proof

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f. a proof, evidence; see sannan.

1) token, proof (of a thing);

hafa e-t til jartegna, to use as a token or evidence;

vera til jartegna, to serve as a token;

2) miracle.

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or jartein, later form jarteikn or even jarðteikn, but not so in good MSS.; in Thom. S. even spelt hjartegn; jargtegn (badly), Fms. xi. 38: that the syllable tein was sounded guttural is also shewn by the rhyme, slíks eru jarteignir, Eb. (in a verse); and fr egnar jart egnir, Leiðarv. 6; but also hr ein … jart einir, 36: in the Rekst. the former syllable jart is rhymed on bjart: [Hel. word-têkan, O. H. G. and mid. H. G. wort-zeichen shew the true etymology to be word-token, whence, by a false etymology, arose the mid. H. G. and mod. Germ. war-zeichen; in the Scandin. the w was changed into j, Dan. jertegn, Grimm’s Gramm. ii. 481, note; the word is however scarcely genuine Scandinavian, although it occurs in poems of the former part of the 11th century, e. g. the Rekst., as also in Eb. in the Hrafnsmál; but it is freq. used in the Sagas]:

I. a token, a ring, knife, belt, sword, or the like; properly, ‘a word’s token,’ which a messenger had to produce in proof that his word was true; orð ok jartegnir, orðsending ok jartegnir, Fms. i. 21. Eg. 36. 167, 467, 477; erendi ok j., 472; bréf ok j., Fms. vii. 47, (see bréf); með skilríkum vitnum ok jartegnum, Gþl. 60; senda menn með jartegnum, Eg. 67; fá e-m jartegnir sínar, bera fram jartegnir e-s, 96; bera upp örendi sín ok sýna jartegnir, Ó. H. 53; fingrgull þetta fær þú Rögnvaldi jarli, þær jartegnir mun hann kenna, id.; bar hann fram orðsendingar konungs ok sýndi þat með jartegnum, Eg. 38; þeim er taka vilja við vináttu minni ok jartegnum, Ó. H. 75; vera til jartegna, to be a token or proof of a thing, Eg. 49, 768; hafa e-t til jartegna, use as a token, proof, Sks. 725 B, Fms. viii. 197, Gísl. 97; nú tak hér gullit ok haf til jartegna, Fs. 8; nú er hér gull er þú skalt bera til jarteigna, at ek sendi þik, 7; fluttu sendimenn hér með konungi berar jarteignir af jarli at þeir fóru með sönnum hans eyrendum, Hkr. i. 327; sannar jartegnir, til sannra jartegna at þú segir satt, þá fær þú honum, Fms. iii. 61, Eg. 28, 476; þat eru miklar jartegnir, hve hlyðnir …, it is a great token, how …, Íb. 16; þat vóru jarteinir, at herr var í landi, it served as a token, that …, Fms. i. 167.

II. in sing. as well as plur. a miracle, esp. as a token or proof of the holiness of a saint, Nj. 162, Clem. 47, 59, Fms. vii. 351, xi. 38, Rb. 374, 418, Hkr. ii. 393; þat mun þér þykkja jartein—Þat kalla ek atburð, segir hann, en eigi jartein, Sturl ii. 54; báru jarteinir vitni heilagleik hans, Greg. 57; Guðs jarteinir, Fms. i. 133.

2. a mystery; vita jartegnir ríkis Guðs, Hom. 67 (Mark iv. 11): in mod. usage, N. T., Pass., Vídal., krapta-verk, and not jarteikn.

III. gramm. token, value, of a letter; hafa eitt hljóð ok jartein, Skálda 166 (Thorodd); þeirra stafa má þarnask ef vill í váru máli, þvíat engi er einka jartein þeirra, 167; líkneski, nafn ok j., id.

COMPDS: jarteinabók, jarteinagörð, jarteinakraptr, jarteinamaðr, jarteinarsamliga.

n. pl.

1) truth, verity (ef hann vill heldr trúa lygi en sannindum); e-t er með sannindum, it is true (biskup trúði, at þat mundi með sannindum, er sagt var frá); fara með sannindum, to tell the truth; reynast með sannindum, to prove true; með sannindum at segja, to tell the truth; unna e-m sanninda um e-t, to give one his due;

2) evidence, proof (engi önnur s. hafa menn till þess, nema þau); til sanninda e-s, um e-t, as a proof of.

