nothing at all

(pl. -ir), f.

1) wight, being; þegi þú, rög v., hold thy tongue, vile being;

2) esp. a supernatural being; hjálpi þér hollar vættir, way the gracious powers help thee; heiðnar vættir, heathen fiends; illar vættir, evil beings;

3) ekki vætta, no whit, nothing at all (höfðu þeir ekki vætta at sök); as adv. not at all (ekki vætta hræddr); øngu vætta vildi hann eira, he would not spare anything.

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f., dat. vætti, Grett. 176 new Ed., Hom. 129 (Ed.); used neut., Hom. 195, l. 4: [A. S. wiht; Engl. wight; Germ. böse-wicht]:—a ‘wight,’ being; Brynhildar, armrar vættar, Gkv. 1. 22; vön sé sú vættr vers ok barna, 23; Brynhildar, armrar vættar, 22; þegi þú, rög vættr, Ls. 59, 61, 63; þá segi ek þér, vesöl vettr, Hom. 152; nú sá þér hverjar vættir er þess höfðu neytt, mýss ok ormar, Ó. H. 109.

2. esp. of supernatural beings; svá brenna mik nú bænir Ólafs konungs, sagði sú vættr, Ó. H. 188; Guð, hví metr þú þik þess, at sýna afl þitt við jamnústyrkt vætr sem ek em, Hom. 195; ertú maðr eða andi eðr önnur vættr, Art. 79; hollar vættir, Frigg ok Freyja ok fleiri goð, Og.; blóta heiðnar vættir, K. Þ. K.; hann hafði kastað trú sinni ok görðisk guðníðingr ok blótaði nú heiðnar vættir, Nj. 272; hann kvað íllar vættir því snemma stýrt hafa, Korm. 240; kann vera nokkur íll vættr hafi lagizk á féit, Fms. xi. 158; ú-vættr, an ‘un-wight,’ an evil wight; mein-vættr, q. v.; görninga-vættr, galdra-v., a sorceress; þeirri görninga vætti, Grett. 176; land-vættir, q. v.: vitta vettr, a ‘witch wight,’ a sorceress, Ýt.

B. vætta or vetta, in the phrase, ekki vætta, no whit, naught; dat. engu vætta, gen. enskis vætta. Mr. Jón Thorkelsson, of Reykjavík, suggests that vætta is a nom. neut. (like auga), of which vætna (see hvat-vetna) is the gen. plur. (as augna from auga); ekki vætta ( nobody) má forðask, Sks. 82; ok kemsk ekki vætta yfir, Art. 28; ok skorti (ekki) vætta um vetrinn, Fms. v. 313; höfðu þeir ekki vætta at sök, viii. 18; þeim var nú ok ást á öngu vetti (vetta?) nema á Guði einum, Hom. 129 (Ed., see foot-note); sem honum hefði enskis vetta verit at grandi, 125 (Ed.); svá mikit kafa-fjúk með frosti at engu vetta var út komanda, Fs. 54; öngu vætta vildi hann eira, Fms. xi. 90; ok öngu vætta vanat, Stj. 279; hann gefr sér ekki vætta (naught, not a whit) um hans úvitrleik, 22; hann var ekki vætta hræddr, not a whit afraid, 154; anza ekki vætta, to heed not, 81; nokkut vætta, aught, something, 164, 181, 280.

C. vætr, as an adverb = naught, cp. Goth. ni-waiht or waiht-ni = οὐδέν, μηδέν, the negative particle né being dropped; hyggsk vætr hvatr fyrir, Ls. 15; át vætr Freyja, svaf vætr Freyja, Þkv.; vinna vætr, Vkv. 39; sér vætr fyrir því, Skv. 1. 39; leyfi ek vætr, I praise it not, Eg. (in a verse).

2. with gen., vætr manna, no man, Hbl. 22; vætr véla no fraud, Am. 5; vætr hjóna, none of the household, 94; ey-vit (q. v.), aught.

adv. poet. not at all (eyfit hefi ek fé);

eyfit eitt, nothing at all.

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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.

* * *

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.

ð, also spelt görva, giörva, geyra, giora, gera: prop. gøra, not gra (the ø was sounded nearly as y or ey), so that the g is to be sounded as an aspirate, however the word is spelt; and the insertion of i or j (giöra, gjöra), which is usual in mod. writing, and often occurs in old, is phonetic, not radical, and göra and gjöra represent the same sound. The word in the oldest form had a characteristic v, and is spelt so on the Runic stones in the frequent Runic phrase, gaurva kubl, Baut., and Danske Runemind. passim; but also now and then in old Icel. MSS., e. g. the Kb. of Sæm. (cited from Bugge’s Edit.), gorva, Am. 75, Skv. 1. 34, 3. 20, Hm. 123, Og. 29; gerva, Am. 64, Bkv. 3; giorva, Rm. 9; giorfa, 28; gorvir, Hkv. Hjörv. 41; gørvom, Hým. 6; gorviz, Am. 35; gerviz, Merl. 2. 89:—this characteristic v has since been dropped, and it is usually spelt without it in MSS., gora, Hým. 1, Og. 23, Ls. 65; gera, Am. 85; gorir, Hm. 114: the pret. always drops the v, gorþi, Hym. 21; gorðo or gorþo, fecerunt, Hm. 142, Am. 9; gorðumz, Hðm. 28; gerþi, Am. 74; gerþit, 26:—with i inserted, Rm. 9, 22; giordu, 11; in the Mork. freq. giavra. The ö is still sounded in the east of Icel., whereas gera is the common form in speech, gjöra in writing:—the old pres. indic. used by the poets and in the laws is monosyllabic görr, with suffixed negative, görr-a, Hkr. i. (in a verse); mod. bisyllabic görir, which form is also the usual one in the Sagas:—the old part. pass. was görr or gerr, geyrr, Fms. ix. 498, x. 75, where the v was kept before a vowel, and is often spelt with f, gorvan, gorvir, and gorfan, gorfir: dat. so-goro or so-guru adverbially = sic facto: the mod. part. gjörðr, gerðr, görðr, as a regular part. of the 2nd weak conjugation, which form occurs in MSS. of the 15th century, e. g. Bs. i. 877, l. 21. [This is a Scandin. word; Dan. gjöre; Swed. göra; Old Engl. and Scot. gar, which is no doubt of Scandin. origin, the Saxon word being do, the Germ. thun, neither of which is used in the Scandin.; the word however is not unknown to the Teut., though used in a different sense; A. S. gervan and gearvjan = parare; O. H. G. karwan; Germ. gerben, garben, but esp. the adj. and adv. gar, vide above s. v. gör-.] To make, to do; the Icel. includes both these senses.

A. To make:

I. to build, work, make, etc.; göra himin ok jörð, 623. 36, Hom. 100; göra hús, to build a house, Fms. xi. 4, Rb. 384; göra kirkju, Bjarn. 39; göra skip, N. G. L. i. 198; göra langskip, Eg. 44; göra stólpa, Al. 116; göra tól (= smíða), Vsp. 7; göra (fingr)-gull, Bs. i. 877; göra haug, to build a cairn, Eg. 399; göra lokhvílu, Dropl. 27; göra dys, Ld. 152; göra kistu ( coffin), Eg. 127; göra naust, N. G. L. i. 198; göra jarðhús, Dropl. 34; göra veggi, Eg. 724: also, göra bók, to write a book, Íb. 1, Rb. 384; göra kviðling, to make a song, Nj. 50; göra bréf, to draw up a deed ( letter), Fms. ix. 22; göra nýmæli, to frame a law, Íb. 17.

2. adding prep.; göra upp, to repair, rebuild, restore, Fb. ii. 370; göra upp Jórsala-borg, Ver. 43; göra upp skála, Ld. 298; göra upp leiði, to build up a grave.

II. to make, prepare, get ready; göra veizlu, drykkju, brúðkaup, erfi, and poët. öl, öldr, to make a feast, brew bridal ale, Fs. 23, Fms. xi. 156, Dropl. 6, Am. 86; göra seið, blót, to perform a sacrifice, Ld. 152; göra bú, to set up a house, Grág. i. 185, Ld. 68; göra eld, to make a fire, Fs. 100, K. Þ. K. 88; göra rekkju, to make one’s bed, Eg. 236; göra upp hvílur, Sturl. ii. 124; göra graut, to make porridge, Eg. 196, N. G. L. i. 349; göra drykk, to make a drink, Fms. i. 8; göra kol, or göra til kola, to make charcoal, Ölk. 35.

III. in somewhat metaph. phrases; göra ferð, to make a journey, Fms. x. 281; görði heiman för sína, he made a journey from home, Eg. 23; göra sinn veg, to make one’s way, travel, Mar.; göra uppreisn, to make an uprising, to rebel, Rb. 384, Fms. ix. 416; göra úfrið, to make war, 656 C. 15; göra sátt, göra frið, to make peace, Hom. 153, Bs. i. 24; göra féskipti, Nj. 118; göra tilskipan, to make an arrangement, Eg. 67; göra ráð sitt, to make up one’s mind, Nj. 267, Fms. ix. 21; göra hluti, to cast lots, Fms. x. 348.

2. to make, give, pay, yield; göra tíund, to pay tithes, Hom. 180; hann skal göra Guði tíunda hlut verðsins, id.; göra ölmusu, to give alms, 64; göra ávöxt, to yield fruit, Greg. 48; gefa né göra ávöxt, Stj. 43; göra konungi skatt eða skyld, Fms. xi. 225.

3. to contract; göra vináttu, félagskap, to contract friendship, Nj. 103, Eg. 29; göra skuld, to contract a debt, Grág. i. 126: göra ráð með e-m, to take counsel with, advise one, Eg. 12; göra ráð fyrir, to suppose, Nj. 103, Fms. ix. 10; göra mun e-s, to make a difference, i. 255, Eb. 106.

4. to make, make up, Lat. efficere; sex tigir penninga göra eyri, sixty pence make an ounce, Grág. i. 500, Rb. 458.

5. to grant, render; göra kost, to make a choice, to grant, Nj. 130, Dropl. 6, Fms. xi. 72, (usually ellipt., kostr being understood); vil ek at þér gerit kostinn, Nj. 3; ok megit þér fyrir því göra ( grant) honum kostinn, 49, 51; göra e-m lög, to grant the law to one, 237; göra guðsifjar, to make ‘gossip’ with one, to be one’s godfather, Fms. ii. 130.

6. special usages; göra spott, háð, gabb, … at e-u, to make sport, gibes, etc. at or over a thing, Fms. x. 124; göra iðran, to do penance, Greg. 22; göra þakkir, to give thanks, Hom. 55; göra róm at máli e-s, to cheer another’s speech, shout hear, hear! var görr at máli hans mikill rómr ok góðr, his speech was much cheered, Nj. 250,—a parliamentary term; the Teutons cheered, the Romans applauded (with the hands), cp. Tacit. Germ.

7. with prepp.; gera til, to make ready or dress meat; láta af ( to kill) ok göra til ( and dress), K. Þ. K. 80, Ísl. ii. 83, 331, Fs. 146, 149, Bjarn. 31, Finnb. 228; göra til nyt, to churn milk, K. Þ. K. 78; göra til sverð, to wash and clean the sword, Dropl. 19; máttu þeir eigi sjá, hversu Þorvaldr var til gerr, how Th. got a dressing, Nj. 19.

β. göra at e-u, to mend, make good, put right (at-görð), ek skal at því gera, Fms. xi. 153, Eg. 566, Nj. 130: to heal, Bárð. 171, Eg. 579, Grág. i. 220; göra at hesti, K. Þ. K. 54, Nj. 74: göra við e-u, vide B. II.

8. adding acc. of an adj., part., or the like; göra mun þat margan höfuðlausan, Nj. 203; göra mikit um sik, to make a great noise, great havoc, Fb. i. 545, Grett. 133, Fms. x. 329; göra e-n sáttan, to reconcile one, Grág. i. 336; göra sér e-n kæran, to make one dear to oneself, Hkr. i. 209; göra sik líkan e-m, to make oneself like to another, imitate one, Nj. 258; göra sik góðan, to make oneself good or useful, 74, 78; göra sik reiðan, to take offence, 216; göra sér dælt, to make oneself at home, take liberties, Ld. 134, Nj. 216; göra langmælt, to make a long speech, Sks. 316; göra skjót-kjörit, to make a quick choice, Fms. ii. 79; göra hólpinn, to ‘make holpen,’ to help, x. 314; göra lögtekit, to make a law, issue a law, xi. 213, Bs. i. 37; hann gerði hann hálshöggvinn, he had him beheaded, Fms. ix. 488, v. l.; ok görðu þá handtekna alla at minsta kosti, Sturl. i. 40; várir vöskustu ok beztu menn era görfir handteknir, 41.

