sensé

1) back; fara (snúa, koma, senda, sœkja, hverfa) a., to go (turn etc.) back; reka a., to drive back, repel; kalla a., to recall, revoke;

2) backwards; fram ok a., backwards and forwards, to and fro; þeir settu hnakka á bak sér a., they bent their necks backwards;

3) lúka (láta) a., to shut, close; hlið, port, hurð er a., is shut;

4) at the back, in the rear; þat er maðr fram, en dýr a., the fore part a man, the hind part of a beast; bæði a. ok fram, stem and stern (of a ship); Sigurðr sat a. á kistunni, S. sat aft on the stern-chest;

5) again; Freyja vaknar ok snerist við ok sofnar a., and falls asleep again.

* * *

and aftr (aptar, N. G. L. i. 347), adv., compar. aptar, superl. aptast, [Ulf. aftra = πάλιν], the spelling with p is borne out by the Gr. αψ.

I. Loc. back, back again:

1. WITH MOTION, connected with verbs denoting to go or move, such as fara, ganga, koma, leiða, senda, snúa, sækja, etc., where aptr almost answers to Lat. re-, remittere, reducere, reverti …; gefa a., reddere; bera a., refellere; kalla a., revocare; reka a., repellere: a. hverfr lygi þá er sönnu mætir (a proverb), a lie turns back when it meets truth, Bs. i. 639. ‘aptr’ implies a notion a loco or in locum, ‘eptir’ that of remaining in loco; thus skila a. means remittere; skilja eptir, relinquere; taka a., recipere, in a bad sense; taka eptir, animum attendere; fara a., redire; vera e., remanere, etc.; fara, snúa, koma, senda, sækja, hverfa a., Nj. 260, 281, Fms. x. 395, iv. 300, Edda 30, Eg. 271, Eb. 4, Fs. 6; færa a., to repay, N. G. L. i. 20; snúast a., Lækn. 472. Without actual motion,—as of sounds; þeir heyrðu a. í rjóðrit óp, they heard shouting behind them, Fms. iv. 300; nú skal eigi prestr ganga svá langt frá kirkju at hann heyri eigi klokkur hljóð aftar (= aftr), he shall not go out of the sound of the bells, N. G. L. i. 347.

β. backwards; fram ok a., to and fro (freq.); reið hann suðr aptr, rode back again, Nj. 29; aptr á bak, supine, bent or turned back, Eg. 380; þeir settu hnakka á bak sér a., bent their necks backwards in order to be able to see, Edda 30; skreiðast a. af hestinum, to slip down backwards from the croup of a horse, to dismount, Fs. 65.

γ. connected with many verbs such as, láta, lúka a., to close, shut, opp. to láta, lúka upp, Fær. 264, Eg. 7, Landn. 162; in a reverse sense to Lat. recludere, reserere, rescindere, resolvere.

2. WITHOUT MOTION = aptan, the hind part, the back of anything; þat er maðr fram ( superne), en dýr a., the fore part a man, the hind part a beast, 673. 2; síðan lagði hann at tennrnar a. við huppinn, he caught the hip with his teeth, Vígl. 21. The English aft when used of a ship; breði a. ok fram, stern and stem (of a ship), Fms. ix. 310; Sigurðr sat a. á kistunni, sate aft on the stern-chest, vii. 201; a. ok frammi, of the parts of the body (of a seal), Sks. 179. Compar. aptarr, farther back, Fms. vi. 76.

II. TEMP. again, πάλιν, iterum: this use of the word, general as it is at present, hardly appears in old writers; they seem to have had no special expression for again, but instead of it said síðan, enn, or used a periphrase, á nýja leik, öðru sinni, annat sinn, or some other substitute. It is, however, very freq. in Goth. aftra = πάλιν, Swed. åter, Dan. atter; some passages in the Sagas come near to the mod. use, e. g. bæta a., restituere, to give back (but not temp.); segja friði a., to recal, N. G. L. i. 103; hann maelti at engi mundi þann fald a. falda, El. 20, uncertain whether loc. ( backward) or iterum, most likely the former. It is now used in a great many compounds, answering to Lat. re-, cp. also endr.

and athafna-, m. a busy enterprising man, Hkr. ii. 255, Fær. 209. In a bad sense, a laughing-stock; göra e-n at athafnarmanni, to make a butt of him, Sturl. i. 24, 181, this last sense seems to be peculiar to the first and second part (þáttr) of the Sturl., which were not written by Sturla himself, but by an unknown author.

n. [kveða at orði].

I. a technical phrase, esp. in law; svá skal sækja at öllu um fjártökuna, sem þjófsök fyrir utan a., the proceeding is all the same with the exception of the technical terms, Grág. ii. 190; at þeim atkvæðum er Helgi hafði í stefnu við þik, the expressions used by Helgi in summoning thee, Boll. 354.

β. a word, expression in general; þat er þrífalt a., mannvit, siðgæði ok hæverska, Sks. 431, 303; en þó vér mælim alla þessa hluti með breiðu a., in broad, general terms, Anecd. 21, Þiðr. 1.

γ. now used gramm. for a syllable, and in many compds such as, eins atkvæðis orð, a monosyllable; tveggja, þriggja … atkvæða …, etc., a dissyllable, etc.: ‘kveða at’ also means to collect the letters into syllables, used of children when they begin to spell. Old writers use atkvæði differently in a grammatical sense, viz. = pronunciation, sound, now framburðr; þeir stafir megu hafa tveggja samhljóðenda a., hverr einn, Skálda (Thorodd) 165; eins stafs a.; a. nafns hvers þeirra; þá er þat a. hans í hverju máli sem eptir lifir nafnsins (in the last passage = the name of the letter), 168.

II. a decision, sentence, almost always in plur.; beið hann þinna atkvæða, Nj. 78; var því vikit til atkvæða ( decision) Marðar, 207; bíða atkvæða Magnúss konungs um álög ok pyntingar, Fms. vi. 192: sing., var þat biskups a., his decision, v. 106; hvi gegnir þetta a. ( sentence) jarl, rangliga dæmir þú, 656 B; þínu boði ok a., command and decisive vote, Stj. 203; af atkvæði guðanna, by their decree, Edda 9, Bret. 53.

β. now a law term = vote, and in a great many compds: atkvæða-greiðsla, division; atkvæða-fjöldi, votes; a. munr, majority, etc.

III. a decree of fate, a spell, charm, in a supernatural sense, = ákvæði; af forlogum ok a. ramra hluta, Fs. 23; konungr sagði úhægt at göra við atkvæðum, … to resist charms (MS. akvedni, where it is uncertain whether the reading is ákv- or atkv-); a. Finnunnar, the spell of the Finnish witch, 22; svá mikil a. (pl.) ok ilska fylgði þessum álögum, Fas. i. 404, iii. 239, Fms. x. 172.

COMPDS: atkvæðalauss, atkvæðamaðr, atkvæðamikill.

* * *

(gen. pl. augna), n.