* * *

n. pl. (sing., Sks. 500, 505, 570, Hom. 117, but rare), sannendi, sannyndi, sooth, truth, verity; með sannendum, for sooth, K. Á. 200; með sannindum at segja, Ísl. ii. 201; vita með sannindum, to know for sooth, Fms. ii. 260; er þat sagt með miklum sannindum, Ísl. ii. 344; ef hann vill heldr trúa lygi en sannindum ok einurð, Eg. 63; manndómr ok s., Fms. ix. 333; unna e-m sanninda um e-t, to give one his due, viii. 149; flytja mál af skynsemi ok sannindum, ix. 451.

2. an evidence, proof; engi önnur sannindi hafa menn til þess, Eb. 332; vér sám ok vissum fyrir full s., with full certainty, Dipl. ii. 16; en vita hver s. til eru, af þeim er þér kennit málit, Lv. 77; nú er þat meirr til sanninda þessa fundar, as a token of this battle, Fs. 18; en þó þykki mér þat merkiligast til sanninda, er berum orðum er sagt á kvæðum … ef eigi væri kvæði bæði ný ok forn, þau er menn tæki þar af s. fræðinnar, proof of, Ó. H. (pref.); með sannindum, Sks. 593; görit sem yðr finnask s. til, Eg. 66; sem honum þætti þar engin s. til, 39; innti hann upp hver s. hann hafði í tilkalli fjár þess, 341; þeir gengu þar til er dómrinn sat, at flytja fram s. sín, 340.

COMPDS: sannindamaðr, sannindasamliga, sannindasögn, sannindisumræða.

(bell, ball, —), v. to hit, hurt, with dat. (ball þér nú?); ekki má ófeigum bella, one not fated to die is proof against all shots.

(-da, -t), v. to dare, venture, with dat.; (hverr mun hafa þessu bellt?); to deal in, display (bella svikum, lygi, gleði).

* * *

ball, a defect. strong verb [cp. Lat. pello, Gr. πάλλω,], to hit, hurt, tell upon; with dat., ekki má ófeigum bella, i. e. one not fated to die is proof against all shots, Ísl. ii. 305; tólf berserkjum, þeim er þeir ætluðu, at ekki mundi b., Fas. iii. 140, 149; ok ætluðu sér ekki b. mundu, Ver. 10; ball þér nú, Bófi (did it strike thee?) … Ball víst, sagði hann, ok ball hvergi meir en þú hugðir, Eb. 240; þykir nú sem þeim muni ekki b., Sturl. iii. 237.

* * *

(að), v.

1) to cut into bits;

2) bita út (útbita), with dat., to extend, distend, stretch out.

* * *

beit, bitu, bitið; pres. bít; imperat. bít, 2nd pers. bittú; poët. forms with the negative, beitat, Eg. (in a verse); subj. bítia, Hkv. 2. 31, [Ulf. beitan; Engl. bite; Germ. beizen]:—to bite, Lat. mordere:

I. properly,

1. with the teeth, Eg. 508, N. G. L. i. 351; b. menn (of a dog), Grág. ii. 119; b. skarð ór, Eg. 605: of a horse, N. G. L. i. 392: foxes killing sheep, Bs. ii. 138, N. G. L. ii. 34 (wolf):—to sting, of wasps, gnats, Landn. 146.

2. of grazing animals; b. gras, lauf, skóg, Grág. ii. 229, (hence beit, pasture); hvar hestar þínir bitu gras, Fs. 57: absol. to graze, Karl. 71.

3. of sharp instruments, weapons (vápnbitinn); engir vóru ósárir nema þeir er eigi bitu járn, except those whom iron could not bite, Eg. 33; sverðit beit ekki, did not cut, Nj. 45, Edda 7; ljárnir bíta, 48; fótrinn brotnaði en eigi beit, the sword did not cut but broke the leg, Bjarn. 66.

β. e-m bítr, one’s weapon ( scythe) cuts well, bites; allt bitu honum annan veg vápnin, Eg. 93.

4. of a ship, to cruise; hér er skip … er vér köllum bíta ( bite the wind) allra skipa bezt, the best sailer, Fs. 27: impers., beit þeim eigi fyrir Reykjanes, they could not clear cape R., Landn. 30.

5. in fishing, to bite, take the bait; bítr vel á um daginn, the fishes did bite, Ld. 40; bíta mætti beitfiskr, q. v.

6. bíta á vörrinni, to bite the lip as a token of pain or emotion, Nj. 68; hann hafði bitið á kampinum, had bitten the beard, 209.

II. metaph.:

α. of frost, cold, sickness, and the like.