β. göra sér mikit um e-t, to make much of, admire, Eg. 5, Fms. x. 254, 364; göra e-t at ágætum, to make famous, extol a thing, vii. 147; göra at orðum, to notice as remarkable, Fas. i. 123; göra at álitum, to take into consideration, Nj. 3; göra sér úgetið at e-u, to be displeased with, Ld. 134; göra vart við sik, to make one’s presence noticed, Eg. 79; göra sér mikit, lítið fyrir, to make great, small efforts, Finnb. 234; göra sér í hug, to brood over; hann gerði sér í hug at drepa jarl, Fs. 112; göra sér í hugar lund, to fancy, think: göra af sér, to exert oneself, ef þú gerir eigi meira af þér um aðra leika, Edda 32; hvárt hann var með Eiríki jarli, eðr görði hann annat af sér, or what else he was making of himself, Fms. xi. 157.

9. phrases, gera fáleika á sik, to feign, make oneself look sad, Nj. 14; esp. adding upp, gera sér upp veyki, to feign sickness, (upp-gerð, dissimulation); göra sér til, to make a fuss, (hence, til-gerð, foppishness.)

B. To do:

I. to do, act; allt þat er hann gerir síðan ( whatever he does), þat á eigandi at ábyrgjask, Gþl. 190; þér munut fátt mæla eðr gera, áðr yðr munu vandræði af standa, i. e. whatsoever you say or do will bring you into trouble, Nj. 91; göra e-t með harðfengi ok kappi, 98; ger svá vel, ‘do so well,’ be so kind! 111; gerit nú svá, góði herra (please, dear lord!), þiggit mitt heilræði, Fms. vii. 157: and in mod. usage, gerið þér svo vel, gerðu svo vel, = Engl. please, do! sagði, at hann hafði með trúleik gört, done faithfully, Eg. 65; göra gott, to do good; göra íllt, to do evil, (góð-görð, íll-görð); ok þat var vel gört, well done, 64; geyrða ek hotvetna íllt, I did evil in all things, Niðrst. 109; hefir hann marga hluti gört stór-vel til mín, he has done many things well towards me, I have received many great benefits at his hands, Eg. 60: with dat., svá mikit gott sem jarl hefir mér gert, Nj. 133; þér vilda ek sízt íllt göra, I would least do harm to thee, 84: göra fúlmennsku, to do a mean act, 185; göra vel við e-n, to do well to one, Fs. 22; göra stygð við e-n, to offend one, Fms. x. 98; göra sæmiliga til e-s, to do well to one, Ld. 62, Nj. 71; göra sóma e-s, to do honour to one, Fms. vii. 155; göra e-m gagn, to give help to one, Nj. 262; göra e-m sæmd, skomm, to do ( shew) honour, dishonour, to one, 5, Fms. x. 43; göra háðung, xi. 152; göra styrk, to strengthen one, ix. 343; göra e-m skapraun, to tease one; göra ósóma, Vápn. 19; göra skaða ( scathe), Eg. 426; göra óvina-fagnað, to give joy to one’s enemies, i. e. to do just what they want one to do, Nj. 112; göra til skaps e-m, to conform to one’s wishes, 80; gerum vér sem faðir vár vill, let us do as our father wishes, 198; vel má ek gera þat til skaps föður míns at brenna inni með honum, id.; göra at skapi e-s, id., 3; var þat mjök gert móti mínu skapi, Fms. viii. 300; gera til saka við e-n, to offend, sin against one, Nj. 80; gera á hluta e-s, to wrong one, Vígl. 25; göra ílla fyrir sér, to behave badly, Fms. vii. 103.

II. adding prep.; göra til e-s, to deserve a thing (cp. til-görð, desert, behaviour); hvat hafðir þú til gört, what hast thou done to deserve it? Nj. 130; framarr en ek hefi til gört, more than I have deserved, Fms. viii. 300; ok hafit þér Danir heldr til annars gört, ye Danes have rather deserved the reverse, xi. 192, Hom. 159:—göra eptir, to do after, imitate, Nj. 90:—göra við e-u (cp. við-görð, amendment), to provide for, amend, ok mun úhægt vera at göra við forlögum þeirra, Ld. 190; er úhægt at göra við ( to resist) atkvæðum, Fs. 22; ok mun ekki mega við því gera, Nj. 198:—göra af við e-n (cp. af-görð, evil doing), to transgress against one, ek hefi engan hlut af gört við þik, Fms. vii. 104, viii. 241; ok iðrask nú þess er hann hefir af gert, 300; göra af við Guð, to sin against God, Hom. 44.

2. special usages; göra … at, to do so and so; spurði, hvat hann vildi þá láta at gera, he asked what he would have done, Nj. 100; hann gerði þat eina at, er hann átti, he did only what be ought, 220; þeir Flosi sátu um at rengja, ok gátu ekki at gert, F. tried, and could do nothing, 115, 242; þér munut ekki fá at gert, fyrr en …, 139; Flosi ok hans menn fengu ekki at gert, 199; mikit hefir þú nú at gert, much hast thou now done ( it is a serious matter), 85; er nú ok mikit at gert um manndráp siðan, 256; hann vildi taka vöru at láni, ok göra mikit at, and do great things, Ld. 70; Svartr hafði höggit skóg ok gert mikit at, Nj. 53; slíkt gerir at er sölin etr, so it happens with those who eat seaweed, i. e. that (viz. thirst) comes of eating seaweed, Eg. 605.

β. göra af e-u, to do so and so with a thing; hvat hafið ér gert af Gunnari, Njarð. 376; ráð þú draumana, vera má at vér gerim af nokkut, may be that we may make something out of it, Ld. 126; gör af drauminum slíkt er þér þykkir líkligast, do with the dream ( read it) as seems to thee likeliest, Ísl. ii. 196: göra við e-n, to do with one; þá var um rætt, hvað við þá skyldi göra, what was to be done with them? Eg. 232; ærnar eru sakir til við Egil, hvat sem eg læt göra við hann, 426; eigi veit ek hvat þeir hafa síðan við gört, 574: göra fyrir e-t, to provide; Jón var vel fjáreigandi, ok at öllu vel fyrir gört, a wealthy and well-to-do man, Sturl. iii. 195; þótt Björn sé vel vígr maðr, þá er þar fyrir gört, því at …, but that is made up, because …: fyrir göra (q. v.), to forfeit.

C. METAPH. AND SPECIAL USAGES:

I. to do, help, avail; nú skulum vér ganga allir á vald jarlsins, því at oss gerir eigi annat, nothing else will do for us, Nj. 267; þat mun ekki gera, that wont do, 84; en ek kann ekki ráð til at leggja ef þetta gerir ekki, Fms. ii. 326; konungr vill þat eigi, þvi at mér gerir þat eigi ( it will not do for me) at þér gangit hér upp, x. 357; þat gerir mér ekki, at þér gangit á Orminn, … en hitt má vera at mér komi at gagni, ii. 227; þóttisk þá vita, at honum mundi ekki gera ( it would do nothing) at biðja fyrir honum, Fb. i. 565; engum gerði við hann at keppa, 571; ekki gerði þeim um at brjótask, Bárð. 10 new Ed.; sagða ek yðr eigi, at ekki mundi gera at leita hans, Sks. 625; hvat gerir mér nú at spyrja, Stj. 518; ekki gerir at dylja, no use hiding it, Fbr. 101 new Ed.; ætla þat at fáir þori, enda geri engum, Band. 7; bæði var leitað til annarra ok heima, ok gerði ekki, but did no good, 4; hét hann þeim afarkostum, ok gerði þat ekki, but it did no good, Fms. ii. 143.

II. to send, despatch, cp. the Engl. to ‘do’ a message; hann gerði þegar menn frá sér, Eg. 270; hann hafði gört menn sex á skóginn fyrir þá, 568; þá gerði Karl lið móti þeim, Fms. i. 108; jarl gerði Eirík at leita Ribbunga, ix. 314; hann gerði fram fyrir sik Álf á njósn, 488; hann gerði menn fyrir sér at segja konunginum kvámu sína, x. 10; hleypi-skúta var gör norðr til Þrándheims, vii. 206; jafnan gerði jarl til Ribbunga ok drap menn af þeim, ix. 312; vilja Ósvífrs-synir þegar gera til þeirra Kotkels, despatch them to slay K., Ld. 144; skulu vér nú göra í mót honum, ok láta hann engri njósn koma, 242:—göra eptir e-m, to send after one, Nero bað göra eptir postulunum ok leiða þangat, 656 C. 26; nú verðr eigi eptir gört at miðjum vetri, Grág. i. 421; frændr Bjarnar létu göra eptir (Germ. abholen) líki hans, Bjarn. 69; síðan gerðu þeir til klaustrs þess er jómfrúin var í, Fms. x. 102:—gera e-m orð, njósn, to do a message to one; hann gerði orð jörlum sínum, Eg. 270; ætluðu þeir at göra Önundi njósn um ferðir Egils, 386, 582; vóru þangat orð gör, word was sent thither, Hkr. ii. 228.

III. with infin. as an auxiliary verb, only in poetry and old prose (laws); ef hón gerði koma, if she did come, Völ. 5; gerðit vatn vægja, Am. 25; gramr gørr-at sér hlífa, he does not spare himself, Hkr. i. (in a verse); gerðut vægjask, id., Fs. (in a verse); hann gerðisk at höggva, Jb. 41; görðir at segja, Bkv. 15; görðisk at deyja, Gkv. 1. 1: in prose, eigi gerir hugr minn hlægja við honum, Fas. i. 122; góðir menn göra skýra sitt mál með sannsögli, 677. 12; Aristodemus görði eigi enn at trúa, Post.: esp. in the laws, ef þeir göra eigi ganga í rúm sín, Grág. i. 8; ef goðinn gerr eigi segja, 32; ef hann gerr eigi í ganga, 33; ef þeir göra eigi hluta meðr sér, 63; ef dómendr göra eigi dæma, 67; ef dómendr göra eigi við at taka, id.; ef goðinn gerr eigi ( does not) nefna féráns-dóm, 94; nú göra þeir menn eigi úmaga færa, 86; ef þeir göra eigi nefna kvöðina af búanum, Kb. ii. 163; ef þeir göra eigi segja, hvárt …, Sb. ii. 52; nú gerr sá eigi til fara, Kb. ii. 96; göra eigi koma, 150; ef hann gerr eigi kjósa, § 113.

