instead

(gen. -s or -jar, pl. -ir), m. bench; œðri bekkr, the upper bench (along the north side of the hall, looking towards the sun); úœðri bekkr, the lower (inferior) bench (along the southern side); breiða, strá bekki, to cover, strew the benches (in preparation for a feast or wedding).

(gen. -s or -jar, pl. -ir), m. beck, brook (poet.).

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jar, m. pl. ir, gen. pl. ja, dat. jum, [A. S. benc; Engl. bench, bank; Germ. bank; Dan. bænk; Icel. per assimil. kk; the Span. banco is of Teut. origin]

1. a bench, esp. of the long benches in an old hall used instead of chairs; the north side of a hall (that looking towards the sun) was called æðri bekkr, the upper bench (Gl. 337, Ld. 294); the southern side úæðri bekkr, the lower (inferior) bench, Nj. 32, Eg. 547, Fms. iv. 439, xi. 70, Glúm. 336, Ld. l. c.; thus sitja á enn æðra or úæðra bekk is a standing phrase: the placing of the benches differed in Icel. and Norway, and in each country at various times; as regards the Icel. custom vide Nj. ch. 34, Sturl. i. 20, 21, the banquet at Reykhólar, A. D. 1120, ii. 182, the nuptials at Flugumýri, Lv. ch. 13, Ld. ch. 68, Gunnl. S. ch. 11, Ísl. ii. 250, cp. Nj. 220: á báða bekki, on both sides of the ball, Ísl. ii. 348, cp. Gísl. 41 (in a verse), etc.: as to foreign (Norse) customs, vide esp. Fagrsk. ch. 216, cp. Fms. vi. 390, xi. (Jómsv. S.) 70, Glúm. ch. 6, Orkn. ch. 70, Sturl. ii. 126; see more minutely under the words skáli, öndvegi, pallr, etc.; breiða, strá bekki, is to strew or cover the benches in preparing for a feast or wedding; bekki breiði (imper. pl., MS. breiða), dress the benches! Alvm. 1; bekki at strá, Em. verse 1; standit upp jötnar ok stráit bekki, Þkv. 22; brynjum um bekki stráð, the benches (wainscots?) covered with coats of mail, Gm. 44: in these phrases bekkir seems to be a collective name for the hall, the walls of which were covered with tapestry, the floor with straw, as in the Old Engl. halls. The passage Vtkv. 10—hveim eru bekkir baugum sánir—is dubious (stráðir?); búa bekki, to dress the benches; er Baldrs feðr bekki búna veit ek at sumblum, Km. 25; breitt var á bekki, brúðr sat á stól, Ísl. Þjóðs. ii. 466; vide brúðarbekkr.

COMPDS: bekkjarbót, bekkjargjöf.

2. as a law term, cp. Engl. bench; the benches in the lögrétta in Icel. were, however, usually called pallr, v. the Grág.

3. the coloured stripes in a piece of stuff.

s, and jar, m. [North. E. beck; Germ. bach; Dan. bæk; Swed. bäck], a rivulet, brook. In Icel. the word is only poët. and very rare; the common word even in local names of the 10th century is lækr (Lækjar-bugr, -óss, etc.); Sökkva-bekkr, Edda, is a mythical and pre-Icel. name; in prose bekkr may occur as a Norse idiom, Fms. vi. 164, 335, viii. 8, 217, Jb. 268, or in Norse laws as in Gþl. 418. At present it is hardly understood in Icel. and looked upon as a Danism. The phrase—þar er (breiðr) bekkr á milli, there is a beck between, of two persons separated so as to be out of each other’s reach—may be a single exception; perhaps the metaphor is taken from some popular belief like that recorded in the Lay of the Last Minstrel, note to 3. 13, and in Burns’Tam o’ Shanter—‘a running stream they dare na cross;’ some hint of a like belief in Icel. might be in Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 356. It is now and then used in poetry, as, yfir um Kedrons breiðan bekk, Pass. 1. 15.

COMPDS: bekkjarkvern, bekkjarrás.

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(að), v.

1) to give way, break, crack;

þá er skipit hljóp af stokkunum, þá bilaði í skarar nökkurar, some of the seams gave way;

2) with dat., flestum bilar áræðit, most people lose heart;

with infin., Þórr vill fyrir engan mun bila at koma til einvígis, Th. will by no means fail to meet;

3) impers., hug ok áræði mun mik aldregi bila, I shall never be wanting in courage and pluck.

* * *

að, pres. bil (instead of bilar), Fas. ii. 76 (in a verse), to fail; Þórr vill fyrir engan mun bila at koma til einvígis, Th. will not fail to meet, Edda 57; Þorsteinn kvað pat eigi mundu at bila, Th. said that it should not fail, he should not fail in doing so, Lv. 33: with dat., flestum bilar áræðit, a proverb, Fms. ii. 31 (Ld. 170), Rd. 260.

2. impers., e-n bilar (acc.), Finnb. 338 (in mod. usage impers. throughout), to break, crack, þá er skipit hljóp af stokkunum, þá bilaði í skarir nokkurar, Fms. viii. 196; reiði b., Grág. ii. 295; b. at e-u, id., Gþl. 369; bil sterka arma, my strong arms fail, Fas. ii. l. c.

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(blend; blétt, bléndum; blandinn), v. to blend, mix, e-t e-u, with a thing (blanda mjöð, drykk, eitri); blanda e-t saman, to mix together (blanda saman hvítt ok rautt); more common, blanda e-u við e-t; blanda vatni við vín, to mix wine with water; blanda mötuneyti (dat.,) við e-n, to eat together with one;

refl., blandast við e-n, to have intercourse with one, esp. of sexual intercourse (blandast við konur af heiðnum þjóðum).

(að), v. = prec.

f. mixture of two fluids (fór fyrst ór blóð, síðan blanda), esp. sour whey mixed with water.

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in early Icel. poetry and prose a strong verb; pres. 1st pers. blend, Ls. 3; 3rd pers. blendr, Grág. ii. 389; reflex. blendsk, Symb. 30; pret. 1st pers. blétt, Am. 79, Greg. 50; reflex. blézk, Orkn. 104 (in a verse from about A. D. 1046); pl. bléndu, bléndum, Ls. 9, Greg. 60, Edda 47; reflex. bléndusk, Hkm. 8; subj. reflex. bléndisk, Mart. 129; blandinn (freq.), Sdm., Ýt., etc., vide Lex. Poët., Skálda 164; but in the 13th century and later the weak form (blanda, að) prevailed in all tenses except the part. pass., where the old blandinn = blandaðr may still be used, though the weak is more common; imperat. blanda, Pr. 471, 472, N. G. L. i. 12; pres. blandar, 13; part. blandaðr, Sks. 349, Pr. 470, 472 (MS. about A. D. 1250), [Ulf. blandan, a redupl. verb; A. S. bland; Engl. blend; O. H. G. blantan; lost in N. H. G.; Swed. blanda]:—to blend, mix, the beverage in acc., the mixed ingredient in dat.; b. mjöð (drykk), eitri, meini, Greg. l. c.; drottning ok Bárðr blönduðu þá drykkinn ólyfjani, Eg. 210: adding ‘við,’ lítið (acc. instead of dat.) verðr ok við blandit, Skálda 164; maturt blandin við upsa-gall, Pr. l. c.; þar fellr Jórdan í gegnum, ok blendsk eigi ( does not blend) við vötnin, Symb. l. c.; tak skógar súru ok blanda (imperat.) við fornt vín, Pr. l. c.; b. með, id., Rb. 164; b. saman, to mix together, Pr. l. c.

II. metaph. to mix together, of fellowship or association, but partic. used of carnal intercourse, cp. the Gr. μιγηναι, Lat. misceri; b. mötuneyti (dat.) við e-n, to eat together with one, N. G. L. l. c.; blandask í samfélagi, to associate with, Mart. l. c.; vér megum eigi hjálp né heilsu af Guði fá, nema vér blandimk við hans orð, 625. 181; þeir blönduðusk þá meir við mannfólk enn nú, they had more intercourse with, Fas. i. 391: to have carnal intercourse, vár skal éingi blandask við búfé, N. G. L. i. 18; þat fell í hórdómum, ok blönduðusk við þær konur er af heiðnum þjóðum vóru, Sks. 588.

III. part. blandinn is used as an adj. with the notion mixed, mingled, bad, of temper, character, manner; Helgi var blandinn mjök (had a mixed, mingled creed), hann trúði á Krist, en hét á Þór til harðraeða ok sjófara, Landn. 206; þú ert maðr vaskr ok vel at þér ( thou art bold and brave), en hon er blandin mjök, but she is a woman of mixed report, Nj. 49.

f. pl. (v. æsar), a bad reading instead of blóðnætr, Bs. i. 142.

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(að), to break, be broken; skip brotnar í spán, the ship is broken to pieces.

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að, [brotinn], to be broken, Lat. frangi, Nj. 19, K. Þ. K. 54, Fms. iv. 263; b. í span, to be broken to pieces, Eg. 405. This word is used instead of pass. to brjóta.

(gen., dat., and acc. bróður, pl. brœðr), m.

1) brother;

2) friar.

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gen. dat. acc. bróður; pl. nom. acc. bræðr, gen. bræðra, dat. bræðrum: in mod. common usage irregular forms occur, as gen. sing. bróðurs; nom. sing., and gen. dat. acc. are also sometimes confounded, esp. in keeping the nom. form bróðir through all cases, or even the reverse (but rarely) in taking bróður as a nom.; another irregularity is acc. pl. with the article, bræður-nar instead of bræður-na, which latter form only survives in writing, the former in speaking. There is besides an obsolete poetical monosyllabic form brœðr, in nom. dat. acc. sing. and nom. acc. pl.; gen. sing. bræðrs; cp. such rhymes as brœðr—œðri, in a verse of Einar Skúlason (died about 1170); bræðr (dat.) Sinfjötla, Hkv. 2. 8, as nom. sing., Fagrsk. 54, v. l. (in a verse), etc., cp. Lex. Poët. This form is very rare in prose, vide however Nj., Lat. Vers. Johnsonius, 204, 333, v. 1., and a few times in Stj., e. g. síns bræðr, sinn bræðr, 160; it seems to be a Norse form, but occurs now and then in Icel. poetry even of the 15th century, e. g. bræðr nom. sing. rhymes with ræðr, Skáld H. 3. 11, G. H. M. ii. 482, but is quite strange to the spoken language: [Gr. φράτηρ; Lat. frāter; Goth. brôþar; A. S. brôðar; Engl. brother; Germ. bruder; Swed.-Dan. broder, pl. brödre]:—a brother: proverbs referring to this word—saman er bræðra eign bezt at sjá, Gísl. 17; einginn or annars bróðir í leik; móður-bræðrum verða menn líkastir, Bs. i. 134: a distinction is made between b. samfeðri or sammæðri, a brother having the same father or mother, Grág. i. 170 sqq.: in mod. usage more usual al-bróðir, brother on both sides; hálf-bróðir, a half-brother; b. skilgetinn, frater germanus móður-bróðir, a mother’s brother; föður-bróðir, a father’s brother, uncle; afa-bróðir, a grand-uncle on the father’s side; ömmu bróðir, a grand-uncle on the mother’s side; tengda-bróðir, a brother-in-law: in familiar talk an uncle is called ‘brother,’ and an aunt ‘sister.’ The ties of brotherhood were most sacred with the old Scandinavians; a brotherless man was a sort of orphan, cp. the proverb, berr er hverr á baki nema sér bróður eigi; to revenge a brother’s slaughter was a sacred duty; nú tóku þeir þetta fastmælum, at hvárr þeirra skal hefna annars eðr eptir mæla, svá sem þeir sé sambornir bræðr, Bjarn. 58: the word bróðurbani signifies a deadly foe, with whom there can be no truce, Hm. 88, Sdm. 35, Skm. 16, Hdl. 28; instances from the Sagas, Dropl. S. (in fine), Heiðarv. S. ch. 22 sqq., Grett. S. ch. 50. 92 sqq., E ch. 23, Ld. ch. 53 sqq., etc. The same feeling extended to foster-brotherhood, after the rite of blending blood has been performed; see the graphical descriptions in Fbr. S. (the latter part of the Saga), Gísl. ch. 14 sqq., etc. The universal peace of Fróði in the mythical age is thus described, that ‘no one will draw the sword even if he finds his brother’s slayer bound,’ Gs. verse 6; of the slaughter preceding and foreboding the Ragnarök ( the end of the world) it is said, that brothers will fight and put one another to death, Vsp. 46.

II. metaph.:

1. in a heathen sense; fóst-bróðir, foster-brother, q. v.; eið-bróðir, svara-bróðir, ‘oath-brother;’ leik-bróðir, play-brother, play-fellow: concerning foster-brothership, v. esp. Gísl. ii, Fbr., Fas. iii. 375 sqq., Hervar. S., Nj. 39, Ls. 9, the phrase, blanda blóði saman.

2. in a Christian sense, brother, brethren, N. T., H. E., Bs.

β. a brother, friar; Svörtu-bræðr, Blackfriars; Berfættu-bræðr, q. v.; Kórs-bræðr, Fratres Canonici, Bs., etc.

