one ships a sea

* * *

(drekk; drakk, drukkum; drukkinn), v.

1) to drink (drekka mjöð, öl, mungát);

drekka full, minni, horn, to drink a toast, cup, horn;

drekka drykk, to drink a draught (þú skalt drekka af tvá drykki);

drekka brjóst spena, to suck;

drekka úmælt, without measure;

drekka fast (mjök), to drink hard;

drekka e-n af stokki, to drink one under the table;

drekka sér lítit vit, drekka frá sér vit ilit, to drink away one’s reason;

2) to hold, celebrate a feast (drekka veizlu, brullaup, erfi);

3) with preps.:

drekka af keri, to drink out of a vessel (drukku þeir af einu silfrkeri);

to drink off (empty) a vessel, cup (hann tók við horninu ok drakk af);

drekka á e-n, to drink to a person;

refl., drekkast á, to drink to one another;

impers., drekkr á e-n, one ships a sea;

drekka til e-s = drekka á e-n;

drekka e-t út, to consume or spend in drinking.

1) drink, beverage;

2) a drinking feast or banquet;

Ægis drekka, the drinking at Ægir’s.

* * *

pret. drakk, pl. drukku; sup. drukkit; pres. drekk; pret. subj. drykki; [Ulf. drigkan; A. S. drinkan; Engl. drink; O. H. G. trinkan; M. H. G. trinken; Dan. drikke; Swed. dricka]:— to drink, the beverage or feast in acc.; d. mjöð, Hm. 18; mungát, el, Fms. viii. 166, Hm. 82; d. full, minni ( a toast), Eg. 552, Fms. vi. 442; d. horn, to drain, drink off a horn, a cup, Hkr. i. 35; síðan tók Kolskeggr justu eina af miði fulla ok drakk, Nj. 43; d. drykk, to drink a draught, Fms. xi. 233; eptir þat tók Þórir kalkann ok drakk af tvá drykki, Gullþ. 7; þú skalt d. af tvá drykki, id.; d. brjóst (acc.), to suck (v. brjóst-drekkr), Mar. 656 A. 23, cp. Gþl. 504.

β. to hold a feast, the feast in acc.; d. Jól, Fms. vi. 100, Fagrsk. 4 (in the poem of Hornklofi); d. veizlu, Nj. ii; d. brullaup, Fms. xi. 88; d. erfi, Nj. 167.

γ. denoting the mode of drinking; d. ein-menning, to drink one to one, Eg. 551; d. tví-menning, to drink two to two, id.; d. fast, to drink hard, Eb. 184; d. úmælt, to drink without measure (cp. mál-drykkja), Fms. iii. 18; d. til e-s, to drink to a person, Eg. 552, Sturl. iii. 305, Bs. i. 848, 798; d. á e-n, id., Fms. iv. 333, vi. 442 (cp. á-drykkja); d. e-n af stokki, to drink one under the table, iv. 167; d. frá sér vit, to drink one’s wits away, ix. 339, Hm. 11; the allit. phrase, d. ok dæma, to drink and chatter, Rm. 29: adding the prepp. af, ór, to drink off a cup; d. af dýra hornum, Fms. vi. 442, Eg. 206, 207: absol. to drink, hold a feast, Eg. 43.

δ. impers. (vide á-drykkir) of a ship, to ship a sea, metaph., Al. 139.

ε. recipr., drekkask á, to drink to one another, Hkr. ii. 249, N. G. L. i. 211, Js. 78.

2. part. pass. drukkinn, drunken, tipsy, Eb. 154, Fms. i. 59, Eg. 552.

* * *

(drekk; drakk, drukkum; drukkinn), v.

1) to drink (drekka mjöð, öl, mungát);

drekka full, minni, horn, to drink a toast, cup, horn;

drekka drykk, to drink a draught (þú skalt drekka af tvá drykki);

drekka brjóst spena, to suck;

drekka úmælt, without measure;

drekka fast (mjök), to drink hard;

drekka e-n af stokki, to drink one under the table;

drekka sér lítit vit, drekka frá sér vit ilit, to drink away one’s reason;

2) to hold, celebrate a feast (drekka veizlu, brullaup, erfi);

3) with preps.:

drekka af keri, to drink out of a vessel (drukku þeir af einu silfrkeri);

to drink off (empty) a vessel, cup (hann tók við horninu ok drakk af);

drekka á e-n, to drink to a person;

refl., drekkast á, to drink to one another;

impers., drekkr á e-n, one ships a sea;

drekka til e-s = drekka á e-n;

drekka e-t út, to consume or spend in drinking.

1) drink, beverage;

2) a drinking feast or banquet;

Ægis drekka, the drinking at Ægir’s.

* * *

u, f. drink, beverage, Edda 48: a banquet, N. G. L. i. 91, Og. 13; cp. Ægis-drekka, the banquet at Ægir, Edda.

* * *

a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

* * *

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WITH ACC.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. Metaph. and in various relations:

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

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

II. denoting in regard to, in respect to:

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

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

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

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

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

IV. denoting the manner or way of doing:

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

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

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

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

VI. connected with nouns,

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

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

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

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

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

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

(gen. sævar), m. sea (øxn gengu upp ór sænum), (varð sjárinn ókyrr mjök; róa út á sjá), = sjár, sjór.

(-sæ, -sætt), a. seen (auðsær, einsætt).

* * *

m., there are three forms, sær, sjór, sjár (cp. snær, slær, etc.); in old writers sær is commonest, sjór in mod., sjár is the most rare: the v (also written f) appears in gen. sævar, sjóvar, sjávar; dat. sævi, sjóvi, sjávi; acc. sæ, sjó, sjá; the dat. sing. was then shortened into sæ, sjó, sjá, which forms prevail in prose: in mod. usage the v has also been dropped between two vowels, sjóar for sjóvar, pl. sjóir for sjóvir, dat. sjóum: a gen. sjós is only used in special phrases, and is borrowed from the Danish: [Ulf. saiws and mari-saiws = λίμνη, Luke v. 12; A. S. sæ; Engl. sea; O. H. G. seô; Germ. see; Dan. sö; Swed. sjö.]

A. The sea, never used, like Germ. see, of a lake; himin, jörð ok sjá, Fms. i. 304; á sjá ok landi, 31; ef sjár kastar á land, Grág. ii. 388; þar sem sær mætisk ok græn torfa, N. G. L. i. 13; sær eða vötn, Grág. ii. 275; sær ok vindar, Eluc. 10; særinn féll á land, Fms. xi. 6 (and sjórinn, id.); upp ór sæ (dat.), 7; sænum, 6, 7 (four times); and sjónum, 6 (once); í sæinn, 6, 7 (thrice); sjóinn, id. (once); á sæinn út, Hkr. i. 229; út til sævar, ii. 106, Ó. H. 69; þar er vatni náir, eða sjá ( sea-water) ef eigi nær vatni, K. Þ. K. 5 new Ed.; sjár kolblár, Nj. 42; sjór kolblár, 19; á hverngi veg er sjór blendr saman fé manna, Grág. ii. 389; sá þeir skína ljós á sjóinn, Fms. i. 228; vestr með sjó, Landn. 36; sjór í miðjum hlíðum, 25, v. l.; Danavirki var gört … um þvert landit millum sjóva, Fms. xi. 28; sjór enn rauði, the Red Sea, 655 viii. 2; hann bað þrælinn færa sér í dælu-keri þat er hann kallaði sjó …, Ekki þykki mér þetta sjór, Landn. 251; bar sjóinn í seglit (the sea, waves), Fms. ix. 320; hón hjó fram öxinni á sjóinn …, varð af brestr mikill ok blóðugr allr sjórinn, Lv. 68, 69: the phrase, kasta á sæ, to cast into the sea, throw away, Ó. H. 38 (see glær); því kalla menn á sæ kastað er maðr lætr eigu sína, ok tekr ekki í mót, Ld. 128: storm mikinn ok stóran sjá, a high sea, Fms. vii. 51: sigla suðr um sjá (= sail through the Straits of Dover southward), Nj. 281.

COMPDS:

α. sævar-: sævar-bakki, a, m. the sea-beach, Sturl. ii. 31 C. sævar-borg, f. a castle on the sea-side, = sæborg, Fms. xi. 74. sævar-djúp, n. the depth of the sea, the deep sea, Mar. sævar-fall, n. tides, Rb. 6, 90. sævar-floti, a, m. a float, raft of timber, N. G. L. i. 423. sævar-gangr, m. the swell of the sea, the sea running high, Edda 41. sævar-hamrar, m. pl. sea-crags, Orkn. 310 (sjávar-hamrar, Fbr. 155). sævar-strönd, f. the sea-strand, 655 xii. 3. sævar-urð, f. piles of rocks on the sea-shore, Orkn. 114.

β. sjávar-: sjávar-brekka, u, f. a shelving shore, Bs. i. 669. sjávar-djúp = sævar-djúp, Nj. 279. sjávar-gata, u, f. the way from the sea to a bouse; eigi er löng s. til Borgar, B. is not far from the coast, Band. 28 new Ed. sjávar-hamrar = sævarhamrar, Nj. 182, Fbr. 155. sjávar-háski, a, m. danger, distress at sea, Fms. x. 135. sjávar-hella, u, f. a flat rock projecting into the sea, Landn. 326 (Append.) sjávar-höll, f. a king’s hall on the sea-side, Fms. x. 20. sjávar-lopt, n. a house built aloft in the sea, Fms. vi. 162. sjávar-ríki, n. the kingdom of the sea, Bret. 6, Edda (pref.) sjávar-stjarna, u, f. the star of the sea, i. e. the Virgin Mary, ‘stella maris’, Mar. sjávar-stormr, m. a sea-storm, MS. 415. 9. sjávar-strönd, f. = sævarströnd, Edda i. 50.

γ. sjóvar-, often spelt sjófar-, mod. sjóar-: sjóvar-afli, a, m. sea-fishery, produce from the sea, Grett. 88 A; svipull sjóar afli, a saying, Hallgr. sjóvar-bakki, a, m. = sævarbakki, Fms. vii. 145. sjóvar-bryggja, u, f. a landing bridge, Fms. vi. 5. sjóvar-djúp, n. = sævardjúp, Str. 288. sjóvar-fall (sjóar-fall) = sævarfall, Rb. 438, Jb. 338. sjóvar-floti = sævar-floti, K. Á. 178. sjóvar-gangr (sjóar-gangr) = sævargangr, Bær. 5, Fms. xi. 6, Edda (pref.) sjóvar-háski = sjávarháski, Fas. ii. 112, Bs. i. 326, Stj. 27. sjóvar-hringr, m. the circle of the ocean, girding the earth, Rb. 466. sjóvar-lögr, m. sea-water, Stj. 242. sjóvar-ólga, u, f. the swell of the sea, Fas. ii. 378. sjóvar-sandr, m. sea-sand, Stj. sjóvar-skafl, m. (see skafl), Fas. ii. 76. sjóvar-skrimsl, n. a sea-monster, Sks. 86. sjóvar-stormr, m. = sjávarstormr, Stj. 287, Al. 99. sjóvar-straumr, m. a sea-current, Fs. 142. sjóvar-strönd (sjóar-strönd), = sævar-strönd, N. G. L. i. 345, Fms. x. 233, Stj. 288. sjóvar-sýn, f. an outlook at sea; þvíat eins at allgóð sé s., in bright weather only, Landn. 25 (v. l.), Stj. 288. sjóvar-urð, f. = sævarurð. sjóvar-vatn, n. sea-water, Stj. 287.

δ. sjóar-, passim in mod. usage.

