saga

(gen., dat., and acc. bróður, pl. brœðr), m.

1) brother;

2) friar.

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gen. dat. acc. bróður; pl. nom. acc. bræðr, gen. bræðra, dat. bræðrum: in mod. common usage irregular forms occur, as gen. sing. bróðurs; nom. sing., and gen. dat. acc. are also sometimes confounded, esp. in keeping the nom. form bróðir through all cases, or even the reverse (but rarely) in taking bróður as a nom.; another irregularity is acc. pl. with the article, bræður-nar instead of bræður-na, which latter form only survives in writing, the former in speaking. There is besides an obsolete poetical monosyllabic form brœðr, in nom. dat. acc. sing. and nom. acc. pl.; gen. sing. bræðrs; cp. such rhymes as brœðr—œðri, in a verse of Einar Skúlason (died about 1170); bræðr (dat.) Sinfjötla, Hkv. 2. 8, as nom. sing., Fagrsk. 54, v. l. (in a verse), etc., cp. Lex. Poët. This form is very rare in prose, vide however Nj., Lat. Vers. Johnsonius, 204, 333, v. 1., and a few times in Stj., e. g. síns bræðr, sinn bræðr, 160; it seems to be a Norse form, but occurs now and then in Icel. poetry even of the 15th century, e. g. bræðr nom. sing. rhymes with ræðr, Skáld H. 3. 11, G. H. M. ii. 482, but is quite strange to the spoken language: [Gr. φράτηρ; Lat. frāter; Goth. brôþar; A. S. brôðar; Engl. brother; Germ. bruder; Swed.-Dan. broder, pl. brödre]:—a brother: proverbs referring to this word—saman er bræðra eign bezt at sjá, Gísl. 17; einginn or annars bróðir í leik; móður-bræðrum verða menn líkastir, Bs. i. 134: a distinction is made between b. samfeðri or sammæðri, a brother having the same father or mother, Grág. i. 170 sqq.: in mod. usage more usual al-bróðir, brother on both sides; hálf-bróðir, a half-brother; b. skilgetinn, frater germanus móður-bróðir, a mother’s brother; föður-bróðir, a father’s brother, uncle; afa-bróðir, a grand-uncle on the father’s side; ömmu bróðir, a grand-uncle on the mother’s side; tengda-bróðir, a brother-in-law: in familiar talk an uncle is called ‘brother,’ and an aunt ‘sister.’ The ties of brotherhood were most sacred with the old Scandinavians; a brotherless man was a sort of orphan, cp. the proverb, berr er hverr á baki nema sér bróður eigi; to revenge a brother’s slaughter was a sacred duty; nú tóku þeir þetta fastmælum, at hvárr þeirra skal hefna annars eðr eptir mæla, svá sem þeir sé sambornir bræðr, Bjarn. 58: the word bróðurbani signifies a deadly foe, with whom there can be no truce, Hm. 88, Sdm. 35, Skm. 16, Hdl. 28; instances from the Sagas, Dropl. S. (in fine), Heiðarv. S. ch. 22 sqq., Grett. S. ch. 50. 92 sqq., E ch. 23, Ld. ch. 53 sqq., etc. The same feeling extended to foster-brotherhood, after the rite of blending blood has been performed; see the graphical descriptions in Fbr. S. (the latter part of the Saga), Gísl. ch. 14 sqq., etc. The universal peace of Fróði in the mythical age is thus described, that ‘no one will draw the sword even if he finds his brother’s slayer bound,’ Gs. verse 6; of the slaughter preceding and foreboding the Ragnarök ( the end of the world) it is said, that brothers will fight and put one another to death, Vsp. 46.

II. metaph.:

1. in a heathen sense; fóst-bróðir, foster-brother, q. v.; eið-bróðir, svara-bróðir, ‘oath-brother;’ leik-bróðir, play-brother, play-fellow: concerning foster-brothership, v. esp. Gísl. ii, Fbr., Fas. iii. 375 sqq., Hervar. S., Nj. 39, Ls. 9, the phrase, blanda blóði saman.

2. in a Christian sense, brother, brethren, N. T., H. E., Bs.

β. a brother, friar; Svörtu-bræðr, Blackfriars; Berfættu-bræðr, q. v.; Kórs-bræðr, Fratres Canonici, Bs., etc.

COMPDS:

I. sing., bróður-arfr, m. a brother’s inheritance, Orkn. 96, Fms. ix. 444. bróður-bani, a, m. a brother’s bane, fratricide, Ld. 236, Fms. iii. 21, vide above. bróðiir-baugr, m. weregild due to the brother, N. G. L. i. 74. bróður-blóð, n. a brother’s blood, Stj. 42. Gen. iv. 10. bróður-bætr, f. pl. weregild for a brother, Lv. 89. bróður-dauði, a, m. a brother’s death, Gísl. 24. bróður-deild, f. = bróðurhluti, Fr. bróður-dóttir, f. a brother’s daughter, niece, Grág. i. 170, Nj. 177; bróðurdóttur son, a brother’s son, N. G. L. i. 76. bróður-dráp, n. the slaying of a brother, Stj. 43, Fms. v. 290. bróður-gildr, adj. equal in right (inheritance) to a brother, Fr. bróður-gjöld, n. pl. = bróður-bætr, Eg. 312. bróður-hefnd, f. revenge for the slaying of a brother, Sturl. ii. 68. bróður-hluti, a, m. the share (as to weregild or inheritance) of a brother, Grág. ii. 175. bróður-kona, u, f. a brother’s wife, K. Á. 142. bróöur-kván, f. id., N. G. L. i. 170. bróður-lóð, n. a brother’s share of inheritance. bróður-son, m. a brother’s son, nephew, Nj. 122, Grág. i. 171, Gþl. 239, 240; bróðursona-baugr, Grág. ii. 179.

II. pl., bræðra-bani, v. bróðurbani, Fbr. 165. bræðra-búr, n. a friar’s bower in a monastery, Dipl. v. 18. bræðra-börn, n. pl. cousins (agnate), Gþl. 245. bræðra-dætr, f. pl. nieces(of brothers), Gþl. 246. bræðra-eign, f. property of brothers, Gísl. 17. bræðra-garðr, m. a ‘brothers-yard,’ monastery, D. N. bræðra-lag, n. fellowship of brethren, in heathen sense = fóstbræðralag, Hkr. iii. 300; of friars, H. E., D. I.; brotherhood, Pass. 9. 6. bræðra-mark, n. astron., the Gemini, Pr. 477. bræðra-skáli, a, m. an apartment for friars, Vm. 109. bræðra-skipti, n. division of inheritance among brothers, Hkr. iii. 52, Fas. i. 512. bræðra-synir, m. pl. cousins (of brothers), Gþl. 53.

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(dat. djöfli, pl. djöflar), m. devil; freq. as a term of abuse (taki þér djöful þenna).

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m., dat. djöfli, pl. lar; [Gr. διάβολος; eccl. Lat. diabolus; A. S. deofol; Engl. devil; Germ. teufel; Swed. djefvul; Dan. djævel; the nearest to the Icel. is the A. S. form, which shews that the word came from England with Christianity; of course in the old Saga time the word was almost unknown; the evil spirits of the heathens were trolls and giants]:— a devil, Nj. 273, Fms. ii. 184; but in Bs., Fms. viii. sqq., the legendary Sagas, etc. it is freq. enough: as a term of abuse, Sturl. ii. 115, Fms. viii. 95, 368, ix. 50; djöfla-blót (vide blót), Mart. 115; djöfla-mót, meeting of d., Greg. 51; djöfuls-kraptr, devil’s craft, diabolical power, Fms, x. 283, Fas. i. 254.

1) household, people; dyggvar dróttir, good, upright people; öll drótt, all people;

2) the host of the king’s men, bodyguard of a king (dróttinn).

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I. the sill or beam above a door, also a door-post (dyra-drótt).

II. household, people, Vþm. 24, (inn-drótt, sal-drótt, Lex. Poët.); dyggvar dróttir, good, trusty people, Vsp. 63; dverga d., the dwarf-people, 9; d. Írskrar þjóðar, the Irish people; Engla d., English persons, etc., Lex. Poët.; öll drótt, all people, Hkv. 2. 48: twenty people make a drótt, Edda 108.

2. esp. the king’s body-guard; cp. Goth. ga-drauhts, by which word Ulf. renders the Gr. στρατιώτης (drjûgan, pret. drauh = στρατεύειν); A. S. dright; the Scandinavian drótt thus answers to the comitatus of Tacitus, Germ. ch. 13, 14, in the Saga time called ‘hirð.’ Drótt is obsolete in prose, but occurs in Hkr. Yngl. S. ch. 20,—áðr vóru þeir (viz. the kings) dróttnar kallaðir, en konur þeirra dróttningar, en drótt hirðsveitin: poët., víg-drótt, her-d., fólk-d., hjálm-d., etc., warriors.

III. a fem. pr. name, Yngl. S. ch. 20; cp. drós.

1) drinking; sitja einn við drykkju, to sit alone drinking; taka til drykkju, to begin drinking (tóku menn til drylkju um kveldit); þreyta drykkju við e-n, to contend in drinking with one;

2) drink, beverage, = drykkr( byrla e-m drykkju);

3) drinking-bout, banquet (drykkja skyldi vera at hvárratveggja);

4) drinking-cup (rare).

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u, f. [drukkinn]

1. a drinking-bout, carousal, banquet; sitja við drykkiu, Eg. 88; var veizla hin bezta, ok d. mikil inni í stofunni, 205; at þeim veizlum er drykkjur vóru, Bs. i. 394; matmála í milli ef eigi vóru alþýðu-drykkjur, a public banquet, l. c.; göra d., to make a banquet, Og. 27; þá var ár mikit ok drykkjur miklar, Ó. H. 71; þar var öl-d. ok fast drukkit. Eb. 184, cp. Flóam. S. ch. 2; taka til drykkju, to take to drinking, Fms. ii. 266; drykkja ( banquet) skyldi vera at hvárratveggia, Gísl. 27; tóku menn til drykkju um kveldit, 28; hafa sam-d., to have a carouse, Grett. ch. 8; Jóla boð ok sam-drykkjur, Ó. H. ch. 95, cp. 33, 34, 131, Eg. ch. 11, 44; á-drykkia, q. v., Har. S. Harðr. ch. 23, Fms. vii. 203, cp. Orkn. ch. 33, 34, 70, 101, 104, Sverr. S. ch. 36, 98, 103, 104, Fagrsk. ch. 11, 219, 220: the ancients drank hard, ‘diem noctemque continuare potando nulli probrum,’ Tac. Germ. ch. 11: with kings the drinking (dag-drykkia, q. v.) began immediately after the day-meal, vide the rcferences above; the words of Tacitus, ‘tum (viz. after breakfast) ad negotia, nec minus saepe ad convivia, procedunt armati,’ l. c., are therefore true enough, Edda (Gg.) ch. 39, 46; the phrase, þreyta drykkju (cp. kapp-d., a drinking match), Edda 32. The Icelanders of the Saga time seem to have been of much more abstemious habits than their Norse kinsmen ot the same time, and drinking is scarcely mentioned but at public banquets; the Sturlunga time is worse, but only those who had been abroad are mentioned as strong drinkers (cp. Arons S. ch. 19); cp. also a treatise of the end of the 12th century, named De profectione Daiiorum, ch. II—‘in cunctis illius regni (i. e. Norway) civitatibus uniformis consuetudo sed vitiosa inolevit, scilicet jugis ebrietas,’ etc.

2. = beverage = drykkr (rare), Egill bað fá sér drykkju, Eg. 107.

COMPDS: drykkjuborð, drykkjuföng, drykkjulítill, drykkjumaðr, drykkjumál, drykkjurútr, drykkjuskapr, drykkjuskáli, drykkjustofa, drykkjustútr.

ðr, part. drunk, Rb. iii. 384, Karl.

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n., usually in pl., [dómr.]

1. an example, case; hörð dæmi, a hard fate, Hkv. 2. 2; úlfa d., the case ( doings) of wolves, Hðm. 30; kvenna d., womanish example, behaving like a woman, Þorst. St. 52; at mér verði vargsins d., Band. (MS.) 35: in plur., forn dæmi ok siðu foreldra sinna (cp. the Germ. weisthümer, alterthümer), old tales and customs of their forefathers, Fagrsk. ch. 219; þessi dæmi (i. e. verses) öll eru kveðin um þenna atburð, Mork. 114; þó hafa mörg dæmi orðið í forneskju, many things have happened in olden times, Ó. H. 73 (margs d., Fms. iv. 172, less correctly), cp. dæmi-saga; spekingr at viti ok at öllu fróðr, lögum ok dæmum (old lore, tales), mannfræði ok ættfræði, Fms. vii. 102; Ari prestr hinn Fróði, er mörg d. spakleg hefir saman töld, Bs. i. 145, cp. also Barl. 47, 73, 112; hence fá-dæmi, an unexampled, portentous thing; eins dæmi, in the proverb, eins dæmin eru vest, viz. a singular, unexampled fate is the worst: used even of pictures, a story represented by drawing, Pm. 122: gramm. a citation, proof, nú skal láta heyra dæmin, now let us hear the proofs, Edda 49; þessi dæmi ( those references) ok nóg önnur, Anecd. 6, 15, 18, 21; draga dæmi af bókum, Sks. 468.