IV. a law term, göra um, or gera only, to judge or arbitrate in a case; fékksk þat af, at tólf menn skyldu göra um málit, Nj. 111; villt þú göra um málit, 21; bjóða mun ek at göra um, ok lúka upp þegar görðinni, 77; mun sá mála-hluti várr beztr, at góðir menn geri um, 88; málin vóru lagið í gerð, skyldu gera um tólf menn, var þá gert um málin á þingi, var þat gert, at … (follows the verdict), 88; vil ek at þú sættisk skjótt ok látir góða menn gera um …, at hann geri um ok enir beztu menn af hvárra liði lögliga til nefndir, 188; Njáll kvaðsk eigi gera mundu nema á þingi, 105; þeir kváðusk þat halda mundu, er hann gerði, id.; skaltú gera sjálfr, 58; fyrr en gert var áðr um hitt málit, 120; ek vil bjóðask til at göra milli ykkar Þórðar um mál yðar, Bjarn. 55; Þorsteinn kvað þat þó mundi mál manna, at þeir hefði góða nefnd um sættir þótt hann görði, 56; nú er þegar slegit í sætt málinu með því móti, at Áskell skal göra um þeirra í milli, Rd. 248; er nú leitað um sættir milli þeirra, ok kom svá at þeir skulu göra um málin Þorgeirr goði frá Ljósa-vatni ok Arnórr ór Reykjahlíð, sú var görð þeirra at …, 288; svá kemr at Ljótr vill at Skapti görði af hans hendi, en Guðmundr vill sjálfr göra fyrir sína hönd, skyldi Skapti gerð upp segja, Valla L. 225; eigi hæfir þat, leitum heldr um sættir ok geri Þorgeirr um mál þessi, Lv. 12; var jafnt gört sár Þórðar ok sár Þórodds, Eb. 246; þær urðu mála-lyktir at Þórðr skyldi göra um …, 24; ok vóru þá görvar miklar fésektir, 128; var leitað um sættir, ok varð þat at sætt, at þeir Snorri ok Steindórr skyldi göra um, 212; þit erut gerfir héraðs-sekir sem íllræðis-menn, Fs. 58: göra görð, Sturl. i. 63, 105: adding the fine, to fix the amount, þat er gerð mín, at ek geri verð húss ok matar, I fix the amount of the value of the house and (stolen) stores, Nj. 80; gerði Njáll hundrað silfrs, N. put it at a hundred silver pieces, 58; margir mæltu, at mikit vaeri gert, that the amount was high, id.; slíkt fégjald sem gert var, 120; vilit ér nokkut héraðs-sektir göra eða utanferðir, 189; hann dæmdi þegar, ok görði hundrað silfrs, 6l; síðan bauð Bjarni Þorkatli sætt ok sjálfdæmi, görði Bjarni hundrað silfrs, Vápn. 31; ek göri á hönd Þóri hundrað silfrs, Lv. 55; ek göri á hönd þér hundrað silfrs, id.; vilit þér, at ek göra millum ykkar? síðan görði konungr konuna til handa Þórði ok öll fé hennar, Bjarn. 17; Rafn kvað hann mikit fé annat af sér hafa gört, at eigi þætti honum þat betra, Fs. 30; Gellir görði átta hundrað silfrs, Lv. 97; fyrir þat gerði Börkr hinn digri af honum eyjarnar, B. took the isles from him as a fine, Landn. 123: adding the case as object, Gunnarr gerði gerðina, G. gave judgment in the case, Nj. 80; fyrr en gert var áðr um hitt málit, till the other case was decided, 120; þá sætt er hann görði Haraldi jarli, that settlement which he made for earl Harold, Fms. viii. 300: Flosi var görr utan ok allir brennu-menn, F. was put out ( banished) and all the burners, Nj. 251: metaph., nema þau vili annat mál á gera, unless they choose to settle it otherwise, Grág. i. 336.

2. in the phrase, göra sekð, to make a case of outlawry, Grág. i. 118; eigi um görir sekð manns ella, else the outlawry takes no effect; en hann um görir eigi ella sekðina, else he cannot condemn him, 119.

3. to perform; eptir-gerðar þeirrar sem hverr nennti framast at gera eptir sinn náung, Fms. viii. 103; en þat grunaði konung, at hann mundi ætla at göra eptir sumar sættir, i. e. that he had some back door to escape by, Orkn. 58 (cp. Ó. H.); allt þat er þér gerit nú fyrir þeirra sálum, id.

V. special usages, to make allowance for; gera fóðr til fjár, to make an arbitrary allowance for, Ísl. ii. 138; hence, to suppose, en ef ek skal göra til fyrir fram ( suggest) hvat er hón (the code) segir mér, þá segi ek svá, at …, Fms. ix. 331; gera sér í hug, Fs. 112; göra sér í hugar-lund, to fancy; göra e-m getsakir, to impute to one; gera orð á e-u, to report a thing; þat er ekki orð á því geranda, ‘tis not worth talking about; eigi þarf orð at göra hjá því (‘tis not to be denied), sjálfan stólkonunginn blindaði hann, Mork. 14 (cp. Fms. vi. 168, l. c.); gera sér létt, to take a thing lightly, Am. 70; göra sér far um, to take pains; göra sér í hug, hugar-lund, to suppose.

D. IMPERS. it makes one so and so, one becomes; hann görði fölvan í andliti, he turned pale, Glúm. 342; leysti ísinn ok görði varmt vatnið, the water became warm, 623. 34; veðr görði hvast, a gale arose, Eg. 128; hríð mikla gerði at þeim, they were overtaken by a storm, 267; þá gerði ok á hríð (acc.) veðrs, 281; féll veðrit ok gerði logn (acc.), and became calm, 372; görði þá stórt á firðinum, the sea rose high, 600; til þess er veðr lægði ok ljóst gerði, and till it cleared up, 129; um nóttina gerði á æði-veðr ok útsynning, 195; görir á fyrir þeim hafvillur, they lost their course (of sailors), Finnb. 242; mér gerir svefnhöfugt, I grow sleepy, Nj. 264; þá görði vetr mikinn þar eptir hinn næsta, Rd. 248.

E. REFLEX, to become, grow, arise, and the like; þá görðisk hlátr, then arose laughter, Nj. 15; görðisk bardagi, it came to a fight, 62, 108; sá atburðr görðisk, it came to pass, Fms. x. 279; þau tíðendi er þar höfðu görzt, Ld. 152; gerðisk með þeim félagskapr, they entered into fellowship, Eg. 29; gerðisk svá fallit kaup, Dipl. ii. 10; Sigurðr konungr gerðisk ( grew up to be) ofstopa-maðr …, görðisk mikill maðr ok sterkr, Fms. vii. 238; hann görðisk brátt ríkr maðr ok stjórnsamr, xi. 223; Unnr görðisk þá mjök elli-móð, U. became worn with age, Ld. 12; sár þat er at ben görðisk, a law term, a wound which amounted to a bleeding wound, Nj. passim:—to be made, to become, görask konungr, to become king, Eg. 12; ok görðisk skáld hans, and became his skáld, 13; görðisk konungs hirðmaðr, 27; görask hans eigin-kona, to become his wedded wife, Fms. i. 3; at hann skyldi görask hálf-konungr yfir Dana-veldi, 83; vill Hrútr görask mágr þinn, Nj. 3; hann gerðisk síðan óvarari, he became less cautious, Fms. x. 414.

2. with the prep. svá, to happen, come to pass so and so; svá görðisk, at …, it so happened, that …, Nj. 167; görðisk svá til, at …, Fms. x. 391; þá görðisk svá til um síðir, at…, at last it came to pass. that …, 392; enda vissi hann eigi, at þingför mundi af görask, in case he knew not that it would entail a journey to parliament, Grág. i. 46: with at added, to increase, þá görðisk þat mjök at um jarl ( it grew even worse with the earl) at hann var úsiðugr um kvenna-far, görðisk þat svá mikit, at …, it grew to such a pitch, that …, Hkr. i. 245; hence the mod. phrase, e-ð á-görist, it increases, gains, advances, esp. of illness, bad habits, and the like, never in a good sense.

3. impers. with dat., honum gerðisk ekki mjök vært, he felt restless, Ld. 152; næsta gerisk mér kynlegt, I feel uneasy, Finnb. 236.

4. to behave, bear oneself; Páll görðisk hraustliga í nafni Jesu, Post. 656 C. 13.

5. to set about doing, be about; fám vetrum síðan görðisk hann vestr til Íslands, Fms. x. 415; maðr kom at honum ok spurði, hvat hann gerðisk, what he was about, Ó. H. 244; görðisk jarl til Ribbunga, Fms. ix. 312, v. l.; tveir menn görðusk ferðar sinnar, two men set out for a journey, x. 279; görðusk menn ok eigi til þess at sitja yfir hlut hans, Eg. 512; at þessir menn hafa görzk til svá mikils stórræðis, Fms. xi. 261; eigi treystusk menn at görask til við hann, Bárð. 160.

6. (mod.) to be; in such phrases as, eins og menn nú gerast, such as people now are; eins og flestir menn gerast.

F. PART. PASS. görr, geyrr (Fms. ix. 498, x. 75), gjörr, gerr, as adj., compar. görvari, superl. görvastr; [A. S. gearu; gare, Chaucer, Percy’s Ballads; O. H. G. garwe; Germ. gar]:—skilled, accomplished; vaskligr, at sér görr, Ld. 134; vel at sér görr, Ísl. ii. 326, Gísl. 14; gerr at sér um allt, Nj. 51; hraustir ok vel at sér görvir, Eg. 86; at engi maðr hafi gervari at sér verit en Sigurðr, Mork. 221; allra manna snjallastr í máli ok görvastr at sér, Hkr. iii. 360: the phrase, leggja görva hönd á e-t, to set a skilled hand to work, to be an adept, a master in a thing; svá hagr, at hann lagði allt á görva hönd, Fas. i. 391, (á allt görva hönd, iii. 195.)

2. ready made, at hand; in the saying, gott er til geyrs (i. e. görs, not geirs) at taka, ‘tis good to have a thing at hand, Hkm. 17; ganga til görs, to have it ready made for one, Ld. 96; gör gjöld, prompt punishment, Lex. Poët.:—with infin., gerr at bjóða, ready to offer, Gh. 17; gervir at eiskra, in wild spirits, Hom. 11; görvar at ríða, Vsp. 24: with gen. of the thing, gerr ílls hugar, prone to evil, Hým. 9; gerr galdrs, prone to sorcery, Þd. 3; skulut þess görvir, be ready for that! Am. 55.

II. [cp. görvi, Engl. gear], done, dressed; svá görvir, so ‘geared,’ so trussed, Am. 40.

III. adverb. phrases, so-gurt, at soguru, so done; verða menn þat þó so-gurt at hafa, i. e. there is no redress to be had, Hrafn. 9; hafi hann so-gurt, N. G. L. i. 35, Nj. 141; kvað eigi so-gort duga, 123, v. l.; at (með) so-guru, this done, quo facto, Skv. 1. 24, 40; freq. with a notion of being left undone, re infecta. Germ. unverrichteter sache, Eg. 155, Glúm. 332, Ó. H. 202; enda siti um so-gort, and now let it stand, Skálda 166; við so-gurt, id., 655 vii. 4; á so-gurt ofan, into the bargain, Bs. i. 178, Ölk. 36, Fas. i. 85.

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(að), v.

1) to be able to do; önnur vann allt þat, er hón orkaði, the other worked all that she could; with da., þó hyggst hann einn munu öllu o., yet he thinks he can do everything himself; allt þat lið, er vápnum mátti o., all those who could wield weapons;

2) with gen. of the thing, o. e-m e-s, to cause, effect; mér orkar þat margra vandræða, it causes me much trouble; þetta mun o. tíðenda, this will give something to speak about; allt orkar tvímælis þá er gört er, there are two sides to everything that is done; impers., jafnan orkar tvímælis, þó at hefnt sé;

3) with preps., o. at e-u, to act, proceed with, do; þeir rœða nú um með sér, hversu at skal o., what is to be done; o. á e-t, to work on, have effect on (var þat þó lengi, at eigi orkaði eldr á Þórólf); hann mátti engu á o., he could do nothing; o. orða á e-n, to make one speak; o. til e-s, to prepare (o. til veizlu); o. á, to begin; orkum ekki á fyrri, let us not be the first to attack;

4) refl., orkast at e-u, to exert oneself in a thing; to set about doing something (hversu hann skyldi at o. at segja föður sínum þessi tíðendi); o. hugar á at gøra e-t, to make up one’s mind to do a thing; honum þótti seint á o., he thougth it went slowly.

1) strength, power for work (orkan þvarr, því at ellin sótti á hendr honum);

2) work.

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að, [qs. vorka, akin to verk, cp. also yrkja; Ulf. waurkjan = ποιειν, ἐργάζεσθαι; and the pret. worahto on the Runic stone in Tune; A. S. weorcjan; Engl. work]:—to work, but only used in a limited sense, for vinna (q. v.) is the general word: to work, perform, be able to do, manage, önnur vann allt þat er hón orkaði, the other worked (vann) all that she could (orkaði), Dropl. 4; ek mun hjálpa þér allt slíkt sem ek orka, Fms. i. 213; ek þarf eigi meira forvirki en þetta lið orkar, Hrafn. 5; móður sína á maðr fyrst fram at færa, en ef hann orkar betr …, Grág. i. 232; treysta ek á sem ek orkaða, Fms. v. 301; ek orka tólf punda þunga ( I can carry twelve pounds weight), en hestr minn berr fjögurra lesta byrði, Bær. 18; svá skal gerða þann garð sem búar sjá at hann má orka á þrem sumrum, Grág. ii. 331.