β. to bite, sting, hurt; hvat mun oss heldr b. orð hans, why should his speech sting us any more? Grett. 95 A; eigi veit ek prestr, nema orðin þín hafi bitið, thy words have bit, Fms. vii. 39.

γ. as a law term; sekt, sök bítr, the guilt strikes the convict, when brought home to him, hence sakbitinn, guilty; pá menn er hvártveggja hafa bitið, lög, réttindi ok svá dómar, convicted in the face of law and justice, Sks. 655 B; um þau mál sem sekt bítr, i. e. unlawful cases, liable to punishment, K. Á. 148; um þat er sekt bítr, Grett. 133 A (new Ed. 1853), Sks. 655.

δ. b. á e-n, to cut deep, affect, make an impression upon; the phrase, láta ekki á sig b., to stand proof against all; þetta lét Kjartan á sik b., K. felt pain from it, Ld. 204; láttu þetta ekki á þik b., do not mind it, id.; rennr þat öðrum opt mjök í brjóst, er á suma bítr ekki (of the conscience), 655 xi.

ε. e-t bítr fyrir, something ‘bites off,’ i. e. is decisive, makes a thing impossible or out of question; þat annat ( the other reason) er þó bítr skjótara, which is still more decided against it, Fms. ii. 266; þeir kváðust þenna kost eigi vilja, ok kváðu þat tvennt til vera er fyrir beit, two decided obstacles, reasons against it, Sturl. iii. 47; þú ert miklu œri maðr at aldri, en svá at vér hafim her lögtekna í Jómsborg, ok bítr þat fyrir, that puts it out of question, makes it impossible, Fms. x. 93; Þorgilsi þykir nú þetta ráð mega fyrir bíta, Th. thought this would be quite sufficient,—fyrir hlíta would here be better,—Ld. 264; þeir höfðu jafnan minna hlut ór málum, þó þetta bití nú fyrir, they always got the worst of it, though this was a thorough beating, Fas. i. 144; (þat er) lögmanni ok lögréttumönnum þykir fyrir b., seems a decisive proof, cuts the case off at once, N. G. L. ii. 21; b. e-m at fullu, to prove fatal to, tell fully upon; hafa mik nú at fullu bitið hans ráð, Fs. 8; Njáls bíta ráðin, a proverb quoted by Arngrim in Brevis Comment., written A. D. 1593, denoting the sagacity of Njal’s schemes; beit þetta ráð, it was effective, Fs. 153; e-m bítr við at horfa, Band. 7 C, is no doubt a false reading, = býðr, which is the reading l. c. of the vellum MS. 2845, vide bjóða.

III. recipr. of horse fight, Rd. 298.

mod. dans, n. a word of for. origin; [cp. mid. Lat. dansare; Fr. danser; Ital. danzare; Engl. dance; Germ. tanz, tanzen.] This word is certainly not Teutonic, but of Roman or perhaps Breton origin: the Icel. or Scandin. have no genuine word for dancing,—leika means ‘to play’ in general: the word itself (danza, danz, etc.) never occurs in the old Sagas or poetry, though popular amusements of every kind are described there; but about the end of the 11th century, when the Sagas of the bishops (Bs.) begin, we find dance in full use, accompanied by songs which are described as loose and amorous: the classical passage is Jóns S. (A. D. 1106–1121), ch. 13. Bs. i. 165, 166, and cp. Júns S. by Gunnlaug, ch. 24. Bs. i. 237—Leikr sá var kær mönnum áðr en hinn heilagi Jón varð biskup, at kveða skyldi karlmaðr til konu í danz blautlig kvæði ok rægilig; ok kona til karlmanns mansöngs vísur; þenna leik lét hann af taka ok bannaði styrkliga; mansöngs kvæði vildi hann eigi heyra né kveða láta, en þó fékk hann því eigi af komið með öllu. Some have thought that this refers to mythical (Eddic) poetry, but without reason and against the literal sense of the passage; the heathen heroic poems were certainly never used to accompany a dance; their flow and metre are a sufficient proof of that. In the Sturl. (Hist. of the 12th and 13th century) dancing is mentioned over and over again; and danz is used of popular ballads or songs of a satirical character (as those in Percy’s ballads): flimt ( loose song) and danz are synonymous words; the Sturl. has by chance preserved two ditties (one of A. D. 1221, running thus—Loptr liggr í Eyjum, bítr lunda bein | Sæmundr er á heiðum, etr berin ein. Sturl. ii. 62, and one referring to the year 1264—Mínar eru sorgirnar þungar sem blý, Sturl. iii. 317) sufficient to shew the flow and metre, which are exactly the same as those of the mod. ballads, collected in the west of Icel. (Ögr) in the 17th century under the name of Fornkvæði, Old Songs, and now edited by Jon Sigurdsson and Svend Grundtvig. Danz and Fornkvæði are both of the same kind, and also identical with Engl. ballads, Dan. kæmpeviser. There are passages in Sturl. and B.S. referring to this subject — færðu Breiðbælingar Lopt í flimtun ok görðu um hann danza marga, ok margskonar spott annat, Sturl. ii. 57, cp. 62; Danza-Bergr, the nickname of a man (Stud, ii), prob. for composing comic songs; danza-görð, composing comic songs; fylgðar-menn Kolbeins fóru með danza-görð, … en er Brandr varð varr við flimtan þeirra, iii. 80; þá hrökti Þórðr hestinn undir sér, ok kvað danz þenna við raust, 317.