β. example, generally; djarfari en d. eru til, Fms. iv. 311; vita dæmi til e-s, Róm. 234; umfram d., or dæmum, unexampled, portentous, Stj. 143, Fms. i. 214, viii. 52; svá sem til dæmis at taka, to take an example. Mar. 40, Bs. ii. 116; hence the mod. adverb, til dæmis (commonly written short t.d. = e. g.), for example; sem d. finnask, Fagrsk. ch. 9, Barl. 50; meir en til dæma, beyond example, Stj. 87, 167, 179.

γ. example for imitation (eptir-dæmi, example); eptir dæmum Kristinna manna, Fms. v. 319; eptir þínum dæmum, Niðrst. 4; d. dæmi af e-u, to take example by it, Greg. 134.

2. judgment, only in compds as, sjálf-dæmi, rétt-dæmi, justice, etc.

COMPDS: dæmafátt, dæmafróðr, dæmalauss, dæmamaðr.

(-s, -ar), m. oath; vinna, sverja eið, to take (swear) an oath; rjúfa eið, to break an oath; ganga til eiða, to proceed to the taking of oaths; eigi verðr einn eiðr alla, a single oath does not clear all men.

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m. [Ulf. aiþs; A. S. að; Engl. oath; North. E. aith; Swed. ed; Dan. eed; Germ. eid]

I. an oath; vinna eið, but also sverja eið, to take an oath, to swear, Glúm. 387, Nj. 36, Grág., Sdm. 23; ganga til eiða, to proceed to the taking an oath, Nj., Grág.; eiðar, orð ok særi, Vsp. 30; fullr e., a full, just oath, Grett. 161; rjúfa eið, to break an oath (eið-rofi); perjury is mein-særi, rarely mein-eiðr (Swed.-Dan. men-ed, Germ. mein-eid); eiðar úsærir, false, equivocal oaths, Sks. 358; hence the proverb, lítið skyldi í eiði úsært, with the notion that few oaths can bear a close scrutiny, Grett. 161; trúnaðar-e., hollustu-e., an oath of fealty, allegiance: cp. the curious passages in Sturl. i. 66 and iii. 2, 3; dýr eiðr, a solemn oath; sáluhjálpar-e., sverja dýran sáluhjálpar-eið, to swear an oath of salvation (i. e. as I wish to be saved). In the Norse law a man was discharged upon the joint oath of himself and a certain number of men (oath-helpers, compurgators, or oath-volunteers); oaths therefore are distinguished by the number of compurgators,—in grave cases of felony (treason etc.), tylptar-e., an oath of twelve; in slighter cases of felony, séttar-e., an oath of six, (in N. G. L. i. 56, ch. 133, ‘vj á hvára hönd’ is clearly a false reading instead of ‘iij,’ three on each side, cp. Jb. Þb. ch. 20); grímu-eiðr, a mask oath, a kind of séttar-e.; lýrittar-e., an oath of three; and lastly, ein-eiði or eins-eiði, an oath of one, admissible only in slight cases, e. g. a debt not above an ounce; whence the old law proverb, eigi verðr einn eiðr alla, a single oath is no evidence for all ( cases), Sighvat, Fms. iv. 375, v. l., Bjarn. 22, Nj. 13: other kinds of oaths, dular-e., an oath of denial; jafnaðar-e., an oath of equity, for a man in paying his fine had to take an oath that, if he were plaintiff himself, he would think the decision a fair one: vide N. G. L. i. 56, 254–256, 394, Jb. and Js. in many passages. In the Icel. law of the Commonwealth, oaths of compurgators are hardly mentioned, the kviðr or verdict of neighbours taking their place; the passage Glúm. ch. 24, 25 is almost unique and of an extraordinary character, cp. Sir Edmund Head’s remarks on these passages in his notes to the Saga, p. 119, cp. also Sturl. iii. 2; but after the union with Norway the Norse procedure was partly introduced into Icel.; yet the Js. ch. 49 tries to guard against the abuse of oaths of compurgators, which led men to swear to a fact they did not know. As to the Icel. Commonwealth, it is chiefly to be noticed that any one who had to perform a public duty (lög-skil) in court or parliament, as judge, pleader, neighbour, witness, etc., had to take an oath that he would perform his duty according to right and law (baug-eiðr ring-oath, bók-eiðr gospel-oath, lög-eiðr lawful-oath), the wording of which oath is preserved in Landn. (Mantissa) 335, cp. Þórð. S. (Ed. 1860) p. 94, Band. (MS.)

COMPDS: eiðabrigði, eiðafullting, eiðakonur, eiðalið, eiðamál, eiðasekt, eiðatak.

II. a pr. name, Landn.

(gen. eyrar, dat. and acc. eyri; pl. eyrar), f. sand or gravelbank, either of the banks of rivers (áreyrar, dalseyrar) or of a small point of land running into the sea, a spit.

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f., mod. eyri, gen. eyrar, dat. and acc. eyri, pl. eyrar, [aurr; Dan. öre; Swed. ör: it remains also in Scandin. local names, as Eyrar-sund, the Sound; Helsing-ör, Elsinore, qs. Helsingja-eyrr]:—a gravelly bank, either of the banks of a river (ár-eyrar, dals-cyrar) or of small tongues of land running into the sea, Fms. v. 19, Eg. 196, Nj. 85, Grág. ii. 355, N. G. L. i. 242, and passim in local names, esp. in Icel., vide Landn.: eyrar-oddi and eyrar-tangi, a, m. the point or tongue of an eyrr, Gísl. 93, Grág. ii. 354, Jb. 314, Háv. 47; Eyrar-maðr, m. a man from the place E., Sturl. iii. 11, Band. 9; Eyr-byggjar, m. pl. id., hence Eyrbyggja Saga, the history of that name, Landn., Eb., Bs. i. 409. A great meeting used to be held at Haleyr, now Copenhagen (P. A. Munch), Fær. ch. 2, hence Eyrar-floti, a, m. the fleet at Eyrar, Eg. 78. Another meeting was held in Drondheim (Niðarós) on the gravel banks of the river Nid, hence Eyrar-þing, n., Fms. vi. 24, viii. 49, ix. 91, 449, etc.

II. duels usually took place on a gravel bank or on an island, hence the phrase, ganga út á eyri, to go to fight, Ísl. ii. 256 (in a verse); mér hefir stillir stökt til eyrar, the king has challenged me to fight a duel, Hkv. Hjörv. 33.

β. in poetry used in circumlocutions of a woman, Lex. Poët.

f. rocks reached by high water, Grett. 99. The word flæðr may be used as a test, to shew whether a MS. was written in the west of Icel. or not; but for authorship it is not sufficient, as copyists were apt to alter such things; thus the Gullþ. S. (a western Saga) uses flóð not flæðr; at the present day an Icel. from the west is ridiculed in other counties of Icel. for his flæðr.

m. a foster-brother:

1. prop. of men brought up together, brothers in arms, and the like; Arinbjörn hersir var f. Eireks konungs, Eg. 401, Fs. 121, 139, Fms. x. 226, Ísl. ii. 219; frændr ok fóstbræðr, Fs. 120, 122; þeir vóru vænligir menn ok görðusk fóstbræðr ( brothers in arms) Ingimundar, 13, 15, 16, 19, 24, passim.

2. a sworn brother, = eiðbróðir, pledged by the rite of blending blood together (vide bróðir), Gísl., Fbr., passim: hence Fóstbræðra-saga, u, f. the name of the history (but the name is mod.); fóstbræðra-lag, n. a foster-brotherhood, Eg. 116. 165, Fms. vii. 25, passim:—sworn brotherhood, sverjask í f., Fms. iii. 213, cp. esp. Gísl., Fbr.

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I) prep. with dat.

1) from (ganga frá lögbergi);

skamt frá ánni, a short distance from the river;

2) away from (nökkut frá öðrum mönnum);

3) of time, alit frá eldingu, all along from daybreak;

dag frá degi, one day after another;

4) from among, beyond;

gera sik auðkendan frá öðrum mönnum, to make oneself conspicuous;

5) against;

frá líkindum, against likelihood;

6) of, about;

er mér svá frá sagt konungi, I am told so about the king;

7) as adv. away;

hverfa frá, to turn away;

til ok frá, to and fro;

héðan í frá, hence, henceforlh;

þar út í frá, secondly, next.

II) from fregna.

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prep. with dat., sometimes with í or á prefixed, ífrá, áfrá, cp. Swed. ifrån; áfra, Fms. vi. 326, 439, viii. 25, ix. 508, x. 408; í frá, xi. 16, 137, 508, Grág. ii. 30, Nj. 83, 108, passim: [Goth. fram; A. S. fram, from; Engl. from; O. H. G. fram; again in the Scandin., Swed. från; Dan. fra; Ormul. fra; so also Engl. fro (in to and fro and froward) is a Dan. form, but from a Saxon]:—from, vide af, p. 3, col. 2; ganga frá lögbergi, Nj. 87; frá landi, Ld. 118; ofan frá fjöllum, Ísl. ii. 195; frá læknum, 339: with adv. denoting direction, skamt frá ánni, Nj. 94; skamt frá landi, Ld.; upp frá bæ Una, Fs. 33, Ld. 206; niðr frá Mælifells-gili, Landn. 71; ofan frá Merki-á, Eg. 100; ut frá Unadal, Fs. 31; norðr frá garði, Nj. 153; norðr frá dyrum, Fms. viii. 25; austr frá, ix. 402; suðr frá Noregi, x. 271; skamt frá vatninu, Ld. 268; allt frá ( all the way from) Gnúpu-skörðum, 124: ellipt., inn frá, útar frá, Nj. 50: with the indecl. particle er, vetfang þeim er frá ( from which) var kvatt, Grág. (Kb.)

β. with names of hills, rivers, or the like, from, but ‘at’ is more freq., vide p. 26; frá Ósi, Eirekr frá Ósi, Þórð. 8 new Ed.; Þórðr frá Höfða, Ld. 188, 200; frá Mosfelli, frá Hlíðarenda, Landn., Nj. passim.

2. denoting aloof; brott frá öðrum húsum, aloof from other houses, Eg. 203; nökkut frá ( aloof from) öðrum mönnum, Fas. i. 241; út í frá öðrum mönnum, aloof from other men, Hkr. i. 223.

3. with adverbs denoting direction; Varbelgir eru hér upp frá yðr, Fms. ix. 512; stóðu spjót þeirra ofan frá þeim, Nj. 253; þangat frá garði, er …, in such a direction from the farm, that …, Grág. i. 82.

4. with verbs, as vita, horfa, snúa frá, to look away from, Skálda 242; stafnar horfa frá landi, Fms. xi. 101; þat er frá vissi berginu, viii. 428.

5. with gen. ellipt. cp. ‘at’ A. II. 7; frá riks manns, from a rich man’s [ house], Hom. 117; frá Arnórs, Bjarn. 35; frá frú Kristínar, Fms. ix. 407; frá bóanda þess, Grág. i. 300; frá Heljar, Edda (Ub.) 292; frá Bjarnar, Hkr. i. 190.

6. temp., fjórtán nætr frá alþingi, Grág. i. 122; frá þessu, from that time, since; upp frá þessu, id., Ld. 50, Fms. xi. 334; frá hinni fyrstu stund, Sks. 559; allt frá eldingu, all along from daybreak, Hrafn. 7; frá öndverðu, from the beginning, Sks. 564; frá fornu ok nýju, of old and new, Dipl. iv. 14: adding upp, upp frá því, ever since, Bs. ii. 37.

7. denoting succession; stund frá stund, from time to time, 656 A. i. 36; ár frá ári, year after year, Stj. 17; dag frá degi, Fms. ii. 230; hvern dag frá öðrum, one day after another, viii. 182; hvárt sumar frá öðru, one summer after another, Grág. i. 92; annan dag frá öðrum, Eg. 277: in other relations, maðr frá manni, man after man, Finnb. 228.

II. metaph.,

1. from among, above, beyond, surpassingly; göra sik auðkenndan frá öðrum mönnum, to distinguish oneself from ( above) other men, Fms. vii. 73, Fb. ii. 73: adding sem, frá því sem …, beyond that what …; frá því harðfengir ok íllir viðreignar sem aðrir, Fms. i. 171; herðibreiðr, svá at þat bar frá því sem aðrir menn vóru, Eg. 305; nú er þat annathvárt at þú ert frá því þróttigr ok þolinn sem aðrir menn, Fms. ii. 69: cp. frá-görðamaðr, frá-bær.

2. with verbs denoting deprivation, taking away, forsaking, or the like; taka e-t frá e-m, to take a thing from one, Nj. 253; renna frá e-m, 264; deyja frá úmögum, to ‘die from orphans,’ i. e. leave orphans behind one, Grág. i. 249; segja sik ór þingi frá e-m, to secede from one, Nj. 166; liggja frá verkum, to be bedridden ‘from work,’ i. e. so as to be unable to work, Grág. i. 474; seljask arfsali frá úmögum, i. e. to shift one’s property from the minors, i. e. to cut them off from inheritance, 278.