1) eye;

lúka (bregða) upp augum, bregða augum í sundr, to open (lift up) the eyes;

lúka aptr augum, to shift the eyes;

renna (bregða, leiða) augum til e-s, to turn the eyes to;

leiða e-n augum, to measure one with the eyes;

berja augum í e-t, to take into consideration;

koma augum á e-t, to set eyes on, become aware of;

hafa auga á e-u, t have, keep, an eye upon;

segja e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, right in the face;

unna e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls;

e-m vex e-t í augu, one has scruples about;

náit er nef augum, the nose is neighbor to the eyes;

gløggt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp;

mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes;

eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot hide it if a woman loves a man;

2) hole, aperture in a needle (nálarauga), in a millstone (kvarnarauga) or an axe-head;

3) pit full of water.

* * *

n., gen. pl. augna, [Lat. oculus, a dimin. of an obsolete ocus; Gr. οφθαλμός (Boeot. οκταλμός); Sanskr. aksha: the word is common to Sanskrit with the Slavonic, Greek, Roman, and Teutonic idioms: Goth. augo; Germ, auge; A. S. eâge; Engl. eye; Scot. ee; Swed. öga; Dan. öje, etc. Grimm s. v. suggests a relationship to Lat. acies, acutus, etc. The letter n appears in the plur. of the mod. northern languages; the Swedes say ‘ögon,’ oculi, the Danes ‘öjne;’ with the article ‘ögonen’ and ‘öjnene;’ Old Engl. ‘eyne;’ Scot. ‘een’]

I. an eye. It is used in Icel. in a great many proverbs, e. g. betr sjá augu en auga, ‘two eyes see better than one,’ i. e. it is good to yield to advice: referring to love, unir auga meðan á sér, the eye is pleased whilst it can behold (viz. the object of its affection), Fas. i. 125, cp. Völs. rím. 4. 189; eigi leyna augu, ef ann kona manni, the eyes cannot bide it, if a woman love a man, i. e. they tell their own tale, Ísl. ii. 251. This pretty proverb is an απ. λεγ. l. c. and is now out of use; it is no doubt taken from a poem in a dróttkvætt metre, (old proverbs have alliteration, but neither rhymes nor assonance, rhyming proverbs are of a comparatively late date): medic., eigi er sá heill er í augun verkir, Fbr. 75; sá drepr opt fæti ( slips) er augnanna missir, Bs. i. 742; hætt er einu auganu nema vel fari, he who has only one eye to lose will take care of it (comm.); húsbóndans auga sér bezt, the master’s eye sees best; glögt er gests augat, a guest’s eye is sharp; mörg eru dags augu, the day has many eyes, i. e. what is to be hidden must not be done in broad daylight, Hm. 81; náið er nef augum, the nose is near akin to the eyes (tua res agitur paries quum proximus ardet), Nj. 21; opt verðr slíkt á sæ, kvað selr, var skotinn í auga, this often happens at sea, quoth the seal, when he was shot in the eye, of one who is in a scrape, Fms. viii. 402. In many phrases, at unna ( to love) e-m sem augum í höfði sér, as one’s own eye-balls, Nj. 217; þótti mér slökt it sætasta ljós augna minna, by his death the sweetest light of my eyes was quenched, 187: hvert grætr þú nú Skarphéðinn? eigi er þat segir Skarphéðinn, en hitt er satt at súrnar í augum, the eyes smart from smoke, 200: renna, líta augum, to seek with the eyes, to look upon: it is used in various connections, renna, líta ástaraugum, vánaraugum, vinaraugum, trúaraugum, öfundaraugum, girndarauga, with eyes of love, hope, friendship, faith, envy, desire: mæna a. denotes an upward or praying look; stara, fixed; horfa, attentive; lygna, blundskaka, stupid or slow; blína, glápa, góna, vacant or silly; skima, wandering; hvessa augu, a threatening look; leiða e-n a., to measure one with the eyes; gjóta, or skjóta hornauga, or skjóta a. í skjálg, to throw a side glance of dislike or ill-will; gjóta augum is always in a bad sense; renna, líta mostly in a good sense: gefa e-u auga, oculum adjicere alicui; hafa auga á e-u, to keep an eye on it; segja e-m e-t í augu upp, to one’s face, Orkn. 454; at augum, adverb. with open eyes, Hervar. S. (in a verse), etc. As regards various movements of the eyes; ljúka upp augum, to open the eyes; láta aptr augun, to shut the eyes; draga auga í pung, to draw the eye into a purse, i. e. shut one eye; depla augum, to blink; at drepa titlinga (Germ. äugeln, blinzen), to wink, to kill tits with the suppressed glances of the eye; glóðarauga, a suffusion on the eye, hyposphagma; kýrauga. proptosis; vagl á auga, a beam in the eye; skjálgr, Lat. limus; ský, albugo; tekinn til augnanna, with sunken eyes, etc., Fél. ix. 192; a. bresta, in death: hafa stýrur í augum, to have prickles in the eyes, when the eyes ache for want of sleep: vatna músum, ‘to water mice,’ used esp. of children weeping silently and trying to hide their tears. As to the look or expression of the eyes there are sundry metaph. phrases, e. g. hafa fékróka í augum, to have wrinkles at the corners of the eyes, of a shrewd money getting fellow, Fms. ii. 84, cp. Orkn. 330, 188, where krókauga is a cognom.; kvenna-króka, one insinuating with the fair sex; hafa ægishjalm í augum is a metaphor of one with a piercing, commanding eye, an old mythical term for the magical power of the eye, v. Grimm’s D. Mythol. under Ægishjalmr: vera mjótt á milli augnanna, the distance between the eyes being short, is a popular saying, denoting a close, stingy man, hence mjóeygr means close: e-m vex e-t í augu (now augum), to shrink back from, of a thing waxing and growing before one’s eyes so that one dares not face it. As to the shape, colour, etc. of the eye, vide the adj. ‘eygr’ or ‘eygðr’ in its many compds. Lastly we may mention the belief, that when the water in baptism touches the eyes, the child is thereby in future life prevented from seeing ghosts or goblins, vide the words úfreskr and skygn. No spell can touch the human eye; en er harm sá augu hans (that of Loki in the shape of a bird), þá grunaði hann (the giant) at maðr mundi vera, Edda 60; í bessum birni þykist hón kenna augu Bjarnar konungs sonar, Fas. i. 51, vide Ísl. Þjóðs.

II. meton. and metaph. auga is used in a great many connections:

α. astron.; þjaza augu, the eyes of the giant Thiazi, is a constellation, probably the Dioscuri, Castor and Pollux; the story is told in the Edda 47, cp. Harbarðsljóð 19; (Snorri attributes it to Odin, the poem to Thor.)

β. botan., auga = Lat. gemma, Hjalt. 38; kattarauga, cat’s eye, is the flower forget-me-not.

γ. the spots that form the numbers on dice, Magn. 530.