COMPDS:

I. sing., bróður-arfr, m. a brother’s inheritance, Orkn. 96, Fms. ix. 444. bróður-bani, a, m. a brother’s bane, fratricide, Ld. 236, Fms. iii. 21, vide above. bróðiir-baugr, m. weregild due to the brother, N. G. L. i. 74. bróður-blóð, n. a brother’s blood, Stj. 42. Gen. iv. 10. bróður-bætr, f. pl. weregild for a brother, Lv. 89. bróður-dauði, a, m. a brother’s death, Gísl. 24. bróður-deild, f. = bróðurhluti, Fr. bróður-dóttir, f. a brother’s daughter, niece, Grág. i. 170, Nj. 177; bróðurdóttur son, a brother’s son, N. G. L. i. 76. bróður-dráp, n. the slaying of a brother, Stj. 43, Fms. v. 290. bróður-gildr, adj. equal in right (inheritance) to a brother, Fr. bróður-gjöld, n. pl. = bróður-bætr, Eg. 312. bróður-hefnd, f. revenge for the slaying of a brother, Sturl. ii. 68. bróður-hluti, a, m. the share (as to weregild or inheritance) of a brother, Grág. ii. 175. bróður-kona, u, f. a brother’s wife, K. Á. 142. bróöur-kván, f. id., N. G. L. i. 170. bróður-lóð, n. a brother’s share of inheritance. bróður-son, m. a brother’s son, nephew, Nj. 122, Grág. i. 171, Gþl. 239, 240; bróðursona-baugr, Grág. ii. 179.

II. pl., bræðra-bani, v. bróðurbani, Fbr. 165. bræðra-búr, n. a friar’s bower in a monastery, Dipl. v. 18. bræðra-börn, n. pl. cousins (agnate), Gþl. 245. bræðra-dætr, f. pl. nieces(of brothers), Gþl. 246. bræðra-eign, f. property of brothers, Gísl. 17. bræðra-garðr, m. a ‘brothers-yard,’ monastery, D. N. bræðra-lag, n. fellowship of brethren, in heathen sense = fóstbræðralag, Hkr. iii. 300; of friars, H. E., D. I.; brotherhood, Pass. 9. 6. bræðra-mark, n. astron., the Gemini, Pr. 477. bræðra-skáli, a, m. an apartment for friars, Vm. 109. bræðra-skipti, n. division of inheritance among brothers, Hkr. iii. 52, Fas. i. 512. bræðra-synir, m. pl. cousins (of brothers), Gþl. 53.

m. death;

taka dauða, to meet one’s death, die;

dauði ferr á e-n, one is surprised by death;

draga e-m til dauða, to cause one’s death;

sá vegr, er til dauða dregr, that leads to death;

liggja fyrir dauðanum, to be dying or on the point of death.

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a, m. [Ulf. dauþus = θάνατος; A. S. deað; Engl. death; Germ. tod; Swed. and Dan. död]

1. death; the word is used in the strong form in all Teut. dialects from Gothic to English, but in Icel. it is weak, even in the earliest writers; though traces of a strong form (dauðr, s or ar) are found in the phrase til dauðs ( to death) and in compds, as mann-dauðr: cp. also Hm. 69, where dauðr seems to be a substantive not an adjective: Fagrsk. 139 also writes dauðar-orð instead of dauða orð; an old song, Edda 52, has Dvalins dauðs-drykkr = dauða-drykkr, i. e. the death-drink of the dwarf; the strong form also remains in such words as dauð-dagi, dauð-hræddr, dauð-yfli, dauð-ligr, dauð-vána, which could not possibly be forms of a weak daudi, Nj. 198; at dauða kominn, Fms. i. 32; d. for a hann, Nj. 27; the references are numberless, though heathen proverbs and sayings prefer to use ‘hel’ or ‘feigð,’ which were more antique, whereas dauoi recalls Christian ideas, or sometimes denotes the manner of death.

2. medic. mortification.

COMPDS: dauðablóð, dauðabönd, dauðadagr, dauðadá, dauðadómr, dauðadrep, dauðadrukkinn, dauðadrykkr, dauðadyrr, dauðadæmdr, dauðafylgja, dauðahræddr, dauðakvöl, dauðaleit, dauðalitr, dauðamaðr, dauðamark, dauðamein, dauðaorð, dauðaráð, dauðaróg, Dauðasjór, dauðaskattr, dauðaskellr, dauðaskuld, dauðaslag, dauðaslig, dauðasnara, dauðasteytr, dauðastríð, dauðastund, dauðasvefn, dauðasök, dauðatákn, dauðateygjur, dauðaútlegð, dauðaverk.

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m. judge (dómarans er at sitja).

* * *

a, m. [Dan. dommer; Swed. domare], a judge, this is the common form instead of dómandi, Edda 93, K. Á. 202, Sks. 472 B, Pass. 27. 5, 28. 10; dómara-sæti, n. judgment-seat, Sks. 480 B; Dómara-bók, f. the Book of Judges: used besides in many compds, lands-dómari, chief judge, of Pilate, Matth. xxvii. 27, Pass. 25. i; yfir-dómari, undir-dómari, etc.

f. ship’s pump.

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u, f.

I. a small dale, Sturl. ii. 100 (Ed.)

II. a naut. term, a contrivance to serve the purpose of a ship’s pump, Edda (Gl.); hence dælu-austr, m. emptying a ship by a dæla, Fbr. 131, Grett. 95; dælu-ker, n. a kind of bucket: hann hað þrælinn færa sér í d. þat er hann kaliaði sjó, Landu. 251; hence the metaph. phrase, láta dæluna ganga, to pour out incessantly, chatter without ceasing, Grett. 98. The ancients cannot well have known the pump; but as dælu-austr is distinguished from byttu-austr, where the buckets were handed up, so dæla seems to have been a kind of groove through which the bilge water was made to run out into the sea instead of emptying every bucket by handing it overboard: in Norse döla means a groove-formed trough, eaves, a trench, and the like, D. N. iv. 751, Ivar Aasen s. v. dæla, p. 75.

conj.,

1) or; fyrr eða siðar, sooner or later; annathvárt … eða, either … or; hvárt … eða, whether (if) … or; hvart er … eða, whether … or;

2) in comparison of two unlike things, and (mikinn mun eigum vér at gera þin eða annarra heimamanna);

3) after a comparative, and perhaps (ek em eigi verri riddari en S. konungr, eða nökkuru betri);

4) introducing a question, but (ek beiti Auðgisl, — eða ertu H. vandræðaskáld?);

5) sometimes after a negation, = né, nor (þeir munu hvárki fyrir sjá fé sínu eða fjörvi).

* * *

adv. still, yet, older form instead of ‘enn,’ only in poetry; eðr of sér, one still has to see, i. e. the next thing is …, Haustl. 14; stóð eðr í hausi, stood, i. e. remains, still in his head, 19.

conj.,

1) or; fyrr eða siðar, sooner or later; annathvárt … eða, either … or; hvárt … eða, whether (if) … or; hvart er … eða, whether … or;

2) in comparison of two unlike things, and (mikinn mun eigum vér at gera þin eða annarra heimamanna);

3) after a comparative, and perhaps (ek em eigi verri riddari en S. konungr, eða nökkuru betri);

4) introducing a question, but (ek beiti Auðgisl, — eða ertu H. vandræðaskáld?);

5) sometimes after a negation, = né, nor (þeir munu hvárki fyrir sjá fé sínu eða fjörvi).

* * *

or eða, which is the more freq. form in mod. use, conj., [Goth. auþþa; A. S. oððe; Engl. or; Germ. oder]:—or; joining two nouns, verbs, or adjectives, hold eðr blóð, heitr eða kaldr, illr eða góðr, etc., esp. after the pronouns annaðhvárt, hvárt, either; héraðsektir e. utanferðir, Nj. 189; slíkr vetr eða verri, Ísl. ii. 138; kaupmenn e. formenn, Fms. i. 11; í Blálandi eðr Arabia, Bb. 468; kirkjum eðr klaustrum, H. E. i. 419; í skógum eðr í öðrum fylsnum, Fms. iv. 384; skjóta e. kasta, e. höggva e. leggja, Sks. 430; fyrr e. síðar, sooner or later, Hkr. ii. 368.

β. in comparison of two unlike things, the two things are connected with the disjunctive eða instead of the copulative ok, where the Engl. may use and, e. g. the proverb, sitt er hvað, gæfa eðr görfuleiki, there’s a difference between luck and wit; er úglíkt at hafa með sér góða drengi ok hrausta eðr einhleypinga, Ísl. ii. 325; úlíkr er þessi eða hinn fyrri, he is unlike and the first one, Mar. (Fr.); mun nokkut allíkt, garpskapr Bersa eðr stuldir Þórarins, i. e. can one compare the valour of B. and the thievishness of Thorarin? Korm. 142.

γ. after a comparative, or even, sooner; ek em eigi verri riddari en Salomon konungr, eðr nokkuru betri, I am no worse a knight than king S., nay, rather somewhat better, Þiðr. 161; eigi síðr, … eðr nokkrum mun heldr, not less, but rather a little more. Barl. 97: otherwise, else, = ella, lykt skal landskyld vera fyrir sumarmál, eðr …, N. G. L. ii. 106 (rare): ellipt. = enn, than, meta hvárt þau sé meiri, eðr hennar föng sé, Js. 61.

δ. denoting a query, exclamation, abrupt sentence, or the like, as Engl. or, what, but; ek heiti Auðgisl, eðr ertú Hallfreðr, my name is A., or art thou Hallfred? Fms. ii. 80; ek heiti Önundr, … eða hvert ætli þit at fara, but whither do you think of going? 81; nú vil ek gera at skapi þínu, eðr hvar skulum vit á leita? Nj. 3; sagði, at þeir mundi vera menn stórlátir, eðr hvat þeir mundi fyrir ætlask, Eg. 17; eðr með hverjum fórstu norðan? Finnb. 256; vituð ér enn, eðr hvat? Vsp. 22, 31, 38, 39.

(-s, -ar), m. oath; vinna, sverja eið, to take (swear) an oath; rjúfa eið, to break an oath; ganga til eiða, to proceed to the taking of oaths; eigi verðr einn eiðr alla, a single oath does not clear all men.

* * *

m. [Ulf. aiþs; A. S. að; Engl. oath; North. E. aith; Swed. ed; Dan. eed; Germ. eid]

I. an oath; vinna eið, but also sverja eið, to take an oath, to swear, Glúm. 387, Nj. 36, Grág., Sdm. 23; ganga til eiða, to proceed to the taking an oath, Nj., Grág.; eiðar, orð ok særi, Vsp. 30; fullr e., a full, just oath, Grett. 161; rjúfa eið, to break an oath (eið-rofi); perjury is mein-særi, rarely mein-eiðr (Swed.-Dan. men-ed, Germ. mein-eid); eiðar úsærir, false, equivocal oaths, Sks. 358; hence the proverb, lítið skyldi í eiði úsært, with the notion that few oaths can bear a close scrutiny, Grett. 161; trúnaðar-e., hollustu-e., an oath of fealty, allegiance: cp. the curious passages in Sturl. i. 66 and iii. 2, 3; dýr eiðr, a solemn oath; sáluhjálpar-e., sverja dýran sáluhjálpar-eið, to swear an oath of salvation (i. e. as I wish to be saved). In the Norse law a man was discharged upon the joint oath of himself and a certain number of men (oath-helpers, compurgators, or oath-volunteers); oaths therefore are distinguished by the number of compurgators,—in grave cases of felony (treason etc.), tylptar-e., an oath of twelve; in slighter cases of felony, séttar-e., an oath of six, (in N. G. L. i. 56, ch. 133, ‘vj á hvára hönd’ is clearly a false reading instead of ‘iij,’ three on each side, cp. Jb. Þb. ch. 20); grímu-eiðr, a mask oath, a kind of séttar-e.; lýrittar-e., an oath of three; and lastly, ein-eiði or eins-eiði, an oath of one, admissible only in slight cases, e. g. a debt not above an ounce; whence the old law proverb, eigi verðr einn eiðr alla, a single oath is no evidence for all ( cases), Sighvat, Fms. iv. 375, v. l., Bjarn. 22, Nj. 13: other kinds of oaths, dular-e., an oath of denial; jafnaðar-e., an oath of equity, for a man in paying his fine had to take an oath that, if he were plaintiff himself, he would think the decision a fair one: vide N. G. L. i. 56, 254–256, 394, Jb. and Js. in many passages. In the Icel. law of the Commonwealth, oaths of compurgators are hardly mentioned, the kviðr or verdict of neighbours taking their place; the passage Glúm. ch. 24, 25 is almost unique and of an extraordinary character, cp. Sir Edmund Head’s remarks on these passages in his notes to the Saga, p. 119, cp. also Sturl. iii. 2; but after the union with Norway the Norse procedure was partly introduced into Icel.; yet the Js. ch. 49 tries to guard against the abuse of oaths of compurgators, which led men to swear to a fact they did not know. As to the Icel. Commonwealth, it is chiefly to be noticed that any one who had to perform a public duty (lög-skil) in court or parliament, as judge, pleader, neighbour, witness, etc., had to take an oath that he would perform his duty according to right and law (baug-eiðr ring-oath, bók-eiðr gospel-oath, lög-eiðr lawful-oath), the wording of which oath is preserved in Landn. (Mantissa) 335, cp. Þórð. S. (Ed. 1860) p. 94, Band. (MS.)

