points

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(pl. -ir), f.

1) branch (of a tree), division;

2) point, head, part (í öllum greinum); í annarri g., in the second place;

3) cause, reason; fyrir þá g., therefore;

4) distinction; sjá grein handa, to discern one’s hands; gera grein á e-u, to explain;

5) understanding, discernment; gløggrar greinar, sharpwitted;

6) dissent, discord (varð mart til greina með þeim); vald fyrir utan alla g., undisputed (absolute) power.

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f., pl. ar and ir; the mod. pl. greinar means branches, in other senses greinir: [Dan. green; Swed. gren; not found in Germ., Saxon, nor Engl.]:

I. prop. a branch of a tree, ‘lim’ is the foliage; af hverri grein draup hunang sætt, Pass. 32. 4; vínviðar-greinir, vine branches, Stj, 200; pálma-viðar-g., a palm branch; kvíslask með stórum greinum, spread with large branches, Sks. 441, 443; þar vex fyrst upp einn bulr af rótunum, ok kvíslast síðan með mörgum greinum ok limum, 555.

II. metaph. a branch, arm:

1. hafs grein, an arm of the sea, Stj. 287; í sjau staði er skipat þessarar listar greinum, Alg.; vísinda grein, branch of science (Germ. fach); lærdóms-grein, branch of doctrine; sundr-skiptingar grein, subdivision, Stj. 287; tvífaldleg grein, double kind, N. G. L. ii. 352; þessi er grein ( particulars) á kaupeyris tíund, id.; sannkenningar hafa þrenna grein, Edda 122; Guð er einn í Guðdómi en þrennr í grein (of the Trinity), Fas. iii. 662; einkanligr í grein, Bs. ii. 21; allar greinir loptsins ok jarðarinnar, Edda 144 (pref.); hann greindi í tvær greinir ok tuttugu, Rb. 78; í þessi grein, on this head, in this case, Band. 11.

β. denoting cause, reason; fyrir þá grein, therefore, Stj. 124; fyrir sagða grein, for the said reason, Mar., Sks. 682; fyrir þá (þessa) grein, Stj. 22, 23, 167, passim; finnr hann til þess þrjár greinir, Grett. 208 new Ed.; at þér upp lúkit nokkurri grein fyrir mér, at þat megi skilja, Sks. 660.

γ. a point, head, part; meðr samri grein, under the same head, Dipl. i. 521; í annari grein, in the second place, iv. 7, Grett. 156, Fb. i. 216; með slíkri grein sem hér segir, K. Á. 82; í öllum greinum, Mk. 9; sagða grein, the said point, head, Dipl. iii. 13; í nokkurum greinum, in some points, i. 3; hverja grein, in every point, Gþl. 177; fyrir allar greinir, in all respects, Mar. 616; en er biskup vissi þessar greinir, the points, particulars (of the case), Bs. i. 727.

2. denoting distinction, discernment, division; höggva svá títt at varla mátti grein sjá, Bret. 64; sjá grein handa, to discern one’s hands, Bs. ii. 5; fyrir utan alla grein, without exception, i. 281; hver er grein setningar háttanna, disposition of the metres, Edda 120; hljóðs grein, distinction of sound, accent, id., Skálda 182; göra grein góðs ok ills, Eluc. 20; setja glögga grein, to make a clear distinction, 677. 5; fyrir greinar sakir ( for the sake of distinction) er diphthongus fundinn í norrænu, Skálda 178; sundr-grein ok saman-setning, 177; ok veit ek þó grein allra stunda, Fms. v. 335; litlar greinir ok tengingar höfum ver konungs-málanna ór flokki yðrum, i. e. you take little notice of the king’s errand, Mork. 138; bera grein á e-t, to discern a thing, Mar.; þar kann ek at göra grein á, I can explain that, Fb. i. 419.

β. understanding; þau (the idols) hafa enga grein, Fms. x. 232; vitr ok frábærrar greinar, xi. 429; glöggrar greinar, sharp-witted, Bs. ii. II; sumum gefsk anda-grein, spiritual discernment, Greg. 20.

γ. a record; þessa grein konungsdóms hans ritaði fyrst Ari, this record of the king’s reign was first written by Are, Ó. H. 188; í greinum ok bóklegu námi, Mar.

δ. a part, head, paragraph, in a book (mod.); ritningar-grein, a quotation from Scripture.

3. denoting diversity, difference; en þó er hér, herra, grein í, Fb. ii. 78; en þó er þar grein á, hvárt …, K. Á. 124; ok voldi því grein tungna þeirra er hann var konungr yfir, Sks. 458; at grein var á trú þeirri er hvárt þeirra hafði til Guðs, 470; sú er grein á syslu biskups ok konungs, at …, 803.

β. dissent; brátt görðusk greinir í um samþykki konunganna, Fms. vi. 185; varð mart til greina með þeim, 195; greinir ok sundrþykki, ix. 428; var þá grein mikil með fólki um konungs-tekjuna, x. 41; vald fyrir utan alla grein, power without dissent, i. e. absolute, undisputed power, Bs. i. 281; grein eða áskilnaðr, Stj. 298; en ef verri menn gengu á milli þá vóru jafnan greinir talaðar, Fb. ii. 411; urðu margar greinir með þeim Kolbeini Tumasyni, Sturl. ii. 1.

COMPDS: greinarlaust, greinarmál, greinarmikill, greinarmunr, greinavænn.

and rarely afbrigði, n.—the compound afbrigðar-tré points to a fem.—deviation, transgression, offence, (cp. bregða af, to deviate from) esp. in pl., þeir sökuðu hann um nokkuð afbrigð þinga sinna, Post. 645. 97; sættarof ok afbrigð við guð, trespasses, 671. i; afbrigð, wrongs, Ld. 66; í afbrigðum boðorða Guðs, transgressions against the commandments of God, 671. 3; Þórðr afsakar sik um öll afbrigði við þik, for having wronged thee, Sturl. ii. 132, Fms. vii. 24, Ísl. ii. 201.

COMPD: afbrigðartré.

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a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

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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.

n. benediction (from Irish beannacht).

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n. an απ. λεγ.; þat var háttr hans ef hann (viz. Odin) sendi menn sína til orrostu eðr aðrar sendifarar, at hann lagði áðr hendr í höfuð þeim ok gaf þeim bjannak, trúðu þeir at þá mundi vel farast, Ýngl. S. ch. 11; it is commonly interpreted as benedictio, but it is no doubt the Scot. bannock, from Gael, banagh, an oat-cake; cp. Lat. panis. The whole passage in the Hkr. points to Christian rites and ideas brought into the pagan North, but which are here attributed to Odin, (cp. the breaking of bread and the Eucharist.)

