knowing

a. knowing, learned, well-informed (hón var fróð at mörgu); fróðar bœkr, instructive books.

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adj. [Ulf. frôþs = φρόνιμος, σοφός, σώφρων, συνετός; Hel. frôd; A. S. frôd]:—knowing, learned, well-instructed; fróðr, er margkunnigr er, Fms. xi. 413; hón var fróð at mörgu, Nj. 194; þat er sögn fróðra manna, Ísl. ii. 206; verða fróðari um e-t, Sks. 37; at Finnum tveim er hér eru fróðastir ( greatest wizards), Fms. i. 8; fás er fróðum vant, little is lacking to the knowing, cp. the Engl. ‘knowledge is power,’ Hm. 107: of books, containing much information, instructive, bækr beztar ok fróðastar, Bs. i. 429.

β. in some passages in Hm. fróðr seems to mean clever, Hm. 7, 27, 30, 6l, 107; þá nam ek at frævask ok fróðr vera, 142; fróðir menn, knowing men, Ýt. 6; fróð regin, the wise powers, Vþm. 26; enn fróði jötunn, 30, 33, 35:—in some few poët. compds (in which it seems to be used almost = prúðr, brave, valiant, as böð-f., eljun-f.) the true meaning is skilled in war (cp. the Gr. δαιφρων); sann-f., truly informed; óljúgfróð, Íb. 4; ú-fróðr, ignorant, = Goth. unfróþs, which Ulf. uses to translate ἄφρων, ἀνόητος; sögu-fróðr, skilled in old lore. As fróðr chiefly refers to historical knowledge, ‘hinn Fróði’ was an appellation given to the old Icel. chroniclers—Ari Fróði, Brandr Fróði, Sæmundr Fróði, Kolskeggr Fróði, who lived between 1050 and 1150 A. D. But the historians of the next age were seldom called by this name: Odd Munk (of the end of the 12th century) is only once called so, (Ing. S. fine); Snorri (of the 13th) twice, viz. Ann. 1241 in a single MS., and Sturl. iii. 98, but in a part of the Saga probably not written by Sturla himself; Sturla (who died in 1284) is never called by that name; and the only real exception is Styrmir ‘Fróði’ (who died in 1245), though he least deserved the name. Of foreign writers the Icel. gave the name Fróði to Bede (Landn. pref.), whom they held in great honour.

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1) even; jöfn tala, even number;

2) equal, the same; þínar (viz. ferðir) verða flestar jafnastar, thy doings are mostly the same, all equally bad; hann var ellefu vetra ok sterkr at jöfnum aldri, and strong for his age; jafn e-m, equal to one; jafnt er sem þér sýnist, af er fótrinn, it is just as it appears to thee, the leg is off; komast til jafns við e-n, hafa e-t til jafns við e-n, to equal one, be one’s match in a thing; at jöfnu, equally, in equal shares.

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adj., also spelt jamn, f. jöfn, neut. jafnt, often spelt as well as proncd. jamt; compar. jafnari, superl. jafnastr: [Ulf. ibns, Luke vi. 17; A. S. efen; Engl. and Dutch even; old Fr. ivin; O. H. G. eban; mod. Germ. eben; Dan. jevn; Swed. jemn; akin to Lat. aequus by interchange of palatal and labial, see Grimm’s Dict. s. v. eben]:—even, equal, but, like Lat. aequus, mostly in a metaph. sense, for sléttr (q. v.) answers to Lat. planus; often followed by a dat., jafn e-u, equal to a thing, in comparison:

I. equal, equal to; jöfn eyri (dat.) gulls, K. Þ. K. 72; jafn Guði, equal to God; jafn mér, passim.

2. equal, the same; enda er jöfn helgi hans meðan hann ferr svá með sér, Grág. i. 93; ella er jöfn sök við hann fram á leið, 322; at ek verða jafn drengr í hvert sinn, Sd. 188; þínar verða flestar jafnastar, thy acts are mostly the same, i. e. all bad, Fms. viii. 409.

3. fixed, unchanged; með jafnri leigu, jöfnum kaupum, jöfnum skildaga, Rétt. 2. 7, Stat. 264, Fb. ii. 137; hann var ellefu vetra eðr tíu, ok sterkr at jöfnum aldri, and strong for his age, Eg. 188, 592; eiga þeir jöfnum höndum (see hönd) allt þat er þeir taka, Grág. ii. 66.

4. even, even-tempered; jafn ok úmíslyndr, Mar.: of numbers, jöfn tala, even in tale, equal, opp. to odda-tala, Alg. 356.

II. neut. jafnt or jamt, almost adverbially, equally, just; jafnt utan sem innan, Grág. i. 392: as, just as, ok hafa eitt atferli báðar jamt, both together, both alike, Fms. xi. 137; jafnt er sem þér sýnisk (‘tis as it appears, indeed), af er fótrinn, Nj. 97; jafnt þrælar sem frjálsir menn, Fms. i. 113: jamt sem, just as, equally as; jafnt sem í fjórðungs-dómi, jamt skal eiga féránsdóm eptir fjörbaugs-mann sem eptir skógar-mann, Grág. i. 87; skal hann láta virða fé þat jamt sem úmaga-eyri, 189; menn skulu svá sakir hluta, jamt sem á alþingi, 122; jafnt hefir komit er þú spáðir, it has happened just as thou didst foretel, Niðrst. 8: ellipt., ok skal hann þá jamt (sem þeir) allri bót upp halda, Grág. ii. 182.

2. temp. at the same time, just; ek skíri þik, ok nefna barn, í nafni Föður, ok drepa barninu í vatn um sinn jafnt fram fyrir sik, and dip the bairn each time info the water, K. Þ. K. 10: just, precisely, in the very moment, þat var jamt Jóla-aptan sjálfan er þeir börðusk, Fms. xi. 15; jamt í því hann stakaði. 133.

3. adverb., at jöfnu, equally, in equal shares, Fms. xi. 131.

4. til jafns, vóru þeir engir at né eina íþrótt hefði til jafns við hann, Nj. 46; halda til jafns við e-n, Ld. 40; komask til jafns við e-n, Fb. i. 261.

B. COMPDS:

I. such a, so … a; Karvel jafn-frægum dreng, so fine a fellow as K., Karl. 103; er þat skömm jafn-mörgum mönnum, ‘tis a shame for so many men, Gísl. 51: with the particle sem, jafn-ungr sem hann var, young as he was, i. e. so young as he was for his age, Vápn. 5; vel hafi þér mínu máli komit, jafn-úvænt sem var, Þiðr. 136; kvað þat ekki hæfa á jafn-mikilli hátið sem ( in such a feast as) í hönd ferr, Fb. i. 376; at eigi skyldi Hugon keisari yfir þá stíga jafn-reiðr sem hann varð þeim, Karl. 478; undraðisk hón hversu fríðr ok fagr hann var jafn-gamall maðr ( for his age), Stj. 225; mikill maðr ertú þó Þórir, jafn-gamall, Ó. H. 176; Þórir Oddsson var sterkastr jafn-gamall, Gullþ. 4.

II. mod. phrases such as, það er jafngott fyrir hann, it serves him right; hann er jafngóðr fyrir því, it won’t hurt him; or honum er það jafn-gott, it will do him good, serve him right; vera jafn-nær, to be equally near, i. e. none the better; hann fór jafnnær, it was all of no use.