B. PROPER COMPDS:

I. in pr. names, Sæ-björn, Sæ-mundr, Sæ-unn ( Sæ-uðr), Sæ-hildr; contr. in Sjólfr, qs. Sæ-úlfr, Landn.

II. sæ-borg, f. a sea-side town, Clem. 24, Fms. xi. 75; a sea-castle, sæborgir Birkibeina, i. e. their ships, ix. 221. sæ-brattr, adj. ‘sea-brent,’ steep towards the sea, Ísl. ii. 73, Bret. 90. sæ-bygð, f. a coast-land, Fms. iv. 116. sæ-byggjar, m. pl. coast-dwellers, Fms. viii. 404. sæ-dauðr, adj. dead at sea, drowned, Sdm. sæ-farar, f. pl. sea-faring; á hann (Njörð) skal heita til sæfara ok veiða, Edda; kenna menn til víga eðr sæfara, id.: hann hét á Þor til sjófara ok harðræða, Landn. 206. sæ-fari, a, m. a sea-farer: as adjective = sæhafi, Landn. 129, v. l.: for the sæfa in Orkn. 406 (v. l.). Grett. 88 A, read sæfara (sæa). sæ-fiskr, m. a sea-fish, Karl. 476. sæ-færr, adj. sea-worthy, Fms. iv. 246, Landn. 107: of weather, fit for sea-faring, veðr hvasst ok eigi sæfært, Eg. 482; hvern dag er sjófært var, Gísl. 47. sæ-föng, n. pl. stores from the sea; úáran, biluðu mönnum sáð ok sæföng, Bs. i. 137. sæ-garpr, m. a great sea-champion, Fb. iii. 446, Bárð. 169. sæ-hafi or sæ-hafa, adj. sea-tossed, driven out of one’s course; in the phrase, verða s., hann var s. til Hvítramanna-lands, Landn. 129, Bs. i. 675, Orkn. 406, Grág. i. 93, 217, ii. 410; kemr á andviðri ok verða þeir sæhafa at dalnum, Fbr. 68 (new Ed. 36 l. c. line 15 has wrongly ‘sækja’), Grett. 17 new Ed. Sæ-hrimnir, m. the name of the mythical boar whose flesh the heroes in Walhalla feed on, Gm., Edda. sæ-karl, m. a sea-carle, raftsman, Skálda 163. sæ-konungr, m., q. v. sæ-kykvendi, m. a sea-beast, Ver. 2, Skálda 170, Rb. 104. sæ-kyrra, u, f. a sea-calm, smooth sea, Orkn. 164. sæ-lið, n. service at sea, Ld. 142. sæ-lægja, u, f. a mist on the sea; þoka ok sælægjur, Orkn. 358. sæ-lægr, adj. lying on the sea, an epithet of a sea-mist; s. mjörkvi, Fms. vi. 261, viii. 178 (spelt sjálægr). sæ-naut, n. a sea-cow (fabulous); þjórr, ok var sænauta litr á hornunum, Vápn. 21, see Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 134. 135. sæ-nár, m., Grág. ii. 131, see nár. sæ-sjúkr, adj. sea-sick, Fb. iii. 427. sæ-tré, n. pl., poët. sea-trees, i. e. ships; hér eru vit Sigurðr á sætrjám, Skv. 2. 17; hann lá úti á sætrjám vetr ok varmt sumar, Fas. ii. 242. ☞ For the compds in sjá- and sjó- see pp. 534, 535.

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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.

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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.

* * *

(rœ; reri, reyri, røri; róinn), v.

1) to row, pull; hann rœr út í Bjarneyjar, he rows out to the Bearisles; with the boat in dat. (reru þeir skipinu upp í ána);

2) to row out to sea, go fishing, = r. út (þenna morgin bjóst Þ. á sjó at r.); er hann kom þar, vóru allir menn rónir nema Þ., all the men had rowed out fishing except Th.;

3) to rock oneself backwards and forwards;

4) recipr., róast at, to pull so as to encounter one another, of two ships in battle.

* * *

pres. ræ (i. e. rœ), rær, rær, pl. róm, Orkn. 402; else róum (Bs.i. 497), róit, róa; pret. réri, older and better reyri or röri, which form is still used in eastern Icel.; imperat. ró, róðú; part, róinn, see Gramm.p. xxiii: [A. S. rowan; Engl. row; Dan. roe; Swed. ro]:— to row; sigla eðr róa, Grág. ii. 130; róa at, Fms. viii. 315; róa leiðangr, vii. 152; þeir réru yfir vatnið, Eg. 109; menn reyru til Sauðeyjar, 219; róa undan, Fms. i. 45; réri fram undan eyjunni allr herr konunganna, ii. 305; róa út ór höfninni, iv. 97 þeir reyru á brott, vii. 201; rétu þeir út fyrir Norðnes, viii. 135; hann réri til þeirra, 231; hann rær út í Bjarneyjar, Nj. 19; róm vér í mót þeim sem harðast, Orkn. 402; róa skipi, Eg. 80; þeir réru þveran árstrauminn, Fms. vii. 264; sá skal fá skip ok mat ok sæ róa, er taki skýtr, N. G. L. i. 48; róa af fjörðinn, Fms. ix. 502; fornt skip er hömlur sé af rónar, rowed off, worn off, N. G. L. i. 75: róa út, to row out to sea, go fishing, K. Þ. K. 90 (út-róðr): as also absol., ok er hann kom þar vóru allir menn rónir nema Þorvaldr, all the fishing-boats were at sea, Nj. 19; róa á sjá, róa til fiskjar, passim.

2. to fit out a ship with oars; öll vóru þessi skip borðmikil, at þvi sem þau vóru róin til, Fms. viii. 372; Sverrir lét taka byrðinga nokkora, höggva í sundr, auka at kili, ok róa ( fit them out with oars) at endilöngnm borðum, id.

3. metaph., Flosi kveðsk skyldu saman róa svá at keypt yrði, F.told them to pull together, come to an agreement, Nj. 259; róa vík á e-n, to pull one round, in rowing; þess höfðingja er nokkura gæti á Hrafnkel vík róit, Hrafn. 16.

II. to rock oneself backwards and forwards, in a sitting posture; hann sá trollkarl sitja þar á uppi ok láta róa fætr, Landn.(Hb.) 84; sútu inni konur tvær blóðgar ok reyru áfram, … róm vit ok róm vit! rignir blóði, Sturl. ii. 9 (Bs. i. 497); griðkur róa ok raula, Hallgr.; Refr mundi fífl, þvíat hann lagði ekki annat fyrir sik en áfram róa, Krók. ch. 1; hann let róa tinglit, Háv. 7 new Ed.

2. of a fat beast; það rær í spiki, reri það stykki í spiki, Od. viii. 476.

III. recipr., róask at, to pull against one another, of two ships in battle, Fms. viii. 181.

I) prep.

A. with dative.

I. Of motion;

1) towards, against;

Otkell laut at Skamkatli, bowed down to S.;

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

2) close atup to;

Brynjólfr gengr alit at honum, quite up to him;

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

3) to, at;

koma at landi, to come to land;

ganga at dómi, to go into court;

4) along (= eptir);

ganga at stræti, to walk along the street;

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

refr dró hörpu at ísi, on the ice;

5) denoting hostility;

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

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

6) around;

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

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

7) denoting business, engagement;

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

fara at landskuldum, to go collecting rents.

II. Of position, &c.;

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

at kirkju, at church;

at dómi, in court;

at lögbergi, at the hill of laws;

2) denoting participation in;

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

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

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

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

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

4) with proper names of places (farms);

konungr at Danmörku ok Noregi, king of;

biskup at Hólum, bishop of Holar;

at Helgafelli, at Bergþórshváli;

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

at hans (at his house) gisti fjölmenni mikit;

at Marðar, at Mara’s home;

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

at Ránar, at Ran’s (abode).

III. Of time;

1) at, in;

at upphafi, at first, in the beginning;

at skilnaði, at parting, when they parted;

at páskum, at Easter;

at kveldi, at eventide;

at þinglausnum, at the close of the Assembly;

at fjöru, at the ebb;

at flœðum, at the floodtide;

2) adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr’;

at ári komanda, next year;

at vári, er kemr, next spring;

generally with ‘komanda’ understood;

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

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

at sér lifanda, duing his lifetime;

at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all;

at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the hearing of the chief;

at upprennandi sólu, at sunrise;

at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks are past;

at honum önduðum, after his death;

4) denoting uninterrupted succession, after;

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

skildu menn at þessu, thereupon, after this;

at því (thereafter) kómu aðrar meyjar.

IV. fig. and in various uses;

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

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

verða at ormi, to become a snake;

2) for, as;

gefa e-t at gjöf, as a present;

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

3) by;

taka sverð at hjöltum, by the hilt;

draga út björninn at hlustunum, by the ears;

kjósa at afli, álitum, by strength, appearrance;

4) as regards as to;

auðigr at fé, wealthy in goods;

vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face;

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

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

6) as a paraphrase of a genitive;

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

aðili at sök = aðili sakar;

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

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

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

tvítugr at aldri, twenty years of age;

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

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

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

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

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

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

at ráði allra vitrustu manna, by the advice of;

at landslögum, by the law of the land;

at vánum, as was to be expected;

at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave;

10) in adverbial phrases;

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

bíta af allt gras at snøggu, quite bare;

at fullu, fully;

at vísu, surely;

at frjálsu, freely;

at eilífu, for ever and ever;

at röngu, at réttu, wrongly, rightly;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

at Hrungni dauðan, upon the death of Hrungnir.

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

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

2) in an objective sense;

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

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

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

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

hón grét at meir, she wept the more;

þykkir oss at líkara, all the more likely;

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

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

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

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

conj., that;

1) introducing a subjective or objective clause;

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

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

2) relative to svá, denoting proportion, degree;

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

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

4) since, because, as (= því at);

5) connected with þó, því, svá;

þó at (with subj.), though, although;

því at, because, for;

svá at, so that;

6) temp., þá at (= þá er), when;

þegar at (= þegar er), as soon as;

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

áðr at (= á. en), before;

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

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

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

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

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

odda at, Yggs at, battle.

* * *

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. LOC.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. METAPH. and in various cases:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

V. denoting the source of a thing:

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

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

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

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

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

β. following after a negation; eigi at síðr, no less, Nj. 160, Ld. 146; eigi… at meiri maðr, any better, Eg. 425, 489; erat héra at borgnara, any the better off for that, Fms. vii. 116; eigi at minni, no less for that, Edda (pref.) 146; eigi at minna, Ld. 216, Fms. ix. 50; ekki at verri drengr, not a bit worse for that, Ld. 42; er mér ekki son minn at bættari, þótt…, 216; at eigi vissi at nær, any more, Fas. iii. 74.

IX. following many words:

1. verbs, esp. those denoting, a. to ask, enquire, attend, seek, e. g. spyrja at, to speer (ask) for; leita at, to seek for; gæta, geyma at, to pay attention to; huga, hyggja at; hence atspurn, to enquire, aðgæzla, athugi, attention, etc.

β. verbs denoting laughter, play, joy, game, cp. the Engl. to play at …, to laugh at …; hlæja, brosa at e-u, to laugh, smile at it; leika (sér) at e-u, to play at; þykja gaman at, to enjoy; hæða, göra gys at …, to make sport at …

γ. verbs denoting assistance, help; standa, veita, vinna, hjálpa at; hence atstoð, atvinna, atverk:—mode, proceeding; fara at, to proceed, hence atför and atferli:—compliance; láta, fara at e-u, v. above:— fault; e-t er at e-u, there is some fault in it, Fms. x. 418; skorta at e-u, to fall short of, xi. 98:—care, attendance; hjúkra at, hlýja at, v. these words:—gathering, collecting; draga, reiða, flytja, fá at, congerere:—engagement, arrival, etc.; sækja at, to attack; ganga at, vera at, to be about; koma at, ellipt. to arrive: göra at, to repair: lesta at, to impair (v. above); finna at, to criticise (mod.); telja at, id.: bera at, to happen; kveða at e-m, to address one, 625. 15, (kveða at (ellipt.) now means to pronounce, and of a child to utter (read) whole syllables); falla at, of the flood-tide (ellipt.): metaph. of pains or straits surrounding one; þreyngja, herða at, to press hard: of frost and cold, with regard to the seasons; frjósa at, kólna at, to get really cold (SI. 44), as it were from the cold stiffening all things: also of the seasons themselves; hausta, vetra að, when the season really sets in; esp. the cold seasons, ‘sumra at’ cannot be used, yet we may say ‘vára að’ when the spring sets in, and the air gets mild.

δ. in numberless other cases which may partly be seen below.

2. connected ellipt. with adverbs denoting motion from a place; norðan, austan, sunnan, vestan at, those from the north, east…; utan at, innan at, from the outside or inside.

3. with adjectives (but rarely), e. g. kærr, elskr, virkr (affectionate), vandr (zealous), at e-m; v. these words.

WITH ACC.

TEMP.: Lat. post, after, upon, esp. freq. in poetry, but rare in prose writers, who use eptir; nema reisi niðr at nið (= maðr eptir mann), in succession, of erecting a monument, Hm. 71; in prose, at þat. posthac, deinde, Fms. x. 323, cp. Rm., where it occurs several times, 2, 6, 9, 14, 18, 24, 28, 30, 35; sonr á at taka arf at föður sinn, has to take the inheritance after his father, Grág. i. 170 new Ed.; eiga féránsdóm at e-n, Grág. i. 89; at Gamla fallinn, after the death of G., Fms. x. 382; in Edda (Gl.) 113 ought to be restored, grét ok at Oð, gulli Freyja, she grat (wept) tears of gold for her lost husband Od. It is doubtful if it is ever used in a purely loc. sense; at land, Grág. (Sb.)ii. 211, is probably corrupt; at hönd = á hönd, Grág. (Sb.) i. 135; at mót = at móti, v. this word.

☞ In compounds (v. below) at- or að- answers in turn to Lat. ad- or in- or con-; atdráttr e. g. denotes collecting; atkoma is adventus: it may also answer to Lat. ob-, in atburðr = accidence, but might also be compared with Lat. occurrere.

and að, the mark of the infinitive [cp. Goth. du; A. S. and Engl. to; Germ. zu]. Except in the case of a few verbs ‘at’ is always placed immediately before the infinitive, so as to be almost an inseparable part of the verb.

