returning

(að), v. to bless (blezaði guð þá hinn sjaunda daginn); also with dat. (guð blezaði bæði fuglum ok fiskum).

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bletza, mod. blessa, að, [A. S. bletzian; Engl. bless; akin to blót, blóta, denoting worship]:—to bless; an English word, which came to Icel. and Norway along with the Gospel; in Norway it never took root, and soon died out, and is at present unknown in Scandinavia; whilst in Icel. it grew from a term of worship into a household word of endearment and affection; the guest or traveller is met with a ‘Guð blessi þig,’ God bless thee, in reply to his greeting, ‘hér sé Guð,’ when entering a house; it is also the reply to one returning thanks. The Norseman, Swede, and Dane say, ‘Gud signe dig’ (cp. Germ. segnen), whilst ‘signa’ ( signare) in Icel. usage only means to make the sign of the cross. Bleza is used as a standing epithet of the sun, blessuð sólin, the blessed sun: so also the alliterative phrase, blessað barnið, the blessed bairn; blessaðr, blessuð, in addressing, cp. Engl. bless you! In old writers it answers to Lat. benedicere:

α. with acc., Stj. 28, 655 ix, ‘benedictus’ þýðir b., xxi, Fms. i. 230, K. Á. 120.

β. with dat., rare and now unusual; Guð b. fiskum ok fuglum, Stj. 18, Eluc. 40, Blas. 40; blessuð ertú á meðal kvenna, N. T. Luke i. 28.

2. reflex. to give good luck, succeed.

f. pl. sheep returning from the mountain pastures.

m. (and n.), God.

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m.; the plur. used to render the Lat. dii is guðir; [for etymology and changes of this word see p. 207]:—God.

A. Though the primitive form Goð rhymes with boð ( bidding), stoð ( help), and many other words, the second form Guð rhymes with no single word, so that in hymns the poets are wont to use incomplete rhymes, as brauð ( bread), nauð ( need); and exact rhymes can only be obtained by the last syllables of derivatives, e. g. Iðranin blíðkar aptur Guð | ei verður syndin tilreiknuð, Pass. 40. 4; or Upphaf alls mesta ófögn uðs | áklögun ströng og reiði Guðs, 3. 14; Svo er nú syndin innsigluð | iðrandi sála kvitt við Guð, 50. 14; but these rhyme-syllables can only occur in trisyllabic words (Gramm. p. xv):—the following are examples of incomplete rhymes, Vinir þér enga veittu stoð | svo vinskap fengi eg við sannan Guð, Pass. 3. 7; Föðurlegt hjarta hefir Guð | við hvern sem líðr kross og nauð, 3. 16; Herra minn þú varst hulinn Guð | þá hæðni leiðst og krossins nauð, 40. 16; as also in the hymn, Til þín Heilagi Herra Guð | hef eg lypt sálu minni | af hug og hjarta í hverri neyð | hjástoð treystandi þinni, Hólabók 108, rendering of Ps. xxv; Luther’s hymn, Ein feste burg ist unser Gott, is in the Icel. rendering, Óvinnanlig borg er vor Guð | ágæta skjöldr og verja | hann frelsar oss af allri nauð, Hólabók 182; Fyrir valtan veraldar auð | set þína trú á sannan Guð | sem allt skapaði fyrir sitt boð, 208 (in Hans Sachs’ hymn); hugsjúkir eta harma brauð | hollari fæðu gefr Guð | sér ljúfum þá þeir sofa, 124, Ps. cxxvii. 2.