III. in countless COMPDS (esp. adjectives) with almost any participle or adverb, rarely with verbs and nouns, and denoting equal, as, the same, as seen from the context often followed by a dat., e. g. jafn-gamall e-m, of the same age as another person:—of these compds only some can be noticed: jafn-aldri, a, m. one of the same age, Fms. i. 13, vii. 199, Bs. i. 179, Eg. 25, 84. jafn-auðigr, adj. equally wealthy, Band. 2: equally happy, hann setr hund sinn jafnaudigan okkr undir borði, Bjarn. 27. jafn-auðsær, adj. as perspicuous, Eluc. 41. jafn-auðveldr, adj. as easy, Ld. 78. jafn-ágætr, adj. as good, as noble, Nj. 129. jafn-ákafr, adj. as impetuous, Fms. xi. 137. jafn-beinn, adj. as straight, Sturl. i. 196. jafn-berr, adj. equally bare, Fas. i. 67. jafn-bitinn, part. evenly bitten or grazed, of a field, Gþl. 407. jafn-bitr, jafn-beittr, adj. as sharp, keen. jafn-bjartr, adj. as bright, Nj. 208: neut., Sks. 69. jafn-bjóða, bauð; j. e-m, to be a match for one, Finnb. 260: to be equal to, contest on equal terms with one, Fms. ii. 27, vii. 22; gripr betri en þeim peningum jafnbjóði, 655 xxx. 10. jafn-blíðr, adj. equally mild, Fær. 154. jafn-borinn, part. of equal birth, Ld. 332, Fms. x. 79 (v. l.), Gþl. 133; j. til e-s, having equal birthright to, Fms. vii. 8, x. 407. jafn-brattr, adj. as steep. jafn-brátt, n. adj. as soon, at the same moment, Hom. 114. jafn-breiðr, adj. equally broad, Edda 28, Gþl. 355. jafn-búinn, part. equally ‘boun’ or armed, Fms. ii. 165: ready, prepared, Stj. jafn-deildr, part. equally shared, Hom. 148. jafn-digr, adj. as stout, Sturl. iii. 63. jafn-djúpr, adj. as deep. jafn-djúpvitr, adj. as deep-scheming, Orkn. 214, Hkr. iii. 95. jafn-drengilegr, adj. as gallant, Ísl. ii. 446. jafn-drjúgdeildr, part. going as far, of stores, Sturl. i. 166. jafn-drjúgr, adj. keeping as long, Sturl. i. 216, Rb. 18. jafn-dýrligr, adj. equally splendid, Bs. i. 454. jafn-dýrr, adj. as costly, glorious, of the same price, K. Þ. K. 28, Nj. 56, Grett. 104 A, N. G. L. i. 150, 348. jafn-dægri, n. (mod. jafndægr), the equinox, both dægr (q. v.) being equally long, Edda 103, Rb. 454, 456, 472, and passim: equal length, of day and night, Fb. i. 539; see eykt. jafn-dæmi, n. equal judgment, justice, Fms. vi. 431, Pr. 413. jafn-dæmr, adj. just, giving equal judgment, Rb. 364. jafn-einfaldr, adj. as simple, guileless, Hom. 50. jafn-fagr, adj. as fair, Nj. 112. jafn-fallegr, adj. as handsome. jafn-fastr, adj. equally firm, Grág. i. 7, K. Þ. K. 166: as adv., Fms. x. 270, Finnb. 338. jafn-fáir, adj. as few. jafn-feigr, adj. as fey. jafn-feitr, adj. as fat. jafn-fimlega, adv. (-ligr, adj.), as alert, Fms. ii. 273. jafn-fimr, adj. as alert, Fær. 272, Hkr. i. 291, v. l. jafn-fjær, adv. as far. jafn-fjölmennr, adj. with as many men, Nj. 222. jafn-flatt, n. adj.; fara j., to fare so ill, Fms. vi. 379; see flatr. jafn-fljótr, adj. as swift. jafn-fram, adv. equally forward, side by side: with dat., jafnfram skipi Rúts, Nj. 8: locally, of places, over against, (= gegnt and gagn-vart, q. v.); with dat., er hann kom jafnfram Borgund, Hkr. ii. 309; j. Eiðsvelli, Vermá, Fms. ix. 408; j. gagntaki konungs sonar, j. boðanum, vii. 170, ix. 387 (v. l.): as adv., standa jafnfram, to stand evenly, in a straight line; standa allir j. fyrir konungs borðinu, i. 16, Eg. 581, Nj. 140, Rb. 466, Sturl. iii. 244: temp. at the same moment, of two things happening together, Fms. vi. 24; þeir riðu til þings jafnfram Skeggja, Þórð. 18 new Ed.; hann ferr ávalt jafnfram í frásogn æfi Guðs-sonar, follows parallel in the story, 625. 83: in equal share, taka arf j., Gþl. 248; at the same time, also, hugsa þat j., at the same time consider, Stj. 156; jafnfram sem, jafnfram ok, as soon as, Karl. 158, Pr. 413. jafn-framarla, -framar, -liga, adv. as forward, as far, just as well, Ld. 254, Bs. i. 778. jafn-frammi, adv. = jafnframt, Sks. 364, Sturl. i. 32: temp., Fms. iii. 218. jafn-framt, adv. = jafnfram, Háv. 42: temp., Sturl. i. 1: along with, with dat., Pass. viii. 9: equally, in the same degree, Ld. 62. jafn-fríðr, adj. as fair, Fms. i. 8: as valuable, K. Þ. K. 172. jafn-frjáls, adj. equally free, Fas. iii. 8. jafn-frjálsliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), as freely, as liberally, Hkr. i. 78. jafn-fróðr, adj. as wise, as knowing, Sks. 544. jafn-frægr, adj. as famous, Fas. i. 277. jafn-frækn, adj. equally gallant, Edda. jafn-fullr, adj. as full, Grág. i. 20, 68, Gþl. 477. jafn-fúinn, adj. equally rotten, jafn-fúss, adj. equally willing, Sturl. i. 190. jafn-færr, adj. as able, Nj. 97. jafn-fætis, adv. on equal footing; standa j. e-m, Sturl. ii. 134, Hkr. ii. 153. jafn-gamall, adj. of the same age, Ld. 108, Fms. i. 60, xi. 96. jafn-geði, n. evenness of temper, Sks. 435. jafn-gefinn, part. equally given to, Fas. i. 268. jafn-gegnt, adv. just opposite to, Sks. 63, Fms. ix. 463; see gegnt. jafn-girnd, f. and jafn-girni, f. fairness, equity, Sks. 273, 639, Hom. 17. jafn-gjarn, adj. as eager, Hom. 19: as equitable, Sks. 355, Hom. 135, Karl. 495. jafn-gjarna (- gjarnliga), adv. as willingly, as readily, Fms. iii. 45 (v. l.), ix. 508, Stj. jafn-glaðr, adj. as glad, as cheerful, Eb. 88: neut., mér er ekki jafnglatt sem áðr, Fas. i. 106. jafn-glöggt, n. adj. as clearly, Bs. i. 352. jafn-góðr, adj. equally good, as good, Nj. 18, Eg. 54, Gþl. 233, N. G. L. i. 347, Dipl. v. 16: unhurt, none the worse, see (II) above. jafn-góðviljaðr, adj. with equally good will, Stj. 629. jafn-grannr, adj. equally thin. jafn-grimmliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), as fiercely, Th. jafn-grimmr, adj. as fierce, Sks. 79. jafn-grunnr, adj. as shallow. jafn-gæfr, adj. as meek, Rb. 397. jafn-göfigr, adj. as good, as famous, Sturl. iii. 11, Bs. i. 133. jafn-görla, adv. as clearly, Grág. i. 299, Fms. ii. 171, Fas. i. 271. jafn-hafðr, part. equally used, N. G. L. i. 249. jafn-hagliga, adv. as skilfully, Krók. 53. jafn-hagr, adj. as skilful in handiwork, Nj. 147. jafn-harðr, adj. as hard, as severe, Nj. 79: neut. jafn-hart, as fast, Fas. iii. 488: jafn-harðan, adv. instantly. jafn-harðsnúinn, part. as hard-twisted, as tight, Nj. 79. jafn-hár, adj. as high, as tall, as loud, Rb. 112, 474, Fas. ii. 79: of metre, see hár (I. 3), Fms. vi. 386, Skálda 182, 190: neut., Stj. 79. jafnhátta-góðr, adj. as well-mannered, Ld. 174. jafn-heilagr, adj. as holy, as inviolable, Sks. 674, Grág. i. 90. jafn-heill, adj. as hale, as whole, Eg. 425, v. l. jafn-heimoll, adj. equally open to use, Eg. 47, Ld. 70, Gþl. 214, 353: equally bound, 57. jafn-heimskr, adj. equally stupid, Fms. ii. 156, Sd. 178. jafn-heitr, adj. as hot, Sks. 