β. a wake, Arna S. ch. 2; in Sturl. i. 23; at the banquet in Reykhólar, 1119, the guests amused themselves by dancing, wrestling, and story-telling; þá var sleginn danz í stofu, ii. 117; í Viðvík var gleði mikil ok gott at vera; þat var einn Drottins dag at þar var danz mikill; kom þar til fjöldi manna; ok ríðr hann í Viðvík til danz, ok var þar at leik; ok dáðu menn mjök danz hans, iii. 258, 259; honum var kostr á boðinn hvat til gamans skyldi hafa, sögur eða danz um kveldit, 281;—the last reference refers to the 21st of January, 1258, which fell on a Sunday (or wake-day): in ballads and tales of the Middle Ages the word is freq.:—note the allit. phrase, dansinn dunar, Ísl. Þóðs. ii. 8: the phrases, stiga danz; ganga í danz; brúðir í danz, dansinn heyra; dans vill hun heyra, Fkv. ii. 7. Many of the burdens to the mod. Icel. ballads are of great beauty, and no doubt many centuries older than the ballads to which they are affixed; they refer to lost love, melancholy, merriment, etc., e. g. Blítt lætur veröldin, fölnar fögr fold | langt er síðan mitt var yndið lagt í mold, i. 74; Út ert þú við æginn blá, eg er hér á Dröngum, | kalla eg löngum, kalla eg til þin löngum; Skín á skildi Sól og sumarið fríða, | dynur í velli er drengir í burtu riða, 110; Ungan leit eg hofmann í fögrum runni, | skal eg í hljóði dilla þeim mér unm; Austan blakar laufið á þann linda, 129; Fagrar heyrða eg raddirnar við Niflunga heim; Fagrt syngr svanrinn um sumarlanga tíð, | þá mun list að leika sér mín liljan fríð, ii. 52: Einum unna eg manninum, á meðan það var, | þó hlaut eg minn harm að bera í leyndum stað, 94; Svanrinn víða. svanurinn syngr viða, 22; Utan eptir firðinum, sigla fagrar fleyr | sá er enginn glaður eptir annan þreyr, 110; Svo er mér illt og angrsamt því veldur þú, | mig langar ekki í lundinn með þá jungfrú, Espol. Ann. 1549. The earliest ballads seem to have been devoted to these subjects only; of the two earliest specimens quoted in the Sturl. (above), one is satirical, the other melancholy; the historical ballads seem to be of later growth: the bishops discountenanced the wakes and dancing (Bs. l. c., Sturl. iii), but in vain: and no more telling proof can be given of the drooping spirits of Icel. in the last century, than that dancing and wakes ceased, after having been a popular amusement for seven hundred years. Eggert Olafsson in his poems still speaks of wakes, as an eyewitness; in the west of Icel. (Vestfirðir) they lasted longer, but even there they died out about the time that Percy’s ballads were published in England. The Fornkvæði or songs are the only Icel. poetry which often dispenses with the law of alliteration, which in other cases is the light and life of Icel. poetry; vide also hofmaðr, viki-vakar, etc. In the 15th century the rímur (metrical paraphrases of romances) were used as an accompaniment to the danz, höldar danza harla snart, ef heyrist vísan mín; hence originates the name man-söngr ( maid-song), minne-sang, which forms the introduction to every ríma or rhapsody; the metre and time of the rímur are exactly those of ballads and well suited for dancing. An Icel. MS. of the 17th century, containing about seventy Icel. Fornkvæði, is in the Brit. Mus. no. 11,177; and another MS., containing about twenty such songs, is in the Bodl. Libr. no. 130.