I. it is used either,

1. as, a simple mark of the infinitive, only denoting an action and independent of the subject, e. g. at ganga, at hlaupa, at vita, to go, to run, to know; or,

2. in an objective sense when following such verbs as bjóða segja…, to invite, command …; hann bauð þeim at ganga, at sitja, be bade, ordered them to go, sit, or the like; or as gefa and fá; gefa e-m at drekka, at eta, to give one to drink or to eat, etc. etc.

β. with the additional notion of intention, esp. when following verba cogitandi; hann ætlaði, hafði í hyggju at fara, he had it in his mind to go (where ‘to go’ is the real object to ætlaði and hafði í hyggju).

3. answering to the Gr. ινα, denoting intention, design, in order to; hann gékk í borg at kaupa silfr, in order to buy, Nj. 280; hann sendi riddara sína með þeim at varðveita þær, 623. 45: in order to make the phrase more plain, ‘svá’ and ‘til’ are frequently added, esp. in mod. writers, ‘svá at’ and contr. ‘svát’ (the last however is rare), ‘til at’ and ‘til þess at,’ etc.

II. in the earlier times the infin., as in Greek and Lat., had no such mark; and some verbs remain that cannot be followed by ‘at;’ these verbs are almost the same in Icel. as in Engl.:

α. the auxiliary verbs vil, mun ( μέλλω), skal; as in Engl. to is never used after the auxiliaries shall, will, must; ek vil ganga, I will go; ek mun fara, (as in North. E.) I mun go; ek skal göra þat, I shall do that, etc.

β. the verbs kunna, mega, as in Engl. I can or may do, I dare say; svá hygginn at hann kunni fyrir sökum ráða, Grág. ii. 75; í öllu er prýða má góðan höfðingja, Nj. 90; vera má, it may be; vera kann þat, id.: kunnu, however, takes ‘at’ whenever it means to know, and esp. in common language in phrases such as, það kann að vera, but vera kann þat, v. above.

γ. lata, biðja, as in Engl. to let, to bid; hann lét (bað) þá fara, he let (bade) them go.

δ. þykkja, þykjast, to seem; hann þykir vera, he is thought to be: reflex., hann þykist vera, sibi videtur: impers., mér þykir vera, mibi videtur, in all cases without ‘at.’ So also freq. the verbs hugsa, hyggja, ætla, halda, to think, when denoting merely the act of thinking; but if there be any notion of intention or purpose, they assume the ‘at;’ thus hann ætlaði, hugði, þá vera góða menn, he thought them to be, acc. c. inf.; but ætlaði at fara, meant to go, etc.

ε. the verbs denoting to see, bear; sjá, líta, horfa á … ( videre); heyra, audire, as in Engl. I saw them come, I heard him tell, ek sá þá koma, ek heyrði hann tala.

ζ. sometimes after the verbs eiga and ganga; hann gékk steikja, be went to roast, Vkv. 9; eiga, esp. when a mere periphrasis instead of skal, móður sína á maðr fyrst fram færa (better at færa), Grág. i. 232; á þann kvið einskis meta, 59; but at meta, id. l. 24; ráða, nema, göra …, freq. in poetry, when they are used as simple auxiliary verbs, e. g. nam hann sér Högna hvetja at rúnum, Skv. 3. 43.

η. hljóta and verða, when used in the sense of must (as in Engl. he must go), and when placed after the infin.of another verb; hér muntu vera hljóta, Nj. 129; but hljóta at vera: fara hlýtr þú, Fms. 1. 159; but þú hlýtr at fara: verða vita, ii. 146; but verða at vita: hann man verða sækja, þó verðr (= skal) maðr eptir mann lifa, Fms. viii. 19, Fas. ii. 552, are exceptional cases.

θ. in poetry, verbs with the verbal neg. suffix ‘-at,’ freq. for the case of euphony, take no mark of the infinitive, where it would be indispensable with the simple verb, vide Lex. Poët. Exceptional cases; hvárt sem hann vill ‘at’ verja þá sök, eða, whatever he chooses, either, Grág. i. 64; fyrr viljum vér enga kórónu at bera, en nokkut ófrelsi á oss at taka, we would rather bear no crown than …, Fms. x. 12; the context is peculiar, and the ‘at’ purposely added. It may be left out ellipt.; e. g. þá er guð gefr oss finnast (= at finnast), Dipl. ii. 14; gef honum drekka (= at drekka), Pr. 470; but mostly in unclassical writers, in deeds, or the like, written nastily and in an abrupt style.

and að, conj. [Goth. þatei = οτι; A. S. þät; Engl. that; Germ, dass; the Ormul. and Scot. at, see the quotations sub voce in Jamieson; in all South-Teutonic idioms with an initial dental: the Scandinavian idioms form an exception, having all dropped this consonant; Swed. åt, Dan. at]. In Icel. the Bible translation (of the 16th century) was chiefly based upon that of Luther; the hymns and the great bulk of theol. translations of that time were also derived from Germany; therefore the germanised form það frequently appears in the Bible, and was often employed by theol. authors in sermons since the time of the Reformation. Jón Vidalin, the greatest modern Icel. preacher, who died in 1720, in spite of his thoroughly classical style, abounds in the use of this form; but it never took root in the language, and has never passed into the spoken dialect. After a relative or demonstr. pronoun, it freq. in mod. writers assumes the form eð, hver eð, hverir eð, hvað eð, þar eð. Before the prep. þú (tu), þ changes into t, and is spelt in a single word attú, which is freq. in some MS.;—now, however, pronounced aððú, aððeir, aððið …, = að þú…, with the soft Engl. th sound. It gener. answers to Lat. ut, or to the relat. pron. qui.

I. that, relative to svá, to denote proportion, degree, so…, that, Lat. tam, tantus, tot…, ut; svá mikill lagamaðr, at…, so great a lawyer, that…, Nj. 1; hárið svá mikit, at þat…, 2; svá kom um síðir því máli, at Sigvaldi, it came so far, that…, Fms. xi. 95, Edda 33. Rarely and unclass., ellipt. without svá; Bæringr var til seinn eptir honum, at hann … (= svá at), Bær. 15; hlífði honum, at hann sakaði ekki, Fas. iii. 441.

II. it is used,

1. with indic, in a narrative sense, answering partly to Gr. οτι, Lat. quod, ut, in such phrases as, it came to pass, happened that …; þat var einhverju sinni, at Höskuldr hafði vinaboð, Nj. 2; þat var á palmdrottinsdag, at Ólafr konungr gékk út um stræti, Fms. ii. 244.

2. with subj. answering to Lat. acc. with infin., to mark the relation of an object to the chief verb, e. g. vilda ek at þú réðist, I wished that you would, Nj. 57.

β. or in an oblique sentence, answering to ita ut…; ef svá kann verða at þeir láti…, if it may be so that they might…, Fms. xi. 94.

γ. with a subj. denoting design, answering to ϊνα or Lat. ut with subj., in order that; at öll veraldar bygðin viti, ut sciat totus orbis, Stj.; þeir skáru fyrir þá melinn, at þeir dæi eigi af sulti, ut ne fame perirent, Nj. 265; fyrsti hlutr bókarinnar er Kristindómsbálkr, at menn skili, in order that men may understand, Gþl. p. viii.

III. used in connection with conjunctions,

1. esp. þó, því, svá; þó at freq. contr. þótt; svát is rare and obsolete.

α. þóat, þótt (North. E. ‘thof’), followed by a subjunctive, though, although, Lat. etsi, quamquam (very freq.); þóat nokkurum mönnum sýnist þetta með freku sett… þá viljum vér, Fms. vi. 21: phrases as, gef þú mér þó at úverðugri, etsi indignae (dat.), Stj. MS. col. 315, are unclass., and influenced by the Latin: sometimes ellipt. without ‘þó,’ eigi mundi hón þá meir hvata göngu sinni, at (= þóat) hon hraeddist bana sinn, Edda 7, Nj. 64: ‘þó’ and ‘at’ separated, svarar hann þó rétt, at hann svari svá, Grág. i. 23; þó er rétt at nýta, at hann sé fyrr skorinn, answering to Engl. yet—though, Lat. attamen —etsi, K. Þ. K.

β. því at, because, Lat. nam, quia, with indic.; því at allir vóru gerfiligir synir hans, Ld. 68; því at af íþróttum verðr maðr fróðr, Sks. 16: separated, því þegi ek, at ek undrumst, Fms. iii. 201; því er þessa getið, at þat þótti, it i s mentioned because …, Ld. 68.

γ. svá at, so that, Lat. ut, ita ut; grátrinn kom upp, svá at eingi mátti öðrum segja, Edda 37: separated, so … that, svá úsvúst at …, so bad weather, that, Bs. i. 339, etc.

2. it is freq. used superfluously, esp. after relatives; hver at = hverr, quis; því at = því, igitur; hverr at þekkr ok þægiligr mun verða, Fms. v. 159; hvern stvrk at hann mundi fá, 44; ek undrumst hvé mikil ógnarraust at liggr í þér, iii. 201; því at ek mátti eigi þar vera elligar, því at þar var kristni vel haldin, Fas. i. 340.

IV. as a relat. conj.:

1. temp, when, Lat. quum; jafnan er ( est) mér þá verra er ( quum) ek fer á braut þaðan, en þá at ( quum) ek kem, Grett. 150 A; þar til at vér vitum, till we know, Fms. v. 52; þá at ek lýsta (= þá er), when, Nj. 233.

2. since, because; ek færi yðr (hann), at þér eruð í einum hrepp allir, because of your being all of the same Rape, Grág. i. 260; eigi er kynlegt at ( though) Skarphéðinn sé hraustr, at þat er mælt at…, because (since) it is a saying that…, Nj. 64.

V. in mod. writers it is also freq. superfluously joined to the conjunctions, ef að = ef, si, (Lv. 45 is from a paper MS.), meðan að = meðan, dum; nema að, nisi; fyrst að = fyrst, quoniam; eptir að, síðan að, postquam; hvárt að = hvárt, Lat. an. In the law we find passages such as, þá er um er dæmt eina sök, at þá eigu þeir aptr at ganga í dóminn, Grág. i. 79; ef þing ber á hina helgu viku, at þat á eigi fyrir þeim málum at standa, 106; þat er ok, at þeir skulu reifa mál manna, 64; at þeir skulu með váttorð þá sök sækja, 65: in all these cases ‘at’ is either superfluous or, which is more likely, of an ellipt. nature, ‘the law decrees’ or ‘it is decreed’ being understood. The passages Sks. 551, 552, 568, 718 B, at lokit (= at ek hefi lokit), at hugleitt (= at ek hefi h.), at sent (= at ek hefi sent) are quite exceptional.

and að, an indecl. relat. pronoun [Ulf. þatei = ος, ος αν, οστις, οσπερ, οιος, etc.; Engl. that, Ormul. at], with the initial letter dropped, as in the conj. at, (cp. also the Old Engl. at, which is both a conj. and a pronoun, e. g. Barbour vi. 24 in Jamieson: ‘I drede that his gret wassalage, | And his travail may bring till end, | That at men quhilc full litil wend.’ | ‘His mestyr speryt quhat tithings a t he saw.’—Wyntoun v. 3. 89.) In Icel. ‘er’ (the relat. pronoun) and ‘at’ are used indifferently, so that where one MS. reads ‘er,’ another reads ‘at,’ and vice versâ; this may easily be seen by looking at the MSS.; yet as a rule ‘er’ is much more freq. used. In mod. writers ‘at’ is freq. turned into ‘eð,’ esp. as a superfluous particle after the relative pron. hverr (hver eð, hvað eð, hverir eð, etc.), or the demonstr. sá (sá eð, þeir eð, hinir eð, etc.):—who, which, that, enn bezta grip at ( which) hafði til Íslands komið, Ld. 202; en engi mun sá at ( cui) minnisamara mun vera, 242; sem blótnaut at ( quae) stærst verða, Fms. iii. 214; þau tiðendi, at mér þætti verri, Nj. 64, etc. etc.

n. collision (poët.); odda at, crossing of spears, crash of spears, Höfuðl. 8.

β. a fight or bait of wild animals, esp. of horses, v. hesta-at and etja.

the negative verbal suffix, v. -a.

* * *

(skýt; skaut, skutum; skotinn), v.