B. PHRASES:—Guðs ást, Guðs elska, the love of God; Guðs gata, the way of God, 625. 87; Guðs gæðska, Guðs náð, the grace, goodness of God; Guðs miskunn, Guðs mildi, the mercy of God; Guðs ótti, the fear of God; Guðs gjöf, God’s gift; Guði friðr, the peace of God; Guðs hús, the house of God; Guðs musteri, the temple of God; Guðs orð, the word of God; and in popular usage, Guðsorða-bók, ‘God’s word-book,’ i. e. a religious book, not only of the Bible, but generally of hymns, sermons, etc., opp. to historical or secular books, sögu-bækr; Guðs maðr, a man of God, Stj. passim; Guðs ríki, the kingdom of God; Guðs Kristni, the Church of God, 625. 82; Guðs vin, God’s friend, Fms. i. 139; Guðs þjónn, God’s servant; Guðs þræll, the thrall of God, Greg. 54, Bs. i. 638; Guðs Sonr, the Son of God; Guðs trú, faith in God; Guðs þjónusta, Divine service (in Papal times the mass), K. Á. 36; of the sacrament, Bs. i. 638; Guðs akr, Germ. Gottes acker, ‘God’s acre,’ a churchyard; Guðs kista, God’s chest, the temple-treasury, Mark xii. 41; Guðs líkami = Corpus Domini, K. Á. 38; Guðs móðir, God’s mother (the Virgin Mary):—in Papal times, Guðs eign, God’s property = church glebes; Guðs lög, God’s law, i. e. the ecclesiastical law, as opp. to lands lög, the law of the land, i. e. the secular or civil law, K. Á. ch. 9, (for an interesting note upon this subject vide H. E. i. 133, note b); Guðs réttr, God’s right, i. e. ecclesiastical right, Fms. vii. 305; Guðs þakkir, ‘God’s thanks,’ charity, Grág. i. 222, K. Þ. K. 142, Hom. 34; whence the popular contracted form gustuk, a charity, pittance, in such phrases as, það er ekki gustuk, ‘tis no charity, ‘tis a pity, e. g. of dealing harshly with the poor; gustuka-verk, a work of charity; göra e-t í gustuka skyni, to do a thing as a charity: in former times the phrases Guðs þakkir and sálu-gjafir (soul’s gifts) were synonymous, including not only gifts to churches, clergy, and the poor, but also the building of bridges, erecting hostelries, especially in desert places, and the like, whence the words, sælu-brú, soul’s bridge; sælu-hús, soul’s house.

2. in Icel. many sayings referring to the name of God are still household words, e. g. in entering a house, as a greeting, hér sé Guð, God be here! (from Luke x. 5): in returning thanks, Guðs ást, God’s love! Guð laun or Guð laun’ fyrir mig, God’s reward! Germ. vergelt’s Gott! or gefið þið í Guðs friði! to which the reply is, Guð blessi þig, God bless thee ! (which is also the answer to a greeting or to thanks); Guðs friði! or vertu í Guðs friði, be in God’s peace! is the usual farewell; and the answer is, Guð veri með þér, God be with thee! Guð hjálpi þér, God help thee! Germ. helf Gott! Engl. God bless you! (to one sneezing); Guð varðveiti þig, God ward thee! (to one playing with dangerous things); biddu Guð fyrir þér! (denoting wonder), pray God! gáðu að Guði, heed God! take heed! fyrir Guðs skuld, for God’s sake! ef Guð lofar, proncd. as one word (ef-guðlogar, changing f into g), God willing, a common phrase when speaking of plans for the future, eg skal koma á morgun, ef-guðlogar, I will come to-morrow, God willing (from James iv. 13–15), occurs in Skálda (Thorodd) 165, as also, ef Guð vill, if God will (less freq.); Guði sé lof, God be praised! Guð gæfi, God grant! Guðs mildi, by God’s grace; það var mesta Guðs mildi hann slasaði sig ekki; Guð gefi þér góðan dag, Guð gefi þér góðar nætr, whence abbreviated góðan dag, good day; góðar nætr, good night: the sayings, sá er ekki einn sem Guð er með; and þann má ekki kefja sem Guð vill hefja, Fb. iii. 408; eitthvað þeim til líknar legst, sem ljúfr Guð vill bjarga.

m. the day for returning home, Magn. 512.

a. white (hvítt silfr); h. á hár, white-haired.

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adj. [Ulf. hweits = λευκός; A. S. hwít; Engl. white; Hel. huît; O. H. G. hwîz; Germ. weiss; Swed. hvit; Dan. hvid]:—white; hvít skinn, white fur, 4. 24; h. motr, a white cap, Ld. 188; h. skjöldr, a white shield, Fms. x. 347; hit hvíta feldarins, Fbr. 148; hvítt blóm, white blossom, 4. 24; hvítt hold, white flesh (skin), id.; hvít hönd, a white band, Hallfred; h. háls, a white neck, of a lady, Rm.; h. hestr, a white horse, Fms. ix. 527; hvítr á har, white-haired, vi. 130; h. maðr ( fair of hue) ok vænn í andliti, x. 420; hvítan mann ok huglausan, Ld. 232; hvít mörk, white money, of pure silver, opp. to grátt ( grey) silver, B. K. 95; hvítr matr, white meat, i. e. milk, curds, and the like, opp. to flesh, in the eccl. law, K. Þ. K. 126; hvítr dögurðr, a white day meal, Sighvat; hvíta-matr, id, K. Þ. K. 102; mjall-hvítr, fann-h., snjó-h., drift-h., white as driven snow; al-h., white allover.

