remains

* * *

f. pl.

1) leavings, remnants, esp. of food;

2) effect, result (illa gefast ills ráðs leifar).

* * *

a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

* * *

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

WITH ACC.

A. Loc.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. Metaph. and in various relations:

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

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

II. denoting in regard to, in respect to:

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

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

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

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

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

IV. denoting the manner or way of doing:

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

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

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

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

VI. connected with nouns,

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

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

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

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

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

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

* * *

1) bone; láta með beini ganga, to deal blows to the very bone, give no quarter; hafa bein í hendi, to be well off;

2) leg, = fótleggr;

3) pl. mortal remains; bera bein or beinin, to be buried (hér mun ek bein bera á Íslandi).

* * *

n. a word common to the Teut. idioms and peculiar to them; [the Goth. word is not on record, as Luke xxiv. 39 and John xix. 36 are lost in Ulf.; A. S. bân; Engl. bone; Germ. bein; Swed.-Dan. ben (been). Sansk., Gr., Lat., and the Slav. languages agree in a totally different root; Sansk. asthi; Gr. οστέον; Lat. os; the Slav. branch all with an initial c, cp. the Lat. costa. Vide Grimm (s. v.), who suggests a relation to Gr. βαίνω; but the native Icel. words beinn, rectus, and beina, promovere, are more likely roots; the original sense might thus be crus, Gr. σκέλος, but Lat. os the secondary one]:— a bone.

I. spec. the leg from the knee to the foot; freq. in Swed. and Dan., but very rare and nearly obsolete in Icel., where leggr is the common word; hosa strengd at beini, Eg. 602, Fms. x. 331; kálfar á beinum fram, N. G. L. i. 339.

II. gener. = Lat. os, a bone, but originally the bones with marrow (Germ. knochen), as may be inferred from the passages, þá er mergund ef b. er í sundr til mergjar, þat er mergr er í, Grág. ii. 11, i. 442, Fms. vii. 118, Vápn. 21, Fas. i. 66, Vígl. 20; stór bein í andliti, with a strongly-marked, high-boned face, Band. 7, whence stórbeinóttr, q. v.; viðbeina, a collar-bone; höfuðbein, pl. head-bones, the scull around the temples and the forehead; er gamlir grísir skyldu halda mér at höfuðbeinum, Grett. (in a verse); strjúka höfuðbeinin; málbein, os loquendi, a small bone in the head; hence the phrase, láta málbeinið ganga, of one talking incessantly and foolishly: metaph. in phrases, láta ganga með beini, to deal blows to the very marrow, deal severely, Ld. 230; hafa bein í hendi (the Danes say, have been i næsen), to have a boned hand, i. e. strength and power, Hrafn. 10, Al. 29.

2. pl. relics, remains (ashes); the phrase, bera bein, to repose, rest, be buried; far þú út til Íslands, þar mun þér auðit verða beinin at bera, Grett. 148, Nj. 201; ok iðrast nú að aptr hvarf að bera b. blá við hrjóstr, Bjarni, 57:—of the relics of saints, Bs. 468, 469; hence beina-færsla, u, f. removal of bones (translatio); in the Catholic age, when churches were removed, the churchyard was dug up and the bones removed also, vide Eb. (in fine), Bjarn. 19, K. Þ. K. 40, Eg. (in fine).

COMPDS: beinavatn, beinagrind, beináta, beinbrot, beinkröm, beinkveisa, beinsullr, beinverkir.

(pl. dísir), f.

1) sister (heitir ok systir dís);

2) a female guardian angel, goddess;

3) maid.

* * *

f., pl. disir, and an older but obsolete form jó-dís, which remains in the earliest poems, jódís ( the sister of) úlfs ok Nara = Hela, Ýt. 7; but Loga dís, the sister of Logi, 9; cp. Edda 109: it also remains in the Icel. fem. pr. name Jódís,—the explanation given in Skálda 183 (from jór, equus, and dís) has no philological value, being only the poet’s fancy: [Hel. idis = virgo; A. S. ides; Grimm ingeniously suggests that the Idistaviso in Tacitus may be corrupt for Idisiaviso, the virgin-mead, from idis and viso = Germ. wiese.]

I. a sister, Ýt. l. c.; heitir ek systir, dís, jódís, a sister is called dis and jódís, Edda 109; dís skjöldunga, the sister of kings, Bkv. 14.

II. generally a goddess or priestess (?), a female guardian-angel, who follows every man from his birth, and only leaves him in the hour of death, cp. the very interesting passages, Hallfr. S. Fs. 114, Þorst. Síðu H. Anal. 184, 185, Gísl., Fms. ii. 192–195 (cp. Nj. 148); hence the phrase, ek kveð aflima orðnar þér dísir, the dísir have left thee, thou art a lost man, Am. 26; cp. also the phrase, heillum horfinn.

2. poët. a maid in general, Lex. Poët.

3. freq. in Icel. as a fem. pr. name, in compds, Jó-dís, Her-dís, Val-dís, Vig-dís, Hjör-dís, etc.

COMPDS: dísablót, dísasalr, dísaskald.

(-s, pl. -ir, gen. -ja), m.

1) a bold, valiant, chivalrous man; drengr góðr, a goodhearted, nobleminded man (auðigr at fé ok drengr góðr); ekki þykki mér þú sterkr, en drengr ertu g., but thou art a good fellow; drengir, en eigi dáðleysingjar, gallant men, and no fainthearts; at þú mættir drengrinn af verða sem beztr, that you might get the greatest credit from it; hafa dreng í serk, to have a stout heart in one’s breast;

2) a young unmarried man (drengir heita ungir menn búlausir, meðan þeir afla sér fjár eða orðstírs);

3) attendant (þeir heita konungs drengir, er höfðingjum þjóna);

4) fellow (lætr síðan sverðit ríða á hálsinn á þeim leiða dreng);

5) pole cf. ásdrengr.

* * *

m., pl. ir, gen. drengs, pl. drengir, on Runic stones drengjar; this is a most curious word, and exclusively Scandinavian; it occurs in the A. S. poem Byrnoth, but is there undoubtedly borrowed from the Danes, as this poem is not very old.

1. the earliest form was probably drangr, q. v., a rock or pillar, which sense still remains in Edda (Gl.) and in the compds ás-drengr, stýris-drengr, cp. Ivar Aasen; it also remains in the verb drengja.