δ. the hole in a millstone; kvarnarauga, Edda 79, 221, Hkr. i. 121: the opening into which an axe handle is fastened, Sturl. ii. 91: a pit full of water, Fs. 45: nálarauga, a needle’s eye: vindauga, wind’s eye or window (which orig. had no glass in it), A. S. eag-dura (eye-door); also gluggi, q. v.: gleraugu, spectacles.

ε. anatom., the pan of the hip joint, v. augnakarl, Fms. iii. 392: gagnaugu, temples.

ζ. hafsauga, the bottom of the ocean, in the popular phrase, fara út í hafsauga, descendere ad tartara.

η. poët. the sun is called heimsauga, dagsauga, Jónas 119.

COMPDS either with sing. auga or pl. augna; in the latter case mod. usage sometimes drops the connecting vowel a, e. g. augn-dapr, augn-depra, augn-fagr, etc. auga-bragð (augna-), n. the twinkling of an eye, Hm. 77; á einu a., in the twinkling of an eye, Ver. 32, Edda (pref.) 146, Sks. 559, Rb. 568: a glance, look, snart a., Fms. ii. 174; mikit a., v. 335; úfagrligt a., Fs. 43; hafa a. af e-u, to cast a look at, Fbr. 49, Fms. xi. 424: in the phrase, at hafa e-n (or verða) at augabragði, metaph. to make sport of, to mock, deride, gaze at, Stj. 627, 567, Hm. 5, 29. auga-brun, f. the eye-brow. auga-staðr, m. an eye-mark; hafa a. á e-u, to mark with the eye. auga-steinn (augna-), m. the eye-ball, Hkr. iii. 365, Fms. v. 152. augna-bending, f. a warning glance, Pr. 452. augna-blik, n. mod. = augnabragð, s. augna-bólga, u, f. ophthalmia. augna-brá, f. the eye-lid, D. N. i. 216. augna-fagr and aug-fagr, adj. fair-eyed, Fas. ii. 365, Fms. v. 200. augna-fró, f. a plant, eye-bright, euphrasia, also augna-gras, Hjalt. 231. augna-fræ, n. lychnis alpina. augna-gaman, n. a sport, delight for the eyes to gaze at, Ld. 202, Bær. 17, Fsm. 5 (love, sweetheart). augna-gróm, n. (medic.) a spot in the eye; metaph., ekki a., no mere speck, of whatever can easily be seen. augna-hár, n. an eye-lash. augna-hvannr, m. the eye-lid. augna-hvita, u, f. albugo. augna-karl, n. the pan of the hip joint; slíta or slitna or augnaköllunum, Fas. iii. 392. augna-kast, n. a wild glance, Barl. 167. augna-kláði, a, m. psorophthalmi. augna-krókr, n. the corner of the eye. augna-lag, n. a look, Ld. 154. augna-lok, n. ‘eye-covers,’ eye-lids. augna-mein, n. a disease of the eye. augna-mjörkvi, a, m. dimness of the eye, Pr. 471. augna-ráð, n. expression of the eye. augna-skot, n. a look askance, Gþl. 286, Fs. 44 (of cats). augna-slím, n. glaucoma. augna-staðr, m. the socket of the eye, Magn. 532. augna-sveinn, m. a lad leading a blind man, Str. 46. augn-tepra, u, f. hippus. augna-topt, f. the socket of the eye. augna-verkr, m. pain in the eye, Hkr. ii. 257, Bs. i. 451, Pr. 471, Bjarn. 58. augna-vik, n. pl. = augnakrókr. augna-þungi, a, m. heaviness of the eye, Hkr. ii. 257.

n. ‘eke-name,’ a nickname:

α. a defamatory name, punishable with the lesser outlawry, Grág. ii. 146.

β. in a less strong sense; hann var svartr á hár ok hörund, ok því þótti honum a. gefit er hann var Birtingr kallaðr, he was swarth of hair and skin, and for that it seemed a nickname was given him when he was called ‘Brighting,’ Fms. vii. 157: Helgi átti kenningar nafn, ok var kallaðr hvíti; ok var þat eigi a., því at hann var vænn maðr ok vel hærðr, hvítr á hár, Helgi had a surname (in a good sense), and was called ‘White;’ and that was no nickname, for he was a handsome man and well-haired, white of hair, Fbr. 80: þú hyggr at ek muna vilja giptast einum bastarði,—eigi em ek bastarðr nema at a., of William the Conqueror, Fb. iii. 464. In old times, esp. at the time of the colonisation of Iceland, such nicknames were in freq. use, as may be seen from the index in the Landnama; they gradually went out of use, but still occur now and then throughout the whole of the Saga period in Icel. down to the 14th century.

a. poor, miserable, unhappy, wretched.

* * *

adj. [Ulf. has arms = miser; Dan. and Swed. öm], seems with all its compounds to be a Scandin. word. It originally probably meant sore, aching, touchy, tender. In mod. Icel. it is sometimes used in this sense, in Dan. and Swed. only = sore, and metaph. tender.

2. metaph. poorly, miserable, unhappy; styrkstú, aumr, strengthen thyself, wretched man, Orkn. 153, Hom. 15, 16, Th. 6, 16: in a bad sense = armr, Fms. ix. 414.

* * *

m. greal-grandfather.

* * *

a, m. [cp. afi and Lat. avus], great-grandfather, answering to edda, great-grandmother (at present in Icel. langafi and langamma), Rm. 2; föður eðr afa, á. er hinn þriði, Edda 208; see æ, p. 757, col. 1. In Sæm. 118 ai seems to be an exclamatio dolentis, göróttr er drykkrinn, ai! unless ai be here = ái in the sense of father; cp. the reply of Sigmund, láttu grön sía, sonr. In mod. poetry áar in pl. is used in the sense of ancestors; áðr áar fæddust áa (gen. pl.) vorra, Bjarni 71, Eggert (Bb.) I. 20.

adj. [á- intens. and munr, mens], eager, only in poetry; á. augu, piercing, greedy eyes, Vkv. 16; and á. e-m, eager for revenge, in a bad sense, Hkv. 2. 9; the explanation given in Lex. Poët. and p. 43 is to be cancelled; the word means like, equal, resembling; ámun ero augu ormi þeim enum frána, the eyes are like the flashing serpent’s. Vkv. 16; ámunir ossum niðjum, like to our kinsmen, Hkv. 2. 9. This sense is clearly seen from an old Icel. hymn of the 17th century,—nyti eg ei náðar þinnar … yrði rás æfi minnar ámynt og skuggi rýr, but for thy grace the race of my life would be like a vain shadow, Hymn-book (1746, p. 448).

COMPD: ámunsaurar.

I) prep.

