nearly+all

may be prefixed to almost every adjective and adverb in an intensive sense, very, extremely.

* * *

may in old writers be prefixed to almost every adjective and adverb in an intensive sense, like Engl. very, Lat. per-, Gr. οια-, ζα-. In common talk and modern writings it is rare (except after a negative), and denotes something below the average, viz. tolerably, pretty well, not very well; but in the Sagas, something capital, exceeding. In high style it may perhaps be used in the old sense, e. g. allfagrt ljós oss birtist brátt, a transl. of the Ambrosian hymn, Aurora lucis rutilat. The instances in old writers are nearly endless, e. g. all-annt, n. adj. very eager, Fms. ii. 41; ironically, 150. all-apr, adj. very sore, very harsh, v. apr. all-auðsóttligt, n. adj. very easy, Fs. 40. all-auðveldliga, adv. very easily, Fms. iv. 129. all-auðveldligr, adj. very easy, Fms. v. 331. all-auðveldr, adj. id., Fbr. 158: neut. as adv., Hkr. ii. 76. all-ágætr, adj. very famous, Fms. ii. 76. all-áhyggjusamliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very careful, Fms. vi. 184. all-ákafliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very hot, impetuous, Hkr. i. 234, ii. 32. all-ákaft, adj. very fast, Nj. 196. all-áræðiliga, adv. very likely, Fær. 183. all-áræðislítill, adj. very timid, Fms. vi. 217. all-ástúðligt, n. adj. very hearty, intimate, Fms. ii. 20. all-banvænn, adj. very likely to prove mortal, Orkn. 148. all-beinn, adj. very hospitable, Fms. ii. 84, Eb. 286: neut. as adv., Fær. 259. all-beiskr, adj. very harsh, bitter, Sturl. iii. 167. all-bert, n. adj. very manifest, Lex. Poët. all-bitr, adj. very biting, sharp, Sks. 548. all-bitrligr, adj. of a very sharp appearance, Vígl. 20. all-bjartr, adj. very bright, Fms. viii. 361. all-bjúgr, adj. very much bent, curved, Ölkofr. 39. all-blár, adj. very blue, Glúm. 394. all-blíðliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very blithely, kindly, Fær. 132. all-blíðr, adj. very mild, amiable, Sd. 158, Fms. i. 202. all-bráðgörr, adj. very soon mature, Eb. 16. all-bráðliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very hastily, Orkn. 72. all-bráðr, adj. very hot-headed, Njarð. 370: neut. as adv. very soon, Fms. xi. 51: dat. pl. all-bráðum, as adv. very suddenly, 139. all-bros-ligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very funny, laughable, Fms. iii. 113. all-dasigr, adj. very sluggish, Lex. Poët. all-digr, adj. very big, stout; metaph. puffed up, Nj. 236. all-djarfliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very boldly, Fms. ii. 313, Orkn. 102. all-djúpsettr, adj. very deep, thoughtful, Bret. 158. all-drengiliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very bold, gallant, Lv. 110. all-dræmt, n. adj. very boastfully, from dramb, superbia, (the modern word is dræmt = slowly, sluggishly); þeir létu a. yfir sér, boasted, Sturl. ii. 56. MS. Mus. Brit. 1127; Cod. A. M. has allvænt, prob. wrongly. all-dyggr, adj. very doughty, Lex. Poët. all-dýrr, adj. very dear, Fms. iii. 159. all-eiguligr, adj. very worth having, Sd. 146. all-eina (theol.), á Guð alleina (a hymn), alone: Hkr. iii. 339 (in a spurious chapter). all-einarðliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very sincere, candid, open, Ld. 334. all-eldiligr and -elliligr, adj. of a very aged appearance, Fms. iii. 125. all-fagr, adj. very bright, fair, Orkn. 296 old Ed.: neut. as adv. very fairly, Sturl. i. 72. all-fast, n. adj. very firmly, steadfastly, Eb. 290, Fær. 259. all-fastorðr, adj. very ‘wordfast,’ very true to his word, Fms. vii. 120. all-fálátr, adj. very taciturn, close, Fas. iii. 408. all-fáliga, adv. on very cold terms, Sturl. iii. 298. all-fámáligr, adj. very close, of very few words, Fms. iii. 85, iv. 366. all-fámennr, adj. followed by very few people, Sturl. ii. 122, Magn. 386. all-far, adj. very few, Eg. 512, Ld. 272, Ísl. ii. 356: neut. on very cold terms, Fms. xi. 55. all-fáræðinn, adj. of very few words, Fms. iv. 312. all-feginn, adj. very ‘fain,’ glad, Eg. 240, Ld. 330. all-feginsamliga, adv. very ‘fain,’ gladly, Eg. 27. all-feigligr, adj. having the mark of death very plain on one’s face, v. feigr, Sturl. iii. 234. all-feitr, adj. very fat, Fms. x. 303. all-ferliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very rudely, Fms. iv. 263. all-fémikill, adj. very costly, Ld. 298. all-fjarri, adv. very far, far from, metaph., Hkr. ii. 246; eigi a., not improper, Fbr. 15. all-fjartekit, part. very far-fetched, Skálda 166. all-fjölgan, adj. acc. very numerous (does not exist in nom.), Sks. 138 A. all-fjölkunnigr, adj. very deeply versed in sorcery, Fms. ii. 175, Fas. i. 412. all-fjölmeðr and -mennr, adj. followed, attended by very many people, much frequented, Eg. 724, 188, Hkr. i. 215: n. sing. in very great numbers, Fms. i. 36. all-fjölrætt, n. adj. very heedful, much talked of, Nj. 109. all-forsjáll, adj. very prudent, Hom. 115. all-framr, adj. very famous, Lex. Poët.; very far forward, Grett. 161 A. all-frekliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very daringly, impudently, Fas. i. 24. all-frekr, adj. too eager, too daring, Fms. vii. 164. all-friðliga, adv. in very great peace, Lex. Poët. all-fríðr, adj. very beautiful, Eg. 23, Hkr. i. 225, ii. 354, Fms. i. 2. all-frjáls, adj. very free, independent, v. alfrjáls. all-fróðligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very wise, learned, Sks. 306 B. all-fróðr, adj. very learned, Sks. 30. all-frægr, adj. very famous, Fms. ii. 324, Hkr. i. 232, ii. 187, Ld. 122. all-frækiliga, adv. and -ligr, adj., and all-frækn, adj. and -liga, adv. very bold, boldly, Ísl. ii. 267, Hkr. i. 239, Fms. i. 121. all-fúss, adj. and -liga, adv. very eager, eagerly, Eg. 488, Fms. xi. 89. all-fýsiligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very desirable, Eg. 19, 468. all-fölr, adj. very pale, Lex. Poët. all-gagnsamr, adj. very profitable, gainful, Ísl. ii. 56. all-gamall, adj. very old, Hkr. i. 34. all-gegniliga and -gegnliga, adv. very fittingly, Sturl. ii. 63. all-gemsmikill, adj. very wanton, frolicsome, Sturl. ii. 57. all-gerla and -görviligr, v. -görla, -görviligr. all-gestrisinn, adj. very hospitable, Háv. 40. all-geysilegr, adj. and -liga, adv. very impetuous, Fms. x. 81. all-gildliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. with a very grand air, Grett. 121. all-gildr, adj. very grand, Lex. Poët. all-giptusam-liga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very lucky, Fms. x. 53. all-glaðliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very joyfully, joyful, Fms. iii. 143, Lv. 55. all-glaðr, adj. very joyful, Eg. 163, Ld. 176. all-gleymr, adj. very gleeful, mirthful, in high spirits, [glaumr], verða a. við e-t, Sturl. iii. 152, Eb. 36. all-glæsiliga, adj. and -ligr, adv. very shiny, Eb. 34, Fas. iii. 626, Fms. ix. 430. all-glöggsær, adj. very transparent, dearly visible, metaph., þorf. Karl. 380. all-glöggt, n. adj. very exactly, Hkr. iii. 253, Fas. iii. 13. all-góðmannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very kindly, kind, Mag. 6. all-góðr, adj. very good, Nj. 222, Eg. 36, 198. all-greiðliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very easy, easily, Eb. 268: neut. as adv., Eb. l. c. all-grimmliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very grimly, fiercely, Fas. iii. 414. all-grimmr, adj. very cruel, fierce, Hkr. iii. 167. all-grun-samliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very suspiciously, Ísl. ii. 364. all-göfugr, adj. very distinguished, Eg. 598, Bs. i. 60. all-görla, adv. very clearly, precisely, Hkr. iii. 133, Fms. xi. 15. all-görviligr, adj. very stout, manly, Fms. ii. 28. all-hagstæðr, adj. with a very fair wind, Sturl. iii. 109. all-harðligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very hard, stern, Fas. i. 382. all-harðr, adj. very hard, stern, Fms. i. 177: n. sing. severely, Nj. 165, Grág. i. 261. all-háskasamligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very hazardous, Fms. v. 135. all-heiðinn, adj. quite heathen, Fs. 89 (in a verse). all-heilagr, adj. very sacred, Lex. Poët. all-heimskliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very foolish, frantic, Hkr. ii. 190, Fas. iii. 293. all-heimskr, adj. very silly, stupid, Eg. 376, Grett. 159. all-heppinn, adj. very lucky, happy, Lex. Poët. all-herðimikill, adj. very broad-shouldered, Eg. 305. all-hermannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very martial, Fms. xi. 233. all-hjaldrjúgr, adj. very gossipping, chattering, Lv. 57: neut. as adv., Vápn. 10. all-hógliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very gently, Fms. xi. 240, vi. 274. all-hóleitr and -háleitr, adj. very sublime, Hom. 23. all-hór and -hár, adj. very high, tall, v. -hár. all-hratt, n. adj. in all speed, Lex. Poët. all-hraustliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very bravely, Fms. viii. 289, Eb. 34. all-hraustr, adj. very valiant, Fms. viii. 267. all-hreystimannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very valiantly, Fms. xi. 95. all-hrumliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very infirmly from age, Fas. ii. 91. all-hræddr, adj. very much afraid, Fbr. 94. all-hræðinn, adj. very timid, Fms. vi. 155. all-huml;mgsjúkr, adj. very grieved, heart-sick, Hkr. i. 243, Fms. vi. 133. all-hvass, adj. of the wind, blowing very sharp, Fms. ix. 20, Lex. Poët. all-hyggi-ligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very carefully, Fas. iii. 610. all-hýrliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very blandly, with a very bright face, Fas. iii. 636. all-hæðiligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very ridiculous, Finnb. 312. all-hældreginn, adj. walking very much on one’s heels, dragging the heels very much in walking, of an aged or beggarly person, Band. 9. all-hœgliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very softly, meekly, Fms. xi. 389. all-hœlinn, adj. very bragging, Lex. Poët. all-iðinn, adj. very diligent, laborious, Bs. i. 278. all-illa, adv. and -illr, adj. very badly, bad, wicked, Nj. 242, cp. ilia; ill-willed, Eg. 542: compar., vera allver um, to be worse off, Nj. 221 (Ed. allvant); angry, Lv. 145; disgraceful, Eg. 237; unfortunate, Sturl. ii. 47. all-jafnlyndr, adj. very calm, even-tempered, Fms. vi. 287. all-kaldr, adj. very cold, Vápn. 21. all-kappsamliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. with very much zeal, liberally, Hkr. i. 271; veita a., of hospitality, Ld. 292; mæla a., frankly, peremptorily, 296. all-kappsamr, adj. very eager, vehement, Eg. 187. all-karlmannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very manfully, Fms. x. 141. all-kaupmannliga, adv. in a very businesslike, tradesmanlike way, Fms. v.255. all-kátligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very funny, Grett. 112. all-kátr, adj. very joyful, Nj. 18, Eg. 44, 332. all-keppinn, adj. very snappish, Lex. Poët. all-kerskiligr and -keskiligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very sarcastic, biting, Sturl. ii. 196. all-klókr, adj. very shrewd, Hkr. iii. 317. all-knáliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very stoutly, vigorously, Rd. 312. all-kostgæflliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very earnestly, in a very painstaking way, Stj. all-kostigr, adj. very excellent, Lex. Poët. all-kviklatr, adj. very quick, lively, Ld. 270. all-kynliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very strangely, strange, Ísl. ii. 58, Fms. ii. 227, Grett. 160. all-kyrrligr, adj. very quiet, tranquil, Háv. 49. all-kærr, adj. very dear, beloved, Eg. 139, Fms. i. 48; very fond of, Hkr. i. 194: neut., Eg. 116, of mutual love. all-langr, adj. very long, Háv. 49. all-laust, n. adj. very loosely, Fms. xi. 103. all-lágr, adj. very low, short of stature, Fbr. 68. all-lengi, adv. very long, K. Þ. K. 158. all-léttbrúnn, adj. of very brightened, cheerful countenance, Ld. 94. all-léttiliga, adv. very lightly, Fas. iii. 612. all-léttmælt, n. adj., vera a. um e-t, to speak in a very lively way, Fms. iv. 261. all-léttr, adj. very light (in weight), Fas. iii. 487. all-líkliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. in very agreeable, courteous terms, Fas. i. 84. all-likligr, adj. very likely, Fas. ii. 247, Sks. 669. all-líkr, adj. very like, Fas. iii. 579, Sd. 160, Korm. 142. all-lítilfjörligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very puny, prop. having little life in one, Háv. 54. all-lítill, adj. very little, Fær. 268: n. sing. all-lítt, as adv. very little, Nj. 108, 130, Korm. 172; poorly, Grett. 116. all-lyginn, adj. very given to lying, Fbr. 157. all-makligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very deserving, fitting, Sturl. iii. 127, Bjarn. 22. all-mann-fátt, n. adj. with very few people, Gísl. 31. all-mannhættr, adj. very dangerous, Fas. iii. 34. all-mannskæðr, adj. very full of manskathe, very murderous, Fms. ii. 512. all-mannæenligr, adj. a very promising man, Fms. iv. 254. all-mannvænn, adj. a man of very great promise, Hkr. ii. 182. all-margliga, adv. very affably, Sturl. iii. 27. all-margmæltr, part. very talkative, Sturl. ii. 179. all-margr, adj. very numerous, pl. very many, Nj. 32, Grág. ii. 176, Sks. 328, Gþl. 329. all-margrætt, n. adj. part. very much spoken of, Fms. viii. 275. all-málugr, adj. very loquacious, Hkr. iii. 152, 655 xi. 2. all-máttfarinn, adj. very much worn out, with very little strength left, Fas. ii. 356. all-máttlítill, adj. very weak, Fms. i. 159. all-meginlauss, adj. very void of strength, Fms. xi. 103. all-mikilfengligr, adj. very high and mighty, very imposing, Fs. all-mikill, adj. very great, Ísl. ii. 269, Nj. 193, Eg. 29, 39: neut. as adv. greatly, Fms. i. 24, vii. 110. all-mikilmannliga, adv. very nobly, Sturl. i. 33. all-misjafn, adj. very variously, unfavourably, in such phrases as, mæla a. um e-t, there were very different stories about the matter, leggja a. til, ganga a. undir, taka a. á, Eg. 242, Hkr. ii. 123, Fms. i. 86, vii. no, Ld. 166. all-mjór, adj. very slim, slender, narrow, Hkr. iii. 117, Gþl. 173. all-mjök, adv. very much, Nj. 134, Ld. 196, Eg. 19; féllu þá a. menn, in very great numbers, Fms. i. 173. all-myrkr, adj. very dark, Fms. ix. 23. all-mæðiliga, adv. with very great effort, heavily, Fms. ix. 16. all-nauðigr, adj. and -liga, adv. very reluctant, unwilling, Grett. 153; a. staddr, dangerously, Fms. v. 212. all-náinn, adj. very near, nearly related, Sks. 330. all-náttförull, adj. very much given to wandering by night, Lex. Poët. all-níðskárr, adj. of a poet, given to mocking, satirical verse, [níð and skáld (?)], Fms. ii. 7. all-nóg, adv. very abundantly, Sd. 182. all-nær, adv. very near, Fms. vii. 289; metaph., lagði a. at, pretty nearly, well-nigh, Fs., Sks. 684 B. all-nærri, adv. very near, Ld. 202, Fas. iii. 339. all-opt, adv. very often, Anecd. 38, Gþl. 169. all-orðfátt, n. adj. in the phrase, göra a. urn, to be very short of words as to, Bjarn. 31. all-ógurligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very frightful, Edda 41. all-ólmliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very furiously, Fas. iii. 546, Bárð. 177. áll-óttalaust, n. adj. with very little to fear, Eg. 371, v. l. all-ramskipaðr, adj. part. very strongly manned, Fms. iii. 13. all-rauðr, adj. very red, Ld. 182. all-ráðligr, adj. very expedient, advisable, Grett. 145. all-reiðiligr, adj. looking very wrathful, Fms. iv. 161. all-reiðr, adj. very wroth, angry, Edda 57, Nj. 135, Eg. 139. all-ríkmarmligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very grand, pompous, magnificent, Fms. i. 213. all-ríkr, adj. very powerful, Fms. i. 115. all-rýrliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very feebly, puny, Fbr. 28. all-röskliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very smart, brisk, Fms. viii. 317. all-sannligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very likely, ‘soothlike,’ Fms. iv. 270. all-sáttgjarnliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very placable, of mild disposition, Sturl. iii. 288. all-seinn, adj. very slow, Bs. i. 192: neut. as adv. slowly, Grett. 151 A. all-sigrsæll, adj. very victorious, having very good luck in war, Hkr. i. 28. all-skammr, adj. very short, very scant, Nj. 264: neut. substantively, a very short way, Finnb. 324; short distance, Fms. iv. 329. all-skapliga, adv. very fittingly, properly, Grett. 120. all-skapværr, adj. of a very gentle, meek disposition, Sturl. all-skapþungt, n. adj., vera a., to be in a very gloomy, depressed state of mind, Fms. iv. 26. all-skarpr, adj. very sharp, Lex. Poët. all-skeinuhættr, adj. very dangerous, vulnerable, Sturl. ii. 139. all-skemtiligr, adj. very amusing, Sturl. ii. 77. all-skillítill, adj. very slow-witted, dull, Sturl. j. 89. all-skjallkænliga, adv. [skjalla, to flatter], very coaxingly, Grett. 131 A. all-skjótt, n. adj. as adv. very soon, Nj. 236. all-skrautligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very smart, splendid, Fas. ii. 366, Mag. 11. all-skygn, adj. very sharp-sighted, Hrafn. 33. all-skyldr, adj. bound to, very obligatory; neut. = bounden duty, Sks. 484; deserved, Gþl. 61:

β. nearly related, near akin, Fms. xi. 75. all-skyndiliga, adv. very quickly, Blas. 40. all-skynsamliga, adv. very judiciously, Sturl. iii. 161. all-skyrugr, adj. all curd-besprent, Grett. 107 A. all-sköruliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very frankly, boldly, dignified, Sturl. iii. 39, Fms. ix. 5, Ld. 94 C, 226, Bs. i. all-sljáliga, adv. very slowly, sluggishly, Grett. 101 A. all-smár, adj. very small, Fms. v. 55, xi. 61. all-snarpliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very sharply, smartly, Fms. viii. 346. all-snarpr, adj. very sharp, Fms. i. 38, Nj. 246. all-snemma, adv. very early, Fms. ii. 223. all-snjallr, adj. very shrewd, clever, Fms. viii. 367. all-snúðula, adv. very quickly, Lex. Poët. all-snæfr, adj. very brisk, id. all-snöfurmannligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very brisk and energetic looking, of a man, Fms. xi. 79. all-spakliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very mildly, moderately, wisely, Hkr. ii. 41. all-spakr, adj. very gentle, wise, Fms. vi. 298. all-starsýnn, adj. who stares very hard at a thing, looking fixedly upon, Fms. vi. 203. all-sterkliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very briskly, strongly, Ld. 158, Fas. iii. 612. all-sterkr, adj. very strong, Hkr. i. 238, Eg. 285; Ísl. ii. 461 ( very vehement); as a pr. name, Fms. iii. 183. all-stilliliga, adv. very calmly, in a very composed manner, Ld. 318. all-stirðr, adj. very stiff, Háv. 46. all-stórhöggr, adj. dealing very hard blows, Fms. i. 171. all-stórliga, adv. very haughtily, Hkr. ii. 63, Ld. 168. all-stórmannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very munificently, nobly, Fas. iii. 45; haughtily, Sd. 146. all-stórorðr, adj. using very big words, Eg. 340, Ld. 38 ( very boisterous). all-stórr, adj. very great, metaph. big, puffed up, Ld. 318; dat. all-stórum, as adv. very largely, Edda 32. all-strangr, adj. very rapid, Lex. Poët. all-styggr, adj. very ill-humoured, cross, Grett. 103 A. all-styrkliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very stoutly, Stj. 402. all-styrkr, adj. very strong, Fms. i. 177. all-svangr, adj. very hungry, Lex. Poët. all-svinnliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very wisely, prudently, wise, Fas. i. 95, ii. 266. all-sættfúss, adj. very placable, peace-loving, very willing to accept an atonement, Sturl. iii. 19. all-sœmiliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very seemly, decorous, honourable, Hkr. i. 215, Ísl. ii. 163. all-tiginn, adj. very princely, Lex. Poët. all-tillátsamr, adj. very indulgent, lenient, Þórð. 12. all-tíðrætt, n. adj. very much talked of, much spoken of, Eg. 99, Sturl. i. 199. all-tíðvirkr, adj. very quick at work, Fms. xi. 377. all-torfyndr, adj. very hard to find, Fms. vii. 356. all-torfært, n. adj. very hard to pass, cross, Eg. 546. all-torsótt, n. adj. part. very difficult to reach, Eg. 546. all-tortryggiliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very suspiciously, Sturl. ii. 47. all-torveldligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very difficult, Str. all-trauðr, adj. very slow, unwilling, Fms. xi. 39. all-tregr, adj. very tardy, Fær. 114, Bárð. 178. all-trúr, adj. very true. Fms. vi. 377. all-tryggr, adj. very trusty, Hkr. iii. 167. all-tvítugr, false reading, instead of eigi alls t., not quite twenty, Sturl. i. 181. all-undarligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very odd, wonderful, Fms. ii. 150. all-ungr, adj. very young, Eg. 268, Fms. i. 14, Ld. 274. all-úbeinskeyttr, adj. shooting very badly, Fms. ii. 103. all-úblíðr, adj. very harsh, unkind, Fas. ii. all-úbragðligr, adj. very ill-looking, Sturl. iii. 234. all-údæll, adj. very spiteful, untractable, Sturl. i. 99. all-úfagr, adj. very ugly, metaph., Fms. iii. 154. all-úfimliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very awkwardly, Fas. ii. 543. all-úframliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very backward, shy, timid, Fbr. 38 C. all-úfríðr, adj. very ugly, Fms. xi. 227. all-úfrýnn, adj. very sullen, ‘frowning,’ sour, Eg. 525. all-úfrægr, adj. very inglorious, Fms. iv. 259. all-úglaðr, adj. very gloomy, sad, Hkr. iii. 379. all-úhægr, adj. very difficult, Eg. 227. all-úhöfðingligr, adj. very low-looking, very plebeian, Finnb. 222. all-úkátr, adj. very sorrowful, Edda 35, Eg. 223, Fms. i. 37. all-úknár, adj. very weak of frame, Grett. 119 A, very badly knit; Bs. i. 461 (of boys). all-úkonungligr, adj. very unkingly, Fms. viii. 158. all-úkunnigr, adj. quite unknown, Ísl. ii. 412. all-úlífligr, adj. very unlikely to live, Hkr. ii. 200. all-úlíkliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very unlikely, Gísl. 24, Sd. 123, Finnb. 310. all-úlíkr, adj. very unlike, Glúm. 364. all-úlyginn, adj. not at all given to lie, truthful, Fbr. 157. all-úmáttuliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. weakly, very weak, tender, Fms. iv. 318. all-úráðinn, adj. part. very ‘unready’ (cp. Ethelred the ‘unready’), undecided, Lv. 9. all-úráðliga, adv. very unadvisedly, rashly, Odd. 12 old Ed. all-úsannligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very untruthful, unjust; also, unlikely, Fms. vii. 141. all-úsáttfúss, adj. very implacable, unwilling to come to terms, Sturl. iii. 275. all-úskyldr, adj. very strange to, not at all bound to…, Eg. 10. all-úspakr, adj. very unruly, Sturl. ii. 61. all-úsváss, adj. very uncomfortable, of weather, cold and rainy, Bs. i. 509. all-úsýnn, adj. very uncertain, doubtful, Glúm. 358, Sturl. i. 105. all-úsæligr, adj. of very poor, wretched appearance, Niðrst. 109. all-úvinsæll, adj. very unpopular, Fms. iv. 369, Fas. iii. 520. all-úvísliga, adv. very unwisely, Niðrst. 6. all-úvænliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. of very unfavourable prospect, Fas. ii. 266; n. adj. very unpromising, Grett. 148 A. all-úvænn, adi. very ugly, Fas. i. 234; very unpromising, unfavourable, Ísl. ii. 225: neut. as adv. unfavourably, Fms. xi. 134. all-úþarfr, adj. very unthrifty, very unprofitable, something that had better be prevented, Eg. 576, Hkr. ii. 245. all-vandlátr, adj. very difficult, hard to please, Fms. vi. 387. all-vandliga, adv. with very great pains, exactly, carefully, Sks. 658 B. all-vant, n. adj., vera a. um e-t, to be in a very great strait, Nj. 221. all-varfærr, adj. very careful, solicitous, Eg. 63. all-vaskligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very brisk, smart, gallant, Hkr. i. 104; compar. v. alvaskligr. all-vaskr, adj. very brisk, gallant, Fms. viii. 226. all-vandr, adj. very bad, of clothes, much worn, Pm. 11. all-vápndjarfr, adj. very bold, daring in arms, Hkr. iii. 63. all-veðrlítið, n. adj. very calm, with little wind, Fms. vi. 360. all-vegliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very grand, princely, nobly, Fms. i. 20, Eg. 332, Hkr. i. 15. all-vel, adv. very well, Nj. 12, Eg. 78, 198; compar. albetr, v. alvel. all-vesall, adj. very puny, wretched, Nj. 97. all-vesalliga, adv. very wretchedly, Ölk. 35. all-vesalmannliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. id., Ísl. ii. 416. all-vesæll, adj. very miserable, base, vile, Nj. 97. all-vingjarnliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very friendly, amicable, Sturl. ii. 168. all-vingott, n. adj. on very friendly terms, Fbr. 129. all-vinsæll, adj. very popular, used of a man blessed with many friends, Fms. i. 184, ii. 44, Orkn. 104 old Ed. all-virðuligr, adj. and -liga, adv. very worthy, dignified, Fms. x. 84, Bs. i. 83. all-vitr, adj. very wise, Sks. 29 B (superl.) all-vitrliga, adv. very wisely, Fas. ii. 66. all-víða and all-vítt, n. adj. very widely, Hkr. iii. 141, Lex. Poët. all-vígliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. in a very warlike manner, Fms. ix. 488, Fas. ii. 112. all-vígmannliga, adv. very martially, Fas. iii. 150. all-vígmóðr, adj. quite wearied out with fighting, Introd. to Helgakviða (Sæm.) all-víss, adj. very wise, sure, Sks. 520, Lex. Poët.: neut. to a dead certainty, Lex. Poët. all-vænliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very promising, handsome, Glúm. 349, Fms. v. 260, Fbr. 114. all-vænn, adj. id., Clem. 24, Bs. i. 340: neut., þykja a. um, to be in high spirits, Ísl. ii. 361; make much of, Fms. ii. 76; as adv. favourably, Fms. iv. 192. all-vörpuligr, adj. of a very stout, stately frame, Hkr. ii. 254. all-vöxtuligr, adj. very tall, of large growth, Fas. iii. 627. all-þakkligr, adj. very pretty, = þekkiligr, Lex. Poët. all-þakksamliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very thankfully, Fms. i. 120, Ld. 298. all-þarfliga, adv. very thriftily, very pressingly; biðja a., to beg very hard, Edda 45. all-þarfr, adj. very thrifty, Lex. Poët. all-þéttr, adj. very crowded, cp. Lex. Poët. all-þrekligr, adj. of a very robust frame, Hkr. ii. 2. all-þröngr, adj. as neut. in a very great crowd, Edda 24. all-þungliga, adv. and -ligr, adj. very hard, unwilling, reluctant, Sturl. ii. 120; taka a. á e-m, to be very hard upon, Mag. 1. all-þungr, adj. very unfavourable, Hkr. ii. 358; hostile, badly disposed towards, Eb. 108, Eg. 332; þykja a., to dislike, Fms. viii. 441; a. orð, to blame, Sturl. ii. 62. all-þykkr, adj. very thick, Fas. i. 339: n. sing. as adv. thickly, Fms. vii. 70 (of great numbers slain on the battle-field). all-æfr, adj. very furious, wrath, Ísl. ii. 258, Lv. 60, Fas. i. 404. all-ægiligr, adj. very terrible, Dropl. 18. all-æstr, adj. very incited, vehement, Nj. 231. all-örorðr, adj. very quick-tongued, frank, outspoken, Eg. 340. all-öruggliga, adv. very steadfastly, very firmly, Grett. 153 A. all-öruggr, adj. very unflinching, Bs. i. 624.