B. Eccl. use of the word white:

I. at the introduction of Christianity, neophytes in the week after their baptism used to wear white garments, called hvíta-váðir, f. pl. white weeds, as a symbol of baptism cleansing from sin and being a new birth; a neophyte was called hvít-váðungr, m. a ‘ white-weedling,’ one dressed in white weeds, Niðrst. 111: the Sagas contain many touching episodes of neophytes, esp. such as were baptized in old age, and died whilst in the white weeds; þat er sögn flestra manna at Kjartan hafi þann dag görzt handgenginn Ólafi konungi er hann var færðr ór hvíta-váðum ok þeir Bolli báðir, Ld. ch. 40; síðan hafði konungr þá í boði sínu ok veitti þeim ena virðuligustu veizlu meðan þeir vóru í hvítaváðum, ok lét kenna þeim heilög fræði, Fms. i. 230; Glúmr (Víga-Glúm) var biskupaðr í banasótt af Kol biskupi ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Glúm. 397; Bárðr tók sótt litlu síðar enn hann var skírðr ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Fms. ii. 153; Ólafr á Haukagili var skírðr ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Fs. (Vd.) 77; var Tóki síðan skírðr af hirðbiskupi Ólafs konungs, ok andaðisk í hvítaváðum, Fb. ii. 138; síðan andaðisk Gestr í hvítaváðum, Bárð. (sub fin.) Sweden, but above all Gothland, remained in great part heathen throughout the whole of the 11th century, after the neighbouring countries Denmark and Norway had become Christian, and so we find in Sweden Runic stones referring to Swedes who had died in the white weeds, some abroad and some at home; sem varð dauðr íhvítaváðum í Danmörku, Baut. 435; hann varð dauðr í Danmörku í hvítaváðum, 610; þeir dó í hvítaváðum, 68; sem dó í hvítaváðum, 271; hann varð dauðr í hvítaváðum, 223, 497. Churches when consecrated used to be dressed out with white; var Kjartan at Borg grafinn, þá var kirkja nyvígð ok í hvítaváðum, Ld. 230.

II. the white garments gave rise to new words and phrases amongst the first generation of northern Christians:

1. Hvíta-Kristr, m. ‘ White-Christ,’ was the favourite name of Christ; hafa láti mik heitan Hvíta-Kristr at viti eld, ef…, Sighvat; another poet (Edda 91) uses the word; and in prose, dugi þú mér, Hvíta-Kristr, help thou me, White-Christ! Fs. 101; ok þeir er þann sið hafa taka nafn af þeim Guði er þeir trúa á, ok kallaðr er Hvíta-Kristr ok því heita þeir Kristnir, mér er ok sagt at H. sé svá miskunsamr, at …, Fms. i. 295; en ef ek skal á guð nacquat trúa, hvat er mér þá verra at ek trúa á Hvíta-Krist en á annat guð? Ó. H. 204; Arnljótr svarar, heyrt hefi ek getið Hvíta-Krists, en ekki er mér kunnigt um athöfn hans eða hvar hann ræðr fyrir, 211; en þó trúi ek á Hvíta-Krist, Fb. ii. 137.