A. with dative.

I. Of motion;

1) towards, against;

Otkell laut at Skamkatli, bowed down to S.;

hann sneri egginni at Ásgrími, turned the edge against A.;

2) close atup to;

Brynjólfr gengr alit at honum, quite up to him;

þeir kómust aldri at honum, they could never get near him, to close quarters with him;

3) to, at;

koma at landi, to come to land;

ganga at dómi, to go into court;

4) along (= eptir);

ganga at stræti, to walk along the street;

dreki er niðr fór at ánni (went down the river) fyrir strauminum;

refr dró hörpu at ísi, on the ice;

5) denoting hostility;

renna (sœkja) at e-m, to rush at, assault;

gerði þá at þeim þoku mikla, they were overtaken by a thick fog;

6) around;

vefja motri at höfði sér, to wrap a veil round one’s head;

bera grjót at e-m, to heap stones upon the body;

7) denoting business, engagement;

ríða at hrossum, at sauðum, to go looking after horses, watching sheep;

fara at landskuldum, to go collecting rents.

II. Of position, &c.;

1) denoting presence at, near, by, upon;

at kirkju, at church;

at dómi, in court;

at lögbergi, at the hill of laws;

2) denoting participation in;

vera at veizlu, brullaupi, to be at a banquet, wedding;

vera at vígi, to be an accessory in man-slaying;

3) ellipt., vera at, to be about, to be busy at;

kvalararnir, er at vóru at pína hann, who were tormenting him;

var þar at kona nökkur at binda (was there busy dressing) sár manna;

4) with proper names of places (farms);

konungr at Danmörku ok Noregi, king of;

biskup at Hólum, bishop of Holar;

at Helgafelli, at Bergþórshváli;

5) used ellipt. with a genitive, at (a person’s) house;

at hans (at his house) gisti fjölmenni mikit;

at Marðar, at Mara’s home;

at hins beilaga Ólafs konungs, at St. Olave’s church;

at Ránar, at Ran’s (abode).

III. Of time;

1) at, in;

at upphafi, at first, in the beginning;

at skilnaði, at parting, when they parted;

at páskum, at Easter;

at kveldi, at eventide;

at þinglausnum, at the close of the Assembly;

at fjöru, at the ebb;

at flœðum, at the floodtide;

2) adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr’;

at ári komanda, next year;

at vári, er kemr, next spring;

generally with ‘komanda’ understood;

at sumri, hausti, vetri, vári, next summer, &c.;

3) used with an absolute dative and present or past part.;

at sér lifanda, duing his lifetime;

at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all;

at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the hearing of the chief;

at upprennandi sólu, at sunrise;

at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks are past;

at honum önduðum, after his death;

4) denoting uninterrupted succession, after;

hverr at öðrum, annarr at öðrum, one after another;

skildu menn at þessu, thereupon, after this;

at því (thereafter) kómu aðrar meyjar.

IV. fig. and in various uses;

1) to, into, with the notion of destruction or change;

brenna (borgina) at ösku, to burn to ashes;

verða at ormi, to become a snake;

2) for, as;

gefa e-t at gjöf, as a present;

eiga e-n at vin, to have one as friend;

3) by;

taka sverð at hjöltum, by the hilt;

draga út björninn at hlustunum, by the ears;

kjósa at afli, álitum, by strength, appearrance;

4) as regards as to;

auðigr at fé, wealthy in goods;

vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face;

5) as a law term, on the grounds of, by reason of;

ryðja ( to challenge) dóm at mægðum, kvið at frændsemi;

6) as a paraphrase of a genitive;

faðir, móðir at barni (= barns, of a child);

aðili at sök = aðili sakar;

7) with adjectives denoting colour, size, age, of;

hvítr, svartr, rauðr at lit, while, black, red of colour;

mikill, lítill at stœrð, vexti, tall, small of stature;

tvítugr at aldri, twenty years of age;

kýr at fyrsta, öðrum kálfi, a cow that has calved once, twice;

8) determining the source from which anything comes, of, from;

Ari nam ok marga frœði at Þuríði (from her);

þiggja, kaupa, geta, leigja e-t at e-m, to receive, buy, obtain, borrow a thing from one;

hafa veg (virðing) styrk at e-m, to derive honour, power, from one;

9) according, to, after (heygðr at fornum sið);

at ráði allra vitrustu manna, by the advice of;

at landslögum, by the law of the land;

at vánum, as was to be expected;

at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave;

10) in adverbial phrases;

gróa (vera grœddr) at heilu, to be quite healed;

bíta af allt gras at snøggu, quite bare;

at fullu, fully;

at vísu, surely;

at frjálsu, freely;

at eilífu, for ever and ever;

at röngu, at réttu, wrongly, rightly;

at líku, at sömu, equally, all the same;

at mun, at ráði, at marki, to a great extent.

B. with acc., after, upon (= eptir);

sonr á at taka arf at föður sinn, to take the inheritance after his father;

eiga féránsdóm at e-n, to hold a court of execution upon a person;

at þat (= eptir þat), after that, thereafter;

connected with a past part. or a., at Gamla fallinn, after the fall of Gamli;

at Hrungni dauðan, upon the death of Hrungnir.

1) as the simple mark of the infinitive, to;

at ganga, at ríða, at hlaupa, to walk, to ride, to run;

2) in an objective sense;

hann bauð þeim at fara, sitja, he bade (ordered) them to go, sit;

gefa e-m at eta, at drekka, to give one to eat, to drink;

3) denoting design or purpose, in order to (hann gekk í borg at kaupa silfr).

1) demonstrative particle before a comparative, the, all the, so much the;

hón grét at meir, she wept the more;

þykkir oss at líkara, all the more likely;

þú ert maðr at verri (so much the worse), er þú hefir þetta mælt;

2) rel. pron., who, which, that (= er);

þeir allir, at þau tíðindi heyrðu, all those who heard;

sem þeim er títt, at ( as is the custom of those who) kaupferðir reka.

conj., that;

1) introducing a subjective or objective clause;

þat var einhverju sinni, at Höskuldr hafði vinaboð, it happened once that H.;

vilda ek, at þú réðist austr í fjörðu, I should like you to go;

2) relative to svá, denoting proportion, degree;

svá mikill lagamaðr, at, so great a lawyer, that;

3) with subj., denoting end or purpose, in order that (skáru þeir fyrir þá (viz. hestana) melinn, at þeir dœi eigi af sulti);

4) since, because, as (= því at);

5) connected with þó, því, svá;

þó at (with subj.), though, although;

því at, because, for;

svá at, so that;

6) temp., þá at (= þá er), when;

þegar at (= þegar er), as soon as;

þar til at (= þar til er), until, till;

áðr at (= á. en), before;

7) used superfluously after an int. pron. or adv.;

Ólafr spurði, hvern styrk at hann mundi fá honum, what help he was likely to give him;

in a relative sense; með fullkomnum ávexti, hverr at (which) þekkr ok þægiligr mun verða.

negative verbal suffix, = ata; var-at, was not.

n. an incited conflict or fight ( see etja);

odda at, Yggs at, battle.