3. against; þvert frá mínu skapi, Fms. vii. 258, Hom. 158; frá líkindum, against likelihood, Eg. 769.

4. denoting derivation from a person; í mikilli sæmd frá konungi, Ísl. ii. 394; njóta skaltu hans frá oss, Fbr. 58 new Ed.;—so also, kominn frá e-m, come of, descended from one, Eb. sub fin., Landn. passim.

5. of, about, concerning; segja frá e-u, to tell of a thing, Fms. xi. 16, 137, Nj. 100, (frá-saga, frá-sögn, a story); verða víss frá e-m, to be informed about one, Fms. iv. 184; er mér svá frá sagt konungi, I am told so of the king, Eg. 20; lýgi hann mestan hlut frá, he lies for the most part, Ísl. ii. 145, cp. Nj. 32.

III. adverb. or ellipt. away, off; hverfa frá, to turn away, Landn. 84; snúa í frá, Nj. 108; stukku menn frá, Eg. 289; hnekkjask Írar nú frá, Ld. 78; ok frá höndina, and the hand off, Nj. 160; falla frá, to fall off, to die (fráfall), Fms. x. 408; til ok frá, to and fro, Eg. 293, Fms. ix. 422, Pass. 3. 2; héðan í frá, hence ‘fro,’ Nj. 83; þaðan í frá, thence, Grág. ii. 30: þar ut í frá, secondly, next, Fms. vi. 326; outermost, 439:—temp., þaðan, héðan frá, thence, Grág. i. 204, ii. 30, Fms. ii. 231, Nj. 83, Vápn. 30: cp. the phrases, af og frá, by no means! vera frá, to be gone, done with, dead.

f. ‘peace-making,’ truce, treaty, Fms. vi. 63, x. 155, Stj. 566, 650; a part of the Ó. H. is called Friðgörðar-saga, u, f., referring to the negotiation for peace between Sweden and Norway, A. D. 1018.

a. knowing, learned, well-informed (hón var fróð at mörgu); fróðar bœkr, instructive books.

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adj. [Ulf. frôþs = φρόνιμος, σοφός, σώφρων, συνετός; Hel. frôd; A. S. frôd]:—knowing, learned, well-instructed; fróðr, er margkunnigr er, Fms. xi. 413; hón var fróð at mörgu, Nj. 194; þat er sögn fróðra manna, Ísl. ii. 206; verða fróðari um e-t, Sks. 37; at Finnum tveim er hér eru fróðastir ( greatest wizards), Fms. i. 8; fás er fróðum vant, little is lacking to the knowing, cp. the Engl. ‘knowledge is power,’ Hm. 107: of books, containing much information, instructive, bækr beztar ok fróðastar, Bs. i. 429.

β. in some passages in Hm. fróðr seems to mean clever, Hm. 7, 27, 30, 6l, 107; þá nam ek at frævask ok fróðr vera, 142; fróðir menn, knowing men, Ýt. 6; fróð regin, the wise powers, Vþm. 26; enn fróði jötunn, 30, 33, 35:—in some few poët. compds (in which it seems to be used almost = prúðr, brave, valiant, as böð-f., eljun-f.) the true meaning is skilled in war (cp. the Gr. δαιφρων); sann-f., truly informed; óljúgfróð, Íb. 4; ú-fróðr, ignorant, = Goth. unfróþs, which Ulf. uses to translate ἄφρων, ἀνόητος; sögu-fróðr, skilled in old lore. As fróðr chiefly refers to historical knowledge, ‘hinn Fróði’ was an appellation given to the old Icel. chroniclers—Ari Fróði, Brandr Fróði, Sæmundr Fróði, Kolskeggr Fróði, who lived between 1050 and 1150 A. D. But the historians of the next age were seldom called by this name: Odd Munk (of the end of the 12th century) is only once called so, (Ing. S. fine); Snorri (of the 13th) twice, viz. Ann. 1241 in a single MS., and Sturl. iii. 98, but in a part of the Saga probably not written by Sturla himself; Sturla (who died in 1284) is never called by that name; and the only real exception is Styrmir ‘Fróði’ (who died in 1245), though he least deserved the name. Of foreign writers the Icel. gave the name Fróði to Bede (Landn. pref.), whom they held in great honour.

a. pleasant (frýnlooking), inviting (only with negative, cf. úfrýnn).

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or frýniligr, adj.; this word is never used but as compounded with the prefix ú- (except Fas. ii. 351 in a bad and late Saga), viz. ú-frýnn or ú-frýniligr = frowning. The sense as well as the etymology of frýnn is somewhat dubious; there is the Germ. fron or frohn or fran; but that word seems purely German and is by Grimm supposed to be qs. fro min = my lord (vide Hel.); neither does Icel. frýnn or Germ. frohn correspond properly as to the root vowel (cp. e. g. Germ. lohn = Icel. laun): on the other hand there is the Engl. frown, which in form answers to the simple frýnn, but in sense to the compd ú-frýnn; as no similar word is found in A. S. (nor in Germ. nor in Hel.), frown is most likely a Scandin. word; and we suppose that the Icel. prefix syllable ú- is not in this instance = un-, that is to say, negative, but = of-, that is to say, intensive (= too, very, greatly); the original forms of-frýnn, of-frýniligr were contr. and assimilated into ófrýnn, ófrýniligr, meaning very frowning, and these compds then superseded the primitive simple word: this is confirmed by the freq. spelling in MSS. with ‘ of-’ e. g. ofrynn, Ó. H. 144; all-ofrynn, Eg. Cod. Wolph.; heldr ofrynn, Ó. H. 167; but yet more freq. with ‘ú-’ e. g. Orkn. 440, Boll. 358, Fær. 50, Fms. i. 40, Fb. i. 73; the ekki frýnn, Fas. l. c., is again a variation of úfrýnn: the statement by Björn that frýnn is = bland, affable, is a mere guess by inference from the compd.

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(geng; gekk, gengum; genginn), v.

1) to walk (reið jarl, en Karkr gekk);

2) to go;

ganga heim, to go home;

ganga braut, to go away;

ganga til hvílu, to go to bed;

ganga á skip, to go on board;

ganga af skipi, to go ashore;

with infin., ganga sofa or at sofa, to go to sleep;

ganga at eiga konu, to marry a woman;

3) to go about grazing, to graze (kálfrinn gekk í túni um sumarit);

4) of a ship, to run, sail (gekk skipit brátt út á haf);

5) to stretch out, extend, project (nes mikit gekk í sæ út);

6) of report, tales, to be current (litlar sögur megu ganga af hesti mínum);

7) to prevail;

gekk þaðan af í Englandi Valska, thereafter the French tongue prevailed in E.;

8) of money, to be current (peningar þeir, sem nú ganga);

of laws, to be valid (þau lög, er gengu á Uppsalaþingi);

of sickness, plague, famine, to rage (þá gekk landfarsótt, drepsótt, hallæri);

9) to go on, last (gnustu þá saman vápnin, ok gekk þat um hríð);

impers., gekk því lengi, so it went on for a long while;

10) láta ganga e-t, to let go on;

láta höggin ganga, to rain blows;

Birkibeinar létu ganga lúðrana, blew the trumpets vigorously;

11) to succeed;

ef þat gengr eigi, if that will not do;

impers., svá þykt, at þeim gekk þar eigi at fara, so close, that they could not go on there;

þeim gekk ekki fyrir nesit, they could not clear the ness;

12) to turn out, go in a specified way;

ganga andæris, to go all wrong;

mart gengr verr en varir, many a thing goes worse than is looked for;

gekk þeim lítt atsókinn, they made little progress with the attack;

impers., e-m gengr vel (illa), one fares (goes on, gets on) well (badly);

13) with acc., ganga e-n á bak, to force one to go backwards (harm gengr bjöninn á bak);

14) with dat., to discharge (gekk bann þá blóði);

15) with preps. and adverbs:

ganga af e-u, to depart from, leave (þá gekk af honum móðrinn);

ganga af vitinu, to go out of one’s wits;

ganga af trú sinni, to apostatize;

to pass (síðan gengu af páskarnir);

to go off (gekk þegar af höfuðit);

to be left as surplus (þat er af skuldinni gekk);

nú gengr honum hey af, now he has some hay left;

ganga af sér, to go to extremities, to go beyond oneself (mjök ganga þeir fóstbrœðr nú af sé);

ganga aptr, to revert (return) to the former proprietor (síðan gengu þau lönd aptr undir Árna);

to be void, annulled (þá skal kaup aptr ganga);

of a ghost, to walk again; of a door, to close, shut (gekk eigi aptr hurðin);

ganga at e-m, to attack one;

ganga at e-u, to agree to, accept a choice or offer (Flosi gekk fljótt at þessu öllu); to fit (skaltu fá mér lukla þá, sem ganga at kistum yðrum);

ganga á e-t, to encroach upon (ganga á ríki e-s); to break (ganga á orð sín, eiða, grið, sættir, trygðir); to pierce, penetrate;

hann var í panzara, er ekki gekk á, that was proof against any weapons;

ganga á vald e-s or e-m, ganga á hönd (hendr) e-m, to submit to, give oneself up to, surrender to one;

ganga á bak e-u, to contravene;

ganga eptir e-u, to go for, go to fetch (göngum heim eptir verðinu); to pursue, claim;

ganga eptir, to prove true, be fulfilled (þetta gekk allt eptir, sem M. sagði fyrir);

ganga frá e-u, to part with, lose (sumir munu ganga frá öllu fénu);

ganga fram, to step forward;

ganga fram vel, to go forward bravely, in a battle;

to come to pass, come into execution (skal þess bíða, er þetta gengr fram);

to increase (fé Hall gerðar gekk fram ok gørðist allmikit);

to depart this life (H. bóndi gengr fram til frænda sinna);

ganga fyrir e-n, to present oneself before one (ganga fyrir konung);

ganga fyrir e-u, to take charge of, manage (var þar mart fólk, en húsbóndi gekk svá fyrir, at ekkert skorti); to yield to, be swayed by (hann gekk þá fyrir fortölum hennar);

ganga í gegn e-m, to set oneself against one;

ganga í gegn e-u, to confess, acknowledge;

maðr gengr í gegn, at á braut kveðst tekit hafa, the man confessed and said that he had taken it away;

ganga í mál, to undertake a case;

ganga með e-m (of a woman), to marry;

ganga með barni, to be with child;

ganga með burði (of animals), to be with young;

ganga með e-u, to assist in, plead (ganga með máli, bónorði);

ganga milli (á m., í m.), to go between, intercede;

ganga móti (á m., í m.) e-m, to go to meet one;

ganga móti e-u, to resist, oppose;

to confess, = ganga í gegn, ganga við e-u;

ganga nær e-m, to be troublesome to one (þótti hón œrit nær ganga Þórgerði);

ganga e-m nær, to approach, come near to one (sá hefir á brott komizt, er næst gekk Gunnari um alla hluti);

ganga saman, to marry;

of an agreement, bargain, to be brought about;

saman gekk kaupit með þeim, they came to a bargain;

ganga sundr (í s.), to go asunder, part;

ganga til, to go up to a thing (gangit til ok hyggit at); of the wind, to veer (veðrit gekk til útsuðrs);

e-m gengr e-t til e-s, one has some reason for doing a thing;

en þat gekk mér til þess (that was my reason), at ek ann þér eigi;

hversu hefir ykkr til gengit, how have you fared?

Loka gekk lítt til, it fared ill with L.;

ganga um e-t, to go about a thing;

ganga um beina, to wait upon guests;

ganga um sættir, to go between, as peacemaker;

ganga um e-n, to befall, happen to one (þess, er um margan gengr guma); of the wind, to go round, veer (gekk um veðrit ok styrmdi at þeim); to manage (fékk hón svá um gengit, at);

ganga undan, to escape to absent oneself;

g. undir e-t, to take upon oneself, undertake (a duty);

ganga undir e-n, to subject oneself to;

ganga upp, to be wasted (of money);

to get loose, to he torn loose (þeir glímdu svá at upp gengu stokkar allir á húsinu);

of a storm, gale, to get up, rise (veðr gekk upp);

of an ice-bound river, áin var gengin upp, swollen with ice;

ganga við staf, to walk with a stick;

ganga við e-u or e-t, to avow;

ganga yfir e-t, to go beyond, disregard (hann vildi eigi ganga yfir þat, er hann vissi réttast);

ganga yfir e-n, to overcome, to befall, happen to one;

slíkt sem yfir hefir gengit, all that has happened;

eitt skal yfir okkr ganga, we shall share one fate;

16) refl., gangast.

1) walking (hann mœddist í göngu);

vera í göngu, to be on foot, to walk;

2) course (ganga tungls, vinds).