COMPDS: eiðabrigði, eiðafullting, eiðakonur, eiðalið, eiðamál, eiðasekt, eiðatak.

II. a pr. name, Landn.

m. an only friend, bosom friend, Nj. 77. In mod. usage einka- (q. v.) is used instead of einga-, which is an obsolete form; and even in old MSS. both forms occur, e. g. Stj. (l. c.), v. l.: Þiðr. 130 spells ‘einka-,’ and it even occurs in old vellums as 623, p. 41; einka-sonr, Luke vii. 12.

n. trouble, toil, labor; höfum erfiði ok ekki erendi, we have the toil, but no result.

* * *

or erviði (ærfaði, N. G. L. i. 391; ærfuð, id. I. 10), n. [Ulf. arbaiþs = κόπος; A. S. earfoð; O. H. G. arapeit; mod. Germ. arbeit, which shews that mod. Dan. arbeide and Swed. arbete are borrowed from the Germ.; lost in Engl. The etymology of this word is uncertain; the Icel. notion is to derive it from er- priv. and viða = vinna, to work, but it is scarcely right; Grimm, s. v. arbeit, suggests it to be akin to Lat. labor; Max Müller refers it to the root AR, to plough, Science of Language, p. 258, 3rd Ed.; but arfiði (Björn, p. 41) instead of erviði is a fictitious form, and the statement that in old Norse or Icel. it means ploughing rests only on a fancy of old Björn (Dict. l. c.), to which he was probably led by the similarity between Lat. arvum to Germ. and mod. Dan. arbeit, arbeide: in fact the Icel., ancient or modern, conveys no such notion; even in the old heathen poems the word is used exactly in the present sense, which again is the same as in Ulf.]:—toil, labour, and metaph. toil, trouble; in the allit. phrase, e. en eigi eyrendi, toil but no errand, i. e. lost labour, Þkv. 10, 11, Hkv. Hjörv. 5; víl ok e., toil and trouble (of travelling), Hbl. 58, Skálda 163; kváðusk hafa haft mikit e. ok öngu á leið komið, Fms. v. 21, Post. 645. 58, Sks. 235, v. l., N. G. L. l. c.

2. metaph. distress, suffering; drýgja e., to ‘dree’ distress, Gm. 35 (heathen poem),—in N. G. L. i. 391 this phrase is used of a priest officiating; hungr, þorsti, e., Hom. 160: in pl., meðr mörgum erfiðum er á hana leggjask, Stj. 51: an old poet (Arnor) calls the heaven the erfiði of the dwarfs, vide dvergr. In the Icel. N. T. erfiði is often used in the very same passages as in Ulf., thus—yðvart e. er eigi ónýtt í Drottni, 1 Cor. xv. 58; í erfiði, í vökum, í föstu, 2 Cor. vi. 5; og hrósum oss eigi tram yfir mælingu í annarlegu erfiði, x. 15; og vort e. yrði til ónýtis, 1 Thess. iii. 5, cp. Ulf. l. c.

β. medic. asthma, difficulty in breathing; brjóst-erfiði, heavy breathing.

COMPDS: erfiðisdauði, erfiðislaun, erfiðisléttir, erfiðismunir, erfiðisnauð, erfiðissamr, erfiðissemi, erviðisverk.

m. the place of the sun at half-past three P. M.; meira var þar jafndægri en á Grænlandi eðr Íslandi, sól hafði þar eyktar-stað ok dagmála-stað um skamdegi, Fb. i. 539,—this passage refers to the discovery of America; but in A. A. l. c. it is wrongly explained as denoting the shortest day nine hours long, instead of seven; it follows that the latitude fixed by the editors of A. A. is too far to the south; frá jafndægri er haust til þess er sól setzk í eykðarstað, þá er vetr til jafndægris, Edda 103.

(gen. -is, pl. aurar), m.

1) ounce of silver, the eighth part of a mark (átta aurar í mörk); hringr, er stendr sex aura, a ring weighing or worth six aurar; verðr þá at hálfri mörk vaðmála e., then the eyrir is equal to half a mark in wadmal; e. brendr = e. brends silfrs, an ounce of pure silver;

2) ounce (svá var haglit stórt, at hvert haglkornit vá eyri);

3) money in general, property; ljósir aurar verða at löngum trega, bright silver brings long, woe; ilir af aurum, a miser; gefin til aura (= til fjár), wedded for money; hann vissi ekki aura sinna tal, he knew not the tale (extent) of his riches; lausir aurar, opp. to ‘fastr eyrir’, movables, chattels (lönd ok lausir aurar); fríðr eyrir (= frítt fé, kvikfé), cattle;

4) money, currency; Flosi spurði í hverjum aurum hann vildi fyrir hafa, asked in what money he wished to be paid.

* * *

m., gen. eyris, dat. and acc. eyri; pl. aurar, gen. aura, dat. aurum; a word prob. of foreign origin, from Lat. aureus, Fr. or, Engl. ore; (A. S. ora is, however, prob. Danish.) The first coins known in Scandinavia were Roman or Byzantine, then Saxon or English; as the old word baugr (q. v.) denoted unwrought, uncoined gold and silver, so eyrir prob. originally meant a certain coin:

I. an ounce of silver or its amount in money, the eighth part of a mark; an eyrir is = sixty pennies (penningar) = three ertog; tuttugu penningar vegnir í örtug, þrír örtugar í eyri. átta aurar í mörk, 732. 16; silfr svá slegit at sextigir penninga görði eyri veginn, Grág. i. 500; penning, þat skal hinn tíundi (prob. a false reading, x instead of lx) hlutr eyris, 357; hálfs eyris met ek hverjan, I value each at a half eyrir, Glúm, (in a verse); leigja skip þrem aurum, to hire a boat for three aurar, Korm.; einn eyrir þess fjár heitir alaðsfestr, Grág. i. 88: the phrase, goldinn liverr eyrir, every ounce paid; galt Guðmundr hvern eyri þá þegar, Sturl. i. 141; gjalda tvá aura fyrir einn, to pay two for one, Grág. i. 396, ii. 234; verðr þá at hálfri mörk vaðmála eyrir, then the eyrir amounts to half a mark in wadmal, i. 500; brent silfr, ok er eyririnn at mörk lögaura, pure silver, the ounce of which amounts to a mark in lögaurar, 392; hring er stendr sex aura, a ring worth or weighing six aurar, Fms. ii. 246; hence baugr tví-eyringr, tvítug-eyringr, a ring weighing two or twenty aurar, Eb., Glúm.

β. as a weight of other things beside silver; hagl hvert vá eyri, every hail-stone weighed an ounce, Fms. i. 175; stæltr lé ok vegi áttjan aura, eggelningr, þeir skulu þrír fyrir tvá aura, a scythe of wrought steel and weighing eighteen aurar, an ell-long edge, three such cost two aurar (in silver), the proportion between the weight in wrought iron and the worth in silver being 1:28, Grág. i. 501.

γ. the amount of an ounce, without any notion of the medium of payment, hence such phrases as, tólf aura silfrs, twelve aurar to be paid in silver, Nj. 54; eyrir brendr, burnt eyrir, i. e. an eyrir sterling, pure silver, D. N.

II. money in general; skal þar sinn eyri hverjum dæma, to every one his due, his share, Grág. i. 125; in proverbs, ljósir aurar verða at löngum trega, bright silver brings long woe, Sl. 34; margr verðr af aurum api, Hm. 74; illr af aurum, a miser, Jd. 36; vára aura, our money, Vkv. 13; leggja aura, to lay up money, Eg. (in a verse); gefin til aura (= til fjár), wedded to money, Ísl. ii. 254 (in a verse); telja e-m aura, to tell out money to one, Skv. 3. 37, cp. 39: the phrase, hann veit ekki aura sinna tal, he knows not the tale of his aurar, of boundless wealth. Mar. 88: the allit. phrase, lönd (land, estate) ok lausir aurar (movables, cp. Dan. lösöre, Swed. lösören), Eg. 2; hafa fyrirgört löndum ok lausum eyri, K. Á. 94.

2. money or specie; the allit. phrase, aurar ok óðal, money and estates, N. G. L. i. 48; ef hann vill taka við aurum slíkum ( such payment) sem váttar vitu at hann reiddi honum, 93; þeim aurum öllum ( all valuables) sem til bús þeirra vóru keyptir, Grág. i. 412; Flosi spurði í hverjum aurum hann vildi fyrir hafa, F. asked in what money he wished to he paid, Nj. 259; lögaurar, such money as is legal tender; þú skalt gjalda mér vaðmál, ok skilrað hann frá aðra aura, other kinds of payment, Grág. i. 392; útborinn eyrir, in the phrase, mér er það enginn utborinn (or útburðar-) eyrir, I do not want to part with it, offer it for sale; eyrir vaðmála, payment in wadmal (stuff), 300, Bs. i. 639: for the double standard, the one woollen (ells), the other metal (rings or coin), and the confusion between them, see Dasent’s Burnt Njal, vol. ii. p. 397 sqq.: at different times and places the ell standard varied much, and we hear of three, six, nine, twelve ell standards (vide alin, p. 13): in such phrases as ‘mörk sex álna aura,’ the word ‘mörk’ denotes the amount, ‘sex álna’ the standard, and ‘aura’ the payment = payment of ‘a mark of six ells,’ cp. a pound sterling, K. Þ. K. 172; hundrað (the amount) þriggja álna (the standard) aura, Sturl. i. 141, 163, Boll. 362, Ísl. ii. 28; mörk sex álna eyris, Fsk. 10, N. G. L. i. 65, 101, 389, 390; þrem mörkum níu álna eyris, 387–389; sex merkr tólf álna eyrir, 81.

β. in various compds, etc.; land-aurar, land tax, Jb. ch. i, Ó. H. 54; öfundar-eyrir, money which brings envy, Fs. 12; sak-metinn e., sak-eyrir, sakar-eyrir, money payable in fines, Fms. vii. 300; ómaga-eyrir, the money of an orphan, K. Þ. K. 158, Grág. ii. 288; liksöngs-eyrir, a ‘lyke-fee,’ burial fee (to the clergyman); vísa-eyrir, a tax: góðr e., good payment, D. N.; verð-aurar, articles used for payment, id.; forn-gildr e., standard, sterling payment, id.; færi-eyrir = lausir aurar, Skv. 3. 50; flytjandi e., id., Fr.; kaupmanna e., trade money; búmanna e., D. N.; Norrænn e., Norse money, Lv. 25; Hjaltenzkr e., Shetland money, D. N. (vide Fritzner s. v.); fríðr e., ‘kind,’ i. e. sheep and cattle, Grág.

COMPDS:

I. pl., aura-dagr, m. pay-day, D. N. aura-lag, n. the standard of money, Fms. vii. 300, 304. aura-lán, n. worldly luck, 656 i. 3. aura-lógan, f. the squandering of money, 655 iii. 1. aura-lykt, n. payment, D. N. aura-skortr, m. scarcity of money, D. N. aura-taka, u, f. receipt of money, N. G. L. i. 93, Gþl. 298.

II. sing., eyris-bót, f. fine of an eyrir, Grág. i. 158. eyris-kaup, n. a bargain to the amount of an eyrir, Gþl. 511. eyris-land, n. land giving the rent of an eyrir, Fms. x. 146. eyris-skaði, a, m. loss to the amount of an eyrir, Jb. 166. eyris-tíund, f. tithe of an eyrir, K. Þ. K. 148. eyris-tollr, m. toll of an eyrir, H. E. ii. 95.

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(fell; féll, féllum; fallinn), v.