2. it then metaphorically came to denote a young unmarried man, a bachelor, A. S. hagestald, N. H. G. hagestolz; drengir heita ungir menn ok búlausir, Edda 107; ungr d., a youth, 623. 22, Post. 656 C. 32, Edda 35; drengr, a youth, Stj. 409; hverrar ættar ertú d., 465; (hence the mod. Dan. sense of a boy); far-d., a sailor.

3. hence came the usual sense, a bold, valiant, worthy man, and in this sense it is most freq. in all periods of the language. Drengr is a standing word in the Swed. and Dan. Runic monuments, góðr drengr, drengr harða góðr, denoting a good, brave, gallant man, a bold and gentle heart; lagði þá hverr fram sitt skip sem d. var ok skap hafði til, Fms. vi. 315; drengir heita vaskir menn ok batnandi, Edda 107; hraustr d., a gallant d., Ld. 50; d. fullr, a bluff, out-spoken man, Ísl. ii. 363; göfuligr d., Bær. 12; d. góðr, noble-minded; auðigr at fé ok d. góðr, Fms. vi. 356; hann var enn bezti d. ok hófsmaðr um allt, Ld. loo; drengr góðr ok öriggr í öllu, Nj. 30; ekki þyki mér þú sterkr, en drengr ertú góðr, thou art not strong, but thou art a good fellow, Lv. 109; drengs dáð, a ‘derring do,’ the deed of a drengr, Fbr. 90 (in a verse): also used of a lady, kvennskörungr mikill ok d. góðr ok nokkut skaphörð, Nj. 30 (of Bergthora); allra kvenna grimmust ok skaphörðust ok ( but) d. góðr þar sem vel skyldi vera, 147 (of Hildigunna): the phrases, lítill d., a small dreng, or d. at verri, denoting a disgraced man, Nj. 68; at kalla þik ekki at verra dreng, to call thee a dreng none the less for that, Ld. 42; drengir en eigi dáðleysingjar, ‘drengs’ and no lubbers, Sturl. iii. 135; drengr and níðingr are opposed, N. G. L. ii. 420: at Hallgerðr yrði þeim mestr drengr, greatest helper, prop, Nj. 76; at þú mættir drengrinn af verða sem beztr, that thou couldst get the greatest credit from it, Gísl. 48: the phrase, hafa dreng í serk, to have a man (i. e. a stout, bold heart) in one’s sark, in one’s breast, Fms. ix. 381: in addressing, góðr d., my dear fellow, Eg. 407: cp. ‘et quod ipsi in posterurn vocarentur Drenges,’ Du Cange (in a letter of William the Conqueror).

COMPDS: drengjamóðir, drengjaval, drengsaðal, drengsbót, drengsbragð.

* * *

1) ebb-tide, ebb;

2) fore-shore, beach (var þá skógr milli fjalls ok fjöru).

(að), v. impers. to ebb; skip (acc.) fjarar uppi, fjarar undan skipi, the ship is left aground, or remains, high and dry.

* * *

u, f., gen. fjöru, [a Scandin. word, which remains in Orphir in the Orkneys, vide ey]

1. the ebb-tide, ebb, 415. 10, Edda 32–34, Fms. xi. 6, Fs. 157, Grág. ii. 352–366, passim.

2. [cp. fore- in the Engl. fore-shore], the fore-shore, beach, sea-board, Edda l. c., Grág. i. 91, Fas. ii. 148, Nj. 19, Eb. 292, Grett. 89, Orkn. 336, passim: the allit. saying, milli fjalls ok fjöru, between fell and fore-shore; var þá skógr milli fjalls ok fjöru, at that time it was forest between fell and fore-shore, i. e. all over the low land, Landn. 28, Íb. ch. 1; þar sem mætisk gras eðr f., where the grass and sea-beach join, Dipl. iii. 11.

COMPDS: fjöruborð, fjörugrjót, fjörugrös, fjörukóngr, fjörumaðkr, fjörumaðr, fjörumark, fjörumál, fjörunytjar, fjörusteinn, fjörustúfr.

n. (heathen) god.

* * *

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.

* * *

(hefi; hafða, höfðum; hafðr), v.

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

hafa elda, to keep up a five;

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

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

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

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

hafa fagrmæli við e-n, to flatter one;

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

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

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

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

5) to have, hold, maintain;

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

hafa hættumikit, to run a great risk;

hafa heilindi, to have good health;

6) to bring, carry;

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

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

hafa sik (to betake oneself) til annara landa;

7) to take, carry off;

troll hafi þik, the trolls take thee;

8) to get, gain, win;

hann hafði eigi svefn, he got no sleep;

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

hafa gagn, sigr, to gain victor;

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

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

hafa sitt mál, to win one’s suit;

hafa tafl, to win the game;

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

hafa bana, to suffer death, to die;

hafa sigr, to be worsted;

hafa góðar viðtökur, to be well received;

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

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

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

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

9) to wear carry (clothes, weapons);

hann hafði blán kyrtil, he wore a blue kirtle;

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

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

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

hafa sik vel, to behave;

hafa vel, to be well off or happy;

hafa hart, to be in a wretched plight;

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

lög hafið þér at mæla, you are right;

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

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

nær hafði okkr nú, it was a narrow escape;

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

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

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

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

ek hefi sendan mann, I have sent a man;

later with indecl. neut. pp.;

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

14) with preps.:

hafa e-t at, to do, act;

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

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

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

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

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

hafa sakir á e-n have charges against one;

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

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

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

hafa mál fram, to proceed with a suit;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

hafa e-t með höndum, to have in hand;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

keisari hafði fátt um, did not say much;

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

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

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

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

hafa uppi tafl, to play at a game;

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

hafa uppi rœður, to begin a discussion;

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

hafa við e-m, to be a match for one;

hafa sik við, to exert oneself;

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

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

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

haf ekki slíkt við, do not say so;

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

15) refl., hafast.

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

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

II. to hold:

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

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

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

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

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

6. with prepp. or infin.,

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

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

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

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

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

2. with prepp.:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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(lifl, lifða, lifat), v.

1) to be left (er þriðjungr lifði nætr); meðan öld lifir, while the world stands;

2) to live; meðan hann lifði, while he lived; at sér lifanda, in his life-time; lifa eptir e-n, to survive one (verðr maðr eptir annan at l.); l. við e-t, to live on, feed on (þeir lifðu nú við reka ok smádýri);

3) to burn, of fire (lifði þar eldr í skála).