(öll, allt), a.

1) all, entire, whole;

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

af öllum hug, with all (one’s) heart;

hvítr allr, white all over;

bú allt, the whole estate;

allan daginn, the whole day;

í allri veröld, in the whole world;

allan hálfan mánuð, for the entire fortnight;

with addition of ‘saman’;

allt saman féit, the whole amount;

um þenna hernað allan saman, all together;

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

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

var Hrappr allr brottu, quite gone;

allr annarr maðr, quite another man;

3) gone, past;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

hér er skammætt allt, here everything is transient;

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

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

allt annars, all the rest;

at öllu annars, in all other respects;

alls fyrst, first of all;

alls mest, most of all;

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

í öllu, in everything;

með öllu, wholly, quite;

neita með öllu, to refuse outright;

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

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

allir aðrir, all others, every one else;

flestir allir, nearly all, the greatest part of;

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

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

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

allra sízt, least of all.

* * *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) so, thus;

ertu Íslenzkr maðr? — hann sagði, at svá var, he said it was so;

svá er sagt, at, it is told that;

2) joined with another particle, svá … ok, both … and;

svá starf ok torveldi, both toil and trouble;

svá ráns-maðrinn ok okrkarlinn, the robber as well as the usurer;

ok svá, and also, as also;

sumarit ok svá um vetrinn, the summer, as also the winter;

fögr augu ok svá snarlig, fair eyes and also sharp;

3) so, denoting degree (œrit mun hann stórvirkr, en eigi veit ek, hvárt hann er svá góðvirkr);

Gunnarr spyrr, hví Njáli þœtti þetta svá úráðligt, why he thought this so unwise;

ekki meirr en svá, not more than so, so and no more;

4) followed by an adjective and ‘at’, svá ríkr, góðr, mikill, margir, fáir … at, so mighty, good, great, many, few … that;

svá at, so that;

kaldr (sjúkr) svá, at, so cold (sick) that;

contracted ‘svát’, svát ek muna, that (so far as) I remember;

with a gen., Hallfreðr er svá manna, at ek skil sízt, H. is such a man as I never can make out;

hón er svá kvenna (= hón er svá af konum), at mér er mest um at eiga, she is just such a woman as I most want;

5) svá … sem, as … as;

hárit var svá fagrt sem silki, as fair (soft) as silk;

svá vel sem þér ferr, well as thou behavest;

6) so, then (gengu þeir norðr yfir hálsinn ok svá fram á Rastarkálf);

7) joined to an a. or adv., about, pretty much;

slíkar svá fortölur, somewhat such persuasion;

þat mun þó svá nær fara, yet it will be just on the verge of that;

nakkvat svá, somewhat so;

fegnir nakkvat (nökkut) svá, rather glad;

mjök svá, almost, very nearly, all but (mjök svá kominn at bana).

* * *

adv., so in old rhymes in the 13th century, e. g. svá and gá, Mkv. 20; svá and á, Ht. 82; later form svó (freq. in the 14th and 15th centuries); whence svo, and lastly so: [a common Teut. particle; Ulf. swê; A. S. swâ; Engl. and Germ. so; Dan. saa.]

B. So, thus; ertú Íslenzkr maðr?—Hann sagði at svá var, he said it was so, Nj. 6; beiddi Þorsteinn Atla at … Hann görði svá, he did so, Ísl. ii. 193; nú görðu þeir svá, so they did, Fms. x. 238; eigi görr enn svá, ‘not farther than so,’ only so far, Grág. i. 136; þeir heita svá, thus, Edda, Hom. 141; ef þú vill eigi segja mér, ok farir þú svá (thus, i. e. without letting me know) héðan, Fms. vii. 30; þeir segja svá Ólafi konungi, at …, iii. 181; svá er sagt, at …, it is told, that …, vi. 3.

2. joined with another particle; svá ok, so also, also; svá skal ok ætla þeim er þá kömr við, Grág. i. 235; svá ráns-maðrinn ok okrkarlinn, the robber as well as the usurer, Mar.; öll landráð, svá lögmál ok sættar-görðir, the law as well as the s., Sks. 13 B; svá starf ok torveldi, both toil and trouble, Fms. vii. 221; ok svá, and also, as also; höfuð hans ok svá marga dýrgripi, Eg. 86; sumarit ok svá um vetrinn, the summer, as also the winter, Fms. xi. 51; fögr augu ok svá snarlig, fair eyes and also sharp, i. 102; ekki líkr yfirlits föður sínum ok svá í skaplyndi (here ok svá is adversative = né), x. 266; í Suðrlöndum ok svá norðr, Þiðr.; þeir minntu konung opt á þat, ok svá þat með, at…, Eg. 85; ok hlaða svá veggi, and also make the walls, Grág. ii. 336; austr undir Eyjafjöll ok svá austr í Holt, and so also east of H., Nj. 261.

II. so, denoting degree; ærit man hann stórvirkr, en eigi veit ok hvárt hann er svá ( equally) góðvirkr, Nj. 55: with a compar., eigi getr nær enn svá, it is not to be got nearer than so, Clem. 46; ekki meirr enn svá, not more than so, so and not more, with an adverse notion; ekki þótta ek nú dæll meirr enn svá, Fms. xi. 91; eigi fengiligri enn svá, Sturl. i. 159.

2. svá followed by an adjective and ‘at;’ svá ríkr, góðr, mikill, margr, fáir … at, so mighty, good, great, many, few … that, Nj. 1, Fms. i. 3, passim; svá at, so that, contracted svát (as þótt for þó at), see ‘at’ III. γ (p. 29, col. 2): the svá put after the adjective, kaldr svá at, so cold that, Edda (pref.); ástblindir svá, Mkv.; sjúkr svá, at ( so sick that) hann sé kominn at bana, Fms. xi. 158: with a gen., Hallfreðr er svá manna, at ek skil sízt hvat manna at er, H. is such a man as I never can make out, Fs. 98; hón er svá kvenna, at mér er mest um at eiga just such a woman as I like best, Ld. 302; hón er svá meyja í Noregi, at ek vilda helzt eiga, Fms. v. 310.

3. svá sem, so as, as; þjóna honum svá sem börn föður, Edda 13; ok svá sem hón er sterk, þá mon hón brotna, er …, strong as it(the bridge) is, it will break when …, 8 (see sem); hárit var svá fagrt sem silki, fair as silk, Nj. 2; þeim konungi sem svá er góðr ok rétt víss sem Ingi, i. e. so very good and just a king, Fms. vii. 263; svá vel sem þér ferr, well as thou behavest, Nj. 225.

4. the phrase, gör svá vel, be so good as to, I pray thee! Nj. 111, Fms. vii. 157; göri guðin þá svá vel, láti mik eigi bíða, Al. 106.

5. in greeting; heill svá! 623. 17; heilir svá, Stj. 124, 475, Karl. 507; ek svá heill! Fms. v. 230; svá vil ek heil! Grett. 170 new Ed; farit ér í svá gramendr allir! Dropl. 23.

III. slíkr svá, nokkur svá, því-líkr svá, mjök svá, somewhat so, much in that way, about so; slíkum svá fortölum, such a persuasion, Al. 33; ekki meira enn slíkt svá, not more than so, Fms. v. 308; þvílíkum svá mönnum, sem þit erut, Eg. 739; þiggja gjafar at slíkum svá mönnum, Fms. vi. 99; nakkvat svá, somewhat so, xi. 11; fegnir nokkut svá, i. e. rather glad, quite glad, viii. 27 (v. l. mjök svá, very); mjök svá, almost, very nearly, all but; hafa lokit mjök svá heyverkum, Ísl. ii. 329; mjök svá kominn at landi, Fms. i. 212; mjök svá kominn at bana, 158; mjök svá feginn, viii. 27, v. l.; allmjök svá, v. 320.

2. the phrases, svá-gurt, see soguru and göra (F. III); svá-búit, see búa (B. II. 2. δ): svá-nær, so near, i. e. quite near; þat mun þó svá nær fara, it will be quite on the verge of that, Nj. 49; ef barn elsk svá-nær Páskum, just before Easter, K. Þ. K. 7 new Ed.; lagði þá svá nær, at…, Nj. 163; hafði svá nær, at, 160.

u, f. the public, people; svá at a. vissi, Sd. 167; sagði þá allri alþýðu, told all people, Eg. 271.

β. people assembled in a body; er þat bænarstaðr minn til allrar alþýðu, all the assembled commons, Nj. 189, Fms. i. 33.

γ. í alþýðu lífi, in common life, 655 xxi. 3. With gen., a. manna = öll a., everybody, the overwhelming majority, bulk of people assembled, Eg. 193, where it is used of the household; a. manna var á brott farin, nearly all people had left, 220; a. manna gerðu (pl.) góðan róm at máli hans, the whole meeting cheered his speech, Fms. vii. 242. It is now almost solely used of the common people, allt fólk, bæði ríka menn ( wealthy) ok alþýðu, Fms. v. 113; cp. alþýðis-fólk.

COMPDS: alþýðudrykkja, alþýðuleið, alþýðulof, alþýðumaðr, alþýðumál, alþýðuskap, alþýðutal, alþýðuvápn, alþýðuvegr, alþýðuvirðing, alþýðuvitni, alþýðuþyss.

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(fell; féll, féllum; fallinn), v.

1) to fall;

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

falla af baki, to fall from horse back;

falla á kné, to fall on one’s knees;

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

falla flatr, to fall prostrate;

falla til jarðar, to fall to the ground;

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

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

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

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

særinn fell út frá landi, ebbed;

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

síðan féll sjór at, the tide rose;

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

á fél (a river flowed) við skála Ásólfs;

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

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

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

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

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

féll veðrit (the storm fell) ok gerði logn;

7) to fail, be foiled;

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

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

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

falla frá máli, to give it up;

fallinn at frændum, bereft of kinsmen;

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

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

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

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

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

8) to fall out happen;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11) to please, suit;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

12) with preps. and advs.,

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

falla á e-n, to befall one;

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

falla í e-t, to fall into;

falla í brot, to fall in a fit;

falla í óvit, to faint, swoon;

falla í villu, to fall into heresy;

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

féll veðrit í logn, the storm calmed down;

falla niðr, to fall, drop;

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

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

falla saman, to fill in with, agree;

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

falla til, to occur, happen, fall out;

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

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

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

nema þörf falli til, unless need be;

sem sakir falla til, as the case falls;

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

arfr fellr undir e-n, devolves upon one;

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

falla við árar, to fall to at the oars.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

prep. w. dat.

I. Of place:

1) off, from;

G. hljóp af hesti sínum, G. jumped off his horse;

ganga af mótinu, to go away from the meeting;

Flosi kastaði af sér skikkjunni, threw off his cloak;

Gizzur gekk af útsuðri at gerðinu, from the south-west;

hann hafði leyst af sér skúa sína, he had taken off his shoes;

Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér, throw him off;

tók Gísli þá af sér vápnin, took off his arms;

bréf af Magnúsi konungi, a letter from king Magnus;

land af landi, from one land to the other;

hverr af öðrum, one after another, in succession;

vil ek þú vinnir af þér skuldina, work off the debt;

muntu enga sætt af mér fá, no peace at my hand;

rísa af dauða, to rise from the dead;

vakna af draumi, to awaken from a dream;

lúka upp af hrossi, to open a gate from off a horse;

vindr stóð af landi, the wind blew from the land;

2) out of;

verða tekinn af heimi, to be taken out of the world;

gruflar hón af læknum, she scrambles out of the brook;

Otradalr var mjök af vegi, far out of the way.

Connected with út; föstudaginn fór út herrinn af borginni, marched out of the town.

II. Of time; past, beyond:

af ómagaaldri, able to support oneself, of age;

ek em nú af léttasta skeiði, no longer in the prime of life;

þá er sjau vikur eru af sumri, when seven weeks of summer are past;

var mikit af nótt, much of the night was past.

III. In various other relations:

1) þiggja lið af e-m, to receive help from one;

hafa umboð af e-m, to be another’s deputy;

vera góðs (ills) maklegr af e-m, to deserve good (bad) of one;

féll þar lið mart af Eyvindi, many of Eyvind’s men fell there;

þá eru þeir útlagir ok af goðorði sínu, have forfeited their goðorð;

þá skalt þú af allri fjárheimtunni, forfeit all the claim;

ek skal stefna þér af konunni, summon thee to give up;

2) off, of;

höggva fót, hönd, af e-m, to cut off one’s foot, hand;

vil ek, at þú takir slíkt sem þér líkar af varningi, whatever you like of the stores;

þar lá forkr einn ok brotit af endanum, with the point broken off;

absol., beit hann höndina af, bit the hand off;

fauk af höfuðit, the head flew off;

3) of, among;

hinn efniligasti maðr af ungum mönnum, the most promising of the young men;

4) with;

hláða, (ferma) skip af e-u, to load (freight) a ship with;

fylla heiminn af sínu kyni, to fill the world with his offspring;

5) of (= ór which is more frequent);

húsit var gert af timbr stokkum, was built of trunks of trees;

6) fig., eigi vita menn hvat af honum er orðit, what has become of him;

hvat hefir þú gert af Gunnari, what hast thou done with Gunnar?;

7) denoting parentage, descent, origin;

ok eru af þeim komnir Gilsbekkingar, are descended from them;

kominn af Trójumönnum, descended from the Trojans;

8) by, of (after passive);

ek em sendr hingat af Starkaði, sent hither by;

ástsæll af landsmónnum, beloved of;

9) on account of, by reason of, by;

úbygðr at frosti ok kulda, because of frost and cold;

ómáli af áverkum, speechless from wounds;

af ástæld hans, by his popularity;

af því, therefore;

af hví, wherefor why;

af því at, because;

10) by means of, by;

framfœra e-n af verkum sínum, by means of his own labour;

af sínu fé, by one’s own means;

absol., hann fekk af hina mestu sœmd, derived great honour from it;

11) with adjectives, in regard to;

mildr af fé, liberal of money;

góðr af griðum, merciful;

fastr af drykk, close (stingy) in regard to drink;

12) used absol. with a verb, off away;

hann bað hann þá róa af fjörðinn, to row the firth off;

ok er þeir höfðu af fjörðung, when they had covered one forth of the way;

sofa af nóttina, to sleep the night away.