* * *

1) mark, token, sign; þat er eitt m. um djarfleik hans, one proof of his daring; til marks um e-t, as a token (proof) of;

2) matter of importance; er þat ekki m., it signifies nothing; lítit m. er at því, it is of little consequence; lítit m. var þá at, er þeir Beli hittust, of no great account was his meeting with B.; at marki, in real earnest, greatly (reiðast at marki);

3) mark (as a sign of property); kenna sitt m. á e-u, to recognize as one’s own mark; a mark on sheep’s ears (þá var m. Sigfúss á sauðum);

4) ornamental figure (hón hafði knýtt um sik blæju ok vóru í mörk blá);

5) boundary mark (skógar m.).

* * *

n., pl. mörk, [a word common to all Teut. languages; Ulf. marka = ὅριον; A. S. mearc; Engl. march; Germ., Swed., and Dan. mark; Lat. margo; the original sense is an outline, border, whence are derived mörk, border-land; also merki, merkja, q. v.]:—a landmark; mark milli Grafar ok Bakka, Dipl. ii. 2 (landa-merki); ganga yfir þat mark er náttúran hefir sett, Mar.: a mark for shooting, skjóta til marks, Sks. 379 (mark-bakki).

II. a mark as a sign of property; kenna sitt mark á e-u, to recognise as one’s own mark, Bs. i. 720.

2. a mark on sheep’s ears; bregða af marki á sauðum, Grág. i. 397; nú bregðr maðr búi sínu er mark á, ok er honum rétt at ljá öðrum marks, 425; ef maðr leggr alstýfinga-mark á fé sitt, ok varðar fjörbaugs-garð nema honum sé lofat á lögréttu, 426; ef menn taka mark at erfð þá skulu þeir skipta þvi sem öðrum arfi, 422; þat fé gékk með mörkum Þóris, Gullþ. 26: phrases, erfða-mark, a ‘hereditary mark;’ eiga mark saman, Grág. i. 423; nauta-mark, 397.

COMPD: markatafla.

III. metaph. a mark, sign; ek vil segja þér eitt til marks um, at …, Nj. 56; ok til marks, at sýna várn góðvilja, Fms. i. 104; ok er þat eigi mark ( that is of no mark) þvíat mér eru hér allar leiðir kunnar, ii. 80; þetta er eigi meira mark, is of no more mark, Mirm.; ok at lítið mark sé at, hverju þú heitr, Fms. vii. 120; ekki er mark at draumum, Sturl. ii. 217; ekki er enn mark at, nær munu vit gangask enn áðr lýkr, i. e. this is nothing, only the beginning, Nj. 176; þat göra hér ungir sveinar er lítið mark mun at þykkja, Edda 32; lítið mark var þá at, er þeir Beli hittusk …, 23; enn er meira mark at of hjörtinn Eikþyrni, 24; þat er eitt mark um lítillæti hans, 81; ok til marks, at þú hefir verit, Fs. 18; sem í þessu marki sýndisk þeir hlutir, at …, Bs. i. 750; dauða-mörk, lífs-mark, q. v.: at marki, adverb, greatly, signally, Karl. 171, 181, 196, Bs. ii. 65.

IV. spec. usage, of embroidery, woven marks, figures; hón hafði knýtt um sik blæju ok vóru í mörk blá, Ld. 244.

COMPDS: markadeili, markamót, markaskrá, marksmaðr.

* * *

1) proof, evidence;

2) ordeal, trial (of a fact).

* * *

n. a proof, evidence; til prófs ok jartegna, Stj. 199; með prófi ok skilríki, H. E. i. 436: an ordeal, þá geng ek til þessa prófs með því skilríki, at …, Fms. i. 305: an inquest, examination, öll þau landamerki skyldi undir því prófi standa sem herra biskup tæki Rafns vegna, Dipl. i. 6; þar til er próf kemr til, Gþl. 493.

COMPDS: prófsbréf, prófafullr.

1) assertion, confirmation;

2) proof (til sannanar síns máls).

* * *

or sönnun, f. a proof, argument, Edda 127, MS. 655 ix. B. 2; til sönnunar síns máls, Fas. ii. 533, freq. in mod. usage: an assertion, confirmation, Stj. 3.