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pret. gekk or gékk, 2nd pers. gékkt, mod. gékst; pl. gengu, geingu, or géngu, and an old poët. gingu; gengengu in Vsp. 12 is a mere misspelling (vide Sæm. Möb. 258); pres. geng, pl. göngum; pret. subj. gengi (geingi); imperat. gakk and gakktú; with the neg. suffix geng-at, gengr-at, gékk-at, gakk-attu, passim; a middle form göngumk firr, go from me, Gm. 1: a contracted form gá occurs now and then in mod. hymns; it is not vernacular but borrowed from Germ. and Dan.: [cp. Ulf. gaggan; A. S. and Hel. gangan; Scot. and North. E. gang, mod. Engl. go; Dan.-Swed. gange or gå; Germ. gehen; Ivar Aasen ganga: Icel., Scots, and Norsemen have preserved the old ng, which in Germ. and Swed.-Dan. only remains in poetry or in a special sense, e. g. in Germ. compds.]

A. To go:

I. to walk; reið jarl en Karkr gékk, Fms. i. 210, Rm. 1, 2, 6, 14, 23, 24, 30, Edda 10, Grág. ii. 95, passim; ganga leiðar sinnar, to go one’s way, Fms. x. 290, Krók. 26: adding acc., g. alla leið, Fms. xi. 202, 299; g. berg, to climb a cliff; g. afréttar, to search the fell-pastures (fjallganga), Háv. 39; also g. ( to climb) í fjall, í kletta, Fms. x. 313: Icel. also say, ganga skó og sokka, to wear out shoes and socks; hann gékk tvenna skó; ganga berserks gang, q. v.

β. absol. to go a-begging, Grág. i. 226, 232, Ísl. ii. 25; ganga vergang, húsgang, id. (göngumaðr).

II. adding adverbs, infinitives, adjectives, or the like,

α. an adverb denoting direction; g. út ok inn, Vkv. 4, Lv. 26; g. inn, Fms. i. 16, vi. 33; g. út, to go out, Lat. exire, Nj. 194; g. aptr, to return, Fms. x. 352; g. fram, to step forward, Hm. 1, Eg. 165; g. upp, to go up, ashore; g. ofan, niðr, to go down; g. heiman, 199; g. heim, to go home; gakk hingat, come hither! 488; g. móti, í gegn e-m, to go against, to meet one; g. braut, to go away; g. til e-s, or at e-m, to go to one; g. frá e-m, to leave one; g. með e-m, to go with one; g. hjá, to pass by; g. saman, to go together; g. yfir, to go over; g. gegnum, to go through; g. undir, to go under; g. undan, fyrir, to go before; g. eptir, to go behind; g. um, to rove, stroll about, and so on passim; g. í sæti, to go to one’s seat, take a seat, Eg. 551; g. til hvílu, to go to bed, Nj. 201; g. til matar, to go to dinner, Sturl. iii. 111, Eg. 483; g. til vinnu, verks, to go to one’s work, cp. Hm. 58; g. í kirkju, to go to church, Rb. 82; g. á fjall, to go on the fells, Hrafn. 34; g. á skip, to go on board, Fms. x. 10; g. af skipi, to go ashore.

β. with infin., in old poems often dropping ‘at;’ ganga sofa, to go to sleep, Fm. 27; g. at sofa, Hm. 19; g. vega, to go to fight, Vsp. 56, Ls. 15; g. at eiga konu, to go to be married, Grág. i. 318.

γ. with an adj.; g. hræddr, to be afraid; g. úviss, to be in ignorance, etc., Fms. vii. 271, Sks. 250, 688.

2. in a more special sense; g. til einvígis, bardaga, to go to a duel, battle, Nj. 64; g. á hólm (hólmganga), Eg. 504, 506; g. á eintal, Nj. 103; g. til máls við e-n, to speak to one, Eg. 199, 764; g. í glímu, to go a-wrestling, Ísl. ii. 246; g. á fang, id., Ld. 206; g. í danz, to go a-dancing; g. til skripta, to go to shrift, Hom. 157; g. at brúðkaupi, to go to be married, Fms. vii. 278; g. í skóla, klaustr, to go to school, go into a cloister (as an inmate), (hence skóla-genginn, a school-man, scholar), Bs. passim; g. í þjónustu, to take service, Nj. 268; g. í lið með e-m, to enter one’s party, side with one, 100; g. í lög, to enter a league with one; g. ór lögum, to go out of a league, passim; g. í félag, ór félagi, id.; g. á mala, to take service as a soldier, 121; g. á hönd, g. til handa, to submit to one as a liegeman, surrender, Eg. 19, 33, Ó. H. 184, Fms. vii. 180; g. á vald e-m, to give oneself up, Nj. 267; g. á hendr e-m, to encroach upon, Ver. 56; g. í skuld, to bail, Grág. i. 232, Dipl. ii. 12; g. í trúnað, to warrant, Fms. xi. 356; g. til trygða, Nj. 166, and g. til griða, to accept truce, surrender, Fas. ii. 556; g. í mál, to enter, undertake a case, Nj. 31; g. í ánauð, to go into bondage, Eg. 8; g. til lands, jarðar, ríkis, arfs, to take possession of …, 118, Stj. 380, Grág., Fms. passim; g. til fréttar, to go to an oracle, take auspices, 625. 89; g. til Heljar, a phrase for to die, Fms. x. 414; g. nær, to go nigh, go close to, press hard on, Ld. 146, 322, Fms. xi. 240 (where reflex.); var sá viðr bæði mikill og góðr því at Þorkell gékk nær, Th. kept a close eye on it, Ld. 316.

B. Joined with prepp. and adverbs in a metaph. sense:—g. af, to depart from, go off; þá gékk af honum móðrinn ok sefaðisk hann, Edda 28; þá er af honum gékk hamremin, Eg. 125, Eb. 136, Stj. 118; g. af sér, to go out of or beyond oneself; mjök g. þeir svari-bræðr nú af sér, Fbr. 32; í móti Búa er hann gengr af sér ( rages) sem mest, Fb. i. 193; þá gékk mest af sér ranglæti manna um álnir, Bs. i. 135: so in the mod. phrases, g. fram af sér, to overstrain oneself; and g. af sér, to fall off, decay: to forsake, g. af trú, to apostatize, Fms. ii. 213; g. af vitinu, to go out of one’s wits, go mad, Post. 656 C. 31; g. af Guðs boðorðum, Stj. passim: to pass. Páskar g. af, Ld. 200: to be left as surplus (afgangr), Rb. 122, Grág. i. 411, K. Þ. K. 92:—g. aptr, to walk again, of a ghost (aptrganga), Ld. 58, Eb. 278, Fs. 131, 141, passim; and absol., g. um híbýli, to hunt, Landn. 107: to go back, be void, of a bargain, Gþl. 491:—g. at e-m, to go at, attack, Nj. 80, 160: to press on, Grág. i. 51, Dipl. ii. 19 (atgangr): g. at e-u, to accept a choice, Nj. 256; g. at máli, to assist, help, 207: to fit, of a key, lykla þá sem g. at kístum yðrum, Finnb. 234, Fbr. 46 new Ed., N. G. L. i. 383: medic. to ail, e-ð gengr at e-m; ok gengr at barni, and if the bairn ails, 340, freq. in mod. usage of ailment, grief, etc.:—g. á e-t, to go against, encroach upon; ganga á ríki e-s, Fms. i. 2; g. upp á, to tread upon, vii. 166; hverr maðr er ólofat gengr á mál þeirra, who trespasses against their measure, Grág. i. 3: to break, g. á orð, eiða, sættir, trygðir, grið, Finnb. 311, Fms. i. 189, Ld. 234; g. á bak e-u, to contravene, Ísl. ii. 382; ganga á, to go on with a thing, Grág. ii. 363; hence the mod. phrase, mikið gengr á, much going on; hvað gengr á, what is going on? það er farið að g. á það (of a task or work or of stores), it is far advanced, not much left:—g. eptir, to go after, pursue, claim (eptirgangr), Nj. 154, Þórð. 67, Fms. vii. 5; g. eptir e-m, to humour one who is cross, in the phrase, g. eptir e-m með grasið í skónum; vertu ekki að g. eptir stráknum; hann vill láta g. eptir ser (of a spoilt boy, cross fellow): to prove true, follow, hón mælti mart, en þó gékk þat sumt eptir, Nj. 194; eptir gékk þat er mér bauð hugr um, Eg. 21, Fms. x. 211:—g. fram, to go on well in a battle, Nj. 102, 235, Háv. 57 (framgangr): to speed, Nj. 150, Fms. xi. 427: to grow, increase (of stock), fé Hallgerðar gékk fram ok varð allmikit, Nj. 22; en er fram gékk mjök kvikfé Skallagríms, Eg. 136, Vígl. 38: to come to pass, skal þess bíða er þetta gengr fram, Nj. 102, Fms. xi. 22: to die, x. 422:—g. frá, to leave (a work) so and so; g. vel frá, to make good work; g. ílla frá, to make bad work; það er ílla frá því gengið, it is badly done:—g. fyrir, to go before, to yield to, to be swayed by a thing; heldr nú við hót, en ekki geng ek fyrir slíku, Fms. i. 305; þó at vér gangim heldr fyrir blíðu en stríðu, ii. 34, Fb. i. 378, Hom. 68; hvárki gékk hann fyrir blíðyrðum né ógnarmálum, Fms. x. 292; hann gékk þá fyrir fortülum hennar, Bs. i. 742: in mod. usage reflex., gangast fyrir íllu, góðu: to give away, tók hann þá at ganga fyrir, Fb. i. 530: Icel. now say, reflex., gangast fyrir, to fall off, from age or the like (vide fyrirgengiligr): to prevent, skal honum þá eigi fyrnska fyrir g., N. G. L. i. 249; þá er hann sekr þrem mörkum nema nauðsyn gangi fyrir, 14; at þeim gangi lögleg forföll fyrir, Gþl. 12:—g. í gegn, to go against, to meet, in mod. usage to deny, and so it seems to be in Gþl. 156; otherwise in old writers it always means the reverse, viz. to avow, confess; maðr gengr í gegn, at á braut kveðsk tekit hafa, the man confessed and said that he had taken it away, Ísl. ii. 331; ef maðr gengr í gegn legorðinu, Grág. i. 340; sá goði er í gegn gékk ( who acknowledged) þingfesti hans, 20; hann iðraðisk úráðs síns, ok gékk í gegn at hann hefði saklausan selt herra sinn, Sks. 584,—this agrees with the parallel phrase, g. við e-t, mod. g. við e-u, to confess, both in old and mod. usage, id.:—g. hjá, to pass by, to waive a thing, Fms. vi. 168:—g. með, to go with one, to wed, marry (only used of a woman, like Lat. nubere), þú hefir þvert tekit at g. með mér, Ld. 262, Sd. 170, Grág. i. 178, Þiðr. 209, Gkv. 2. 27, Fms. xi. 5: medic., g. með barni, to go with child, i. 57; with acc. (barn), Bs. i. 790, and so in mod. usage; a mother says, sama sumarið sem eg gékk með hann (hana) N. N., (meðgöngutími); but dat. in the phrase, vera með barni, to be with child; g. með burði, of animals, Sks. 50, Stj. 70; g. með máli, to assist, plead, Eg. 523, Fms. xi. 105, Eb. 210; g. með e-u, to confess [Dan. medgaae], Stj., but rare and not vernacular:—g. milli, to go between, intercede, esp. as a peacemaker, passim (milli-ganga, meðal-ganga):—g. í móti, to resist, Nj. 90, 159, 171: of the tide, en þar gékk í móti útfalls-straumr, Eg. 600:—g. saman, to go together, marry, Grág. i. 324, Fms. xi. 77: of a bargain, agreement, við þetta gékk saman sættin, Nj. 250; saman gékk kaupit með þeim, 259:—g. sundr, to go asunder, part, and of a bargain, to be broken off, passim:—g. til, to step out, come along; gangit til, ok blótið, 623. 59; gangit til, ok hyggit at, landsmenn, Fms. iv. 282: to offer oneself, to volunteer, Bs. i. 23, 24: the phrase, e-m gengr e-ð til e-s, to purpose, intend; en þat gékk mér til þess ( that was my reason) at ek ann þér eigi, etc., Ísl. ii. 269; sagði, at honum gékk ekki ótrúnaðr til þessa, Fms. x. 39; gékk Flosa þat til, at …, Nj. 178; gengr mér meirr þat til, at ek vilda firra vini mína vandræðum, Fms. ii. 171; mælgi gengr mér til, ‘tis that I have spoken too freely, Orkn. 469, Fms. vi. 373, vii. 258: to fare, hversu hefir ykkr til gengið, how have you fared? Grett. 48 new Ed.; Loka gékk lítt til, it fared ill with L., Fb. i. 276: mod., þat gékk svá til, it so happened, but not freq., as bera við is better, (tilgangr, intention):—g. um e-t, to go about a thing; g. um sættir, to go between, as peacemaker, Fms. v. 156; g. um beina, to attend guests, Nj. 50, passim: to manage, fékk hón svá um gengit, Grett. 197 new Ed.; hversu þér genguð um mitt góðs, 206: to spread over, in the phrase, má þat er um margan gengr; þess er um margan gengr guma, Hm. 93: to veer, go round, of the wind, gékk um veðrit ok styrmdi at þeim, the wind went round and a gale met them, Bs. i. 775:—g. undan, to go before, escape, Ver. 15, Fms. vii. 217, Blas. 49: to be lost, wasted, jafnmikit sem undan gékk af hans vanrækt, Gþl. 338: to absent oneself, eggjuðusk ok báðu engan undan g., Fms. x. 238:—g. undir, to undertake a duty, freq.: to set, of the sun, Rb. 468, Vígl. (in a verse): to go into one’s possession, power, Fms. vii. 207;—g. upp, to be wasted, of money, Fær. 39, Fms. ix. 354: of stones or earth-bound things, to get loose, be torn loose, þeir glímdu svá at upp gengu stokkar allir í húsinu, Landn. 185; flest gékk upp þat sem fyrir þeim varð, Háv. 40, Finnb. 248; ok gékk ór garðinum upp ( was rent loose) garðtorfa frosin, Eb. 190: to rise, yield, when summoned, Sturl. iii. 236: of a storm, gale, to get up, rise, veðr gékk upp at eins, Grett. 94, Bárð. 169; gengr upp stormr hinn sami, Bs. ii. 50: of an ice-bound river, to swell, áin var ákafliga mikil, vóru höfuðísar at báðum-megin, en gengin upp ( swoln with ice) eptir miðju, Ld. 46, Fbr. 20 new Ed., Bjarn. 52; vötnin upp gengin, Fbr. 114; áin var gengin upp ok íll yfirferðar, Grett. 134:—g. við, in the phrase, g. við staf, to go with a staff, rest on it: with dat., g. við e-u, to avow (vide ganga í gegn above):—g. yfir, to spread, prevail, áðr Kristnin gengi yfir, Fms. x. 273; hétu á heiðin goð til þess at þau léti eigi Kristnina g. yfir landit, Bs. i. 23: the phrase, láta eitt g. yfir báða, to let one fate go over both, to stand by one another for weal and woe; hefi ek því heitið honum at eitt skyldi g. yfir okkr bæði, Nj. 193, 201, 204, Gullþ. 8: so in the saying, má þat er yfir margan gengr, a common evil is easier to bear, Fbr. 45 new Ed. (vide um above); muntu nú verða at segja slíkt sem yfir hefir gengið, all that has happened, Fms. xi. 240; þess gengr ekki yfir þá at þeir vili þeim lengr þjóna, they will no longer serve them, come what may, Orkn. 84: to overrun, tyrannize over, þeir vóru ójafnaðar menn ok ganga þar yfir alla menn, Fms. x. 198 (yfirgangr): to transgress, Hom. 109: to overcome, þótti öllum mönnum sem hann mundi yfir allt g., Fms. vii. 326: a naut. term, to dash over, as spray, áfall svá mikit at yfir gékk þegar skipit, Bs. i. 422; hence the metaph. phrase, g. yfir e-n, to be astonished; það gengr yfir mig, it goes above me, I am astonished.