2. the great festivals, Yule (see Ld. ch. 40), Easter and Pentecost, but especially the two latter, were the great seasons for christening; in the Roman Catholic church especially Easter, whence in Roman usage the first Sunday after Easter was called Dominica in Albis; but in the northern churches, perhaps owing to the cold weather at Easter time, Pentecost, as the birthday of the church, seems to have been specially appointed for christening and for ordination, see Hungrv. ch. 2, Thom. 318; hence the following week was termed the Holy Week (Helga Vika). Hence; Pentecost derived its name from the white garments, and was called Hvíta-dagar, the White days, i. e. Whitsun-week; frá Páskadegi inum fýrsta skulu vera vikur sjau til Drottins-dags í Hvítadögum; Drottinsdag í Hvítadögum skulu vér halda sem hinn fyrsta Páskadag, K. Þ. K. 102; þváttdag fyrir Hvítadaga = Saturday next before Whitsunday, 126, 128; Páskadag inn fyrsta ok Uppstigningar-dag ok Drottinsdag í Hvítadögum, 112; þá Imbrudaga er um Hvítadaga verða, 120; vóru afteknir tveir dagar í Hvítadögum, Bs. i. 420; um várit á Hvítadögum, Orkn. 438: Hvítadaga-vika, u, f. White-day week = Whitsun-week, K. Þ. K. 126: in sing., þeir kómu at Hvítadegi (= Whitsunday) til Björgynjar, Fms. x. 63, v. 1.: Hvítadaga-helgi, f. the White-day feast, Whitsuntide, Fms. viii. 373, xi. 339, Sturl. iii. 206: Hvítadaga-hríð, a snow storm during the White days, Ann. 1330: Hvít-Drottins-dagr, m. the White Lord’s day, i. e. Whitsunday, the northern Dominica in Albis, Rb. 484, Fms. vii. 156, Bs. i. 62, where it refers to the 20th of May, 1056, on which day Isleif the first bishop of Iceland was consecrated. The name that at last prevailed was Hvíta-sunna, u, f. Whitsun, i. e. White-sun, D. N. ii. 263, 403: Hvítasunni-dagr, m. Whitsuday, Fb. ii. 546, Fms. viii. 63, v. l.: Hvítasunnudags-vika, u, f. Whitsun-week, Fb. ii. 546; Páskaviku, ok Hvítasunnudagsviku, ok þrjár vikur fyrir Jónsvöku, ok svá fyrir Michials-messu, N. G. L. i. 150; hvítasunnudagshátíð, Thom. 318. As the English was the mother-church of that of Norway and Iceland, the Icelandic eccl. phrases are derived from the English language. See Bingham’s Origg. s. vv. White Garments, and Dominica in Albis, where however no reference is given to Icel. writers. In modern Denmark and Norway the old name has been displaced by Pindse, i. e. Pfingsten, derived from the Greek word, whereas in Icel., as in Engl., only the name Hvítasunna is known, ☞ In Denmark the people make a practice of thronging to the woods on Whitsun morning to see the rising of the sun, and returning with green branches in their hands, the trees being just in bud at that season.

C. COMPDS: hvítabjörn, hvítadagar, hvítagnípa, hvítalogn, hvítamatr, Hvítasunna, hvítaváðir, hvítavalr, hvítarmr, hvítbránn, hvítbrúnn, hvítdreki, Hvítdrottinsdagr, hvítfaldaðr, hvítfjaðraðr, hvítflekkóttr, hvítfyrsa, hvítfyssi, hvíthaddaðr, hvíthárr, hvítjarpr, hvítklæddr, hvítmelingar, hvítröndóttr, hvítskeggjaðr, hvítskinn, hvítváðungr.

II. as pr. names, Hvítr, Engl. White, Dan. Hvid, Landn.; esp. as a surname, Hvíti, the White, Óláfr Hvíti, Þorsteinn Hvíti, Landn.: Hvít-beinn, m. White-hone, a nickname, Landn.; as also Hvíta-skáld, Hvíta-ský, Hvíta-leðr, Hvíta-kollr, Landn.: in local names, Hvíta-býr, Whitby; Hvíta-nes, Hvíta-dalr, Landn.; Hvít-á, the White-water, a name of several Icel. rivers flowing from glaciers, Hvítár-vellir, Hvítár-síða, Landn.; Hvítramanna-land, White-men’s-land, old name of the southern part of the present United States, Landn.

(gen. -rs), m.

1) levy, esp. by sea (including men, ships and money); bjóða út leiðangri, to levy men and ships for war (bjóða út leiðangri at mönnum ok vistum); hafa leiðangr úti, to make a sea expedition;

2) war contribution, war tax.

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m., the r is radical, [akin to leið; early Swed. lethunger; Dan. leding], an old Scandin. law term, a levy, esp. by sea, including men, ship, and money; bjóða út leiðangri, to levy men and ships for war, Eg. 31; bjóða út leiðangri at mönnum ok vistum, Fms. ix. 33; bjóða út leiðangri ok skipum, i. 12; hafa leiðangr úti, to make a sea expedition, Ó. H. 51; Ólafr konungr fór með liði sínu ok hafði leiðangr úti fyrir landi, 134; samna leiðangr ( sea forces), opp. to landherr ( land forces), O. H. L. 12: allit. phrases, lið ok leiðangr, Fms. viii. 334, O. H. L. 12, Fb. ii. 303: the proverb, róa leiðangrinn, ok gjalda leiðvítið, to pay the tax first, and the fine to boot (i. e. to pay twice over), Hkr. i. 200; rjúfa leiðangrinn, to break up, of the levies or crews breaking up and returning home, Fms. viii. 307, passim.