* * *

prep. often used elliptically by dropping the case, or even merely adverbially, [Ulf. af; A. S. and Engl. of, off; Hel. ab; Germ. ab; Gr. άπό; Lat. a, ab.] With dat. denoting a motion a loco; one of the three prepp. af, ór, frá, corresponding to those in loco—á, í, við, and ad locum—á, í, at. It in general corresponds to the prepp. in loco—á, or in locum— til, whilst ór answers more to í; but it also frequently corresponds to yfir, um or í. It ranges between ór and frá, generally denoting the idea from the surface of, while ór means from the inner part, and frá from the outer part or border. The motion from a hill, plain, open place is thus denoted by af; by ór that from an enclosed space, depth, cavity, thus af fjalli, but ór of a valley, dale; af Englandi, but ór Danmörk, as mörk implies the notion of a deep wood, forest. The wind blows af landi, but a ship sets sail frá landi; frá landi also means a distance from: af hendi, of a glove, ring; ór hendi, of whatever has been kept in the hand (correl. to á hendi and í hendi). On the other hand af is more general, whilst frá and ór are of a more special character; frá denoting a departure, ór an impulse or force; a member goes home af þingi, whereas ór may denote an inmate of a district, or convey the notion of secession or exclusion from, Eb. 105 new Ed.; the traveller goes af landi, the exile ór landi: taka e-t af e-m is to take a thing out of one’s hand, that of taka frá e-m to remove out of one’s sight, etc. In general af answers to Engl. of, off, ór to out of, and frá to from: the Lat. prepp. ab, de, and ex do not exactly correspond to the Icelandic, yet as a rule ór may answer to ex, af sometimes to ab, sometimes to de. Of, off, from among; with, by; on account of by means of, because of concerning, in respect of.

A. Loc.

I. With motion, off, from:

1. prop. corresp. to á,

α. konungr dró gullhring af hendi sér (but á hendi), Ld. 32; Höskuldr lætr bera farm af skipi, unload the ship (but bera farm á skip), id.; var tekit af hestum þeirra, they were unsaddled, Nj. 4; Gunnarr hafði farit heiman af bæ sínum, he was away from home, 82; Gunnarr hljóp af hesti sínum, jumped off his horse (but hl. á hest), 83; hlaupa, stökkva af baki, id., 112, 264 ; Gunnarr skýtr til hans af boganum, from the bow, where af has a slight notion of instrumentality, 96; flýja af fundinum, to fly from off the battle-field, 102; ríða af Þríhyrningshálsum, 206; út af Langaholti, Eg. 744 ; sunnan ór Danmörk ok af Saxlandi, 560; ganga af mótinu, to go from the meeting, Fms. vii. 130; af þeirra fundi reis María upp ok fór, 625. 85 ; Flosi kastaði af ser skikkjunni, threw his cloak off him (but kasta á sik),Nj. 176; taka Hrungnis fót af honum, of a load, burden, Edda 58; land þat er hann fiskði af, from which he set off to fish, Grág. i. 151, is irregular, frá would suit better; slíta af baki e-s, from off one’s back, ii. 9 ; bera af borði, to clear the table, Nj. 75.

β. where it more nearly answers to í; þeir koma af hafi, of sailors coming in (but leggja í haf), Nj. 128 ; fara til Noregs af Orkneyjum (but í or til O.), 131; þeim Agli fórst vel ok komu af hafi i Borgarfjörð, Eg. 392 ; hann var útlagi ( outlawed) af Noregi, where ór would be more regular, 344; af Islandi, of a traveller, Fms. x. 3; búa her af báðum ríkjunum, to take a levy from, 51; hinir beztu bændr ór Norðlendingafjórðungi ok af Sunnlendingafjórðungi, the most eminent Southerners and Northerners, 113; Gizzurr gékk af útsuðri at gerðinu, from south-west, Sturl. ii. 219; prestar af hvárutveggja biskupsdæmi, from either diocess, Dipl. ii. 11; verða tekinn af heimi, to be taken out of the world, 623. 21; gruflar hon af læknum, scrambles out of the brook, Ísl. ii. 340; Egill kneyfði af horninu í einum drykk, drained off the horn at one draught, literally squeezed every drop out of it, Eg. 557; brottuaf herbúðunurn, Fms. x. 343.

γ. of things more or less surrounding the subject, corresp. to yfir or um; láta þeir þegar af sér tjöldin, break off, take down the tents in preparing for battle, Eg. 261; kyrtillinn rifnaði af honum, his coat burst, caused by the swollen body, 602; hann hafði leyst af sér skúa sína, he untied his shoes (but binda á sik), 716; Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér, throw him off, of one clinging to one’s body, 747; tók Gísli þá af sér vápnin, took off his arms, Fms. vii. 39. Of putting off clothes; fara af kápu, Nj. 143; far þú eigi af brynjunni, Bs. i. 541; þá ætlaði Sigurðr at fara af brynjunni, id.; þá var Skarphéðinn flettr af klæðunum, Nj. 209: now more usually fara or klæðum, fötum, exuere, to undress.

δ. connected with út; föstudaginn for út herrinn af borginni, marched out of the town, Nj. 274; ganga út af kirkjunni, to go out of the church, now út úr, Fms. vii. 107: drekki hann af þeirri jörðunni, of something impregnated with the earth, Laekn. 402.

ε. more closely corresponding to frá, being in such cases a Latinism (now frá); bréf af páfa, a pope’s bull, Fms. x. 6; rit af hánum, letter from him, 623. 52; bréf af Magnúsi konungi, a letter from king Magnus, Bs. i. 712; farið þér á brautu af mér í eilífan eld, Hom. 143; brott af drottins augliti, Stj. 43.

ζ. denoting an uninterrupted continuity, in such phrases as land aflandi, from land to land, Eg. 343, Fas. ii. 539; skip af skipl. from ship to ship, Fms. v. 10; brann hvat af öðru, one after another, of an increasing fire, destroying everything, i. 128; brandr af brandi brenn, funi kveykist af funa, one from another, Hm. 56; hverr af öðrum, one after another, in succession, also hverr at öðrum, Eb. 272, 280 (where at in both passages).

2. metaph., at ganga af e-m dauðum, to go from, leave one dead on the spot, of two combatants; en hann segiz bani hins ef hann gekk af dauðum manni, Grág. ii. 88, Hkr. 1. 327; undr þykir mér er bróðir þinn vildi eigi taka af þér starf þetta, would not take this toil from thee, Nj. 77; þegnar hans glöddust af honum, were fain of him, Fms. x. 380; at koma þeim manni af sér er settr var á fé hans, to get rid of, Ld. 52; vil ek þú vinriir af þér skuldina, work off the debt, Njarð. 366; reka af sér, to repel, Sturl. ii. 219; hann á þá sonu er aldri munu af oss ganga, who will never leave us, whom we shall never get rid of, Fas. i. 280; leysa e-n af e-u, to relieve, 64; taka e-n af lífi, to kill, Eg. 48, 416, Nj. 126; af lífdögum, Fms. vii. 204; ek mun ná lögum af því máli, get the benefit of the law in this case, Eg. 468; muntu enga sætt af mér fá, no peace at my hand, 414; rísa af dauða, to rise from death, Fms. ii. 142; guð bætti honum þó af þessi sótt, healed him of this sickness, ix. 390; vakna af sýn, draumi, svefni, to awaken from a vision, dream, sleep, 655 xxxii. I, Gísl. 24, Eb. 192, Fas. i. 41. Rather with the notion out of, in the phrase af sér etc., e. g. sýna e-t af scr, to shew, exhibit a disposition for or against, Ld. 18; gera mikit af sér, to shew great prowess, Ísl. ii. 368; éf þú gerir eigi meira af þér um aðra leika, unless you make more of thyself, Edda 32; Svipdagr hafði mikit af sér gert, fought bravely, Fas. i. 41; góðr (illr) af sér, good ( bad) of oneself, by nature; mikill af sjálfum sér, proud, bold, stout, Nj. 15; ágætastr maðr af sjálfum sér, the greatest hero, Bret.: góðr af ser, excellent, Hrafn. 7; but, on the contrary, af sér kominn, ruinous, in decay; this phrase is used of old houses or buildings, as in Bs. i. 488 = Sturl. l. c.; af sér kominn af mæði can also be said of a man fallen off from what he used to be; kominn af fotum fram, off his legs from age, Sturl. i. 223, Korm. 154 (in a verse).

II. WITHOUT MOTION:

1. denoting direction from, but at the same time continuous connection with an object from which an act or thing proceeds, from; tengja skip hvárt fram af stafni annars, to tie the ships in a line, stem to stern, Fms. i. 157, xi. 111; svá at þeir tóku út af borðum, jutted out of the boards, of rafters or poles, iv. 49; stjarna ok af sem skaft, of a comet, ix. 482; lúka upp af hrossi, to open a gate from off a horse, Grág. ii. 264; hon svarar af sínu sæti sem álpt af baru, Fás. i. 186; þar er sjá mátti utau af firði, af þjóðleið, that might be seen from the fareway on the sea when sailing in the firth, Hkr. ii. 64; þá mun hringt af (better at) Burakirkju, of bells rung at the church, Fms. xi. 160; gengr þar af Meðalfellsströnd, projects from, juts out, of a promontory, Ld. 10.

2. denoting direction alone; upp af víkinni stóð borg mikil, a burg inland from the inlet, Eg. 161; lokrekkja innar af seti, a shut bed inward from the benches in the hall, Ísl. ii. 262; kapella upp af konungs herbergjum, upwards from, Fms. x. 153; vindr stóð af landi, the wind stood off the land, Bárð. 166.

β. metaph., stauda af e-u, vide VI. 4.

γ. ellipt., hallaði af norðr, of the channel, north of a spot, Boll. 348; also, austr af, suðr af, vestr af, etc.

3. denoting absence; þingheyendr skulu eigi vera um nótt af þingi ( away from the meeting), eðr lengr, þá eru þeir af þingi ( away from (be meeting) ef þeir eru or ( out of) þingmarki, Grág. i. 25; vera um nótt af várþingi, 115; meðan hann er af landi héðan, abroad, 150.

β. metaph., gud hvíldi af öllum verkum sínum á sjaunda degi, rested from his labours, Ver. 3.

4. denoting distance; þat er komit af þjóðleið, out of the high road, remote, Eg. 369; af þjóðbraut, Grág. ii. 264, i. 15; Otradalr (a farm) var mjök af vegi, far out of the way, Háv. 53.

B. TEMP, past, from, out of, beyond:

1. of a person’s age, in the sense of having past a period of life; af ómaga aldri, of age, able to support oneself, Grág. i. 243; af aeskualdri, stricken in years, having past the prime of life, Eg. 202; lítið af barnsaldri, still a child, Ld. 74; ek em nú af léttasia skeiði, no longer in the prime of life, Háv. 40.

2. of a part or period of time, past; eigi síðar en nótt er af þingi, a night of the session past, Grág. i. 101; þá er sjau vikur eru af sumri, seven weeks past of the summer, 182; tíu vikur af sumri, Íb. 10; var mikit af nótt, much of the night was past, Háv. 41; mikið af vetri, much of the winter was past, Fas. ii. 186; þriðjungr af nótt, a third of the night past, Fms. x. 160; stund af degi, etc.; tveir mánoðr af sumri, Gþl. 103.

3. in adverbial phrases such as, af stundu, soon; af bragði, at once; af tómi, at leisure, at ease; af nýju, again; af skyndingu, speedily; af bráðungu, in a hurry, etc.

C. In various other relations:

I. denoting the passage or transition of an object, concrete or abstract, of, from.

1. where a thing is received, derived from, conferred by a person or object; þiggja lið af e-m, to derive help from, Edda 26; taka traust af e-m, to receive support, comfort from, Fms. xi. 243; taka mála af e-m, to be in one’s pay, of a soldier, Eg. 266; halda land af e-m, to hold land of any one, 282; verða viss af e-m, to get information from, 57, Nj. 130; taka við sök af manni (a law term), to undertake a case, suit, Grág. i. 142; hafa umboð af e-m, to be another’s deputy, ii. 374; vera góðs (ills) maklegr af e-m, to deserve good (bad) of, Vd. 88 (old Ed., the new reads frá), Fs. 45; afla matar af eyjum, to derive supplies from, Eb. 12.

2. where an object is taken by force:

α. prop. out of a person’s hand; þú skalt hnykkja smíðit af honum, wrest it out of his hand, Nj. 32; cp. taka, þrífa, svipta e-u (e-t) af e-m, to wrest from.

β. metaph. of a person’s deprival of anything in general; hann tók af þér konuna, carried thy wife off, Nj. 33; tók Gunnarr af þér sáðland þitt, robbed thee of seedland, 103; taka af honum tignina, to depose, degrade him, Eg. 271; vinna e-t af e-m, to carry off by force of arms, conquer, Fms. iii. 29; drepa menn af e-m, for one, slay one’s man, Eg. 417; fell þar lið mart af Eyvindi, many of Eyvind’s people fell there, 261.

γ. in such phrases as, hyggja af e-u (v. afhuga), hugsa af e-u, to forget; hyggja af harmi; sjá af e-u, to lose, miss; var svá ástúðigt með þeim, at livargi þóttist mega af öðrum sjá, neither of them could take his eyes off the other, Sturl. i. 194; svá er mörg við ver sinn vær, at varla um sér hon af hoiuun nær, Skálda 163.

3. denoting forfeiture; þá eru þeir útlagir, ok af goðorði sínu, have forfeited their priesthood, Grág. i. 24; telja hann af ráðunum fjár síns alls, to oust one, on account of idiocy or madness, 176; verða af kaupi, to be off the bargain, Edda 26; þá skalt þú af allri fjárheimtunni, forfeit all the claim, Nj. 15; ek skal stefna þér af konunni, summon thee to forfeit, a case of divorce, id.; ella er hann af rettarfari um hana, has forfeited the suit, Grág. i. 381.

β. ellipt., af ferr eindagi ef, is forfeited, Grág. i. 140.

II. denoting relation of a part to a whole, off, of, Lat. de; höggva hönd, höfuð, fót af e-um, to cut one’s hand, head, foot off, Nj. 97, 92, Bs. i. 674; höggva spjót af skapti, to sever the blade from the shaft, 264; hann lét þá ekki hafa af föðurarfi sínum, nothing of their patrimony, Eg. 25; vil ek at þú takir slíkt sem þér líkar af varningi, take what you like of the stores, Nj. 4; at þú eignist slíkt af fé okkru sem þú vili, 94.

β. ellipt., en nú höfum vér kjörit, en þat er af krossinum, a slice of, Fms. vii. 89; Þórðr gaf Skólm frænda sínum af landnámi sínu, a part of, Landn. 211; hafði hann þat af hans eigu er hann vildi, Sturl. ii. 169; þar lá forkr einn ok brotið af endanum, the point broken off, Háv. 24, Sturl. i. 169.