(gen. dals, dat. dal or dali, pl. dalar or dalir), m. dale, valley (djúpir dalir).

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s, m., old pl. dalar, acc. dala, Vsp. 19, 42, Hkv. i. 46; the Sturl. C still uses the phrase, vestr í Dala; the mod. form (but also used in old writers) is dalir, acc. dali, Hkv. Hjörv. 28; old dat. sing. dali, Hallr í Haukadali, Íb. 14, 17; í Þjórsárdali, í Örnólfsdali, 8, Hbl. 17; mod. dal; dali became obsolete even in old writers, except the earliest, as Ari: [Ulf. dals = φάραγξ, Luke iii. 10, and βόθυνον, vi. 39; A. S. dæl; Engl. dale; Germ. tal ( thal); cp. also Goth. dalaþ = κάτω, and dala above; up og dal, up hill and down dale, is an old Dan. phrase]:—a dale; allit. phrase, djúpir dalir, deep dales, Hbl. l. c.; dali döggótta, bedewed dales, Hkv. l. c.; the proverbial saying, láta dal mæta hóli, let dale meet hill, ‘diamond cut diamond,’ Ld. 134, Fms. iv. 225: dalr is used of a dent or hole in a skull, dalr er í hnakka, Fas. iii. l. c. (in a verse): the word is much used in local names, Fagri-dalr, Fair-dale; Breið-dalr, Broad-dale; Djúpi-dalr, Deep-dale; Þver-dalr, Cross-dale; Langi-dalr, Lang-dale; Jökul-dalr, Glacier-dale, (cp. Langdale, Borrodale. Wensleydale, etc. in North. E.); ‘Dale’ is a freq. name of dale counties, Breiðatjarðar-dalir, or Dalir simply, Landn.: Icel. speak of Dala-menn, ‘Dales-men’ (as in Engl. lake district); dala-fífl, a dale-fool, one brought up in a mean or despised dale, Fas. iii. 1 sqq.: the parts of a dale are distinguished, dals-botn, the bottom of a dale, ii. 19; dals-öxl, the shoulder of a dale; dals-brún, the brow, edge of a dale; dals-hlíðar, the sides, slopes of a dale; dala-drög, n. pl. the head of a dale; dals-mynni, the mouth of a dale, Fms. viii. 57; dals-barmr, the ‘dale-rim,’ = dals-brún; dals-eyrar, the gravel beds spread by a stream over a dale, etc.:—in poetry, snakes are called dale-fishes, dal-reyðr, dal-fiskr, dal-ginna, etc., Lex. Poët. [It is interesting to notice that patronymic words derived from ‘dale’ are not formed with an e (vowel change of a), but an œ, æ (vowel change of ó), Lax-dœlir, Vatns-dœlir, Hauk-dœlir, Hit-dœlir, Sýr-dœll, Svarf-dœlir …, the men from Lax(ár)dalr, Vatnsdal, Haukadal, Hitardal, etc.; cp. the mod. Norse Dölen = man from a dale; this points to an obsolete root word analogous to ala, ól, bati, bót; vide the glossaries of names to the Sagas, esp. that to the Landn.]

II. a dollar (mod.) = Germ. Joachims-thaler, Joachims-thal being the place where the first dollars were coined.

f. a rival wife (þær konur eru eljur er einn mann eigu).

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u, f. a concubine, as opp. to a wedded wife; this word is either akin to eljan in the sense of zeal, jealousy, or to the word eligr, as these women were often captives of war and handmaids; cp. the case of Melkorka, Ld., cp. also Gen. xxi. 10:—the word is defined in Edda 109,—þær konur eru eljur, er einn mann eigu, those women are called ‘eljur,’ who are wives of one man; stattú upp ór binginum frá elju minni, Nj. 153; en elja hennar görði henni jafnan skapraun, Stj. 428. 1 Sam. i. 6 (‘and her adversary also provoked her sore,’ of the two wives of Elkanah); systur konu þinnar skaltú eigi taka til elju hennar, Stj. 320, Lev. xviii. 18: in poetry the earth is called the elja of Rinda, one of Odin’s wives, Fms. vi. (in a verse): this word points to the remotest time; the sole passage where it occurs in an Icel. hist, work is Nj. (above), where it is wrongly used, the wedded wife being called the elja by the concubine; cp. arin-elja.

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(fjórar, fjögur), card. numb. four; fjögurra vegna, to the four cardinal points.

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num. adj., fem. fjórar, neut. fjögur (fjugur); gen. fjogurra or fjögurra (fjugurra, N. G. L. i. 77, Sks. 173 B), mod. fjögra; dat. fjórum; acc. masc. fjóra, fem. fjórar, neut. fjögur: [Goth. fidvar; A. S. feover; Engl. four; Hel. fivar; O. H. G. fior; Germ. vier; Swed. fyra; Dan. fire; cp. also Lat. quatuor, Gr. τέσσαρες, Aeol. πίσυρες]:— four (passim). fjögra-manna-far, n. a four-oared boat.

n. (heathen) god.

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n. pl. [all the Teutonic languages have this word in common; Ulf. guþa, n. pl., Gal. iv. 8; guda, id., John x. 34, 35; and Guþ, m.; A. S. godu, n. pl., and God, m.; O. H. G. Cot: in mod. languages masc.; Engl. God; Germ. Gott; Dan.-Swed. Gud].

A. HISTORICAL REMARKS.—In heathen times this word was neuter, and was used almost exclusively in plur., as were also other words denoting Godhead, e. g. regin or rögn = numina, q. v.; and bönd, höpt, prop. = bonds, and metaph. gods:—this plur. usage seems not to refer to a plurality of gods, but rather, as the Hebrew אלהים, to the majesty and mystery of the Godhead; it points to an earlier and purer faith than that which was current in the later ages of the Scandinavian heathendom; thus the old religious poem Völuspá distinguishes a twofold order of gods,—the heavenly powers (regin or ginn-heilög goð) who had no special names or attributes, and who ruled the world, like the Μοιρα or Αισα of Gr. mythology;—and the common gods who were divided into two tribes, Æsir ( Ases) and Vanir, whose conflict and league are recorded in Vsp. 27, 28, and Edda 47.

