n. a word of for. origin; [cp. mid. Lat. dansare; Fr. danser; Ital. danzare; Engl. dance; Germ. tanz, tanzen.] This word is certainly not Teutonic, but of Roman or perhaps Breton origin: the Icel. or Scandin. have no genuine word for dancing,—leika means ‘to play’ in general: the word itself (danza, danz, etc.) never occurs in the old Sagas or poetry, though popular amusements of every kind are described there; but about the end of the 11th century, when the Sagas of the bishops (Bs.) begin, we find dance in full use, accompanied by songs which are described as loose and amorous: the classical passage is Jóns S. (A. D. 1106–1121), ch. 13. Bs. i. 165, 166, and cp. Júns S. by Gunnlaug, ch. 24. Bs. i. 237—Leikr sá var kær mönnum áðr en hinn heilagi Jón varð biskup, at kveða skyldi karlmaðr til konu í danz blautlig kvæði ok rægilig; ok kona til karlmanns mansöngs vísur; þenna leik lét hann af taka ok bannaði styrkliga; mansöngs kvæði vildi hann eigi heyra né kveða láta, en þó fékk hann því eigi af komið með öllu. Some have thought that this refers to mythical (Eddic) poetry, but without reason and against the literal sense of the passage; the heathen heroic poems were certainly never used to accompany a dance; their flow and metre are a sufficient proof of that. In the Sturl. (Hist. of the 12th and 13th century) dancing is mentioned over and over again; and danz is used of popular ballads or songs of a satirical character (as those in Percy’s ballads): flimt ( loose song) and danz are synonymous words; the Sturl. has by chance preserved two ditties (one of A. D. 1221, running thus—Loptr liggr í Eyjum, bítr lunda bein | Sæmundr er á heiðum, etr berin ein. Sturl. ii. 62, and one referring to the year 1264—Mínar eru sorgirnar þungar sem blý, Sturl. iii. 317) sufficient to shew the flow and metre, which are exactly the same as those of the mod. ballads, collected in the west of Icel. (Ögr) in the 17th century under the name of Fornkvæði, Old Songs, and now edited by Jon Sigurdsson and Svend Grundtvig. Danz and Fornkvæði are both of the same kind, and also identical with Engl. ballads, Dan. kæmpeviser. There are passages in Sturl. and B.S. referring to this subject — færðu Breiðbælingar Lopt í flimtun ok görðu um hann danza marga, ok margskonar spott annat, Sturl. ii. 57, cp. 62; Danza-Bergr, the nickname of a man (Stud, ii), prob. for composing comic songs; danza-görð, composing comic songs; fylgðar-menn Kolbeins fóru með danza-görð, … en er Brandr varð varr við flimtan þeirra, iii. 80; þá hrökti Þórðr hestinn undir sér, ok kvað danz þenna við raust, 317.