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pres. lifi; pret. lifði; imperat. lif, lifðú, an older form lifi, 655 iv. 1, Stj. 445; neut. part. lifat, masc. lifðr, Hm. 69: there was a strong verb lifa, leif, lifu, lifinn, of which leifa is the causal, but of this word nothing now remains except the part. acc. lifna ( vivos), Hkv. 2. 27, and dat. lifnum ( vivo), 45: [Ulf. lifan = ζην; A. S. lifan; Engl. live; O. H. G. leban; Germ. leben; Swed. lefva; Dan. leve; a word common to all Teut. languages, the original sense of which was to be left, and so akin to leifa, = Lat. superstes esse, which sense still remains in some Icel. phrases; cp. also lifna.]

A. To be left; þóat einn hleifr lifi eptir, although one loaf ‘lives’ behind, i. e. is left, N. G. L. i. 349; skal þat atkvæði þeirra vera í hverju máli sem þá lifir nafnsins eptir, er ór er tekinn raddar-stafr ór nafninu, Skálda (Thorodd); þá er þat atkvæði hans í hverju máli sem eptir lifir nafnsins, er ór er tekinn raddar-stafr ór nafni hans, id.

2. of the day, night, or season; þá er þriðjungr lifir dags, when a third of the day is left, N. G. L. i. 9; þá er ellefu nætr lifðu eptir Aprilis mánaðar, 655 iii. 3; laugar-daginn áðr lifa átta vikur sumars, Grág. i. 122, K. Þ. K. 70; er mánuðr lifir vetrar, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 186; fóru þeir brott er mikit lifði nætr, Fms. i. 99; en er þriðjungr lifir nætr, mun hringt at Bura-kirkju, Fb. i. 204; en er þriðjungr lifði nætr, vakti Þorsteinn upp gesti sína, Fms. i. 70.

3. in old sayings this sense is still perceptible, to remain, endure; atkvæði lifa lengst, Ísl. ii. (in a verse); lifa orð lengst eptir hvern, Fms. viii. 16: as also in old poems, hvat lifir manna (what of men will be left?), er hinn mæra fimbul-vetr líðr? Vþm. 44; meðan öld lifir, while the world stands, Vsp. 16; lifit einir ér, ye alone are left to me, Hðm. 4; otherwise this sense has become obsolete.

B. To live; this sense has almost entirely superseded the old. The primitive word denoting life or to live in the Teut. languages was from the root of kvikr (q. v.), of which the verbal form has been replaced by lifa; meðan lifir, whilst he lives, Hm. 9, 53; meðan hann lifði, while he lived, Nj. 45; hann hélt vel trú meðan hann lifði, Fms. xi. 418; meðan þeir lifði (subj.) báðir, vi. 27; ek hefi lifat ok verit kallaðr bóndi nokkurra konunga æfi, 192; at sér lifanda, Lat. se vivo, Íb. 18, Grág. i. 202; lifa langan aldr, Nj. 62; the saying, þeir lifa langan aldr (mod. lengst) sem með orðum eru vegnir, = Engl. words break no bones, 252: lifi konungr, long live the king! (cp. Lat. vivat rex), Stj. 445; lifi heill þú, konungr! 655 iv. 1.

2. lifa við, to live on, feed on; lifa við vín, Gm. 19; þat eina er vér megim lifa við, Al. 133; ok lifðu nú viðr reka, smádýri ok íkorna, Fs. 177: mod., lifa á e-u, to feed on, live on.

3. in a moral sense, to live, conduct one’s life; hafði hann ok lifat svá hreinliga sem þeir Kristnir menn er bezt eru siðaðir, Landn. 38; lifa dýrligu lifi, Hom. 147; lifa vel, ílla, to live a good, bad life, passim: lifa eptir e-m, to indulge a person, 656 C. 37, 42.

4. also used of fire, to live, be quick; svá at þar mátti lifa eldr, Fas. ii. 517, freq. in mod. usage, the Icel. say, eldrinn lifir, ljósið lifir; (cp. also, drepa ljósit, to kill, quench a fire, a light; eldrinn er dauðr, ljósit er dautt, the fire, the light is dead; eldrinn lifnar, is kindled;) for this interesting usage cp. also kvikr and kveykja, denoting life and fire.

II. part. lifandi and lifandis, indecl. living; lifandis maðr, Mar.; lifandis sálar, Stj. 31; lifandis manna, 39; lifandis skepnu, 57; lifandis hlut, 75; but better, lifandi, pl. lifendr, alive, as also the living; í lifanda lifi, in one’s living life, opp. to a deyjanda degi (on one’s dying day) at vér sém dauðir heimi en lifendr Guði, Hom. 79; lifendra (mod. gen. pl.) og dauðra, the living and the dead; dæma lifendr og dauða (‘the quick and the dead,’ in the Creed).

2. part. lifðr; betra er lifðum en sé úlifðum, better to be living than lifeless, i. e. while there is life there is hope, Hm. 69; úlifðan, deceased, Hkv. 2.

(gen. marar), m. sea;

sígr fold í mar, the earth sinks into the sea.

(gen. mars, pl. marir and marar), m. horse, steed (hann kvað hest mar heita).

* * *

m., gen. marar; [Ulf. marei = θάλαςςα; A. S. mere; Hel. meri; O. H. G. meri; Germ. meer; Lat. mare]:—the sea; sígr fold í mar, the earth sinks into the sea, Vsp. 57; mik hefir marr miklu ræntan. Stor; vátr marr, Skálda (in a verse); kaldr marr, Edda 101 (in a verse); líða yfir marr, Vþm. 48: metaph., mun-strandar marr, the sea of the breast, the song, Höfuðl.; mistar marr, the sea of mist, the air, Hkv. 1. 96: in prose this old word remains in the marar-botn, m. the bottom of the sea; Páll lifði tvau dægr á marabotnum, 655 xxvii. 6, and so in mod. usage; it also remains in various compds, mar-álmr, mar-bakki, mar-flatr, mar-mennill, mar-gýgr, mar-hrísla, mar-knútr, mar-svín, mar-vaði, mar-rein, etc., q. v.