2. with dat.; þó hyggsk hann einn munu öllu orka, Fms. xi. 267; þótti öllum undr, hverju hann gat orkat, Grett. 125 A; allt þat lið er vápnum mátti orka, Fagrsk. 176; líkneskjum þeim, er ek veit eigi hverju orkat hafa, Fms. ii. 265; skal hann á einum degi kveðja alla, ef því má orka ( if he can), Grág. (Kb.) i. 162; hann mátti engu á orka, he could do nothing, Fms. vii. 270; sá er ölverki orkar Ásar, Kormak; orka þrek, Orkn. (in a verse); orkaði hón vel þeim langa veg, she proceeded well on her long journey, Mar.

3. with gen. of the thing; o. e-m e-s, to cause, effect; mér orkar þat margra vandræða, Fs. 21; á skip skal skriðar orka, en skjöld til hlifa, mæki höggs, en mey til kosta, a ship shall be worked for sailing …, a maid for giving away, Hm. 81; orka e-m frægðar, to give glory to one, Edda (in a verse); hvar skal ek þess orka, Fas. iii. 72; orka e-m til þarfa, to work for one’s good, Eg. (in a verse): in the saw, jafnan orkar tvímælis þó hefnt sé, revenge works dissent, Nj. 68; allt orkar tvímælis þá gört er, 139; þetta mun orka tíðinda, this will make a story, Fb. ii. 270:—to summon, call upon, orka orða á e-n, to make one speak, accost; þá er menn orkuðu orða á hann, Fms. iv. 165 (ortu orða á hann, from yrkja, Ó. H. l. c.); ef menn tveir eigu land, ok vill annarr-tveggi orka lands-deildar á annan, Grág. ii. 253; en hverr er átt hefir skal orka heimildar á seljanda sinn, shall call on the seller to shew his title, 216; hann orkar á Óla til atkvæðis ok órræða um þetta mál, Fms. xi. 33.

II. with prepp.; orkum ekki á þá fyrri, let us not be the first to use force, attack them, Grett. 119 A; þó hann orkaði á jörðina, though he tilled the earth, Ver. 5; var þat þó lengi at eigi orkaði eldr á Þórólf, that the fire could not work, had no effect on Th.’s body, Eb. 316: orka at e-u, to act, proceed with, execute; svá skal þar orka at kaupi ok at sölu sem annars staðar var tínt, Grág. ii. 246; þeir ræða nú um með sér, hversu at skal orka, what is to be done? Ld. 242; orkuðum (aurkoðom Cd.) at auðnu, we tried our fortune, Am. 96; orka til e-s, to prepare, = afla til e-s, orka til veizlu, to give a banquet. Fas. iii. 66:—to stride, walk proudly, þeir á jökla orka austr, they strode eastwards on the ice, Skiða R. 53: from the pret. orkaði (ꜹrkaði) was afterwards formed another verb arka, to stride (prop. to strive) on one’s journey.

III. reflex., ekki orkaðisk á, no work was done, Fms. iv. 328, v. l.; honum þótti seint á orkask, vi. 77:—at orkask = orka at e-u, hversu hann skyldi at orkask at segja föður sínum þessi tíðendi, xi. 15:—fyrir þá skuld, at þau hefði sjálf orkask hugar á ( made up their minds) at bæta meinbugi sína, Grett. 162 A; láttu þeygi orkask at vistarinnar, 677. 12; hann orkaðisk ( he strove) at forðask rangar hugrenningar, Hom. (St.)

2. part. as subst.; orkandi, the worker, mighty; Guð er alls orkandi, all-powerful, 645. 50; Satan alls ílls orkandi, Niðrst. 7.

n. pl. distinctive features; kunna, vita öll (engi) deili á e-u, to know all (nothing) about a thing; sá þó öll deili á. honum, all his features were visible.

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n. pl. marks, whereby to discern one thing (person) from another; sá þó öll d. á honum, all his features were visible, Fas. i. 298; the metaph. phrase, kunna, vita, deili á e-u (e-m), to know the marks of a thing (man), i. e. to know it so as to discern it from another thing; vita öll d. á, to know exactly; vita eingi d. á, to know nothing about, Eg. 185, Fas. ii. 113, Fms. v. 316.

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(ber; bar, bárum; borinn), v.

I.

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

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

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

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

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

bera œgishjálm, to inspire fear and awe;

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

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

kýr hafði borit kálf, had calved;

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

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

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

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

borinn e-m, frá e-m (rare), born of;

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

borinn Sigmundi, son of S.;

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

bera e-n ráðum, to overrule one;

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

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

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

verða bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise;

borinn verkjum, overcome by pains;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore up bravely;

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

hon berst af lítt, she is much cast down;

bera sik vel upp, to bear well up against;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

bera e-n undan sök, to acquit;

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

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

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

8) to set forth, report, tell;

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

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

bera e-m njósn, to apprise one;

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

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

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

bera saman ráð sín, to consult together;

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

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

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

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

vel viti borinn, endowed with a good understanding;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

11) with preps.:

bera af e-m, to surpass;

en þó bar Bolli af, surpassed all the rest;

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

bera eld at, to set fire to;

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

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

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

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

bera e-t um, to wind round;

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

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

bera út barn, to expose a child;

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

láta af berast, to die;

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

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

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

berast vápn á, to attack one another;

berast at or til, to happen;

þat barst at (happened) á einhverju sumri;

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

berast í móti, to happen, occur;

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

berast við, to be prevented;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2) followed by preps.:

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

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

e-t berr fram (hátt), is prominent;

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

e-t berr á milli, comes between;

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

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

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

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

e-t berr undan, goes amiss, fails;

bera saman, to coincide;

bar nöfn þeirra saman, they had the same name;

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

fund várn bar saman, we met;

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

svá bar at einn vetr, it happened one winter;

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

bar honum svá til, it so befell him;

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

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

4) of time, to fall upon;

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

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

5) denoting cause;

e-t berr til, causes a thing;

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

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

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

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

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

e-t berr frá, is surpassing;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

f. she-bear, = birna.

* * *

u, f.

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

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

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

A. Lat. ferre, portare:

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

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

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

II. without a sense of motion:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

III. in law terms or modes of procedure:

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

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

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

B. Various and metaph. cases.

I. denoting motion:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

I. with dat.

1) before, in front of (ok vóru fyrir honum borin merkin);

fyrir dyrum, before the door;

2) before one, in one’s presence;

hón nefndist fyrir þeim Gunnhildr, she told them that her name was G.;

3) for;

hann lét ryðja fyrir þeim búðina, he had the booth cleared for them, for their reception;

4) before one, in one’s way;

fjörðr varð fyrir þeim, they came to a fjord;

sitja fyrir e-m, to lie in wait for one;

5) naut. term. before, off;

liggja fyrir bryggjum, to lie off the piers;

fyrir Humru-mynni, off the Humber;

6) before, at the head of, over;

vera fyrir liði, to be over the troops;

vera fyrir máli, to lead the case;

sitja fyrir svörum, to undertake the defence;

7) of time, ago;

fyrir þrem nóttum, three nights ago;

fyrir stundu, a while ago;

fyrir löngu, long ago;

vera fyrir e-u, to forebode (of a dream);

8) before, above, superior to;

Hálfdan svarti var fyrir þeim brœðrum, H. was the foremost of the brothers;

9) denoting disadvantige, harm, suffering;

þú lætr Egil vefja öll mál fyrir þér, thou lettest E. thwart all thy affairs;

tók at eyðast fyrir herm lausa-fé, her money began to fail;

10) denoting obstacle, hindrance;

mikit gøri þer mér fyrir þessu máli, you make this case hard for me;

varð honum lítit fyrir því, it was a small matter for him;

Ásgrími þótti þungt fyrir, A. thought that things looked bad;

11) because of, for;

hon undi sér hvergri fyrir verkjum, she had no rest for pains;

fyrir hræðslu, for fear;

illa fœrt fyrir ísum, scarcely, passable for ice;

gáðu þeir eigi fyrir veiðum at fá heyjanna, because of fishing, they neglected to make hay;

fyrir því at, because, since, as;

12) against;

gæt þín vel fyrir konungi ok hans mönnum, guard thee well against the king and his men;

beiða griða Baldri fyrir alls konar háska, against all kinds of harm;

13) fyrir sér, of oneself;

mikill fyrir sér, strong, powerful;

minnstr fyrir sér, smallest, weakest;

14) denoting manner or quality, with;

hvítr fyrir hærum, while with hoary hair;

II. with acc.

1) before, in front of;

halda fyrir augu sér, to hold (one’s hands) before one’s eyes;

2) before, into the presence of;

stefna e-m fyrir dómstól, before a court;

3) over;

hlaupa fyrir björg, to leap over a precipice;

kasta fyrir borð, to throw overboard;

4) in one’s way, crossing one’s way;

ríða á leið fyrir þá, to ride in their way, so as to meet them;

5) round, off;

sigla fyrir nes, to weather a point;

6) along, all along;

fyrir endilangan Noreg, all along Norway, from one end to the other;

draga ör fyrir odd, to draw the arrow past the point;

7) of time, fyrir dag, before day;

fyrir e-s minni, before one’s memory;

8) for, on behalf of;

vil ek bjóða at fara fyrir þik, I will offer to go for thee, in thy stead;

lögvörn fyrir mál, a lawful defence for a case;

9) for, for the benefit of;

þeir skáru fyrir þá melinn, they cut the lyme-grass for them (the horses);

10) for, instead of, in place of, as;

11) for, because of (vilja Gunnar dauðan fyrir höggit);

fyrir þín orð, for thy words (intercession);

fyrir sína vinsæld, by reason of his popularity;

12) denoting value, price;

fyrir þrjár merkr, for three marks;

fyrir hvern mun, by all means, at any cost;

13) in spite of, against (giptast fyrir ráð e-s);

14) joined with adverbs ending in -an, governing acc. (fyrir austan, vestan, sunnan, norðan, útan innan, framan, handan, ofan, neðan);

fyrir austan, sunnan fjall, east, south of the fell;

fyrir neðan brú, below the bridge;

fyrir handan á, beyond the river;

fyrir innan garð, inside the fence;

III. as adverb or ellipt.

1) ahead, before, opp. to eptir;

þá var eigi hins verra eptir ván, er slíkt fór fyrir, when this came first, preceded;

2) first;

mun ek þar eptir gera sem þér gerit fyrir, I shall do to you according as you do first;

3) at hand, present, to the fore;

föng þau, er fyrir vóru, stores that were at hand;

þar var fyrir fjöldi boðsmanna, a host of guests was already present (before the bride and bridegroom came);

4) e-m verðr e-t fyrir, one takes a certain step, acts so and so;

Kolbeini varð ekki fyrir, K. was at a loss what to do;

e-t mælist vel (illa) fyrir, a thing is well (ill) spoken or reported of (kvæðit mæltist vel fyrir).

* * *

prep., in the Editions spelt differently; in MSS. this word is usually abbreviated either  (i. e. firir), or Ꝼ̆, fur͛, fvr͛ (i. e. fyrir); in some MSS. it is idiomatically spelt with i, fir͛, e. g. Arna-Magn. 382 (Bs. i. 263 sqq.); and even in the old Miracle-book Arna-Magn. 645 (Bs. i. 333 sqq.), just as ifir is written for yfir ( over); in a few MSS. it is written as a monosyllable fyr, e. g. D. I. i. 475, Mork. passim; in Kb. (Sæm.-Edda) occurs fyr telia, Vsp. I; fyr norðan, 36; fyr dyrum, Gm. 22; fyr vestan ver, Hkv. 2. 8; in other places as a dissyll. fyrir, e. g. Hm. 56, Gm. 54, Skm. 34, Ls. 15, Am. 64, Hkv. 2. 2, 19 (quoted from Bugge’s edition, see his preface, p. xvi); fyr and fyrir stand to one another in the same relation as ept to eptir, und to undir, of ( super) to yfir: this monosyllabic form is obsolete, save in the compds, where ‘for-’ is more common than ‘fyrir-;’ in some cases both forms are used, e. g. for-dæming and fyrir-dæming; in others only one, but without any fixed rule: again, the forms fyri, fyre, or fire, which are often used in Edd., are just as wrong, as if one were to say epti, undi, yfi; yet this spelling is found now and then in MSS., as, fyre, Ó. H. (facsimile); fire, Grág. Sb. ii. 288 (also facsimile): the particles í and á are sometimes added, í fur, Fms. iv. 137; í fyrir, passim; á fur, Haustl. 1. [Ulf. faur and faura; A. S. fore and for; Engl. for and fore-; Germ. für and vor; Dan. for; Swed. för; Gr. προ-; Lat. pro, prae.]