β. a wake, Arna S. ch. 2; in Sturl. i. 23; at the banquet in Reykhólar, 1119, the guests amused themselves by dancing, wrestling, and story-telling; þá var sleginn danz í stofu, ii. 117; í Viðvík var gleði mikil ok gott at vera; þat var einn Drottins dag at þar var danz mikill; kom þar til fjöldi manna; ok ríðr hann í Viðvík til danz, ok var þar at leik; ok dáðu menn mjök danz hans, iii. 258, 259; honum var kostr á boðinn hvat til gamans skyldi hafa, sögur eða danz um kveldit, 281;—the last reference refers to the 21st of January, 1258, which fell on a Sunday (or wake-day): in ballads and tales of the Middle Ages the word is freq.:—note the allit. phrase, dansinn dunar, Ísl. Þóðs. ii. 8: the phrases, stiga danz; ganga í danz; brúðir í danz, dansinn heyra; dans vill hun heyra, Fkv. ii. 7. Many of the burdens to the mod. Icel. ballads are of great beauty, and no doubt many centuries older than the ballads to which they are affixed; they refer to lost love, melancholy, merriment, etc., e. g. Blítt lætur veröldin, fölnar fögr fold | langt er síðan mitt var yndið lagt í mold, i. 74; Út ert þú við æginn blá, eg er hér á Dröngum, | kalla eg löngum, kalla eg til þin löngum; Skín á skildi Sól og sumarið fríða, | dynur í velli er drengir í burtu riða, 110; Ungan leit eg hofmann í fögrum runni, | skal eg í hljóði dilla þeim mér unm; Austan blakar laufið á þann linda, 129; Fagrar heyrða eg raddirnar við Niflunga heim; Fagrt syngr svanrinn um sumarlanga tíð, | þá mun list að leika sér mín liljan fríð, ii. 52: Einum unna eg manninum, á meðan það var, | þó hlaut eg minn harm að bera í leyndum stað, 94; Svanrinn víða. svanurinn syngr viða, 22; Utan eptir firðinum, sigla fagrar fleyr | sá er enginn glaður eptir annan þreyr, 110; Svo er mér illt og angrsamt því veldur þú, | mig langar ekki í lundinn með þá jungfrú, Espol. Ann. 1549. The earliest ballads seem to have been devoted to these subjects only; of the two earliest specimens quoted in the Sturl. (above), one is satirical, the other melancholy; the historical ballads seem to be of later growth: the bishops discountenanced the wakes and dancing (Bs. l. c., Sturl. iii), but in vain: and no more telling proof can be given of the drooping spirits of Icel. in the last century, than that dancing and wakes ceased, after having been a popular amusement for seven hundred years. Eggert Olafsson in his poems still speaks of wakes, as an eyewitness; in the west of Icel. (Vestfirðir) they lasted longer, but even there they died out about the time that Percy’s ballads were published in England. The Fornkvæði or songs are the only Icel. poetry which often dispenses with the law of alliteration, which in other cases is the light and life of Icel. poetry; vide also hofmaðr, viki-vakar, etc. In the 15th century the rímur (metrical paraphrases of romances) were used as an accompaniment to the danz, höldar danza harla snart, ef heyrist vísan mín; hence originates the name man-söngr ( maid-song), minne-sang, which forms the introduction to every ríma or rhapsody; the metre and time of the rímur are exactly those of ballads and well suited for dancing. An Icel. MS. of the 17th century, containing about seventy Icel. Fornkvæði, is in the Brit. Mus. no. 11,177; and another MS., containing about twenty such songs, is in the Bodl. Libr. no. 130.

1) great-grandmother;

2) the name of the book Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson, c. 1220.

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u, f. a great-grandmother, Rm. 2. 4; móðir ( mother) heitir ok amma (grandmother), þriðja edda (the third is edda), Edda 108: this sense is obsolete.

II. metaph. the name of the book Edda, written by Snorri Sturluson, and containing old mythological lore and the old artificial rules for verse making. The ancients only applied this name to the work of Snorri; it is uncertain whether he himself called it so; it occurs for the first time in the inscription to one of the MSS. of Edda, viz. the Ub., written about fifty or sixty years after Snorri’s death: Bók þessi heitir Edda, hann hefir saman setta Snorri Sturlusonr eptir þeim hætti sem hér er skipat (viz. consisting of three parts, Gylfagynning, Skáldskaparmál, and Háttatal), Edda ii. 250 (Ed. Arna-Magn.); sva segir í bók þeirri er Edda heitir, at sá maðr sem Ægir hét spurði Braga …, 532 (MS. of the 14th century); hann (viz. Snorri) samansetti Eddu, he put together the Edda, Ann. 1241 (in a paper MS., but probably genuine). As the Skáldskaparmál ( Ars Poëtica) forms the chief part of the Edda, teaching the old artificial poetical circumlocutions (kenningar), poetical terms and diction, and the mythical tales on which they were founded, the Edda became a sort of handbook of poets, and therefore came gradually to mean the ancient artificial poetry as opposed to the modern plain poetry contained in hymns and sacred poems; it, however, never applies to alliteration or other principles of Icel. poetry: reglur Eddu, the rules of Edda, Gd. (by Arngrim) verse 2, Lil. 96, Nikulas d. 4; Eddu list, the art of Edda, Gd. (by Arni) 79;—all poems of the 14th century. The poets of the 15th century frequently mention the Edda in the introduction to their Rímur or Rhapsodies, a favourite kind of poetry of this and the following time, Reinalds R. I. 1, Áns R. 7. 2, Sturlaugs R., Sigurðar þögla R. 5. 4, Rimur af Ill Verra og Vest, 4, 3, Jarlmanns R. 7. 1, 5, II. 3, Dímis R. 2. 4, Konraðs R. 7. 5;—all these in vellum and the greater part of them belonging to the 15th century. Poets of the 16th century (before 1612), Rollants R. 9. 6, 12. 1, Pontus R. (by Magnus Gamli, died 1591), Valdimars R., Ester R. 2. 2, 6. 3, Sýraks R. 1. 2, 6. 2, Tobias R. I. 2; from the first half of the 17th century, Grett. R., Flores R. 6. 3, 9. 2, Króka Refs R. 1. 7, Lykla Pétrs R. 4. 2, 12. 1, Apollonius R. 1. 5, Flovents R. 6. 3, Sjö Meistara R. 1. 7, 2. 1, 3. 8;—all in MS. In these and many other references, the poets speak of the art, skill, rules, or, if they are in that mood, the obscure puerilities and empty phrases of the Edda, the artificial phraseology as taught and expounded by Snorri; and wherever the name occurs (previous to the year 1643) it only refers to Snorri’s book, and such is still the use of the word in Icel.; hence compd words such as Eddu-lauss, adj. void of Eddic art; Eddu-borinn, part. poetry full of Eddic phrases; Eddu-kenningar, f. pl. Eddic circumlocutions, Kötlu Draumr 85, e. g. when the head is called the ‘sword of Heimdal,’ the sword the ‘fire or torch of Odin,’ etc.; Eddu-kendr = Edduborinn; Eddu-bagr, adj. a bungler in the Eddic art, etc. The Icel. bishop Brynjolf Sveinsson in the year 1643 discovered the old mythological poems, and, led by a fanciful and erroneous suggestion, he gave to that book the name of Sæmundar Edda, the Edda of Sæmund; hence originate the modern terms the Old or Poetical and New or Prose Edda; in foreign writers Eddic has been ever since used in the sense of plain and artless poetry, such as is contained in these poems, opposed to the artificial, which they call Scaldic (Skald being Icel. for a poet); but this has no foundation in old writers or tradition. Further explanation of this subject may be seen in Ersch and Gruber’s Encyclopedia, s. v. Graagaas.