II. in local names, Aust-marr (q. v.), A. S. Eastmere; Mar-bæli, q. v.

m., gen. mars, dat. mari, Vþm. 12; pl. marar, Hkr. i. 237 (in a verse), Skv. 2. 16; pl. marir, Fm. 15, Hkv. Hjörv. 28; but acc. pl. mara, Akv. 37, Rm. 35; marina = mara ina, Akv. 13: [A. S. mearh or mear; O. H. G. marah]:—a steed, only in poetry, whereas the answering fem. merr, a mare, has become a common word in prose as well as poetry: magran mar, Hm. 82, Og. 3, Skm. 8, 9; maðr stiginn af mars baki, 15; mars bægi, Vkv. 31; mari vel tömdum, Fas. i. 491 (in a verse); mara svang-rifja, Rm. 35; marina mélgreypu, Akv. 13; er hér sitjum feigir á mörum, Hðm. 10; mörum Húnlenzkum, 11; hleða mar, to saddle, Hdl. 5; minn veit ek mar beztan, Akv. 7; hann kvað hest mar heita, en mar (mara? q. v.) er manns fylgja, Fs. 68; hnakk-marr = a saddle-horse, hack, Ýt.: poët. vág-marar wave steeds, ships, Skv. 2. 16; Róða rið-marar, the heaving sea steed, Hkr. i. 237 (in a verse); ægis-marr, súð-marr, vers-marr, borð-marr, segl-marr, stjórn-marr (Hkv. 1. 29), gjálfr-marr, þóptu-marr, all names of ships. Lex. Poët.

* * *

(gen. pl. merkja), n.

1) boundary, = landamerki;

2) banner, standard (tók merkit af stönginni);

3) mark, token, sign (mun þat til merkja, at þeir Grímr munu heim koma); þessir menn, er náliga vóru með øngum merkjum, of no mark, distinction;

4) remains, traces (þeir lögðu ok garðinn sem enn sér m.).

* * *

n., gen. pl. merkja, dat. merkjum, [mark]:—a landmark, boundary, esp. in pl., Grág. ii. 213, 216, 223, 279, 285, N. G. L. i. 41, 307, passim; also landa-merki, q. v.: sing. a mark, færa mark til síns merkis, Grág. i. 416.

2. a milit. term, a banner, standard, Nj. 127, Eg. 88, 268, Fms. vi. 334–336, 406, 407, 412, 413, 419, ix. 25; mælti hann til Halldórs Snorrasonar, at hann skyldi djarfliga bera fram merkit, Halldórr svarar heldr styggliga, beri héri merki fyrir þér rögum! vi. 159: for a classical passage as to a charmed standard (a raven), see Orkn. ch. 11, cp. Þorst. Síðu H. ch. 2, Nj. 158 (in the battle of Clontarf), as also Ó. H. (1853) ch. 201, 219, 221, 225, 227: a standard for procession in churches, Vm. 22, 52, Pm. 66.

II. a mark, token, sign; ok mun þat til merkja, at þeir Grímr munu heim koma, Nj. 197; ok hefir þat orðit til merkja, at, Eg. 766; þessir menn er náliga vóru með öngum merkjum, of no mark, distinction, Fms. xi. 261; merki munu þér at þykkja ef ek segi þér frá honum, Edda 47.

2. signification, importance; mikil merki í þessi tölu, Hom. 72; þau hafa mörg merki í sér, 51; þeirra manna er nokkut merki ( distinction) var at, Sturl. i. 186.

3. remains, traces; hennar merki má hvergi sjá, Al. 93; þeir lögðu ok garðinn sem enn sér merki, Eb. 132; vil ek sjá þau merki er þar hafa orðit, Ó. H. 238.

COMPDS: merkisburðr, merkismaðr.

* * *

(man, munda, munaðr), v. to remember (mantu nökkut, hver orð ek hafða þar um? Þat man ek görla); m. langt fram, to remember far back; m. til e-s, to have recollection of (spyrr Sveinn konungr, hvárt þeir muni til heitstrengingar sinnar); m. e-m e-t, to remember a thing against one (skal ek nú, segir hón, muna þér kinn-hestinn).

(að), v.

1) to move, remove, with dat.; m. út garði, to shift the fence farther off, widen it; mér er ór minni munat, I have quite forgotten it; intrans., m. fram, to move forward, advance (miðlum ekki spor vár, nema vér munim fram);

2) to make a difference, with dat. of the amount (svá at muni hálfri stiku í tíu stikum).

(að), v. impers.; e-n munar, one longs, desires (rare).

* * *

að, [the root word of mund, n., mundi, mundanga, munr; the primitive notion is from scales, balance, weight, disparity, or the like]:—to move, remove, with dat.; þess er ok kostr, at muna út garði, to ‘eke out’ a fence, remove it farther off, widen it, Grág. ii. 257; ef menn vilja muna várþingi, if men will alter the time of the parliament, i. 116; prob. also, mér er ór minni munað, it is removed out of my memory, I have quite forgotten it, Bs. i. 421; þat merkðu þeir at sólar-gangi, at sumarit munaði aptr til vársins, Íb. 7; miðlum ekki sporum nema vér munim fram, unless we move forwards, 116; slíkt munar ok sýkna skógar-manns (amounts to the same thing, is equally valid) þútt hann vegi sjálfr, Grág. ii. 159: with dat. impers., e-u munar, a thing changes its place; því munar áfram, it moves forward.

II. metaph. to make a difference, with dat. of the amount of disparity; þá skulu þeir ráða hví (dat.) muna skal kaup við hverja skipkvámu, Grág. ii. 403; ef maðr mælir rangar álnar, svá at munar aln eða meira (dat.) í tuttugu álnum …, ef vón er at muna mundi öln í tuttugu ölnum, i. 462, 499; at muni hálfri stiku í tíu stikum, … svá at meira muni en öln, 498; munar stórum þat, it makes a great difference, Lex. Poët.: muna um e-t, id.; þar eptir munaði ok um digrleik, Mag. 90; munar um ætt á fimm nóttum, Rb. 96, mod. það munar ekki um það, it is of no effect, esp. of weight or measure; as also, þig munar ekki um það, it makes no difference, is no matter, to thee; þig munar ekki um svo lítið, hvað munar þig um það! and the like.