II. after the introduction of Christianity, the masculine gender (as in Greek and Latin) superseded the neuter in all Teutonic languages, first in Gothic, then in Old High German and Anglo-Saxon, and lastly in the Scandinavian languages; but neither in Gothic nor in Icel. did the word ever take the masc. inflexive r or s, so that it remains almost unique in form.

2. in Scandinavian the root vowel was altered from o to u (goð to guð), [Swed.-Dan. gud], yet in old poems of the Christian age it is still made to rhyme with o, Goðs, boðnum; Goð, roðnar, Sighvat; as also in the oldest MSS. of the 12th century; sometimes however it is written ḡþ, in which case the root vowel cannot be discerned.

3. in Icel. the pronunciation also underwent a change, and the g in Guð ( God) is now pronounced gw (Gwuð), both in the single word and in those proper names which have become Christian, e. g. Guðmundr pronounced Gwuðmundr, whence the abbreviated form Gvendr or Gvöndr. The old form with o is still retained in obsolete words, as goði, goðorð, vide below, and in local names from the heathen age, as Goð-dalir; so also Gormr (q. v.), which is contracted from Goð-ormr not Guð-ormr. On the other hand, the Saxon and German have kept the root vowel o.

III. in old poems of heathen times it was almost always used without the article; gremdu eigi goð at þér, Ls.; áðr vér heilög goð blótim, Fas. i. (in a verse); ginnheilög Goð, Vsp. passim; goðum ek þat þakka, Am. 53; með goðum, Alm.; in prose, en goð hefna eigi alls þegar, Nj. 132.

2. with the article goð-in, Vsp. 27: freq. in prose, um hvat reiddusk goðin þá er hér brann hraunit er nú stöndu vér á, Bs. i. (Kr. S.) 22; eigi eru undr at goðin reiðisk tölum slíkum, id.; Hallfreðr lastaði eigi goðin, þó aðrir menn hallmælti þeim, Fms. ii. 52; allmikin hug leggr þú á goðin, Fs. 94; eigi munu goðin þessu valda, Nj. 132, passim.

3. very seldom in sing., and only if applied to a single goddess or the like, as Öndor-goðs (gen.), Haustl. 7; Vana-goð, of Freyja, Edda; enu skírleita goði, of the Sun, Gm. 39.

IV. after the introduction of Christianity, the neut. was only used of false gods in sing. as well as in pl., Sólar-goð = Apollo, Orrostu-goð = Mars, Drauma-goð = Morpheus, Bret. (Verel.); and was held up for execration by the missionaries; gör þik eigi svá djarfa, at þú kallir goð hinn hæsta konung er ek trúi á, Fb. i. 371. Yet so strongly did the neut. gender cleave to the popular mind that it remains (Grág. Kb. i. 192) in the oath formula, goð gramt = Goð gramr; and Icel. still say, í Guðanna (pl.) bænum.

2. guðír, masc. pl., as in A. S. gudas, is freq. in eccl. writers, but borrowed from the eccl. Lat.

B. IN COMPDS:

I. with nouns, goða-blót, n. sacrifice to the gods, Fb. i. 35. goða-gremi, f. a term in the heathen oath, wrath of the gods, Eg. 352. goða-heill, f. favour of the gods, Þorst. Síðu H. 9. goða-hús, n. a house of gods, temple, Dropl. 11, Nj. 131, Fb. i. 337. goða-stallar, m. pl. the altar in temples, Fas. i. 454. goða-stúka, u, f. the sanctuary in heathen temples, answering to the choir or sanctuary in churches, Landn. 335 (App.) goða-tala, u, f. in the phrase, í goðatölu, in the tale ( list) of gods, 625. 41. goð-borinn, part. διογενής, god-born, Hkv. 1. 29. goð-brúðr, f. bride of the gods (the goddess Skaði), Edda (in a verse). Goð-dalir, m. pl. a local name, hence Goð-dælir, m. pl. a family, Landn. goð-gá, f. blasphemy against the gods, Nj. 163, Ld. 180. goð-heimr, m. the home of the gods, Stor. 20, cp. Ýt. goð-konungr, m. (cp. Gr. διογενής βασιλεύς), a king,—kings being deemed the offspring of gods, Ýt. goð-kunnigr and goð-kyndr, adj. of the kith of gods, Edda 6, 11, 13. goð-lauss, adj. godless, a nickname, Landn. goð-lax, m. a kind of salmon, Edda (Gl.) goð-leiðr, adj. loathed by the gods, Korm. goð-máligr, adj. skilled in the lore of the gods, Hým. 38. goð-mögn, n. pl. divine powers, deities, Edda 1; biðja til þinna goðmagna, Bret. (Verel.) goð-reið, f. ‘a ride of gods’ through the air, a meteor, thought to forebode great events, Glúm. (in a verse), cp. the Swed. åska. goð-rifi, n. scorn of the gods, Sks. 435. goð-rækr, adj. ‘god-forsaken,’ wicked, 623. 30. goðum-leiðr, adj. = goðleiðr, Landn. (in a verse). goð-vargr, m. a ‘god-worrier,’ sacrilegus, ‘lupus in sanctis,’ Bs. i. 13 (in a verse). goð-vefr, vide guðvefr. goð-vegr, m. the way of the gods, the heaven, the sky, Hdl. 5. Goð-þjóð, f. the abode of the gods, Vsp.:—but Goth. Gut-þjuda = the land of the Goths, by assimilation Goð-þjóð, passim in old poems and the Sagas.

II. with pr. names, originally Goð-, later and mod. Guð-; of men, Guð-brandr, Guð-laugr, Guð-leifr, Guð-mundr, Guð-röðr, Guð-ormr or Gutt-ormr, etc.; of women, Guð-björg, Guð-finna, Guð-laug, Guð-leif, Guð-ný, Guð-ríðr, Guð-rún, etc.; cp. the interesting statement in Eb. (App.) 126 new Ed. (from the Hauks-bók), that men of the olden time used to call their sons and daughters after the gods (Goð-, Þór-, Frey-, Ás-); and it was thought that a double (i. e. a compound) name gave luck and long life, esp. those compounded with the names of gods; menn höfðu mjök þá tvau nöfn, þótti þat likast til langlífis ok heilla, þótt nokkurir fyrirmælti þeim við goðin, þá mundi þat ekki saka, ef þeir ætti eitt nafn, though any one cursed them by the gods it would not hurt if they had ‘one’ name, i. e. if they were the namesakes of the gods, Eb. l. c.;—we read ‘eitt nafn’ for ‘eitt annat nafn’ of the Ed. and MS. In Fb. i. 23, the mythical king Raum is said to have had three sons, Alf, Björn, and Brand; the first was reared by the Finns, and called Finn-Alf; Björn by his mother (a giantess), and called Jötun-Björn; and Brand was given to the gods, and called Goð-Brand (Guð-brandr, whence Guðbrands-dalir, a county in Norway); cp. also Eb. ch. 7.