C. Used singly, of various things:

1. of cattle, horses, to graze (haga-gangr); segja menn at svín hans gengi á Svínanesi, en sauðir á Hjarðarnesi, Landn. 124, Eg. 711; kálfrinn óx skjótt ok gékk í túni um sumarit, Eb. 320; Freyfaxi gengr í dalnum fram, Hrafn. 6; þar var vanr at g. hafr um túnit, Nj. 62; þar var til grass (görs) at g., Ld. 96, Grág. passim; gangandi gripr, cattle, beasts, Bjarn. 22; ganganda fé, id., Sturl. i. 83, Band. 2, Ísl. ii. 401.

2. of shoals of fish, to go up, in a river or the like (fiski-ganga, -gengd); vötn er netnæmir fiskar g. í, Grág. i. 149; til landauðnar horfði í Ísafirði áðr fiskr gékk upp á Kvíarmiði, Sturl. ii. 177; fiskr er genginn inn ór álum, Bb. 3. 52.

3. of the sun, stars, vide B. above, (sólar-gangr hæstr, lengstr, and lægstr skemstr = the longest and shortest day); áðr sól gangi af Þingvelli, Grág. i. 24; því at þar gékk eigi sól af um skamdegi, Landn. 140, Rb. passim:—of a thunder-storm, þar gékk reiði-duna með eldingu, Fb. iii. 174:—of the tide, stream, water, vide B. above, eða gangi at vötn eða skriður, K. Þ. K. 78.

4. of a ship, gékk þá skipit mikit, Eg. 390, Fms. vi. 249; létu svá g. suðr fyrir landit, Eg. 78; lét svá g. suðr allt þar til er hann sigldi í Englands-haf, Ó. H. 149; réru nótt ok dag sem g. mátti, Eg. 88; gékk skipit brátt út á haf, Ó. H. 136.

β. to pass; kvað engi skip skyldi g. (go, pass) til Íslands þat sumar, Ld. 18.

II. metaph. to run out, stretch out, project, of a landscape or the like; gengr haf fyrir vestan ok þar af firðir stórir, Eg. 57; g. höf stór ór útsjánum inn í jörðina; haf (the Mediterranean) gengr af Njörva-sundum (the Straits of Gibraltar), Hkr. i. 5; nes mikit gékk í sæ út, Eg. 129, Nj. 261; í gegnum Danmörk gengr sjór (the Baltic) í Austrveg, A. A. 288; fyrir austan hafs-botn þann (Bothnia) er gengr til móts við Gandvík (the White Sea), Orkn. begin.: frá Bjarmalandi g. lönd til úbygða, A. A. 289; Europa gengr allt til endimarka Hispaniae, Stj. 83; öllum megin gengr at henni haf ok kringir um hana, 85; þessi þinghá gékk upp ( extended) um Skriðudal, Hrafn. 24: of houses, af fjósi gékk forskáli, Dropl. 28.

2. to spread, branch out; en af því tungurnar eru ólíkar hvár annarri, þær þegar, er ór einni ok hinni sömu hafa gengit eða greinzt, þá þarf ólíka stafi í at hafa, Skálda (Thorodd) 160: of a narrative, gengr þessi saga mest af Sverri konungi, this story goes forth from him, i. e. relates to, tells of him, Fb. ii. 533; litlar sögur megu g. af hesti mínum, Nj. 90; um fram alla menn Norræna þá er sögur g. frá, Fms. i. 81.

III. to take the lead, prevail; gékk þaðan af í Englandi Valska, thereafter (i. e. after the Conquest) the Welsh tongue prevailed in England, Ísl. ii. 221; ok þar allt sem Dönsk tunga gengi, Fms. xi. 19; meðan Dönsk tunga gengr, x. 179:—of money, to be current, hundrað aura þá er þá gengu í gjöld, Dropl. 16; eigi skulu álnar g. aðrar en þessar, Grág. i. 498; í þenna tíð gékk hér silfr í allar stórskuldir, 500, Fms. viii. 270; eptir því sem gengr ( the course) flestra manna í millum, Gþl. 352:—of laws, to be valid, ok var nær sem sín lög gengi í hverju fylki, Fms. iv. 18; Óðinn setti lög í landi sínu þau er gengit höfðu fyrr með Ásum, Hkr. i. 13; þeirra laga er gengu á Uppsala-þingi, Ó. H. 86; hér hefir Kristindóms-bálk þann er g. skal, N. G. L. i. 339; sá siðr er þá gékk, Fb. i. 71, (vide ganga yfir):—of sickness, plague, famine, to rage, þá gékk landfarsótt, bóla, drepsótt, hallæri, freq.; also impers., gékk því hallæri um allt Ísland, Bs. i. 184; mikit hallæri ok hart gékk yfir fólkið, 486, v. l.; gékk sóttin um haustið fyrir sunnan land; þá gékk mest plágan fyrri, Ann. 1402, 1403.

IV. to go on, last, in a bad sense, of an evil; tókst síðan bardagi, ok er hann hafði gengit um hríð, Fs. 48: impers., hefir þessu gengit ( it has gone on) marga manns-aldra, Fms. i. 282; gékk því lengi, so it went on a long while, Grett. 79 new Ed.; gékk þessu enn til dags, Nj. 272; ok gékk því um hríð, 201; ok gékk því allan þann dag, Fms. vii. 147; lát því g. í allt sumar, xi. 57; gengr þessu þar til er …, Fb. i. 258.

V. denoting violence; létu g. bæði grjót ok vápn, Eg. 261; létu þá hvárir-tveggju g. allt þat er til vápna höfðu, Fms. ix. 44; láta höggin g., to let it rain blows, Úlf. 12. 40; háðung, spottyrði, hróp ok brigzl hver lét með öðrum g. á víxl, Pass. 14. 3, (vápna-gangr); Birkibeinar róa þá eptir, ok létu g. lúðrana, and sounded violently the alarum, Fms. ix. 50, (lúðra-gangr); láta dæluna g., to pour out bad language, vide dæla.

VI. to be able to go on, to go, partly impers.; ef þat gengr eigi, if that will not do, Fms. vi. 284; svá þykt at þeim gékk þar ekki at fara, they stood so close that they could not proceed there, Nj. 247; þá nam þar við, gékk þá eigi lengra, there was a stop; then it could go no farther, Fms. xi. 278; leiddu þeir skipit upp eptir ánni, svá sem gékk, as far as the ship could go, as far as the river was navigable, Eg. 127: esp. as a naut. term, impers., e. g. þeim gékk ekki fyrir nesið, they could not clear the ness; þá gengr eigi lengra, ok fella þeir þá seglið, Bs. i. 423; at vestr gengi um Langanes, 485, v. l.

VII. with adverbs; g. létt, fljótt, to go smoothly; g. þungt, seint, to go slowly; oss munu öll vápna-viðskipti þungt g. við þá, Nj. 201; þungt g. oss nú málaferlin, 181; gékk þeim lítt atsóknin, Stj. 385; at þeim feðgum hefði þá allir hlutir léttast gengit, Bs. i. 274; seint gengr, Þórir, greizlan, Ó. H. 149; g. betr, verr, to get the better, the worse; gékk Ribbungum betr í fyrstu, Fms. ix. 313; gengu ekki mjök kaupin, the bargain did not go well, Nj. 157, cp. ganga til (B. above):—to turn out, hversu g. mundi orrostan, 273; gékk þá allt eptir því sem Hallr hafði sagt, 256; ef kviðir g. í hag sækjanda, if the verdict goes for the plaintiff, Grág. i. 87; þótti þetta mál hafa gengit at óskum, Dropl. 14; mart gengr verr en varir, a saying, Hm. 39; þykir honum nú at sýnu g. ( it seems to him evident) at hann hafi rétt hugsað, Fms. xi. 437; g. andæris, to go all wrong, Am. 14; g. misgöngum, to go amiss, Grág. i. 435; g. e-m í tauma, to turn false ( crooked); þat mun mér lítt í tauma g. er Rútr segir, Nj. 20; g. ofgangi, to go too high, Fms. vii. 269.

VIII. of a blow or the like; hafði gengit upp á miðjan fetann, the axe went in up to the middle of the blade, Nj. 209; gékk þegar á hol, 60; gékk í gegnum skjöldinn, 245, Fb. i. 530.

IX. of law; láta próf g., to make an enquiry; láta vátta g., to take evidence, D. N.

X. to be gone, be lost; gékk hér með holdit niðr at beini, the flesh was torn off, Fb. i. 530: esp. in pass. part. genginn, dead, gone, eptir genginn guma, Hm. 71; moldar-genginn, buried, Sl. 60; hel-genginn, 68; afli genginn, gone from strength, i. e. powerless, Skv. 3. 13.

β. gone, past; gengið er nú það görðist fyr, a ditty; mér er gengið heimsins hjól, gone for me is the world’s wheel ( luck), a ditty.

XI. used as transit. with acc.; hann gengr björninn á bak aptr, he broke the bear’s back in grappling with him, Finnb. 248; ok gengr hana á bak, ok brýtr í sundr í henni hrygginn, Fb. i. 530.

2. medic. with dat. to discharge; ganga blóði, to discharge blood (Dan. blodgang), Bs. i. 337, 383; Arius varð bráðdauðr ok gékk ór sér öllum iðrum, Ver. 47.

D. REFLEX.:

I. singly, gangask, to be altered, to change, be corrupted; gangask í munni, of tradition; var þat löng ævi, ok vant at sögurnar hefði eigi gengisk í munni, Ó. H. pref.; má því eigi þetta mál í munni gengisk hafa, Fb. ii. Sverr. S. pref.; ok mættim vér ráða um nokkut, at málit gengisk, that the case could miscarry, be lost, Glúm. 380:—láta gangask, to let pass. waive; lét Páll þá g. þá hluti er áðr höfðu í millum staðit, Sturl. i. 102; ef þú lætr eigi g. þat er ek kref þik, Fms. xi. 61.

2. e-m gengsk hugr við e-t, to change one’s mind, i. e. to be moved to compassion, yield; sótti hón þá svá at honum gékksk hugr við, Eb. 264; þá gékksk Þorgerði hugr við harma-tölur hans, Ld. 232; ok mun honum g. hugr við þat, svá at hann mun fyrirgefa þér, Gísl. 98; nú sem hann grét, gékksk Ísak hugr við, Stj. 167; er sendimaðr fann at Birni gékksk hugr við féit, Ó. H. 194; við slíkar fortölur hennar gékksk Einari hugr (E. was swayed) til ágirni, Orkn. 24.