COMPDS: sönnunar-dæmi, -mark, n. evidence, Greg. 73, Stj. 203. sönnunar-maðr, m. = sannaðarmaðr, Grág. ii. 409, Nj. 241; hafa sönnunarmann sögu sinnar, Rd. 238. sannanar-orð, adj. an epithet, Edda (Ht.) 122. sönnunar-vitni, n. = sannaðarvitni, Eg. 344, v. l.

(sónn, satt), a.

1) true (sónn saga); hón sagði þór satt frá Geirróði, she told Thor the truth about G.; nú skal ek segja þér it sanna, now I will tell thee the truth; hafa e-t fyrir satt, to be sure (convinced) of; hafa sannara, to be in the right (skal konungr um segja, hvárir sannara hafi); gøra e-t satt, to make good, prove (hvern veg gørir þú þat satt); s. sem dagr, true as day, clear as noonday (= dagsannr); sönnu sagðr, justly charged; með sönnu, at sönnu, in truth, truly; til sanns, certainly, for certain (vita e-t til sanns);

2) meet, proper (væri þat sannara, at þú værir drepinn);

3) s. at e-u, convicted of, (proved) guilty of (s. at sökinni).

1) truth (vita sann á e-u); fœra e-m heim sanninn, to tell one the bitter truth;

2) fairness; e-t er nær sanni, is fair or reasonable; ástir þeirra vóru at góðum sanni, they loved each other fittingly;

3) estimation; bœtta e-t við góðra manna sann, according to the estimate of good men.

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m. (saðr, Am. 6). justice, equity, as also evidence, proof; kenn mér engan sann, do not teach me any lessons, Fms. iii. 85; færa e-m heim sanninn, to tell one the bitter truth or the real state of things, Lv. 20; e-t er nær sanni, near the truth, fair, reasonable, moderate, Fb. iii. 451, Fms. vii. 238 (x. 420); ástir þeirra vóru at góðum sanni, they loved one another fairly, Bjarn. 12; vil ek bæta þat með sann ( estimation) góðra manna, Sturl. iii. 139, Fbr. 43 new Ed.; skulu þeir göra þér sæmðir við várn sann, as we may deem fair, Sturl. iii. 151; Þorgils skyldi sæma Halldór nokkuru eptir því sem sannr hans (i. e. Th.’s) væri til, 168; eigi vitu vér sann á því, we know not the truth thereof, have no proof of it, Fms. vii. 275; mjök þykki mér hann bera sinn sann á þetta, Fs. 46; hón kvaðsk hafa sinn sann við (for sitt satt), 170.

n. a proof, evidence, = skilrekki; sýna s. til e-s, Grett. 121 A; sýna e-t með s., Jb. 170; sýna fullt s., Dipl. ii. 16; með fullu s., Th. 4; skrár ok s., Pm. 68; eptir því sem góðra manna s. þar um vátta, 46; fyrndar s., a proof of prescription, Dipl. ii. 5.

2. of a deed (as a document), Ann. 1361; bréf ok skilríki (plur.), Bs. i. 818, freq. in mod. usage, but skilrekki seems to be the older and truer form.

(pl. -ir), f. thousand.

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f.; sérhverja þúsund, Stj. 298; á þúsund (dat.), Sks. 705; tvær, þrjár … þúsundir, 623. 53: in mod. usage it is mostly neut. (influenced by Latin?), but also fem. It is spelt þús-hund, Barl. 53; þús-hundum, Fms. vi. 409 (v. l.), Geisli 49; another form þús-hundrað (q. v.) is freq., esp. in Stj., Barl.; this double form -hund and -hundrað answers to the equally double form of ‘hundred,’ see p. 292, and is a proof that þúsund is a compound word, the latter part of which is ‘hund’ or ‘hundred;’ the etymology of the former part ‘þús’ is less certain; it is, we believe, akin to þysja, þyss, þaus-nir (a lost strong verb þúsa, þaus, þusu); þúsund would thus literally mean a swarm of hundreds: [in Goth. the gender varies, þûsundi, pl. þusundjos = χίλιοι, or þusundja, neut.; A. S. þûsend; Engl. thousand; O. H. G. dusunta; Germ. tausend, qs. dausend; Swed. tusende and tusen; Dan. tusinde; Dutch tuysend: this word is also common to the Slavon. languages: again, the Lapp, duhat and Finn. tuhat are no doubt borrowed from the Slavon. or Scandin.; the Gr., Lat., and Sansk. use other words]—a thousand.