1) to shoot with a weapon, with dat. (skjóta öru, spjóti, kólfi);

vera skotinn spjóti í gegnum, to be shot through with a spear;

skjóta af boga, to shoot with a bow;

with the object shot at in acc. (skjóta dýr, mann, sel, fugl);

skjóta at e-m, til e-s, to shoot at one;

skjóta til hœfis, to shoot at a mark;

2) to shoot push or shove quickly;

skjóta brú af, to draw the bridge off or away;

skjóta skildi fyrir sik, to put a shield before one;

skjóta loku fyrir, to shoot the bolt, lock the door;

skjóta frá lokum, to unlock;

skjóta e-u fyrir borð, to ‘shoot’ overboard;

skjóta skipum á vatn, to launch ships;

skjóta báti, to launch a boat from the shore;

skjóta útan báti, to shove out a boat;

skjóta hesti uridir e-n, to put a horse under one, to mount him;

var mér hér skotit á land, I was put ashore here;

skjóta e-u niðr, to thrust it down (hann skaut svá fast niðr skildinum, at);

skjóta e-m brott or undan, to let one escape;

skjóta undan peningum, to abstract, embezzle money;

skjóta e-u í hug e-m to suggest to one (þá skaut guð því ráði í hug þeim);

skjóta upp hvítum skildi, to hoist a white shield;

skjóta upp vita, skjóta eldi í vita, to light up a beacon;

skjóta land-tjaldi, to pitch a tent;

skjóta á fylking, to draw up in battle array;

skjóta á husþingi, to call a meeting together;

skjóta á eyrendi, to make a speech;

skjóta fótum undir sik, to take to one’s heels, to run;

barnit skaut öndu upp, the child began to breathe;

skjóta e-u of öxl, to throw off one’s shoulder;

3) to transfer a case to another;

vér tólf dómendr, er málum þessum er t il skotit, to whom these suits are handed over;

skýt ek því til gúðs ok góðra manna, at, I call God and all good men to witness, that;

4) to pay (hann skaut einn fyrir sveitunga sína alla);

5) impers., e-u skýtr upp, it shoots up, emerges, comes forth;

upp skýtr jörðunni þá ór sænum, then the earth rises from the sea;

skaut upp jörðu dag frá degi, the earth appeared day by day (as the snow melted);

þó at þér skyti því í hug, though it shot into thy mind, occurred to thee;

þeim skaut skelk í bringu, they were panic-stricken;

sem kólfi skyti, swift as a dart;

6) refl., skjótast.

* * *

skýt, pret. skaut, skauzt (skauztu rhyming with laust, Fms. vi. in a verse), skaut, pl. skutu; subj. skyti; imperat. skjót, skjóttú; part. skotinn: [A. S. sceôtan, scyttan; Engl. shoot and shut; Dan. skyde; Germ. schiessen.]

A. To shoot with a weapon, the weapon being in dat.; skjóta öru (örum), spjóti, fleini, skutli, kesju, kólfi …, Fms. i. 44, x. 308, 362, Eg. 380; þeir þykkjask eigi hafa skotið betra skot, Fms. vii. 211; vera skotinn spjóti í gögnum, shot through with a spear, Nj. 274: the object shot at in acc., skjóta dýr, fugla, sela, Edda 16, Nj. 95, Ld. 56, Fms. x. 356, 362, and passim: also, s. til e-s, to shoot at; s. til fugls, Orkn. 346; s. til hæfis, to shoot at a mark, Fms. ii. 268; s. kesju at e-m, Eg. 380; allir skutu at Baldri, Edda 37.

II. to shoot, to push or shove quickly; skjóta loku fyrir (or frá) hurðu (dyrum), to shoot the bolt, lock the door; s. frá lokum, to unlock, Lv. 60; hann lagðisk niðr ok skaut fyrir loku, Eg. 601; skaut hann þá frá lokum, Fms. vi. 189; þeir lögðu hann í kistu ok skutu síðan fyrir borð, and shot the chest overboard, Eg. 127; skaut Egill yfir brúnni, E. shot the bridge over the ditch, 531; s. brú af, to draw the bridge off or away, Fms. xi. 370; s. skipum á vatn, to launch the ships into water, ix. 501; s. báti, to launch a boat from the shore, Nj. 133; s. útan báti, to shove out a boat, 272; brauð þat er hón hafði í ofninn skotið, Hom. 114; menn er í ofn vóru skotnir, 117; var þeim skotið í eld brennanda, Eg. 232; then in all kinds of relations, s. hesti uudir e-n, to put a horse under one, mount him, Eg. 397, 602, Fms. vii. 21; var mér hér skotið á land, I was put ashore here, Nj. 45; s. e-m upp á land, id., Fms. i. 131; s. barni heim af fóstri, to send back a bairn from the fóstr, Grág. i. 276; s. e-m brott, to let one escape, Fms. ix. 420; s. e-m undan, id., vi. 116, vii. 250; s. niðr úmaga, to leave a pauper behind, place him there, Grág. i. 296, 297; s. fé á brott (undan), to abstract, embezzle money, 334; þetta líkar Þórdísi ílla ok skýtr undan peningunum, Korm. 150; skjóttú diametro sólarinnar í tvá staði, divide it into two, Rb. 462; þá skaut Guð því ráði í hug þeim, put this rede into their mind, 655. 3; s. upp hvítum skildi, to hoist a white shield, Fms. x. 347; s. upp vita, to light up the beacon, Hkr. i. 148; þá varð engum vita upp skotið, Orkn. 266; vita-karlinn skaut eldi í vitann, lighted up the beacon, Fms. viii. 188; s. land-tjaldi, to pitch a tent, Nj. 157; var skotið um hann skjaldborg, 274; s. á skjaldborg, to draw up a s., Fms. vii. 70; s. á fylking, to draw up in battle array, Ó. H. 209; s. á húsþingi, to call a meeting together, Eg. 357; s. á eyrendi, to make a speech, Fms. i. 215; skýtr or skýtsk mjök í tvau horn um e-t, see horn B.I. 2; s. fótum undir sik, to take to one’s heels, to run, Fms. viii. 358; hann skaut sér út hjá þeim, shot out, escaped, vi. 189; harm hljóp upp á altarit, ok skaut á knjám sínum, ix. 462; barnit skaut öndu upp, the bairn began to breathe, Hkr. ii. 199; s. skildi fyrir sik, to put a shield before one, Eg. 378, Nj. 156; s. skjóli yfir e-n, to protect (see skjól); Máriusúðin skaut lykkjunum, she (the ship) shivered, Fms. viii. 199; þá segisk, at hann skyti í fyrstu þessu orði, eldisk árgalinn nú, he is said to have let this word slip, to have said, vi. 251; s. e-u of öxl, to throw it off one’s shoulder, Gg. 6; s. e-u á frest, to put off, delay: skjóta augum, to look askance, Eg. (in a verse), from which the mod. gjóta augum is a corruption.

III. metaph. to shift or transfer a case to another, appeal; skutu þau til ráða Ólafs, Ld. 74; s. þrætu til ór skurðar e-s, Fms. vii. 203; því skýt ek til Guðs, i. 3; s. sínu máli á Guðs vald, x. 103; s. þessu máli til Frosta-þings …, þeir skutu þangat sínu máli, i. 32; vér tólf dómendr, er málum þessum er til skotið, Nj. 188; s. máli á fylkis-þing, N. G. L. i. 21; skýt ek því til Guðs ok góðra manna, Nj. 176; menn þá er hann skaut ráðum undir, whom he took as his counsel, Fms. vii. 308.

IV. [A. S. scot; Engl. shot, scot, see skot, I and II]:—to pay; rétt er at fimm búar virði gripinn, ok skal hann þá skjóta í móti slíku, er þeir virða gripinn dýrra enn hans skuld var fyrir öndverðu, Grág. i. 412; skjóta fé saman, to club money together, make a collection, Mar.; þeir skutu saman fjár-hlutum sínum hverr eptir efnum, Hom, 123 (samskot); hann skaut einn fyrir sveitunga sína alla ( he paid their scot) þá er þeir sátu í skytningum, Ld. 312 (see skytningr).

V. impers., e-u skýtr upp, it shoots up, emerges, comes forth; upp skýtr jörðunni þá ór sænum, Edda 44; skaut upp jörðu dag frá degi, the earth appeared day by day (as the snow melted), Fms. ii. 228; þó at þér skyti því í hug, though it shot into thy mind, occurred to thee, Band. 37 new Ed.; þeim skaut skelk í bringu, they were panic-stricken, Ld. 78, Eg. 49, Fb. i. 418 (see skelkr); mjök skýtr mornar vakri, she is much tossed, Hallfred; sveita skaut á skjaldrim, the shield-rim was blood-shot, blood-stained, Orkn. (in a verse); sem kólfi skyti, swift as a dart, Fms. ii. 183.

B. Reflex. to shoot, start, move, slip away; Skíði frá ek at skauzt á fætr, S. started to his feet, Skíða R. 52; Björn skauzk aptr síðan at baki Kára, B. shot or slipped behind Kári’s back, Nj. 262; at menn hans skytisk eigi frá honum, lest they should slip away, abscond, Fms. vii. 49; vildi ljósta Gretti, en hann skautzk undan, started away from the blow, Grett. 91 A; þeir fálmauðu af hræðslu, ok skutusk hingað ok þingat undan geislum hans, Niðr. 5; þó at fé hans skjótisk fyrir garðsenda, to slip through by the end of the fence, Grág. ii. 263; nú skýzk maðr undan tali (evades,) N. G. L. i. 97; kemr í hug, at hann mun skotisk hafa undan, ok vilja eigi fara, Ísl. ii. 334: skjótask yfir (impers.), to skip, slip over; mér hefir skotisk yfir að telja hann, þeim hafði yfir skotisk um þetta, they had made a false calculation, Ld. 100; þá skjótumk ek mjök yfir, then I am much mistaken, Skálda (Thorodd); skýzt þeim mörgum vísdómrinn sem betri ván er at, Grett. 25 new Ed.: skjótask e-m, to fail; margir skutusk honum, many forsook him, Fms. i. 22; skutusk þá margir við Þórð í trúnaðinum, many proved false to Thord, Sturl. iii. 75 C; vildi dýrið ljósta þeim hramminum seni heill var, ok skauzk á stúfinn, and stumbled, reeled on the stump of the other leg, Grett. 101 A; hann var nokkut við aldr, ok skauzk á fótum ( and tottered on his legs), ok þó hinn karlmannligsti, Háv. 45: also in the law phrase, hafa e-u fyrir skotið, to have a case forfeited, N. G. L. i. 52, 53; ef hann stefnir eigi … þá er þeim váttum fyrir skotið, then the witnesses are valueless, 54 (cp. Dan. for-skyde).

2. reflex., in the mod. skjótask, to go on a short errand, pay a short visit; viltu ekki skjótast með bréfið að tarna? eg ætla að skjútast inn sem snöggvast, bíddu meðan eg skýzt inn, and the like.

II. recipr., skjótask á, to exchange shots, Fms. i. 93, vii. 54.

III. part., of corn, to shoot; rúgakr al-skotinn, Þiðr. 180.

prep. with dat. and acc.

I. with dat.

1) against;

hann sló honum niðr v. steininum, he dashed his head against the stone;

hús liggja v. velli, the houses lie in ruins;

kasta sér niðr v. velli, to cast oneself down on the ground;

er inn efri kjöptr v. himni, en inn neðri við jörðu, the upper jaw touches the heaven, the lower the earth;

hann hjó hann upp v. garðinum, he smote him close by the fence;

skera af sér strenginn við øxinni, to cut the string, asunder against the axe;

2) against, towards, of direction;

horfa v. e-m, to look towards, face;

3) along with (hann hafði marga smiðu v. sér);

4) with, of an instrument (jarl hljóp upp v. sverði);

5) among;

gengu síðan í sæti sin v. öðrum mönnum, among other men;

6) denoting barter, exchange, against, for (geta gull v. grjóti);

7) denoting remedy, against (hjálpa e-m v. e-u);

8) against, denoting contest, warding off (hafa liðsafla v. e-m);

hafa (viz. afl) v. e-m, to be one’s match;

9) ellipt. usages;

stinga v. fótum, to stop;

hrífa v., to catch hold;

búast v., to make oneself ready;

risa v., to withstand;

hvatz hann fiðr v., whatsoever he may object;

II. with acc.

1) by, at, close to (sníða skeggit við hökuna);

skjöldr við skjöld, shield to shield;

v. Sandhólaferju, at Sandholferry;

v. veginn, by the wayside;

v. ána, by the river;

draga segl v. hún, to hoist the sail to the top;

festa e-n v. meið, tré, to fasten to a pole, tree;

binda v. fót e-s, to bind up a broken leg;

dró upp flóka v. austr, in the east;

2) of time, towards, at;

v. solar-setr, at sunset;

v. sól, with the sun, at sunrise;

v. aptan, towards evening;

vera v. aldr, to be stricken in years;

3) at, by (vera heima v. bú sitt);

Hrútr var v. skip um sumarit, H. stayed by his ship during the summer;

sitja v. stýri, to sit at the rudder;

styðja sik v. e-t, to lean on;

ganga v. staf, to walk with a staff;

vera v. e-t, to be present at;

sitja v. drykk, to sit at drink;

4) denoting direction;

í sýn v. bœinn, within sight of the town;

5) denoting company, with (bauð þeim heim vill alla sína menn);

v. annan, þriðja, fjórða mann, being two, three, four altogether;

6) towards (a person or thing), respecting, regarding (mildr, blíðr, góðr v. e-n);

til gæzlu v. e-n: for keeping, watching one;

hræddr v. e-n, afraid of one;

7) of cause, by, at;

falla v. högg, to fall by a stroke;

sigla v. stjörnuljós, to sail by starlight;

verða reiðr v. e-t, to become wroth at;

8) as compared with, set off against (þrjóta mun okkr illsku v. þik);

eigi minna virðr en v. konunginn, of equal worth with the king;

9) according to, after (gera klæði v. vöxt e-s);

v. sik, in proportion;

hann var skapaðr allr v. sik, well shaped, symmetrical;

vita, hvat v. sik væri, to know what was the matter;

10) denoting means, with, by (v. þessar fortölur);

tendra eld v. e-t, to make fire by;

11) ellipt. usages;

bregða við, to start;

hann þagði v., he remained silent;

fá v. þrjú skip, to add three ships;

þurfa v., to need;

bjarga, hjálpa e-u v., to help, put right;

koma e-u við, to bring about.