* * *

n. [éta, át, edere, A. S. ǽt], the act of eating, in the phrase, at öldri ok at áti, inter bibendum et edendum, Grág. ii. 170, N. G. L. i. 29; át ok drykkja, Fas. ii. 552, Orkn. 200; át ok atvinna, Stj. 143: of beasts, kýr hafnaði átinu, the cow (being sick) would not eat, Bs. i. 194.

m. a window in a b., Eb. l. c., Sturl. l. c. In Icel. the bathing-room (baðstofa) used to be in the rear of the houses, cp. Sturl. ii. 198. The modern sense of baðstofa is sitting-room, probably from its being in modern dwellings placed where the old bathing-room used to be. The etymology of Jon Olafsson (Icel. Dict. MS.), baðstofa = bakstofa, is bad. In old writers baðstofa never occurs in this modern sense, but it is used so in the Dropl. Saga Major:—a closet, room, in writers of the 16th century, Bs. ii. 244, 256, 504, Safn. 77, 92, 95, 96.

1) beard (rare);

2) brim, of a hat or helmet;

3) the beak or armed prow of ships (of war), stem; róa fyrir barð e-m (= róa fyrir stafn e-m), to thwart one.

* * *

n. [identical in etymology but not in sense to Lat. barba, Engl. beard, Germ. bart; the Scandin. dialects all call the beard skegg; Swed. skägg; Dan. skjæg; barð in the sense of barba is quite alien from the Scandin. idioms; the passages, Edda 109 (skegg heitir barð) and höggva börðum í gras, Íd. 12, a poem of the end of the 13th century, are isolated instances: bart in Dan. is a mod. word]:—Lat. ora, margo:

α. a brim of a helmet or hat (hjálmbarð, hattbarð), Fas. iii. 341.

β. the verge, edge of a hill (holtbarð, túnbarð, brekkubarð, hólbarð, etc.), freq. in local names of farms in Icel.

γ. the wing or side fin of some fishes, e. g. whales, cp. barðhvalr; of flat fishes, raja pastinaca (skötubarð).

δ. the beak or armed prow of ships, esp. ships’ of war, [cp. A. S. barda, a beaked ship]; so barded, of a horse in armour; hence Barði or Járnbarði is the name of a sort of ram in olden times, e. g. the famous Járnbarði ( Iron Ram) of carl Eric, described, Fms. ii. 310; cp. also Fb. i. 280: the stem, Gr. στείρη, Jb. 398; róa fyrir barð e-rn, to thwart one, Gþl. 519, Eg. 386, Fms. vii. 195; skulu vér binda akkeri fyrir barð hverju skipi, xi. 66, ii. 273, Lex. Poët.

ε. several compds are used in Icel. referring to parts of the head, e. g. hökubarð, kinnbarð, kjálkabarð, ora genae, maxillae, but without any notion of ‘beard,’ cp. Isid. granos et cinnabar Gothorurn, 19. 23; the cinnabar and the present Icel. kinnabarð seem to be etymologically identical.

1) soft (blautr sem silkiræma); blautr fiskr, fresh fish, opp. to ‘harðr fiskr’; frá blautu barns beini, from very babyhood;

2) effeminate, timorous, weak (fár er gamall harðr, ef hann er í bernsku blautr);

3) wet, soaked (þar vóru vellir blautir, því at regn höfðu verit).

* * *

adj. [A. S. bleât = miser; Germ. blozs = nudus; Scot. blait = nudus (Jamieson); Dan. blöd; Swed. blödig = soft; the Dan. and Swed. blott, blotted, = stripped, are borrowed from Germ.; Ivar Aasen distinguishes between blaú = shy, and blaut = wet, damp; blauðr and blautr are no doubt only variations of the same word].

I. soft, Lat. mollis, in a good sense; this sense of the word remains only in a few compds, v. above, and in a few phrases, e. g. frá blautu barns beini, from babyhood, Fms. iii. 155, Magn. 522, Al. 71; b. fiskr, fresh ( soft) fish, Bs. i. 853, opp. to harðr ( dried) fiskr; in Swed., however, it means soaked fish: in poetry, b. sæing, a soft bed, Gísl. (in a verse): of stuffs, but only in less classical writers or translated romances; b. purpuri, Bret. 32; lerépt, Sks. 400 A; dúnn, Mart. 126; blautir vindar, soft breezes, Sks. 214 B: a single exception is, Edda 19, fjöturinn var sléttr ok b. sem silkiræma, soft and smooth as silk lace.

2. = blauðr, faint, imbecile; blautir menn, Al. 34, Fas. i. 161: a paraphrasis of blauðr in Fm. 6.

II. but commonly metaph. = soaked, wet, miry, [cp. Swed. blöt, and the phrase, lägga sit hufuud í blöt, to beat one’s brains: cp. also bleyta, mud; bloti, thaw; blotna, to melt]; þar vóru vellir blautir, því at regn höfðu verit, Eg. 528; keldur blautar, 266; þeir fengu ekki blautt um Valbjarnar-völlu, Bs. i. 509, etc.; cp. Scot. and North. E. soft road, soft weather, = wet, Scott’s Black Dwarf, ch. 3 note.

(að), v. to be a surety, guarantee, for; borga e-m e-t, to guarantee something to one; borga fyrir en, to become bound for, to be security for (anza ek lítt, þóti þú játir at lúka, ef engi borgar fyrir þik).

* * *

að, [Engl. to borrow and bargain; Germ. borgen; related to byrgja and bjarga; O. H. G. porgen only means parcere, spondere, not mutuare. In Icel. the word is of foreign origin; the indigenous expressions are, lána, ljá, to lend; gjalda, to pay; selja, veðja, to bail, etc.; the word only occurs in later and theol. writers]:—to bail; vil ek b. fyrir Árna biskup með mínum peningum, Bs. i. 770 (thrice): now obsolete in this sense.

2. to pay, as in Matth. xviii. 25; but in old writers this sense hardly occurs.

* * *

(pl. bœndr, gen. bónda), m.

1) husbandman, farmer, peasant (dóttir eins lítils bónda); a yeoman, franklin, landowner (hinir stœrri bœndr);

2) master, head of a household (= húsbóndi);

3) husband (nú er bóndi dauðr, en kona lifir eptir).

* * *

a, m.: older form búandi, or even bóandi, pl. búendr or bóendr; gen. búanda, bóanda; dat. buöndum, bóöndum, Edda 28, Grág. i. 370, 371. Ó. H. 203, 209–211, 215, Nj. 14, 220; búanda (gen. pl.), 211, 212, 215–217, 220; búöndum, 219; bóandi, Grág. i. 114, 157, 187, 377, Nj. 52; but the common Icel. form is bóndi, pl. bændr; gen. dat. pl. in old writers either bónda, bóndum, or as at present keeping the æ throughout all plur. cases (bænda, (gen.) bændum): properly a part. act. from búa (turned into a noun subst., cp. frændi, fjándi), A. S. buan; Germ. bauer, and therefore originally a tiller of the ground, husbandman, but it always involved the sense of ownership, and included all owners of land (or bú, q. v.). from the petty freeholder to the franklin, and esp. the class represented by the yeoman of England generally or the statesman of Westmoreland and Cumberland: hence it came to mean the master of the house, A. S. bond and hûsbond, Engl. husband.