1) to fall;

eigi fellr tré við fyrsta högg, a tree falls not with the first stroke;

falla af baki, to fall from horse back;

falla á kné, to fall on one’s knees;

falla áfram (á bak aptr), to fall forwards (backwards);

falla flatr, to fall prostrate;

falla til jarðar, to fall to the ground;

refl., láta fallast (= sik falla), to let oneself fall (þá lét Loki falla í kné Skaða);

2) to drop down dead, be killed, fall (in battle);

3) to die of plague (féllu fátœkir menn um alit land);

4) to flow, run (of water, stream, tide);

særinn fell út frá landi, ebbed;

féll sjór fyrir hellismunnann, the sea rose higher than the cave-mouth;

síðan féll sjór at, the tide rose;

þeir sá þá ós mikinn falla í sjóinn, fall into the sea;

á fél (a river flowed) við skála Ásólfs;

var skipit svá hlaðit, at inn féll um söxin, that the sea rushed in at the prow;

5) of clothes, hair, to fall, hang down;

hárit féll á herðar honum aptr, the hair fell back on his shoulders;

létu kvennváðir um kné falla, they let women’s dress fall about hi s knees;

6) to fall, calm down (of the wind);

féll veðrit (the storm fell) ok gerði logn;

7) to fail, be foiled;

sá eiðr fellr honum til útlegðar, if he fails in taking the oath, he shall be liable to outlawry;

falla á verkum sínum, to have been caught red-handed, to be justly slain;

falla or fallast at máli, sókn, to fail in one’s suit;

falla frá máli, to give it up;

fallinn at frændum, bereft of kinsmen;

dœmi ek fyrir dráp hans fallnar yðrar eignir, I sentence your estates to be forfieited for his slaughter;

refl., ef gerðarmenn láta fallast, if the umpires fail to do their duty;

þá fallust öllum Ásum orðtök ok svá hendr, then voice and hands alike failed the Gods;

féllust þeim allar kvéðjur, their greetings died on their lips;

vill sá eigi falust láta andsvör, he will not fail or falter in replying;

8) to fall out happen;

mér féll svá gæfusamliga (it befell me so quickly), at;

stundum kann svá at falla, at, sometimes it may so happen that;

9) to be had or produced (þat járn fellr í firði þeim; þar fellr hveiti ok vín);

10) with adv., e-m fellr e-t þungt, létt, a thing falls heavily, lightly upon one (þetta mun ðr þungt falla);

féll þá keisaranum þyngra bardaginn, the battle turned against the emperor;

e-m fellr e-t nær, it falls nigh to one, touches one nearly;

henni féll meinit svá nær, at, the illness fell on her so sore, that;

mér fellr eigi firr en honum, it touches me no less than him;

hörmuliga fellr oss nú, at, it falls out sadly for us, that;

11) to please, suit;

kvað sér, þat vel falla til attekta, said that it suited him well for drawing revenue from;

honum féll vel í eyru lofsorð konungs, the king’s praise was pleasant in his ears;

jarli féllst þat vel í eyru, the earl was well pleased to hear it;

mun mér illa falla, ef, it will displease me, if;

féll vel á með þeim, they were on good terms;

refl., honum féllst þat vel í skap, it suited his mind well, he was pleased with it;

féllst hvárt öðru vel í geð, they loved each other;

12) with preps. and advs.,

falla af, to fall, abate (féll af vindr, byrr);

falla á e-n, to befall one;

þær féllu lyktir í, at, the end was, that;

falla í e-t, to fall into;

falla í brot, to fall in a fit;

falla í óvit, to faint, swoon;

falla í villu, to fall into heresy;

falla í vald e-s, to fall into one’s power;

féll veðrit í logn, the storm calmed down;

falla niðr, to fall, drop;

mitt kvæði mun skjótt niðr falla, my poem will soon be forgotten;

féll svá niðr þeirra tal, their conversation dropped, they left off talking;

falla saman, to fill in with, agree;

þó at eigi félli alit saman með þeim, though they, did not agree in everything;

falla til, to occur, happen, fall out;

ef auðna fellr til, if luck will have it so;

litlu síðar féll til fagrt leiði, fair wind came on;

öll þingviti, er til falla, all the fines that may fall in, be due;

nema þörf falli til, unless need be;

sem sakir falla til, as the case falls;

falla undir e-n, to fall to one’s lot (of inheritance, obligation);

arfr fellr undir e-n, devolves upon one;

falla út, to recede, of the tide (þá er út féll sjórinn);

falla við árar, to fall to at the oars.

* * *

pret. féll, 2nd pers. féllt, mod. féllst, pl. féllu; pres. fell, pl. föllum; part. fallinn; reflex. féllsk, fallisk, etc., with the neg. suffix fellr-at, féll-at, féllsk-at, Am. 6, vide Lex. Poët. [Common to all Teut. languages except Goth. (Ulf. renders πίπτειν by drjûsan); A. S. feallan; Engl. fall; Germ. fallen; Dan. falde; Swed. falla.]

A. to fall; as in Engl. so in Icel. falla is the general word, used in the broadest sense; in the N. T. it is therefore used much in the same passages as in the Engl. V., e. g. Matth. v. 14, vii. 25, 27, x. 29, xii. 11, xiii. 4, xxi. 44, Luke xiv. 5, John xii. 24, Rom. xi. 11, xiv. 4, 1 Cor. x. 12, 1 Tim. vi. 9, Rev. viii. 10: blómstrið fellr, James i. 11: again, the verbs hrynja and hrapa denote ruin or sudden fall, detta a light fall, hrasa stumbling; thus in the N. T. hrynja is used, Luke xxiii. 30, Rev. vi. 16; hrapa, Luke x. 18, xi. 17, xiii. 4, Matth. xxiv. 29; hrasa, Luke x. 30; detta, xvi. 21: the proverb, eigi fellr tré við hit fyrsta högg, a tree falls not by the first stroke, Nj. 163, 224; hann féll fall mikit, Bs. i. 343; hón féll geigvænliga, id.; falla af baki, to fall from horseback, 344; f. áfram, to fall forwards, Nj. 165; f. á bak aptr, to fall on the back, 9; f. um háls e-m, to fall on one’s neck, Luke xv. 20; f. til jarðar, to fall to the ground, fall prostrate, Fms. vii. 13, Pass. 5. 4: to fall on one’s face, Stj. 422. Ruth ii. 10; f. fram, to fall down, Matth. iv. 9; f. dauðr ofan, to fall down dead, Fær. 31; ok jafnsnart féll á hann dimma og myrkr, Acts xiii. 11; hlutr fellr, the lot fell (vide hlut-fall), i. 26.

2. to fall dead, fall in battle, Lat. cadere, Nj. 31, Eg. 7, 495, Dropl. 25, 36, Hm. 159, Fms. i. 8, 11, 24, 38, 95, 173, 177, 178, ii. 318, 324, 329, iii. 5, iv. 14, v. 55, 59, 78, 85, vi. 406–421, vii–xi, passim.

3. of cattle, to die of plague or famine, Ann. 1341.

4. medic., falla í brot, to fall in a fit, Bs. i. 335; f. í óvit, to swoon, Nj. 210: the phrase, f. frá, to fall, die (frá-fall, death), Grág. i. 139, 401, Fms. iv. 230, vii. 275; f. í svefn, to fall asleep, Acts xx. 9.

II. to flow, run, of water, stream, tide, etc.: of the tide, særinn féll út frá landi, ebbed, Clem. 47; féll þar sær fyrir hellismunnann, the sea rose higher than the cave’s mouth, Orkn. 428; síðan féll sjór at, the tide rose, Ld. 58; ok þá er út féll sjórinn, Þorf. Karl. 420; sjórinn féll svá skjótt á land, at skipin vóru öll á floti, Fms. iv. 65: also used of snow, rain, dew, Vsp. 19; snjó-fall, a fall of snow: of the ashes of a volcano, cp. ösku-fall, s. v. aska: of a breaker, to dash, menn undruðusk er boði féll í logni, þar sem engi maðr vissi ván til at fyrri hefði fallit, Orkn. 164: of a river, nema þar falli á sú er eigi gengr fé yfir, Grág. ii. 256; vötn þau er ór jöklum höfðu fallit, Eg. 133; á féll ( flowed) við skála Ásólfs, Landn. 50, A. A. 285; þeir sá þá ós (fors, Hb.) mikinn falla í sjóinn, Landn. 29, v. l., cp. Fms. i. 236; Markar-fljót féll í millum höfuð-ísa, Nj. 142; á fellr austan, Vsp. 42; falla forsar, 58; læk er féll meðal landa þeirra, Landn. 145: of sea water, sjár kolblár fellr at þeim, the ship took in water, Ld. 118, Mar. 98; svá at inn féll um söxin, that the tea rushed in at the stern, Sturl. iii. 66.

2. to stream, of hair; hárit silki-bleikt er féll ( streamed) á herðar honum aptr, Fms. vii. 155.

β. of clothes, drapery, Edda (Ht. 2) 121.

III. to fall, of the wind; féll veðrit ok görði logn, the wind fell, Eg. 372; þá féll byrrinn, Eb. 8; ok fellr veðrit er þeir koma út at eyjum, Ld. 116; hón kvaðsk mundu ráða at veðrit félli eigi, Gullþ. 30; í því bili fellr andviðrit, Fbr. 67; þá féll af byrrinn, Fms. vi. 17.

2. falla niðr, to fall, drop; mitt kvæði mun skjótt niðr f., my poem will soon be forgotten, Fms. vi. 198; mun þat (in the poem) aldri niðr f. meðan Norðrlönd eru bygð, 372; féll svá þeirra tal, their speech dropped, they left off talking, Fas. iii. 579; as a law term, to let a thing drop, lát niðr f., Fs. 182; féllu hálfar bætr niðr fyrir sakastaði þá er hann þótti á eiga, Nj. 166, 250, Band. 18; þat eitt fellr niðr, Grág. i. 398, Fms. vii. 137; falla í verði, to fall in price, etc.

IV. to fail, be foiled, a law term; sá (viz. eiðr) fellr honum til útlegðar, i. e. if he fails in taking the oath he shall be liable to outlawry, N. G. L. i. 84 (eið-fall); en ef eiðr fellr, þá fari hann útlægr, K. Á. 214; fellr aldri sekt handa á milli, the fine is never cancelled, N. G. L. i. 345; f. á verkum sínum, to have been caught red-handed, to be justly slain, Eg. 736; vera fallinn at sókn, to fail in one’s suit, N. G. L. i. 166; hence metaph. fallin at frændum, failing, bereft of friends, Hðm. 5; fallinn frá minu máli, having given my case up, Sks. 554, 747; því dæmi ek fyrir dráp hans fallnar eignir ykkar, I sentence your estates to lie forfeited for his slaughter, Fs. 122; f. í konungs garð, to forfeit to the king’s treasury. Fms. iv. 227; reflex., ef honum fellsk þessor brigð, if his right of reclamation fails, Gþl. 300; ef menn fallask at því, if men fail in that, N. G. L. ii. 345; ef gerð fellsk, if the reparation comes to naught, id.; ef gerðar-menn láta fallask, if they fail to do their duty, id., cp. i. 133, 415; to fail, falter, in the phrase, e-m fallask hendr, the hands fail one; bliknaði hann ok féllusk honum hendr, Ó. H. 70; þá féllusk öllum Ásum orðtök ok svá hendr, their voice and hands alike failed them, Edda 37; en bóndum féllusk hendr, því á þeir höfðu þá engan foringja, Fms. vi. 281; féllusk þeim allar kveðjur er fyrir vóru, their greeting faltered, i. e. the greeting died on their lips, Nj. 140; vill sá eigi fallask fáta andsvör, he would not fail or falter in replying, Hkr. i. 260; féllskat saðr sviðri, her judgment did not fail, Am. 6.

V. metaph., falla í villu, to fall into heresy, Ver. 47; f. í hórdóm, to fall into whoredom, Sks. 588; f. í vald e-s. to fall into one’s power, Ld. 166; f. í fullsælu, to drop ( come suddenly) into great wealth, Band. 31; f. í fullting við e-n, to fall a-helping one, to take one’s part, Grág. i. 24; lyktir falla á e-t, to come to a close, issue, Fms. ix. 292. xi. 326; f. á, to fall on, of misfortune, vide á-fall.

2. falla undir e-n, to full to one’s lot, of inheritance, obligation; arfr fellr undir e-n. devolves upon one, Gþl. 215; f. frjáls á jörð to be free born, N. G. L. i. 32; f. ánanðigr á jörð, to be born a bondsman, Grág. ii. 192.

3. falla við árar, to fall to at the oars, Fms. xi. 73, 103; Þorgeirr féll þá svá fast á árar (pulled, so bard), at af gengu báðir háirnir, Grett. 125 A; f. fram við árar, id., Fas. ii. 495 (in a verse).

VI. to fall out, befall; ef auðna fellr til, if it so falls out by luck, Fms. iv. 148; ef auðna vildi til f. með þeim, xi. 267; litlu siðar fellr til fagrt leiði, a fair wind befell them, 426; alla hluti þá er til kunni f., Nj. 224; öll þingvíti er til f., all the fines that may fall in, be due, Gþl. 21; nema þörf falli til, unless a mishap befalls him, i. e. unless he be in a strait, 76; mér féll svá gæfusamliga, it befell me so luckily, Barl. 114; verðuliga er fallit á mik þetta tilfelli, this accident has justly befallen me, 115; sem sakir f. til, as the case falls, Eg. 89.

2. to fall, be produced; þat (the iron) fellr í firði þeim er Ger heitir, Fas. iii. 240; þar fellr hveiti ok vín, 360.

VII. impers. in the phrases, e-m fellr e-t þungt, létt, etc., a thing falls lightly, heavily upon, esp. of feeling; þetta mun yðr þungt f., it will fall heavily on you, Band. 18; felir þá keisaranum þyngra bardaginn, the battle fell out ill to ( turned against) the emperor, Fms. xi. 32; at oss mundi þungt f. þessi mál, Nj. 191.

2. the phrases, e-m fellr e-t nær, it falls nigh to one, touches one nearly; svá fellr mér þetta nær um trega, Nj. 170; sjá einn var svá hlutr, at Njáli féll svá nær, at hana mátti aldri óklökvandi um tala, this one thing touched Njal so nearly, that he could never speak of it without tears, 171; mér fellr eigi firr en honum, it touches me no less than him, Blas. 41; henni féll meinit svá, nær, at …, the illness fell on her so sore, that …, Bs. i. 178; féll henni nær allt saman, she was much vexed by it all (of illness), 351; e-t fellr bágliga, hörmuliga etc. fyrir e-m, things fall out sadly for one. Vígl. 30, El. 15.