WITH DAT., chiefly without the notion of movement.

A. LOCAL:

I. before, in front of; fyrir dyrum, before the doors, at the doors, Nj. 14, Vsp. 53, Hm. 69, Edda 130; niðr f. smiðju-dyrum, Eg. 142:—ahead, úti fyrir búðinni, Nj. 181; kómusk sauðirnir upp á fjallit f. þeim, ahead of them, 27; vóru fyrir honum borin merkin, the banner was borne before him, 274; göra orð fyrir sér, to send word before one, Fms. vii. 207, Hkr. iii. 335 (Ó. H. 201, l. c., frá sér):—also denoting direction, niðri í eldinum f. sér, beneath in the fire before them, Nj. 204; þeir sá f. sér bæ mikinn, they saw before them a great building, i. e. they came to a great house, Eg. 546; öðrum f. sér ( in front) en öðrum á bak sér, Grág. i. 5.

2. before one, before one’s face, in one’s presence; úhelgaða ek Otkel f. búum, before the neighbours, Nj. 87; lýsi ek f. búum fimm, 218; lýsa e-u ( to proclaim) f. e-m, Ld. 8; hann hermdi boð öll f. Gizuri, Nj. 78; hón nefndisk f. þeim Gunnhildr, told them that her name was G., Fms. i. 8; kæra e-t f. e-m, Ó. H. 60; slíkar fortölur hafði hann f. þeim, Nj. 200; the saying, því læra börnin málið að það er f. þeim haft, bairns learn to speak because it is done before them, i. e. because they hear it; hafa gott (íllt) f. e-m, to give a good (bad) example, e. g. in the presence of children; lifa vel f. Guði, to live well before God, 623. 29; stór ábyrgðar-hluti f. Guði, Nj. 199; sem þeir sjá réttast f. Guði, Grág. i. (pref.); fyrir öllum þeim, Hom. 89; á laun f. öðrum mönnum, hidden from other men, unknown to them, Grág. i. 337, Jb. 378; nú skaltú vera vin minn mikill f. húsfreyju minni, i. e. when you talk to my wife, Nj. 265; fyrir Drottni, before the Lord, Merl. 2. 78.

3. denoting reception of guests, visitors; hann lét ryðja f. þeim búðina, he had the room cleared for them, for their reception, Nj. 228; Valhöll ryðja fyr vegnu fólki, i. e. to clear Valhalla for slain folk, Em. I; ryðja vígvöll f. vegundum, Nj. 212; ljúka upp f. e-m, to open the door for one, Fms. xi. 323, Stj. 5; rýma pallinn f. þeim, Eg. 304; hann lét göra eld f. þeim, he had a fire made for them, 204; þeir görðu eld. f. sér, Fms. xi. 63; … veizlur þar sem fyrir honum var búit, banquets that were ready for him, Eg. 45.

II. before one, in one’s way; þar er díki varð f. þeim, Eg. 530; á (fjörðr) varð f. þeim, a river, fjord, was before them, i. e. they came to it, 133, 161; at verða eigi f. liði yðru, 51; maðr sá varð f. Vindum, that man was overtaken by the V., Hkr. iii. 363; þeirra manna er f. honum urðu, Eg. 92.

2. sitja f. e-m, to lie in wait for one, Ld. 218, Nj. 107; lá f. henni í skóginum, Edda (pref.); sitja f. rekum, to sit watching for wrecks, Eg. 136 (fyrir-sát).

3. ellipt., menn urðu at gæta sín er f. urðu, Nj. 100; Egill var þar f. í runninum, E. was before (them), lay in ambush, Eg. 378; hafði sá bana er f. varð, who was before (the arrow), i. e. he was hit, Nj. 8.

4. verða f. e-u, to be hit, taken, suffer from a thing; ef hann verðr f. drepi, if he be struck, Grág. ii. 19; verða f. áverka, to be wounded, suffer injury, Ld. 140; verða f. reiði konungs, to fall into disgrace with the king, Eg. 226; verða f. ósköpum, to become the victim of a spell, spell-bound, Fas. i. 130; sitja f. hvers manns ámæli, to be the object of all men’s blame, Nj. 71; vera eigi f. sönnu hafðr, to be unjustly charged with a thing, to be innocent.

III. a naut. term, before, off; liggja f. bryggjum, to lie off the pier, Ld. 166; skip fljóta f. strengjum, Sks. 116; þeir lágu f. bænum, they lay off the town, Bs. i. 18; liggja úti f. Jótlands-síðu, off Jutland, Eg. 261; hann druknaði f. Jaðri, off the J., Fms. i. II; þeir kómu at honum f. Sjólandi, off Zealand, x. 394; hafa úti leiðangr f. landi, Hkr. i. 301; f. Humru-minni, off the Humber, Orkn. 338, cp. Km. 3, 8, 9, 13, 19, 21; fyrir Nesjum, off the Ness, Vellekla; fyrir Tungum, Sighvat; fyrir Spáni, off Spain, Orkn. 356.

IV. before, at the head of, denoting leadership; smalamaðr f. búi föður síns, Ver. 26 (of king David); vera f. liði, to be over the troops, Eg. 292, Nj. 7; vera f. máli, to lead the case, Band. 8; vera forstjóri f. búi, to be steward over the household, Eg. 52; ráða f. landi, ríki, etc., to rule, govern, Ó H. 33, Nj. 5; hverr f. eldinum réði, who was the ringleader of the fire, Eg. 239; ráða f. e-u, to rule, manage a thing, passim: the phrase, sitja f. svörum, to respond on one’s behalf, Ölk. 36, Band. 12; hafa svör f. e-m, to be the chief spokesman, Fms. x. 101, Dipl. v. 26.

V. special usages; friða f. e-m, to make peace for one, Fms. vii. 16, Bs. i. 65; bæta f. e-m, to make things good for one, Hom. 109; túlka, vera túlkr, flytja (etc.) f. e-m, to plead for one, Fms. iii. 33, Nj. 128,—also spilla f. e-m, to disparage one, Eg. 255; haga, ætla f. e-u, to manage, arrange for one, Ld. 208, Sturl. i. 14, Boll. 356; rífka ráð f. e-m, to better one’s condition, Nj. 21; ráða heiman-fylgju ok tilgjöf f. frændkonu sinni, Js. 58; standa f. manni, to stand before, shield a man, stand between him and his enemy, Eg. 357, Grág. ii. 13; vera skjöldr f. e-m, 655 xxxii. 4; hafa kostnað f. e-u, to have the expences for a thing, Ld. 14; vinna f. e-m, to support one by one’s work, Sks. 251; starfa f. fé sínu, to manage one’s money, Ld. 166; hyggja f. e-u, to take heed for a thing, Nj. 109; hyggja f. sér, Fs. 5; hafa forsjá f. e-m, to provide for one, Ld. 186; sjá f. e-u, to see after, Eg. 118, Landn, 152; sjá þú nokkut ráð f. mér, Nj. 20: ironic. to put at rest, Háv. 40: ellipt., sjá vel f., to provide well for, Nj. 102.

B. TEMP. ago; fyrir þrem nóttum, three nights ago; fyrir stundu, a while ago, Nj. 80; fyrir litlu, a little while ago, Fms. i. 76, Ld. 134; fyrir skömmu, a sbort while ago; fyrir löngu, a long while ago, Nj. 260, Fms. i. 50; fyrir öndverðu, from the beginning, Grág. i. 80, ii. 323, 394, Finnb. 342; fyrir þeim, before they were born, Fms. i. 57.

2. the phrase, vera f. e-u, to forebode; vera f. stórfundum, Nj. 107, 277; þat hygg ek vera munu f. siða-skipti, Fms. xi. 12; þessi draumr mun vera f. kvámu nökkurs manns, vii. 163; dreyma draum f. e-u, 8; fyrir tiðendum, ii. 65:—spá f. e-m, to ‘spae’ before, prophecy to one, Nj. 171.

C. METAPH.:

I. before, above; þóttu þeir þar f. öllum ungum mönnum, Dropl. 7; þykkisk hann mjök f. öðrum mönnum, Ld. 38; ver f. hirðmönnum, be first among my herdsmen, Eg. 65; Hálfdan svarti var f. þeim bræðrum, H. was the foremost of the brothers, Fms. i. 4; þorgrímr var f. sonum Önundar, Grett. 87; var Haraldr mest f. þeim at virðingu, Fms. i. 47.

II. denoting help, assistance; haun skal rétta vættið f. þeim, Grág. i. 45 (vide above A. IV and V).

2. the following seem to be Latinisms, láta lífit f. heilagri Kristni, to give up one’s life for holy Christianity, = Lat. pro, Fms. vii. 172; ganga undir píslir fyrir Guðs nafni, Blas. 38; gjalda önd mína f. önd þinni, Johann. 17; gefa gjöf f. sál sinni ( pro animâ suâ), H. E. i. 466; fyrir mér ok minni sál, Dipl. iv. 8; færa Guði fórnir f. e-m, 656 A; heita f. e-m, biðja f. e-m, to make a vow, pray for one (orare pro), Fms. iii. 48, Bs. i. 70; biðja f. mönnum, to intercede for, 19, Fms. xi. 287: even with a double construction, biðja f. stað sinn (acc., which is vernacular) ok heilagri kirkju (dat., which is a Latinism), x. 127.

III. denoting disadvantage, harm, suffering; þú lætr Egil vefja öll mál fyrir þér, thou lettest Egil thwart all thy affairs, Eg. 249; únýtir hann þá málit fyrir sér, then he ruins his own case, Grág. i. 36, Dropl. 14, 16; Manverjar rufu safnaðinn f. Þorkatli, the Manxmen broke up the assembly, i. e. forsook Thorkel, Fms. ix. 422; kom upp grátr f. henni, she burst into tears, 477; taka fé f. öðrum, to take another’s money, N. G. L. i. 20; knörr þann er konungr lét taka fyrir Þórólfi, Landn. 56; ef hross verðr tekit f. honum, if a horse of his be taken, Grág. i. 436; hann tók upp fé fyrir öllum, he seized property for them all, Ó. H. 60; e-t ferr ílla f. e-m, a thing turns out ill for one; svá fór f. Ólófu, so it came to pass for O., Vígl. 18; loka dyrr f. e-m, to lock the door in one’s face, Edda 21: þeir hafa eigi þessa menn f. yðr drepit, heldr f. yðrar sakir þessi víg vegit, i. e. they have not harmed you, but rather done you a service in slaying those men, Fbr. 33; tók at eyðask f. henni lausa-fé, her money began to fail, Nj. 29; rak á f. þeim storma ok stríðviðri, they were overtaken by gales and bad weather, Vígl. 27; Víglundr rak út knöttinn f. Jökli, V. drove the ball for J., i. e. so that he had to run after it, 24; sá er skar tygil f. Þóri, he who cut Thor’s line, Bragi; sverð brast f. mér, my sword broke, Korm. 98 (in a verse); brjóta e-t f. e-m, to break a thing for one, Bs. i. 15 (in a verse); Valgarðr braut krossa fyrir Merði ok öll heilög tákn, Nj. 167; árin brotnaði f. honum, his oar broke; allar kýrnar drápust fyrir honum, all his cows died.

2. denoting difficulty, hindrance; sitja f. sæmd e-s, to sit between oneself and one’s honour, i. e. to hinder one’s doing well, Sturl. 87; mikit göri þér mér f. þessu máli, you make this case sore for me, Eb. 124; þér er mikit f. máli, thy case stands ill, Fms. v. 325; ekki er Guði f. því, it is easy for God to do, 656 B. 9; varð honum lítið f. því, it was a small matter for him, he did it easily, Grett. III; mér er minna f. því, it is easier for me, Am. 60; þykkja mikit f. e-u, to be much grieved for a thing, do it unwillingly, Nj. 77; Icel. also say, þykja fyrir (ellipt.), to feel hurt, be displeased:—ellipt., er þeim lítið fyrir at villa járnburð þenna, it is a small matter for them to spoil this ordeal, Ó. H. 140; sem sér muni lítið f. at veiða Gunnar, Nj. 113; fast mun f. vera, it will be fast-fixed before (one), hard to move, Ld. 154; Ásgrími þótti þungt f., A. thought that things looked sad (heavy), Nj. 185; hann var lengi f., he was long about it, Fms. x. 205; hann var lengi f. ok kvað eigi nei við, he was cross and said not downright no, Þorf. Karl. 388.