1. a husbandman. The law distinguishes between a grið-maðr a labourer, búðsetu-maðr a cottager, and a búandi or bóndi a man who has land and stock. In the Icel. Commonwealth only the b. (but neither cottager or labourer) could act as judge or neighbour who gave witness in acquittal of a culprit (cp. þingheyjandi); the griðmaðr could only partly be admitted to the tylptarkviðr, not to the búakviðr, Grág. i. 35, 114; ek ryð þessa tvá menn ór kviðburðinum fyrir þá sök, at þeir eru búðsetu-menn en eigi bændr, Nj. 236; cp. l. c. below, where the distinction between both is defined. The Norse law, on the other hand, distinguishes between hersir or lendir menn ( barons) and búandi, cp. the interesting passage Fms. vi. 279 (verðr mér þá lends manns nafn ekki at virðingu; nú vil ek heldr heita bóndi sem ek á ætt til); the Norse hauldr- or óðals-bóndi nearly answers to the Engl. ‘yeoman.’ In the more despotic Norway and Denmark, as in continental Europe, ‘bóndi’ became a word of contempt, denoting the common, low people, opp. to the king and his ‘men’ (hirð), the royal officers, etc.; just as the Engl. boor degenerated from A. S. gebur, Germ. bauer, Dutch boer; and in mod. Dan. bönder means plebs, a boor; such is the use of bóndi in the Fms., esp. Sverr. S. and Hák. S. In the Icel. Commonwealth the word has a good sense, and is often used of the foremost men—Sighvatr bóndi, Sturl. ii. 78; Rafn bóndi (i. e. Sveinbjarnarsson), Bs. i. Rafn. S. several times; Rútr talaði þá til Marðar, hugsa þú svá um bóndi (Mord Gigja), Nj. 3; optar hefir þú glaðari verit, búndi, en nú, 174 (of Flosi); Njáll bóndi, id.; Þorsteinn bóndi, Illugi bóndi, Gunnl. S. Ísl. ii; Björn bóndi, Safn i. 657; Björn bóndi Einarsson (Jórsalafari), Ann. 1393; Ari bóndi, Daði bóndi, Bs. ii. 474, 505; it is only opp. to the clerks (clergy) or knights, etc. This notion of the word ( a franklin) still prevails in the mind of Icelanders.

2. a husband, A. S. hûsbond; eigi var skegglauss Þorvaldr bóandi þinn, Nj. 52, Grág. i. 371, 377, Fms. i. 149; hjá hvílu búanda þíns, Nj. 14. [The learned Icel. clergyman Eyjulf on Vellir (died A. D. 1747) has written a short essay upoii the word bóndi, Icel. MSS. Bodl. no. 71.]

COMPDS:—(in mod. use always bænda- if pl., bónda- if sing.)—bónda-bani, a, m. a slayer of a bóndi, Fms. vi. 104. bónda-ból, n. (bónda-bær, m.), a farm, Grett. 96 A. bónda-dóttir, f. a bóndi’s daughter, Eg. 24, Snót 18. bónda-eiðr, m. a bundi’s oath, Gþl. 67. bónda-far, n. a bóndi’s ferry-boat, Hkr. ii. 292. bónda-fé, n. a provincial fund, Gþl. 11. bónda-fólk, n. a class of bændr, Fms. vii. 293. bónda-fylking (búanda-), f. a host of bændr, Fms. viii. 126. bónda-herr, m. an army of bændr, Fms. i. 162. bónda-hlutr. m. = bóndatíund. Fr. bónda-hus, n. a bóndi’s house, K. Þ. K. 26. bónda-hvíla, u, f. a bóndi’s bed, El. 9. bónda-kirkja (búanda-), u, f. the church belonging to the bóndi in Thingvalla, where the parliament was held; and búanda-kirkjugarðr, m. the churchyard to that church, vide Nj. and Grág. This church was erected about the middle of the 11th century, vide Kristni S., Fms. vi. 266. bónda-kona, u, f. a good wife of a bóndi, Gþl. 511. bónda-laus, adj. husband-less, widowed, Stj. 420. bónda-lega, u, f. the burial place of bændr, N. G. L. i. 368. bónda-lið, n. = bóndaherr, Fms. ii. 48. bónda-ligr, adj. farmer-like. bónda-múgr, m. a crowd, host of bændr, Fms. xi. 248. bónda-nafn, n. the name, title of bóndi, Fms. vi. 279, Gþl. 106. bónda-réttr (búanda-), m. the right of a bóndi, Fms. ix. 135. bónda-safnaðr (- samnaðr) = bóndamúgr, Hkr. ii. 307, Fms. vii. 320. bónda-skapr, m. the state of the bændr, opp. to the clergy, Bs. i. 590. bónda-son, m. the son of a bóndi, Eg. 232. bónda-tala, u, f., vera í b., to be told or counted among bændr, Fas. ii. 326. bónda-tíund, f. tithe to be paid by bændr, Vm. 104. bónda-ungi, a, m. a young bóndi, Hkr. iii. 275. bónda-val, n. the elite of bændr; var þá gott b., there were choice bændr to be found, Sturl. i. 130, Landn. 236. bónda-ætt, f. a bóndi’s extraction, Fms. vi. 278.

* * *

(að), v.

1) to brew;

2) to concoct, scheme; brugga or brugga saman svik, to concoct a fraud; brugga em bana, to scheme his death;

3) to break (brugga sáttmáli við en).

* * *

að. [Germ. brauen; A. S. brewan; Engl. brew; Dan. brygge; Swed. brygga]:—to brew, but rare in this sense, the current word being heita or göra öl, to heat or make ale; cp. öl-hita, öl-görð, cooking, making ale.

2. metaph. with dat. to trouble, confound; b. sáttmáli, Stj. 652: more often with acc., 610: to concoct, scheme (in a bad sense, freq.)

(gen. -ar, dat. and acc. -i, pl. -ir), f.

1) bride (konur skipuðu pall, ok var brúðrin döpr);

2) esp. pl. brides-maids = brúðkonur; sat Þórhalla milli brúða, Th. was seated among the bridesmaids = milli brúðkvenna.

* * *

f., dat. acc. brúði; pl. brúðir: [Ulf. renders the Gr. νύμφη by bruþs, Matth. x. 35 (where the Gr. word means nurus); John iii. 29 (where it means bride) is lost in UIf., but no doubt ‘bruþs’ was also used there: A. S. bryde; Engl. bride; O. H. G. prut; Germ. braut; Dan.-Swed. Brud]:—a bride; Germans use ‘braut’ in the sense of betrothed, but Icel. call a girl festar-mey ( betrothed) from the espousal till she sets out for the wedding journey, when she becomes ‘bride’; in mod. usage the word only applies to the wedding day; konur skipuðu pall, ok var brúðrin döpr, Nj. 11; sat Hallgerðr á palli, ok var brúðrin allkát, 18; var brúðrin í för með þeim, 50; brúðr sat á miðjum palli, en til annarrar handar Þorgerðr dóttir hennar, 51; brúðr sat á midjan pall ok Þorlaug á aðra ok Geirlaug á aðra (the ladies’ seat of honour was nearest to the bride on her right and left hand), Lv. 37; konur sátu á palli, ok sat Helga hin Fagra næst brúðinni, Ísl. ii. 251.