540. jafn-hentr, adj. as well fitted, Sturl. i. 196. jafn-hlær, adj. equally snug, Rb. 440. jafn-hollr, adj. equally sincere, Orkn. 166. jafn-hógværliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), as meekly, Krók. 36. jafn-hógværr, adj. as gentle. jafn-hraustr, adj. as valiant, Fms. ii. 356, Krók. 51. jafn-hryggr, adj. as distressed, Hkr. iii. 269. jafn-hugaðr, adj. even-tempered, Sks. 24: of one mind, 300: as daring. jafn-hvass, adj. as sharp, Ld. 306: blowing as hard. jafn-hvatr, adj. as bold, as quick, Sturl. i. 112, v. l. jafn-hvítr, adj. equally white. jafn-hæðiligr, adj. (-liga, adv.), as ridiculous, Fas. iii. 91. jafn-hægr, adj. equally easy, ready, meek, Fms. ii. 106, Fær. 69, Grág. i. 264, ii. 257. jafn-hættr, adj. as dangerous, Sks. 540. jafn-höfigr, adj. as heavy, Rb. 102, Edda 38. jafn-ílla, adv. as badly, Fms. viii. 140 (v. l.), Ísl. ii. 181. jafn-ílliligr, adj. (-liga, adv.) as ill-looking, Fas. ii. 207. jafn-íllr, adj. equally bad, Grág. ii. 145, Fas. ii. 513. jafn-kaldr, adj. as cold, Sks. 215. jafn-keypi, n. an equal bargain, Fs. 25. jafn-kominn, part. on even terms, Sks. 455: neut. an even match, jafnkomit er á með ykkr, ye are well-matched, Nj. 59; hann kvað jafnkomit með þeim fyrir aldrs sakir, Fms. iii. 76; jafnkomnir til erfðar, with equal title to, Grág. i. 304; jafnkomnir til fyrir ættar sakir, Fms. i. 220; jafnkomnir at frændsemi, Ísl. ii. 315. jafn-kosta, adj. well-matched, good enough, of wedlock, Stj. 204. jafn-kostgæfinn, adj. equally painstaking, Bs. i. 681. jafn-krappr, adj. as straight, narrow; í jafnkrappan stað, in such a strait, Ld. 168. jafn-kringr, adj. equally dexterous, Sks. 381. jafn-kristinn, adj. a fellow Christian, Jb. 92, Barl. 44. jafn-kunnigr, adj. as well known, Grett. 162 A: knowing as well. jafn-kunnr, adj. as well known, Hom. 90. jafn-kurteis, adj. as courteous, Sturl. i. 165. jafn-kyrr, adj. as quiet. jafn-kýta, t, with dat. = jafnyrða. jafn-kænn, adj. as ‘cunning,’ as well versed, Stj. 561. jafn-kærr, adj. as dear, as beloved, Fms. i. 215, xi. 319. jafn-langr, adj. as long, equally long, Fms. xi. 376, Gþl. 350, 355, Ísl. ii. 219, Grág. i. 406, Edda 138 ( of the same length): neut., en ef þær segja jafnlangt, if they say both the same, Grág. i. 7. jafn-lágr, adj. equally low. jafn-leiðr, adj. equally loathed, Fms. viii. 240. jafn-leiki, n. = jafnleikit. jafn-leikit, n. part. an equal game, Fms. xi. 131. jafn-lendi, n. a level, even piece of ground, Eg. 584. jafn-lengd, f. ‘even-length,’ the return to the same time in the next day, week, month, year, etc.: of a day, til jafnlengdar annars dags, Grág. ii. 16, Stj. 49; þann sama dag tók Gormr konungr sótt, ok andaðisk annan dag at jafnlengdinni, Fms. i. 119, Fas. ii. 30, 37: of a year, anniversary, skal eigi brullaup vera fyrr en at jafnlengd, Grág. i. 311; tíu aurar sé leigðir eyri til jafnlengdar (a year’s rent), 390; at jafnlengd it síðasta, 487; eigi síðarr en fyrir jafnlengd, Fms. xi. 397; halda hátíð at jafnlengdum, Greg. 13, Hom. 98; jafnlengdar-dagr, 129, Fms. v. 214, Dipl. v. 8; jafnlengdar hátíð, an anniversary, Greg. 13. jafn-lengi, adv. as long, Grág. i. 423, Fms. iii. 9, MS. 732. 7. jafn-léttmæltr, adj. equally easy, just as pleasant in one’s speech, Fms. vii. 227. jafn-léttr, adj. as light, as easy, Sturl. iii. 90: neut. (adverb.), Kjartani var ekki annat jafn-létthjalat, K. liked not to speak of anything so much, Ld. 214. jafn-léttvígr, adj. as ready in wielding arms, Sturl. iii. 90. jafn-liða, adj. with an equal number of men, Eb. 144. jafn-liga, adv. equally, fairly; sýnisk mér eigi j. á komit, Bs. i. 531, Vm. 169; skipta j., Fb. ii. 300: perpetually, all along, always, usually, Fms. i. 191, x. 88, 89, Dipl. v. 8, Rb. 348, 472, Stj. 77. jafn-ligr, adj. equal, fair, Hkr. ii. 149, Háv. 57, Eg. 488; er þat miklu jafnligra, a more equal match, Fms. vii. 115. jafn-líkligr, adj. as likely, Sturl. iii. 7, Lv. 77. jafn-líkr, adj. as like, Lv. 58, Fas. ii. 478: equal, alike, j. sem hornspónar efni, Bs. i. 59. jafn-lítill, adj. as little, Fas. iii. 487. jafn-ljóss, adj. as bright, Bret. 62. jafn-ljótr, adj. as ugly, Fms. iv. 175. jafn-ljúfr, adj. as willing. jafn-lygn, adj. as ‘loun,’ as calm, of the wind. jafn-lyndi, n., fem. in Mar. 848; evenness of temper, Stj., Fagrsk. 132, Bs. i. 141, Mar. passim. jafn-lyndr, adj. even-tempered, Fms. vi. 287, viii. 447 (v. l.) jafn-lýðskyldr, adj. equally bound, as liegemen, Sks. 270. jafn-lærðr, adj. as learned. jafn-magr, adj. equally meagre. jafn-maki, a, m. an equal, a match, Sks. 22, 255. jafn-mannvænn, adj. equally promising, Þorf. Karl. 382. jafn-margr, adj. as many, Nj. 104, Grág. ii. 210, 403, Fms. i. 152, ii. 34. jafn-máttugr, adj. as mighty, Fms. ii. 157, Eluc. 6. jafn-máttuligr, adj. equally possible, 655 xxii. B. jafn-menni, n. an equal, a match, Ld. 132, Ísl. ii. 358, Fms. vi. 345, vii. 103. jafn-menntr, adj. of equal rank, Hrafn. 10. jafn-merkiligr, adj. equally dignified, Bs. i. 148. jafn-mikill, adj. as great, Grág. ii. 264, 403, Fms. i. 1, Gþl. 363: equally big, tall, Fms. x. 202, Nj. 11: neut. as much, Fms. vii. 240, Skálda 168. jafn-mildr, adj. as mild, as gracious, Rb. 366. jafn-minnigr, adj. having as good a memory, Bs. i. 681. jafn-mjúkliga, adv. as meekly, as gently, Lv. 50. jafn-mjúkr, adj. equally soft. jafn-mjök, adv. as much, as strongly, Grág. ii. 140, Skálda 168. jafn-myrkr, adj. equally dark, Skálda 209. jafn-mæli, n. fair play, equality, Fb. i. 407, Fms. vi. 206, Grág. i. 88, 200, Ld. 258, H. E. i. 247, Karl. 99. jafn-naumr, adj. as close. jafn-náinn, adj.; j. at frændsemi, equally near akin, Grág. i. 171, ii. 67, Eb. 124, Ísl. ii. 315, (jafnan, Ed.) jafn-nær, mod. jafn-nærri, adv. equally near: loc., er Ólafs mark j. báðum, Fms. vii. 64, 268, Sks. 63, 216: as near, at honum væri úvarligt at láta jafnmarga heiðna menn vera j. sér, Fms. ii. 34: equally near (by birth), i. 123: metaph., eigi hefir honum jafnnærri gengit újafnaðr þeirra sem mér, Sturl. iii. 238: also jafn-nær, adj. equally nigh, not a whit the better, see (II) above. jafn-nætti, n. the equinox, 673. 54, Stj. 15. jafn-oki, a, m. = jafnmaki, an equal, a match for one, Sks. 22: a play-fellow, Stj. 497, Þiðr. 213. jafn-opt, adv. as often, Nj. 211, Rb. 566, Grág. i. 186. jafn-ótt, adj., neut. as adv., at the same, time, immediately. Pass. 20. 2: one after another, taka e-ð jafnótt og það kemr. jafn-rakkr, adj. as strong, as straight, Ld. 168. jafn-ramr, adj. as mighty, as great a wizard, Vþm. 2. jafn-rangr; adj. as wrong. jafn-ráðinn, part. equally determined, Grett. 