☞ For the Christian sense of God and its compds vide s. v. Guð.

m. heathen priest; chief (in Iceland during the republic).

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a, m. [Ulf, renders ἱερεύς by gudja (ufar-gudja, ahumista-gudja, etc.), ἱερατεία by gudjinassus, ἱερατεύειν by gudjinôn; an Icel. gyði, gen. gyðja, would answer better to the Goth. form, but it never occurs, except that the fem. gyðja = goddess and priestess points not to goði, but to a masc. with a suppressed final i, gyði; a word coting occurs in O. H. G. glossaries, prob. meaning the same; and the form guþi twice occurs on Danish-Runic stones in Nura-guþi and Saulva-guþi, explained as goði by P. G. Thorsen, Danske Runem.; (Rafn’s explanation and reading of Nura-guþi qs. norðr á Gauði, is scarcely right): with this exception this word is nowhere recorded till it appears in Icel., where it got a wide historical bearing]:—prop. a priest, sacerdos, and hence a liege-lord or chief of the Icel. Commonwealth.

A. HISTORICAL REMARKS.—The Norse chiefs who settled in Icel., finding the country uninhabited, solemnly took possession of the land (land-nám, q. v.); and in order to found a community they built a temple, and called themselves by the name of goði or hof-goði, ‘temple-priest;’ and thus the temple became the nucleus of the new community, which was called goðorð, n.:—hence hof-goði, temple-priest, and höfðingi, chief, became synonymous, vide Eb. passim. Many independent goðar and goðorð sprang up all through the country, until about the year 930 the alþingi (q. v.) was erected, where all the petty sovereign chiefs (goðar) entered into a kind of league, and laid the foundation of a general government for the whole island. In 964 A. D. the constitution was finally settled, the number of goðorð being fixed at three in each þing ( shire), and three þing in each of the three other quarters, (but four in the north); thus the number of goðar came to be nominally thirty-nine, really thirty-six, as the four in the north were only reckoned as three, vide Íb. ch. 5. On the introduction of Christianity the goðar lost their priestly character, but kept the name; and the new bishops obtained seats in the Lögrétta (vide biskup). About the year 1004 there were created new goðar (and goðorð), who had to elect judges to the Fifth Court, but they had no seats in the Lögrétta, and since that time the law distinguishes between forn ( old) and ný ( new) goðorð;—in Glúm. ch. 1 the word forn is an anachronism. It is curious that, especially in the 12th century, the goðar used to take the lesser Orders from political reasons, in order to resist the Romish clergy, who claimed the right of forbidding laymen to be lords of churches or to deal with church matters; thus the great chief Jón Loptsson was a sub-deacon; at last, about 1185, the archbishop of Norway forbade the bishops of Icel. to ordain any holder of a goðorð, unless they first gave up the goðorð, fyrir því bjóðum vér biskupum at vígja eigi þá menn er goðorð hafa, D. I. i. 291. In the middle of the 13th century the king of Norway induced the goðar to hand their power over to him, and thus the union with Norway was finally brought about in the year 1262; since that time, by the introduction of new codes (1272 and 1281), the name and dignity of goðar and goðorð disappeared altogether, so that the name begins and ends with the Commonwealth.

B. DUTIES.—In the alþingi the goðar were invested with the Lögrettu-skipan (q. v.), that is to say, they composed the Lögrétta (the Legislative consisting of forty-eight members—on the irregularity of the number vide Íb. ch. 5), and were the lawgivers of the country; secondly, they had the dómnefna (q. v.), or right of naming the men who were to sit in the courts, vide dómr:—as to their duties in the quarter-parliaments (vár-þing) vide Grág. Þ. Þ. and the Sagas. The authority of the goðar over their liegemen at home was in olden times somewhat patriarchal, vide e. g. the curious passage in Hænsaþ. S. ch. 2; though no section of law relating to this interesting part of the old history is on record, we can glean much information from the Sagas. It is to be borne in mind that the goðar of the Saga time (10th century) and those of the Grágás and Sturlunga time (12th and 13th centuries) were very different; the former were a kind of sovereign chiefs, who of free will entered into a league; the latter had become officials, who for neglecting their duties in parliament might be fined, and even forfeit the goðorð to their liegemen, vide Grág. Þ. Þ. Neither þing (q. v.) nor goðorð was ever strictly geographical (such is the opinion of Konrad Maurer), but changed from time to time; the very word goðorð is defined as ‘power’ (veldi), and was not subject to the payment of tithe, K. Þ. K. 142. The goðorð could be parcelled out by inheritance or by sale; or they might, as was the case in the latter years of the Commonwealth, accumulate in one hand, vide esp. Sturl. passim, and Grág. The liegemen (þingmenn) were fully free to change their lords (ganga í lög með goða, ganga ór lögum); every franklin (þingmaðr) had in parliament to declare his þingfesti, i. e. to name his liegeship, and say to what goði and þing he belonged, and the goði had to acknowledge him; so that a powerful or skilful chief might have liegemen scattered all over the country. But the nomination to the courts and the right of sitting in the legislative body were always bound to the old names, as fixed by the settlement of the year 964; and any one who sought the name or influence of a goði had first (by purchase, inheritance, or otherwise) to become possessor of a share of one of the old traditionary goðorð; see the interesting chapter in Nj. The three goðar in one þing ( shire) were called sam-goða, joint-goðar; for the sense of allsherjar-goði vide p. 17.