(gen. -jar, pl. -jar), f. withy, withe; collar (viðjar af gulli).

pers. pron. dual, we two.

* * *

f., gen. sing. viðjar, pl. viðjar, [Dan. vidje; Engl. withy; akin is víðir, q. v.]:— a withy or with; síðan var viðin ( a withy halter) dregin á hals honum, Fms. vii. 13 (see v. l.); þarmarnir urðu at viðu (sic) sterkri, Fas. iii. 34; ef röng eða viðjar slitna, Jb. 398; var enginn saumr í, en viðjar fyrir kné, of a boat, Fms. vii. 216; höggva tré til viðja, K. Þ. K. 88; viðjar af gulli ok silfri, on a dog, Hkr. i. 136, Fas. iii. 45; tún-svín þat er hringr, knappr eða við sé í rana, Grág. ii. 232; stjórn-við, the ‘rudder-withy,’ the strap in which the paddle-like rudder moved, like the ζευκτηρίαι in Act. Apost. xxvii. 40.

pron. pers. dual (= vit), we two (see ek C); this spelling, which is also that of the oldest vellums, answers to the mod. pronunciation, passim: in mod. usage it has quite taken the place of the old plur. vér.

prep., also used ellipt. without its case, or simply as an adverb; við is a curtailed form of viðr, which latter form remains in a few compds, even in mod. usage, thus, viðr-eign, viðr-kenna, viðr-nefni, viðr-lífi, viðr-væri; when found singly, við is the common form in Icel.; but as in MSS. it is commonly abbreviated, v̾, the two forms are hardly distinguishable; við, however, is received as the usual form, viðr being more freq. in Norse vellums, and in some later Icel. vellums imitating the Norse spelling: [Goth. wiþra = πρός; A. S. wider; cp. Scot. wither-shins; O. H. G. widar; Germ. wieder; but Engl. with; Dan. ved; Swed. wäd]:—against, towards, etc.

WITH DAT.

A. Against, denoting a leaning or resting on, striking against, or the like; hann hjó hann upp við garðinum, smote him standing against the wall, Nj. 120; stinga höndum við berginu, Symb. 59; ganga við brekkunni, up-hill, against the hill, cp. Lat. adversus montem, Valla L. 212; skjóta við honum skildinum, Fms. i. 44; ljósta skildi við kesjunni, Eg. 378; hann spyrndi við svá fast … spyrna við grunni, Edda 36; kasta sér niðr við vellinum, Nj. 58; leggja e-n við velli, Boll. 344; slá honum niðr við steininum, dashed his head against the stone, Finnb. 292; hann drap hann við borðinu, Korm. 236; hjó af honum höfuð við stokkinum, Fas. ii. 285; ok lagði (þá) við stokki, Am. 73; hús liggja við velli, lie down in ruins, Fms. iii. 144; er hinn efri kjöptr við himni enn hinn neðri við jörðu, the upper jaw touching the heaven, the lower the earth, Edda 41; skera af sér strenginn við öxinni, rubbing it against the axe, Nj. 136; vóru segl hans at sjá við hafi, the sails were seen out at sea, far in the offing, Fas. ii. 403.

II. against, towards, of direction; gapa við tunglinu, Fas. iii. 622; horfa við e-m, to look towards, face, Eg. 293; horfa baki við e-m, Hkr. iii. 384; líta við e-m, Nj. 132, Fms. i. 125, vii. 314; horfa vid landi, A.A. 24; snúa baki við e-m, Fas. i. 296; snúask við e-m, Hkr. ii. 120.

III. along with, with, denoting company; hann hafði við sér harpara einn, Str. 57; hann hafði marga smiðu við sér, Fms. ix. 377; fór Margaðr ok Guthormr við honum, Hkr. iii. 113; at Ástríðr mundi vera við feðr sínum, i. 188; er hér ok Sigurðr við jarli, Fms. ix. 327; hann var þar upp fæddr við henni, x. 421; bjóðum vér þér við Hákoni þangat, ix. 252; ferr heim við sínum mönnum, Rd. 312; fór hann við liði sínu, Hkr. iii. 44; við hundrað skipum, Fas. i. 461; gengr síðan í sæti sín við oðrum mönnum, Fms. x. 17; bað biskup ríða við sér (= með sér), 6.

2. with, of an instrument; jarl hljóp upp við sverði, Fms. ix. 340; sjau menn við vápnum, viii. 14; gengu tveir menn við merkjum, x. 15: the phrase, eiga, ala, geta barn við kouu, Grág., Fms. i. 113, iii. 110, Ld. 102, Eg. 31; merrin fékk við þeim hesti, Landn. 195.

3. spec. usages; við góðum vinskap, Boll. 362; halda vináttu við föstum trúnaði, Fms. ix. 375; at þær sagnir muni vera við sannindum, true, viii. 6; at berjask við honum eðr við honum lífit láta, ix. 332; fara við herskildi … eyða land við eldi, x. 134; ausa e-t við moldu, Hkr. i. 220; skipuðu mörgum hlutum við (with, among) sínum mönnum, Fms. x. 91; gengu síðan í sæti sín við öðrum mönnum, among other men, 17; skreiðask fram við (= með) landinu, viii. 437.

4. = ok, with, together with; Þórr við Grimni = Th. and G., Hallfred; höfuð við hjarta, head and heart, Kormak.

B. METAPH. USAGES:

I. denoting barter, exchange, against, for (like Gr. ἀντί); gefa gull við grjóti, Fas. iii. 45; selja við verði, Fms. i. 80; seldu mik við hleifi, Hm.; við litlu verði, Eg. 100; við fémútu, Nj. 215; meta e-t við silfri, Fms. x. 5; gefa margra manna líf við yðvarri þrályndi, iv. 194.

2. denoting remedy, against; beiti við bit-sóttum en við bölvi rúnar, Hm. 140; hjálpa e-m við e-u, to help against, passim.

II. against, denoting contest, warding off, withstanding; hafa afla við e-m, Lv. 43; hafa liðs-afla, liðs-kost við e-m, Ld. 372, Hkr. i. 272: ellipt., hafa (viz. afi) við e-m, to be one’s match, Lv. 109; þótti sem engi mundi hafa við þeim í vígi, Nj. 89; eg hefi ekki við þér, I cannot lift with (i. e. am no match for) thee; ábyrgjask e-t við e-u, Grág. ii. 216, 364; forða e-m við háska, Edda i. 116; halda þá við ágangi Hákonar, Fms. i. 224; varðveita e-n við e-u, Grág.; ekki hélzk við þeim, Eg. 125; rísa við e-m, Sturl. ii. 119; vera búinn, van-búinn við e-m, Ld. 324; sat hann þar við áhlaupum Dana, Fms. i. 28; vinna við sköpum, Fas. i. 199; sporna við e-u, göra við e-u, see göra, sporna; ef þat nemr við förinni, Ld. 70 (see nema A.I. 7, 8); mæla við e-u, Hkr. ii. 198; tölðu allir við förinni, Greg. 28; setja hug sinn við e-u, Fms. x. 232; kveða nei við e-u, Sturl. i. 27; drepa hendi við e-u, Hkr. ii. 164; reiðask við e-u, Nj. 182; e-m ríss hugr við e-u, Fas. i. 30; mér býðr við e-u, to loathe; sjá við e-u, to shun; varna við e-u, to beware of; vera hætt við e-u, in danger of, Ísl. ii. 262; ú-hætt við e-u, safe, Landn. 319.

III. with verbs;liggja við e-u, to lie on the verge of; honum lá við falli, Fas. iii. 261; búið við skipbroti, Ísl. ii. 245; honum var við andhlaupi, Eg. 553; sjá, horfa, líta … við e-u, to look towards; taka við e-u, to receive; búask við e-u, to prepare for, expect, Ld. 106; verða vel, ílla, við e-u, to behave well, ill, on some occasion; komask við veðri, see veðr.

IV. ellipt. usages; þeir snerusk þá við, turned round, facing, Nj. 245; hón drap við hendi, Lv. 38; hann laust við atgeirinum, Nj. 84.; hann stakk við forkinum, Eg. 220; hann stakk við fótum, stopped, Finnb. 300; hrífa við, to catch hold, Bs. i. 197, 423, Gísl. 125; búask við, to make oneself ready; göra við, to resist; rísa við, to withstand, Fs.; at ek bjóða við tvenn verð, Ld. 146; hvatz hinn fiðr við, whatsoever he may object, Nj. 99; taka við, to begin where another stops; þú skalt gefa mér við ( in return) verjuna, Fbr.

WITH ACC.

A. By, at, close to:

I. denoting proximity; skjöldr við skjöld, shield to shield, in a row, Nj. 125; skip við skip, Ó. H. (in a verse); samnask hlutr við hlut, Rb. 108; hálsinn við herðarnar, Ld. 40; sníða skeggið við hökuna, Eg. 564; við bryggju-sporðinn, Fms. i. 14; grafa barn við kirkju-garð út, K. Þ. K.; uppi við fjallit, Eg. 137; við Sandhóla-ferju, Nj. 29; við vaðit, 83; við veginn, by the way-side, Fb. ii. 330; hér við ána, by the river, Ld. 46; búa við Þjórsá, Nj. 93; liggja við land, Fms. i. 14; við Ísland, Grág.; binda stein við hálsinn, Ld. 154; draga segl við hún, hoist sail to the top, Hkr. ii. 6; reka spora við eyra e-m, Nj. 82; festa e-n við meið, tré, to fasten to a pole, a tree, Glúm. 391; nísta við gólfit, to pin it to the floor (see nista); binda við fót e-s, to bind up a broken leg, Bárð. 167; dró upp flóka við austr, in the east, Vígl. 22.

2. temporal, towards, at; við vetr sjálfan, Fms. ii. 97; Krók. 51 C; við sólar-setr, Fas. i. 514; við sól, with the sun, at sunrise. Eg. 717; við aptan, towards evening, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 143; við þat sjálft, at that moment, Fms. xi. 432; bregða í kross við hvert orð, at every word, K. Þ. K.; vera við aldr, to be stricken in years, Eb. 18, Ísl. ii. 192, Fms. ii. 81; ef barn er við dauða, on the point to die, N. G. L. i. 345; við sjálft, on the verge of (see sjálfr); við váða sjálfan, búið við geig, on the verge of, Eg. 158; Grettir var við svefn, just asleep, Grett. 127.

3. phrases, við svá búit, after all done, often with the notion of ‘in vain, nothing having been done’ (búa B. II. δ); fóru við þat heim, Fms. i. 54, ix. 469, Nj. 127; skildu við þetta, 260, Ísl. ii. 217.

II. at, to; Hrútr er við skip, Nj. 4; Hrútr var við búð, 79; vera heima við bú sitt, 215; hanga upp við siglu-rá, Fas. iii. 659; bundinn við staf, Eg. 232; fastr við altara, fastened to the altar, Vm. 110; styðja sik vid e-t, to lean on, Fms. ix. 512; sitja upp við hægindit, leaning on it, Ld. 16; sitja upp við vegginn, Nj. 153; ganga við staf, 219; ganga við tréfót, Eb. 66; styðjask við höndina, Fas. i. 228; rísa upp við olboga, Þórð. 15; sitja við stýri, at the rudder, Eg. 385; hafa barn við brjóst, to have a bairn at breast, N. G. L. i. 340; leggja, bæta, auka, við e-t, to add to; blanda við e-t, to mix with; vera við e-t, to be present at, Ld. 92, Eg. 540; sitja við drykk, mat, to sit at drink, meat, Eg. 303, 420.

III. denoting association, together with; vera samþingi, samfjórðungs við e-n, Grág. ii. 237; vera saman við e-n, vera samvista við e-n, eiga samneyti við, vera sammæðr við e-n, passim; vera utan-fjórðungs við víg, Grág. ii. 89; vera við e-t riðinn; þeir vildu eigi vera hér við heiðna menn, Íb. 4; búa við e-n, Gísl. 17.

2. direction; í sýn við bæinn, Fas. ii. 507; í örskots-helgi við garðinn, Grág.; standa í höggfæri við e-n, Nj. 97; við þat lík at lifa, Hm.

IV. denoting company, with; bauð þeim heim við alla sína menn, Vígl. 27; riðu við sextigi manna, Nj. 10, 213, Ld. 164; gékk á land við einn svein, Fms. ix. 502; sækja land við útlendan her, Hkr. i. 198; við fá, marga … menn, Fas. i. 35; the phrase, við annan, þriðja fjórða … mann (see annarr I. 1); þú ert hér kominn við svá mikit fé, Ld. 112; sækja mál við níu búa, Grág.; við váttorð, Kb. i. 103; leyfa e-t við vitni, Ld. 104; bjóða e-t við váttorð, in the presence of, by witnesses, Nj. 243.