γ. absol. off; beit hann höndina af, þar sem nú heitir úlfliðr, bit the hand off, Edda 17; fauk af höfuðit, the head flew off, Nj. 97; jafnt er sem þér synist, af er fótrinn, the foot is off, id.; af bæði eyru, both ears off, Vm. 29.

2. with the notion of—among; mestr skörungr af konum á Norðrlöndum, the greatest heroine in the North, Fms. i. 116; hinn efniligasti maðr af ungum mönnum í Austfjörðum, the most hopeful of youths in the Eastfirths, Njarð. 364; af ( among) öllurn hirðmönnuni virði konungr mest skáld sín, Eg. 27; ef hann vildi nokkura kaupa af þessum konum, Ld. 30; ör liggr þar útiá vegginum, ok er sú af þeirra örum, one of their own arrows, Nj. 115.

β. from, among, belonging to; guð kaus hana af ollum konum sér til móður, of the Virgin Mary, Mar. A. i. 27.

γ. metaph., kunna mikit (lítið) af e-u, to know much, little of, Bragi kann mest af skáldskap, is more cunning of poetry than any one else, Edda 17.

δ. absol. out of, before, in preference to all others; Gunnarr bauð þér góð boð, en þú vildir eingi af taka, you would choose none of them, Nj. 77; ráða e-t af, to decide; þó mun faðir minn mestu af ráða, all depends upon him, Ld. 22; konungr kveðst því mundu heldr af trúa, preferred believing that of the two, Eg. 55; var honum ekki vildara af ván, he could expect nothing better, 364.

3. with the additional sense of instrumentality, with; ferma skip af e-u, to freight a ship with, Eg. 364; hlaða mörg skip af korni, load many ships with corn, Fms. xi. 8; klyfja tvá hesta af mat, Nj. 74; var vágrinn skipaðr af herskipum, the bay was covered with war ships, 124; fylla ker af glóðum, fill it with embers, Stj. 319; fylla heiminn af sínu kyni, to fill the world with his offspring, Ver. 3.

III. denoting the substance of which a thing is made, of; used indifferently with ór, though ór be more frequent; þeir gerðu af honum jörðina, af blóði hans sæinn ok vötnin, of the creation of the world from the corpse of the giant Ymir; the poem Gm. 40, 41, constantly uses ór in this sense, just as in modern Icelandic, Edda 5; svá skildu þeir, at allir hlutir væri smíðaðir af nokkru efni, 147 (pref.); húsit var gert af timbrstokkum, built of trunks of timber, Eg. 233; hjöhin vóru af gulli, of gold, golden, Fms. i. 17; af osti, of cheese, but in the verse 1. c. ór osti, Fms. vi. 253; línklæði af lérepti, linen, Sks. 287.

2. metaph. in the phrases, göra e-t af e-n ( to dispose of), verða af ( become of), hvat hefir þú gört af Gunnari, what hast thou done with Gunnar? Njarð. 376; hvat af motrinuni er orðit, what has become of it? of a lost thing, Ld. 208; hverfr Óspakr á burt, svá eigi vita menn hvat af honum er orðit, what has become of him? Band. 5.

IV. denoting parentage, descent, origin, domicile, abode:

1. parentage, of, from, used indifferently with frá; ok eru af þeim komnir Gilsbekkingar, descend from them, but a little below—frá honum eru konmir Sturlungar, Eb. 338, cp. afkvæmi; af ætt Hörðakára, Fms. i. 287; kominn af Trojumönnum, xi. 416; af Ása-ætt (Kb. wrongly at), Edda I.

β. metaph., vera af Guði (theol.), of God, = righteous, 686 B. 9; illr ávöxtr af íllri rót, Fms. ii. 48; Asia er kölluð af nafni nokkurar konu, derives her name from, Stj. 67; af honum er bragr kallaðr skáldskapr, called after his name, Edda 17.

2. of domicile; af danskri tungu, of Danish or Scandinavian origin, speaking the Danish tongue, Grág. ii. 73; hvaðan af löndum, whence, native of what country? Ísl.

β. especially denoting a man’s abode, and answering to á and í, the name of the farm (or country) being added to proper names, (as in Scotland,) to distinguish persons of the same name; Hallr af Síðu, Nj. 189; Erlingr af Straumey, 273; Ástríðr af Djúpárbakka, 39; Gunnarr af Hlíðarenda (more usual frá); þorir haklangr konungr af Ögðum, king of Agdir, Eg. 35, etc.; cp. ór and frá.

V. denoting a person with whom an act, feeling, etc. originates, for the most part with a periphrastic passive:

1. by, the Old Engl. of; as, ek em sendr hingað af Starkaði ok sonum hans, sent hither by, Nj. 94; inna e-t af hendi, to perform, 257; þó at alþýða væri skírð af kennimönnum, baptized of, Fms. ii. 158; meira virðr af mönnum, higher esteemed, Ld. 158; ástsæll af landsmönnum, beloved, íb. 16; vinsæll af mönnum, Nj. 102; í allgóðu yfirlæti af þeim feðgum, hospitably treated by them, Eg. 170; var þá nokkut drukkið af alþjóð, there was somewhat hard drinking of the people, Sturl. iii. 229; mun þat ekki upp tekið af þeim sükudólgum mínum, they will not clutch at that, Nj. 257; ef svá væri í hendr þér búit af mér, if í had so made everything ready to thy hands, Ld. 130; þá varð fárætt um af föður hans, his father said little about it, Fms. ii. 154.

2. it is now also sometimes used as a periphrase of a nom., e. g. ritað, þýtt af e-m, written, translated, edited by, but such phrases scarcely occur in old writers.

VI. denoting cause, ground, reason:

1. originating from, on account of, by reason of; af frændsemis sökum, for kinship’s sake, Grág. ii. 72; ómáli af áverkum, speechless from wounds, 27; af manna völdum, by violence, not by natural accident, of a crime, Nj. 76; af fortölum Halls, through his pleading, 255; af ástsæld hans ok af tölum þeirra Sæmundar, by his popularity and the eloquence of S., Íb. 16; af ráðum Haralds konungs, by his contriving, Landn. 157; úbygðr af frosti ok kulda, because of frost and cold, Hkr. i. 5.

β. adverbially, af því, therefore, Nj. 78; af hví, why? 686 B. 9; þá verðr bóndi heiðinn af barni sínu, viz. if he does not cause his child to be christened, K. Þ. K. 20.

2. denoting instrumentality, by means of; af sinu fé, by one’s own means, Grág. i. 293; framfæra e-n af verkum sinum, by means of one’s own labour, K. Þ. K. 142; draga saman auð af sökum, ok vælum ok kaupum, make money by, 623. I; af sínum kostnaði, at hi s own expense, Hkr. i. 217.

β. absol., hún fellir á mik dropa svá heita at ek brenn af öll, Ld. 328; hann fékk af hina mestu sæmd, derived great honotur from it, Nj. 88; elli sótti á hendr honum svá at hann lagðist í rekkju af, he grew bedridden from age, Ld. 54; komast undan af hlaupi, escape by running, Fms. viii. 58; spinna garn af rokki, spin off a wheel (now, spinna á rokk), from a notion of instrumentality, or because of the thread being spun out (?), Eb. 92.

3. denoting proceeding, originating from; lýsti af höndum hennar, her hands spread beams of light, Edda 22; allir heimar lýstust ( were illuminated) af henni, id.; en er lýsti af degi, when the day broke forth, Fms. ii. 16; lítt var lýst af degi, the day was just beginning to break, Ld. 46; þá tók at myrkja af nótt, the ‘mirk-time’ of night began to set in, Eg. 230; tók þá brátt at myrkva af nótt, the night grew dark, Hkr. ii. 230.

4. metaph., standa, leiða, hljótast af, to be caused by, result from; opt hlýtst íllt af kvenna hjali, great mischief is wrought by women’s gossip (a proverb), Gísl. 15, 98; at af þeim mundi mikit mein ok úhapp standa, be caused by, Edda 18; kenna kulda af ráðum e-s, to feel sore from, Eb. 42; þó mun her hljótast af margs manns bani, Nj, 90.

5. in adverbial phrases, denoting state of mind; af mikilli æði, in fury, Nj. 116; af móð, in great emotion, Fms. xi. 221; af áhyggju, with concern, i. 186; af létta, frankly, iii. 91; af viti, collectedly, Grág. ii. 27; af heilu, sincerely, Eg. 46; áf fári, in rage; af æðru, timidly, Nj. (in a verse); af setning, composedly, in tune, Fms. iii. 187; af mikilli frægð, gallantly, Fas. i. 261; af öllu afli, with all might, Grág. ii. 41; af riki, violently, Fbr. (in a verse); af trúnaði, confidently, Grág. i. 400.

VII. denoting regard to, of, concerning, in respect of, as regards:

1. with verbs, denoting to tell of, be informed, inquire about, Lat. de; Dioscorides segir af grasi því, speaks of, 655 xxx. 5; er menn spurðu af landinu, inquired about it, Landn. 30; halda njósn af e-u, Nj. 104; er þat skjótast þar af at segja, Eg. 546, Band. 8.

β. absol., hann mun spyrja, hvárt þér sé nokkut af kunnigt hversu for með okkr, whether you know anything about, how, Nj. 33; halda skóla af, to hold a school in a science, 656 A. i. 19 (sounds like a Latinism); en ek gerða þik sera mestan mann af öllu, in respect of all, that you should get all the honour of it, Nj. 78.

2. with adjectives such as mildr, illr, góðrafe-u, denoting disposition or character in respect to; alira manna mildastr af fo, very liberal, often-banded, Fms. vii. 197; mildr af gulli, i. 33; góðr af griðum, merciful, Al. 33; íllr af mat en mildr af gulli, Fms. i. 53; fastr af drykk, close, stingy in regard to, Sturl. ii. 125; gat þess Hildigunnr at þú mundir góðr af hestinum, that you would be good about the horse, Nj. 90, cp. auðigr at, v. at, which corresponds to the above phrases; cp. also the phrase af sér above, p. 4, col. I, ll. 50 sqq.

VIII. periphrasis of a genitive (rare); provincialis af öllum Predikaraklaustrum, Fms. x. 76; vera af hinum mesta fjandskap, to breathe deep hatred to, be on bad terms with, ix. 220; af hendi, af hálfu e-s, on one’s behalf, v. those words.

IX. in adverbial phrases; as, af launungu, secretly; af hljóði, silently; v. those words.

β. also used absolutely with a verb, almost adverbially, nearly in the signification off, away; hann bað þá róa af fjörðinn, pass the firth swiftly by rowing, row the firth off, Fms. ix. 502; var pá af farit þat seni skerjóttast var, was past, sailed past, Ld. 142; ok er þeir höfðu af fjórðung, past one fourth of the way, Dropl. 10: skína af, to clear up, of the skv, Eb. 152; hence in common language, skína af sér, when the sun breaks forth: sofa af nóttina, to sleep it away, Fms. ii. 98; leið af nóttin, the night past away, Nj. 53; dvelja af stundir, to kill the time, Band. 8; drepa af, to kill; láta af, to slaughter, kill off;

γ. in exclamations; af tjöldin, off with the awnings, Bs. i. 420, Fins, ix. 49.

δ. in the phrases, þar af, thence; hér af, hence, Fms. ii. 102; af fram, straight on, Nj. 144; now, á fram, on, advance.

X. it often refers to a whole sentence or to an adverb, not only like other prepp. to hér, hvar, þar, but also redundantly to hvaðan, héðan, þaðan, whence, hence, thence.

2. the preposition may sometimes be repeated, once elliptically or adverbially, and once properly, e. g. en er af var borit at borðinu, the cloth was taken off from the table, Nj. 176; Guð þerrir af (off, away) hvert tár af ( from) augum heilagra manna, God wipes off every tear from the eyes of his saints, 655 xx. vii. 17; skal þó fyrst bætr af lúka af fé vegaiula, pay off, from, Gþl. 160, the last af may be omitted—var þá af borið borðinu—and the prep. thus be separated from its case, or it may refer to some of the indecl. relatives er or sem, the prep. hvar, hér, þar being placed behind them without a case, and referring to the preceding relative, e. g. oss er þar mikit af sagt auð þeim, we have been told much about these riches, Band. 24; er þat skjótast þar af at segja, in short, shortly. Eg. 546; þaðan af veit ek, thence í infer, know, Fms. i. 97.

XI. it is moreover connected with a great many verbs besides those mentioned above, e. g. bera af, to excel, whence afbragð, afbrigði; draga af, to detract, deduct, hence afdráttr; veita ekki af, to be hard with; ganga at, to be left, hence afgangr; standast af um e-t, to stand, how matters stand; sem af tekr, at a furious rate; vita af, to be conscious, know about (vide VII).

D. As a prefix to compounds distinction is to be made between:

I. af privativum, denoting diminution, want, deduction, loss, separation, negation of, etc., answering indifferently to Lat. ab-, de-, ex-, dis-, and rarely to re- and se-, v. the following COMPDS, such as segja, dicere, but afsegja, negare; rækja, colere, but afrækja, negligere; aflaga, contra legem; skapligr, normalis, afskapligr, deformis; afvik, recessus; afhús, afhellir, afdalr, etc.

II. af intensivum, etymologically different, and akin to of, afr-, e. g. afdrykkja = ofdrykkja, inebrietas; afbrýði, jealously; afbendi, tenesmus; afglapi, vir fatuus, etc. etc. Both the privative and the intensive af may be contracted into á, esp. before a labial f, m, v, e. g. á fram = af fram; ábrýði = afbrýði; ávöxtr = afvöxtr; áburðr = afburðr; ávíta = afvíta (?). In some cases dubious. With extenuated and changed vowel; auvirðiligr or övirðiligr, depreciated, = afv- etc., v. those words.

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(hefi; hafða, höfðum; hafðr), v.