C. NAMES.—Sometimes a chief’s name referred to the god whom he especially worshipped, as Freys-Goði, Hrafn., Gísl., whence Freys-gyðlingar, q. v.; (the ör-goði is dubious); more frequently the name referred to the liegemen or county, e. g. Ljósvetninga-Goði, Tungu-Goði, etc.; but in the Saga time, goði was often added to the name almost as a cognomen, and with some, as Snorri, it became a part of their name (as Cato Censor in Latin); hann varðveitti þá hof, var hann þá kallaðr Snorri Goði, Eb. 42; seg, at sá sendi, er meiri vin var húsfreyjunnar at Fróðá en Goðans at Helgafelli, 332. Names on record in the Sagas:—men living from A. D. 874 to 964, Hallsteinn Goði, Landn., Eb.; Sturla Goði, Landn. 65; Jörundr Goði and Hróarr Tungu-Goði, id.; Ljótólfr Goði, Sd.; Hrafnkell Freys-Goði, Hrafn.; Oddr Tungu-Goði, Landn.; Þormóðr Karnár-Goði, Vd.; Áskell Goði, Rd.; Úlfr Ör-goði, Landn.; Grímkell Goði, Harð. S.; Þorgrímr Freys-goði, Gísl. 100, 110:—964 to 1030, Arnkell Goði, Landn., Eb.; Þorgrímr Goði, Eb.; Geirr Goði, Landn., Nj.; Runólfr Goði, id.; Þóroddr Goði, Kristni S.; Þormóðr Allsherjar-Goði, Landn.; Þorgeirr Goði, or Ljósvetninga-Goði, Nj., Landn.; (Þorkell Krafla) Vatnsdæla-Goði, Vd.; Helgi Hofgarða-Goði, Landn., Eb.; Snorri Hlíðarmanna-Goði, Lv.; Þórarinn Langdæla-Goði, Heiðarv. S.; and last, not least, Snorri Goði:—in the following period goði appears, though very rarely, as an appellative, e. g. Þormóðr Skeiðar-Goði (about 1100):—of the new goðar of 1004, Höskuldr Hvítaness-Goði, Nj.:—used ironically, Ingjaldr Sauðeyja-Goði, Ld.

2. goðorð mentioned by name,—in the south, Allsherjar-goðorð, Landn. (App.) 336; Dalverja-goðorð, Sturl. ii. 48; Lundarmanna-goðorð, i. 223; Reykhyltinga-goðorð, 104, iii. 166, 169; Bryndæla-goðorð, Kjaln. S. 402: in the north, Ljósvetninga-goðorð, Lv. ch. 30; Möðruvellinga-goðorð, Bs. i. 488; Vatnsdæla-goðorð, Fs. 68; Fljótamanna-goðorð, Sturl. i. 138: in the west, Snorrunga-goðorð, 55; Jöklamanna-goðorð, iii. 166; Rauðmelinga-goðorð, Eb. 288; Reyknesinga-goðorð, Sturl. i. 9, 19; Þórsnesinga-goðorð, 198: the new godords of the Fifth Court, Laufæsinga-goðorð, Nj. 151; Melamanna-goðorð, id., Band., Sturl. i. 227. Passages in the Sagas and Laws referring to goðar and goðorð are very numerous, e. g. Íb. ch. 5, Nj. ch. 98, Grág., Lögréttu-þáttr, and Þ. Þ. passim, esp. ch. 1–5, 17, 35, 37, 39, 44, 58, 60, 61, Lv. ch. 4 (interesting), Vd. ch. 27, 41 (in fine), and 42, Vápn., Hrafn. ch. 2, Eb. ch. 10, 56, Sturl. iii. 98, 104, passim; for the accumulation of godords, see i. 227 (3, 22), Bs. i. 54; for the handing over the godords to the king of Norway, D. I. i; and esp. article 3 of the Sáttmáli, D. I. i. 631, 632. The godords were tithe-free, ef maðr á goðorð, ok þarf eigi þat til tíundar at telja, vald er þat en eigi fé:, K. Þ. K. 142.

COMPDS: goðakviðr, goðalýrittr, goðaþáttr.

II. = goð, i. e. good genius, in the Icel. game at dice called goða-tafl, with the formula, heima ræð eg goða minn bæði vel og lengi, … og kasta eg svo fyrir þig, cp. also ást-goði.

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pers. pron. he.

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pers. pron. masc. he; fem. HÓN or HÚN, she; for the pronunciation of this word see introduction to letter H; as to the inflexion see Gramm. p. xxi; in the MSS. the word is usually abbreviated  = hann; hº or hō = hón; m = hánum; ar = hennar; i or e = henni: the old dat. masc. was hánum, as shewn by rhymes, mána vegr und hánum, Haustl.; but in Icel. it was no doubt sounded h́num, by way of umlaut; it was then sounded hónum with a long vowel, and lastly honum with a short vowel, which also is the mod. form; the old MSS. often spell hánum in full; the spelling hönum in old printed books recalls the old form h́num; from Pass. 9. 7 it may be seen that in the middle of the 17th century the dative was sounded precisely as at present.

2. sing. fem. hón (ho in mod. Norse, hoo in Lancashire) seems to be the older form; the MSS. use both forms hón and hún, but the former is the usual one; it was prob. sounded h́n, which again points to a long root vowel, hánn, hána? [Cp. Ulf. is; Germ. er; A. S., Engl., and Hel. he; old Fris. hi; in the Scandin. idioms with a suffixed demonstrative particle, vide Gramm. p. xxviii; Dan. and Swed. han, hun, etc.]

B. As this word appears almost in every line only special usages need be mentioned, as, ef maðr færir ómaga fram ok beri fé undir hann (acc., sc. ómagi), eðr eigi hann (nom., the same) fé, þá skal hann (nom., sc. maðr) beiða hann (acc., sc. ómagi) með vátta, at hann (nom., the same) seli hánum (dat., sc. maðr) fjár-heimting á hönd þeim mönnum er hann (nom., sc. ómagi) á fé undir, Grág. i. 279; here the context is very perplexing, chiefly owing to the identity of acc. and nom. sing. masc., but also because the pron. is sometimes demonstr., sometimes reflexive; in the latter case an Icel. would now say sér instead of hánum: so also, þá skal hann beiða samþingis-goða, at hanu fái honum (i. e. sibi) mann, 10: again, skal hann selja sókn ok vörn ef hann vill, ok svá varðveizlu fjár síns þess er hann á hér eptir, 146; þá skal hón ráða við ráð frænda síns ( her) nokkurs, 307; Gunnarr kenndi féit at þat var hit sama sem hann (i. e. Njal) hafði honum (i. e. to Gunnar) greitt, Nj. 56.