II. with prepp. (cp. B. above); gangask at, to ‘go at it,’ engage in a fight; nú gangask þeir at fast, Dropl. 24, Ísl. ii. 267; gengusk menn at sveitum, of wrestlers, they wrestled one with another in sections (Dan. flokkevis), Glúm. 354; þeir gengusk at lengi, Finnb. 248:—gangask fyrir, vide B. above:—gangask í gegn, at móti, to stand against, fight against; at vér látim ok eigi þá ráða er mest vilja í gegn gangask (i. e. the extreme on each side), Íb. 12, cp. Fms. ii. 241; at þeir skipaði til um fylkingar sínar, hverjar sveitir móti skyldi g., i. e. to pair the combatants off, ix. 489; þeir risu upp ok gengusk at móti, Stj. 497. 2 Sam. ii. 15:—g. nær, to come to close quarters (Lat. cominus gerere), Nj. 176, Fms. xi. 240:—gangask á, to dash against one another, to split; á gengusk eiðar, the oaths were broken, Vsp. 30: to be squared off against one another, sú var görð þeirra, at á gengusk vígin húskarlanna, Rd. 288; ekki er annars getið en þeir léti þetta á gangask, i. e. they let it drop, Bjarn. 47; gangask fyrir, to fall off, Fms. iii. 255:—gangask við, to grow, gain strength; áðr en við gengisk hans bæn, before his prayer should be fulfilled, x. 258; ef þat er ætlað at trúa þessi skuli við g., Nj. 162; hétu þeir fast á guðin, at þau skyldi eigi láta við garrgask Kristniboð Ólafs konungs, Fms. ii. 32; þetta gékksk við um öll þau fylki, vii. 300; mikit gékksk Haraldr við (H. grew fast) um vöxt ok afl, Fb. i. 566; Eyvindr hafði mikið við gengizk um menntir, E. had much improved himself in good breeding, Hrafn. 24; vildi hann prófa hvárr þeirra meira hafði við gengisk, which of them had gained most strength, Grett. 107: to be in vogue, in a bad sense, ok löngum við gengisk öfund ok rangindi, Fms. i. 221, cp. Pass. 37. 7:—gangask ór stað, to be removed, Fms. xi. 107.

III. in the phrase, e-m gengsk vel, ílla, it goes well, ill with one, Hom. 168, Am. 53; ílls gengsk þér aldri, nema …, the evil will never leave thee, thou wilt never be happy, unless …, 65.

m. a poët. name of the moon, Edda (Gl.):—the name of a ghost in Grett. S., see the famous ghost story in that Saga, ch. 34–37; the word is interesting on account of its identity with Scot. glamour, which shews that the tale of Glam was common to Scotland and Iceland, and thus much older than Grettir (of the year 1014, cp. glam = a ghastly-looking man, Ivar Aasen). glám-sýni, f. (in mod. usage also glám-skygni, f. and glám-skygn, adj.), ‘glam-sight,’ glamour, illusion, Grett. 115 A, Sturl. i. 179, Stj. 401. Judges ix. 36, Ölk. 36 ( blunder), Þorst. Síðu H. 178: Icel. also say, glám-bekkr, m., in the phrase, að fleygja e-u á glámbekk, to throw a thing on the ‘glamour-bench,’ i. e. to fling it carelessly about where it can be taken by any one, or lost. glám-blesóttr, adj. a horse with a moon-shaped blaze on the forehead. Gláma, u, f. the name of a glacier.

= líkr.

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adj., mod. líkr; in old poems in alliteration the g is always sounded, e. g. glíkr er geira sækir | gunnsterkr …, Bjarn. 33; urðu-a it glíkir | þeim Gunnari, Gh. 3; glík skulu gjöld gjöfum, Hm. 45; Baldri glíkan bur, Ls.; but the vellum MSS. use both forms, though glík is more freq. in the older, líkr in the later; sometimes false readings arose, e. g. ólíkt ( unlike) hafa gört þeir menn, Bs. i. 140, where the sense requires glíkt, but the lower part of the g having been obliterated, the transcriber read it as o; or Fs. 22, where ugglikt ( suspicious) yields no meaning, and is to be read úglíkt (different, quite another thing): [Ulf. galeiks = ομοιος; A. S. gelîc; Engl. alike, like; O. H. G. glîk; mod. Germ. gleich; Swed. lik; Dan. lig]:—like, alike; with dat., sonr er feðr glíkari en dóttir, Eluc. 10; annarr atburðr varð enn þessum glíkr, Bs. i. 346; ekki því grjóti glíkt öðru er þar er, Eg. 142; því glíkt, as adv. such-like, in like manner, Post. 686 C. 2; lifði því líkara sem hann væri ílldýri, Ísl. ii. 481; fríðr sýnum ok mjök líkr föður sínum, Fms. i. 14, x. 265; ok er Kári öngum manni líkr, K. has no match, Nj. 265; skal ek eigi göra þik þeim líkastan er þú vill líkastr vera en þat er Óðinn, Sturl. i. 101; þat þótti mér líkara harmi en skaða, Ld. 126; landi líkari en fiski, Sks. 139; þá munu þit verða Guði lík, 503; svá sem þeir menn verða líkastir er tvíburar eru, Rb. 100; hnot eða myl, eða líkt, or the like, Edda 109; líkt ok ekki, like nothing, Gullþ. 54; er ok eigi líkt (i. e. it is beyond comparison) hvárt sannari er sú saga, eðr hin, Fms. viii. 1; cp. ok er þat úglíkt hvárt þú ferr í lofi mínu, eðr …, Fs. 22 (vide above):—at glíku (líku), adv. all the same, nevertheless; því at jarl hefir at líku líf várt, ef hann vill eptir því leita, Nj. 267; þykki mér þat at glíku, it seems to me all the same, Ísl. ii. 483: so in the phrase, leggja til líka, to settle; at þeir vildi allt til líka leggja með góðra manna ráði, Dipl. ii. 11; því-líkr, ‘that-like,’ such; ú-líkr, unlike; slíkr, qs. svá-líkr, such, Germ. solch = so like.

II. metaph. likely, probable, Fs. 4; en þó er þat líkast at hann snúisk til várrar ættar, Nj. 38; þat er líkara at fyrir öðru þurfi ráð at göra, 261; þat er ok líkast at þeir komist þar at keyptu, Eg. 64; Björn segir þat líkast at hann mundi fara af landi á brott, 156; þat var líkara, Ísl. ii. 141: neut. líkt, likely; ok líkt at þér fylgi gipta, Fms. vi. 8; hann kallaði þá líkasta til slíkra íllbragða, 379; ok líkara at hann mundi koma í Þórarinsdal, Bjarn. 6l; þá þyki mér þat líkt, at …, Sks. 52.

2. likely, promising, to the purpose; taka oss þar fari hverr sem líkast þykkir, Nj. 259; nær líkast væri til at veita atför jarli, Fms. i. 54; þá leituðusk þeir um hvar líkast var út at komask, Eg. 233; mér þykir eigi til líkt ( it looks not well) um ferð þeirra bræðra, Vígl. 25; sá hann eigi annan líkara útveg, Bs. i. 690; því at þeir sá þá sinn kost engan annan líkara, Fb. i. 405; kann vera at endirinn verði líkari ( better) en upphafit, Bs. ii. 64; at þat væri líkast til heilla sátta, Fms. iv. 139; til þeirrar stundar sem mér þyki nokkuru líkast at fram megi komask þetta eyrendi, 133.

1) half; hálfr mánaðr, half a month, fortnight; til hálfs by a half; hálfr annar, þriði, fjórði, &c., one, two, three and a half; hálft annat hundrað, one hundred and a half; hálfr þriði tøgr manna, twenty-five men;

2) neut. ‘hálfu’, by half, with a comparative in an intensive sense, much, far; hálfu verri, far worse; hálfu meira, far more; hálfu siðr, far less.

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adj., hálf (hlf), hálft, freq. spelt halbr, halb er öld hvar, Hm. 52; [Goth. halbs; A. S. healf; Engl. half; Hel. halba; Germ. halb; Dan. halv; Swed. half]:—half; hálfr mánuðr, half a month, a fortnight, Nj. 4; þar átti hann kyn hálft, Eg. 288; hálf stika, half a yard, Grág. i. 498; hálf Jól, the half of Yule, Fs. 151, passim: adverb. phrases, til hálfs, by a half, Eg. 258, 304; aukinn hálfu, increased by half, doubled, Grág. i. 157, Gþl. 24.

2. with the notion of brief, scant, little; sjá hálf hýnótt, that little night, Skm. 42; hálf stund, a little while; eg skal ekki vera hálfa stund að því, i. e. I shall have done presently, in a moment; cp. hálb er öld hvar, only half, Hm. 52; með hálfum hleif, with half a loaf, a little loaf of bread, 51: an Icel. says to his guest, má eg bjóða þér í hálfum bolla, í hálfu staupi, hálfan munnbita, and the like.

II. in counting Icel. say, hálfr annarr, half another, i. e. one and a half; h. þriði, half a third, i. e. two and a half; h. fjórði, three and a half; h. fimti, four and a half, etc.; thus, hálfan annan dag, one day and a half; hálft annað ár, hálfan annan mánuð, h. aðra nótt; hálf önnur stika, a yard and a half, Grág. i. 498; hálfa fimtu mörk, four marks and a half, 391; hálft annat hundrað, one hundred and a half, Sturl. i. 186; hálfr þriði tögr manna, two decades and a half, i. e. twenty-five, men, Ísl. ii. 387; hálfan fimta tög skipa, Hkr. iii. 374: similar are the compd adjectives hálf-þrítugr, aged twenty-five; hálf-fertugr, aged thirty-five; hálf-fimtugr, hálf-sextugr, -sjötugr, -áttræðr, -níræðr, -tíræðr, i. e. aged forty-five, fifty-five, sixty-five, seventy-five, eighty-five, ninety-five, and lastly, hálf-tólfræðr, one hundred and fifteen, Eg. 84, Fms. i. 148, Greg. 60, Stj. 639, Bs. i. 54, 101, Hkr. (pref.), Mar. 32, Íb. 18, Grett. 162, Fs. 160: also of measure, hálf-fertugr föðmum, Landn. (App.) 324, Fms. vii. 217; hálf-þrítugt tungl, a moon twenty-five days’ old, Rb. 26: contracted, hálf-fjórðu mörk, three marks and a half, Am. 63; hálf-fimtu mörk, four marks and a half, Jm. 36: as to this use, cp. the Germ. andert-halb, dritt-halb, viert-halb, etc., Gr. τρίτον ἡμιτάλαντον ( two talents and a half), Lat. sestertius.

III. neut. hálfu with a comparative, in an intensive sense, far; hálfu verri, worse by half, far worse; hálfu meira, far more, Fms. vi. 201; hálfu heilli! Fb. i. 180; hálfu síðr, far less, Þórð. 41 new Ed., Fb. ii. 357; fremr hálfu, much farther ago, Hðm. 2; h. lengra, Bs. ii. 48; h. betri, better by half; h. hógligra, far snugger, Am. 66; hálfu sæmri, Fb. ii. 334.

β. with neg. suff.; hálft-ki, not half; at hálft-ki má óstyrkð ór bera, Greg. 54.

IV. a pr. name, rare, whence Hálfs-rekkr, m. pl. the champions of king Half, Fas.: Hálf-dan, m. Half-Dane, a pr. name, cp. Healf-Danes in Beowulf, Fms.