B. METAPH. USAGES:

I. towards a person or thing, respecting, regarding; hryðja við aðilja, Grág. (Kb.) i. 127; missa fjár síns við þjóf, Grág.; skilja við e-n, to part with (see skilja); til metnaðar við sik, Edda i. 20; til huggunar við sik, Ld. 228; til þjónustu við e-n, Eg. 28; til gæzlu við e-n, for keeping, watching one, Ld. 152; ganga, koma, fara til fundar, til móts … við e-n, 62, 90, Nj. 4, Eg. 101; mildr, blíðr, léttr, kátr, ástúðigr, góðr, harðr, grimmr, reiðr, harðráðr, stríðr, … við menn, mild … towards, Nj. 2, 47, 48; víkjast undan við e-n, Ld. 42; fyrir kapps sakir við e-n, til liðveizlu, hjálpar … við e-n, Eg. 44, Nj. 75; sýna vinskap, halda vinskap við e-n, Ld. 150; leggja ást við e-n, 34; líka vel, ílla við e-n, Nj. 53; eiga eyrindi við e-n, Eg. 260; eiga orð við e-n, 255; hafa lög við e-n, Nj. 106; tala, mæla, ræða, segja, spjalla við e-n, to talk, speak … with a person, passim; skipta, eiga, … við e-n, to deal… with; berjask, deila við e-n, to fight with, against; göra e-t við e-n, so to act with, Greg. 43; reyna e-t við e-n, to contend with one, Nj. 46, 94, Edda i. 106; hafa misgört við e-n, Fms. viii. 103; láta vaxa óþokka við e-n, Nj. 107; tilför við Gunuar, 101; mála-tilbúnaðr við e-n, 100; sekr við e-n, útlagr við goða, Grág.

2. hræddr við e-n, afraid of one; verða varr við e-t, to perceive; vanr við e-t, used to a thing; hann var svá vanr við vini sína, Fms. viii. 220; fella sik við e-t, kunna við e-t, to apply oneself to, to like.

II. of cause, by, at; falla við högg, to fall by a stroke, Nj. 163; hrata við lagit, Eg. 379; vakna við e-t, Fas. ii. 116; vakna við draum; verða glaðr, reiðr, hryggr, úkátr … við e-t, to become glad, wroth … at, Íb. 10, Eg. 102, 321, passim; bregða sér við e-t, Ld. 190: by, við minn atbeina, Fms. vi. 66; við samþykki e-s, Eg. 165; við ráð e-s, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 30; gört þat við einræði þitt, Ld. 188; et þat at vánum við skaplyndi Þorgeirs, Nj. 255; hlaða seglum við mikinn háska, with great danger, Korm. 168; sigla við stjörnu-ljós, to sail by star-light, Fms. i. 24; lesa við ljós, to read with a light; búa sik við skart, to dress fine.

III. as compared with, set off against; sex sær við kú, Grág. i. 502–504; selja, virðing sína við íllgirni þínaa, Eb. 160; þrjóta mun mik íllsku við þik. Hkr. i. 322; mik skortir við hann, Nj. 90; hafa afta við e-n, Eg. 187; eigi minna virðr enn við konunginn, i. e. of equal worth with the king, Fms. xi. 45; er þetta við mikla fémuni, Hrafn. 19; fjórðungi skerð við goðorð önnur, Grág. (Kb.) i. 211; Skotland er þriðjungr ríkis við England, Nj. 266; þriðjung við liðsmenn, Eg. 57; at þriðjungi við ykkr, Ld. 102; helming við hann, Fms. i. 22; gaf þeim hálfar tekjur við sik, 7.

IV. við þann kost, on that condition, Grág. (Kb.) i. 233: of medicine, for, við svefnleysi, við orms-bit, við offeitan kvið …, Lækn.: in mod. usage dat., and so in Hm. 138.

V. denoting fitness, proportion; göra klæði við vöxt e-s, Eg. 516; við þeirra hæfi, 109; er þat ekki við þitt æði, Ld. 298; vera við alþýðu-skap, Fs. 63; við sik, in proportion, B. K. 8; neyta skógar við sik sem þarf, Grág. ii. 292; þat er hann má eigi sjálfr við sik njóta, himself alone, 623. 21; hann var skapaðr allr við sik, well shaped, symmetrical, Fas. i. 173; fagrt ok allt vel við sik, Fms. x. 321; veðrit vesnaði en nátt-myrkr á við sik. Bjarn. 52; vita hvat við sik væri, to know what was the matter, Fms. xi. 11, Fas. ii. 516; leggja mál við tré, Ld. 316; draga kvarða við lérept, vaðmál, Grág. i. 497, 498.

VI. with, by, denoting means; tendra eld við fjallrapa, to light fire with, Bs. i. 7; við þessar fortölur, Ld. 204; kom svá við umtölur góðra manna, Nj. 267; við áskoran þína, 258; mýkjask við e-t, Fms. v. 239; húð skorpnuð við eld, Nj. 208.

VII. with verbs; lifa við skömm, meizlur, harm, lifa við slíka harma, to live with or in shame, sorrow, Nj. 92, Hkr. ii. 107, Eg. 604, Ld. 332; leika við e-n, Nj. 2; kaupa við e-n, Grág.; binda við e-t, to bind, fasten to; sætta, rægja, friða e-n við e-n, Eg. 226, Grág. ii. 99; tala, … við e-n, to speak, deal … with, Nj. 2, 197, Ld. 22 (see I); hefja upp bónorð við e-n, Eg. 38; leita eptir við e-n, leita ráða við e-n, eiga hlut at við e-n, Nj. 75, 101, 213, Eg. 174; fæða, lifa, fæðask, ala, búa, bjargast, við e-t, to feed, live, subsist … on, Edda i. 46, Fms. i. 226, v. 219, Nj. 236, passim; vera við e-t, to be present at, and metaph. to enjoy, Hom. 87, Edda (pref.); nema lyfsteinn sé við riðinn, Ld. 250; hann brá upp við fætinum (viz. við lagit), Nj. 264; binda við e-t, to bind to, Fms. ix. 358; at þeim heimilum ok í örskotshelgi við (viz. þau) á alla vega, Grág. (Kb.) i. 88; þar við, hér við, at engi mundi þar þora við at etja, Nj. 89.

2. hagr við e-t, skilful at; kunna vel við e-t, id.; skjarr við skot, Ls.; temja, venja, … við e-t; drekka við sleitur (see sleita); kveða við raust, Sturl. iii. 317, Eg. 554; syngja vid tón, Sturl. iii. 210; búa sik við skart, skikkja búin við gull, Fms. x. 199; skyrta saumuð við gull, embroidered with, Fas. ii. 529; glóa við gull, to glow or gleam with gold, Lex. Poët.

VIII. elliptical or ad- verbial usages; bregða við, to start; hann þagði við, remained silent, Nj. 2; verða bilt, felmt við, Ísl. ii. 274, Nj. 105; fá við þrjú skip, to add three ships, Fms. xi. 73; jók nú miklu við, it waxed much, Ld. 54; kveða við, gella við, to scream, yell; þurfa við, to need, Nj. 74; njóta e-s við, to enjoy, 85; komask við, to be touched; leita við, to try; bera við, to happen (see bera); koma við, to touch; standa, bíða við, to stop a bit; nema við, to hinder, cause a hindrance; kunna við, to like; koma e-u við, to bring a thing about, 101; ef ek viðr um kæmumk, if I could manage it, Hbl.; bjarga e-u við, hjálpa við, to help, put right; reisa við, rétta við, to raise up again, put right; kannask við, to recognise; vera við staddr, to be present, = við e-t staddr.

IX. in recipr. phrases, talask við, eigask við, fásk við, etc., to speak … to one another, where the object is suffixed to the preceding verb.

X. with an adverb or particle, of direction; upp á við, niðr á við, upwards, downwards; vestr á við, Fas. ii. 244; móts við, towards; á við, equivalent to (það er á við tvær merkr); austan við, vestan við, sunnan við, fram við, inn við, etc., followed by an accusative.

* * *

(held; hélt, héldum; haldinn), v.

I. with dat.

1) to hold fast (Gunnarr var kyrr svá at honum hélt einn maðr);

to keep back, restrain (Hrafn fekk eigi haldit henni heima);

2) to withhold (héldu bœndrgjaldinu);

3) to keep, retain (þú skalt jafhan þessu sæti halda);

to preserve (halda virðingu sinni, lífi ok limum);

halda vöku sinni, to keep oneself awake;

4) to hold, keep one’s stock;

also ellipt. (vetr var illr ok héldu menn illa);

5) phrases, halda njósnum, to keep watch, to spy (= halda njósnum til um e-t);

halda (hendi) fyrir auga, to hold (the hand) before the eyes, shade the eyes;

halda hendi yfir e-m, to protect one;

6) to hold, stand, steer, ellipt., þeir héldu aptr (held back again) um haustit;

þeir héldu út eptir fírði, they stood out the firth;

halda heim, to steer homewards;

7) to graze, put in the field (halda fé til haga);

8) impers. to continue, last (hélt því lengi um vetrinn);

II. with acc.

1) to hold in possession, a fief, land, estate (þeir héldu alla hina beztu staði með sjónum);

2) to hold, keep, observe, a feast, holiday (í hvers minning heldr þú þenna. dag?);

3) to keep (halda orð sín, eið, sættir, frið);

to observe (halda guðs lög ok landsins);

4) to uphold, maintain, support (halda vini sína, halda e-n til ríkis);

5) halda sik, to comport oneself (kunna halda sik með hófi);

halda sik ríkmannliga, to fare sumptuously;

halda sik aptr af e-u, to abstain from;

6) to hold, consider, deem (hón hélt engan hans jafningja);

7) to hold, keep up;

halda varnir, to keep up a defence;

halda vörð, to keep watch;

8) to hold, compel, bind (heldr mik þá ekki til útanferðar);

þó heldr þik várkunn til at leita á, thou hast some excuse for trying;

III. with preps.:

halda á e-u, to hold, wield in the hand (halda á sverði);

to hold to a thing, go on with it, be busy about (halda á drykkju, á ferð sinni, á sýslu);

halda e-t af e-m, to hold (land, office) from or of one (þeir er höfðu haldið land af Danakonungi);

halda mikit af e-m, to make much of one;

halda eptir e-m, to pursue one;

halda e-u eptir, to keep back;

halda sik frá e-u, to keep oneself back from, refrain from;

halda e-u fram, to uphold, support;

halda e-u fyrir e-u, to withhold from one;

to protect against (héldu engar grindr fénu fyrir birninum);

halda e-n fyrir e-t, to hold, consider one to be so and so (síðan hélt konungr Erling fyrir tryggvan vin);

halda í e-t, to hold fast, grasp (þú skalt halda í hurðarhringinn);

halda til e-s, to be the cause of, be conducive to;

heldr þar margt til þess, there are many reasons for this;

hélt til þess (conduced to it) góðgirni hans;

halda til e-s, to be bent on, fond of (halda mjök til skarts, til gleði);

halda til jafns við e-n, to bear up against one, to be a match for one;

halda um e-t, to grasp with the hand (= halda hendi um e-t);

halda barni undir skírn, to hold at baptism;

halda e-u upp, to hold aloft, lift (halda upp höndum);

halda upp árum, to hold up the oars, cease pulling;

to uphold, maintain, support (halda upp hofum, kristninni);

to keep going (halda upp bardaga);

to discharge (halda upp kostnaði, bótum);

halda upp bœnum fyrir e-m, to pray for one;

halda e-u við, to maintain a thing;

halda við e-m, to stand against (hvar sem harm kom fram, hélt ekki við honum);

impers. to be on the point of;

hélt þá við atgöngu (acc.), they were near coming to fight;

heldr nú við hót, it is little short of threats;

IV. refl., haldast.

* * *

pret. hélt (= Goth. haihald), 2nd pérs. hélt, mod. hélzt, pl. héldum; pres. held, pl. höldum; pret. subj. héldi; part. haldinn; imperat. hald and haltú: [Ulf. haldan = βόσκειν, ποιμαίνειν, whereas he renders to keep, hold by other words; Hel. haldan = alere, fovere, colere, which thus seems to be the primitive sense of the word, and to be akin to Lat. cŏlo; again, A. S. healdan, Engl. hold, O. H. G. haltan, Germ. halten, Swed. hålla, halda, Dan. holde, are all of them used in a more general sense]:—to hold.

A. WITH DAT. to hold to:

I. to hold fast by; with the notion of restraint or force, tók Gizurr förunaut Ögmundar ok hélt honum, Sturl. i. 150; Gunnarr var kyrr svá at honum hélt einn maðr, Nj. 92; ef maðr heldr manni …, varðar fjörbaugs-garð, Grág. ii. 110; h. e-m undir drep, 17; h. skipum ( to grapple the ships) með stafnljám, Fms. ii. 315: to keep back, Hrafn fékk eigi haldit henni heima þar, Ísl. ii. 249; ok halda þeim veðr í enni sömu höfn, Grág. i. 92; h. (sér) í e-t, to hold oneself fast by, grasp, þú skalt h. í hurðar-hringinn, Dropl. 29; heldr sér í faxit, Sd. 177.