B. [munr], it lists, one likes, i. e. one longs or wishes, impers.; ef meirr tyggja (acc.) munar at sækja hringa rauða en hefnd föður, if the king longs more for, is more eager to …, Skv. 2. 15: it remains in the phrase, mig munar í það, to long for, cast longing eyes after a thing.

with present in preterite form, man, mant, mod. manst, man, pl. munum; pret. munði and mundi: subj. myndi; part. munaðr, munat; see Gramm. p. xxiii: [Ulf. ga-munan = μιμνήσκεσθαι and μνημονεύειν, as also munan = δοκειν, νομίζειν; a word common to all old Teut. languages; it remains in Engl. mind]:—to mind, call to mind, remember; forn spjöll þau er ek fremst um man … ek man jötna … níu man ek heima. Vsp. 1, 2; þat man hón fólkvíg fyrst í heimi, 26; hann munði sjálfr þat er hann var skírðr, at Þangbrandr skírði hann þrévetran, Íb. 15; Þorkek es langt munði fram, 4; es munði Þórarinn lögsögu-mann ok sex aðra síðan, 16; hón munði Snorra föður sinn, Ó. H. (pref.); ek má muna Eirek konung enn sigrsæla, 68; Þorgnýr föðurfaðir minn munði Eirek Uppsala-konung, id.; en ef fostar-váttar lífa eigi þeir er þau muni, Grág. i. 335; muna orð sín, Ísl. ii. 265; engi maðr mundi fyrr herjat hafa verit milli Kaupanga, Fms. vii. 255; mantú nokkut hver orð ek hafða þar um? þat man ek görla, ii. 110; víst þætti mér fróðleikr í, ef ek mætta alla þá hluti muna, Sks. 220; veit Guð at ek ætla mik nú eigi muna, … ok man Þórðr kráka muna, Bs. i. 421.

2. with the additional notion of gratitude, revenge, or the like; þótt nú muni þat fáir, Nj. 227; launa ok lengi muna með góðu, Ó. H. 34; grátum eigi, frændi, en munum lengr, Fær. 119; nú skal ek þat muna, hversu Gunnari fór, Nj. 119: also, muna e-m e-t, to remember a person’s doings, with the notion of revenge; þá skal ek nú, segir hón, muna þér kinnhestinn, 117; meiri ván at hann muni muna oss (dat.) þat er hann stökk ór höllinni, Fas. i. 87; eg skal muna þér þat, I shall mind, remember it!

3. part., vár Noregr svá góðr, at hann var eigi munaðr betri, Fms. x. 381; for Bs. i. 421 see muna ( movere).

m. the name of Odin’s gimlet.

* * *

a, m., qs. vrati, but the v is dropped even in old Runic inscriptions:—prop. the traveller; it remains in the name of the squirrel, Rata-töskr = Tusk the traveller, the climber Tusk, see the tale in Edda; as also in the name of the gimlet by which Odin ‘made his way’ into the mountain where the mead of wisdom was hidden, Edda, Hm. 106.

II. a demoniac, raver, madman, who wanders about as if hunted: in the Runic phrase, varþi at rata haugs upp briotr, may the breaker of his cairn become a rati, Rafn 181; at rita (= rata) sá varþi es stain þannsi elti eþa ept annan dragi, 188; sa varþi at rita es ailti stein þannsi eþa heþan dragi, 194, cp. the Engl. ‘blest be the man that spares these stones, and curs’d be he that moves these bones,’ on Shakespeare’s tombstone; rati remains in the popular Icel. = a heedless, forgetful, senseless fellow, þú ert mesti rati! and ratalegr, adj. clownish, silly; rata-skapr, m. rashness, heedlessness.

(söm, samt), a.

1) the same;

the def. form is used both with and without the preceding art. (inn, in, it);

í sama húsi, in the same house;

hann var s. í boðum sinum, the same, unaltered;

svá fór sem samt sé, it turned out the same way;

komast í samt lag, to get into the same condition as before;

with dat., the same as;

kom Guðrún eigi síðan í sömu rekkju Ólafi, into the same bed as Olaf;

it sama, the same, likewise;

2) agreeing, of one mind (hann var s. um yðra ferð);

3) í samt, continuously, = samfast( þrjár nætr í samt).

* * *

adj., söm, samt. The definite weak form (sami, sama, sama, pl. sömu) has so far prevailed that the indefinite form chiefly remains in peculiar phrases, but not throughout the cases, gen. sams, sams dæmi, Am. 21; sams misscris, Gkv. i. 9; sams konar (but rare); sams héraðs, Grág. i. 92. 151: dat. sing. fem. samri (með samri grein), Dipl. v. 21: acc. sing. fem. sama, in the phrase, í sama sæing, see below: plur. samir, Bs. ii. 41; söm laun, Clar.: neut. samt, samt lag, Fms. xi. 55; but esp. as adverb, see below: but the acc. sing. masc. saman, acc. pl. sama, samar, gen. samra scarcely occur: even at the present day the indef. nom.is used only in peculiar phrases, thus náttúran er söm að sjá, Eggert; samr og jafn; so also in the instances where samr means agreeing, the indef. form only is used: [in Ulf. only the indef. form remains, sama = ὁ αὐτός; Dan.-Swed. samma; Engl. same; Old Engl. (and in Spenser) sam; but not in A. S.; same in English is therefore a borrowed Norse word, see Grimm’s Gramm. iii. 4, 5, and Mr. Earle’s Philol. of the Engl. Tongue; akin are Lat. simul and similis, Gr. ἄμα and ὁμοιος.]

B. The same; the def. form is used both with and without the preceding article (inn in it); enna sömu, Grág. i. 92; í sama húsi, 329; ens sama konar, Skálda 165; þat sama. Fms. xi. 68; varð honum opt sama á munni, Fas. iii. 198; í sama stað, Fms. x. 132; sami ok í kveld, Grett. 98 A; sá er maðr enn sami, Fbr. 28; hann var samr í boðum sínum, the same, unaltered, Sturl. ii. 254; með samri grein, likewise, Dipl. v. 21; komask í samt lag, to become as before, Fms. xi. 55; svá fór sem samt sé, it turned out the same way, Fas. i. 128; enn er samt sem fyrra dag, Fms. vii. 146; enn er samt um viðrnefnit, ii. 51; samr hiti er þar jafnan, Al. 50; söm erfiðis-laun, Clar.; samir á svörum, Bs. ii. 41; at sömu, likewise, all the same, Hom. 70, Gþl. 405; it sama, the same, likewise, Hom. 27, 75, Vþm. 20, Gm. 15; svá it sama, Ísl. ii. 341: with dat., kom Guðrún eigi síðan í sama rekkju Ólafi, Hkr. i. 275; hvíla í sama sæing konu, to cohabit, Grág. i. 329; kom hón aldri í sama sæing Arngrími, she forsook him, never shared bed with him afterwards, Glúm. 374; í sama húsi konu þeirri, Grág. i. 314; maðr er moldu samr, Sól. 47.