2. war contributions, a fixed perpetual duty or tax payable to the king; this sense of the word is esp. freq. in the Norse as also Dan. and Swed. law of the 12th and 13th centuries; þeir tóku leiðangra ok allar konungs-skyldir, Fms. ix. 8, 347; þar tóku þeir Baglar leiðangr mikinn er Einarr hafði saman dregit um Rogaland, 12, 368; biskupar báðu at kardínallinn skyldi biðja konung, at hann gæfi nokkut af leiðöngrum til heilagrar kirkju, x. 121; hann hafði sent austr í Vik eptir landskyldurn sínum ok leiðangri til mála-gjafar, 482.

COMPDS: leiðangrsfall, leiðangrsfar, leiðangrsferð, leiðangrsfólk, leiðangrsgörð, leiðangrslið, leiðangrsmaðr, leiðangrsskip, leiðangrsvist, leiðangrsvíti.

d and að, [Lat., an eccl. word], to give the ‘prima signatio’ or ‘signaculum crucis’ a religious act, preliminary to christening; persons thus signed with the cross were catechumens, and if adults they could join in the social life among Christians; they were also admitted to a special part of the mass (primsigndra messa = the mass for the ‘prime-signed’), whereas all intercourse with heathens was forbidden. An infant who died, having received the prima signatio, but not baptism, was to be buried in the outskirts of the churchyard, where the consecrated and unconsecrated earth meet, and without burial service,—ef barn andask primsignt, ok hefir eigi verit skírt (primsignt ok hefir eigi meiri skírn, Sb. l. c.) ok skal þat grafa við kirkju-garð út, þar er mætisk vígð mold ok úvígð, ok syngva eigi legsöng yfir, K. Þ. K. (Kb.) 7. A monster-shapen infant was to receive the prima signatio, but not baptism, and then to be left to die (exposed) at the church door—þat barn (a monster-child) skal ok til kirkju bera, láta primsigna, leggja fyrir kirkju-dyr, gæti inn nánasti niðr til þess er önd er ór, N. G. L. i. 339; í þessi efan primsigni prestr ok skíri, iii. 251; hann primsignaði hann fyrst ok skírði hann síðan eptir siðvenju, Barl. 147. The words in the English Prayer Book—‘and do sign him (her) with the sign of the cross’—are remains of the ‘signaculum crucis’ of the ancient church. During the heathen age the Scandinavian merchants and warriors who served among Christians abroad in England or Germany used to take the prima signatio, for it enabled them to live both among Christians and heathens without receiving baptism and forsaking their old faith; ek em primsigndr at eins en eigi skírðr, I am ‘prime-signed,’ but not baptized, Fms. ii. 240, Valla L. 205, Kristni S. ch. 1, 2, Fb. i. 346, 357, ii. 137, 243; England var Kristið ok hafði lengi verit þá er þetta var tíðenda, Aðalsteinn konungr var vel Kristinn … hann bað Þórólf ok þá bræðr at þeir skyldi láta primsignask, þvíat þat var þá mikill siðr, bæði með kaupmönnum ok þeim er á mála gengu með Kristnum mönnum, þvíat þeir menn, er primsigndir vóru, höfðu allt samneyti við Kristna menn ok svá heiðna, en höfðu þat at átrúnaði er þeim var skapfeldast, Eg. 265, Gísl. 96: see also Vita Anscarii, ch. 24. These ‘prime-signed’ men, returning to their native land, brought with them the first notions of Christianity into the heathen Northern countries, having lived among Christians, and seen their daily life and worship, and they undoubtedly paved the way for the final acceptance of the Christian faith among their countrymen. It may even be that some strange heathen rites of the last days of paganism, such as the bjannak (q. v.), the sprinkling of infants with water, were due to this cause.

m., in the phrase, fara selflutning, e. g. when three or more persons cross a river severally in a small boat which can only carry two persons at a time, one always returning to fetch the next.