mikið+skal+til+mikils+vinna

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(acc. mikinn, neut. mikit), a.

1) great, tall, of stature (m. vexti, maðr m. ok sterkr);

2) great, large, in bulk or size (mikil ey ok góð); áin var mikil, the river was swollen;

3) of quantity, great, much (m. viðr, mikil drykkjuföng);

4) great, prominent (skörungr m., málafylgjumaðr m.); m. drykkjumaðr, a great drunkard; vetr m., a severe winter; með mikilli snild, with great skill;

5) acc. ‘mikinn’ used as adv.; ríða (fara) m., to ride (go) fast; róa m., to pull hard;

6) neut. as subst., much; skipta miklu, to be of great importance; dat., ‘miklu’ with compar., much, by far (m. betr; m. meiri maðr en áðr); with superl., m. mestr, by far the greatest, the very greatest; neut. as adv., mikit, greatly, much, = mjök( hón unni honum m.).

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or mykill, adj., mikill, mikil, mikit; gen. mikils, mikillar, mikils; dat. miklum, mikilli, miklu; acc. mikinn, mikla, mikit: plur. miklir, miklar, mikil; gen. mikilla; dat. miklum; acc. mikla, miklar, mikil: with a suff. neg. miklo-gi, Grág. i. 209, Ísl. ii. 360 (Heiðarv. S.), see -gi (C). The spelling also varies between i and y; the latter form is represented by the Swed. mycka and mycket; Ivar Aasen mykjen and mygje; A. S. mycel; Old Engl., Scot., and North. E. have both muckle and mickle; Engl. much; early Dan. mögel. Some Icel. MSS., e. g. the Flatey-book (first hand), make a difference by spelling i in the uncontractcd forms, but y in the contracted, e. g. mikill, but myklir, myklar, myklum; this however was prob. a Norwegianism, for the poets in their rhymes use i throughout, sik miklu, sikling miklum, Hallfred, agreeably with the mod. pronunciation: compar. meiri, superl. mestr, see meiri: [Ulf. mikils; A. S. mycel; Hel. mikil; O. H. G. mihil; Scot. mickle; Dan. megen; Lat. magnus; Gr. μέγας.]

B. Great, tall, of stature; maðr m. ok sterkr, Nj. 2, Eg. 1; sveinn m. ok fríðr, Fms. i. 14; m. vexti, vi. 102.

2. great, large, in bulk or size; mikil ey ok góð, Eg. 25; m. nauts-húð, Fms. vi. 183; miklar hendr ok fætr, 429; jammikit, Grág. ii. 264; vatn vel mikit at vexti, Sks. 90; áin var mikil, swoln, Nj. 253; mikit hár, 2; höllina miklu, Fms. vii. 122; mikit ríki, vi. 148; mikil borg, id.

3. of quantity, great, much; mikil drykkjuföng, Sturl. iii. 289; mikill viðr, Nj. 45; mikit fé annat, Ld. 84; hafði mikit á græðsk, Nj. 10; mikit hunang, Rb. 572; mikið skal til mikils vinna, Vídal. ii. 64.

II. metaph. great; skörungr mikill, Ld. 120; málafylgju-maðr mikill, Nj. i; svá m. atgörvi-maðr ok skörungr, Ld. 84; m. drykkju-maðr, Fms. vii. 175: eigi mikill þegn, Ísl. ii. 344; miklir eptirmáls-menn, Ld. 64; miklir atgörvi-menn, Fms. i. 17; göra e-n mikinn mann, Eg. 28; þá görði él mikit ok íllviðri, Fms. i. 175; vinds gnýr mikill, Ld. 326: vetr mikill, a hard winter, Rb. 572, Ld. 120; mikit ár, a good season, Hom. 68; mikla rausn, Sturl. iii. 289; um Dofra-fjall var mikil fór ór Þrándheimi, Fms. vii. 122; svá mikit metorð, x. 398; frost eru þá mikil, Edda 40; mikit úgagn, mikit mein, 41; með mikilli snild, Ld. 84; með mikilli vínáttu, id.; mikla virðing, id.; mikil tíðindi, 326; mikinn trúnað, 204; mikit tilkall, Eg. 266; mikit vald, Nj. 10; mikill fagna-fundr, Ld. 330; mikit ( imposing) er þitt yfirbragð, Fms. ii. 161; mikit mannfall, Rb. 572.

2. acc. mikinn used as adv.; hann ríðr mikinn, Nj. 55, 125, Gullþ. 64, Grett. 29 new Ed.; þeir fóru mikinn. Fms. ix. 511; mikinn tekr þú nú af, vi. 206; hann tók mikinn af því at þat væri eigi, x. 148.

III. neut. as subst., much; skipta miklu, to be of great importance, Ld. 308; hversu mikit, how much, id.; vera til mikils ferr, 655 xi. 3; mikils verðr, Ísl. ii. 327, Njarð. 372; e-m er mikit í skapi, of emotion, anger, Nj. 38; þykkja e-t mikit, to think much of it, be sorry, angry for, or the like, Eg. 539.

2. dat. miklu with a compar. much, by far, cp. Lat. multo; muni vera miklu fleiri ván skipa, Ld. 78; miklu betr, 84; miklu hærra, Sks. 653; miklu meiri maðr en áðr, Fms. vii. 233; miklu meira háttar, i. 295.

β. with superl., in poets; miklu mest, much the greatest; þá er unni mér miklu mest manna, Kormak, Hkv. 1. 49; miklu beztan, Ó. H. (in a verse); miklu maklegast, Nj. (in a verse); miklu daprastr, Fas. ii. 56 (in a verse); miklu lengst, Ó. H. (in a verse); miklu fegrst, Fm. 40.

γ. in prose; miklu hollastir, Glúm. 340; miklu mest allra þeirra, Fms. ix. 54; miklu mest hyrndir, xi. 6; sú borg var miklu mest, vi. 154; jarl var miklu blíðastr þann dag til konungs, ix. 282; miklu beztr, Þiðr. 183; miklu harðast ok hættuligast, 200.

IV. neut. as adv., mikit = much, greatly; hón unni honum mikit. Nj. 27; sá maðr eykr mikit ( greatly) efni til skipsins Naglfars, Edda 41; honum fannsk mikit um, Fms. vii. 232; unnusk þeir mikit, Nj. 149; gékk þá skipit mikit (= mikinn), Eg. 390; en þeir sigldu mikit, Fms. vii. 214; samðisk þá mikit með þeim feðgum. Ísl. ii. 210; þessi rembisk mikit, 219.

V. pr. names; Mikla Gildi. the Great Guild, Fms. vi. 440; Mikla-Stofa, etc.: as a nickname, inn Mikli en Mikla, the big; Hrolleifr enn Mikli, Fs.: in old writers always of the body, in mod. usage = great as Alexander Mikli, (where formerly Ríki was used.)

2. in local names, [cp. Dan. mögel-, magle-]: Mikli-garðr, m. ‘Mickle-garth’ = Constantinople, Fms. passim; Mikla-garðs-konungr, -keisari, the king of M., passim.

C. COMPDS: mikilbrjóstaðr, mikilfengliga, mikilfengligr, mikilgjarn, mikilgæfr, mikilhugaðr, mikilhæfr, mikillátr, mikilleikr, mikilleitr, mikilliga, mikilligr, mikillætask, mikillæti, mikilmagnaðr, mikilmannliga, mikilmannligr, mikilmenni, mikilmennska, mikilmæli, mikilráðr, mikilræði, mikilúðligr, mikilvegligr, mikilvirkr, mikilvænligr, mikilþægr.