149. jafn-reiðr, adj. equally angry, Háv. 52. jafn-rétti, n. an equal right. jafnréttis-maðr, m. a man with equal right, N. G. L. i. 31. jafn-réttr, adj. as right, as lawful, Edda 93, Grág. i. 18: of equal authority, Hkr. iii. 79. jafn-réttvíss, adj. equally just, Sks. 670. jafn-rífligr, adj. (-liga, adv.), as large, Lv. 75. jafn-ríkr, adj. as rich, equally mighty. jafn-rjóðr, adj. as ruddy, Hkr. i. 102. jafn-rúmr, adj. equally large, Bjarn. jafn-ræði, n. an equal match, Fms. ii. 22, Glúm. 350, Nj. 49, Gþl. 215. jafn-röskr, adj. as brisk, as quick, Fms. iii. 225, vi. 96. jafn-saman, adv.; fyrir þessa hugsan alla jafnsaman, all at once, all together, Fms. i. 185, Ld. 326, Ó. H. 46, Stj. 86, 121, Barl. 191. jafn-sannr, adj. equally true, 671. 1, Edda 19, Stj. 471. jafn-sárr, adj. as sore, as smarting, Mar. jafn-seinn, adj. as slow. jafn-sekr, adj. just as guilty, Grág. ii. 64, 89. jafn-síðis, adv. along with. jafn-síðr, adj. as long, of a garment (síðr), Stj. 563. jafn-sjúkr, adj. as sick, Fms. v. 324. jafn-skammr, adj. as short, Al. 129. jafn-skarpliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), as briskly, Nj. 199, v. l. jafn-skarpr, adj. as sharp, as keen. jafn-skipti, n. equal, fair dealing. jafn-skiptiliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), equally, mutually, Stj. 159. jafn-skiptr, part. equally shared. jafn-skjótr, adj. as swift, Fms. vii. 169, Rb. 454:—jafn-skjótt, neut. as adv. immediately, at once, Eg. 87, 291, 492, Fms. ii. 10; jafnskjótt sem, as soon as, Nj. 5, Barl. 176, Karl. 409, 441. jafn-skygn, adj. as clear-sighted, 655 xiii. A, Bjarn. 59. jafn-skyldliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), as dutifully, Ver. 3. jafn-skyldr, adj. equally bound or obliged, Grág. ii. 362, 403, Gþl. 70, 477, Fms. vii. 274. jafn-sköruliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), equally bold, Nj. 199. jafn-slétta, u, f. even, level ground. jafn-sléttr, adj. equally level, Stj. 79: as easily, Fas. ii. 48. jafn-slægr, adj. as cunning, Fær. 99. jafn-snarpr, adj. (-snarpligr, adj., -liga, adv.), as sharp, Fms. vi. 156. jafn-snarr, adj. as alert. jafn-snart, adj., neut. as adv., as soon, instantly, Fas. iii. 434, Matth. xxvii. 48. jafn-snauðr, adj. as poor. jafn-snemma, adv. at the very same moment, of a coincidence, Eg. 425, Nj. 253, Fms. vi. 221; allir j., all at once, ix. 506, xi. 368 ( both together); vóru þessir atburðir margir jafnsnemma, en sumir litlu fyrr eðr síðar, Hkr. ii. 368. jafn-snjallr, adj. equal, Glúm., Bjarn. (in a verse). jafn-spakr, adj. equally wise, Hm. 53. jafn-sparr, adj. as saving, as close, Grág. i. 197, 222. jafn-sterkr, adj. as strong, Fms. i. 43. jafn-stirðr, adj. as stiff. jafn-stórlátr, adj. as proud, Ld. 116. jafn-stórliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), as proudly, Ölk. 34. jafn-stórr, adj. as big, as great. jafn-stórættaðr, adj. of equally high birth, Fms. iv. 26. jafn-stríðr, adj. as hard, severe, Sks. 639. jafn-stuttr, adj. equally short, brief. jafn-syndligr, adj. as sinful, Sks. 674. jafn-sætr, adj. as sweet, Fb. i. 539. jafn-sætti, n. an agreement on equal terms, Nj. 21, Sturl. iii 253, Fb. i. 126. jafn-tamr, adj. equally alert. jafn-tefli, n. an equal, drawn game, Vígl. 32. jafn-tengdr, part. in equal degrees of affinity, Grág. ii. 183. jafn-tíðhjalat, n. part. as much talked about, Nj. 100. jafn-tíðrætt, n. adj. = jafntíðhjalat, Nj. 100. jafn-tíguliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), equally lordly, Fms. x. 109. jafn-títt, n. adj. as often, as frequent, Niðrst. 10. jafn-torogætr, adj. as rarely to be got, choice, Bs. i. 143. jafn-torsótligr, adj. as hard to get at, Fms. x. 358. jafn-trauðr, adj. as unwilling. jafn-traustr, adj. as much to be trusted, Fms. vi. 244. jafn-trúr, jafn-tryggr, adj. as faithful. jafn-undarligr, adj. (-liga, adv.), as strange, Sks. 80. jafn-ungr, adj. as young, Fms. iii. 60, iv. 383. jafn-úbeint, n. adj. as far from the mark, of a bad shot, Fms. viii. 140. jafn-úfærr, adj. as unpassable, Sturl. iii. 163. jafn-úhefnisamr, adj. as tame, Rb. 366. jafn-úráðinn, part. as irresolute, Grett. 153. jafn-úspakr, adj. as unruly, Sturl. ii. 63. jafn-útlagr, adj. having to lay out the same fine, N. G. L. i. 158. jafn-vandhæfr, adj. as dangerous to keep, treat, Grág. i. 89. jafn-vandliga, adv. as carefully, Grág. ii. 249. jafn-varliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), as warily, Fms. vii. 127. jafn-varmr, adj. as warm, Sks. 217. jafn-varr, adj. as well aware, as much on one’s guard, Dropl. 28. jafn-vaskliga, adv. as gallantly, Fms. vii. 127, Ld. 272. jafn-vaskligr, adj. as gallant. jafn-vaskr, adj. as bold, Str. 3. jafn-vátr, adj. equally wet. jafn-veginn, part. of full weight, Stj. 216. jafn-vegit, n. a law phrase, used when an equal number has been slain on both sides, in which case there were no further proceedings, Glúm. 383, Fas. ii. 208. jafn-vel, adv. as well, equally well, Nj. 48, Eg. 111, Gþl. 354: likewise, hafa fyrirgört fé ok friði ok jafnvel óðals-jörðum sínum, 142; en þenna eið skulu jafnvel biskupar ábyrgjask við Guð …, jafnvel sem ( as well as) hinir úlærðu, 57; jafnvel af sænum sem af landinu, Al. 2; ok jamvel sendir jarl þeim mönnum orð, sem …, Fms. xi. 120: even, dögföll um nætr jafnvel at heiðskírum veðrum, Stj. 17; jafnvel eptir þat er þau misgörðu, 40; jafnvel sýniliga, j. oss önduðum, 9, Bs. i. 549, Barl. 170, 176, Gísl. 83; this last sense is very freq. in mod. usage. jafn-velviljaðr, part. as well wishing, Sks. 312. jafn-vesall, adj. as wretched, Krók. 54. jafn-virði, n. equal wirth, Bs. i. 9, Al. 48. jafn-vægi, n. equal weight, equilibrium, Hkr. ii. 250, Fas. i. 121; bóandi ok húsfreyja j. sitt, i. e. both of them equally, N. G. L. i. 6. jafn-vægja, ð, to weigh the same as another, Fms. iii. 120. jafn-vægr, adj. of equal weight, Sks. 644. jafn-vænn, adj. equally fine, handsome, promising, Fms. x. 429, Sturl. iii. 67. jafn-vætta, t, to weigh against, counterbalance, Stj. 13, Þorst. Síðu H. 14. jafn-yrða, ð, with dat. to altercate, bandy words, Sturl. iii. 213. jafn-þarfr, adj. as useful, Arnor. jafn-þéttr, adj. pressed as closely together. jafn-þjófgefinn, adj. as thievish. jafn-þolinmóðr, adj. as patient, Rb. 366. jafn-þolinn, adj. as enduring. jafn-þreyttr, part. as weary. jafn-þrifinn, adj. as cleanly. jafn-þröngr, adj. as tight. jafn-þungr, adj. as heavy, pressing, Fms. v. 264, Stj. 278. jafn-þurr, adj. equally dry. jafn-þykkr, adj. as thick, Hkr. iii. 159. jafn-þyrstr, part. as thirsty. jafn-æfr, adj. as impetuous. jafn-æstr, part. equally excited, Band. 34 new Ed. jafn-örr, adj. as eager, as liberal. jafn-öruggr, adj. as firm, steadfast.