1) to have (þeir höfðu sjau skip ok flest stór);

hafa elda, to keep up a five;

2) to hold, celebrate (hafa vinaboð, blót, þing);

3) to keep, retain (rifu þær vefinn í sundr, ok hafði hverr þat er hélt á);

4) to use (tvau net eru rý, ok hafa eigi höfð verit);

orð þau sem hann hafði um haft, which he had made use of;

hafa fagrmæli við e-n, to flatter one;

hafa hljóðmæli við e-n, to speak secretly to one;

hafa tvimæli á e-u, to speak doubtfully of a thing;

hafa viðrmæli um e-t, to use mocking words;

hann var mjök hafðr við mál manna, much used to, versed in, lawsuits;

5) to have, hold, maintain;

hafa vináttu við e-n, to maintain friendship with one;

hafa hættumikit, to run a great risk;

hafa heilindi, to have good health;

6) to bring, carry;

hafa e-n heim með sér, to bring one home;

hann hafði lög, út hingat ór Noregi, he brought laws hither from Norway;

hafa sik (to betake oneself) til annara landa;

7) to take, carry off;

troll hafi þik, the trolls take thee;

8) to get, gain, win;

hann hafði eigi svefn, he got no sleep;

hefir sá jafnan, er hættir, he wins that ventures;

hafa gagn, sigr, to gain victor;

hafa meira hlut, to get the upper hand, gain the day;

hafa betr (verr), to get the better (worse) of it;

hafa sitt mál, to win one’s suit;

hafa tafl, to win the game;

hafa erendi, to do one’s errand, succeed;

hafa bana, to suffer death, to die;

hafa sigr, to be worsted;

hafa góðar viðtökur, to be well received;

hafa tíðindi af e-m, to get tidings of, or from, one;

hafa sœmd, óvirðing af e-m, to get honour, disgrace from one;

with gen., hafa e-s ekki, to fail to catch one (hann kemst á skóg undan, ok höfðu þeir hans ekki);

ekki munu vér hans hafa at sinni, we shall not catch him at present;

9) to wear carry (clothes, weapons);

hann hafði blán kyrtil, he wore a blue kirtle;

hafa kylfu í hendi sér, to have a club in one’s hand;

10) to behave, do, or fare, so an so esp. with an adv.;

hafa vel, illa, vetr, to behave (do) well, badly, be worse;

hafa sik vel, to behave;

hafa vel, to be well off or happy;

hafa hart, to be in a wretched plight;

11) with infin., hafa at varðveita, to have in keeping at selja, to have on sale;

lög hafið þér at mæla, you are right;

12) hafa e-n nær e-u, to expose one to (þú hafðir svá nær haft oss úfœru);

hafa nær e-u, to come near to, esp. impers.;

nær hafði okkr nú, it was a narrow escape;

svá nær hafði hausinum, at, the shot so nearly touched the head, that;

ok er nær hafði, skipit mundi fljóta, when the ship was on the point of flloating;

13) as an auxiliary verb, in the earliest time with the pp. of transitive verbs in acc.;

hefir þú hamar um fólginn, hast thou hidden the hammer?;

ek hefi sendan mann, I have sent a man;

later with indecl. neut. pp.;

hefir þú eigi sét mik, hast thou not seen me?;

14) with preps.:

hafa e-t at, to do, act;

hann tók af þér konuna, en þú hafðir ekki at, but thou didst not stir, didst take it tamely;

absol., viltu þess freista, ok vita hvat at hafi, wilt thou try and see what happens?;

hafa e-t at hlífiskildi (skotspœni), to use as a shield (as a target);

hafa e-n háði, hlátri, to mock, laugh at;

hafa e-t at engu, vettugi, to hold for naught, take no notice of;

hafa sakir á e-n have charges against one;

hafa á rás, to take to one’s heels, run off;

hafa e-t eptir, to do or repeat a thing after one;

hafa e-t fram, to produce (vápn þorgils vóru fram höfð); to carry out, hold forth;

hafa mál fram, to proceed with a suit;

var um búit, ekki fram haft, all was made ready but nothing done;

hafa e-t frammi, í frammi, to use, make use of (hafa í frammi kúgan);

ok öll lögmæt skil frammi hafa, and discharge all on official duties;

hafa e-t fyrir satt, to hold for true;

eigi em ek þar fyrir sönnu hafðr, I am not truly aimed for that, it is a false charge;

hafa e-n fyrir sökum um e-t, to charge one with;

hafa í hótum við e-n, to threaten one;

hafa e-t með höndum, to have in hand;

höfum eiai sigrinn ór hendi, let not victory slip out of our hands;

hafa ór við e-n, to behave so and so towards one (hefir þú illa ór haft við mik);

hafa e-t til e-s to use for (höfðu þeir til varnar skot ok spjót); to be a reason or ground for;

vér hyggjum þat til þess haft vera, at þar hafi menn sézt, we believe the foundation of the story is that men have been seen there;

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

hafa e-t til, to have at hand, possess;

orð þau, sem hann hafði um haft, the words which he had used;

keisari hafði fátt um, did not say much;

hafa e-n undir, to get one under, subdue one;

hafa e-t uppi, to take (heave) up (hafa uppi fœri, net);

Skarpheðinn hafði uppi øxina, S. heaved up the axe;

hafa flokk uppi, to raise a party, to rebel;

hafa uppi tafl, to play at a game;

hafa e-n uppi, to bring one to light;

hafa uppi rœður, to begin a discussion;

hafa e-t úti, to have done, finished (hafa úti sitt dagsverk);

hafa við e-m, to be a match for one;

hafa sik við, to exert oneself;

hafa mikit (lítit) við, to make a great (little) display;

hann söng messu ok bafði mikit við, and made much of it;

hann bad jarl leita, bann hafði lítit við þat, he did it lightly;

haf ekki slíkt við, do not say so;

haf þú lítit við at eggja sonu þina, refrain from egging on thy sons;

15) refl., hafast.

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pret. hafði; subj. hefði; pres. sing. hefi (less correctly hefir), hefir, hefir; plur. höfum, hafit, hafa: the mod. pres. sing. is monosyllabic hefr or hefur, and is used so in rhymes—andvara engan hefur | … við glys heims gálaus sefur, Pass. 15. 6, but in print the true old form hefir is still retained; the monosyllabic present is used even by old writers in the 1st pers. before the personal or negative suffix, e. g. hef-k and hef-k-a ek for hefi-g and hefig-a ek, see e. g. Grág. (Kb.) 79, 82, in the old oath formula, hef-k eigi, Hallfred; hef ek, Fms. iii. 10 (in a verse); but not so in 3rd pers., e. g. hefir-a or hefir-at, Grág. l. c.: imperat. haf, hafðu: part. pass. hafðr, neut. haft;—hafat is an απ. λεγ., Vsp. 16, and is prob. qs. hafit from hefja, to heave, lift: [Ulf. haban; A. S. habban; Engl. have; Hel. hebben; Germ. haben; Dutch hebben; Dan. have, Swed. hafva: it is curious the Lat. form habere retains the consonant unchanged, cp. the Romance forms, Ital. avere, Fr. avoir, Span. haber, etc. ☞ Hafa is a weak verb, and thus distinguished from hefja (to lift, begin), which is a strong verb, answering to Lat. capere, incipere; but in sundry cases, as will be seen below, it passes into the sense of this latter word; as also in some instances into that of another lost strong verb, hafa, hóf, to behave, and hœfa, to hit]:—to have.

A. To have; hann hafði með sér ekki meira lið, Fms. i. 39; hafði hverr hirð um sik, 52; höfðu þeir áttján skip, viii. 42; Sverrir hafði tvau hundrað manna, … þeir höfðu annan samnað á landi, 328; hann hafði mikit lið ok frítt, x. 36; þeir höfðu sjau skip ok flest stór, 102; hafa fjölmennar setur, Eb. 22; hann hafði menn sína í síldveri, Eg. 42; mun ek naut hafa þar sem mér þykkir hagi beztr, 716.

II. to hold:

1. to keep, celebrate; hafa ok halda, Dipl. i. 6; hafa átrúnað, 10; hafa dóma, 12; hafa blót, Fms. iv. 254; hafa vina-veizlu, id.; hafa vina-boð, Nj. 2; hafa Jóla-boð, Eg. 516; hafa þing, Fms. ix. 449; hafa haust-boð, Gísl. 27; hafa drykkju, Eb. 154; hafa leik, Fms. x. 201, passim.

2. to hold, observe; hlýðir þat hvergi at hafa eigi lög í landi, Nj. 149; skal þat hafa, er stendr …, Grág. i. 7; skal þat allt hafa er finsk á skrá þeirri …, id.; en hvatki es mis-sagt es í fræðum þessum, þá es skylt at hafa þat (to keep, hold to be true) es sannara reynisk, Íb. 3; ok hafða ek (I kept, selected) þat ór hvárri er framarr greindi, Landn. 320, v. l.

3. to hold, keep, retain; ef hann vill hafa hann til fardaga, Grág. i. 155; skal búandinn hafa hann hálfan mánuð, 154; ok hafði hvárr þat er hélt á, Nj. 279; hitt skal hafa er um fram er, Rb. 56; kasta í burt þrjátigi ok haf þat sem eptir verðr, 494.

4. to hold an office; hafa lögsögu, to hold the office of lögsaga, Íb. passim; hafa jarldóm, konungdóm, passim; þat höfðu haft at fornu Dana-konungar, Eg. 267; þér berit konunga-nöfn svá sem fyrr hafa haft ( have had) forfeðr yðrir, en hafit lítið af ríki, Fms. i. 52; hafa ríki, to reign, Hkr. pref.

5. phrases, hafa elda, to keep a fire, cook, Fms. xi. 129; hafa fjárgæzlu, to tend sheep, Eg. 740; hafa embætti með höndum, Stj. 204; hafa gæzlur á e-u, Fms. ix. 313; hafa … vetr, to have so many winters, be of such an age (cp. Fr. avoir … ans), Íb. 15; margir höfðu lítið fátt þúsund ára, Ver. 7: hafa vörn í máli, Nj. 93; hafa e-t með höndum, to have in hand, Fms. viii. 280, ix. 239; hafa e-t á höndum, Grág. i. 38; hafa fyrir satt, to hold for true, Fms. xi. 10; hafa við orð, to intimate, suggest, Nj. 160; hafa e-t at engu, vettugi, to hold for naught, take no notice of, Fas. i. 318.

6. with prepp. or infin.,

α. with prep.; hafa til, to have, possess; ef annarr þeirra hefir til enn annarr eigi, þá er sá skyldr til at fá honum er til hefir, Grág. i. 33; ef annarr hefir til …, id.; þér ætlið at ek muna eigi afl til hafa, Ld. 28.

β. with infin.; hafa at varðveita, to have in keeping, Eg. 500; lög hafit þér at mæla, you have the law on your tongue, i. e. you are right, Nj. 101; hörð tíðindi hefi ek at segja þér, 64; sá er gripinn hefir at halda, Grág. i. 438; hafa at selja, to have on sale, Ld. 28.

III. to use; var haft til þess sker eitt, Eb. 12; þá höfðu þeir til varnar skot ok spjót, Fms. vii. 193; er þín ráð vóru höfð, that thy advice was taken, Fs. 57; Gríss hafði þessi ráð, Fms. iii. 21; ek vil at þat sé haft er ek legg til, x. 249; þykki mér þú vel hafa ( make good use of) þau tillög er ek legg fyrir þik, xi. 61; til þess alls er jarli þótti skipta, þá hafði hann þessa hluti, 129; tvau ný (net), ok hafa eigi höfð verit ( which have not been used), haf þú ( take) hvárt er þú vilt, Háv. 46; þær vil ek hafa enar nýju, en ek vil ekki hætta til at hafa enar fornu, id.; önnur er ný ok mikil ok hefir ( has) til einskis höfð ( used) verið, id.; buðkr er fyrir húslker er hafðr, Vm. 171; gjalda vápn þau er höfð eru, N. G. L. i. 75; þat hafði hann haft ( used) fyrir skála, Edda 29; þeir vóru hafðir til at festa með hús jafnan, Nj. 118; sá hólmr var hafðr til at …, Fms. i. 218; hann skyldi hafa hinn sama eið, x. 7; orð þau sem hann hafði ( had) um haft ( used), Nj. 56; orð þau er hann hafði ( made use of) í barnskírn, K. Þ. K. 14.

2. more special phrases; hafa fagrmæli við e-n, to flatter one, Nj. 224; hafa hljóðmæli við e-n, to speak secretly to one, 223; allmikil fjölkyngi mun vera við höfð áðr svá fái gört, Edda 27; hafa mörg orð um e-t, Ld. 268; hafa tvímæli á e-u, to discuss, doubt, speak diffidently of a thing, Lv. 52; hafa viðrmæli um e-t, to use mocking words, Nj. 89; hafa nafn Drottins í hégóma, to take the Lord’s name in vain, Fms. i. 310; (hann var) mjök hafðr við mál manna, much used to, versed in lawsuits, Dropl. 8: hafa sik til e-s, to use oneself to a thing, i. e. to do a mean, paltry thing; þeir er til þess vilja hafa sik, at ganga í samkundur manna úboðit, Gþl. 200; ef hann vill sik til þessa hafa, Fms. i. 99: hafa sik við, to exert oneself; skaltú ok verða þik við at hafa um þetta mál, ef þú getr þat af þér fært, Grett. 160: hafa e-n at skotspæni, to use one as a target, Nj. 222; hafa e-n at hlífi-skildi sér, to use one as a shield, 262; hafa e-n at ginningar-fifli, auga-bragði, háði, hlátri, Hm. 133, Nj. 224, passim.

IV. to have, hold, maintain, of a state or condition; hafa vináttu við e-n, to maintain friendship with one, Sks. 662; hafa vanmátt, to continue sick, Eg. 565; hafa hættu-mikit, to run a great risk, Nj. 149; hafa vitfirring, to be insane, Grág. i. 154; hafa heilindi, to have good health, 26, Hm. 67; hafa burði til e-s, to have the birthright to a thing. Eg. 479; hafa hug, áræði, hyggindi, to have the courage …, Hom. 28; hafa vit ( to know), skyn, greind … á e-u, to have understanding of a thing; hafa gaman, gleði, skemtun, ánægju af e-u, to have interest or pleasure in a thing; hafa leiða, ógeð, andstygð, hatr, óbeit á e-u, to dislike, be disgusted with, hate a thing; hafa elsku, mætr, virðing á e-u, to love, esteeem … a thing; hafa allan hug á e-u, to bend the mind to a thing; hafa grun á e-m, to suspect one; hafa ótta, beyg af e-u, to fear a thing; and in numberless other phrases.

2. with prepp.:

α. hafa e-t frammi (fram), to carry out, hold forth; hafa frammi róg, Nj. 166; hafa mál fram, to proceed with a suit, 101; stefnu-för, 78; heitstrengingar, Fms. xi. 103; ok öll lögmælt skil frammi hafa, and discharge all one’s official duties, 232; var um búit en ekki fram haft, all was made ready, but nothing done, viii. 113; beini má varla verða betri en hér er frammi hafðr, xi. 52; hafðú í frammi ( use) kúgan við þá uppi við fjöllin, Ísl. ii. 215; margir hlutir, þó at hann hafi í frammi, Sks. 276.

β. hafa mikit, lítið fyrir e-u, to have much, little trouble about a thing; (hence fyrir-höfn, trouble.)