II. the pers. pron. is often prefixed to a pr. name, as a sign of familiarity; farit upp til hestsins ok gætið hans Kols, Nj. 56; eðr hverr maðr er hann Gunnarr, what sort of a man is Gunnar? 51; ok hleypr á hann Þorkel upp, 114; ok leitið ér at honum Höskuldi, go and look after Hoskuld, 171; sæmd er ek veitta honum Þórólfi bróður þínum, Eg. 112; segir hann Pálnir, Fms. xi. 47; hón Ingibjörg, 49; hann Gísli, Grett. (in a verse); ok berjask við hann Ólaf, Fagrsk. 86; hans Vígólfs, Sól.; svá er, segir hann Þórðr, Ísl. ii. 329:—this has become very freq. in mod. conversational usage, so that a person (nay, even an animal or a ship that has a name) is scarcely ever named without the pron., bidd’ ‘ann Jón að koma, segð’ ‘onum Jóni, vekt’ ‘ana Sigríði; hún Sigga litla, hann Jón litli, etc.; or of ponies, sækt’ ‘ann Brún, legð’ á ‘ana Skjónu; cp. the dialogue in Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 612,—ég skal fylla mína hít, segir ‘ún Hvít, ég ét sem ég þoli, segir ‘ann boli, etc.; or Kvöldv. ii. 197,—taktú þarna frá ‘enni Reyðr og gefð’ ‘enni Hyrnu, hún Húfa hefir flækt sig í niðrbandinu.

III. er hann = who, that; sá maðr er hann vill, Grág. i. 19, 27, 36, vide p. 132.

2. answering to Fr. on, Germ. man, Engl. one; væri sverðit til tækt er hann vildi, when one wished, Eg. 505; but this use is very rare.

f. point of an axe-head.

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n, f. [horn], one of the horns or points of an axe-head, öxar-h., Bjarn. 36, Fms. vii. 191, Nj. 198: of a mountain, a peak, freq.: of a house, Hornklofi: a horned ewe is called hyrna; Mó-hyrna, Grá-h.

II. a nickname, Landn.: in compds, Vatns-h., the book from Vatnshorn, etc.

(dat. höfði, gen. pl. höfða), n.

1) head (höggva höfuð af e-m);

láta e-n höfði skemmra, to behead one;

strjúka aldrei um frjálst höfuð, to be never free, never at ease;

skera e-m höfuð, to make a wry face at one;

heita í höfuð e-m, to be called after a person;

hætta höfði, to risk one’s life;

leggja við höfuð sitt, to stake one’s head;

fœra e-m höfuð sitt, to surrender oneself to an enemy;

drepa niðr höfði, to droop the head;

þoku hóf af höfði, the fog lifted;

stíga yfir höfuð e-m, to overcome one;

hlaða helium að höfði e-m, to leave one dead on the spot;

ganga milli bols ok höfuðs e-s or á e-m, to hew of one’s head, to kill outright;

senda e-n til höfuðs e-m, to send one to take another’s head;

leggja fé til höfuðs e-m, to set a price on one’s head;

leggjast e-t undir höfuð, to put aside, neglect (Þ. lagðist eigi þessa ferð undir höfuð);

vera höfði hærri, to be taller by a head;

2) head, chief (höfuð lendra manna);

Þrándheimr hefir lengi verið kallaðr höfuð Noregs, the chief district of Norway;

3) ornamental prow of a ship (skip með gyltum höfðum);

ornamental head on a bridle (slitnaði sundr beizlit, ok týndist höfuð, er á var).

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n., dat. höfði; gen. pl. höfða, dat. höfðum; in Norse MSS. often spelt hafuð, Anecd. 4 (without umlaut); the root-vowel seems in very early times (8th century) to have been a diphthong; thus Bragi uses the rhymes, laufi—haufði, and rauf—haufuð, Edda; the old ditty with a half rhyme, höfðu vér í haufði, Hkr. i. 104, wou’d be faulty unless we accept a diphthong in the latter word: in good old MSS. (e. g. Sæm. Cod. Reg.) the word is always spelt with ꜹ or au, never o, and probably never had a diphthongal sound; the Norse spelling havuð however points to a short vowel; and later Icel. MSS. spell o or , e. g. Hb. in Vsp. l. c. It is probable that the short vowel originated in the contracted form, as haufði sounds hard; [cp. Goth. haubiþ; A. S. heâfod; Engl. head; Hel. hôbid; O. H. G. houpit; mid. H. G. houbet; mod. G. haupt; Dan. hôved; Swed. hufvud; Ormul. hæfedd (the single f marks a preceding long vowel); thus all old Teut. languages except the Icel. agree in the length of the vowel, whereas Lat. căput, Gr. κεφαλή have a short root vowel.]

A. A head, Vsp. 38, Sdm. 14, Vþm. 19, Þkv. 16, 19, Skm. 23, Nj. 19, 275, Grág. ii. 11, Fms. x. 381, Eg. 181, Edda 59, passim; mátti svá at kveða, at náliga væri tvau höfuð á hverju kvikendi, Hrafn. 22 (of a great increase in stock); Grímr rakaði bratt fé saman, vóru tvau höfuð á hvívetna því er hann átti, Ísl. ii. 14.

II. phrases and sayings, láta höfði skemra, to make one a head shorter, behead, Hým. 15, Fm. 34; strjúka aldrei frjálst höfuð, to stroke never a free head, be never free, never at ease; (sagði) at þeir mundi aldrei um frjálst höfuð strjúka, er vinir hans væri, meðan Þórðr væri höfðingi í Ísafirði, Sturl. ii. 124; eg má aldrei um frjálst höfuð strjúka, I never have any time to spare; sitja aldrei á sárs höfði, to be always quarrelling; skera e-m höfuð, to make a wry face at one, Grett. 17; heita í höfuðit e-m, to be called after a person; hón jós sveininn vatni ok kvað hann skyldu heita í höfuð föður sínum, ok var hann kallaðr Gestr, Bárð. 24 new Ed.: the mod. usage distinguishes between heita í höfuð á e-m, when a person is alive when the child was born, and heita eptir e-m, when that person is dead; halda höfði, to hold one’s head up, Flóv. 43, Og.; bera hátt höfuð, to bear one’s head high, Sturl. iii. 147, Sighvat; hefja höfuðs, to lift one’s head, Thom. 535; drepa niðr höfði, to droop one’s head, Bs. i. 625; þoku hóf af höfði, the fog lifted, Ld. 74; búa hvárr í annars höfði, to be at loggerheads, Sks. 346; fara huldu höfði, to go with a hidden head, in disguise, to hide oneself, Fms. vi. 12; færa e-m höfuð sitt, to surrender oneself to an enemy, Eg. ch. 62, 63, Fms. x. 261; stíga yfir höfuð e-m, to pass over one’s head, overcome one, 304; er á engri stundu örvænt nær elli stígr yfir h. mér, Eb. 332; hlaða hellum at höfði e-m, to leave one dead on the spot, Dropl. 18; ganga milli bols ok höfuðs, ‘to gang between bole and head,’ i. e. to kill outright, Eb. 240; hætta höfði, to risk one’s head, Hm. 106; leggjask e-t undir höfuð, to lay under one’s pillow, to put aside; leggjask ferð undir höfuð, Fær. 132, Orkn. 46; þú munt verða fátt undir höfuð at leggjask ef ek skal við þér taka, Sturl. i. 27; vera höfði hærri, to be a head taller, Fms. x. 381; setja höfuð á höfuð ofan, to set head upon head, Bs. i. 73, (viz. to consecrate a second bishop to a see, which was against the eccl. law); cp. kjósa annan konung í höfuð Davíð, Sks. 801.