β. so in the phrases, halda barni (manni) undir skírn, vatn, primsignan, biskups hönd, eccl. to hold a bairn ( man) at baptism, prima signatio, confirmation, Grág. i. 29; h. vatni (tárum), to hold one’s tears, 623. 56, Fms. viii. 232, vi. (in a verse); halda munni, to hold one’s tongue, be silent, vii. 227; halda tungu sinni, Þórð.

2. to withhold; þá megu þeir h. tíundum hans í móti, K. Þ. K. 62; h. vætti, Grág. i. 42; h. gögnum, 56; ef goði heldr tylftar-kvið, er hann heldr kviðnum, 58; halda matinum fyrir honum, 47; h. sköttum fyrir e-m, Nj. 8; h. skógar-manni fyrir e-m, Finnb. 334; um þat er hann hefir konunni haldit, Grág. i. 313; héldu bændr gjaldinu, Fms. vii. 302; hélt ek því (i. e. the money) fyrir honum, i. e. paid it not, Ísl. ii. 244.

II. to hold, of a rope or the like; sá maðr hugði h. mundu er festi, … ok h. mundu í slíku veðri, Grág. ii. 361; reip þau tíu er tveggja manna afli haldi hvert, id.; skal hann svá göra at haldi fyrir fyrnsku, 268.

β. to hold, hold out, last; optast halda þar íllviðri litla hríð, Sks. 212; sunnudags-helgi ríss upp á laugardegi, ok heldr ( lasts) til mánadags, N. G. L. i. 138.

III. to keep, retain, Germ. behalten; fá-ein skip héldu seglum sinum, Fms. x. 143; þú skalt jafnan þessu sæti h., Nj. 6; h. bústað sínum, Ld. 26; h. ríki sínu, Al. 58, Fms. i. 13; h. öllum Noregi, viii. 155; h. frelsi ok eignum, vi. 40; h. hlut sínum, to uphold one’s right, Eg. passim; halt sömum vinum sem ek hefi haft, Fas. i. 375; h. hreinleik sínum, Al. 58.

β. to hold, keep safe, preserve; h. hlut sínum, Ld. 54; h. heilsu, Grág. i. 145; h. virðingu sinni, Ld. 16; þá heldr hann kosti sínum, Grág. ii. 209; h. tíma ( honour) sínum, Al. 59; h. lífi ok limum, Eg. 89; h. lífinu, Nj. 111; h. trúnaði sínum, 109; vináttu sinni, Ld. 200; einorð sinni, Fb. ii. 265; h. sér réttum, to keep oneself right, Ld. 158; h. e-m heilum, Odd. 30; h. ríki fyrir e-m, Fms. v. 279; h. manna-forræði fyrir e-m, Hrafn. 19; h. réttu máli fyrir e-m, Fms. vii. 64.

2. to continue to keep, keep all along; h. teknum hætti, Fms. iv. 254; h. vöku, to keep oneself awake, Ld. 152; but h. vöku fyrir e-m, to keep another awake; halda sýslu sinni, Fs. 36; h. högum, to keep grazing, Eb. 104, Ld. 148.

3. to hold, keep one’s stock; ellipt., vetr var íllr ok héldu menn ílla, the winter was cold and it was ill to keep live stock, Sturl. ii. 143, (cp. fjár-höld); hann hélt vel svá at nær lifði hvat-vetna, Hrafn. 22: metaph., ílla hefir þinn faðir þá haldit, Fms. xi. 144; öld hefir ílla haldit, the people have had a sad loss, vi. (in a verse); h. fangi, and also ellipt. halda, of sheep and cattle, opp. to ‘to go back.’

4. phrases, halda njósnum, to keep watch, to spy, Fms. viii. 146, Nj. 113; hann hélt njósnum til Önundar, Landn. 287; hélt konungr njósnum til, ef …, Fms. vii. 128; hann skyldi h. njósnum til ok gera orð konungi, i. 54; h. njósnum til um e-t, iv. 119, Nj. 93; halda njósn (sing.) um skip þat, Eg. 74; þér haldit njósnum nær færi gefr á Arnkatli, Eb. 186; hann lét h. njósnum uppi á landi, Fms. vii. 316; hann hélt fréttum til, ef …, iv. 349.

β. halda (hendi) fyrir auga, to hold ( the hand) before the eyes, shade the eyes, Nj. 132, Fms. v. 196; h. fyrir munn e-m, to hold ( the hand) over one’s mouth; h. hendi yfir e-m, to hold the hand over one, protect one, Nj. 266, Fbr. 22, Korm.; h. hendi um háls e-m, to clasp the hands around one’s neck, Fms. i. 9; h. skildi fyrir e-n, to hold the shield for one as a second in a duel, Ísl. ii. 257, passim; h. e-m til náms, to hold one to the book, make one study, K. Þ. K. 56; h. e-m til virðingar, Ld. 98.

IV. ellipt. (liði, skipi, för, stefnu, etc. understood), to hold, stand in a certain direction, esp. as a naut. term; þeir héldu aptr ( stood back again) um haustið, Eg. 69; treystisk hann eigi á haf at halda, Eb. 6; héldu þeir vestr um haf, id.; stigu þeir á skip sín, ok héldu út ( stood out) eptir firði, Fms. i. 63; þeir héldu þat sama sumar til Íslands, Ld. 6; hann hélt upp eptir hinni eystri kvísl, Fms. vii. 55; h. heim, to hold one’s course, stand homewards, Odd. 30; h. á braut, Grág. i. 92; Hrútr hélt suðr til Eyrar-sunds, Nj. 8; h. eptir e-m, to pursue one, 7; h. undan, to fly, Fms. x. 396, Nj. 98 (on land); kom móti þeim sunnan-veðr með myrkri, ok urðu þeir fyrir at h., to lay one’s course for the wind, A. A. 271; h. útleið, to stand on the outer tack, Eg. 78; h. til, to turn against, attack (on sea), Fms. xi. 72; hélt hann liði sínu suðr á Mæri, i. 62; þeir héldu liði sínu norðr til Þrándheims, id.; Haraldr konungr hélt norðan liði sínu, Eg. 32; héldu þeir skipi því suðr með landi, 69; skipi því lét hann halda vestr til Englands, id.; Unnr hélt skipinu í Orkneyjar, eptir þat hélt Unnr skipi sínu til Færeyja, Ld. 8.

β. to graze, put in the field, of sheep, cattle; þykkir mér þat miklu skipta at þeim sé vel til haga haldit, Eg. 714; hvert Steinarr hafði látið nautum sínum halda, 715; ok bað hann h. nautunum annan veg, 716.

γ. phrases, halda kyrru fyrir, to hold still, remain quiet, Ld. 216, Þórð. 30 new Ed., Nj. 223, 258; Hallr heldr nú til fangs ( went fishing) sem áðr, Ld. 38.

V. with prep.; halda á e-u, to hold, wield in the hand, freq. in mod. usage, h. á bók, penna, fjöðr, hníf, skærum, nál, etc.; hafði hverr þat er hélt á, Nj. 279; h. á sverði, Fb. i. 33; hann tók við öxinni ok hélt (viz. á), ok sá á, Eg. 180: to hold fast, heldr nú maðr á manni, Fas. i. 12; eigi máttu helvítis byrgi h. á honum, 656 C. 6; ef hann heldr á fénu ( withholds it), Grág. i. 427.

β. [Germ. anhalten], to hold to a thing, go on with, be busy about; h. á sýslu, to be busy, Rm. 14; h. á keri, qs. halda á drykkju, to go on drinking, carousing, Hm. 18: h. á hinni sömu bæn, Stj. 417; h. á fyrirsátrum við e-n, Þórð. 51 new Ed.; h. á búnaði sínum, Ld. 164; hélt hann þá á búnaði sínum sem skjótligast, Fms. ix. 215, x. 119, Sturl. ii. 245; þogar á bak Jólum hélt Ólafr konungr á búningi, Fms. v. 41; hann heldr nú á málinu, Nj. 259; nú heldr Þórðr á málinu ok verðr Oddný honum gipt, Bjarn. 11, Konr. (Fr.); h. á tilkalli, Fms. i. 84; h. á þessum sið, xi. 41; h. á för, to go on with one’s journey, Sighvat; gengu síðan brott ok héldu á ferð sinni, and went on their journey, Sturl.;—whence the mod. phrase, halda áfram, to go on, which seems not to occur in old writers.

2. halda e-u fram, to hold up, make much of; bróðir minn mun mér mjök hafa fram haldit fyrir ástar sakir, Nj. 3.

β. to hold on doing, (hence fram-hald, continuation); halda fram upp-teknu efni, Fms. i. 263; slíku hélt hann fram meðan hann lifði, iv. 254; hélt hann (fram) teknum hætti um veizlurnar, id., Grett. 14.

3. halda saman, to hold together, Eluc. 6, Fms. vii. 140, Rb. 340.

4. halda e-u upp, to hold aloft, Yngvarr hélt upp vísu þeirri, Eg. 152; steinninn heldr upp annarr öðrum, Rb. 390; h. upp árum, to hold up the oars, cease pulling, Fas. ii. 517, N. G. L. i. 65.

β. to uphold, maintain, support; halda upp hofi, Landn. 64, Eb. 24; h. upp hofum ok efla blót, Fms. i. 91; h. upp kirkju, K. Þ. K. 52; h. upp Kristninni, Fms. i. 32: to keep going, h. upp bardaga, orrostu, xi. 66, 188, 340.

γ. to discharge; h. upp féráns-dómi, Grág. i. 120; h. upp lögskilum, 145; h. upp svörum, Ó. H. 174; h. upp kostnaði, Eg. 77; h. upp gjaldi, Grág. i. 384; gjöldum, Fms. i. 81; h. upp bót, Grág. ii. 182; bótum, Eb. 100, 162, N. G. L. i. 311; ef hann heldr upp yfirbót ( penance) þeirri, Hom. 70; h. upp bænum fyrir e-m, to pray for one, Fms. xi. 271; hélt hann því vel upp sem vera átti, discharged it well, x. 93.

δ. halda sér vel upp, to hold oneself well up, Sturl.

ε. metaph., skal-at hann lögvillr verða, svá at honum haldi þat uppi (i. e. went unpunished), Grág. i. 316; ok heldr honum þat uppi ( that will save him), ef hann er rétt-hafi at orðinn, ii. 242.

5. halda e-u við, to maintain a thing, Hkr. i. 195.

VI. impers.,

1. to continue, last; hélt því nokkura stund dags, Fms. x. 125: hélt því lengi um vetrinn, Ld. 288; regni hélt haustnótt gegnum, Fms. vi. 83.

2. with prep. við, to be on the brink of; hélt þá við atgöngu, they were within a hair’s breadth of coming to fight, Hkr. i. 143; hélt þá við vandræði, Fms. ix. 434; heldr við bardaga, vi. 8; heldr nú við hót, it is little short of a threat, i. 305; hélt við blót, x. 106; ok hélt við flótta, i. 174; hélt við meiðingar, Nj. 21, Sd. 143; henni hélt við, at hón mundi drepa hana, Nj. 118; þeim hélt við váða sjálfan, Ó. H. 168; konungi hélt við, hvárt hann mundi standask eðr eigi, Mag. 100; honum hélt við kafnan, Bs. i. 18; hélt þó við at þeir mundi berjask, Fs. 53.

B. WITH ACC. to hold:

I. to hold in possession, a fief, land, estate, office, or the like; þeir héldu alla hina beztu staði með sjónum, Fms. xi. 131; þeir er áðr höfðu haldit land af Dana-konungi, i. 232; Eirekr skyldi h. land af Aðalsteini konungi, 23; Vemundr hélt Firða-fylki, Eg. 12; hélt hann þat ríki undir Knút konungi, Ísl. ii. 242; í þeirri borg héldu þeir langfeðgar fimmtán konungdóma, Ver. 37; h. land sem leigu-land, Grág. ii. 278; konungrinn heldr af Guði nafnit, Sks. 599 B; prestar er kirkjur halda, H. E. i. 486; sá prestr er heldr Pétrs-kirkju, N. G. L. i. 312; presta þeirra er kirkju halda, 346; skal sá maðr ráða er kirkju heldr, K. Þ. K. 60; Ólafs kirkju þá er Væringjar halda (the parish church of W.), Hkr. iii. 408.

2. halda ábyrgju, ábyrgð á e-n, to have the responsibility of a thing, Grág. ii. 399, K. Þ. K. 66; h. grip, to be in the possession of, Grág. i. 438, ii. 190; h. skóla, to keep a school, Mar.; h. fylgð, to perform, Fms. ix. 279; eiga vandræði at h., to be in a strait, difficulty, Eb. 108.