* * *

(eyk, jók, jókum, aukinn), v.

1) to augment, increase (auka virðing e-s; auka ætt sína; auka vandræði);

to prolong (auka þing);

aukanda ferr am e-t, something goes on increasing;

eigi er þat aukit (it is no exaggeration) þó at hann sé sagðr ríkastr maðr á Íslandi;

orðum aukit, exaggerated;

aukin ( more than) þrjú hundruð manna;

2) to add, with dat. (jók ek því es mér varð síðar kunnara);

auka synd á synd ofan, to heap sin upon sin;

auka e-u við, to add;

aukast orðum við, to come to words, to converse;

with acc., auka ný vandræði (= nýjum vandræðum) á hin fornu, to add new difficulties to old ones;

impers., jók stórum hans harm, his grief increased greatly;

3) to surpass, exceed;

þat er eykr sex aura, þá á konungr hálft þat er eykr, if it exceeds six ounces, the king takes half the excess.

(að), v. (a Norse form) = the preceding.

* * *

jók, jóku (mod. juku), aukit [Lat. augere; Gr. αυξειν; Ulf. aukan; A. S. eacan or ecan; Engl. to eche or eke; O. H. G. auhon]; pres. ind. eyk; subj. eyki or yki, mod. jyki. A weak form (aukar, aukaði, aukat) also occurs, esp. in Norse, and (as a Norwegianism) in Icel. writers, esp. after the year 1260, e. g. aukaðu, augebant, Barl. 138; aukaðist, augebatur, aukaði, augebat. Barl. 180, Fms. i. 140, 184, x. 21 (MSS. aukuðu or aukaði, and some even jóku), Róm. 234; subj. aukaðist, augeretur, Fms. vii. 158 in three Icel. vellum MSS.; only one has ykist, the strong genuine form. Pres. aukar, auget, and aukast, augetur, instead of eykr, eykst, Stj. 32: part. aukat (= aukit), O. H. L. 46; aukuð, aucta, Fms. x. 236. Even Snorri in the Edda has aukaðist, p. 3, both in the vellum MSS. Ob. and Kb.,—a form which is thoroughly unclassical; the poets use the strong form, and so Ari, who has jókk = jók ek, in the preface to Íb.;—so also the great bulk of the classical literature. Since the Reformation the strong form is the only one used either in speaking or writing.