γ. hafa við e-m (afl or the like understood), to be a match for one, Fms. vii. 170, Lv. 109, Nj. 89, Eg. 474, Anal. 176; hafa mikit, lítið við, to make a great, little display; (hence við-höfn, display, pomp); hann söng messu ok hafði mikit við, he sang mass and made a great thing of it, Nj. 157; þú hefir mikit við, thou makest a great show of it, Boll. 351; hann bað jarl leita, hann hafði lítið við þat, he did it lightly, Nj. 141; haf ekki slíkt við, do not say so, Ld. 182.

B. To take, carry off, win, wield, [closely akin to Lat. capere]:

I. to catch, take, esp. in the phrase, hafa ekki e-s, to miss one; hann kemsk á skóg undan, ok höfðu þeir hans ekki, he took to the forest and they missed him, Nj. 130; ekki munu vér hans hafa at sinni, we sha’nt catch him at present, Fms. vi. 278; hafða ek þess vætki vífs, Hm. 101; þeygi ek hana at heldr hefik, 95: in swearing, tröll, herr, gramir hafi þik, the trolls, ghosts, etc. take thee! tröll hafi líf, ef …, Kormak; tröll hafi Trefót allan! Grett. (in a verse); tröll hafi þína vini, tröll hafi hól þitt, Nj.; herr hafi Þóri til slægan, confound the wily Thorir! Fms. vi. 278, v. l. (emended, as the phrase is wrongly explained in Fms. xii. Gloss.); gramir hafi þik! vide gramr.

II. to carry, carry off, bring; hafði einn hjartað í munni sér, one carried the heart off in his mouth, Nj. 95; hann hafði þat ( brought it) norðan með sér, Eg. 42; hafði Þórólfr heim marga dýrgripi, 4; hann hafði með sér skatt allan, 62; skaltú biðja hennar ok hafa hana heim hingat, Edda 22; fé þat er hann hafði ( had) út haft ( carried from abroad), Gullþ. 13; á fimm hestum höfðu þeir mat, Nj. 74; bókina er hann hafði ( had) út haft, Fms. vii. 156; konungr hafði biskup norðr til Björgynjar með sér, viii. 296; biskup lét hann hafa með sér kirkju-við ok járn-klukku, Landn. 42; hann hafði með sér skulda-lið sitt ok búferli, Eb. 8; hann tók ofan hofit, ok hafði með sér flesta viðu, id.; ok hafa hana í brott, Fms. i. 3; tekr upp barnit, ok hefir heim með sér, Ísl. ii. 20; hann hafði lög út hingat ór Noregi, he brought laws hither from Norway, Íb. 5; haf þú heim hvali til bæjar, Hým. 26; ok hafa hann til Valhallar, Nj. 119.

III. to take, get; hann hafði þá engan mat né drykk, he took no food nor drink, Eg. 602; hann hafði eigi svefn, he got no sleep, Bs. i. 139.

2. to get, gain, win; öfluðu sér fjár, ok höfðu hlutskipti mikit, Eg. 4; eigi þarftú at biðja viðsmjörs þess, þvíat hann mun þat alls ekki hafa, né þú, for neither he nor thou shall get it, Blas. 28; jarl vill hafa minn fund, he will have a meeting with me, 40, Skv. 1. 4: the sayings, hefir sá jafnan er hættir, he wins that risks, ‘nothing venture, nothing have,’ Hrafn. 16; sá hefir krás er krefr, Sl. 29.

3. phrases, hafa meira hlut, to get the better lot, gain the day, Nj. 90, Fms. xi. 93; hafa gagn, sigr, to gain victory, ix. 132, Eg. 7, Hkr. i. 215, Ver. 38; hafa betr, to get the better; hafa verr, miðr, to have the worst of it, Fms. v. 86, Þorst. S. St. 48, passim; hafa mál sitt, to win one’s suit, Grág. i. 7, Fms. vii. 34; hafa kaup öll, to get all the bargain, Eg. 71; hafa tafl, to win the game, Fms. vii. 219; hafa erendi, to do one’s errand, succeed, Þkv. 10, 11, Fas. ii. 517: hafa bana, to have one’s bane, to die, Nj. 8; hafa úsigr, to be worsted, passim; hafa úfrið, to have no peace; hafa gagn, sóma, heiðr, neisu, óvirðing, skömm, etc. af e-u, to get profit, gain, honour, disgrace, etc. from a thing; hafa e-n í helju, to put one to death, Al. 123; hafa e-n undir, to get one under, subdue him, Nj. 95, 128; höfum eigi, sigrinn ór hendi, let not victory slip out of our hands, Fms. v. 294.

4. to get, receive; hann hafði góðar viðtökur, Nj. 4; hón skal hafa sex-tigi hundraða, 3; skyldi Högni hafa land, 118; selja skipit, ef hann hafði þat fyrir ( if he could get for it) sem hann vildi; Flosi spurði í hverjum aurum hann vildi fyrir hafa, hann kvaðsk vildu fyrir hafa land, 259; hafa tíðindi, sögur af e-m, to have, get tidings of or from one, Ld. 28; hafa sæmd, metorð óvirðing, to get honour, disgrace from one’s hands, Nj. 101; hafa bætr, to get compensation, Grág. i. 188; hafa innstæðuna eina, id.; hafa af e-m, to have the best of one, cheat one.

IV. to carry, wear, of clothes, ornaments, weapons:

1. of clothes, [cp. Lat. habitus and Icel. höfn = gear]; hafa hatt á höfði, Ld. 28; hafa váskufl yztan klæða, … þú skalt hafa undir ( wear beneath) hin góðu klæði þín, Nj. 32; hann hafði blán kyrtil, … hann hafði svartan kyrtil, Boll. 358; hafa fald á höfði, to wear a hood; hón hafði gaddan rautt á höfði, Orkn. 304; hann hafði um sik breitt belti, he wore a broad belt, Nj. 91; hafa fingr-gull á hendi, 146: to have about one’s person, vefja saman ok hafa í pungi sínum, Edda 27; hlutir sem mönnum var títt at hafa, Fms. xi. 128.

2. of weapons, to wield, carry; spjót þat er þú hefir í hendi, Boll. 350; hafa kylfu í hendi sér, to have a club in one’s hand, Fms. xi. 129; hafa staf í hendi, to have a stick in the hand, Bárð.; Gunnarr hafði atgeirinn ok sverðit, Kolskeggr hafði saxit, Hjörtr hafði alvæpni, Nj. 93; hann hafdi öxi snaghyrnda, Boll. 358; hann hafði kesjuna fyrir sér, he held the lance in rest, Eg. 532.

V. here may be added a few special phrases; hafa hendr fyrir sér, to grope, feel with the hands (as in darkness); hafa vit fyrir sér, to act wisely; hafa at sér hendina, to draw one’s hand back, Stj. 198; hafa e-t eptir, to do or repeat a thing after one, Konr.; hafa e-t yfir, to repeat (of a lesson): hafa sik, to betake oneself; hafa sik til annarra landa, Grett. 9 new Ed.; hann vissi varla hvar hann átti at hafa sik, he knew not where ( whither) to betake himself, Bs. i. 807; hefir hann sik aptr á stað til munklífisins, Mar.

C. Passing into the sense of hefja (see at the beginning); hafa e-t uppi, to heave up, raise; hafa flokk uppi, to raise a party, to rebel, Fb. ii. 89: hafa uppi færi, net, a fisherman’s term, to heave up, take up the net or line, Háv. 46; Skarphéðinn hafði uppi ( heaved up) öxina, Nj. 144: hafa uppi tafl, to play at a game, Vápn. 29; þar vóru mjök töfl uppi höfð ok sagna-skemtan, Þorf. Karl. 406, v. l.: hafa e-n uppi, to hold one up, bring him to light; svá máttu oss skjótast uppi hafa, Fær. 42: metaph. to reveal, vándr riddari hafði allt þegar uppi, Str. 10.

2. with the notion to begin; Bárðr hafði uppi orð sín ( began his suit) ok bað Sigríðar, Eg. 26, Eb. 142; hafa upp stefnu, to begin the summons, Boll. 350; hafa upp ræður, to begin a discussion; ræður þær er hann hafði uppi haft við Ingigerði, Fms. iv. 144, where the older text in Ó. H. reads umræður þær er hann hafði upp hafit (from hefja), 59; cp. also Vsp., þat langniðja-tal mun uppi hafat (i. e. hafit) meðan öld lifir, 16, (cp. upp-haf, beginning); þó at ek hafa síðarr um-ræðu um hann, better þó at ek hafa (i. e. hefja) síðarr upp ræðu um hann, though I shall below treat of, discuss that, Skálda (Thorodd) 168; er lengi hefir uppi verit haft síðan (of a song), Nj. 135; cp. also phrases such as, hafa á rás, to begin running, take to one’s heels, Fms. iv. 120, ix. 490; næsta morgin hefir út fjörðinn, the next morning a breeze off land arose, Bs. ii. 48: opp. is the phrase, hafa e-t úti, to have done, finished; hafa úti sitt dags-verk, Fms. xi. 431; hafa úti sekt sína, Grett. 149.

D. Passing into the sense of a lost strong verb, hafa, hóf (see at the beginning), to behave, do, act:

I. with an adverb, hafa vel, ílla, or the like, to behave, and in some instances to do well or badly, be happy or unhappy,

α. to behave; en nú vil ek eigi verr hafa en þú, Fms. iv. 342; þeir sögðu at konungr vildi verr hafa en þeir, 313; hefir þú ílla ór (málum or the like understood) haft við mik, Fs. 140; ólikr er Gísli öðrum í þolinmæði, ok hefir hann betr en vér, Gísl. 28.

β. to do so and so (to be happy, unhappy); verr hafa þeir er trygðum slitu, Mkv. 3; ílla hefir sá er annan svíkr, 18; vel hefir sá er þat líða lætr, 6; vel hefir sá ( he is happy) er eigi bíðr slíkt íllt þessa heims, Fms. v. 145; hvílíkt hefir þú, how dost thou? Mar.; hafa hart, to do badly, to be wretched; at sál Þorgils mætti fyrir þær sakir eigi hart hafa, Sturl. iii. 292, Mar.; Ólafr hafði þá hölzti ílla, O. was very poorly, D. N. ii. 156; þykisk sá bezt hafa ( happiest) er fyrstr kemr heim, Fms. xi. 248; þá hefir hann bazt af hann þegir, i. e. that is the best he can do if he holds his tongue, Hm. 19; þess get ek at sá hafi verr ( he will make a bad bargain) er þik flytr, Nj. 128; úlfgi hefir ok vel, the wolf is in a bad plight, Ls. 39; mun sá betr hafa er eigi tekr við þér, id.; betr hefðir þú, ef …, thou wouldest do better, if …, Akv. 16.

γ. adding sik; hafa sik vel, to behave well, Fms. x. 415, Stj. 436.

II. with the prep. at, to do, act, (hence at-höfn, at-hæfi, act, doing); hann lét ekki til búa vígs-málit ok engan hlut at hafa, Nj. 71; en ef þeim þykkir of lítið féit tekit, þá skulu þeir hafa at hit sama, to act in the same way, Grág. ii. 267; hvatki es þeir hafa at, Fms. xi. 132; hann tók af þér konuna, en þú hafðir ekki at, but thou didst not stir, didst take it tamely, Nj. 33; bæði munu menn þetta kalla stórvirki ok íllvirki, en þó má nú ekki at hafa, but there is no help for it, 202; eigi sýnisk mér meðal-atferðar-leysi, at vér höfum eigi at um kvámur hans, i. e. that we submit tamely to his coming, Fs. 32: absol., viltú þess freista, ok vita þá hvat at hafi, wilt thou try and see how it will do? Bjarn. 27; en nú skaltú fara fyrir, ok vita hvat at hafi, Bs. i. 712.

III. phrases, hafa hátt, to be noisy, talk loud, Fms. i. 66; við skulum ekki hafa hátt ( do not cry loud) hér er maðr á glugganum, a lullaby song; hafa lágt, to keep silent; hafa hægt, to keep quiet; hafa sik á (í) hófi, to compose oneself, Ls. 36; hafa í hótum við e-n, to use threatening ( foul) language, Fb. i. 312; hafa í glett við e-n, to banter one, Fms. viii. 289; hafa íllt at verki, to do a bad deed, Ísl. ii. 184.

E. Passing into the sense of the verb hæfa (see at the beginning), to aim at, hit, with dat.:

I. to hit; svá nær hafði hausinum, at …, the shot so nearly hit the head, that …, Fms. ii. 272; þat sama forað, sem henni hafði næst váða, those very precipices from which she had so narrow an escape, Bs. i. 200, Fms. ix. 357; nær hafði nú, at skjótr mundi verða okkarr skilnaðr, Al. 124; nær hafði okkr nú, it struck near us, it was a narrow escape, Fms. viii. 281; kvaðsk svá dreymt hafa ( have dreamed), at þeim mundi nær hafa, ix. 387, v. l.; ok er nær hafði at skipit mundi fljóta, when the ship was on the point of floating, Ld. 58; ok hafði svá nær (it was within a hair’s breadth), at frændr Þorvalds mundu ganga at honum, Nj. 160; ok hafði svá nær at þeir mundi berjask, Íb. 11, cp. Bs. i. 21: the phrase, fjarri hefir, far from it! Edda (in a verse).

2. to charge; eigi em ek þar fyrir sönnu hafðr, I am not truly aimed at for that, ‘tis a false charge, Eg. 64; þeim manni er fyrir sökum er hafðr, i. e. the culprit, Grág. i. 29; cp. the mod. phrase, hafa á e-u, to make a charge of a thing; það varð ekki á því haft, they could not make a case for a charge of it.

II. metaph. to be the ground or reason for, (hence til-hæfa, reason, fact, foundation); til þess ætla vitrir menn þat haft at Ísland sé Tile (i. e. Thule) kallað, at …, learned men suppose that is the reason that Iceland is called Thule, that …, Landn. (pref.); mikit mun til haft, er einmæli er um (there must be some reason for it, because all people say so), Þorgils segir, eigi er fyrir haft ( there is no ground whatever for it), at ek mæla betr fyrir griðum en aðrir menn, Ísl. ii. 379; vér hyggjum þat til þess haft vera, at þar hafi menn sésk, we believe the substance of the story is that men have been seen there, Fms. xi. 158; hvat er til þess haft um þat (what is the truth of the matter?), hefir sundr-þykki orðit með ykkr? Boll. 364: in the saying, hefir hverr til síns ágætis nokkut, every one gets his reputation for something, Nj. 115.

2. to happen, coincide; hefir svá til, at hann var þar sjálfr, Fms. xi. 138, v. l.