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(kann, kunna, kunnat), v.

1) to know, understand (þú kannt margt þat er eigi kunnu aðrir menn);

2) to know (by memory);

ljóð ek þau kann, er kannat þjóðans kona, I know songs, such as no king’s daughter knows;

3) to know a person;

unni honum hverr maðr, er hann (acc.) kunni, every man that knew him loved him;

4) spec. phrases;

kunna hóf at um e-t, kunna hóf sitt, to know the proper mean, to behave with moderation;

uxarnir kunnu þó heim, the oxen found their way home;

kunna enga mannraun to have no experience of men;

kunna e-m þökk, aufusu, to be thankful, obliged to one;

5) kunna sik, to know oneself (sá er svinnr, er sik kann); to behave well (G. kveðst mundu meiða hann, ef hann kynni sik eigi);

6) kunna sér e-t, to understand, have clear knowledge of (something as concerning oneself or touching one’s own interest);

kunna sér margt, to be skilled in many things;

kunna fyrir sér = kunna sér; also ellipt. know how to conduct oneself;

7) with dat. to know;

ek kan skapi Gunnhildar, I know Gunhild’s temper;

8) kunna e-n e-s or um e-t, to blame a person for a thing (eigi hugða ek, at hann mætti mik þessa kunna);

eigi er hann um þat at kunna, he is not to be blamed for it;

9) to be pleased or not with a thing;

Eyjúlfr lézt því nafni mundu vel kunna, E. said he should be well pleased with that name;

10) to be able, with infin.;

þú skalt eigi kunna frá tíðindum at segja, thou shalt not escape to tell the tale;

11) to chance, happen;

hvar sem þik kann at at bera, wheresoever thou may happen to arrive.

* * *

pres. (in pret. form) kann, kannt (kanntú), kann; pl. kunnum, kunnut, kunnu (mod. kunnum, kunnit, kunna); pret. kunni; subj. kynni; imperat. kunn; part. neut. kunnat; the pres. infin. kunnu for kunna is obsolete, whereas a pret. infin. kunnu, potuisse, occurs, Ísldr. 9: with neg. suff. kann-at, Hm. 147; kann-k-a ek, I know not, Skálda (Thorodd) 167, Hallfred; see Gramm. p. xxiii: [Ulf. kunnan = γιγνώσκειν, εἰδέναι; A. S. and Hel. cunnan; O. H. G. kunnan; in these old languages, the two senses of knowing how to do and being able to do are expressed by the same form, and this remains in Dan. kunde, Swed. kunna: in others, a distinction is made: Old Engl. and Scot. ken, know and can; Germ. kennen and können.]

A. To know, understand, of art, skill, knowledge, with acc.; hann þóttisk rísta henni manrúnar, en hann kunni þat eigi, Eg. 587; hann kunni margar tungur, Fms. xi. 326; þú kannt mart þat er eigi kunnu aðrir menn, v. 236; k. seið, Vsp. 25; Hann ræddi, ef hann kynni nafn Guðs it hæsta—Kann ek nökkurt nafn Guðs,—Þykkja mér slíkt eigi prestar er eigi kunna it hæsta nafn Guds—Kanntú nafnit?—Ek veit þann mann er kunna mun, … Nefn þú þá ef þú kannt! … Guð veit at ek vilda gjarna kunna, Bs. i. 421; engi skal sá vera hér með oss er eigi kunni nökkurs-konar list eðr kunnandi, Edda 31; ekki kann ek í skáldskap, Fms. vii. 60; kannt þú nakkvat í lögum?—Kunna þótta ek norðr þar, Nj. 33; at þetta væri at vísu lög þótt fáir kynni, 237; ek kann lítt til laga, 31: of sports, kunna á skíðum, Fms. i. 9; k. við skíð ok boga, Ó. H. 71; k. við buklara, Sturl. ii. 44; kunna á bók, to know by book, know how to read, Mar.