I. Lat. augere, to augment, increase, with acc., eykr hann þar ætt sína, Fms. iii. 82; jók Njáll ekki hjón sín, Nj. 59; hét hann þeim at auka virðing þeirra, Eg. 33; þessi orð jóku mjök sök Adams, Sks. 542; jók nafn hans, Hom. 51, Nj. 33; var þá síðan aukuð (= aukin) veizlan, Fms. x. 236: absol., þat hálft er eykr, that half which is over and above, Js. 75: in the phrase, aukanda ferr um e-t, a thing is increasing, Nj. 139.

II. Lat. addere, to add to the whole of a thing; with the thing added in the dat., ok jókk (= jók ek) því es mér varð síðan kunnara, Íb. (pref.): impers., jók miklu við, increased greatly, Ld. 54; þá eykst enn ellefu nóttum við, eleven nights are still added, Rb. 28: followed by ‘við,’ auka e-u við e-t, to add to it, Nj. 41; ‘til’ is rare and unclassical, and seems almost a Danism, as ‘föie til,’ þetta til aukist, Vm. 7: auka synd (dat.) á synd (acc.) ofan, to heap sin upon sin, Stj. 274: aukast orðum við, to come to words, speak, Eg. ch. 58, v. l. (rare); ef þú eykr orði, if tbou say’st a word more, Lex. Poët.

β. with acc. (a rare and unclassical Latinism), auka ny vandræði (= nyjum vandræðum) á hin fornu, Bs. i. 751.

γ. impers. in the phrase, aukar á, it increases, Róm. 234.

III. to surpass, exceed; þat er eykr sex aura, þá á konungr hálft þat er eykr, if it exceeds six ounces, the king takes half the excess, N. G. L. i. 281, Js. § 71; en ármaðr taki þat er aukit er, what is over and above, N. G. L. i. 165. Esp. used adverbially in the part. pass, aukit, aukin, more than, above, of numbers; aukin þrjú hundruð manna, three hundred men well told, Eg. 530, Fms. ix. 524, v. l.; með aukit hundrað manna, x. 184, Ld. 196; aukin hálf vætt, Grett. 141 new Ed.

β. in the phrases, þat er (eigi) aukat (aukit), it is no exaggeration, Jd. verse 22, the Ed. in Fms. xi. 169 has ‘árla’ (a false reading); pat er aukat, O. H. L. 1. c.; orðum aukið, exaggerated, Thom. 73.

(gen. -rs), m.

1) trumpet (blása í lúðr);

2) the stand of a hand-mill (þær at lúðri leiddar vóru).

* * *

m., the r radical, [cp. Dan. lur, Shetl. looder-horn], a trumpet, Edda 17; þeir höfðu lúðr ok blésu, Orkn. 300; lát taka lúðra ok lát blása um alla borgina, Sks. 748; blása í lúðr, Fms. iv. 300; þeyta lúðr, Al. 35, Stj. 392; kvóðu við lúðrar, Fms. vi. 16; við hinn síðasta lúðr-þyt, því lúðrinn mun gella, 1 Cor. xv. 52, passim.

COMPDS: lúðrblástr, lúðragangr, lúðrshljóð, lúðrmaðr, lúðrsveinn, lúðraþytr, lúðrþeytari.

B. A flour-bin; þær at lúðri leiddar vóru, Gs. 2; leggjum lúðra, 3; steinar rifna, stökkr lúðr fyrir, þótt lúðr þrumi, Hkv. 2. 2, 3; þat ek fyrst of man er sá inn fróði jötunn | á var lúðr of lagiðr, Vþm. 35 (referring to some ancient lost myth). The word is still preserved in the south-east of Iceland,—hleypr mjölit um kring kvernina út á lúðrinn, Fél. ii. 155 (of the year 1782): poët. the sea is called ey-lúðr, island-flour-bin, Edda (in a verse); see the remarks to amlóði:—the phrase, ganga e-m í lúðr, to fall into one’s bin, metaph. phrase, to fall to one’s lot, Gs. 11.

* * *

(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.