B. Metaph. to fall in with, agree, fit, suit, Germ. gefallen:

I. to please, suit; kvað sér þat vel falla til aftekta, said that it suited him well for drawing taxes from, Fb. ii. 122: en allt þat, er hann heyrði frá himnaguði, féll honum harla vel, pleased him very well, Fms. i. 133; honum féll vel í eyru lofsorð konungs, the king’s praise suited his ears well, tickled, pleased his fancy, Bret. 16: reflex., þat lof fellsk honum í eyru, 4; jarli fellsk þat vel í eyru, the earl was well pleased to hear it, Bjarn. 7.

β. falla saman, to fall in with, comply, agree; en þó at eigi félli allt saman með þeim, though they did not agree in all, Bs. i. 723.

γ. féllsk vel á með þeim, they loved one another, Fas. i. 49; féll vel á með þeim Styrkári, i. e. he and S. were on good terms, Fms. iii. 120.

δ. honum féllsk þat vel í skap, it suited his mind well, pleased him, Fas. i. 364; féllsk hvárt öðru vel í geð, they agreed well, liked one another well, Band. 9; fallask á e-t, to like a thing; brátt kvartar að mér fellst ei á, Bb. 3. 23.

2. to beseem, befit; heldr fellr þeim ( it befits them), at sýna öðrum með góðvilja, Str. 2.

3. falla at e-u, to apply to, refer to; þetta eitt orð er at fellr eiðstafnum, Band. MS. 15 (Ed. 18 wrongly eiðrinn instead of eiðnum).

4. the phrase ‘falla við’ in Luke vi. 36 (bótin af því hinu nýja fellr eigi við hið gamla) means to agree with; hence also viðfeldinn, agreeable:—but in the two passages to be cited falla við seems to be intended for falda við, to enfold; hvergi nema þar sem falli við akr eða eng, unless field or meadow be increased or improved, N. G. L. ii. 116; ekki má falla (qs. falda) við hamingju-leysi mitt, ‘tis impossible to add a fold to my bad luck, it cannot be worse than it is, Al. 110.

II. part. fallinn; svá f., such-like, so framed; eitt lítið dýr er svá fallið, at …, a small animal is so framed, that …, Stj. 77; hví man hinn sami maðr svá fallinn, how can the same man be so framed? Fms. xi. 429:—in law phrases, such-like, as follows, svá fallinn vitnisburð, testimony as follows, Vm. 47; svo fallinn órskurð, dóm, etc., a decision, sentence … as follows, a standing phrase; þá leið fallinn, such, such-like (Germ. beschaffen), Stj. 154.

2. fallinn vel, illa, etc., well, ill-disposed; hann var vænn maðr ok vel fallinn, Fms. xi. 422; þau vóru tröll bæði ok at öllu illa fallin, Bárð. 165; fitted, worthy, bezt til konungs fallinn, Fms. i. 58; ok er hann bezt til þess f. af þessum þremr, vi. 386; at hann væri betr til fallinn at deyja fyrir þá sök en faðir hans, that he more deserved to die than his father did, x. 3; Ólafr er betr til yfirmanns f. enn mínir synir, Ld. 84; margir eru betr til fallnir fararinnar, Ísl. ii. 327; Hallgerðr kvað hann sér vel fallinn til verkstjóra, Nj. 57; sá er til þess er f., Sks. 299; ‘worthy,’ 1 Cor. vi. 2.

3. neut. fit; ok hætti þá er honum þótti fallit, when he thought fit, Fms. vi. 364; slík reip sem f. þykir, as seems needful, Sks. 420; væri þat vel fallit, at …, it would do well, to …, Fms. ii. 115; þat mun nú vel fallit, that will be right, that will do well, Nj. 145; kallaði vel til fallit, said it was quite right, Fms. xi. 321.

4. of a thing, with dat. suited to one; eigi þyki mér þér sú ferð vel fallin, i. e. this journey will not do for thee, will not do thee good, Fms. vi. 200; cp. ó-fallit, unfit.

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1) a means off passage, ship; bjarga fari á floti, to save a vessel qflaat; in compds., a trading vessel (Íslands-far, Englands-far);

2) passage; taka (fá, ráða) sér fari or far, to take a passage in a ship; beiðast fars, to ask for a passage; synja e-m fars, to deny one a passage; banna e-m f., to forbid one to sail (cf. farbann);

3) trace, print, track (Sveinki rak lömb sín til fjöru í förin); villast hundarnir farsins, the hounds lose the track; of et sama f., on the same subject;

4) life, conduct, behaviour; í fari konungsins in the king’s character;

5) state, condition (gefa þeir eigi gaum um hennar far) f. veðranna, the course of the winds; at fornu fari, of yore, of old.

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I. motion, travel; rare in this sense, as the fem. för and ferð, q. v., are used instead.

β. of the clouds, in the phrase, far á lopti, drift in the sky.

II. a means of passage, a ship; far er skip, Edda 110, Skálda 163: the allit. phrase, hvert fljótanda far, every floating vessel, Fms. xi. 125, Fær. 260; at bjarga fari á floti, Hm. 155.

2. in compds, a trading vessel; Íslands-far, an Iceland-trader, Fms. vi. 370, vii. 32; Englands-far, an English-trader, ix. 41; Dýrlinnar-far, a Dublin ship, Eb. 254; fjögra-, tveggja-, sex-manna-far, a four-, two-, six-oared boat.

3. passage, in the phrases, taka sér (e-m) fari, fá sér fari, ráða sér fari, usually so in dat., but in mod. usage acc. (taka, ráða sér far), to take a passage in a ship, Gþl. 516, Grág. ii. 400, 406 (acc.), Ld. 50, Landn. 307, Eg. 288, Nj. 111, 112, Ísl. ii. 199, Eb. 194; beiðask fars, id., Grág. i. 90, Fms. vi. 239; banna e-m far, to forbid one a passage, stop one (far-bann), Landn. 307; synja e-m fars, to deny one a passage (far-synjan), Hbl. 54; at þeir hafi allir far, Jb. 393.

III. a trace, track, print, Hom. 120; Sveinki rak lömb sín til fjöru í förin, at eigi mátti sjá tveggja manna för, Njarð. 376; nú villask hundarnir farsins, the hounds lost the track, Fms. v. 147, cp. O. H. L. 83: metaph., of et sama far, on the same subject, of a book, Íb. (pref.): in many compds, a print, mark of anv kind, fóta-för, footprints; skafla-för, the print of a sharp-shod horse; nálar-far, a stitch; fingra-för, a finger-print; tanna-för, a bite; nagla-för, the marks of nails, John xx. 25; knífs-far, a knife’s mark; eggjar-far, the mark of the edge, in a cut; járna-far, the print of the shackles; kjal-far, the keel’s track, wake of a ship; um-far, a turn, round; saum-far, a rim on a ship’s side.

IV. metaph. life, conduct, behaviour; hugar-far, geðs-far, lundar-far, disposition, character; ættar-far, a family mark, peculiarity; dag-far, daily life, conduct of life; í góðra manna fari ok vándra, 677. 3; hvat þess mundi vera í fari konungsins, in the king’s character, Fms. v. 327; ek vissa þá marga hluti í fari Knúts konungs, at hann mætti heilagr vera, xi. 287; nokkut af fyrnsku eptir í fari hans, iii. 131.

2. estate, condition; ok gefa þeir eigi gaum um hennar far, N. G. L. i. 226; sem hann hafði skírt far sitt, made known his state, how he fared, 34; aldar-far, Lat. genius seculi; dægra-far, q. v.: sára-far, the state of the wounds; víga-far, q. v.; heilindis-far, health, Mar. 124; far veðranna, the course of the winds, Eb. 218; þá skrifaða ek þessa (bók) of et sama far, on the same subject, Íb. (pref.)

3. the phrase, at forni fari, of yore, of old, Gþl. 85, 86, Eg. 711; at fornu fari ok nýju, of yore and of late, D. N.; at réttu fari, justly.

β. the phrase, göra sér far um e-t, to take pains about a thing.

B. = fár, q. v., bale, ill-fate (rare); far er reiði, far er skip, Edda 110; at hann mundi fara þat far sem hans formaðr, that he would fare as ill as his predecessor, Bs. i. 758: cp. the dubious phrase, muna yðvart far allt í sundi þótt ek hafa öndu látið, your ill-fate will not all be afloat, i. e. cleared off, though I am dead, Skv. 3. 51; vera í illu fari, to fare ill, be in a strait, Orkn. 480; ok vóru í illu fari hér um, Stj. 394. Judges viii. 1, ‘and they did chide with him sharply,’ A. V.; at hann skyldi í engu fari móti þeim vera, that he should not be plotting ( brooding mischief) against them, Sturl. iii. 121 C.

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(fer; fór, fórum; farinn), v.

1) to move, pass along, go;

gekk hann hvargi sem hann fór, he walked wherever he went;

fara heim (heiman), to go home (from home);

fara á fund e-s to visit one;

fjöld ek fór, I travelled much;

hann sagði, hversu orð fóru með þeim, what words passed between them;

absol., to go begging (ómagar, er þar eigu at fara í því þingi);

2) with ‘ferð, leið’ or the like added in acc., gen., or dat.;

fara leiðar sinnar, to go one’s way, proceed on one’s journey (= fara ferðar sinnar or ferða sinna, fara ferð sina, fara för sina, förum sínum);

fara þessa ferð, to make this journey;

fara fullum dagleiðum, to travel a full days journeys;

fara stefnuför, to go a-summoning;

fara bónorðsför, to go a-wooing;

fara sigrför, to go on the path of victory, to triumph;

fara góða för, to make a lucky journey;

fig., fara ósigr, to be defeated;

fara mikinn skaða, to suffer great damage;

fara hneykju, skömm, to incur disgrace;

fara erendleysu, to fail in one’s errand;

with the road in acc. (fara fjöll ok dala);

3) fara búðum, bygðum, vistum, to move, change one’s abode;

fara eldi ok arni, to move one’s hearth and fire;

4) fara einn saman, to go alone;

fara eigi ein saman, to go with child (= fara með barni);

5) with infin.;

fara sofa, to go to sleep (allir menn vóru sofa farnir);

fara vega, to go to fight;

fara leita, to go seeking (var leita farit);

6) with an a., etc.;

fara villr, to go astray;

fara haltr, to walk lame;

fara vanstiltr, to go out of one’s mind;

fara duldr e-s, to be unaware of;

fara andvígr e-m, to give battle;

fara leyniliga (leynt), to be kept secret;

eigi má þetta svá fara, this cannot go on in that way;

fjarri ferr þat, far from it, by no means;

fór þat fjarri, at ek vilda, I was far from desiring it;

7) to turn out, end;

fór þat sem líkligt var, it turned out as was likely (viz. ended ill);

svá fór, at, the end was, that;

ef svá ferr sem ek get til, if it turns out as I guess;

á sómu leið fór um aðra sendimenn, it went the same way with the other messengers;

8) to fare well, ill;

biðja e-n vel fara, to bid one farewell;

9) to suit, fit, esp. of clothes, hair (ekki þykkir mér kyrtill þinn fara betr en stakkr minn; hárit fór vel);

impers., fór illa á hestinum, it sat ill on the horse;

10) impers., e-m ferr vel, illa, one behaves or acts well, ill;

honum hafa öll málin verst farit, he has behaved worst in the whole matter;

e-m ferr vinveittliga, one behaves in a friendly way;

11) fara e-t höndum, to touch with the hands, esp. of a healing touch, = fara höndum um e-t (bið hann fara höndum meinit);

fara land herskildi, brandi, to visit a land with ‘warshield’, with fire, to ravage or devastate it (gekk síðan á land upp með liði sínu ok fór alit herskildi);

12) to overtake (Án hrísmagi var þeirra skjótastr ok gat farit sveininn);

tunglit ferr sólina, the moon overtakes the sun;

áðr hana Fenrir fari, before F. overtakes her;

13) to ill-treat, treat cruelly;

menn sá ek þá, er mjök höfðu hungri farit hörund, that had chastened their flesh with much fasting;

14) to put an end to, destroy;

fara sér (sjálfr), to kill oneself;

fara lífi (fjörvi) e-s, to deprive one of life;

þú hefir sigr vegit ok Fáfni (dat.) um farit, killed F.;

15) to forfeit (fara löndum ok lausafé);

16) refl., farast;

17) with preps. and advs.:

fara af klæðum, to take off one’s clothes;

fara at e-m, to make an attack upon, to assault (eigi mundi í annat sinn vænna at fara at jarlinum);

fara at e-u, to mind, pay heed to;

ekki fer ek at, þótt þú hafir svelt þik til fjár (it does not matter to me, I do not care, though);

to deal with a thing, proceed in a certain way;

svá skal at sókn fara, thus is the pleading to be proceeded with;

fara at lögum, úlögum, to proceed lawfully, unlawfully;

fara mjúkliga at, to proceed gently;

hér skulu við fara at með ráðum, act with, deliberation;

impers. with dat., to do, behave;

illa hefir mér at farit, I have done my business badly; to go in pusuit (search) of (víkingar nökkurir þeir sem fóru at féföngum);

fara at fuglaveiðum, to go a-fowling;

fara at fé, to tend sheep;

fara á e-n, to come upon one;

sigu saman augu, þá er dauðinn fór á, when death seized him;

fara á hæl or hæli, to step back, retreat;

fara eptir e-m, to follow one;

fara eptir e-u, to go for, go to fetch (Snorri goði fór eptir líkinu; fara eptir vatni); to accommodate oneself to, conform to (engi vildi eptir öðrum fara);