B. There is little doubt that with the ancient heathen Scandinavians (and perhaps all Teutons), before their contact with the civilised southern people, the notion of numbers was limited, and that their thousand was not a definite number, but a vague term, denoting a swarm, crowd, host (cp. the Gr. μυρίοι): in ancient lays it occurs thrice (Hkv., Em., Fas. i. 502), but indefinitely; hvat þrym er þar sem þúsund bifisk eðr mengi til mikit, what a din is there as if a thousand were shaking, or an over-mickle multitude, Em. 2; sjau þúsundir, Hkv. 1. 49, literally = seven thousands, but in fact meaning seven hosts of men.

2. the dat. pl. þúsundum is, like huudruðum, used adverbially = by thousands, in countless numbers, Fms. vi. 409 (in a verse), Geisli 49.

3. in the ancient popular literature, uninfluenced by southern writers, ‘þúsund,’ as a definite number, occurs, we think, not half-a-dozen times. As the multiple of ten duodecimal hundreds, ere the decimal hundred was adopted, ‘þnsund’ would mean twelve decimal hundreds; and such is its use in the Sverris Saga, Fms. viii. 40, where one vellum says ‘tvær þúsundir,’ whilst the others, by a more idiomatic phrase, call it ‘twenty hundreds.’

II. in ecclesiastical writers, and in annals influenced by the Latin and the like, it is frequent enough; tíu þúsundir, fjórtán þúsundir, Fms. i. 107, 108 (annalistic records); fimm þúsundir, xi. 386, Al. 111; tíu þúsundum, Sks. 705; tíu þúsundum sinna hundrað þúsunda, Hom.; þúsund þúsunda, a thousand of thousands, i. e. a million, (mod.); hundrað þúsundir rasta ok átta tigir þúsunda, … hundrað þúsund mílna, Fb. i. 31 (in the legend of Eric the Far-traveller and Paradise, taken from some church-legend); fjórar þúsundir, Þiðr. 234: or of the years of the world, sex þúsundir vetra, Fs. 197; sjau þúsundir vetra, Landn. 34.

C. REMARKS.—The popular way of counting high numbers was not by thousands, but by tens (decades) and duodecimal hundreds as factors; thus ten … twenty hundreds, and then going on three, four, five, six … tens of hundreds (a ‘ten of hundreds’ being = 1200). The following references may illustrate this—tíu hundruð, ellefu hundruð, tólf hundruð, þrettán hundruð, fimtán hundruð …, Íb. 17, Ó. H. 119, 201, Fms. vii. 295, xi. 383, 385. From twenty and upwards—tuttugu hundrað manna, twenty hundreds of men, Fms. vii. 324, viii. 40; hálfr þriðitugr hundraða skipa, two tens and a half hundreds of ships, i. e. twenty-five hundreds, Fas. i. 378; þrjá tigu hundraða manna, three tens of hundreds of men, Fms. viii. 311; var skorat manntal, hafði hann meirr enn þrjá tigu hundraða manna, vii. 204; þrír tigir hundraða, D. N. v. 18; user fjorir tigir hundraða manna, nearly four tens of hundreds of men, Fms. vii. 275; á fimta tigi hundraða, on the fifth ten of hundreds, i. e. from four to five tens of hundreds, viii. 321; sex tigir hundraða, six tens of hundreds, 311, xi. 390; sex tigu hundraða manna, Fb. ii. 518, D. I. i. 350,—all odd amounts being neglected. The highest number recorded as actually reckoned in this way is ‘six tens of hundreds’ (fimtán tigir hundraða, fifteen tens of hundreds, Fms. viii. 321, v. l., is a scribe’s error): it is probable that no reckoning exceeded twelve tens of hundreds. All high multiples were unintelligible to the ancients; the number of the Einherjar in Walhalla is in the old lay Gm. thus expressed,—there are ‘five hundred doors in Walhalla, and five tens beside (the ‘five tens’ are, by the way, merely added for alliteration’s sake), and eight hundred Einherjar will walk out of each door when they go out to fight the Wolf’ (on the Day of final Doom). There seems to have been some dim exaggerated notion of a definite thousand in an ancient lay, only preserved in a half alliterative prose paraphrase, Fas. i. 502, where a mythical host is given thus,—there were thirty-three phalanxes, each of five ‘thousand,’ each thousand of thirteen hundreds, each hundred four times counted. The armies in the battle of Brawalla, the greatest of the mythical age, are given, not in numbers, but by the space the ranks occupied, Skjöld. S. ch. 8. This resembles the story in Ó. H. ch. 59, of the two young brothers, king’s sons: when asked what they would like to have most of, the one said: ‘Cows.’ ‘And how many?’ ‘As many,’ said he, ‘as could stand packed in a row round the lake (Mjösen in Norway) and drink.’ ‘But you?’ they asked the other boy: ‘House-carles’ (soldiers), said he. ‘And how many?’ ‘As many,’ said he, ‘as would in one meal eat up all my brother’s cows.’ Add also the tale of the King and the Giant, and the number of the giant’s house-carles, Maurer’s Volksagen 306. No less elementary was the rule for division and fractions, of which a remarkable instance is preserved in an ancient Icelandic deed, called Spákonu-arfr, published in D. I. i. 305. See also the words tigr, hundrað, skor, skora, and the remarks in Gramm. p. xix. The Homeric numeration, as set forth in Mr. Gladstone’s Homeric Studies, vol. iii, p. 425 sqq., is highly interesting, and bears a striking resemblance to that of the ancient Scandinavians. We may notice that in Iceland land and property are still divided into hundreds (hundreds of ells = 120), see hundrað B; in this case a thousand is never used, but units and hundreds of hundreds as factors, thus, sex tögu hundraða, in Reykh. Máld, (a deed of the 12th century), and so still in mod. usage; a wealthy man of the 15th century is said to have bequeathed to his daughters in land, ‘tólf hundruð hundraða ok ellefu-tíu og tvau hundruð betr, en í lausafé fimm hundruð hundraða,’ i. e. twelve hundreds of hundreds and ‘eleventy’ and two hundreds, and in movables five hundreds of hundreds, Feðga-æfi 16 (by the learned Bogi Benidiktsson of Staðarfell in Iceland, A. D. 1771–1849); sjau hundruð hundraða og þrjátigi hundruð betr, 21; hann eptir-lét börnum sínum fjármuni upp á níu hundruð hundraða, 22,—a proof that in very remote times, when this valuation of land first took place, ‘thousand’ was still unknown as a definite number.