β. the phrase, hafa mikit (lítið) til síns máls, to have much ( little) reason for one’s tale, i. e. to be much, little, in the right, Fms. vii. 221, xi. 138 (v. l.), Nj. 88: um þenna hefir svá stórum, it matters so much with this man, (v. l. for mun stórum skipta), Fms. xi. 311.

F. REFLEX. to keep, dwell, abide, but only of a temporary shelter or abode, cp. Lat. habitare, (cp. also höfn, a haven); hann hefsk á náttartíma niðri í vötnum, at night-time he keeps down in the water, Stj. 77: to live, þeir höfðusk mjök í kaupferðum, they spent much of their life in travelling, Hkr. i. 276; hann hafðisk löngum í bænum, Bs. i. 353.

β. with prep. við; hér mun ek við hafask ( I will stay here) en þú far til konungs, Fb. ii. 125; hafðisk hann við á skógum eðr í öðrum fylgsnum, 302; því at hann hafðisk þá á skipum við, Fms. viii. 44; hvílsk heldr ok hafsk við í því landi, rest and stay in that land, Stj. 162; Ásgeirr hafðisk við uppi í dalnum, Sd. 154; hafask lind fyrir, to cover oneself with a shield (?), Vsp. 50; hafask hlífar fyrir, to be mailed in armour, Hkm. 11.

2. hafask at, to do, behave (cp. D. above); vóru þeir þá svá móðir, at þeir máttu ekki at hafask, Fms. ii. 149; en síðan skulut þér at hafa slíkt sem ek kann fyrir segja, i. 158; þat eitt munu við at hafask, at ek mun betr göra en þú, Nj. 19; Lambi sá hvat Steinarr hafðisk at, Eg. 747.

3. hafask vel, to do well, thrive; vaxa ok vel hafask, to wax and do well, Hm. 142; nú er þat bæn mín, at þér hafisk við vel, that you bear yourself well up, Fms. ix. 497; Jungfrúin hafðisk vel við í ferðinni, x. 86; at fé hans mundi eigi hafask at betr at meðal-vetri, Grág. ii. 326.

4. recipr., hafask orð við, to speak to one another; ok er þat ósiðlegt, at menn hafisk eigi orð við, Fs. 14; þar til er þeir hafask réttar tölur við, N. G. L. i. 182.

II. part. hafandi is used in the sense of having conceived, being with child; þá verit hann varr við at hón var hafandi, 656 B. 14; hón skyldi verða hafandi at Guðs syni, id.; generally, allt þat er hafanda var lét burð sinn ok ærðisk, Fms. vii. 187; svá sem hón verðr at honum hafandi, Stj. 178; (hence barns-hafandi, being with child.)

G. The word hafa is in the Icel., as in other Teut. languages, used as an auxiliary verb with a part. pass. of another verb, whereby a compound preterite and pluperfect are formed as follows:

I. in transitive verbs with acc. the participle also was put in acc., agreeing in gender, number, and case with the objective noun or pronoun; this seems to have been a fixed rule in the earliest time, and is used so in all old poems down at least to the middle of the 11th century, to the time of Sighvat (circ. A. D. 990–1040), who constantly used the old form,—átt is an apostrophe for átta in the verse Ó. H. 81:

1. references from poets, Gm. 5, 12, 16; þá er forðum mik fædda höfðu, Vsp. 2; hverr hefði lopt lævi blandit eðr ætt jötuns Óðs mey gefna, 29; þær’s í árdaga áttar höfðu, 60: ek hafða fengna konungs reiði, Ad. 3; en Grjótbjörn um gnegðan hefir, 18; mik hefir marr miklu ræntan, Stor. 10; þó hefir Míms-vinr mér um fengnar bölva bætr, 22: gaupur er Haraldr hafi sveltar, Hornklofi: Loka mær hefir leikinn allvald, Ýt. 7; sá hafði borinn brúna-hörg, 14; jarlar höfðu veginn hann, 15: ek hef orðinn ( found) þann guðföðr (verða is here used as trans.), Hallfred; höfum kera framðan, id.: hann hefir litnar, sénar, hár bárur, Ísl. ii. 223, thus twice in a verse of A. D. 1002; göngu hefik of gengna, Korm. (in a verse); hann hafði farna för, Hkr. i. (Glum Geirason); ek hefi talðar níu orustur, Sighvat; þú hefir vanðan þik, id.; ér hafit rekna þá braut, Ó. H. 63 (Óttar Svarti); hann hefir búnar okkr hendr skrautliga, Sighvat (Ó. H. 13); þeir hafa færð sín höfuð Knúti, id.; hvar hafit ér hugðan mér sess, id.; hafa sér kenndan enn nørðra heims enda, id.; Sighvatr hefir lattan gram, id.; hefir þú hamar um fólginn, Þkv. 7, 8; þú hefir hvatta okkr, Gkv. 6; ek hefi yðr brennda, Am. 39, cp. 56; hefi ek þik minntan, 81; hefir þú hjörtu tuggin, Akv. 36; hefir þú mik dvalðan, Hbl. 51; ek hefi hafðar þrár, I have had throes, Fsm. 51; en ek hann görvan hef-k, svá hefi ek studdan, 12 (verse 13 is corrupt); hann hefir dvalða þik, Hkv. Hjörv. 29; lostna, 30; mik hefir sóttan meiri glæpr, 32; ek hefi brúði kerna, id.; þú hefir etnar úlfa krásir, opt sár sogin, Hkv. 1. 36; sá er opt hefir örnu sadda, 35; hefir þú kannaða koni óneisa, 23; þá er mik svikna höfðut, Skv. 3. 55; hann hafði getna sonu, Bkv. 8; þann sal hafa halir um görvan, Fm. 42; bróður minn hefir þú benjaðan, 25; er hann ráðinn hefir, 37; sjaldan hefir þú gefnar vargi bráðir, Eg. (in a verse).

2. references from prose; this old form has since been turned into an indecl. neut. sing. part. -it. The old form was first lost in the strong verbs and the weak verbs of the first conjugation: in the earliest prose both forms are used, although the indecl. is more freq. even in the prose writers, as Íb., the Heiðarv. S., the Miracle-book in Bs., Njála, Ó. H., (Thorodd seems only to use the old form,) as may be seen from the following references, Björn hafði særða þrjá menn, Nj. 262; hann mundi hana hafa gipta honum, 47; hann hafði þá leidda saman hestana, 264: ek hefi sendan mann, Ísl. (Heiðarv. S.) ii. 333; ek nefi senda menn, id.: hafa son sinn ór helju heimtan, Bs. (Miracle-book) i. 337; en er þeir höfðu niðr settan sveininn, 349; hann hafði veidda fimm tegu fiska, 350: er þér hefir ílla neisu gorva, Ó. H. 107: þá hefi ek fyrri setta þá í stafrófi, Skálda (Thorodd) 161; þar hefi ek við görva þessa stafi fjóra, id.; hafa hann samsettan, 167: góða fylgd hefir þú mér veitta, Þorst Síðu H. 2: sagði, at Ólafr konungr hafði sendan hann, Bs. i. 11: Þyri, er hertogi hafði festa nauðga, Fms. x. 393 (Ágrip): hefi ek þá svá signaða ok magnaða, v. 236: hefir sólin gengna tvá hluti, en einn úgenginn, K. Þ. K. 92 (Lund’s Syntax, p. 12).

β. again, neut. indecl., hana hafði átt fyrr Þoróddr, Ísl. ii. 192: hón hafði heimt húskarl sinn …, Ísl. (Heiðarv. S.) ii. 339; hann hefir ekki svá vel gyrt hest minn, 340; hefir þú eigi séð mik, 341; hve hann hafði lokkat hann. id.; gistingar hefi ek yðr fengit, 343: þeir höfðu haft úfrið ok orrostur, Íb. 12; hann hafði tekið lögsögu, 14: stafr er átt hafði Þorlákr, Bs. (Miracle-book) i. 340; er þær höfðu upp tekit ketilinn ok hafit …, 342; göngu es hann hafði gingit, 344; es sleggjuna hafði niðr fellt, 346; sem maðr hefði nýsett (hana) niðr, id.; jartein þá er hann þóttisk fingit hafa, 347; hafði prestrinn fært fram sveininn, 349: hjálm er Hreiðmarr hafði átt, Edda 73: hafa efnt sína heitstrenging, Fms. (Jómsv. S.) xi. 141: slíkan dóm sem hann hafði mér hugat, Ó. H. 176, etc. passim:—at last the inflexion disappeared altogether, and so at the present time the indecl. neut. sing. is used throughout; yet it remains in peculiar instances, e. g. konu hefi eg mér festa, Luke xiv. 20, cp. Vídal. ii. 21. ☞ This use of the inflexive part. pass. may often serve as a test of the age of a poem, e. g. that Sólarljóð was composed at a later date may thus be seen from verses 27, 64, 72, 73, 75, 79; but this test is to be applied with caution, as the MSS. have in some cases changed the true forms (-inn, -ann, and -it, -an being freq. abbreviated in the MSS. so as to render the reading dubious). In many cases the old form is no doubt to be restored, e. g. in vegit to veginn, Fm. 4, 23; búit to búinn, Hkv. Hjörv. 15; borit to borinn, Hkv. 1. 1; beðit to beðinn, Fsm. 48; orðit to orðin, Og. 23; roðit to roðinn, Em. 5; brotið to brotinn, Vkv. 24, etc.: but are we to infer from Ls. 23, 26, 33, that this poem is of a comparatively late age?

II. the indecl. neut. sing. is, both in the earliest poems and down to the present day, used in the following cases:

1. with trans. verbs requiring the dat. or gen.; ek hefi fengit e-s, hann hafði fengit konu; hafa hefnt e-s, Fms. xi. 25; sú er hafði beðit fjár, Þkv. 32; stillir hefir stefnt mér, Hkv. Hjörv. 33, and so in endless cases.

2. in the reflex. part. pass.; þeir (hann) hafa (hefir) látisk, farisk, sagsk, etc.

3. in part. of intrans. neut. verbs, e. g. þeir þær (hann, hón), hafa (hefir) setið, staðit, gengit, legit, farit, komit, verit, orðit, lifað, dáit, heitið …, also almost in every line both of prose and poetry.

4. in trans. verbs with a neut. sing. in objective case the difference cannot be seen.

☞ The compound preterite is common to both the Romance and Teutonic languages, and seems to be older in the former than in the latter; Grimm suggests that it originated with the French, and thence spread to the Teutons. That it was not natural to the latter is shewn by the facts, that

α. no traces of it are found in Gothic, nor in the earliest Old High German glossaries to Latin words.

β. in the earliest Scandinavian poetry we can trace its passage from declinable to indeclinable.

γ. remains are left in poetry of a primitive uncompounded preterite infinitive, e. g. stóðu = hafa staðit, mundu, skyldu, vildu, etc., see Gramm. p. xxv, col. 2. ☞ We may here note a curious dropping of the verb hefir, at ek em kominn hingat til lands, ok verit áðr ( having been) langa hríð utan-lands, Ó. H. 31, cp. Am. 52; barn at aldri, en vegit slíka hetju sem Þorvaldr var, Glúm. 382. On this interesting matter see Grimm’s remarks in his Gramm. iv. 146 sqq.

I) prep.

A. with dative.

I. Of motion;

1) towards, against;

Otkell laut at Skamkatli, bowed down to S.;

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

2) close atup to;

Brynjólfr gengr alit at honum, quite up to him;

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

3) to, at;

koma at landi, to come to land;

ganga at dómi, to go into court;

4) along (= eptir);

ganga at stræti, to walk along the street;

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

refr dró hörpu at ísi, on the ice;

5) denoting hostility;

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

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

6) around;

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

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

7) denoting business, engagement;

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

fara at landskuldum, to go collecting rents.

II. Of position, &c.;

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

at kirkju, at church;

at dómi, in court;

at lögbergi, at the hill of laws;

2) denoting participation in;

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

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

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

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

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

4) with proper names of places (farms);

konungr at Danmörku ok Noregi, king of;

biskup at Hólum, bishop of Holar;

at Helgafelli, at Bergþórshváli;

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

at hans (at his house) gisti fjölmenni mikit;

at Marðar, at Mara’s home;

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

at Ránar, at Ran’s (abode).

III. Of time;

1) at, in;

at upphafi, at first, in the beginning;

at skilnaði, at parting, when they parted;

at páskum, at Easter;

at kveldi, at eventide;

at þinglausnum, at the close of the Assembly;

at fjöru, at the ebb;

at flœðum, at the floodtide;

2) adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr’;

at ári komanda, next year;

at vári, er kemr, next spring;

generally with ‘komanda’ understood;

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

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

at sér lifanda, duing his lifetime;

at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all;

at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the hearing of the chief;

at upprennandi sólu, at sunrise;

at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks are past;

at honum önduðum, after his death;

4) denoting uninterrupted succession, after;

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

skildu menn at þessu, thereupon, after this;

at því (thereafter) kómu aðrar meyjar.

IV. fig. and in various uses;

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

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

verða at ormi, to become a snake;

2) for, as;

gefa e-t at gjöf, as a present;

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

3) by;

taka sverð at hjöltum, by the hilt;

draga út björninn at hlustunum, by the ears;

kjósa at afli, álitum, by strength, appearrance;

4) as regards as to;

auðigr at fé, wealthy in goods;

vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face;

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

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

6) as a paraphrase of a genitive;

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

aðili at sök = aðili sakar;

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

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

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

tvítugr at aldri, twenty years of age;

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

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

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

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

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

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

at ráði allra vitrustu manna, by the advice of;

at landslögum, by the law of the land;

at vánum, as was to be expected;

at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave;

10) in adverbial phrases;

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

bíta af allt gras at snøggu, quite bare;

at fullu, fully;

at vísu, surely;

at frjálsu, freely;

at eilífu, for ever and ever;

at röngu, at réttu, wrongly, rightly;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

at Hrungni dauðan, upon the death of Hrungnir.

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

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

2) in an objective sense;

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

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

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

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

hón grét at meir, she wept the more;

þykkir oss at líkara, all the more likely;

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

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

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

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

conj., that;

1) introducing a subjective or objective clause;

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

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

2) relative to svá, denoting proportion, degree;

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

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

4) since, because, as (= því at);

5) connected with þó, því, svá;

þó at (with subj.), though, although;

því at, because, for;

svá at, so that;

6) temp., þá at (= þá er), when;

þegar at (= þegar er), as soon as;

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

áðr at (= á. en), before;

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

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

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

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

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

odda at, Yggs at, battle.

* * *

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. LOC.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. METAPH. and in various cases:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

V. denoting the source of a thing:

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

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

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

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

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