þau orð er eptir fara, the following words;

fara fram, to go on, take place;

ef eigi ferr gjald fram, if no payment takes place;

veizlan ferr vel fram, the feast went on well;

spyrr, hvat þar fœri fram, he asked, what was going on there;

fara fram ráðum e-s, to follow one’s advice;

allt mun þat sínu fram fara, it will take its own course;

kváðu þat engu gegna ok fóru sínu fram, took their own way;

segir honum, hversu þeir fóru fram, how they acted;

fara e-t fram, to do., perform a thing;

spyrr hann, hvat nú sé fram faranda, what is to be done;

fara fyrir e-t, to pass for, be taken for (fari sá fyrir níðing, er);

fara hjá sér, to be beside oneself;

fara í e-t, to go into (fara í tunnu);

fara í sæng, rekkju, to go to bed;

fara í sess sinn, sæti sitt, to take one’s seat;

fara í klæði, to put on clothes, dress;

fara í vápn, brynju, to put on armour;

fara í lag, to go right or straight again (þá fóru brýnn hans í lag);

fara í vöxt, to increase;

fara í þurð, to wane;

fara í hernað, víking, to go a-freebooting;

nú ferr í úvænt efni, now matters look hopeless;

to happen, occur (alit þat, er í hafði farit um nóttina);

fara með e-t, to wield handle, manage;

fór Hroptr með Gungni, H. wielded (the spear) Gungnir;

fara með goðorð, to hold a goðorð;

fara með sök, to manage a lawsuit;

to practice, deal in;

fara með rán, to deal in robbery;

fara með spott ok háð, to go scoffing and mocking;

fara með galdra ok fjölkyngi, to practice sorcery;

to deal with, treat, handle (þú munt bezt ok hógligast með hann fara);

fara af hljóði með e-t, to keep matters secret;

fara með e-m, to go with one, follow one (ek skal með yðr fara með allan minn styrk);

fara með e-u, to do (so and so) with a thing, to deal with, manage;

hvernig þeir skyldu fara með vápnum sínum, what they were to do with their weapons;

sá maðr, er með arfinum ferr, who manages the inheritance;

fara með málum sínum, to manage one’s case;

fara vel með sínum háttum, to bear oneself well;

undarliga fara munkar þessir með sér, these monks behave strangely;

fara með barni, to go with child;

impers., ferr með þeim heldr fáliga, they are on indifferent terms;

fara ór landi, to leave the country;

fara ór klæðum, fötum, to take off one’s clothes, undress;

fara saman, to go together; to shake, shudder;

fór en forna fold öll saman, shivered all through;

to concur, agree (hversu má þat saman f);

fara til svefns, to go to sleep (= fara at sofa);

fara um e-t, to travel over (fara um fjall);

fara höndum um e-n, to stroke or touch one with the hands (hann fór höndum um þá, er sjúkir vóru);

fara mörgum orðum um e-t, to dilate upon a subject;

fara myrkt um e-t, to keep a matter dark;

fara undan, to excuse oneself (from doing a thing), to decline, refuse (hvat berr til, at þú ferr undan at gera mér veizluna);

borð fara upp, the tables are removed;

fara út, to go from Norway to Iceland; to come to a close, run out (fóru svá út þessir fimm vetr);

fara útan, to go abroad (from Iceland);

fara við e-n, to treat one, deal with one in a certain way;

margs á, ek minnast, hve við mik fóruð, I have many things to remember of your dealings with me;

fara yfir e-t, to go through;

nú er yfir farit um landnám, now an account of the settlements has been given;

skjótt yfir at fara, to be brief.

* * *

pret. fóra, 2nd pers. fórt, mod. fórst, pl. fóru; pres. ferr, 2nd pers. ferr, in mod. pronunciation ferð; pret. subj. færa; imperat. far and farðu (= far þú); sup. farit; part. farinn; with the suffixed neg. fór-a, Am. 45; farið-a ( depart not), Hkr. i. 115 MS. (in a verse). [In the Icel. scarcely any other verb is in so freq. use as fara, as it denotes any motion; not so in other Teut. idioms; in Ulf. faran is only used once, viz. Luke x. 7; Goth. farjan means to sail, and this seems to be the original sense of fara (vide far); A. S. faran; the Germ. fahren and Engl. fare are used in a limited sense; in the Engl. Bible this word never occurs (Cruden); Swed. fara; Dan. fare.]

A. NEUT. to go, fare, travel, in the widest sense; gékk hann hvargi sem hann fór, he walked wherever he went, Hkr. i. 100; né ek flý þó ek ferr, I fly not though I fare, Edda (in a verse); létt er lauss at fara (a proverb), Sl. 37: the saying, verðr hverr með sjálfum sér lengst at fara, Gísl. 25; cp. ‘dass von sich selbst der Mensch nicht scheiden kann’ (Göthe’s Tasso), or the Lat. ‘patriae quis exul se quoque fugit?’ usually in the sense to go, to depart, heill þú farir, heill þú aptr komir, Vþm. 4; but also to come, far þú hingat til mín, come here, Nj. 2.

2. to travel, go forth or through, pass, or the like; þú skalt fara í Kirkjubæ, Nj. 74; fara ór landi, to fare forth from one’s country, Fms. v. 24; kjóll ferr austan, Vsp. 51; Surtr ferr sunnan, 52; snjór var mikill, ok íllt at fara, and ill to pass, Fms. ix. 491; fóru þeir út eptir ánni, Eg. 81; siðan fór Egill fram með skóginum, 531; þeim sem hann vildi at færi … Njáll hét at fara, Nj. 49; fara munu vér, Eg. 579; Egill fór til þess er hann kom til Álfs. 577, Fms. xi. 122; fara þeir nú af melinum á sléttuna. Eg. 747; fara heiman, to fare forth from one’s home, K. Þ. K. 6; alls mik fara tíðir, Vþm. 1; fjölð ek fór, far I fared, i. e. travelled far, 3: the phrase, fara utan, to fare outwards, go abroad (from Iceland), passim; fara vestr um haf, to fare westward over the sea, i. e. to the British Isles, Hkr. i. 101; fara á fund e-s, to visit one, Ld. 62; fara at heimboði, to go to a feast, id.; fara fæti, to fare a-foot, go walking, Hkr.; absol. fara, to travel, beg, hence föru-maðr, a vagrant, beggar; in olden times the poor went their rounds from house to house within a certain district, cp. Grág. i. 85; ómagar er þar eigu at fara í því þingi eðr um þau þing, id.; ómagar skolu fara, 119; omegð þá er þar ferr, 296: in mod. usage, fara um and um-ferð, begging, going round.

β. with prep.: fara at e-m, to make an inroad upon one, Nj. 93, 94, 102 (cp. at-för); fara á e-n, to mount, e. g. fara á bak, to mount on horseback; metaph., dauðinn fór á, death seized him, Fms. xi. 150; f. saman, to go together, Edda 121, Grág. ii. 256; f. saman also means to shudder. Germ. zusammenfahren, Hým. 24: metaph. to concur, agree, hversu má þat saman f., Nj. 192; þeim þótti þat mjök saman f., Fms. iv. 382; fara á hæl, or á hæli, to go a-heel, i. e. step back. retreat, xi. 278, Eg. 296; fara undan, metaph. to excuse oneself, refuse (v. undan), Nj. 23, Fms. x. 227; fara fyrir, to proceed; fara eptir, to follow.

3. with ferð, leið or the like added, in acc. or gen. to go one’s way; fara leiðar sinnar, to proceed on one’s journey, Eg. 81, 477, Fms. i. 10, Grág. ii. 119; fara ferðar sinnar, or ferða sinna, id.. Eg. 180, Fms. iv. 125; fara derð sina, id.. Eg. 568; fara förum sínum, or för sinní, id., K. Þ. K. 80, 90; fara dagfari ok náttfari, to travel day and night, Fms. i. 203; fara fullum dagleiðum, to go full days-journeys, Grág. i. 91; or in a more special sense, fara þessa ferð, to make this journey, Fas. ii. 117; f. stefnu-för, to go a-summoning; f. bónorðs-för, to go a-courting, Nj. 148; f. sigr-för, to go on the way of victory, to triumph, Eg. 21; fara sendi-för, to go on a message, 540.

β. in a metaph. sense; fara hneykju-för, to be shamefully beaten, Hrafn. 19 (MS.); fara ósigr, to be defeated, Eg. 287; fara mikinn skaða, to ‘fare’ (i. e. suffer) great damage, Karl. 43; fara því verrum förum, fara skömm, hneykju, erendleysu, úsæmð, to get the worst of it, Fms. viii. 125.

4. with the road in acc.; hann fór Vánar-skarð, Landn. 226; f. sjó-veg, land-veg, K. Þ. K. 24; fór mörg lönd ok stórar merkr, Fas. ii. 540; fara sömu leið, Fms. i. 70; f. sama veg, Luke x. 31; f. fjöll ok dala, Barl. 104; fara út-leið, þjóð-leið, Fms. iv. 260; also, fara um veg, fara um fjall, to cross a fell, Hm. 3; fara liði, to march, Fms. i. 110.

II. in a more indefinite sense, to go; fara búðum, bygðum, vistum, to move, change one’s abode, Ld. 56, Hkr. ii. 177, Nj. 151, Vigl. 30; fara búferla, to more one’s household, Grág. ii. 409; fara vöflunarförum, to go a-begging, i. 163, 294, ii. 482.

2. the phrases, fara eldi ok arni, a law term, to move one’s hearth and fire. Grág. ii. 253; fara eldi um land, a heathen rite for taking possession of land, defined in Landn. 276. cp. Eb. 8, Landn. 189, 284.

3. fara einn-saman, to be alone. Grág. ii. 9; the phrase, f. eigi einn-saman, to be not alone, i. e. with child, Fms. iii. 109; or, fór hón með svein þann, Bs. i. 437; cp. ganga með barni.

4. adding an adj., to denote gait, pace, or the like; fara snúðigt, to stride haughtily, Nj. 100; fara mikinn, to rush on, 143; fara flatt, to fall flat, tumble, Bárð. 177; fara hægt, to walk slowly.

β. fara til svefns, to go to sleep, Nj. 35; f. í sæti sitt, to go to one’s seat, 129; f. í sess, Vþm. 9; f. á bekk, 19; fara á sæng, to go to bed, N. G. L. i. 30; fara í rúmið, id. (mod.); fara í mannjöfnuð, Ísl. ii. 214; fara í lag, to be put straight, Eg. 306; fara í vöxt, to wax, increase, Fms. ix. 430, Al. 141; fara í þurð, to wane, Ld. 122, l. 1 (MS.); fara í úefni, to go to the wrong side, Sturl. iii. 210; fara at skakka, to be odd ( not even). Sturl. ii. 258; fara at sölum, to be put out for sale, Grág. ii. 204.

5. fara at fuglum, to go a-fowling, Orkn. (in a verse); fara at fugla-veiðum, id., Bb. 3. 36; fara í hernað, í víking, to go a-freebooting, Fms. i. 33, Landn. 31; fara at fé, to watch sheep, Ld. 240; fara at fé-föngum, to go a-fetching booty, Fms. vii. 78.

β. with infin., denoting one’s ‘doing’ or ‘being;’ fara sofa, to go to sleep, Eg. 377; fara vega, to go to fight, Vsp. 54, Gm. 23; fara at róa, Vígl. 22; fara leita, to go seeking, Fms. x. 240; fara að búa, to set up a household, Bb. 2. 6; fara að hátta, to go to bed.

γ. akin to this is the mod. use of fara with an infin. following in the sense to begin, as in the East Angl. counties of Engl. it ‘fares’ to …, i. e. it begins, is likely to be or to do so and so; það fer að birta, það er farit að dimma, it ‘fares’ to grow dark; það fer að hvessa, it ‘fares’ to blow; fer að rigna, it ‘fares’ to rain. etc.:—no instance of this usage is recorded in old Icel., but the Engl. usage shews that it must be old.

δ. with an adj. etc.; fara villr, to go astray, Sks. 565; fara haltr, to go lame, Fms. x. 420; fara vanstiltr, to go out of one’s mind, 264; fara hjá sér, to be beside oneself, Eb. 270; fara apr, to feel chilly, Fms. vi. 237 (in a verse); fara duldr e-s, to be unaware of, Skálda 187 (in a verse); fara andvígr e-m, to give battle, Stor. 8; fara leyniliga, to go secretly, be kept hidden, Nj. 49.

6. to pass; fór sú skipan til Íslands, Fms. x. 23; fara þessi mál til þings, Nj. 100; hversu orð fóru með þeim, how words passed between them, 90; fóru þau orð um, the runner went abroad, Fms. i. 12; ferr orð er um munn líðr (a saying), iv. 279; þá fór ferligt úorðan, a bad report went abroad, Hom. 115.