2. to know by memory; kunna menn enn kvæði þeirra, Hkr. (pref.); hví kveðr þú flokka eina, kanntú ok engar drápur?—Eigi kann ek drápurnar færi en flokkana, Fms. vi. 391; ljóð ek þau kann, er kannat þjóðans son, Hm. 147 sqq.; þat kann ek it áttjánda, er ek æva kennig, 164; en Konr ungr kunni rúnar, Rm. 40, 42; kunna betr, id., Vkv. 26; kunna utan-bókar, to know without book, know by heart; hón kunni þær allar (Spurningar) vel, nema Sjötta kapitulann, … Sigríðr kunni allar Úlfars-rímur, Piltr og Stúlka 23.

3. to know a person, a face; synir Heli vóru úsiðugir ok kunnu eigi Guð Dróttinn, Stj. 429; ek kann þann mann, 460; ok unni honum hverr maðr er hann (acc.) kunni, every man that knew him loved him, Hkr. i. 121; kann kvaðsk eigi k. þá ok eigi hirða hverir vóru, Barl. 36; þik kann ek fullgerva, I know thee well enough, Ls. 30; góða menn þá er ek görva kunna, Hbl. 7; kunna ek báða Brodd ok Hörvi, Hdl. 24; hverr er kunni (mik), Helr. 7; hvars menn eðli okkart k., 3: to know, of the character, hann kvað þá k. sik úgörla, er þeir veittu honum átölur, því at ek hefi dregit yðr undan dauða, segir hann, Ld. 282; ek kann hvárn-tveggja ykkarn konungs, Fms. vi. 100.

4. spec. phrases; kunna góða stilling á e-u, hversu góða stilling hann kunni á herstjórninni, how skilful he was in military things, Fms. i. 98; k. hóf at um e-t, to know one’s measure in respect of a thing, to behave with moderation, Finnb. 356; Þorvaldr kvað hana ekki hóf at kunna, Ld. 134; allt kann sá er hófit kann, Gísl. 27; ef Griss kynni hóf sitt, Sd. 139; Klaufi, Klaufi, kunn þú hóf þitt? id.; kunna sér margt, to be skilled in many things; hón var væn kona, ok kunni sér allt vel, Dropl. 7, 35; hann kunni enga leið, he knew no road, Eg. 149; þeir munu eigi k. leiðina, Fs. 105: absol., uxarnir kunnu þó heim, found their way home, Dropl. 8; k. skyn e-s, to know all about …; hann kunni allra skyn í borginni, Fms. vi. 410; Ása ok Álfa ek kann allra skil, Hm. 160; k. önga mannraun, to have no experience of men, Fms. vi. 53; ek kann skap þitt at því, at …, Sturl. i. 30.

II. metaph. usages; kunna e-m þökk, to be thankful, obliged to one, Fms. xi. 29, 32; at hann kynni þess mikla þökk ok aufusu, Eg. 521; veizla er yðr búin, kann ek yðr mikla þökk at þér þiggit, Fms. vi. 277; k. e-m úþökk fyrir e-t, v. 14; k. sér þörf til e-s, to feel the want of a thing; ef bóndi kann þess þörf, if he knows the need of it, Grág. i. 152; at hann leggi fram vöruna svá sem þú kannt þér þörf til, Ld. 70.

2. kunna sik, to know oneself; sá er svinnr er sik kann, he is a wise man who knows himself, a saying, Hrafn. 10: to behave, Grímr kveðsk mundu meiða hann ef hann kynni sik eigi, Eg. 189; ok vita ef þeir kunni sik þá görr meir, Stj. 264; k. sik ílla, to be naughty, Bjarn.

3. kunna sér, kunna munda ek mér þat ( I should know how to do that) ef ek hefða víg vegit, Gísl. 143; gá þess, ok kunn þér (take heed, learn!) at varask annars vígkæni, Sks. 383; er Þorólfr svá viti borinn, at hann mundi k. sér ( have sense enough) at vera eigi fyrir liði yðru, Eg. 134; kunni hann sér þann hagnað at girnask ekki Svía-konungs veldi, Ó. H. 57; en kunnit yðr engi forráð eðr fyrirhyggju þegar er ér komit í nokkurn vanda, 67.

III. denoting feeling, to feel angry or pleased; kunna e-n e-s, to be angry with a person for a thing; þá bað Þórir konung, at hann skyldi eigi fyrirkunna hann þess at hann hafði Egil með sér um vetrinn, Eg. ch. 48; eigi vil ek fyrirkunna þik þessa orða, þvíat þú veizt eigi hvat varask skal, Ó. H. 57; eigi hugða ek at hann mætti mik þessa k., þvíat eigi drap ek son hans, Hrafn. 16; kveðr þeir eigi sik einskis at k., Ísl. ii. 314; kunnit mik eigi þess er ek mun mæla, Fbr. 116; spurði hvers hón kynni arfa-sátuna, Nj. 194, v. l.

2. with prep.; kunna e-n um e-t, id.; eigi er hann um þat at kunna, Fs. 38; eigi munu þér kunna mik um þetta, Fms. i. 175; ekki áttú hann um þat at kunna, vi. 223; ef hertogi vill þik nokkut um þetta kunna, xi. 323; hón kunni hana mjök um áleitni þá, er …, Bs. i. 340.

IV. with dat. to know; þeir er menn kunnu eigi hér máli eða tungu við, Grág. i. 224; ef lögsögumaðr kann þar eigi mönnum fyrir í þá sveit, i. 10 B; kunni hann náliga manns máli, Fas. ii. 443; hann kann eigi lítilmensku várri, Bjarn. 54; kann þjóð kerski minni, Ó. H. (in a verse); ek kann skapi Gunnhildar, I know Gunhilda’s temper, Nj. 5; kann ek glensyrðum yðrum Gautanna, Fas. iii. 80; ek kann ráðum Gunnhildar en kappi Egils, Eg. 257; ek kann skapi Hrafnkels, at hann mun ekki göra oss, ef hann náir þér eigi, Hrafn. 27: eigi kanntú góðgirnd (dat.) föður várs, ef hann hefir honum eigi undan skotið, Fs. 38.

2. to be pleased with a thing or not; munda ek kunna því, at vér hefðim manna-lát mikit, ef …, Eg. 585; Eyjúlfr lézk því nafni mundu vel kunna, E. said be should be well pleased with that name, Glúm. 328; verðr hváru-tveggju at kunna, one must take one or other of the two, Ó. H. 52; vit munum því ílla k. ef þú veitir okkr eigi þat er vit beiðum, Eb. 114; hann kunni því stórílla ok hljóp í brott, Hkr. i. 36; munu synir Njáls ílla k. víginu, Nj. 64; Njáll kunni ílla láti Gunnars, 117; Ingi konungr kunni þessu svá ílla at hann grét sem barn, Fms. vii. 273; andaðisk hann, Guðríðr kona hans kunni því lítt, Fb. i. 543; til þess at hón kunni því betr andláti mínu, id.; ílla munu þeir k. höggum er heiman hafa hlaupit frá kirnu-askinum, Fms. viii. 350.

3. with prep.; kann ek ekki við því at yðr þykki sumt ofjarl en sumt ekki at manni, I do not care for what you call …, Fms. vi. 53; kannka ek mart við veifanar-orði manna, I take no notice of idle rumours, Hallfred; hence the mod. phrase, kunna við e-ð, to be pleased with; eg kann ekki við það, I do not like it; kunna vel, ílla við sik, to feel happy, unhappy in a place or condition; eg kann vel við mig þar, I like the place.