IV. in a causal sense, for, because of, Lat. per, pro; sofa ek né mákat fugls jarmi fyrir, I cannot sleep for the shrill cry of birds, Edda 16 (in a verse); hon undi sér hvergi f. verkjum, she had no rest for pains, Bjarn. 69; fyrir gráti, tárum, = Lat. prae lacrymis; fyrir harmi, for sorrow; f. hlátri, for laughter, as in Engl.; þeir æddust f. einni konu, they went mad for the sake of one woman, Sól. 11; ílla fært f. ísum, scarce passable for ice, Fms. xi. 360; hætt var at sitja útar f. Miðgarðs-ormi, Edda 35; hann var lítt gengr f. sárinu, he could hardly walk for the wound, Fbr. 178; fyrir hræðslu, for fear, Hbl. 26; heptisk vegrinn f. þeim meinvættum sem …, Fs. 4; gáðu þeir eigi f. veiðum at fá heyjanna, because of fishing they took no care to make hay, Landn. 30; fyrir riki konungs, for the king’s power, Eg. 67, 117; fyrir ofríki manna, Grág. i. 68; fyrir hví, for why? Eluc. 4; fyrir hví þeir væri þar, Eg. 375; fyrir því, at …, for that, because, Edda 35, Fms. i. 22, vii. 330, Ld. 104; en fyrir því nú at, now since, Skálda 171; nú fyrir því at, id., 169: the phrase, fyrir sökum, for the sake of, because of, passim; vide sök.

V. by, by the force of; öxlin gékk ór liði fyrir högginu, the shoulder was disjointed by the force of the stroke, Háv. 52.

2. denoting contest; falla f. e-m, to fall before one, i. e. fighting against one, Fms. i. 7, iv. 9, x. 196; verða halloki f. e-m, to be overcome in fighting one, Ld. 146; látask f. e-m, to perish by one, Eb. 34; hafa bana f. e-m, to be slain by one, Nj. 43; þeir kváðu fá fúnað hafa f. honum, 263; mæddisk hann f. þeim, he lost his breath in fighting them, Eg. 192; láta ríki f. e-m, to lose the kingdom before another, i. e. so that the latter gains it, 264; láta lausar eignir mínar f. þér, 505; láta hlut sinn f. e-m, Fs. 47; standask f. e-m, to stand one’s ground before one, Edda (pref.); hugðisk hann falla mundu f. sjóninni einni saman, that he would sink before his glance, 28, Hým. 12; halda hlut f. e-m, Ld. 54; halda frið ok frelsi f. várum óvinum, Fms. viii. 219; fara mun ek sem ek hefi áðr ætlað f. þínum draum ( thy dream notwithstanding), Ld. 216; þér farit hvárt er þér vilit f. mér, you go wherever you like for me, so far as I am concerted, Fær. 37; halda vöku f. sér, to keep oneself awake, Fms. i. 216.

β. with verbs, flýja, hlaupa, renna, stökkva f. e-m, to fly, leap, run before one, i. e. to be pursued, Bs. i. 774, Grág. ii. 359; at hann rynni f. þrælum hans, Ld. 64; fyrir þessum úfriði stökk Þangbrandr til Noregs, 180; skyldi hann ganga ór á f. Hofsmönnum, Landn. 178; ganga f. e-u, to give way before, yield to a thing, Fms. i. 305, x. 292; vægja f. e-m, to yield to one, give way, Eg. 21, 187, Nj. 57, Ld. 234.

VI. against; verja land f. e-m, Eg. 32; verja landit f. Dönum ok öðrum víkingum, Fms. i. 23; til landvarnar f. víkingum, Eg. 260; landvarnar-maðr f. Norðmönnum, Fms. vi. 295; gæta brúarinnar f. bergrisum, Edda 17; gæt þín vel f. konungi ok hans mönnum, guard thee well against the king and his men, Eg. 113; góð aðstoð f. tröllum ok dvergum, Bárð. 163; beiða Baldri griða f. allskonar háska, Edda 36; auðskæðr f. höggum, Eg. 770.

VII. in the sense of being driven before; fyrir straumi, veðri, vindi, before the stream, wind, weather (forstreymis, forvindis), Grág. ii. 384, Fms. vii. 262; halda f. veðri, to stand before the wind, Róm. 211.

2. rýrt mun verða f. honum smá-mennit, he will have an easy game with the small people, Nj. 94: ellipt., hafði sá bana er f. varð, 8; sprakk f., 16, 91.

VIII. fyrir sér, of oneself, esp. of physical power; mikill f. sér, strong, powerful; lítill f. sér, weak, feeble, Nj. 20, Ísl. ii. 368, Eg. 192; þér munuð kalla mik lítinn mann f. mér, Edda 33; minnstr f. sér, smallest, weakest, Eg. 123; gildr maðr f. sér, Ísl. ii. 322, Fms. ii. 145; herðimaðr mikiil f. sér, a hardy man, Nj. 270; hvat ert þú f. þér, what kind of fellow art thou? Clem. 33; vera einn f. sér, to be a strange fellow, Grett. 79 new Ed.; Icel. also say, göra mikið (lítið) f. sér, to make oneself big ( little).

β. sjóða e-t f. sér, to hesitate, saunter, Nj. 154; mæla f. munni, to talk between one’s teeth, to mutter, Orkn. 248, Nj. 249.

IX. denoting manner or quality; hvítr f. hærum, white with hoary hairs, Fms. vi. 95, Fas. ii. 540; gráir fyrir járnum, grey with steel, of a host in armour, Mag. 5; hjölt hvít f. silfri, a hilt white with silver = richly silvered, Eb. 226.

X. as adverb or ellipt.,

1. ahead, in front, = á undan, Lat. prae, opp. to eptir; þá var eigi hins verra eptir ván, er slíkt fór fyrir, as this came first, preceded, Nj. 34; at einhverr mundi fara heim fyrir, that some one would go home first (to spy), Eg. 580; Egill fór f., E. went in before, id.; at vér ríðim þegar f. í nótt, 283.

β. first; hann stefndi f. málinu, en hann mælti eptir, one pronounced the words first, but the other repeated after him, Nj. 35; mun ek þar eptir göra sem þér gerit f., I shall do to you according as you do first, 90:—temp., sjau nóttum f., seven nights before, Grág. ii. 217.

2. to the fore, at hand, present; þar var fyrir fjöldi boðsmanna, a host of guests was already to the fore, i. e. before the bride and bridegroom came, Nj. 11; úvíst er at vita hvar úvinir sitja á fleti fyrir, Hm. 1; skal þá lögmaðr þar f. vera, he shall be there present, Js. 3; heima í túni fyrir, Fær. 50; þar vóru fyrir Hildiríðar-synir, Eg. 98; var honum allt kunnigt fyrir, he knew all about the localities, 583; þeim ómögum, sem f. eru, who are there already, i. e. in his charge, Grág. i. 286: of things, föng þau er f. vóru, stores that were to the fore, at hand, Eg. 134.

3. fore, opp. to ‘back,’ of clothes; slæður settar f. allt gullknöppum, Eg. 516; bak ok fyrir, back and front, = bak ok brjóst, Mar.

XI. in the phrase, e-m verðr e-t fyrir, a thing is before one, i. e. one takes that and that step, acts so and so in an emergency; nú verðr öðrum þeirra þat f., at hann kveðr, now if the other part alleges, that …, Grág. i. 362; Kolbeini varð ekki f., K. had no resource, i. e. lost his head, Sturl. iii. 285:—the phrase, e-t mælisk vel (ílla) fyrir, a thing is well ( ill) reported of; víg Gunnars spurðisk ok mæltisk ílla fyrir um allar sveitir, Nj. 117, Sturl. ii. 151; mun þat vel f. mælask, people will like it well, Nj. 29, Þórð. 55 new Ed.; ílla mun þat f. mælask at ganga á sættir við frændr sína, Ld. 238; ok er lokit var, mæltisk kvæðit vel f., the people praised the poem, Fms. vii. 113.

XII. in special senses, either as prep. or adv. (vide A. V. above); segja leið f. skipi, to pilot a ship, Eg. 359; segja f. skipi, to say a prayer for a new ship or for any ship going to sea, Bs. i. 774, Fms. x. 480; mæla f. e-u, to dictate, Grág. ii. 266; mæla f. minni, to bring out a toast, vide minni; mæla f. sætt, i. 90; skipa, koma e-u f., to arrange, put right; ætla f. e-u, to make allowance for; trúa e-m f. e-u, to entrust one with; það fer mikið f. e-u (impers.), it is of great compass, bulky; hafa f. e-u, to have trouble with a thing; leita f. sér, to enquire; biðjask f., to say one’s prayers, vide biðja; mæla fyrir, segja f., etc., to order, Nj. 103, Js. 3: of a spell or solemn speaking, hann mælti svá f., at …, Landn. 34; spyrjask f., to enquire, Hkr. ii. 333; búask f., to prepare, make arrangement, Landn. 35, Sks. 551; skipask f., to draw up, Nj. 197; leggjask f., to lie down in despair, Bs. i. 194; spá fyrir, to ‘spae’ before, foretell; þeir menn er spá f. úorðna hluti, Fms. i. 96; segja f., to foretell, 76, Bb. 332; Njáll hefir ok sagt f. um æfi hans, Nj. 102; vita e-t f., to ‘wit’ beforehand, know the future, 98; sjá e-t f., to foresee, 162; ef þat er ætlat f., fore-ordained, id.

WITH ACC., mostly with the notion of movement.

A. LOCAL:

I. before, in front of; fyrir dyrrin, Nj. 198; láta síga brýnn f. brár, Hkv. Hjörv. 19; halda f. augu sér, to hold (one’s hands) before one’s eyes, Nj. 132; leggja sverði fyrir brjóst e-m, to thrust a sword into his breast, 162, Fs. 39.

2. before one, before a court; stefna e-m f. dómstól, Fms. xi. 444; ganga, koma f. e-n, to go, come before one, Fms. i. 15, Eg. 426, Nj. 6, 129, passim; fyrir augu e-s, before one’s eyes, Stj. 611.

3. before, so as to shield; hann kom skildinum f. sik, he put the shield before him, Nj. 97, 115; halda skildi f. e-n, a duelling term, since the seconder had to hold one’s shield, Ísl. ii. 257.

4. joined to adverbs such as fram, aptr, út, inn, ofan, niðr, austr, vestr, suðr, norðr, all denoting direction; fram f., forward; aptr f., backward, etc.; hann reiddi öxina fram f. sik, a stroke forward with the axe, Fms. vii. 91; hann hljóp eigi skemra aptr en fram fyrir sik, Nj. 29; þótti honum hann skjóta brandinum austr til fjallanna f. sik, 195; komask út f. dyrr, to go outside the door, Eg. 206:—draga ofan f. brekku, to drag over the hill, Ld. 220; hrinda f. mel ofan, to thrust one over the gravel bank, Eg. 748; hlaupa f. björg, to leap over a precipice, Eb. 62, Landn. 36; elta e-n f. björg, Grág. ii. 34; hlaupa (kasta) f. borð, to leap ( throw) overboard, Fms. i. 178, Hkr. iii. 391, Ld. 226; síga ( to be hauled) niðr f. borgar-vegg, 656 C. 13, Fms. ix. 3; hlaupa niðr f. stafn, Eg. 142; niðr f. skaflinn, Dropl. 25; fyrir brekku, Orkn. 450, Glúm. 395 (in a verse).

II. in one’s way, crossing one’s way; þeir stefndu f. þá, Fms. ix. 475; ríða á leið f. þá, to ride in their way, so as to meet them, Boll. 348; hlaupa ofan f. þá, Nj. 153; vóru allt komin f. hann bréf, letters were come before him, in his way, Fms. vii. 207; þeir felldu brota f. hann, viz. they felled trees before him, so as to stop him, viii. 60, ix. 357; leggja bann f. skip, to lay an embargo on a ship, Ld. 166.