7. fara fram, to go on, take place; ferr þetta fram, Ld. 258; ef eigi ferr gjald fram, if no payment takes place, K. Þ. K. 64; ferr svá fram, and so things went on without a break, Nj. 11, Eg. 711; veizlan ferr vel fram, the feast went on well, Nj. 11, 51; spyrr hvat þar færi fram, he asked what there was going on. Band. 17; fór allt á sömu leið sem fyrr, it went on all the same as before, Fms. iv. 112; fara fram ráðum e-s, to follow one’s advice, Nj. 5, 66, Fms. vii. 318; allt mun þat sínu fram f., it will take its own course, Nj. 259; nú er því ferr fram um hríð, it went on so for a while, Fms. xi. 108; a law term, to be produced, gögn fara fram til varnar, Grág. i. 65; dómar fara út, the court is set (vide dómr), Grág., Nj., passim.

8. borð fara upp brott, the tables are removed (vide borð), Eg. 247, 551; eigi má þetta svá f., this cannot go on in that way, Nj. 87; fjarri ferr þat, far from it, by no means, 134; fór þat fjarri at ek vilda, Ld. 12; fór þat ok svá til, and so if came to pass, Fms. x. 212.

9. to turn out, end; hversu ætlar þú fara hesta-atið, Nj. 90; fór þat sem likligt var, it turned out as was likely (i. e. ended ill). Eg. 46; svá fór, at …, the end was, that …, Grett. 81 new Ed.; ef svá ferr sem ek get til, if it turns out as I guess, Dropl. 30, Vígl. 21; ef svá ferr sem mín orð horfa til, Fms. v. 24; ef svá ferr sem mik varir, if it comes to pass as it seems to me, vi. 350; svá fór um sjóferð þá, Bjarni 202; á sömu leið fór um aðra sendi-menn, Eg. 537; to depart, die, þar fór nýtr maðr, Fs. 39; fara danða-yrði, to pass the death-weird, to die, Ýt. 8.

10. to fare well, ill, in addressing; fari þér vel, fare ye well, Nj. 7; biðja e-n vel fara, to bid one farewell, Eg. 22, Ld. 62; far heill ok sæll, Fms. vii. 197: in a bad sense, far þú nú þar, ill betide thee! Hbl. 60; far (impers.) manna armastr, Eg. 553; Jökull bað hann fara bræla armastan, Finnb. 306; fari þér í svá gramendr allir, Dropl. 23.

11. fara í fat, í brynju (acc.), etc., to dress, undress; but fara ór fötum (dat.), to undress, Fms. x. 16, xi. 132, vii. 202, Nj. 143, Gh. 16, etc.

III. metaph.,

1. to suit, fit, esp. of clothes, hair, or the like; ekki þykkir mér kyrtill þinn fara betr en stakkr minn, Fas. ii. 343; hárið fór vel, Nj. 30; jarpr á hár ok fór vel hárit, Fms. ii. 7; gult hár sem silki ok fór fagrliga, vi. 438, Fs. 88; klæði sem bezt farandi, Eb. 256; var sú konan bezt f., the most graceful, lady-like, Ísl. ii. 438; fór ílla á hestinum, it sat ill on the horse, Bs. i. 712.

2. impers. it goes so and so with one, i. e. one behaves so and so: e-m ferr vel, ílla, etc., one behaves well, ill, etc.; honum hafa öll málin verst farit, he has behaved worst in the whole matter, Nj. 210; bezta ferr þér, Fms. vii. 33; vel mun þér fara, Nj. 55; at honum fari vel, 64; þer hefir vel farit til mín, Finnb. 238; e-m ferr vinveittliga, one behaves in a friendly way, Nj. 217; ferr þér þá bezt jafnan ok höfðinglegast er mest liggr við, 228; mun honum nokkurn veg vel f., Hrafn. 10; údrengiliga hefir þér farit til vár, Ld. 48; ferr þér illa, Nj. 57; hversu Gunnari fór, how ( well) G. behaved, 119.

3. fara at e-u, to deal with a thing (i. e. proceed) so and so; svá skal at sókn fara, thus is the pleading to be proceeded with, Grág. i. 323; svá skal at því f. at beiða …, 7; fara at lögum, or úlögum at e-u, to proceed lawfully or unlawfully, 126; hversu at skyldi f., how they were to proceed, Nj. 114; fara mjúklega at, to proceed gently, Fms. vii. 18; hér skulu vér f. at með ráðum, to act with deliberation, Eg. 582; Flosi fór at öngu óðara ( took matters calmly), en hann væri heima, Nj. 220.

β. impers. with dat., to do, behave; ílla hefir mér at farit, I have done my business badly, Hrafn. 8; veit Guð hversu hverjum manni mun at f., Fms. x. 212: in mod. phrases, to become, ironically, þér ferr það, or þér ferst það, it becomes thee, i. e. ‘tis too bad of thee.

γ. hví ferr konungrinn nú svá (viz. at), Fms. i. 35; er slíkt úsæmiliga farit, so shamefully done, Nj. 82; hér ferr vænt at, here things go merrily, 232; karlmannliga er farit, manfully done, 144.

δ. to mind, care about; ekki ferr ek at, þótt þú hafir svelt þik til fjár, it does not matter to me, I do not care, though …, Nj. 18; ekki munu vit at því fara ( never mind that), segir Helgi, 133.

ε. fara eptir, to be in proportion; hér eptir fór vöxtr ok afl, his strength and stature were in proportion, Clar.

4. fara með e-t, to wield, handle, manage; fór Hroptr með Gungni, H. wielded Gungni ( the spear), Kormak; f. með Gríðar-völ, to wield the staff G., Þd. 9: as a law term, to wield, possess; fara með goðorð, to keep a goðorð, esp. during the session of parliament, Dropl. 8, Grág. and Nj. passim; fara með sök, to manage a lawsuit, Grág., Nj.; or, fara við sök, id., Nj. 86.

β. metaph. to practise, deal in; fara með rán, to deal in robbing, Nj. 73; fara með spott ok háð, to go sporting and mocking, 66; f. með fals ok dár, Pass. 16. 5; fara með galdra ok fjölkyngi, K. Þ. K. 76; f. með hindr-vitni, Grett. 111; cp. the phrase, farðu ekki með það, don’t talk such nonsense.

γ. to deal with, treat, handle; þú munt bezt ok hógligast með hann fara, thou wilt deal with him most kindly and most gently, Nj. 219; fara af hljóði með e-t, to keep matters secret, id.; Ingimundr fór vel með sögum (better than sögur, acc.), Ing. dealt well with stories, was a good historian. Sturl. i. 9.

δ. with dat.; fara með e-u, to do so and so with a thing, manage it; hversu þeir skyldi fara með vápnum sínum, how they were to do with their weapons, Fms. ix. 509; sá maðr er með arfinum ferr, who manages the arfr, Grág. i. 217; ef þeir fara annan veg með því fé, 216; fara með málum sínum, to manage one’s case, 46; meðan hann ferr svá með sem mælt er, 93; Gunnarr fór með öllu ( acted in all) sem honum var ráð til kennt, Nj. 100; ef svá er með farit, Ld. 152; f. vel með sínum háttum, to bear oneself well, behave well, Eg. 65; Hrafn fór með sér vel, H. bore himself well, Fms. vi. 109; undarliga fara munkar þessir með sér, they behave strangely, 188; við förum kynlega með okkrum málum, Nj. 130; vant þyki mér með slíku at fara, difficult matters to have to do with, 75; f. málum á hendr e-m, to bring an action against one, Ld. 138; fara sókn ( to proceed) sem at þingadómi, Grág. i. 463; fara svá öllu máli um sem …, 40, ii. 348; fara með hlátri ok gapi, to go laughing and scoffing, Nj. 220; cp. β above.

IV. fara um, yfir e-t, to pass over slightly; nú er yfir farit um landnám, shortly told, touched upon, Landn. 320; skjótt yfir at f., to be brief, 656 A. 12; fara myrkt um e-t, to mystify a thing, Ld. 322; fara mörgum orðum um e-t, to dilate upon a subject, Fbr. 124, Nj. 248, Fms. ix. 264.

β. in the phrase, fara höndum um e-t, to go with the hands about a thing, to touch it, Germ. befühlen, esp. medic. of a healing touch; jafnan fengu menn heilsubót af handlögum hans, af því er hann fór höndum um þá er sjúkir vóru, Játv. 24; ok pá fór hann höndum um hann, Bs. i. 644; þá lét Arnoddr fara aðra höndina um hann, ok fann at hann var berfættr ok í línklæðum. Dropl. 30; cp. fóru hendr hvítar hennar um þessar görvar, Fas. i. 248 (in a verse): note the curious mod. phrase, það fer að fara um mig, I began to feel uneasy, as from a cold touch or the like.

γ. impers. with dat.; eigi ferr þér nær Gunnari, en Merði mundi við þik, thou camest not nearer to G. than Mord would to thee, i. e. thou art just as far from being a match for G. as Mord is to thee, Nj. 37; þá ferr honum sem öðrum, it came to pass with him as with others, 172; þá mun mér first um fara, I shall fall much short of that, Fms. vi. 362; því betr er þeim ferr öllum verr at, the worse they fare the better I am pleased, Nj. 217.

V. reflex., esp. of a journey, to fare well; fórsk þeim vel, they fared well, Eg. 392, Fms. xi. 22; honum fersk vel vegrinn, he proceeded well on his journey, ii. 81; hafði allt farizt vel at, all had fared well, they had had a prosperous journey, Íb. 10; fórsk þeim þá seint um daginn, they proceeded slowly, Eg. 544; mönnum fórsk eigi vel um fenit, Fms. vii. 149; hversu þeim hafði farizk, Nj. 90; at þeim færisk vel, Ísl. ii. 343, 208, v. l.: the phrase, hamri fórsk í hægri hönd, he grasped the hammer in his right hand, Bragi; farask lönd undir, to subdue lands, Hkr. i. 134, v. l. (in a verse).

2. recipr., farask hjá, to go beside one another, miss one another, pass without meeting, Nj. 9; farask á mis, id., farask í móti, to march against one another, of two hosts; þat bar svá til at hvárigir vissu til annarra ok fórusk þó í móti, Fms. viii. 63, x. 46, Fas. ii. 515.

VI. part.,

1. act., koma farandi, to come of a sudden or by chance; þá kómu hjarðsveinar þar at farandi, some shepherds just came, Eg. 380; Moses kom farandi til fólksins, Sks. 574; koma inn farandi, 369, Fbr. 25.

2. pass. farinn, in the phrase, á förnum vegi, on ‘wayfaring,’ i. e. in travelling, passing by; finna e-n á förnum vegi, Nj. 258, K. Þ. K. 6; kveðja fjárins á förnum vegi, Grág. i. 403; also, fara um farinn veg, to pass on one’s journey; of the sun. sól var skamt farin, the sun was little advanced, i. e. early in the morning, Fms. xi. 267, viii. 146; þá var dagr alljós ok sól farin, broad day and sun high in the sky, Eg. 219; also impers., sól (dat.) var skamt farit, Úlf. 4. 10: the phrase, aldri farinn, stricken in years, Sturl. i. 212; vel farinn í andliti, well-favoured, Ld. 274; vel at orði farinn, well spoken, eloquent, Fms. xi. 193; mod., vel orði, máli farinn, and so Ld. 122; gone, þar eru baugar farnir, Grág. ii. 172; þó fætrnir sé farnir, Fas. iii. 308.

β. impers. in the phrase, e-m er þannig farit, one is so and so; veðri var þannig farit, at …, the winter was such, that …, Fms. xi. 34; veðri var svá farit at myrkt var um at litask, i. e. the weather was gloomy, Grett. 111; hversu landinu er farit, what is the condition of the country, Sks. 181; henni er þannig farit, at hón er mikil ey, löng …, ( the island) is so shapen, that it is large and long, Hkr. ii. 188; er eigi einn veg farit úgæfu okkari, our ill-luck is not of one piece, Nj. 183: metaph. of state, disposition, character, er hánum vel farit, he is a well-favoured man, 15; undarliga er yðr farit, ye are strange men, 154; honum var svá farit, at hann var vesal-menni, Boll. 352: adding the prepp. at, til, þeim var úlíkt farit at í mörgu, they were at variance in many respects, Hkr. iii. 97; nú er annan veg til farit, now matters are altered, Nj. 226; nú er svá til farit, at ek vil …, now the case is, that I wish …, Eg. 714; hér er þannig til farit, … at leiðin, 582; þar var þannig til farit, Fms. xi. 34. ☞ Hence comes the mod. form varið (v instead of f), which also occurs in MSS. of the 15th century—veðri var svá varit, Sd. 181; ér honum vel varið, Lv. 80, Ld. 266, v. l.; svá er til varið, Sks. 223, 224,—all of them paper MSS. The phrase, e-m er nær farit, one is pressed; svá var honum nær farit af öllu samt, vökum ok föstu, he was nearly overcome from want of sleep and fasting.