III. in a personal sense, in poets, a person, = Lat. caput, Gr. κάρα, κεφαλή; fárgjarnt höfuð, thou fearful woman! Fas. ii. 556; hraustara höfuð, a bolder man, 315; berjask við eitt höfuð, 49; heiptrækt höfuð, Ýt. 25; andprútt höfuð, high-minded man! Sighvat; tírar h., glorious man; leyfðar h., id., Geisli 56; vina höfuð = cara capita, Bm. 2; frænda höfuð, kinsmen, Skáld H. 3. 40; hvarfúst h., thou fickle woman! Hel. 2.

2. a number, tale, head, of animals; fádygt höfuð, of a fox, Merl. 1. 39: head, of cattle, þeir eiga at gjalda þingfarar-kaup, er skulda-hjóna hvert hefir höfuð, kú skuldalausa eða kúgildi, Grág. (Kb.) i. 159, referring to the old way of taxation, which is still the law in Icel., that a freeholder has to pay tax (skattr) only if he has more head of cattle (kúgildi, q. v.), than persons to support.

IV. a head, chief; höfuð lendra manna, Fms. vii. 273; h. ok höfðingi, Stj. 457; Þrándheimr er h. Noregs, Fms. vi. 38; höfuð allra höfuð-tíða (gen.), Leiðarvís. 23.

V. of head-shaped things:

1. a beak, of a ship; með gylltum höfðum, Fms. viii. 385, x. 10, 417, passim; dreka-höfuð, q. v.: the beak was usually a dragon’s head, sometimes a bison’s, Ó. H.; a steer’s, Landn. 5. ch. 8; or it was the image of a god, e. g. of Thor, Fms. ii. 325, (Ó. T. ch. 253); or of a man, Karl-höfði, Ó. H., the ship of St. Olave; cp. the interesting passage, þat var upphaf enna heiðnu laga, at menn skyldu eigi hafa höfuðskip í hafi, en ef þeir hefði, þá skyldi þeir af taka höfuð áðr þeir kæmi í lands-sýn, ok sigla eigi at landi með gapandum höfðum eðr gínandi trjónum, svá at landvættir fældisk við, Landn. (Hb.) 258, Fms. vi. 180 (in a verse), vii. 51 (in a verse). 2. the capital of a pillar, Al. 116, Fb. i. 359 (of tent poles): of carved heads in a hall, sér þú augun útar hjá Hagbarðs-höfðinu? Korm. ch. 3: heads of idols carved on chairs, Fbr. ch. 38: carved heads on high-seats, Eb. ch. 4: that these figures sometimes represented fairies or goddesses is shewn by the word brúða (q. v.) and stólbrúða; heads of bedsteads seem to have been carved in a similar way; cp. also Korm. 86, see tjasna.

3. the head-piece of a bridle; týndi maðr höfði á beisli því er görsema-vel var gört, Bs. i. 314, v. l.; the head of a rake, hrífu-h., etc.

COMPDS: höfðabúza, höfðafjöl, höfðalag, höfðaskip, höfðatal, höfðatala, höfuðband, höfuðbani, höfuðbein, höfuðburðr, höfuðbúnaðr, Höfuðdagr, höfuðdúkr, höfuðfaldr, höfuðfatnaðr, höfuðfetlar, höfuðgerð, höfuðgjarnt, höfuðgull, höfuðhlutr, höfuðhögg, höfuðlausn, höfuðlauss, höfuðleðr, höfuðlín, höfuðmein, höfuðmikill, höfuðmundr, höfuðórar, höfuðrót, höfuðsár, höfuðskél, höfuðskip, höfuðskjálfti, höfuðsmátt, höfuðsnauðr, höfuðsótt, höfuðsteypa, höfuðsundl, höfuðsvími, höfuðsvörðr, höfuðtíund, höfuðverkr, höfuðvíti, höfuðvörðr, höfuðþváttr, höfuðþyngsl, höfuðærr, höfuðærsl.

B. Chief, capital, found like the Gr. ἀρχι- in countless COMPDS: höfuðatriði, höfuðá, höfuðárr, höfuðátt, höfuðbarmr, höfuðbaðmr, höfuðbarmsmaðr, höfuðbaugr, höfuðbenda, höfuðbiti, höfuðbitarúm, höfuðblót, höfuðborg, höfuðból, höfuðbæli, höfuðbær, höfuðdrottning, höfuðefni, höfuðengill, höfuðfaðir, höfuðfirn, höfuðfól, höfuðgersemi, höfuðgjöf, höfuðglæpr, höfuðgoð, höfuðgrein, höfuðgæfa, höfuðhátíð, höfuðhetja, höfuðhof, höfuðinnihald, höfuðísar, höfuðíþrótt, höfuðkempa, höfuðkennimaðr, höfuðkirkja, höfuðklerkr, höfuðkonungr, höfuðkostr, höfuðkvöl, höfuðlist, höfuðlýti, höfuðlæknir, höfuðlærdómr, höfuðlöstr, höfuðsmaðr, höfuðmeistari, höfuðmerki, höfuðmusteri, höfuðnafn, höfuðnauðsyn, höfuðniðjar, höfuðprestr, höfuðráð, höfuðráðgjafi, höfuðskáld, höfuðskepna, höfuðskutilsvein, höfuðskömm, höfuðskörungr, höfuðsmiðr, höfuðspekingr, höfuðstaðr, höfuðstafn, höfuðstafr, höfuðstjarna, höfuðstóll, höfuðstólpi, höfuðstyrkr, höfuðsynd, höfuðsæti, höfuðtunga, höfuðvápn, höfuðveizla, höfuðvél, höfuðvindr, höfuðvinr, höfuðþing, höfuðætt.

f. one of the cardinal points, Rb. 440, Hkr. i. 49.

m. a wind from one of the cardinal points, Rb. 438.