II. to hold, keep, observe, a feast, holiday, or the like; halda kirkju-dag, K. Þ. K. 42; í hvers minning heldr þú þenna dag? Nj. 157; h. helgan þvátt-dag hvern, Pr. 437; h. helga daga, Sl.; h. Jóla-dag, Páska, Hvíta-sunnu, Rb. 134; minnstú að h. helgan hvíldar-daginn Drottins Guðs þíns (the Fourth Commandment in the Icel. version); h. heilagt, to keep holiday, Dipl. ii. 14; í dag þá hátíð höldum vér til himna sté vor Herra, Hólabók 54; er Júdar héldu hátíðligt, Stj. 110; (hence forn-haldinn, time-honoured): of the day-marks (vide dagr, p. 95), er þaðan haldinn miðr-morgin, Hrafn. 9.

2. to keep; halda orð sín, to keep one’s word, Fms. x. 95; höldum öll einka-mál vár, vii. 305; h. sættir, Nj. 57; gerðú svá vel, félagi, at þú halt vel sætt þessa, 111, Sturl. iii. 153, Fs. 65, Gullþ. 20; hann kvaðsk vilja hafa svardaga af þeim ok festu, at halda, Nj. 164; h. eið, Sturl. iii. 153; h. frið, to keep peace, Greg. 7; ef þú vilt nokkura hluti eigi h. þá er ek hefi á lagt við þik, Eg. 738: to observe faith, law, rite, etc., halda átrúnað, Fms. i. 34, x. 277; h. Guðs lög ok landsins, vii. 305; h. lands lög, viii. 155; h. ein lög, 625. 52; hafa ok halda þau lög, Fms. i. 34; h. Kristilega trú, K. Á. 74; h. mál (orð) e-s, Greg. 17; h. alla hluti með athugasamlegu minni, Sks. 439.

3. to keep, tend; halda geitr, Hkv. 2. 20 (exactly as in Gothic).

III. to uphold, maintain, support; þykkir mér þér sé nú ísjár-vert, hvárt þú munt fá haldit þik eðr eigi, Nj. 155; munu vér þó ekki einhlitir at h. oss eptir þessi verk, Háv. 50; at hón mætti með valdi h. sik ok menn sína, Fas. i. 375; þat væri nokkurr várkunn, at þú héldir frænda þinn eðr fóstbróður, en þetta er alls engi (at) halda útlaga konungs, Ó. H. 145; enda ætla ek lítinn viljann til at h. vini þína, Fms. vii. 244; því at Eysteinn konungr kenndi Inga konungi, at hann héldi þá menn, 248; ef þú heldr hann ( upholdest him) til þess at ganga á vini mína, Eg. 339; viljum vér allir fylgja þér ok þik til konungs halda, Fms. i. 34; Stephanus skyldi h. hann til laga ok réttinda, Sks. 653; h. e-n til ríkis, Fb. i. 236; vinsæld föður hans hélt hann mest til alþýðu vináttu, Fms. vii. 175; þeir sem upp h. ( sustain) þenna líkama, Anecd. 4.

β. phrases, halda e-m kost, borð, to keep at board, entertain, Fms. ix. 220, x. 105, 146, Nj. 6; or, halda e-n at klæðum ok drykk, Ó. H. 69; h. stríð, bellum gerere (not class.), Fms. x. 51; h. úfrið, Fas. ii. 539.

2. halda sik, to comfort oneself, Sks. 281, Hom. 29; kunna sik með hófi at h., Sturl. iii. 108; h. sik ríkmannliga, to fare sumptuously, Ld. 234; hann hélt betr húskarla sína en aðrir, Fms. vii. 242; h. mjök til skarts, to dress fine, Ld. 196; þar var Hrefna ok hélt allmjök til skarts, id.; hann var hægr hvers-dagliga, ok hélt mjök til gleði, Sturl. iii. 123; hélt hann hér mjök til vinsælda ok virðinga, he enjoyed much popularity and fame, Ld. 298.

β. ellipt. (sik understood), at h. til jafns við e-n, to bear up against one, to be a match for one, Ld. 40; ef þér hefir eigi til þess hug eðr afl at h. til jafns við e-n húskarl Þorsteins, Eg. 714; h. til fullnaðar, to stand on one’s full rights; ef þær taka eigi fullrétti, eðr h. eigi til fullnaðar, Grág. ii. 109; h. fullara, to hold one above other men, Ó. H. (in a verse); lét konungr þá h. mjök til ( make great preparations) at syngja messu hátíðliga, Hkr. i. 287.

3. to hold forth, put forward; at þeim inyiidi þungbýlt vera í nánd honum, ef þeir héldi nokkurn annan fyrir betra mann en hann, Ld. 26; síðan hélt konungr Erling fyrir tryggvan mann, Fms. ix. 399.

β. to hold, deem, be of opinion; the old writers seem not to use the word exactly in this sense, but near to it come such phrases as, hón hélt engan hans jafningja innan hirðar hvárki í orðum né öðrum hlutum, i. e. she held him to be above all men, Ld. 60; halda menn hann fyrir konung, Fb. i. 216; still closer, halda menn at Oddný sé nú betr gipt, Bjarn. 12 (but only preserved in a paper MS.): this sense is very freq. in mod. usage, to hold, mean, eg held það; eg held ekki, I think not; (hence hald, opinion.)

γ. phrases, halda mikit upp á e-n, to hold one in much esteem, love, Stj. 33; halda af e-m, id., Fas. i. 458, ii. 63, 200, iii. 520, esp. freq. in mod. usage, (upp-á-hald, af-hald, esteem.)

4. to hold on, keep up; halda varnir, to keep up a defence, Sks. 583; halda vörð, to keep watch, Eg. 120, Grág. i. 32, 264; halda njósn, Eg. 72, 74, Fms. xi. 46; halda tal af e-m, to speak, communicate with one, ii. 88.

5. to hold, be valid, be in force, a law term; á sú sekt öll at halda, Grág. i. 89; á þat at h. allt er þeir urðu á sáttir, 86; enda á þat at h. með þeim síðan, ii. 336.

IV. to hold, compel, bind (with the notion of obligation or duty); heldr mik þá ekki til utan-ferðar, Nj. 112; þó heldr þik várkunn til at leita á, i. e. thou art excused, thou hast some excuse in trying, 21; var auðsætt hvat til hélt um sættir, Bjarn. 70; þik heldr eigi hér svá mart, at þú megir eigi vel bægja héraðs-vist þinni, Eb. 252; þar mælir þú þar, er þik heldr várkunn til at mæla, Nj. 227; ek mun vera vinr hans, ok alla þá, er at mínum orðum láta, halda til vináttu við hann, i. e. I will be his friend, and all those who lend ear to my words I will hold to friendship with him, Eg. 18.

2. halda sik frá e-u, to keep oneself from, to refrain from a thing, Sks. 276 B; h. sik frá munaðlífi, Post. 656 A. ii. 16, Hom. 53, 135; h. sik aptr af e-u, to abstain from, Hkr. i. 512.

V. absol. to be the cause of, be conducive to a thing; heldr þar margt til þess, there are many reasons for this, Nj. 192; vildim vér vita hvat til heldr, Fms. vii. 106; en hann vissi eigi hvat til hafði haldit, er hann kom eigi, xi. 11; margir hlutir héldu til þess, Eg. 38; þat hélt til þess, at …, Al. 94; hélt til þess ( conduced to it) góðgirnd hans, stórmennska ok vitsmunir, Fs. 29; hefir þat mjök til haldit, er ek hefi svá lengi dvalizt, at ek ætlaða, Ld. 32; hann lét bæði til h. vingan ok mágsemd, Fs. 24; heldr þat mest til at þá var komit útfall sjávar, Ld. 56; hélt þat mest til þess, at hann gafsk bezt í öllum mannraunum, 60; þat eitt hélt til, at þeir fóru eigi málum á hendr Þórði, at þeir höfðu eigi styrk til, 138.

VI. to hold, comprise; sólar-öld heldr tuttugu ok átta ár, Rb. 510; h. skor (of weight), Grág. i. 500.

☞ In some instances the use of dat. and acc. wavers, e. g. halda húsum, to keep up the houses, Grág. ii. 278, 335; h. hliði, to keep the gate in repair, 265; but halda hlið (acc.), 332: to keep, observe, h. lögum, griðum, boðorðum, Glúm. 333, Grág. i. 357, ii. 166, 623. 28; hélt hann þessu sumu, Fms. x. 416 (Ágrip); halda ílla orðum, vii. (in a verse); þeir er því þingi áttu at h., Glúm. 386; h. sáttum, St. 17; h. eiðum, Bkv. 18; Gizuri þótti biskup h. ríkt ( protect strongly) brennu-mönnum, Sturl. i. 201 C; Guð er sínum skepnum heldr (keeps, protects) ok geymir, Mar.; þá hélt engi kirkju mönnum, … kept no man safe, Fms. ix. 508; h. njósn (acc.) um e-t, Eg. 74; h. til njósn, 72; njósnir, Fms. xi. 46. In most of these instances the acc. is the correct case, and the dat. is due either to careless transcribers or incorrect speaking: in some instances an enclitic um has been taken for a dative inflexion, thus e. g. sáttum haldi in Stor. l. c. is to be restored to sátt um haldi; eiðum haldit in Bkv. l. c. to eið (for eiða) um haldit; in others the prep. um has caused the confusion, as ‘halda njósn um at’ has been changed into halda njósnum at. But in the main the distinction between the use of dat. and acc. is fixed even at the present time: the acc. seems to represent the more primitive usage of this verb, the dat. the secondary.

C. REFLEX.:

I. to hold oneself, to stay; héldusk þeir þá ekki fyrir norðan Stað, Fms. i. 63; mátti hann eigi þar haldask, Landn. 246; h. á baki, to keep oneself on horseback, keep one’s seat, Grág. ii. 95; munu þeir skamma stund hér við haldask, Nj. 247: to be kept, remain, þá skal hann h. með Helju, Edda 39: to resist, megu vér ekki við h. fyrir ofreflis-mönnum þessum, Nj. 254; hélzk þá ekki við honum, Eg. 289; mann er svá hefir haldisk við höfuð-syndum, Hom. 157.

β. to hold out, last, continue; ok hélzk ferillinn, Eg. 579; hélzk undr þetta allt til dags, Nj. 272 (twice); hélzk konungdómr í kyni hans, Rb. 394; lengi síðan hélzk bruna-öld með Svíum, Yngl. S.; lengi hélzk þat í ætt þeirri, at …, Eg. 770; hélzk vinátta með þeim, Nj. 66; þat hefir enn haldizk í ætt hans, Fms. iv. 8; ok hefir þat haldizk ( it has continued to be so) síðan er ek hefi hann séð, Ld. 174; honum haldisk (imperat.) sigr ok langt líf, Ver. 57; betr þætti mér, at hún héldisk þér, that it (the luck) would hold out for thee, Fb. ii. 74; ef hann helzk í útrú sinni, if he perseveres in his untruth, 623. 26.

γ. to be kept safe and sound; menn allir héldusk ( all bands were saved) ok svá fé, Ld. 8, Fs. 143; þar héldusk menn allir ok mestr hluti fjár, Eg. 405; hafði fé vel haldizk, has been well kept, done well, Ld. 34.

δ. to be valid, stand; eigu þau handsöl hennar at haldask, Grág. i. 334; engi má haldask dómr hans, Edda 15; skyldu þau (the truce) haldask um þingit, Nj. 348.

2. impers., mér helzk, e-m helzk vel, ílla, á e-u, to have a good hold, have luck with a thing; mér helzk lítt á sauða-mönnum, Grett. 110 A.

3. recipr., haldask á, to hold or pull one against another, wrestle, (hence á-höld); var sagt Magnúsi, at þeir héldisk á úti, that they were fighting outside, Sturl. ii. 44.

II. part. pass. haldinn, [Dan. holden], so ‘holden,’ in such and such a state; vel haldinn, in good condition, faring well, well to do, Eg. 20, 234; hugðusk þar ok haldnir ( safe) mundu vera, Ver. 34; þungliga h., very sick, Eg. 565, Hkr. ii. 199; vel haldinn, doing well; tak heldr annat fé, svá mikit, at þú þykisk vel haldinn af, i. e. fully satisfied, having got full redress, Boll. 350; Sveinn sagði, at hann vill hafa tvá hluti fjárins, Hrani sagðisk ekki af því haldinn ( satisfied) vera, Fms. iv. 31: in the phrase, heilu ok höldnu, safe and sound, Bs. i. 191, Fms. xi. 376, Hkr. i. 319; með höldnu hljóði, preserving the sound, Skálda 175.

2. ok mun þykkja sér misboðit ef þú ert haldinn (kept, protected), Finnb. 344.

β. kept, observed, Fms. xi. 99.

γ. held in custody, in prison, Bs. i. 419, Sturl. i. 151.

III. gerund., haldandi, holding good, valid; sá dómr er eigi haldandi, is not valid, K. Á. 304; af öllu afli er friðr haldandi, Hom. 5.

2. part. act., með upp haldandi höndum, with uplifted hands, Bs. i. 684.

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(renn; rann, runnum; runninn), v.

1) to run (rakkar þar renna);

renna í köpp við e-n, to run a race with;