III. round, off a point; fyrir nesit, Nj. 44; út f. Holm, out past the Holm, Fms. vii. 356: esp. as a naut. term, off a point on the shore, sigla f. England, Norðyrnbraland, Þrasnes, Spán, to sail by the coast of, stand off England, Northumberland, … Spain, Orkn. 338, 340, 342, 354; fyrir Yrjar, Fms. vii. (in a verse); fyrir Siggju, Aumar, Lista, Edda 91 (in a verse); er hann kom f. Elfina, when be came off the Gotha, Eg. 80; leggja land f. skut, to lay the land clear of the stern, i. e. to pass it, Edda l. c.; göra frið f. land sitt, to pacify the land from one end to another, Ld. 28; fyrir uppsprettu árinnar, to come to ( round) the sources of the river, Fms. iii. 183; fyrir garðs-enda, Grág. ii. 263; girða f. nes, to make a wall across the ness, block it up, cp. Lat. praesepire, praemunire, etc., Grág. ii. 263; so also binda f. op, poka, Lat. praeligare, praestringere; hlaða f. gat, holu, to stop a hole, opening; greri f. stúfinn, the stump (of the arm or leg) was healed, closed, Nj. 275; skjóta slagbrandi f. dyrr, to shoot a bolt before the door, to bar it, Dropl. 29; láta loku (lás) f. hurð, to lock a door, Gísl. 28; setja innsigli f. bréf, to set a seal to a letter, Dipl. i. 3: ellipt., setr hón þar lás fyrir, Ld. 42, Bs. i. 512.

2. along, all along; f. endilanga Danmörk, f. endilangan Noreg, all along Denmark, Norway, from one end to the other, Fms. iv. 319, xi. 91, Grett. 97:—öx álnar f. munn, an axe with an ell-long edge, Ld. 276; draga ör f. ödd, to draw the arrow past the point, an archer’s term, Fms. ii. 321.

IV. with verbs, fyrir ván komit, one is come past hope, all hope is gone, Sturl. i. 44, Hrafn. 13, Fms. ii. 131; taka f. munn e-m, to stop one’s mouth; taka f. háls, kverkar, e-m, to seize one by the throat, etc.; taka mál f. munn e-m, ‘verba alicujus praeripere,’ to take the word out of one’s mouth, xi. 12; taka f. hendr e-m, to seize one’s hands, stop one in doing a thing, Eb. 124; mod., taka fram f. hendrnar á e-m.

B. TEMP.: fyrir dag, before day, Eg. 80; f. miðjan dag, Ld. 14; f. sól, before sunrise, 268; f. sólar-lag, before sunset; f. miðjan aptan, Nj. 192; f. náttmál, 197; f. óttu, Sighvat; f. þinglausnir, Ölk. 37; f. Jól, Nj. 269; f. fardaga, Grág. ii. 341; viku f. sumar, 244; f. mitt sumar, Nj. 138; litlu f. vetr, Eg. 159; f. vetrnætr, Grág. ii. 217; f. e-s minni, before one’s memory, Íb. 16.

C. METAPH.:

I. above, before; hann hafdi mest fyrir aðra konunga hraustleikinn, Fms. x. 372.

II. for, on behalf of; vil ek bjóða at fara f. þik, I will go for thee, in thy stead, Nj. 77; ganga í skuld f. e-n, Grág. i. 283; Egill drakk … ok svá f. Ölvi, Eg. 210; kaupa e-t f. e-n, Nj. 157; gjalda gjöld f. e-n, Grág. i. 173; verja, sækja, sakir f. e-n, Eg. 504; hvárr f. sik, each for oneself, Dipl. v. 26; sættisk á öll mál f. Björn, Nj. 266; tók sættir f. Björn, Eg. 168; svara f. e-t, Fms. xi. 444; hafa til varnir f. sik, láta lýrit, lög-vörn koma f.; færa vörn f. sik, etc.; verja, sækja sakir f. sik, and many similar law phrases, Grág. passim; biðja konu f. e-n, to woo a lady for another, Fms. x. 44; fyrir mik, on my behalf, for my part, Gs. 16; lögvörn f. mál, a lawful defence for a case, Nj. 111; hafa til varnar f. sök, to defend a case, Grág. i. 61; halda skiladómi f. e-t, Dipl. iv. 8; festa lög f. e-t, vide festa.

III. in a distributive sense; penning f. mann, a penny per man, K. Þ. K. 88; fyrir nef hvert, per nose = per head, Lv. 89, Fms. i. 153, Ó. H. 141; hve f. marga menn, for how many men, Grág. i. 296; fyrir hverja stiku, for each yard, 497.

IV. for, for the benefit of; brjóta brauð f. hungraða, Hom. 75; þeir skáru f. þá melinn, they cut the straw for them (the horses), Nj. 265; leggja kostnað f. e-n, to defray one’s costs, Grág. i. 341.

V. for, instead of; hann setti sik f. Guð, Edda (pref.); hafa e-n f. Guð (Lat. pro Deo), Stj. 73, Barl. 131; geta, fá, kveðja mann f. sik, to get a man as one’s delegate or substitute, Grág. i. 48 passim; þeir höfðu vargstakka f. brynjur, Fs. 17; manna-höfuð vóru f. kljána, Nj. 275; gagl f. gás ok grís f. gamalt svín, Ó. H. 86; rif stór f. hlunna, Háv. 48; buðkr er f. húslker er hafðr, Vm. 171; auga f. auga, tönn f. tönn, Exod. xxi. 24; skell f. skillinga, Þkv. 32.

VI. because of, for; vilja Gunnar dauðan fyrir höggit, Nj. 92, Fms. v. 162; eigi f. sakleysi, not without ground, i. 302; fyrir hvat (why, for what) stefndi Gunnarr þeim til úhelgi? Nj. 101; ok urðu f. þat sekir, Landn. 323; hafa ámæli f. e-t, Nj. 65, passim.

2. in a good sense, for one’s sake, for one; fyrir þín orð, for thy words, intercession, Ísl. ii. 217; vil ek göra f. þín orð, Ld. 158, Nj. 88; fyrir sína vinsæld, by his popularity, Fms. i. 259: the phrase, fyrir e-s sök, for one’s sake, vide sök: in swearing, a Latinism, fyrir trú mína, by my faith! (so in Old Engl. ‘fore God), Karl. 241; fyrir þitt líf, Stj. 514; ek særi þik f. alla krapta Krists ok manndóm þinn, Nj. 176. VII. for, at, denoting value, price; fyrir þrjár merkr, for three marks, Eg. 714; er sik leysti út f. þrjú hundruð marka, Fms. ix. 421; ganga f. hundrað, to pass or go for a hundred, D. I. i. 316:—also of the thing bought, þú skalt reiða f. hana þrjár merkr, thou shall pay for her three marks, Ld. 30; fyrir þik skulu koma mannhefndir, Nj. 57; bætr f. víg, Ísl. ii. 274; bætr f. mann, Eg. 259, passim; fyrir áverka Þorgeirs kom legorðs-sökin, Nj. 101:—so in the phrase, fyrir hvern mun, by all means, at any cost; fyrir öngan mun, by no means, Fms. i. 9, 157, Gþl. 531:—hafði hverr þeirra mann f. sik, eða tvá …, each slew a man or more for himself, i. e. they sold their lives dearly, Ó. H. 217.

2. ellipt., í staðinn f., instead of, Grág. i. 61; hér vil ek bjóða f. góð boð, Nj. 77; taka umbun f., Fms. vii. 161; svara slíku f. sem …, Boll. 350; þér skulut öngu f. týna nema lífinu, you shall lose nothing less than your head, Nj. 7.

VIII. by means of, by, through; fyrir þat sama orð, Stj.; fyrir sína náttúru, Fms. v. 162; fyrir messu-serkinn, iii. 168; fyrir þinn krapt ok frelsis-hönd, Pass. 19. 12; svikin f. orminn, by the serpent, Al. 63,—this use of fyrir seems to be a Latinism, but is very freq. in eccl. writings, esp. after the Reformation, N. T., Pass., Vídal.; fyrir munn Davíðs, through the mouth of David, etc.:—in good old historical writings such instances are few; þeir hlutuðu f. kast ( by dice), Sturl. ii. 159.

IX. in spite of, against; fyrir vilja sinn, N. G. L. i. 151; fyrir vitorð eðr vilja e-s, against one’s will or knowledge, Grág. ii. 348; kvángask (giptask) f. ráð e-s, i. 177, 178, Þiðr. 190; nú fara menn f. bann ( in spite of an embargo) landa á milli, Gþl. 517; hann gaf henni líf f. framkvæmd farar, i. e. although she had not fulfilled her journey ( her vow), Fms. v. 223; fyrir várt lof, vi. 220; fyrir allt þat, in spite of all that, Grett. 80 new Ed.; fyrir ráð fram, heedlessly; fyrir lög fram, vide fram.

X. denoting capacity, in the same sense as ‘at,’ C. II, p. 27, col. 1; scarcely found in old writers (who use ‘at’), but freq. in mod. usage, thus, eigi e-n f. vin, to have one for a friend, in old writers ‘at vin;’ hafa e-n f. fífl, fól, to make sport of one.

2. in old writers some phrases come near to this, e. g. vita f. vist, to know for certain, Dipl. i. 3; vita f. full sannindi, id., ii. 16; hafa f. satt, to take for sooth, believe, Nj. 135; koma f. eitt, to come ( turn) all to one, Lv. 11, Nj. 91, Fms. i. 208; koma f. ekki, to come to naught, be of no avail, Ísl. ii. 215; fyrir hitt mun ganga, it will turn the other way, Nj. 93; fyrir hann er einskis örvænt orðs né verks, from him everything may be expected, Ísl. ii. 326; hafa e-s víti f. varnað, to have another’s faults for warning, Sól. 19.

XI. joined with adverbs ending in -an, fyrir austan, vestan, sunnan, norðan, útan, innan, framan, handan, ofan, neðan, either with a following acc. denoting. direction, thus, fyrir austan, sunnan … fjall, east, south of the fell, i. e. on the eastern, southern side; fyrir neðan brú, below the bridge; fyrir útan fjall = Lat. ultra; fyrir innan fjall = Lat. infra; fyrir handan á, beyond the river; fyrir innan garð, inside the yard; fyrir ofan garð, above, beyond the yard, etc.; vide these adverbs:—used adverb., fyrir sunnan, in the south; fyrir vestan, in the west; fyrir norðan, in the north; fyrir austan, in the east,—current phrases in Icel. to mark the quarters of the country, cp. the ditty in Esp. Árb. year 1530; but not freq. in old writers, who simply say, norðr, suðr …, cp. Kristni S. ch. 1: absol. and adverb., fyrir ofan, uppermost; fyrir handan, on the other side:—fyrir útan e-t, except, save, Anal. 98, Vkv. 8; fyrir fram, vide fram.

☞ For- and fyrir- as prefixes, vide pp. 163–167 and below:

I. fore-, for-, meaning before, above, in the widest sense, local, temp., and metaph. furthering or the like, for-dyri, for-nes, for-ellri, for-beini, etc.

β. before, down, for-brekkis, -bergis, -streymis, -vindis, -viðris, etc.

2. in an intens. sense = before others, very, but not freq.; for-dyld, -góðr, -hagr, -hraustr, -kostuligr, -kuðr, -lítill, -ljótr, -prís, -ríkr, -snjallr.

II. (cp. fyrir, acc., C. IX), in a neg. or priv. sense; a few words occur even in the earliest poems, laws, and writers, e. g. for-að, -átta, -dæða, -nám, -næmi, -sending, -sköp, -verk, -veðja, -viða, -vitni, -ynja, -yrtir; those words at least seem to be original and vernacular: at a later time more words of the same kind crept in:

1. as early as writers of the 13th and 14th centuries, e. g. for-boð, -bænir, -djarfa, -dæma (fyrir-dæma), -taka (fyrir-taka), -þóttr; fyrir-bjóða, -fara, -göra, -koma, -kunna, -líta, -muna, -mæla, -vega, -verða.

2. introduced in some words at the time of the Reformation through Luther’s Bible and German hymns, and still later in many more through Danish, e. g. for-brjóta, -drífa, -láta, -líkast, -merkja, -nema, -sorga, -sóma, -standa, -svara, -þénusta, and several others; many of these, however, are not truly naturalised, being chiefly used in eccl. writings:—it is curious that if the pronoun be placed after the verb (which is the vernacular use in Icel.) the sense is in many cases reversed; thus, fyrir-koma, to destroy, but koma e-u fyrir can only mean to arrange; so also fyrir-mæla, to curse, and mæla fyrir, to speak for; for-bænir, but biðja fyrir e-m, etc.; in the latter case the sense is good and positive, in the former bad and negative; this seems to prove clearly that these compds are due to foreign influence.