β. in a wider sense, the bridesmaids (= brúðkonur) sitting on the ‘bride’s bench’ are called brides; sat þá Þorgerðr (Ed. and MSS. wrongly Þórhalla) meðal brúða, then Thorgerda was seated among the ‘brides,’ i. e. on the bride’s bench, being herself bride, Ni. 51; cp. also Þkv. 25, hvar sattu ‘brúðir’ (acc. pl.) bíta hvassara? Answ., sáka ek brúðir bíta en breiðara: in poetry, girls, maids in general. Lex. Poët.: metaph. and theol., b. Guðs, b. Kristi = the church, H. E., Vidal., etc.

COMPDS: brúðarbekkr, brúðarefni, brúðargangr, brúðarhús, brúðarlín, brúðarstóll.

* * *

(-ða, -ðr), v., older form byggva;

1) to settle in a place, as colonist; sumar þat, er þeir Ingólfr fóru at byggja Ísland, when I went out to settle in Iceland; Ingólfr bygði fyrstr landit, was the first settler; absol., Helgi bygði norðr í Eyjafirði, settled in E.;

2) to people (eptir Nóaflóð lifðu átta menn, er bygðu heiminn) Ísland bygðist (was peopled) ór Norvegi;

3) to inhabit, live in a country (þá er landit hafði sex tigi vetra bygt verit); þess get ek, at menn byggi húsit, that the house is inhabited; byggja bœ, to settle on a farm (hann bygði bœ þann er í Eyju heitir); absol., kona, er bygði (lived) í einum afdal; hvar byggir þú, where dwellest thou?;

4) to dwell in, occupy (byggja höll, helli); byggja eina sæng, to share the same bed (of a niarried couple; also absol., byggja með erri); bygði hann í skipuin, he dwelt (lived) in ships.

(-ða, -ðr), v.

1) to let out (konungr má byggja almenning hverjum sem hann vill); nú byggir maðr dýrra (lets out at a higher rent) en vandi hefir á verit;

2) to lend money at interest (engi skal byggja dautt fé á leigu); Hrútr bygði allt féit, H. put all the money out at interest;

3) byggja frændsemi, sifjar, to enter into a marriage with a relation or one allied by by marriage (in such or such degree); þat var bannat at byggja svá náit at frændsemi, intermarriage between so near relations was forbidden.

* * *

older form byggva, ð, [for the etymology v. búa], gener. to inhabit, settle, people, always in a transitive sense—not neut. as. búa—but often used absol. or ellipt., land being understood:

α. to settle as a colonist; Hrollaugr bygði austr á Síðu, Ketilbjörn bygði suðr at Mosfelli, Auðr bygði vestr í Breiðafirði, Helgi bygði norðr í Eyjafirði, all these instances referring to the first settlers of Icel., Íb. ch. 1. 2; en þat vas es hann tók byggva landit, id.; sumar þat er þeir Ingólfr fóru at b. Ísland, the summer before Ingolf settled in Iceland, ch. 6; Íngólfr … bygði fyrstr landit, i. e. Ingolf was the first settler, id.; so in numberless instances, esp. of the Íb. and Landn., e. g. Landn. 42, 334, Eb. 8, Hrafn. 4, Eg. 99, 100; eptir Nóa-flóð lifðu átta menn þeir er heiminn bygðu ( peopled), Edda (pref.)

β. to inhabit, live in a country; þesskonar þjóð es Vínland hefir bygt, Íb. ch. 6; þá er landit hafði sex tigi vetra bygt verit, Landn. 321; þeir b. þat hérað á Vindlandi er Ré heitir, Fms. xi. 378, H. E. i. 494, Bret. 100: allit. phrases, á bygðu bóli, i. e. among men, where men live; bygðr bólstaðr, possessed land, Grág. ii. 214: the proverb, með lögum skal land byggja, with laws shall man build land, i. e. law builds (makes) lands and home; and some add, en með ólögum eyða; eyða ( to lay waste) and byggja are thus opposed to one another, Nj. 106; b. bæ, to settle on a farm; segi ek af því fyrst hversu bærinn hefir bygzk í Skálaholti … Ketilbjörn bygði þann bæ fyrstr er í Skálaholti heitir, Bs. i. 60; hann bygði bæ þann er í Eyju heitir, Gísl. 91, where it does not mean to build houses, as in the mod. use of this phrase, but to settle, Lat. inhabitare.

γ. in more special or law phrases, to dwell in, occupy; b. sæng, to keep one’s bed, sleep, Fas. i. 314; b. eina sæng, of married people, Fms. ii. 134; b. með e-m, to cohabit, Stj. 176; b. höll, to occupy a hall, Fms. vi. 147, x. 236; b. á skipum, undir tjöldum, to live aboard ship, in tents, vii. 138; b. hálfrými, a naut. term, viii. 199: metaph., cf Guð byggvir í þeim, Eluc. 52, cp. also the references from the N. T. above under búa, where most of the Icel. Edd. use byggja.

2. to build a house, ship, or the like, [Scot. and North. E. to big; Dan. bygge; Swed. bygga]: this sense, common over all Scandinavia and North Britain, seems not to occur in Icel. writers before the 15th century or the end of the 14th, but is freq. at the present time; it occurs in the Ann. 1401, 1405, etc. Old writers always say, reisa or göra hús, skip …, not byggja.

3. reflex. to be inhabited; Ísland bygðisk fyrst ór Noregi, Íb. ch. 1; Grænland fansk ok bygðisk af Íslandi, ch. 6; hundraði ára fyrr en Ísland bygðisk af Norðmönnum, Landn. (pref.); en áðr Ísland bygðisk, id.; þá er Ísland fansk ok bygðisk af Noregi, id.

II. [Goth. bugjan, by which Ulf. renders αγοράζειν, and once πωλειν, which is elsewhere rendered by frabugjan; A. S. bycgean; Engl. buy; Hel. buggean]:—to let out, esp. land or cottage; konungr má b. almenning hverjum sem hann vill, Gþl. 453; ef umboðsmaðr konungs byggir jarðar (acc.) konungs … því at svá skal konungs jarðir b. sem um aðrar jarðir skill í lögum, 336; nú byggir maðr dýrra ( lets out at a higher rent) en vandi hefir á verit, 337; Ingimundr bygði þeim Hrolleifi bæinn í Ási, Fs. 34; er þeir bygðu lönd sín eðr tóku sér hjú, Grág. i. 445; hann tók mikit af landnámi Una, ok bygði þat ( parcelled it out) frændum sínum, Landn. 244; byggja e-m út, to expel a tenant; b. e-m inn, to settle a tenant on one’s estate.