* * *

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.

f., pl. rúnar: [rún, raun, reyna are all kindred words, and a lost strong verb, rúna, raun, meaning to enquire, may be presumed; the original notion is scrutiny, mystery, secret conversation; Gotb. runa, by which Ulf. several times renders the Gr. μυστήριον and συμβούλιον (once, Matth. xxvii. 1), βουλή (twice, Luke vii. 30, 1 Cor. iv. 5); A. S. rún = a ‘rowning’ mystery, but also = writing, charter; Hel. rûna = colloquium, and geruni = loquela (Schmeller); cp. Old Engl. to rown, Germ. raunen; Gr. ἐ-ρευνάω is also supposed to be a kindred word (Bugge). In Scandin. writers and poets rún is chiefly used of magical characters, then of writing, whereas the derivative word raun means trial, enquiry, and rúni and rúna = a friend or counsellor.]

B. A secret, hidden lore, mystery; frá jötna rúnum ok allra goða segðú it sannasta, Vþm. 42, 43; kenna rúnar, to teach wisdom, Rm. 33; dæma um rúnar ok regin-dóma, Hm. 112; minnask á fornar rúnar, Vsp. 59: saws, segja sannar rúnir, to tell true saws, Fas. ii. 302 (in a verse): a ‘rowning’ speech, vifs rúnir, a woman’s whispering, Bm.; heita e-n at rúnum, to consult one, Gh. 12, Skv. 3. 14, 43; hniga at rúnum, Gkv. 3. 4.

II. a Rune or written character; the earliest Runes were not writing in proper sense, but fanciful signs possessing a magical power; such Runes have, through vulgar superstition, been handed down even to the present time, for a specimen of them see Ísl. Þjóðs. i.435, 436, and Arna-Magn. Nos. 687. 4 to, and 434. 12 mo (Ísl. Þjóðs.pref. ix); the classical passages for these spell-Runes are, Hm. 133 sqq., Sdm. 5 sqq., Skm. 29, 36, Eg. ch. 44, 61, 75, Yngl. S. ch. 7, Grett. ch. 85, N. G. L. iii. 286, 300, Vsp. 59; cp. also the phrase, rísta trénið, Grág., Fs. 56. The phrase in the old Danish Ballads, kaste runer, to throw Rúnes, i. e. chips (see hlaut, hlautviðr), may be compared to the Lat. sortes, Mommsen’s Hist, of Rome, vol. i. p. 187, foot-note (Engl. Ed.), or the Sibylline leaves in the Aeneid.

2. Runes as writing;the word was first applied to the original Northern alphabet, which at an early time was derived from the common Phœnician, probably through Greek or Roman coins in the first centuries of our era. From these Runes were subsequently formed two alphabets, the old Scandinavian (whence again the Anglo-Saxon), as found on the Golden horn and the stone in Tune, and the later Scandinavian, in which the inscriptions in the greater number of the Swedish and Danish stone monuments are written, most being of the 10th (9th?) and following centuries.—A curious instance of the employment of Runes is their being written on a kefli (a round piece of wood) as messages (cp. the Gr. σκυτάλη), as is freq. recorded in the Sagas, e. g. Gísl. 45, 67, Fms. ix. 390, 490, Grett. 154 new Ed., Fb. i. 251 (of the deaf and dumb Oddny). It is doubtful whether poems were ever written in this way, for almost the only authority for such a statement is Eg. 605, where we read that the Sonatorrek was taken down on a Runic stick, the other instances being mostly from romances or fabulous Sagas, Grett. 144, Örvar Odds S.(fine). This writing on a kefli is mentioned in the Latin line, Barbara ‘fraxineis’ sculpatur runa ‘tabellis,’ Capella (5th century). In later times (from the 13th century) Runic writing was practised as a sort of curiosity; thus calendars used to be written on sticks, of which there is a specimen in the Bodl. Library in Oxford; they were also used for inscriptions on tombstones, spoons, chairs, and the like: there even exists in the Arna-Magn. Library a Runic MS. of an old Danish law, and there is a Runic letter in Sturl. (of the year 1241); Runes carved on an oar occur in Fs. 177: a hidden treasure in a chest is labelled with Runes, Fms. vi. 271, Sd. 146, cp. also the interesting record in Bs. i. 435 (sex manna bein vóru þar hjá honum ok vax ok rúnar þær er sögðu atburð lifláts þeirra).