II. agreeing, willing, of one mind; sem sex skynsamir menn verða samir á, Gþl. 464; áðr hón telisk söm at ljá vápn, Fsm. 31; ek em samr at semja sverða leik, Draum.; seggr varð samr at þiggja bætr, Sturl. (in a verse); hann var samr um yðra ferð, Fb. i. 19; ek hefi verit ávalt úsamr ( unwilling) at eiga hlut í stórmálum, Sturl. iii. 7; samr á sáttir, to have a mind to peace, Jd. 23: worthy, slíkt em ek samr at ræða of þik, Líkn. 47; ú-samr e-s, averse to, Merl. 2. 2; hjálm-s., behelmed, Lex. Poët.

III. samt, adv. continuously, together; viku alla í samt, Clem. 48; átta-tigi daga í samt, Bret. 50; fjórum sinnum í samt, Rb. 568; sjau vetr um samt, Sks. 113 B: allir samt, all together, Fms. ii. 261, [Old Engl. alle samen]; öll samt, 656 A. i. 2; öllum samt, Fms. i. 15; allt samt fjöri-tigir ok átta, Dipl. v. 18; báðir samt, bæði samt. Nj. 111, Ísl. ii. 213 (v. l.), Fms. ii. 49; einn samt, alone, ix. 25, (Germ. einsam); fyrir sjóninni einni samt, Edda 28: yet, all the same, Fas. i. 443 (paper MS.), freq. in mod. usage = Germ. zwar.

C. -samr, -samligr, as inflex. suffix. like Engl. -some, as in gladsome, etc., see Gramm. p. xxxiii. (col. 2. VI.)

(að; pret. also skóp), v.

1) to shape, form, mould, make (ór Ymis holdi var jörð sköpuð); to create (guð, er mik skóp); s. skegg, to trim the beard; s. skeið, to take a run (þetta dýr skapaði skeið at oss); s. ok skera e-t, or um e-t, to decide, settle (ek skal einn skera ok s. okkar á milli);

2) to assign as one’s fate or destiny (ek skapa honum þat, at hann skal eigi lifa lengr en kerti þat brenner); s. e-m aldr, to fashion one’s future life; syni þínum verðr-a sæla sköpuð, bliss is not fated to thy son;

3) to fix, appoint (haf þá eina fémuni, er ek skapa þér); s. e-m víti, to impose a fine or penalty; at sköpuðu, in the order of nature, according to the course of nature (væri þat at sköpuðu fyrir aldrs sakir, at þú lifðir lengr okkar); láta skeika at sköpuðu, to let things go their own course (according to fate); láta skapat skera, to let fate decide;

4) refl., skapast, to take shape; freista, hvé þá skapist, try how things will go then; Ámundi kvað jarl úáhlýðinn ok mun lítt at s., A. said the earl was self-willed, and little will come of it.

* * *

the forms of this word vary much; there was a strong form, skapa, skóp, but defective, for only the pret. (skóp, skópu) remains; the other tenses follow the weak form skapa, að (of the first weak conjugation), which is freq. in old writers, while it is the only form in mod. usage.

2. there are also remains of another weak verb, skepja (answering to Goth. skapjan), to which belong the pret. skapði, part. skapið, skaptr; the infin. skepja, however, only occurs in a few instances, Kormak, D. I. i. 243. l. 31 (H. E. iv. 154), Bs. i. 734; as also the pres. part. skepjandi (in ein-skepjandi): [Ulf. skapjan = κτίζειν; A. S. and Hel. scapan; Engl. shape; O. H. G. skafan; Germ schaffen; Dan. skabe.]

B. To shape, form, mould, which is the original sense; takit einn trédrumb, ok skapit þar af líkneskjur, Barl. 165: the saying, engi skapar sik sjálfr, Grett. 103 new Ed.; á hverfanda hveli vóru þeim hjörtu sköpuð, Hm. 83; Skíðblaðni að skapa, to shape (build) the ship S., Gm. 43; skepja skil, to shape one’s words, Korm. 164 (in a verse).

2. to make; ór Ýmis holdi var jörð um sköpuð, Vþm. 21; áðr væri jörð sköpuð, 29: to create, Guð skóp allar skepnur senn, Rb. 78; Guðs er mik skóp, Fms. i. 3; með þeim hætti er Kristr hefir skapat, iv. 175; sá maðr er Guð skapði fyrstan í heim þenna, Hom. (St.); mörgum þeim hlutum er skapara-spekðin skapði, 677. 2; í upp-hafi skapaði Guð himin og jörð, Gen. i. 1, passim.

3. to shape for one, assign as one’s fate or destiny, as denoting also what is natural or inborn; ek skapa honum þat, at hann skal eigi lifa lengr en kerti þat brennr, er upp er tendrat hjá sveininum, Fas. i. 341; s. e-m aldr, to shape one’s future life, of the weird-sisters; Nornir kómu þær er öðlingi aldr um skópu, Hkv. 1. 2; at eigi skapi Hallgerðr þér aldr (ironic.), Nj. 57; einu sinni var mér aldr skapaðr ok allt líf um lagit, Skm. 13; skapa e-m kaldan aldr, to ‘shape one a cold age,’ i. e. to make life sad, Korm.; var þér þat skapat, at…, Hkv. 2. 26; af þeim væri þat skapað, if that was fated to them, Grág. i. 368; syni þínum verðra sæla sköpuð, bliss is not fated to thy son, Skv. 2. 6; mun engi renna undan því sem honum er skapat, Grett. 159 new Ed.; mér var skapat at eiga hana, Bjarn. (in a verse); láta skapað skera, let doom decide, Fms. viii. 88; láta skeika at sköpuðu, to let things go their own course, ii. 112; vera at sköpuðu, to be according to the course of nature, Eg. 82; mun þat svá fara sem minnr er at sköpuðu, Sturl. iii. 7 (sköp).