B. To be able, Lat. posse, (in Engl., can, pret. could, has ceased to be used except in the finite moods), with infin.; the senses often run one into the other, but the use of the infinitive shews that the sense can is at least partly implied; þá mælti konungr, ertu skáldit?—Hann sagði, kann ek yrkja, I know I can make verses, Hkr. i. 288; hann kunni görr veðr at sjá en aðrir inenn, Eb. 150; þá hluti er þeir kunna honum til at segja, 112; freista hvat hann kynni segja honum, Hkr. i. 228: hón sagði hann eigi k. at þiggja sóma sinn, Fs. 131; hugsit um hvar þann mann kann fá, where that man can be had, Stj. 460; svá hygginn at hann kunni fyrir sökum ráða, Grág. ii. 75; hvárt kanntú mér höll smíða? 656 B. 8; þeir er mildlega kunnu stýra Guðs hjörð, Hom. 37; kanntú nökkut yrkja? Fms. vi. 361; kunna eigi at mæla, he could not speak, Ld. 30; mikil tíðendi kannþú (= kannt þú) at segja af himnum, Edda 12; þú skalt eigi kunna frá tíðindum at segja, thou shalt not be able to tell the tidings, shall not escape with life, Nj. 8; um þá hluti er ek kann görr at sjá en þér, Ld. 186; ekki kann biskup görr at sjá mann á velli en ek, Fms. ii. 173.

II. to chance, happen; ef Björn faðir þeirra kann fyrr andask, if B. should happen to die first, Dipl. v. 3; hvar sem þik kann at bera, wheresoever thou may happen to arrive, Fms. iv. 176; ef nokkut kann þat til at bera á þinni æfi, Gísl. 25; ef hann kann lengr at dveljask í brottu, D. N. v. 43; ok hón kann af þessum heimi brott at fara, iii. 137.

C. Recipr. to know one another; þeir kunnusk, Mork. 106.

2. part. kunnandi, cunning, knowing, learned, with gen.; veit ek at þú ert margs kunnandi, 655 xix. 3; hón var margs kunnandi, Fs. 73; Gyða var marg-kunnandi á fyrnsku ok fróðleik, 131.

adj. ind.

α. of a thing or event, notorious, universally known; sem a. er orðit, Fms. xi. 201; en sem vinátta þeirra görðist a., but tvhen their friendship was noised abroad, Hkr. ii. 281.

β. of a person, knowing, fully informed; unz a., until I know the whole, Vtkv. 8, 10, 12.

* * *

a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

* * *

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WITH ACC.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. Metaph. and in various relations:

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

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

II. denoting in regard to, in respect to:

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

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

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

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

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

IV. denoting the manner or way of doing:

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

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

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

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

VI. connected with nouns,

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

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

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

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

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

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

adj. knowing a little how to use the hammer, Sturl. ii. 195.

* * *

(ber; bar, bárum; borinn), v.

I.

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

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

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

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

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

bera œgishjálm, to inspire fear and awe;

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

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

kýr hafði borit kálf, had calved;

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

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

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

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

borinn e-m, frá e-m (rare), born of;

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

borinn Sigmundi, son of S.;

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

bera e-n ráðum, to overrule one;

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

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

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

verða bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise;

borinn verkjum, overcome by pains;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore up bravely;

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

hon berst af lítt, she is much cast down;

bera sik vel upp, to bear well up against;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

bera e-n undan sök, to acquit;

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

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

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

8) to set forth, report, tell;

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

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

bera e-m njósn, to apprise one;

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

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

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

bera saman ráð sín, to consult together;

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

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

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

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

vel viti borinn, endowed with a good understanding;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11) with preps.:

bera af e-m, to surpass;

en þó bar Bolli af, surpassed all the rest;

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

bera eld at, to set fire to;

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

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

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

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

bera e-t um, to wind round;

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

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

bera út barn, to expose a child;

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

láta af berast, to die;

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

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

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

berast vápn á, to attack one another;

berast at or til, to happen;

þat barst at (happened) á einhverju sumri;

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

berast í móti, to happen, occur;

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

berast við, to be prevented;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2) followed by preps.:

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

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

e-t berr fram (hátt), is prominent;

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

e-t berr á milli, comes between;

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

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

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

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

e-t berr undan, goes amiss, fails;

bera saman, to coincide;

bar nöfn þeirra saman, they had the same name;

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

fund várn bar saman, we met;

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

svá bar at einn vetr, it happened one winter;

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

bar honum svá til, it so befell him;

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

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

4) of time, to fall upon;

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

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

5) denoting cause;

e-t berr til, causes a thing;

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

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

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

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

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

e-t berr frá, is surpassing;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

f. she-bear, = birna.

* * *

u, f.

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

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

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

A. Lat. ferre, portare:

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

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

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

II. without a sense of motion:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

III. in law terms or modes of procedure:

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

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

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

B. Various and metaph. cases.

I. denoting motion:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I) (n. dual from báðir, used as), conj.,

1) bæði … ok, both … and;

bæði vitr ok framgjarn, both wise and bold;

bæði at lærdómi ok vitrleik ok atgervi, both in learning, and wisdom, and accomplishments;

2) bæði … enda, both … and also, and indeed.

II) from biðja.

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[v. báðir, where in p. 54, col. 2, 1. 7, the words ‘rarely Norse’ should be struck out], used adverbially, both, Scot. ‘baithh,’ with conjunctions connecting two parts of a sentence:

α. bæði, … ok, both … and; bæði vitr ok framgjarn, both wise and bold, Nj. 6; b. blár ok digr, Fms. vii. 162; vitandi bœði gott ok illt, knowing both good and evil, Stj. 145. Gen. iii. 5; b. fyrir sína hönd ok annarra, Bs. i. 129; b. at viti ok at öðru, 127; b. at lærdómi, vitrleik, ok atgörvi, in learning, wisdom, and accomplishments, 130 (where the subdivision after bæði is triple); b. lönd ok kvikfé, Ísl. ii. 61; mun nú vera rofit bæði búlkinn ok annat, Fms. vi. 381; bæði var at hann kunni betr en flestir menn aðrir, ok hafði betri færi á …, Bs. i. 129; sometimes in inverse order, ok … bæði; hér og á himnum bæði, Pass. 24. 7; fagrt ok fátítt b., Hom. 117; undruðu ok hörmuðu b., 120.