1) proof, reason; draga þeir eigi sízt til dœmis þar um, at, in proof of this they specially adduce the fact, that;

2) incident, fact; þó hafa mörg dœmi orðit, í forneskju, yet many things have happened in elden times; hörð dœmi, hard fate; at eigi verði oss Adams dœmi, that the same shall not happen to us as to A.;

3) tale, story (Ari prestr fróði, er mörg dœmisparklig hefir saman sett);

4) poem, verses (þessi dœmi öll eru kveðin um þenna atburð);

5) quotation (draga fram dœmi af bókum);

6) example for imitation, model (eptir dœmum kristinna manna); taka dœmi af e-m, to take an example by one;

7) example, instance, precedent (djarfari en dœmi munu til vera); umfram dœmi, ór dœmum, unexampled, unprecedented (kom þá svá mikill snjór, at þat var ór dœmum); meirr en til dœmis or til dœma at taka (draga), to take an example.

f. trial ( proof) of strength; in plur. bodily exercises; Skallagrímr hendi mikit gaman at aflraunum ok leikum, Eg. 187; er þat flestra manna ætlan, at Grettir hafi verit sterkastr hérlandsmanna, síðan þeir Ormr ok þórálfr lögðu af aflraunir, Grett. 133; þótti þetta mikil a., Fms. iii. 210, Finnb. 274: cp. aflsraun.

f. show, exhibition, Skálda 199. transl. of Lat. demonstratio; H. E. i. 517. proof, demonstration.

f. proof of courage, pluck, Fms. vi. 166.

(bell, ball, —), v. to hit, hurt, with dat. (ball þér nú?); ekki má ófeigum bella, one not fated to die is proof against all shots.

(-da, -t), v. to dare, venture, with dat.; (hverr mun hafa þessu bellt?); to deal in, display (bella svikum, lygi, gleði).

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d, [A. S. bealdjan; Hel. beldjan], to deal with one in a certain way, esp. of unfair dealing; with dat., hvar viti menn slíku bellt við konungmann, who did ever see a king thus dealt with, Eg. 415; hvat skal ek göra við biskup, er slíku hefir bellt, … who has dared to deal thus, Orkn. 252; hver … mun hafa þessu bellt, at brjóta guð várn Bal, Stj. 391. Judges vi. 99; but more freq. in poetry, bella svikum, to deal in treason, Hallfreð; lygi, Þkv. 10; bragði, Am. 55; b. glaumi, gleði, to be in high spirits, Gkv. 2. 29; cp. mod. bralla, að, brellur, f. pl. tricks.