B. The COMPDS are very numerous in adjectives, nouns, and participles, but fewer in verbs; we can record only a few, e. g. hálf-afglapi, a, m. half an idiot, Band. 4 new Ed. hálf-aukinn, part. increased by half, H. E. ii. 222. hálf-áttræðr, see above. hálf-bergrisi, a, m. half a giant, Eg. 23. hálf-berserkr, m. half a berserker, Sd. 129. hálf-björt, n. adj. half bright, dawning. hálf-blandinn, part. half blended, Stj. 85. hálf-blindr, adj. half blind. hálf-bolli, a, m. half a bowl (a measure), N. G. L. ii. 166. hálf-breiðr, adj. of half breadth, Jm. 2. hálf-brosandi, part. half smiling. hálf-bróðir, m. a half brother (on one side). hálf-brunninn, part. half burnt. hálf-bræðrungr, m. a half cousin, K. Á. 140. hálf-búinn, part. half done. hálf-dauðr, adj. half dead, Sturl. ii. 54, Magn. 530, Hkr. iii. 366. hálf-daufr, adj. half deaf. hálf-deigr, adj. damp. hálf-dimt, n. adj. half dark, in twilight. hálf-drættingr, m. a fisher-boy, who gets half the fish he catches, but not a full ‘hlutr.’ hálf-ermaðr, part. half sleeved, Sturl. iii. 306. hálf-etinn, part. half eaten, Al. 95. hálf-eyrir, m. half an ounce, Fms. x. 211. hálf-fallinn, part. half fallen, K. Á. 96; h. út sjór, of the tide. hálf-farinn, part. half gone. hálf-fertrugr, hálf-fimti, hálf-fimtugr, hálf-fjórði, see above (II). hálf-fífl, n. and hálf-fífla, u, f. half an idiot, Fms. vi. 218, Bs. i. 286. hálf-fjórðungr, m. half a fourth part, Bs. ii. 170. hálf-frosinn, part. half frozen. hálf-fúinn, part. half rotten. hálf-genginn, part. halving. hálf-gildi, n. half the value, Gþl. 392. hálf-gildr, adj. of half the value, N. G. L. hálf-gjalda, galt, to pay half, N. G. L. i. 174. hálf-grátandi, part. half weeping. hálf-gróinn, part. half healed. hálf-görr, part. half done, only half done, left half undone, Fms. ii. 62; litlu betr en hálfgört, Greg. 24. hálfgörðar-bóndi, a, m. a man who has to furnish half a levy, D. N. hálf-hélufall, n. a slight fall of rime, Gísl. 154. hálf-hlaðinn, part. half laden, Jb. 411. hálf-hneppt, n. adj. a kind of metre, Edda 139. hálf-hræddr, adj. half afraid. hálf-kirkja, u, f. a ‘half-kirk,’ = mod. annexía, an annex-church, district church, or chapel of ease, Vm. 126, H. E. i. 430, ii. 138, Am. 28, Pm. 41, Dipl. v. 19; distinction is made between al-kirkja, hálf-kirkja, and bæn-hús, a chapel. hálf-kjökrandi, part. half choked with tears. hálf-klæddr, part. half dressed. hálf-konungr, m. a half king, inferior king, Fms. i. 83. hálf-kveðinn, part. half uttered; skilja hálfkveðit orð, or hálfkveðna vísu = Lat. verbum sat, MS. 4. 7. hálf-launat, n. part. rewarded by half, Fms. ii. 62, Grág. i. 304. hálf-leypa, u, f. a half laupr (a measure), B. K. passim, hálf-leystr, part. half loosened, Greg. 55. hálf-lifandi, part. half alive, half dead, Mar. hálf-litr, adj. of a cloak, of two colours, one colour on each side, Fms. ii. 70, Fas. iii. 561, Sturl. ii. 32, iii. 112, Fær. 227, Bs. i. 434. hálf-ljóst, n. adj.; pá er hálfljóst var, in twilight, Sturl. iii. 193. hálf-lokaðr, part. half locked. hálf-mætti, n. ‘half might,’ opp. to omnipotence, Skálda 161. hálf-mörk, f. half a mark, Vm. 80, 126. hálf-nauðigr, adj. half reluctant, Fms. xi. 392. hálf-neitt, n. adj. ‘half-naught,’ trifling, Fas. i. 60. hálf-níð, n. half a lampoon, Fms. iii. 21. hálf-níræðr, see above (II). hálf-nýtr, adj. of half use, Rb. 86. hálf-opinn, adj. half open. hálf-prestr, m. a ‘half-priest,’ a chaplain to a hálfkirkja, Sturl. ii. 178. hálf-pund, n. half a pound, Gþl. 343. hálf-raddarstafr, m. a semivowel, Skálda 176, 178. hálf-reingr, a, m. a half scamp, Bs. i. 517. hálf-rétti, n. a law term (cp. fullrétti, p. 177), a slight, a personal affront or injury of the second degree, liable only to a half fine; e. g. hálfréttis-orð is a calumny in words that may be taken in both senses, good and bad; whereas fullréttis-orð is downright, unmistakable abuse, Grág. ii. 144; hence the phrases, mæla, göra hálfrétti við e-n, i. 156, 157, ii. 153. hálfréttis-eiðr, m. an oath of compurgation to be taken in a case of h., N. G. L. i. 352. hálfréttis-maðr, m. a man that has suffered hálfrétti, Gþl. 105, 200. hálfréttis-mál, n. a suit of a case of h., N. G. L. i. 314. hálf-róinn, part. having rowed half the way, half-way, Fms. viii. 312. hálf-róteldi, n., prob. corrupt, Fms. xi. 129. hálf-rými, n. a naut. term, half a cabin, one side of a ship’s cabin, Fms. viii. 138, ix. 33, x. 157, Hkr. i. 302. hálfrýmis-félagar, m. pl. messmates in the same h., Edda 108. hálfrýmis-kista, u, f. a chest or bench belonging to a h., Fms. viii. 85. hálf-rökit (-rökvit, -rökvat), n. adj. half twilight, in the evening, Grett. 137, 140 A; hálf-rökvat is the mod. form, which occurs in Grett. 79 new Ed., Jb. 176, Al. 54; vide rökvit. hálf-sagðr, part. half told; in the saying, jafnan er hálfsögð saga ef einn segir = audiatur et altera pars, Grett. 121. hálf-sextugr, see hálfr II. hálf-sjauræðr, adj. = hálfsjötugr, Stj. 48. hálf-sjötugr, see hálfr II. hálf-skiptr, part. = hálflitr, Fms. ii. 170, Sturl. iii. 112. hálf-sleginn, part. half mown, of a field. hálf-slitinn, part. half worn. hálf-sofandi, part. half asleep. hálf-sótt, n. part. half passed; hálfsótt haf, a half-crossed sea. hálf-systkin, n. pl. half brother and sister, cp. hálfbróðir. hálf-systur, f. pl. half sisters. hálf-tíræðr, see hálfr II. hálf-troll, n. half a giant, Eg. 1, Nj. 164 (a nickname). hálf-tunna, u, f. half a tun, Vm. 44. hálf-unninn, part. half done, Fas. ii. 339. hálf-vaxinn, part. half grown. hálf-vegis, adv. by halves. hálf-virði, n. half worth, Jb. 403, Glúm. 347, Sturl. ii. 132. hálf-visinn, part. and hálf-vista, adj. half withered, and medic. palsied on one side. hálf-viti, a, m. a half-witted man. hálf-votr, adj. half wet. hálf-vætt, f. half weight (a measure), Dipl. iv. 8, Fas. iii. 383. hálf-þrítugr, see hálfr II; spelt half-ðritogr, Js. 79. hálf-þurr, adj. half dry. hálf-þverrandi, part. half waning, Js. 732 (of the moon). hálf-þynna, u, f. a kind of small axe, Gþl. 103, 104, Lv. 35. hálf-ærinn, part. half sufficient, Fms. viii. 440. hálf-ærr, adj. half mad, Sks. 778.

II. in mod. usage hálf is freq. used = rather, e. g. hálf-kalt, adj. rather cold: hálf-feginn, adj., eg er hálffeginn, I am rather glad: e-m er hálf-íllt, hálf-bumult, hálf-óglatt, n. adj. one feels rather ill: hálf-hungraðr, hálf-svangr, hálf-soltinn, hálf-þyrstr, adj. rather hungry, rather thirsty, etc., and in endless compds.

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(hef; hóf, hófum; hafiðr and hafinn), v.

1) to heave, raise, lift (hefja stein);

hann hóf upp augu sin, he lifted up his eyes;

hefja sik á lopt, to make a leap;

hefja handa, to lift the hands (for defense);

hefja höfuðs, to lift the head, be undaunted;

hefja graut, to lift the porridge, eat it with a spoon;

2) to exalt, raise in rank;

hefja e-n til ríkis, to raise one to the throne;

3) to begin;

hefja mál sitt, to begin one’s speech;

hefja ferð, to set out on a journey, to start;

hefja flokk, to raise a party;

hefja ákall, to raise a claim;

impers., hefr e-t = hefr upp e-t, it begins (hér hefr Kristnisögu);

refl., hefjast, to begin, originate (hvaðan af hefir hafizt skáldrskarpr?);

4) impers. to be carried, drifted (by storm or tide);

höf skipin öll saman (all the ships were drifted) inn at landinu;

þeir létu hefja skipin ofan forstreymis, they let the ships drift down the stream;

5) with preps.:

hefja e-t af e-u, to take it off;

impers., en er af henni hóf öngvit (acc.), when she recovered from her swoon;

þá hóf af mér vámur allar, all ailments left me;

refl., hefjast af höndum e-m, to leave one;

hefja á rás, to take to one’s feet (= hafa á rás);

refl., láta hefjast fyrir, to retreat, withdraw;

hefja munn sinn í sundr, to open one’s mouth;

impers., Birkibeina (acc.) hefr undan, the B. drew back;

hefja e-t upp, to lift up (hann hóf orminn upp á hendi sér);

impers., hóf honum upp brýn (acc.), his face brightened;

hefja e-t upp, to begin (= hefja 3);

Egill hóf upp kvæðit, E. began his poem;

impers., hér hefr upp Konunga-bók, here begins the K.;

refl., hefjast upp, to begin (hér hefjast upp landnám);

hefjast upp til ófriðar (með ófriði), to begin warfare;

láta hefjast við, to lay to (naut.).

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pret. hóf, pl. hófu; part. hafinn, but also hafiðr (weak); pres. indic. hef; pret. subj. hæfi, with neg. suff. hóf-at, Korm.; [Ulf. hafjan; A. S. hebban; Engl. heave, pret. hove; O. H. G. hafan; Germ. heben; Dan. hæve; Swed. häfva; cp. Lat. capere, in-cipere.]

A. To heave, lift, raise; hefja stein, to lift a stone, Eg. 142; ok munu nú ekki meira hefja fjórir menn, 140; (hón) hóf hann at lopti, hove him aloft, Ýt. 9; hefja e-n til himins, Edda 61 (in a verse); hóf hann sér af herðum hver, Hym. 36; þá er hefja af hvera (mod. taka ofan pott, to take the pot off), Gm. 42; hóf sér á höfuð upp hver Sifjar verr, Hým. 34; hón hófat augu af mér, she took not her eyes off me, Korm. 16; hann hóf upp augu sín, he lifted up his eyes, 623. 20; hefja sik á lopt, to make a leap, Nj. 144.

2. phrases, hefja handa, to lift the hands (for defence), Nj. 65, Ld. 262; h. höfuðs, to lift the head, stand upright, be undaunted; sá er nú hefir eigi höfuðs, Nj. 213: h. sinn munn í sundr, to open one’s mouth, Sturl. iii. 189: hefja graut, skyr, etc., to lift the porridge, curds, etc., eat food with a spoon, Fms. vi. 364; Rindill hóf (Ed. hafði wrongly) skyr ok mataðisk skjótt, Lv. 63.

3. hefja út, to lift out a body, carry it from the house (út-hafning), Eg. 24; er mik út hefja, Am. 100; var konungr hafiðr dauðr ór hvílunni, Hkr. iii. 146. The ceremony of carrying the corpse out of the house is in Icel. still performed with solemnity, and followed by hymns, usually verses 9 sqq. of the 25th hymn of the Passíu-Sálmar; it is regarded as a farewell to the home in which a person has lived and worked; and is a custom lost in the remotest heathen age; cp. the Scot. to lift.

β. hefja (barn) ór heiðnum dómi, to lift ( a bairn) out of heathendom, is an old eccl. term for to be sponsor (mod. halda undir skírn), Sighvat (in a verse); N. G. L. i. 350 records three kinds of sponsorship—halda barni undir primsignan, önnur at hefja barn ór heiðnum dómi, þriðja at halda á barni er biskup fermir: to baptize, skal þat barn til kirkju færa ok hefja ór heiðnum dómi, 12; barn hvert er borit verðr eptir nótt ina helgu, þá skal haft vera ( baptized) at Páskum, id.

4. to exalt, Ad. 20, cp. with Yngl. S. ch. 10; hóf hann Jóseph til sæmðar, Sks. 454; hafðr til ríkis, 458; upp hafðr, 451; önd hennar var upp höfð yfir öll engla fylki, Hom. 129; hann mektaðisk mjök ok hóf sik of hátt af þeim auðæfum, Stj. 154; at hann hæfi upp ( exaltaret) Guðs orð með tungunni, Skálda 208; konungr hóf hann til mestu metorða, 625. 31: er hans ríki hóf, 28.

II. impers.,

1. to be heaved, hurled, drifted, by storm, tide, or the like; þá hóf upp knörr (acc.) undir Eyjafjöllum, a ship was upheaved by the gale, Bs. i. 30; hóf öll skipin (acc. the ship drifted) saman inn at landinu, Hkr. i. 206; þetta hóf ( drifted) fyrir straumi, iii. 94; þeir létu hefja ofan skipin forstreymis, let the ship drift before the stream, Fms. vii. 253; Birkibeina hefr undan, the B. went back, ix. 528.

2. medic., en er af henni hóf öngvit (acc. when she awoke, of one in a swoon), Bjarn. 68; þá hóf af mér vámur allar (acc. all ailments left me), svá at ek kenni mér nú hvergi íllt, Sturl. ii. 54; ek sé at þú ert fölr mjök, ok má vera, at af þér hafi, I see thou art very pale, but may be it will pass off, Finnb. 236; hóf honum heldr upp brún (acc. his face brightened), Eg. 55.