β. bæði… enda, where the latter part of the sentence, beginning with ‘enda,’ is of a somewhat disjunctive character, and can scarcely be literally rendered into English; it may denote irony or displeasure or the like, e. g. það er b. hann er vitr, enda veit hann af því, i. e. he is clever, no doubt, and knows it; b. er nú, jarl, at ek á yðr margan sóma at launa, enda vili þér nú hafa mik í hina mestu hættu, it is true enough, my lord, that I have received many good things from you, but now you put me in the greatest danger, i. e. you seem to intend to make me pay for it, Fb. i. 193: or it denotes that the one part of a sentence follows as a matter of course from the other, or gives the hidden reason; b. mundi vera at engi mundi þora at etja, enda mundi engi hafa hest svá góðan, i. e. no one would dare to charge him, as there would hardly be any who had so good a horse, Nj. 89.

adj. ‘day-wild,’ i. e. not knowing what day it is, K. Á. 190, N. G. L. i. 342.

adj. ‘few-knowing,’ ignorant, Fms. viii. 447, Barl. 13, 17.

adj. ‘few-knowing,’ ignorant, Barl. 62, Jb. 4.

an adverbial prefix:

A. [Cp. the adv. gegn], gain- (in gainsay), counter, esp. in law terms:—hence gagna-gögn, n. pl. counter-proofs, Grág. i. 106. gagn-augu, n. pl. ‘counter-eyes,’ temples. gagn-dyrt, n. adj. with doors opposite one another, Fas. ii. 181. gagn-gjald, n., prop. a ‘countergild,’ antidote, a Norse law term, which seems identical with mundr or tilgjöf, opp. to heiman-fylgja, dowry, which in case of the husband’s death or divorce was to be the wife’s property; gjöf and gagngjald are distinguished, N. G. L. i. 29; þá skal hon þarnast gagngjalds ok gjafar, 51. gagn-görð, f. transgression, 15. 1 (MS.) gagn-hollr, adj. kind to one another, Hm. 31. gagn-kvöð, f. a counter-summons, Grág. ii. 102. gagn-mælendr, part. pl. gain-sayers, opponents, Mart. 114. gagn-mæli, n. gain-saying, contradiction, Fms. x. 403, Stj. 331. gagn-nefna, u, f. a mutual nomination, of arbitrators, Grág. i. 495. gagn-staða, u, f. ‘gain-staying,’ resistance, Fms. x. 387, Hom. (St.) 43. gagnstöðu-flokkr, m. the opposite party, Fms. viii. 323: gagnstöðu-maðr, m. an opponent, adversary, 623. 12, 655 xvi. B. 3: gagn-staðleikr (- leiki), m. the contradictory, reverse, Stj. 263. gagn-staðligr, adj. (-liga, adv.), contrary, opposed to, Fms. i. 263, viii. 326, x. 233, Stj. 29, 73, Ó. H. 195, Sks. 576. gagn-staðr, adj. id., Stj. 163, Fms. viii. 323. gagn-stæðligr and gagn-stæðiligr, adj. = gagnstaðligr, Fms. ix. 528, Sks. 111, 130, 337, Stj. 335, Fs. 172. gagn-sök, f. a counter-action, counter-charge, a law term,—the defendant brought forth counter-charges, to be set off against those of the prosecutor, vide Nj. passim, Grág. i. 294, K. Þ. K. 160, Fs. 74, 125, Grett. 151, Valla L. 204, Rd. 300. gagn-tak, n. a ‘holder against,’ the strap to which the girth is attached, Fms. vii. 170, Sturl. iii. 114, Glúm. 393, Hkr. iii. 283, Karl. 458, Flor. 78; also called mót-tak. gagn-vert and gagn-vart, n. adj., used as prep. and adv., over against, with dat., Eg. 206, Fms. vi. 32, vii. 253. xi. 34, Nj. 34, Sd. 163; sitja g. e-m, Fs. 148; g. sólunni, 1812. 133; g. dyrum, Gullþ. 26, Fbr. 37, 64, passim:—as adv., Landn. 62, Fms. ii. 27, xi. 125.

B. [Cp. gegnum and the adj. gegn], through, right through, straight; and so thorough, thoroughly, very (in which sense gay or gey is still used in Scot. and North. E., Jamieson Suppl. s. v.):—hence gagn-drepa, adj. wet through. gagn-færiligr and gagn-færr, adj. through-going, used as transl. of the Lat. penetrans, Stj. 89, 656 A. i. 34, 655 xxxii. 19. gagn-gört, n. adj. straight, Fb. iii. 296, Gísl. 38. gagn-hræddr, adj. ‘gay’ (i. e. very) frightened, Fms. iv. 147, 625. 18. gagn-kunnigr, adj. knowing thoroughly. gagn-leiði, n. the ‘ganest’ (i. e. shortest) way, Al. 92. gagn-orðr, adj. ‘gane-worded,’ speaking shortly, to the point, Nj. 38; (opp. to marg-orðr or lang-orðr.) gagn-skeytiligr, adj. to be shot through, Sks. 398 B. gagn-skorinn, part. scored through, i. e. cut through by fjords, rivers, etc., Fas. iii. 511: also thoroughly scored, i. e. carved all over, Vígl. 48 new Ed. gagn-stígr, m. a ‘gane’ way, short cut, Al. 109, Sks. 2, Fms. vii. 82 (in a verse). gagn-sæll, adj. through-seeing, penetrating, Sks. 208, (rare.) gagn-sær, adj. transparent, Rb. 354; gagnsætt gler, Hom. 128. gagn-vátr, adj. wet through. gagn-vegr, m. [Swed. genväg] = gagnstígr, Hm. 33. gagn-þurr, adj. dry all through, quite dry.

n. the ‘knowing’ one’s wife, cohabitation; eiga h. við konu sína, Fas. i. 250, Fms. ii. 73, Mar. 10.

pr. p. knowing (margs kunnandi).

f. knowledge, accomplishments (nökkurs konar list eða kunnandi).

* * *

f. knowledge, Edda 31, Bær. 19, Hom. (St.)

f. knowledge; magical lore.

* * *

and kunnusta, u, f. [Germ. kunst], knowledge, knowing, Jb. 353 B, Fms. vi. 95, Edda (pref.), H. E. ii. 59: with the notion of witchcraft, Fms. i. 8, Stj. 101, Landn. 179.

COMPDS: kunnustulauss, kunnustuleysi.

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f. knowledge; magical lore.

* * *

u, f. knowledge, Edda (pref.), Fms. iii. 184, freq. in mod. usage: as also of knowing by heart, þetta er engin kunnátta!—magical knowledge, Eb. 44, Landn. 179.

COMPDS: kunnáttu-lauss, adj. ignorant. kunnáttu-leysi, n. ignorance, Fms. ix. 331.

1) known;

gøra kunnigt, to make known;

mér er kunnigt um e-t, I know, have knowledge of;

2) versed in magic art, = fjölkunnigr;

3) akin to (áskunnigr, álfkunnigr, goðkunnigr).

* * *

adj., mod. kunnugr: I. [kunna],

1. of a thing, known; göra kunnigt, to make known, Eg. 282; vera kunnigt, to be known, 36, 38; hinna fyrri biskupa sem lands-háttr var hér kunnigri, H. E. ii. 79; menn svá vitrir, ok kunnig lögin, to whom the law is so well known, Hkr. iii. 258; þér mun hér kunnigt um húsa-skipan, Eg. 235; var mér kunnigt um Brynjólf, enn kunnara um Bárð, 39; kunnigt er mér um hag ykkarn, Nj. 17; þat er yðr kunnigt, you know well, Fær. 138.

2. wise, supernatural, in which sense it has the contr. forms kunngir etc.; Ása-fólk var svá kunnigt, at allir hlutir géngu at vilja þeirra, Edda (init.); Haraldr konungr bauð kunngum manni at fara í hamförum til Íslands, Hkr. i. 228; Simon Magus lastaði Petrum ok kvað hann vera kunngan mjök, Post. 656 C. 26; margar kunngar úvættir byggja land þat, Fms. xi. 182; fjöl-kunnigr, q. v.

3. in mod. usage, knowing well, well acquainted, familiar; vel kunnugr, gagn-kunnugr, hund-kunnugr, intimately acquainted.

II. [kyn], high born; Ás kunnigan, Rm. 1; kunnigri kván Niðaðar, Vkv. 23: kindred, Ás-kunnigr, Goð-k., Álf-k., q. v.

adj. knowing many songs (by heart), Fms. vi. 392.

n. knowing the course on the sea, Sks. 53.