(pl. -ir), f. doing, deed (poet.).

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f., the gen. iðjar, Hkr. ii. 227, points to a root iði; [this root word with derivatives, which in cognate languages is of rare occurrence, seems prop. to mean a perpetual motion, cp. Swed. and poët. Dan. id]:—a doing; orð ok iðir, words and deeds, Nj. (in a verse); ymissar iðir, Sighvat; leyfð ið, id.; tregnar iðir, sorrows, tears, Hðm. 1; þjóð veit þínar iðir, thy feats, Edda (in a verse); því verðr eigi til iðjar né verðs haldit, it can neither be worked nor sold, Hkr. l. c.

a, m. a flaw, fissure in wood.

II. the wrist-piece of a gauntlet beneath the thumb, (opp. to ló or lóð = the finger part); the phrase, á ló og laski! The foreman of a fishing-boat divides the catch of fish into two heaps, then throws a glove between these heaps, and turning his face away shouts, á ló og laski! whereupon each man of the crew has, in his turn, to choose either the ló or the laski, and take his share according to the side to which the laski or the ló points.

(loði, lodda, loðat), v. to cleave to, stick, hang on (haf þú þat silfr, er í hárinu loðir); Hrútr hjó á fót Þjóstólfi svá at lítlu loddi við, so that it hung by a shred; hón loddi á hringinum eptir magni, she kept as firm hold as she could of the ring.

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pres. loði; pret. loddi; part. loðat; but the part. adj. loðinn points to a lost strong verb:—to cleave to, cling fast, stick, the original notion being of a shaggy, hairy thing; þat er liðnm loðir saman, N. G. L. i. 345; en þegar er nokkurr maðr átti samlag við konu innan borgar, þú loddu þau saman sem hundar, Fms. xi. 385; lát hella silfr í höfuð þér ok haf slíkt sem í hárinu loðir, vi. 375; hón loddi ok límdisk við hendrnar, Stj. 292; hold loðir yðr í klóm, Hornklofi; loddi rá við raman reimuð Jötun-heima, Haustl.; en svá loddi honum þat vel í eyrum, at …, Bs. i. 163; Rútr hjó með hægri hendi á fót Þjóstólfi fyrir ofan knéit svá at litlu loddi við, i. e. cut the leg nearly off, so that it hung by a shred, Nj. 28; í því hjó Eyjólfr á þumal-fingrinn á honum, ok loddi köggullinn á sinunum, Lv. 86; þau drógusk um einn gullhring … hón loddi á hringinum eptir magni, they pulled by a ring, and she clung to the ring, i. e. did her best to hold it fast, Fas. iii. 387; lífit loðir varla í e-m, Str. 56:—with the notion of shagginess, þá fundu þeir at hann loddi flærð einni, they found that he was all shaggy (clothed) with falsehood, Clem. 24.

m. a calendar with points, Rb. 512, 530.

(gen. rastar, pl. rastir), f. a strong current in the sea, race.

(gen. rastar, pl. rastir), f. a distance of four or five miles.

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f., gen. rastar, pl. rastir, qs. vröst (?); [cp. reistr, rist; Engl. race; Norm. Fr. raz]:—a current, stream in the sea, such as the Pentland Firth; nú ef maðr hittir hval á röstum út, Gþl. 464; sigldu þeir í röst norðr fyrir Straumneskinum, … féll um sjórinn ok því næst vellti … hann lagðisk út í röstina, Fms. ix. 320; ok er þeir sigldu yfir Petlands-fjörð, var uppi röst mikil í firðinum, x. 145; vestr í röstum, Orkn. 154 (in a verse): in local names, Látra-röst in western Iceland. rasta-fullr, adj. full of currents, Sks. 223.

f., gen. rastar, pl. rastir, [different from the preceding; Ulf. rasta = μίλιον, Matth. v. 41; A. S. and Engl. rest; O. H. G. rasta; Germ. rast]:—prop. rest, but used only in the metaph. sense of a mile, i. e. the distance between two ‘resting-places,’ or ‘baiting’ points: distances on land were counted by rasts, on sea by vika, which seem to have been of equal length, thus in the old Swed. law, rost at landi, vika at vatni, Schlyter. The ancient Scandinavian rast seems to have answered to the modern geographical mile, which agrees with the Latin mille only in name, its actual distance being that of the rast, not the Roman mille passus. The distances were not measured, but roughly guessed, and varied (like the Swiss stunde) according to the nature of the ground traversed, the rasts through mountains or deserts being shorter than those in an inhabited district; hence such phrases as, þat eru langar tvær rastir, it is two long rasts, Fms. ix. 393; þeir sóttu svá hart þessa eyðimörk, at skammar vóru þá þrettán rastir eptir, thirteen short rasts, viii. 33: the following instances may serve, in Norway the distance from Oslo (the present Christiania) to Eidsvold was counted at eight ‘rasts,’ ix. 376; by Captain Gerhard Munthe’s military map of Norway of A. D. 1827, the distance from Christiania to Eidsvold is about eight geographical miles; þeir fórusk svá nær at eigi var lengra til en röst, 371; þeir ríða síðan útta rastir … þrjár vikur eptir vötnum, 376; riðu þeir nökkura hálfa röst, 523; þat var eina nótt, at eigi var lengra milli náttstaða þeirra en röst, viii. 63; rastar langr, ix. 394, 402; rastar-djúpr, Hým.: of the old forests, Eiða-skógr er tólf rasta langr, Fms. ix. 354; skógr tólf rasta langr, … þann skóg er áttján rasta var yfir, viii. 30, 31; sá skógr er Tvíviðr heitir, hann er tólf rasta breiðr, Rb. 332; fjögurra rasta ok tuttugu, Gullþ. 52:—six ‘rasts’ done afoot in one night is recorded as something extraordinary, Ólafi kom njósnin um kveldit, en þeir gengu um nóttina sex rastir ok þótti mönnum þat furðu-mikit farit, þeir kómu á Ryðjökul um óttu-söng, Fms. vii. 317; átta röstum, Þkv.: an immense distance is given at ‘a hundred rasts,’ hundrað rasta á hverjan veg, Vþm. (Edda 41); hundrað rasta heyrði smell, Skíða R. 150: heim-röst, a homestead; út-röst, the outskirt.