4. to appoint, fix; at Þórólfr hafði sjálfr sér þar laun fyrir skapit, Th. had taken the reward himself, Eg. 65 A; ok þar sinn hag eptir skapa, Hom. 68: s. e-m víti, to impose a fine or penalty; sklít víti á honum at s. fyrir þat á sitt hóf sem karlmanni, ef…, Ld. 136; ok væri henni sjálf-skapat víti, self-injlicted punishment, 140; s. honum fimmtar-grið af því þingi ór landeign konungs várs, N. G. L. i. 13; þá skal s. þeim leiðar-lengd, 32; skapði hón svá skæru, Am. 48; þá eina fjár-muni er ek skapa þér, which I grant thee, Hrafn. 21; skapa sinn hug eptir e-u, Hom.; segja svá skapaða sök fram, Grág. i. 39, Nj. 110; berum vér svá skapaðan níu búa kvið, 238.

5. to shape, trim, the beard, hair; var skegg skapat, Rm. 15; breiðleitr ok vel farit andlitinu, optast skapat skegg, Fms. viii. 447; bandingjar ok útlagar láta ekki hár sitt skapa ok skera, Stj. 202; Cato skar aldrei hár sitt né skapaði skegg, Róm. 190; með saurgum búnaði ok ú-skapaðu skeggi, Stj. 538.

6. special phrases; skapa skeið, prop. to ‘shape a race,’ take a run; þetta dýr skapaði skeið at oss, Al. 169; Jökull skapar at skeið, Fs. 51 (see v. l., so undoubtedly the vellum Vh., not skopa); skjaldmærin skapaði skeið, ok ætlaði at hlaupa eptir honum, en er hón kom á bakkann varð henni bilt, Fas. ii. 553; whence in later vellums and in mod. usage, skopa skeið, 283 (l. c.), Gísl. 69.

II. reflex. to take shape, grow; þá mátti hann eigi skilja né skapask til trúar, 655 ix. B. 1; svá skapaðisk ok Kristnin ór síðu ens krossfesta Krists, 656 C. 25; freista, hve þá skapisk, how things will shape themselves, Fms. viii. 421; vildi Þórgautr þá fara aptr, þótti ekki at skapask, iv. 112; Ámundi kvað jarl ú-áhlýðinn ok mun lítið at skapask, little will come out of it, Orkn. 40; hafði mjök skapask um bygðir, Sd. 138; at nú skyli nokkut skapask at með oss, Fms. ix. 509; ef nokkut má at skapask, if any opportunity should arise, Eb. 186.

1) a hedged plot, enclosure, court-yard, homestead; gullu gæss í túni, the geese screamed in the yard;

2) home field, home meadow (bleikir akrar, en slegin tún);

3) town.

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n. [a word widely applied and common to all Teut. languages; the Goth. is not on record; A. S. tûn; Engl. town; O. H. G. zûn; Germ. zaun; Norse tûn]:—prop. a hedge; this sense is still used in the Germ. zaun; but in Scandin. the only remnant seems to be the compd tun-riða (see B).

II. a hedged or fenced plot, enclosure, within which a house is built; then the farm-house with its buildings, the homestead; and lastly, a single house or dwelling: in Norway tun is = Dan. gaards-plads, the quadrangle or premises annexed to the buildings; whereas ‘bö’ answers to the mod. Icel. ‘tún:’ in Norse deeds each single farm is called tún, í efsta túni í Ulfalda-stöðum, D. N. ii. 534: the same usage of the word town remains in Scotland, see Scott’s Waverley, ch. ix, sub fin.: many of the following examples run from one of these senses into the other; tefldu í túni teitir vóru, Vsp.; allir Einherjar Oðins-túnum í, Gm.; ok gullu við gæss í túni, Skv. 3. 29, Gkv. 1. 15; hér í túni, 2. 39; ok er þeir koma heim þá er Úlfr fóstri þeirra heima í túni fyrir, Fb. i. 133; jarls menn tóku skeið ór túninu, galloped out of the tún, Orkn. 416: this sense still remains in phrases as, ríða í tún, to arrive at a house, Nj. 23; cp. skal hann ei bráðum bruna í tún, bóndann dreymdi mig segir hún, Bb.; fara um tún, to pass by a house; þeir fóru um tún í Saurbæ, Bs. i. 647; þá fara þeir Ingi hér í tún, 648; í túni fyrir karldyrum, K. Þ. K.; tún frá túni, from house to house, Karl. 129, 138; þeir fá brotið skjaldþilit, ok komask út fram í túnit, ok þar út á riðit, Grett. 99 (Cod. Ub.); ok er þeir kómu á Ré, gengu þeir ór túni á veginn, fylktu þeir fyrir útan skíð-garðinn, Fms. vii. 324; borgir eða héruð eða tún, x. 237; borgir ok kastala, héruð ok tún, Karl. 444; fór ek um þorp ok um tún ok um héraðs-bygðir, Sks. 631.

2. in Icel. a special sense has prevailed, viz. the ‘enclosed’ in-field, a green manured spot of some score of acres lying around the dwellings; bleikir akrar, slegin tún, Nj. 112; skal hann ganga út í tún at sín, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 209; var þá fluttr farmr af skipinu upp í tún at Borg, Eg. 163; um einn völl svá til at jafna sem eitt tún vítt vel ok kringlótt, Fms. vii. 97; látið hesta vára vera nærri túni, Lv. 44; í túninu í Mávahlíð, Eb. 58; í túninu í Odda mun finnask hóll nokkurr, Bs. i. 228, and so passim in old and mod. Icel. usage; thus tún and engiar are opposed.

III. metaph. in poets; snáka tún, ‘snake-town,’ i. e. gold; reikar-tún, ‘hair-town’ i. e. the head, Lex. Poët.; bragar tún, the ‘town of song,’ i. e. the mind, the memory of men, Ad. (fine); mun-tún, the ‘mind’s town,’ i. e. the breast, Fas. i. (in a verse); mælsku tún, hyggju tún, the ‘speech town,’ ‘mind’s town,’ i. e. the breast. Lex. Poët.: in local names, but rare, Túnir: Túns-berg, in Norway; Sig-túnir, a place of victory, in Sweden; Tún-garðr, in Icel., Landn.

B. COMPDS: túnannir, túnbarð, túnbrekka, túnfótr, túngarðr, túngöltr, túnhlið, túnkrepja, túnriða, túnasláttr, túnsvið, túnsvín, túnsækinn, túnvöllr.