* * *

(gen. handar, dat. hendi; pl. hendr), f.

1) hand;

taka hendi á e-u, to touch with the hand;

hafa e-t í hendi, to hold in the hand;

drepa hendi við e-u, to refuse;

halda hendi yfir e-m, to protect one;

taka e-n höndum, to seize, capture;

bera hönd fyrir höfuð sér, to defend oneself;

eiga hendr sínar at verja, to act in self defence;

láta e-t hendi firr, to let go out of one’s hands, to lose;

taka í hönd e-m, to join hands with one;

eiga e-t jöfnum höndum, to own in equal shares;

sverja sér af hendi, to forswear;

af hendi e-s, on one’s behalf, on the part of (af hendi landsmanna);

at hendi, as adv. in turn;

hverr at hendi, each in turn;

felast á hendi e-m, to be under one’s protection;

hvat er þér á höndum, what hast thou in hand?;

ef honum væri ekki á höndum, if he had nothing in hand, if his hands were free;

eiga e-t fyrir hendi (höndum), to have in hand (duty, business, engagement);

vera í hendi, to be at hand, at one’s disposal;

hafa vel (illa) í höndum, to behave well (badly);

hafa e-t með höndum, to have in hand, manage, discharge;

hljóta e-t undan hendi e-s, from one, at one’s hand;

á hönd, á hendr, against (lýsa vígi á hönd e-m);

snúa vanda á hendr e-m, to throw the responsibility on one;

fœrast e-t á hendr, to undertake;

ganga (drífa) á hönd e-m, to submit to one;

bjargast á sínar hendr, by one’s own handiwork;

selja, gefa, fá e-t í hönd (hendr) e-m, to give into one’s hands, hand over;

búa e-t í hendr e-m, to make it ready for one;

kalla til e-s í hendr e-m, to lay claim to a thing at the hands of another;

þá sömu nótt, er fór í hönd, the following night;

veðr óx í hönd, the wind rose higher and higher;

vera hœgt um hönd, to be easy in hand;

til handa e-m, into one’s hands;

ganga til handa e-m, to put oneself in another’s hands, submit to him;

ef þat berr þér til handa, if it befalls thee;

þá skömrn kýs ek mér eigi til handa, I will not have that shame at my door;

biðja konu til handa e-m, on one’s behalf, for him;

2) the arm and hand, the arm (höndin gekk af axlarliðnum; hann hefir á hœgri hendi hring fyrir ofan ölnboga);

var eigi djúpara en þeim tók undir hendr, the water just reached to their armpits;

3) hand, side;

á hœgri (vinstri) hönd, on the right (left) hand, side;

á hvára hönd, on either hand;

minnar (yðvarrar) handar, for my (your) part;

4) kind, sort;

allra handa árgœzka, great abundance of all things.

* * *

f., gen. handar, dat. hendi, acc. hönd, pl. hendr, mod. proncd. höndur, gen. handa; [Goth. handus; A. S. and Engl. hand; O. H. G. hant; Germ. hand; Dan. haand; Swed. hand]:—a hand; beit höndina þar er nú heitir úlfliðr, Edda 17; armleggir, handleggir ok hendr, Anecd. 6; kné eðr hendi, Grág. ii. 8; ganga á höndum, Fms. vi. 5; með hendi sinni, K. Þ. K. 5 new Ed.; taka hendi á e-u, to touch with the hand, Fms. x. 110; taka höndum um háls e-m, Nj. 10; hvítri hendi, Hallfred; hafa e-t í hendi, to hold in hand, wield, Eg. 297, Nj. 84, 97, 255; hrjóta ór hendi e-m, Fms. xi. 141; hafa fingrgull á hendi, Nj. 146; handar-högg, Fms. xi. 126, Fas. ii. 459; sjá ekki handa sinna skil (deili), not to be able to see one’s hands, of a dense fog.

2. the arm and hand, the arm, like Gr. χείρ, Nj. 160, 253; á hendi heitir alnbogi, Edda 110; hendr til axla, Fas. i. 160; leggir handa ok fóta, Magn. 532; hönd fyrir ofan úlnlið, Nj. 84; hafa hring á hendi, of an arm-ring, Nj. 131; hring á hægri hendi fyrir ofan ölnboga, Fms. iv. 383:—the arm and arm-pit, ná, taka undir hönd ( arm-pit) e-m, Gþl. 380; var eigi djúpara en þeim tók undir hendr, the water reached to their arm-pits, Ld. 78; taka undir hönd sér, to take hold under one’s arms, Eg. 237, Nj. 200; sjá undir hönd e-m, Fas. ii. 558; renna undir hendr e-m, to backspan one, Háv. 40, 41; þykkr undir hönd, stout, Ld. 272.

3. metaph. handwriting, hand; rita góða hönd, to write a good hand; snar-hönd, running hand, italics.

II. the hand, side; hægri hönd, the right hand; vinstri hönd, the left hand; á hvára hönd, on either hand, each side, Landn. 215; á vinstri hönd, Nj. 196; á hægri hönd; á tvær hendr, on both hands or sides, Ísl. ii. 368, Fas. i. 384; á báðar hendr, Grág.; hvat sem á aðra hönd ber, whatsoever may happen; á aðra hönd … en á aðra, Ld. 46; til hvárigrar handara, Fms. x. 313; til annarrar handar, Nj. 50, 97; til sinnar handar hvárr, 140; til beggja handa, Eg. 65; til ýmsa handa, Bs. i. 750; þver-hönd, a hand’s breadth; örv-hönd.

III. sayings and phrases referring to the hand:

1. sayings; sjálfs hönd er hollust, one’s own hand is best, i. e. if you want to have a thing well done, do it yourself, Glúm. 332, Ó. H. 157; blíð er bætandi hönd, blessed is the mending hand; gjörn er hönd á venju, Grett. 150, Nj. (in a verse), and Edda (Ht. 26); margar hendr vinna létt verk; fiplar hönd á feigu tafli; betri ein kráka í hendi en tvær á skógi, Ld. 96; skamma stund verðr hönd höggvi fegin, see högg.

2. phrases; drepa hendi við, to refuse, Nj. 71; halda hendi yfir e-m, to hold one’s hand over, protect, 266, Fbr. 22, Anecd. 14; taka e-n höndum, to take hold with the hands, seize, capture, Fms. x. 314, Nj. 265, passim; eiga hendr sínar at verja, to act in self-defence, 84, 223; hefja handa, to lift the hands, stir for action, 65, Ld. 262; bera hönd fyrir höfuð sér, to put one’s hand before one’s head, stand on one’s guard, defend oneself; vera í hers höndum, óvina höndum, to be in a state of war, exposed to rapine; vera í góðum höndum, vina-höndum, góðra manna höndum, to be in good hands, among friends.

β. læknis-hendr, ‘leech hands,’ healing hands; pains and sickness were believed to give way to the magical touch of a person gifted with such hands, Sdm. 4, Magn. S. Góða ch. 36 (Fms. vi. 73), cp. Rafns S. ch. 2; hönd full, a handful, Fms. ii. 302, vi. 38, viii. 306; fullar hendr fjár, hands full of gold:—kasta hendinni til e-s, to huddle a thing up; með harðri hendi, with hard hand, harshly, rudely; með hangandi hendi, with drooping hand, slothfully; fegins hendi, with glad hand, joyfully; sitja auðum höndum, to sit with empty hands, sit idle; but með tómar hendr, empty-handed, portionless, Thom.:—láta hendr standa fram úr ermum, to work briskly; víkja hendi til e-s (handar-vik), to move the hand to do a thing; það er ekki í tveim höndum að hafa við e-n, of double handed (i. e. faltering) half measures, when the one hand undoes what the other has done; kann ek þat sjá at ekki má í tveim höndum hafa við slíka menn, Band. 3; láta hönd selja hendi, of a ready bargain; láta e-t ganga hendi firr, to let go out of one’s hands, lose, Ld. 202; ok lét sér eigi hendi firr ganga, and never lost sight of him, 656 ii. 4; e-m fallask hendr, to be discomfited, lose one’s head (see falla); leggja görva hönd á allt, to be a ready hand, adept in everything, Thom. 300 (see göra F. 2); taka í hönd e-m, to join hands, Nj. 3; takask í hendr, to join, shake hands, Grág. ii. 80; leggja hendr saman, id., Gþl. 18,—of shaking hands as symbolical of a bargain, see the compds hand-lag, hand-festi, handa-band; eiga, taka, jöfnum höndum, to own, take with even hands, i. e. in equal shares, Grág. i. 171, ii. 66, Hkr. i. 318; vinna jöfnum höndum, to work even-handed, to help one another; e-m eru mislagðar hendr, one’s hands are amiss, when bad work is done by one from whom better was expected; honum hafa verið mislagðar hendr, etc.

B. Metaph. usages:

I. dat., sverja sér af hendi, to forswear, Fms. vii. 176; færa af höndum sér, to dismiss, Grág. i. 248; hefjask af höndum e-m, Fms. xi. 59:—af hendi e-s, on one’s behalf, part, Landn. 154; af hendi Hákonar, Fms. i. 20, iv. 118; af hendi landsmanna, ix. 359; af sinni hendi, of one’s own hand, for one’s own part, Grág. i. 392; reiða, greiða, gjalda, inna af hendi or höndum, to discharge, pay off, Fms. vii. 230, Nj. 146, 190, 232, 239, 257, 281, Grág. i. 82, ii. 374; selja, láta af hendi (höndum), to part with, dismiss, Nj. 186, 231, Fms. vii. 173, Rb. 12; líða af hendi, to pass, of time, Ísl. ii. 144, Fms. iv. 83: koma, bera at hendi, to happen, Nj. 71, 177: at hendi, as adv. in turn; hvern at hendi, each in turn, Fms. i. 150: þar næst Gunnarr, þá Loðinn, þá hverr at hendi, Nj. 140; hverr segir at hendi þat er frá honum hefir stolit verit, Mar.: felask á hendi e-m, to be under one’s charge, protection, Nj. 201, Bs. i. 167, 173. vera e-m á hendi, id., Fms. vii. 243; vera bundinn á hendi e-m, Sturl. i. 57: hafa e-t á höndum (hendi), to have a thing in hand, of duty, business to be done, Grág. i. 38; eiga ferð á höndum, Ld. 72; hvat er þér á höndum, what hast thou in hand? for what art thou concerned, distressed? Nj. 133, Ld. 270; ella eru þér stórir hlutir á höndum, Fms. vii. 30; ef honum væri ekki á höndum, if he had nothing in hand, if his hands were free, Ld. 42: eiga e-t fyrir hendi (höndum), to have in hand (duty, business, engagement), Fas. ii. 557; farvegr langr fyrir hendi, Fms. xi. 316; tveir kostir fyrir höndum, Nj. 264, Grág. i. 279; hafa sýslu fyrir höndum, Ísl. ii. 344; eiga vandræði fyrir höndum, Ld. 4; eiga gott fyrir höndum, Hkr. iii. 254: vera í hendi, to be at hand, within reach, at one’s disposal, in one’s power; hann er eigi í hendi, Fms. vi. 213; þat er eigi í hendi, ‘tis no easy matter, v. l.; hafa raun ( evidence) í hendi, Bs. i. 708; hafa ráð e-s í hendi sér, Ld. 174, Fas. i. 260; hafa vel, ílla í höndum, to behave well, badly, Ísl. ii. 387, Eg. 158; varð honum þat vel í höndum, 50: hafa e-t með höndum (fé, auðæfi, embætti, etc.), to have in hand, manage, discharge, Grág. ii. 389, Greg. 25, Stj. 248, Hkr. iii. 131; to design, hafa ráð, stórræði með höndum, 623. 51: hljóta undan hendi e-s, from one, at one’s hands, Fas. i. 365: undir höndum, eigi lítill undir höndum, not a small man to handle, Fms. vii. 17; vera undir höndum e-m, to be under or in one’s hands, under one’s protection, in one’s power, Sks. 337, Fms. i. 7, 13; sitja undir hendi e-m, Hkr. i. 166,—um hendr, Fms. iv. 71, is prob. an error = undir hendi.