B. TRANS.

I. with acc.:

1. to visit; fara land herskildi, brandi, etc., to visit a land with ‘war-shield,’ fire, etc., i. e. devastate it; gékk siðan á land upp með liði sínu, ok fór allt herskildi, Fms. i. 131; land þetta mundi herskildi farit, ok leggjask undir útlenda höfðingja, iv. 357; (hann) lét Halland farit brandi, vii. 4 (in a verse); hann fór lvist eldi, 41 (in a verse); hann hefir farit öll eylönd brandi, 46 (in a verse); fara hungri hörund, to emaciate the body, of an ascetic, Sl. 71.

2. to overtake, with acc.; hann gat ekki farit hann, he could not overtake ( catch) him, 623. 17; tunglit ferr sólina, the moon overtakes the sun, Rb. 116; áðr hana Fenrir fari, before Fenrir overtakes her, Vþm. 46, 47; knegut oss fálur fara, ye witches cannot take us, Hkv. Hjörv. 13; hann gat farit fjóra menn af liði Steinólfs, ok drap þá alla, … hann gat farit þá hjá Steinólfsdal, Gullþ. 29; hann reið eptir þeim, ok gat farit þá út hjá Svelgsá, milli ok Hóla, Eb. 180; Án hrísmagi var þeirra skjótastr ok getr farit sveininn, Ld. 242; viku þeir þá enn undan sem skjótast svá at Danir gátu eigi farit þá, Fms. (Knytl. S.) xi. 377 (MS., in the Ed. wrongly altered to náð þeim); hérinn hljóp undan, ok gátu hundarnir ekki farit hann (Ed. fráit wrongly), Fas. iii. 374; ok renna allir eptir þeim manni er víg vakti, … ok verðr hann farinn, Gþl. 146: cp. the phrase, vera farinn, to dwell, live, to be found here and there; þótt hann sé firr um farinn, Hm. 33.

II. with dat. to destroy, make to perish; f. sér, to make away with oneself; kona hans fór sér í dísar-sal, she killed herself, Fas. i. 527; hón varð stygg ok vildi fara sér, Landn. (Hb.) 55; ef þér gangit fyrir hamra ofan ok farit yðr sjálfir, Fms. viii. 53; hví ætla menn at hann mundi vilja f. sér sjálfr, iii. 59; fara lífi, fjörvi, öndu, id.; skal hann heldr eta, en fara öndu sinni, than starve oneself to death, K. Þ. K. 130; ok verðr þá þínu fjörvi um farit, Lv. 57, Ýt. 20, Fas. i. 426 (in a verse), cp. Hkv. Hjörv. 13; mínu fjörvi at fara, Fm. 5; þú hefir sigr vegit, ok Fáfni (dat.) um farit, 23; farit hafði hann allri ætt Geirmímis, Hkv. 1. 14; ok létu hans fjörvi farit, Sól. 22; hann hafði farit mörgum manni, O. H. L. 11.

β. to forfeit; fara sýknu sinni, Grág. i. 98; fara löndum ok lausafé, ii. 167.

2. reflex. to perish (but esp. freq. in the sense to be drowned, perish in the sea); farask af sulti, to die of hunger, Fms. ii. 226; fellr fjöldi manns í díkit ok farask þar, v. 281; fórusk sex hundruð Vinda skipa, xi. 369; alls fórusk níu menn, Ísl. ii. 385; mun heimr farask, Eluc. 43; þá er himin ok jörð hefir farisk, Edda 12; farask af hita, mæði, Fms. ix. 47; fórsk þar byrðingrinn, 307; hvar þess er menn farask, Grág. i. 219; heldr enn at fólk Guðs farisk af mínum völdum, Sks. 732: of cattle, ef fé hins hefir troðisk eðr farisk á þá lund sem nú var tínt, Grág. ii. 286.

β. metaph., fersk nú vinátta ykkur, your friendship is done with, Band. 12.

γ. the phrase, farask fyrir, to come to naught, Nj. 131; at síðr mun fyrir farask nokkut stórræði, Ísl. ii. 340; en fyrir fórusk málagjöldin af konungi, the payment never took place, Fms. v. 278; lét ek þetta verk fyrir farask, vii. 158; þá mun þat fyrir farask, Fs. 20; en fyrir fórsk þat þó þau misseri, Sd. 150: in mod. usage (N. T.), to perish.

δ. in act. rarely, and perhaps only a misspelling: frá því er féit fór (fórsk better), K. Þ. K. 132; fóru (better fórusk, were drowned) margir Íslenzkir menn, Bs. i. 436.

3. part. farinn, as adj. gone, undone; nú eru vér farnir, nema …, Lv. 83; hans tafl var mjök svá farit, his game was almost lost, Fas. i. 523; þá er farnir vóru forstöðumenn Tróju, when the defenders of Troy were dead and gone, Ver. 36; tungl farit, a ‘dead moon,’ i. e. new moon, Rb. 34; farinn af sulti ok mæði, Fms. viii. 53; farinn at e-u, ruined in a thing, having lost it; farnir at hamingju, luckless, iv. 73; f. at vistum, xi. 33; f. at lausa-fé;. iii. 117: in some cases uncertain whether the participle does not belong to A.

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1) a means off passage, ship; bjarga fari á floti, to save a vessel qflaat; in compds., a trading vessel (Íslands-far, Englands-far);

2) passage; taka (fá, ráða) sér fari or far, to take a passage in a ship; beiðast fars, to ask for a passage; synja e-m fars, to deny one a passage; banna e-m f., to forbid one to sail (cf. farbann);

3) trace, print, track (Sveinki rak lömb sín til fjöru í förin); villast hundarnir farsins, the hounds lose the track; of et sama f., on the same subject;

4) life, conduct, behaviour; í fari konungsins in the king’s character;

5) state, condition (gefa þeir eigi gaum um hennar far) f. veðranna, the course of the winds; at fornu fari, of yore, of old.

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f. [Dan. faar], a sheep, D. N. ii. 312, Boldt 165; vide fær.

n. [A. S. fær; Hel. fâr = dolus; Germ. fahr = treason, gefahr = danger; Engl. fear = terror; cp. also Germ. furcht:—but in the old Scandin. languages the word does not rightly mean either fear or danger; the mod. Dan. fare and Swed. fara are borrowed from Germ.]

1. evil passion, bale, harm, mischief; fár ok fjandskapr, Gísl. 125; eigi standa orð þín af litlu fári, baleful words, Fas. i. 195; lesa fár um e-n, to speak foul calumnies of one, Hm. 23; af fári, from evil passion, Og. 12. Hm. 151; er þú felldir mér fár af höndum, that thou brakest my spell, Og. 10; flytjandi fárs, bringing mischief, Am. 4; ef ek vissa þat fár fyrir, if I could foresee that bale, Skv. 2. 7; halda kvið til fárs e-m, to withhold the verdict to the injury of the other party, Grág. i. 58; verða e-m at fári, to be one’s bale, Korm. 12 (in a verse); full skal signa ok við fári sjá, i. e. make a sign over the cup to prevent harm in it, Sdm. 8; þat er fár mikit (‘tis a bad omen), ef þú fæti drepr, Skv. 2. 24; þá er hann réttlauss ef hann þiggr fár á sér, if he receives bodily harm, N. G. L. i. 255.

2. plague, esp. of animals; hunda-fár, sickness among dogs; kúa-fár, nauta-fár, cattle plague, cp. heljar-fár, morð-fár, murderous pestilence; urðar-fár, a weird plague, Sturl. ii. 213 (in a verse); feikna-fár, deadly pain, Pass. 2. 11; vera í fári, to be in an extremity; í dauðans fári, in the death-agony, etc.

β. of men, a dangerous illness; lá hann í þessu fári nær viku, Bs. i. 761; cp. fár-veikr, dangerously ill; fár er nokkurs-konar nauð, Edda 110, cp. far B.

γ. wrath; fár er reiði, Edda 110; vera í íllu fári (vide far B), to be bent on doing mischief.

3. as a law term, fraud, such as selling sand or dirt instead of flour or butter, defined N. G. L. i. 24; kaupa fals, flærð eða fár, 324.

COMPDS: fárhugr, fárleikr, fárliga, fárligr, fárramr, fárreiðr, fárskapr, fársótt, fársumar, fárveikr, fárverkr, fárviðri, fáryrði, fárskona, fársmaðr, fárssótt.

fem. fá, neut. fátt; dat. fám; acc. fá ( paucos and paucam); fán (paucum); fár ( paucae and paucas), but in mod. usage dissyllabic, fáum, fáa, fáan, fáar: gen. pl. fára, mod. fárra:—compar. færi, mod. færri with a double r; superl. fæstr, in books of last century sometimes spelt færstr,—a form warranted neither by etymology nor pronunciation: færst, however, occurs in the old MSS. Arna-Magn. 132. Ld. 210: [Lat. paucus; Ulf. faus; A. S. feá Engl. few; Hel. fáh; O. H. G. foh; lost in mod. Germ.; Dan. and Swed. få or faa]

I. few; Margr við Mývatn, en Fár í Fiskilækjar-hverfi (a pun), Rd. 311, Glúm. 361; með fá liði, with few men, Eg. 51; færa sauðfé, fewer sheep, Grág. (Kb.) 159; færi sauði, i. 423; í fám orðum, in few words, Stj. 29; við fá menn, Fms. i. 35; við fára manna vitni, Ld. 260; færi öfundarmenn, 204; fleiri … færi, Grág. i. 38; fáir einir, only a few; fá eina menn, Sturl. iii. 3; hjón fá ein, Eg. 573, vide einn.

2. used as noun, few, in the sense of few or none, none at all; fáir hafa af því sigrask, Nj. 103; þeir kváðu fá fúnað hafa fyrir honum, 263.

β. esp. in old sayings; e. g. fár er fagr ef grætr, Fb. i. 566; fár veit hverju fagna skal, Kvöldv. i. 47; fár bregðr hinu betra ef hann veit hit verra, Nj. 227: fár er hvatr er hrörask tekr ef í bernsku er blauðr, Fm. 6; fár er full-rýninn, Am. 11; fár hyggr þegjanda þörf, Sl. 28; fás er fróðum vant, Hm. 107; fátt er of vandlega hugat. Kvöldv. ii. 198; fátt veit sá er sefr, Mork. 36; fátt er svo fyrir öllu íllt að ekki boði nokkuð gott; fátt segir af einum, Volks. 62; fátt er ramara en forneskjan, Grett. 144; fátt er sköpum ríkra, Fs. 23; fár gengr of sköp norna, Km. 24; fátt er betr látið en efni eru til, Band. 2; fár er vamma vanr, Mirm. 68; fátt veit fyrr en reynt er, Fms. vi. 155; fátt gat ek þegjandi þar, Hm. 104. Many of these sayings are household words, and this use of the word is typical of the dry northern humour.

II. metaph. dismal, cold, reserved; Sigurðr konungr hafði verit nokkut fár (dismal, in low spirits) öndverðan vetr, en nú var hann glaðr ok spurall, Fms. iv. 82; varð hann fyrst fár ok úkátr, 192; vóru menn allir fáir við þá, v. 307; Vigdis varð fá um, Vigdis became silent about it, i. e. disliked it much, Sturl. iii. 180; var þá Gunnarr við hana lengi fár, for a long time G. was cold to her, Nj. 59.

2. neut. fátt, coldness, coolness; fátt var með þeim Rúti um samfarar, there was coolness between R. and his wife, Nj. 11; var fátt um með þeim bræðrum, 2, Eg. 199; var et fæsta með þeim, Ld. 234; verið hefir fátt með okkr, Gísl. 100: fátt kom á með þeim Gretti, Grett. 99.

III. neut., konungr svarar fá (dat.), Ó. H. 94; Guðrún talaði hér fæst um, Ld. 210; var eigi boðit færa en hundraði, not fewer than a hundred, Nj. 17; fátt af þeirra mönnum, only a few of their men, Fms. v. 290; fátt eina, only a few, Ld. 328: with gen., fátt manna, few men, Nj. 130; fátt góðs, but little good, Hom. 38; fátt einna hverra hluta, few of things, i. e. few things, Fms. iv. 175: þeir ugðu fátt at sér, they heeded them but little, Fms. vii. 201; hlutask til fás, Hrafn. 17.

β. as adv., in the phrases, sofa fátt, to sleep but little, be wakeful; leika fátt, to play but little, i. e. be in a dismal humour; tala fátt, to speak but little; syrgja fátt, to sorrow but little, i. e. to be gay, cp. Lex. Poët.

γ. with numerals, less than, short of, minus, save; vetri fátt í fjóra tigu, i. e. forty years save one, i. e. thirty-nine, Fms. x. 2, v. l.; tveimr ertogum fátt í átta merkr, eight marks less two ortogs, B. K. 84; lítið fátt í fimm tigi vetra, little short of fifty years, Fms. iii. 60; hálfum eyri fátt á átta merkr, eight marks less half an ounce; þremr mörkum fátt á laup, a bushel less three marks, B. K. 84, 11: at fæstu, the fewest, least, the minimum; tveir et fæsta, two at least, Grág. i. 9; sex menn et fæsta, 378; cp. the neut. afl-fátt, svefn-fátt, dag-fátt, q. v.