☞ The ancient Scandinavians, like other old Teutonic people, had no towns; Tacitus says, ‘nullas Germanorum populis urbes habitari satis notum est… colunt discreti ac diversi, ut fons, ut campus, ut nemus placuit,’ Germ. ch. 16. In Norway the first town, Níðarós, was founded by the two Olaves (Olave Tryggvason and Saint Olave, 994–1030), and this town was hence par excellence called Kaupang, q. v. But the real founder of towns in Norway was king Olave the Quiet (1067–1093); as to Iceland, the words of Tacitus, ‘colunt diversi ut fons, etc., placuit,’ still apply; 120 years ago (in 1752), the only town or village of the country (Reykjavík) was a single isolated farm. In the old Norse law, the ‘Town-law’ is the new law attached as an appendix to the old ‘Land-law.’

(þafða, þafðr), v. to stir, thicken; remains only in the pp.; hann hafði þá eigi þafðan sinn graut, he had not cooked his porridge thick.

(að), v.

1) to smell;

2) to emit a smell (min fœzla þefjar betr hverjum ilm).

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pret. þafði, = þæfa, remains in the part. þafðr:—to stir, thicken; hann hafði þá eigi þafðan sinn graut, he had not cooked his porridge thick;, Eb. 70 new Ed,; úri þafðr, ‘wave-beaten,’ of the sea-serpent, Bragi.

að, to smell, older form for þefa; nasir skyldi þefja ok ilma, Anecd. 4: to emit a smell, mín fæzla þefjar betr hverjum ilm, Sks. 632: part. þefjaðr, vel þ., sweet-smelling, fragrant, 531 B.

u, f. a smell, = þefr, Fms. vi. 164.

f. and almenningr, m.

I. in Icel. almost always fem. in the sense of fundus communis, ager compascuus, common land, belonging to a whole ‘fjórðungr’ (quarter) of the country, and thus wider than the mod. ‘afrétt.’ It still remains in the local name of the deserts round Cape Horn at the north-west point of Icel., cp. Fbr. and Landn. 124; cp. also the passage in Íb. ch. 3. The word is now seldom used except of wastes belonging to nobody: þat er almenning er fjórðungs menn eigu allir saman, Grág. ii. 392–394, Js. 107, Íb. ch. 3, Grág. ii. 345, 352, 359, 385, K. Þ. K. 26, Fbr. 41, Landn. 124, in all those cases fem.

II. masc. (Norse), [cp. Swed. almänning, pascuum, and Germ. almeinde, via publica or ager compascuus, Grimm R. A. p. 498]

1. common or public pasture (answering nearly to the Icel. afrétt), where cattle are grazed during the summer months, cp. the Norse setr, Icel. sel: rarely used in Icel. writers. In Ó. H., ch. 114, used of Grímsey, an island off the north coast of Iceland, Gþl. 450, Jb. 299, 311.

2. the high-street, in a Norse town, N. G. L. ii. 241.

3. the people, the public in general, common now in Icel. in this sense, Stj. 292, 493, Fbr. 194; almennings matr, common food, Bs. ii. 5, 179.

4. a levy, conscription; fullr, allr, hálfr a., a full, half levy of men and ships; fullr a. in Norway meant a levy of one in every seven male adults, N. G. L. ii. 199, Fms. iv. 142, i. 165, D. I. i. 66 (of the milit. duties of Icelanders when residing in Norway). Metaph. (as a phrase) in Nj. 207, of raising the country, the institution being unknown in the Icel. Commonwealth.

COMPDS: almenningsbréf, almenningsdrykkja, almenningsfar, almenningsmörk, almenningsstræti, almenningstollr, almenningsvegr.

n. [þing], mod. form alþing, by dropping the inflective i; the gen., however, still remains unchanged, alþingis. The parliament or general assembly of the Icel. Commonwealth, invested with the supreme legislative and judicial power, consisting of the legislative lögrétta (q. v.), and the courts, v. dómr, fimtardómr, fjórðungsdómar; v. also goði, goðorð, lügsögumaðr, lögsaga, lögberg, and many other words referring to the constitution and functions of the alþingi. It was founded by Ulfljot about A. D. 930, Ib. ch. 3; and reformed by Thord Gellir A. D. 964, who instituted the courts and carried out the political divisions of Icel. into goðorð, fjórðungar, and þing, ch. 5. In the years 1272 and 1281 the alþing, to some extent, changed its old forms, in order to comply with the new state of things. In the year 1800 it was abolished altogether. A kind of parliament, under the old name alþingi, was again established in the year 1843, and sat at Reykjavík. Before the year 930 a general assembly was held in Kjalarnes, whence it was removed under the name of alþingi to the river Öxará, near to the mountain Ármannsfell. The much-debated passage in Hænsaþ. S. ch. 14—en þingit var þá undir Ármannsfelli—therefore simply means that the events referred to happened after the removal of the Kjalarnesping. The parliament at first met on the Thursday beginning the tenth week of the summer, which fell between the 11th and the 17th of June; by a law of the year 999 its opening was deferred to the next following Thursday, between the 18th and 24th of June, old style; after the union with Norway, or after A. D. 1272 or 1281, the time of meeting was further deferred to June 29. July 2 (Vis. B. V. M.) is hence called Þing-Maríumessa. The parliament lasted for a fortnight; the last day of the session, called vápnatak, because the weapons having been laid aside during the session were again taken (cp. Engl. wapentake), thus fell on the first or second Wednesday in July. As to the rules of the alþingi, vide esp. the first chapter of the Þ. Þ. Grág. (Kb.) i. p. 38 sqq. The most eventful years in the history of the alþingi are, A. D. 930 (foundation), 964 (reform), 1000 (introduction of Christianity), 1004 (institution of the Fifth Court), 1024 (repudiation of the attempt of the king of Norway to annex Iceland), 1096 (introduction of tithes), 1117 (first codification of laws), 1262–1264 (submission to the king of Norway), 1272 and 1281 (new codes introduced). In the year 1338 there was no alþing held because of civil disturbances, eytt alþingi ok þóttu þat údærni, Ann. s. a., Grág. (Þ. Þ.) Íslend. bók, Kristni S., Njála, Sturl., Árna b. S., Ó. H. (1853), ch. 114; of modern writers, vide esp. Maurer, Entsteh. des Ísl. Staates; Dasent, Introd. to Burnt Njal; some of the Introductions by Jón Sigurðsson in D. I., esp. that to the Gamli Sáttmáli of the year 1262.

COMPDS: alþingisdómr, alþingisför, alþingishelgun, alþingislof, alþingismál, alþingisnefna, alþingisreið, alþingissátt, alþingissáttarhald, alþingissekt, alþingissektarhald.