III. reflex. to raise oneself, to rise; hefjask til ófriðar, to raise war, rebel, Eg. 264.

β. to be raised; hefjask til ríkis, to be raised to the throne, Fms. i. 99; hefjask hátt, to be exalted, Fs. 13; hann hafði hafisk af sjálfum sér, he had risen by himself, Eg. 23; féll Hákon en hófsk upp Magnúss konungr, Sturl. i. 114; Þórðr hófsk ( rose) af þessu, Landn. 305, Hom. 152.

2. phrases, hefjask við, to lay to, a naut. term; lét þá jarl hefjask við ok beið svá sinna manna, Fms. viii. 82; hefjask undan, to retire, draw back, Sd. 144: in the phrase, hefjask af höndum e-m, to leave one; hefsk nú aldregi af höndum þeim, give them no rest, Fms. xi. 59.

3. part., réttnefjaðr ok hafit upp í framanvert, Nj. 29.

B. Metaph. to raise, begin, Lat. incipere:

1. to raise; hefja flokk, to raise a party, a rebellion, Fms. viii. 273; h. rannsókn, to raise an enquiry, Grág. ii. 193; h. ákall, to raise a claim, Eg. 39; h. brigð, to make a reclamation, Gþl. 295.

2. to begin; hefja teiti, Fms. vii. 119; h. gildi, Sturl. i. 20; h. Jóla-hald, to begin ( keep) Yule, Fms. i. 31; h. boðskap, ii. 44: of a book, þar hefjum vér sögu af hinum helga Jóni biskupi, Bs. i. 151; h. mál, to begin one’s speech, Ld. 2; h. ferð, to start, Fb. ii. 38; h. orrustu.

β. with prep. upp, (hence upp-haf, beginning); hóf Helgi upp mál sitt, Boll. 350; Egill hóf upp kvæðit, E. began his poem, 427; hann heyrði messu upp hafna, Fms. v. 225; hefja upp sálm, to begin a hymn, 623. 35; Flosi hóf upp suðrgöngu sína, F. started on his pilgrimage, Nj. 281; h. upp göngu sína, to start, Rb. 116.

γ. hefja á rás, to take to one’s feet; síðan hefr hann á rás ok rann til bæjarins, Eg. 237; hinir Gautsku höfðu (thus weak vide hafa C. 2) á rás undan, Fms. iv. 120.

δ. absol., hann hóf svá, he began thus, Fms. i. 33; þar hef ek upp, vii. 146; þar skal hefja upp við arftöku-mann, start from the a., Grág. i. 62.

II. impers. to begin; hér hefr Þingfara-bólk (acc.), Gþl. 5; hér hefr upp Kristindóms-bólk, 39, 75, 378; hér hefr Landnáma-bók, Landn. 24; hér hefr upp landnám í Vestfirðinga fjórðungi, 64, 168 (v. l.), 237 (v. l.); hér hefr Kristni-Sögu, Bs. i. 3; nú hefr þat hversu Kristni kom á Ísland, id.; hér hefr sögu af Hrafni á Hrafnsevri, 639; hér hefr upp ok segir frá þeim tíðindum, er …, Fms. viii. 5; áðr en hefi sjálfa bókina, Gþl.; hér hefr sögu Gísla Súrs-sonar, Gísl. (begin.), v. l.: with upp, ok upp hefr Skáldskapar-mál ok Kenningar, Edda (Arna-Magn.) ii. 427; hér hefr upp Konunga-bók og hefr fyrst um þriðjunga-skipti heimsins, Hkr. Cod. Fris. 3; hann kom til Túnsbergs er upp hóf Adventus Domini, Fms. ix. 338.

III. reflex. to begin; þar hefsk saga Harðar, Landn. 62; hvaðan hefir hafizk sú íþrótt, whence originates that art? Edda 47; hér hefjask upp landnám, Landn. 275; hófsk ríki Haralds konungs, king H.’s reign began, Ld. 2; áðr Rómverja-ríki hófsk, Rb. 402; hófusk (höfðusk, Ed. wrongly) þá enn orrostur af nýju, Fms. xi. 184; hvernig hafizk hefir þessi úhæfa, Al. 125; nú hefsk önnur tungl-öldin, Rb. 34; þá hefsk vetr, 70–78, 436.

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(-da, -dr), v. to avenge, take vengeance;

with the thing and the person in gen.,

hefna sára, to avenge the wounds,

hefna bróður síns, to avenge one’s brother,

hefna sín, to avenge oneself;

with dat. of the person,

hefna e-m, to take vengeance on (skulu við hefna honum);

with the thing in gen. and the person in dat.;

áttu honum at hefna frændaláts, thou hast to avenge on him the death of a kinsman;

impers., e-m hefnir e-t, one pays (suffers) for a thing (svá hefndi honum þat mikla mikillæti);

with preps., hefna e-m fyrir e-t, hefna e-s a e-m, to avenge a thing on one;

refl., hefnast, to avenge oneself (= hefna sín);

hefnast e-s, to avenge a thing;

hefnast á e-m, to avenge oneself on a person;

e-m hefnist e-t, one has to pay (suffer) for;

hefnast mun honum vist, the day of retribution will assuredly come to him.

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d, also spelt hemna, N. G. L. i. 19, [Dan. hævne; Swed. hämna]:—to revenge, with dat. of the person and gen. of the thing, or ellipt. omitting either the gen. or the dat., or adding an adverb:

I. gener. to avenge, take vengeance; hefna Grími sinnar svívirðingar, Fms. ii. 172; vildi jarl nú gjarna h. Þorleifi þessar smánar, Fb. i. 213; á ek at h. honum mikillar sneypu, Fms. x. 341; sagði hvers honum var at hefna, Bret. 50; áttú honum at hefna frænda-láts, Fb. ii. 350; at hann mundi henni þess sárliga h., 381; eða hverr er hér sá ríkis-manna, er eigi muni honum eiga at h. stórsaka? Ó. H. 213; ek skal fara með þér ok skulu vit hefna honum, Eg. 189; því mæli ek eigi í móti, at þér farit við liði ok hefnit þeim, Fms. ix. 306; hón hefnir ok þeim er brigða, Edda 21.

β. with gen., þó skal ek þessa hefna, Nj. 19; Guð hefnir svá reiði sinnar, Sks. 338; goð hefna eigi alls þegar, Nj. 132: h. sín, to avenge oneself; sá maðr er á er unnit á at hefna sín, Grág. ii. 17; hefnit yðar eigi sjálfir, Rom. xii. 19; ok blóðs sinna þjóna hefir hann hefnt, Rev. xix. 2; þeir menn, er þeir áttu minna í at hefna, those men who had less to avenge, Eg. 86; verðr þeim því ekki skjótt hefndr sinn ósómi, Fbr. 22.

γ. with prep. á; hefna e-s á e-m, to avenge a thing upon one, Eg. 425, Fb. i. 471, Sks. 719, Sturl. ii. 148; this also is the mod. usage, og hefnir vors blóðs á þeim, Rev. vi. 10: singly, hefna á e-m, en ef hann vill eigi bæta, þá megu frændr hins dauða h. á honum, N. G. L. i. 122.

II. with a single gen. and referring to the blood revenge; hversu Hákon jarl hefndi föður síns, Fms. i. 56; hefna Rögnvalds, ix. 306; h. myndi Höskuldr þín, Nj. 176; at þú hefnir þeirra sára allra, er hann hafði á sér dauðum, id.; hefndú (imperat.) vár, en vér þín ef vér lifum eptir, 198; þat hlægir mik, segir Skarphéðinn, ef þú kemsk brott, mágr, at þú munt h. mín, 202; sverja þann eið, at hverr skal annars h. sem bróður sins, Gísl. 11; nú vilda ek til þess mæla, at hvárr okkarr hefndi annars, sá er lengr lifði, ef vit höfum líflát af vápnum eðr manna-völdum, Barn. 58; þó er þér meiri nauðsyn at h. föður þíns en spá mér slíkar spár, Mj. 182; en þó væri honum eigi úskyldra at h. föður síns, en at kasta únýtum orðum á mik—konungr mælti, er þat satt, Halli, at þú hafir eigi hefnt föður þíns? Fms. vi. 367; þat var þá mælt, at sá væri skyldr at h. er vápni kipti ór sári, Gísl. 22. For the old blood revenge see the Sagas passim, e. g. Ld. ch. 60, Gísl., Fbr., Grett. (fine), Heiðarv. S., Orkn. ch. 8. But even in the Saga time a more law-abiding spirit began to prevail, and a settlement (görð) took place in many cases instead of the old practice of taking life for life; and so the law distinguishes between mann-hefndir and sektir, i. e. blood-vengeance and temporary exile or the like; indicative of this better spirit is the old saying, jafnan orkar tvímælis þó at hefnt sé, revenge always causes dissension, Nj. 139: revenge amongst kinsmen was forbidden, síðr þú hefnir, þótt þeir sakar göri | þat kveða dauðum duga, Sdm. 22, cp. ætt-víg, cp. also Ld. ch. 53 sqq. and many other passages; a touching instance is recorded in Nj. ch. 146, p. 248; it is characteristic of the old times, that bloodshed might be atoned for, but not slander, calumny, or imprecations, cp. annars dags láttu hans öndu farit, Sdm. 24, 25, and many passages in the Sagas, e. g. Glúm. ch. 7, 18, Lv. ch. 13, Nj. ch. 44, 92, Þorst. Síðu H., cp. also Hm. 28, 72.

III. impers., e-m hefnir e-t, to pay dearly for; svá hefndi honum þat mikla mikillæti, at hann gékk í braut fullr af harmi, Edda 22; þá hljóp Ólafr í fen eitt báðum fótum … því bar svá til, at mér hefndi, Fms. x. 261.

IV. reflex. to take revenge; at hefnask á e-m, to take revenge on one, Bær. 5; leituðu Norðmenn at hefnask, Fms. i. 108; fóru þau orð um, at Dana-konungr mundi þess hefnask, 29; hefnask sinnar svívirðingar, Gþl. 183; hefnask sín, hefna sín, 184: with gen. of the person, ok svá þeir er hemnask þessara úbóta-manna, as also the persons who take revenge on these miscreants, N. G. L. i. 19 (rare).

2. reflex. impers. (see III. above), to come to make retribution (of Nemesis); e-m hefnisk e-t or e-s, hvárt mun Gunnari aldri hefnask þessi újafnaðr? eigi mun þat segir, segir Rútr, hefnask mun honum víst, the day of retribution will come to him, Nj. 38: very freq. in mod. usage of just retribution, mér hefndisk fyrir það; þér hefnist fyrir það, used even of slight matters.

V. part. as adj. hefndr, revenged; compar., era slíks manns at hefndra sem Gregorius var, þótt þeir komi allir fyrir, Hkr. iii. 399; þótt föður várs sé eigi at hefndra (viz. though he be slain), Fs. 40. 2. hefnandi, part. act. a revenger, Greg. 41: poët. = sons, as the duty of revenge devolved upon the nearest heir, Lex. Poët.

a. heathen, pagan; heiðnir menn, heathens.

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adj. [A. S. hæðen; Engl. heathen; O. H. G. heidan; Germ. heide and heidnisch; Dan. hedensk; this word is prob. derived not from heiðr, a heath, but from Gr. ἐθνικός as used in the N. T.; Ulf. in a single passage, Mark vii. 26, renders γυνὴ Έλληνίς by qino haiþno; it is even possible that the eccl. paganus, which, according to Du Cange, only appears after A. D. 365, may be merely a translation of the Teutonic word under the notion that haiþan was derived from haiþi = a heath, open country (Gr. ἀγρός, Lat. pagus): then, as haiþi was pronounced much like ἔθνος, the true etymology of heiðinn was lost; and so the long vowel and the aspirated initial may be accounted for. To the worshippers of Thor and Odin the name heathen was unknown; Christians were the first that used the word, and we meet with it first in Hkm. of Eyvind, who speaks of heiðin goð, heathen gods; heiðinn stallr, a heathen altar, Kristni S., by the missionary Þorvald, A. D. 982; it is also used by Hallfred and Sighvat; heiðinn dómr, heathendom, Sighvat; heiðnar stjörnur, heathen stars, Sól.: the verse in Ísl. ii. 50 is spurious (as are all the verses of that Saga); so also the verses in Landn. 84 (Hb.), and in Bergbúa-þáttr, where the word heiðinn is put into the mouth of a ghost and a giant, in songs which are merely a poetical fiction of later times. The word heiðingi for wolf is curious: probably it is merely a metaph. phrase from heiðinn, gentilis, and if so, it gives an additional evidence to the age of the poem Atla-kviða; which poem, from its nickname the ‘Greenlandish,’ cannot be older than the discovery of Greenland, A. D. 985]:—heathen, gentilis, ethnicus, the Sagas passim, esp. Nj. ch. 101–106, Kristni S., Ó. T., Ó. H., etc.: a child not christened was in olden times called heathen, N. G. L. i. 340; heiðit morð, the murder of an infant not christened, 339: in mod. Icel. usage, a boy or girl before confirmation is called heathen; this improper use of the word is caused by a confusion between baptism and confirmation: so in Norway a woman between child-birth and churching is called heathen (Ivar Aasen).