3. the word rún is also, though rarely, applied to the Latin alphabet; ef hann er á þingi þá skal hann rísta nafn hans ef hann kann rúnar, N. G. L. i. 171; or generally, ræki ek eigi hvárt þú rítr ø þitt eðr o,  eða a, ę eða e, y eða u, en ek svara svá, eigi er þat rúnanna kostr þó at þú lesir vel eða ráðir vel at líkindum, þar sem rúnar visa óskírt, heldr er þat þinn kostr, Thorodd 162; þessi er upphaf allra hátta svá sem málrúnar eru fyrir öðrum minum, Edda (Ht.) 121.

III. in pr. names, Rún-ólfr: as the latter part in pr. names of women, Guð-rún, Sig-rún, Öl-rún, Landn., Nj., Bs., Sturl., Sæm.

COMPDS: rúnakefli, rúnamál, Rúnameistari, rúnastafr.

* * *

(gen. pl. vikna), f.

1) week; nú lífa sumarit til átta vikna, till it was eight weeks to winter; hin helga v., Holy-week (after Whitsun); efsta v., the last week of Lent, Passion-week;

2) sea-mile, = vika sjóvar, v. sævar (Ólafseyjar liggja út á firðinum hálfa aðra viku undan Reykjanesi).

* * *

u, f., gen. pl. vikna, pl. vikur: [this can hardly be a genuine Teutonic word, but rather is adopted from Lat. vice, otherwise the k could not have remained unchanged; thus Lat. vicus is Icel. vé, Goth. weihs: Ulf. only uses the word in a single instance, viz. to translate ἐν τη τάξει της ἐφημερίας αὐτου by in wikon kunjis seinis in Luke i. 8, where the Latin text ‘in vice sua’ perhaps suggested the word to the translator; A. S. and Hel. wica; Engl. week; O. H. G. wecha; Germ. woche; Dan. uge; Swed. wecha; in Norse dialects vika, veka, vuku, uku, and in compds -oke, Jóns-oke, Ivar Aasen.]

B. USAGES.—A week, passim: used in a peculiar manner, as marking the remaining weeks of the summer; líðr á sumarit til átta vikna, viz. till eight weeks remained before winter, Nj. 93; var Rútr heima til sex vikna, 10; vá Böðvarr Kolbein Drottins-daginn at fjórum vikum, Ann. 1376. The ancient Scandinavians and Teutons in heathen times seem to have counted the year by pentads, called fimt, as has already been remarked s. v. fimt (p. 153), to which may be added the authority of the late Prof. Schlegel of Copenhagen in a notice of 1825, mentioned in Lex. Mythol. p. 753. The time when the Scandinavians changed their system is quite unknown; it would seem that in Icel. ‘weeks’ were already in use in the middle of the 10th century, could we but trust the record in Íb. ch. 4 as authentic in its details.

II. spec. usages in the calendar; Helga vika, the Holy-week (i. e. after Whitsun), Thom. 22, Dipl. iii. 10, D. I. i. 594; Efsta-vika, the last week of Lent, i. e. Passion-week, Orkn. 386, D. I. i. 594; Páska-vika, Easter-week; Sælu-vika, Ember-week, passim, see Icel. Almanack; as also Auka-vika or Lagningar-vika, the additional week, intercalary week, = sumar-auki, see p. 604; fyrsta Sumar-vika, síðasta vika sumars, síðasta vika vetrar.

COMPDS: vikudagr, vikufrestr, vikuför, vikugamall, vikulagning, vikumunr, vikustafr, vikustef, vikustefna, vikuþing, viknamót, viknatal.

u, f. [a word quite different from the preceding, akin to vik and vík, the root word being víkja, q. v.]:—a sea mile, knot, answering to a mod. geographical mile, and equal to a ‘röst’ on land (see röst, p. 508): the term seems to have been derived from vík, a small bay, denoting the distance from ness to ness, and so referring to a time when ships coasted along-shore; the word is still in almost exclusive use in Icel. The following instances may suffice:—the distance from Reykjanes to Flatey in western Icel. is counted as three viknr (frá Reykjanesi til Flateyjar, þat eru þrjár vikur sjófar, Bs. i. 461); from Drangey in the north to the nearest point on the mainland as one vika (frá Revkjum er skemst til eyjarinnar ok er þat vika sjóvar … þat var vika sjáfar sem skemst var til lands ór eyjunni, Grett. 144, 148); eyjar þær sem Ólafs-eyjar heita, þær liggja út á firðinum hálfa aðra viku undan Reykjanesi, 125; heyrði yfir til Skarfstaða hálfa viku sjóvar (viz. from Ljárskógar), 129; for the respective distances see the map of Icel.: so in Norway, vatnið var hálfrar viku breitt, Fms. viii. 32; sigla þeir fyrir þat torleiði sex vikur sævar, Fb. i. 186: in the Faroes, þangat var skemst ok var þat þó löng vika sjóvar, Fær. 173 (viz. from the Great Dimon to Suðrey): in Greenland, hann lagðisk eptir geldingi gömlum út í Hvalsey, ok flutti á baki sér, þá er hann vildi fagna Eireki frænda sínum, en ekki var sæfært skip heima, þat er löng hálf vika, Landn. 107: great distances at the open sea are counted by ‘tylpt,’ ‘dozens, sc. of knots,’ leaving out the word ‘vika,’ þá mun siglt vera tylpt fyrir sunnan Ísland, Landn. 25: a writer of the 14th century calculates the voyage round Iceland direct from headland to headland at ‘fourteen dozens,’—fjórtan tylptir umbergis at sigla réttleiðis fyrir hvert nes, Bs. ii. 5.