2. more properly, to lend money at interest; þat er ok ef menn b. dautt fé, eðr krefja framar af þeim hlutum er menn ljá, en innstæða, K. Á. 204; engi skal b. dautt fé á leigu, Bs. i. 684; um okr, er menn b. dautt fé, H. E. i. 459; Rútr … bygði allt féit, R. put all the money out at interest, Nj. 11.

3. the peculiar eccl. law phrase of the forbidden degrees; b. sifjar, frændsemi, to marry into such or such degree; this phrase may refer to buying (cp. brúðkaup), or to cohabitation; þat er nýmæli, at jafn-náit skal b. sifjar ok frændsemi at fimta manni hvárt, i. e. intermarriage in the fifth degree is allowed, according to the decision of the council of Lateran, A. D. 1215, Grág. i. 304; frændsemi er eigi byggjandi, i. e. is forbidden, 307, 308, 321, N. G. L. i. 350; en þat var bannat með Ásum at b. svá náit at frændsemi, Hkr. Yngl. ch. 4.

III. part. as subst.

* * *

(að), v.

1) to originate (ór himninum byrjast öll gœzka);

2) to beget esp. in pass., byrjast, to be begotten (á þeirri sömu nótt sem hann byrjaðist);

3) to enter upon, begin;

byrja ferð sína, to begin one’s journey;

4) byrja mál es, to plead (support) one’s cause (ek skal byrja þitt mál sem ek kann);

byrja rœðu, to deliver a speech (= flytja rœðu);

hefir þú fram byrjat (stated) erendi þitt.

(að), v. impers. with dat. to behove, beseem;

sem byrja (as it behoves) hlýðnum syni;

sem þeim byrjaði at manntali, in due proportion to their number.

(að), v. impers., em byrjar vel (illa), one gets fair (foul) wind (byrjaði þeim vel um haustit).

* * *

að, [Swed. börja; lost in Dan., which has replaced it by begynde; Germ. beginnen; and probably also extinct in the mod. Norse dialects, vide Ivar Aasen, who seems not to have heard the word; it is in full use in Icel. and is a purely Scandin. word; the root is the part. pass. of bera A. II]:—to begin.

I. in the phrase, b. mál e-s, to plead one’s cause, O. H. L. 5; ek skal byrja ( support) þitt mál, sem ek kann, Fs. 10, Fms. ii. 65; hann byrjaði hennar mál við Ólaf konung, x. 310; með einum hundraðs-höfðingja þeim er byrjaði mál hans, Post. 645. 96; hefir þú fram byrjat þitt erindi, 655 xxx. 13, Al. 159: this sense, however, is rare and obsolete.

II. to begin; b. ferð, to begin one’s journey, to start, Edda 1, Fms. iv. 232, Eg. 106, Ld. 162; b. ræðu, to begin a speech, Sks. 238; b. e-t upp, to begin, Bs. i. 825: reflex., Rb. 210: the word is not very freq. in old writers, who prefer the word hefja, incipere, hence upphaf, beginning; in mod. writers hefja is rather archaïc, but byrja in full use, and is used both as act., impers., and reflex.; Icel. say, sagan byrjar, söguna byrjar, and sagan byrjast, all in the same sense.

III. [bera A. II], mostly in pass. to be begotten, Lat. suscipi; Elias af hjúskap byrjaðr, Greg. 16; á þeim mánuðum er barn var byrjað, Grág. i. 340; á þeirri sömu nótt sem hann byrjaðisk, Stj. 176; sem þau hittusk á fjallinu Brynhildr ok Sigurðr ok hon (viz. the daughter Áslaug) var byrjuð, Fas. i. 257; heldr ertu bráðr að byrja þann er bein hefir engin, 250 (in a verse).

IV. impers. with dat.:

1. [bera C. III], to behove, beseem, be due; sem konungs-syni byrjar, Fms. i. 81; hann gefr sálu várri slíkan mátt sem henni byrjar, Hom. 157; svá byrjaði ( behoved) Christo að líða, Luke xxiv. 46; þat byrjar mér meir at hlýða Guði en mönnum, 623. 11; sem aðiljanum byrjaði, Grág. i. 394; sem þeim byrjaði at manntali, i. e. in due proportion to their number, ii. 381; sem byrjar ( as it behoves) hlýðnum syni ok eptirlátum, Sks. 12; er helzt byrjar kaupmönnum at hafa, 52.

2. [byrr], the phrase, e-m byrjar vel, illa, one gets a fair, foul, wind; þeim byrjaði vel, Eg. 69; honum byrjaði vel, 78, Eb. 8; byrjaði þeim vel um haustið, Fms. iv. 293; þeim byrjaði illa, Eg. 158.

n. [ból],

1. in the Norse sense, a farm, dwelling, = býli, Gþl: 452.

2. in the Icel. sense, a den, Fas. ii. 231, of a vulture’s nest; arnar-bæli, an eyry, a freq. local name of farms in Icel., Landn.; dreka-bæli, orms-bæli, a dragon’s lair, serpent’s den, Edda; even used of the lair of an outlaw, Grett. 132 (Grettis-bæli), Ld. 250.

m. ( one born in a báss), a child of an outlawed mother.

* * *

m., prop. one born in a báss (q. v.); hence, as a law term, the child of an outlawed mother; þat barn er ok eigi arfgengt ( that child is also not entitled to inheritance), er sú kona getr er sek er orðin skógarmaðr, þó-at hon geti við bónda sínum úsekjum, ok heitir sá maðr bæsingr, Grág. i. 178. Is not the name Bastard, which first occurs as. the surname of the Conqueror, simply a Norman corruption of this Scandin. law term? The son of an outlawed father was called vargdropi, q. v.

2. poët. the name of a sword, Edda (Gl.) This word is, we believe, derived from báss, a ‘boose’ stall, Goth. bansts; its original sense would then be, one born in a stall or crib; hence as a law term, a bastard; hornungr from horn ( a corner) is an analogous term, cp. Germ. winkel-kind, for in ancient Teut. laws and language the bastard or outcast was considered as being born in an out-of-the-way place. Both words, bastarðr and bæsingr (q. v.), are, we believe, one in sense and origin, bastarðr being the older form, bæsingr the later; from Goth. banst-s was formed bastarðr, qs. banstarðr; in Norway and Icel. bansts dropped the t and absorbed the n into the preceding vowel, and became bás-s; from this ‘báss’ was formed bæsingr, with ingr as inflexive syllable, and the vowel changed; whereas bastarðr, we suppose, dates from an early time before vowel-change had taken place. Both words are law terms, the former Normannic (or Frankish), the latter Norse: both occur as the name of a sword,—bæsingr in the mythical tale, Fb. ii, of St. Olave’s sword, ere it was taken out of the cairn; bastarðr in Fms. vii. (12th century), perhaps a sword of Norman workmanship. Literally bastarðr means ‘boose-hardy,’ the hardy one of the stall, the bastard being the boy who got all kinds of rough usage, and so became hardy; we catch an echo of this in the words of the old lay—kóðu ‘harðan’ mjök ‘hornung’ vera, Hðm. 12.