u, f. [drekka á], prop. a drinking to, pledging, esp. used n the phrase, at sitja fyrir ádrykkju e-s;—a custom of the olden time. The master of the house, for instance, chose one of his guests as his ‘cup-fellow,’ seated him over against himself in the hall, drank to him, and then sent the cup across the hall to him, so that they both drank of it by turns. This was deemed a mark of honour. Thus, Egill at fyrir ádrykkju Arinbjarnar, Egil sale over against Arinbjorn as his cup-mate, Eg. 253; skal hann sitja fyrir á. minni í kveld, in the pretty story of king Harold and the blind skald Stuf, Fms. vi. 391; cp. annat öndvegi var á hinn æðra pall gegnt konungi, skyldi þar itja hinn æðsti ráðgjafi (the king’s highest councillor) konungs fyrir hans á. ok þótti þat mest virðing at sitja fyrir konungs á., 439; sat Gizurr fyrir á. konungs innarr enn lendir menn, Bs. i. 19. See also the description of the banquet in Flugumyri on the 19th Oct. in the year 1253,—drukku þeir af einu silfrkeri ok mintust við jafnan um daginn þá er hvorr drakk til annars, Sturl. iii. 183.

COMPD: ádrykkjuker.

(gey, gó), v.

1) to bark (at e-m);

2) to scoff at (vil ek eigi goð geyja);

geyja á e-n, to abuse.

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pret. gó, Orkn. 114, 150, Nj. 74, Rd. 302, Fas. ii. 33; 3rd pers. pl. gó, Fms. xi. 12; pret. subj. gœi, 10; pres. indic. geyr (spelt gœr), Clem. 44: [Dan. gjö; Swed. gö]:—to bark; er vér heyrðum hvelpana g., Fms. xi. 12, passim (above):—metaph. to scoff at, blaspheme, with acc., vil ek eigi goð geyja, Bs. i. 17: in a ditty of the year 999 A. D., hann gœr Gefjon (acc.), Clem. l. c.; g. gest, Hm. 136; also, g. á e-n, to abuse one (á-gauð); geyr hón á þá, Gísl. 139: geyja at e-m, to bark at one, Nj. 106: reflex. recipr. geyjask, to abuse one another, N. G. L. i. 333. This word is now obsolete in Icel. and replaced by gelta, q. v.

m. a poët. name of the moon, Edda (Gl.):—the name of a ghost in Grett. S., see the famous ghost story in that Saga, ch. 34–37; the word is interesting on account of its identity with Scot. glamour, which shews that the tale of Glam was common to Scotland and Iceland, and thus much older than Grettir (of the year 1014, cp. glam = a ghastly-looking man, Ivar Aasen). glám-sýni, f. (in mod. usage also glám-skygni, f. and glám-skygn, adj.), ‘glam-sight,’ glamour, illusion, Grett. 115 A, Sturl. i. 179, Stj. 401. Judges ix. 36, Ölk. 36 ( blunder), Þorst. Síðu H. 178: Icel. also say, glám-bekkr, m., in the phrase, að fleygja e-u á glámbekk, to throw a thing on the ‘glamour-bench,’ i. e. to fling it carelessly about where it can be taken by any one, or lost. glám-blesóttr, adj. a horse with a moon-shaped blaze on the forehead. Gláma, u, f. the name of a glacier.