set+head

(dat. höfði, gen. pl. höfða), n.

1) head (höggva höfuð af e-m);

láta e-n höfði skemmra, to behead one;

strjúka aldrei um frjálst höfuð, to be never free, never at ease;

skera e-m höfuð, to make a wry face at one;

heita í höfuð e-m, to be called after a person;

hætta höfði, to risk one’s life;

leggja við höfuð sitt, to stake one’s head;

fœra e-m höfuð sitt, to surrender oneself to an enemy;

drepa niðr höfði, to droop the head;

þoku hóf af höfði, the fog lifted;

stíga yfir höfuð e-m, to overcome one;

hlaða helium að höfði e-m, to leave one dead on the spot;

ganga milli bols ok höfuðs e-s or á e-m, to hew of one’s head, to kill outright;

senda e-n til höfuðs e-m, to send one to take another’s head;

leggja fé til höfuðs e-m, to set a price on one’s head;

leggjast e-t undir höfuð, to put aside, neglect (Þ. lagðist eigi þessa ferð undir höfuð);

vera höfði hærri, to be taller by a head;

2) head, chief (höfuð lendra manna);

Þrándheimr hefir lengi verið kallaðr höfuð Noregs, the chief district of Norway;

3) ornamental prow of a ship (skip með gyltum höfðum);

ornamental head on a bridle (slitnaði sundr beizlit, ok týndist höfuð, er á var).

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n., dat. höfði; gen. pl. höfða, dat. höfðum; in Norse MSS. often spelt hafuð, Anecd. 4 (without umlaut); the root-vowel seems in very early times (8th century) to have been a diphthong; thus Bragi uses the rhymes, laufi—haufði, and rauf—haufuð, Edda; the old ditty with a half rhyme, höfðu vér í haufði, Hkr. i. 104, wou’d be faulty unless we accept a diphthong in the latter word: in good old MSS. (e. g. Sæm. Cod. Reg.) the word is always spelt with ꜹ or au, never o, and probably never had a diphthongal sound; the Norse spelling havuð however points to a short vowel; and later Icel. MSS. spell o or , e. g. Hb. in Vsp. l. c. It is probable that the short vowel originated in the contracted form, as haufði sounds hard; [cp. Goth. haubiþ; A. S. heâfod; Engl. head; Hel. hôbid; O. H. G. houpit; mid. H. G. houbet; mod. G. haupt; Dan. hôved; Swed. hufvud; Ormul. hæfedd (the single f marks a preceding long vowel); thus all old Teut. languages except the Icel. agree in the length of the vowel, whereas Lat. căput, Gr. κεφαλή have a short root vowel.]

A. A head, Vsp. 38, Sdm. 14, Vþm. 19, Þkv. 16, 19, Skm. 23, Nj. 19, 275, Grág. ii. 11, Fms. x. 381, Eg. 181, Edda 59, passim; mátti svá at kveða, at náliga væri tvau höfuð á hverju kvikendi, Hrafn. 22 (of a great increase in stock); Grímr rakaði bratt fé saman, vóru tvau höfuð á hvívetna því er hann átti, Ísl. ii. 14.

II. phrases and sayings, láta höfði skemra, to make one a head shorter, behead, Hým. 15, Fm. 34; strjúka aldrei frjálst höfuð, to stroke never a free head, be never free, never at ease; (sagði) at þeir mundi aldrei um frjálst höfuð strjúka, er vinir hans væri, meðan Þórðr væri höfðingi í Ísafirði, Sturl. ii. 124; eg má aldrei um frjálst höfuð strjúka, I never have any time to spare; sitja aldrei á sárs höfði, to be always quarrelling; skera e-m höfuð, to make a wry face at one, Grett. 17; heita í höfuðit e-m, to be called after a person; hón jós sveininn vatni ok kvað hann skyldu heita í höfuð föður sínum, ok var hann kallaðr Gestr, Bárð. 24 new Ed.: the mod. usage distinguishes between heita í höfuð á e-m, when a person is alive when the child was born, and heita eptir e-m, when that person is dead; halda höfði, to hold one’s head up, Flóv. 43, Og.; bera hátt höfuð, to bear one’s head high, Sturl. iii. 147, Sighvat; hefja höfuðs, to lift one’s head, Thom. 535; drepa niðr höfði, to droop one’s head, Bs. i. 625; þoku hóf af höfði, the fog lifted, Ld. 74; búa hvárr í annars höfði, to be at loggerheads, Sks. 346; fara huldu höfði, to go with a hidden head, in disguise, to hide oneself, Fms. vi. 12; færa e-m höfuð sitt, to surrender oneself to an enemy, Eg. ch. 62, 63, Fms. x. 261; stíga yfir höfuð e-m, to pass over one’s head, overcome one, 304; er á engri stundu örvænt nær elli stígr yfir h. mér, Eb. 332; hlaða hellum at höfði e-m, to leave one dead on the spot, Dropl. 18; ganga milli bols ok höfuðs, ‘to gang between bole and head,’ i. e. to kill outright, Eb. 240; hætta höfði, to risk one’s head, Hm. 106; leggjask e-t undir höfuð, to lay under one’s pillow, to put aside; leggjask ferð undir höfuð, Fær. 132, Orkn. 46; þú munt verða fátt undir höfuð at leggjask ef ek skal við þér taka, Sturl. i. 27; vera höfði hærri, to be a head taller, Fms. x. 381; setja höfuð á höfuð ofan, to set head upon head, Bs. i. 73, (viz. to consecrate a second bishop to a see, which was against the eccl. law); cp. kjósa annan konung í höfuð Davíð, Sks. 801.

III. in a personal sense, in poets, a person, = Lat. caput, Gr. κάρα, κεφαλή; fárgjarnt höfuð, thou fearful woman! Fas. ii. 556; hraustara höfuð, a bolder man, 315; berjask við eitt höfuð, 49; heiptrækt höfuð, Ýt. 25; andprútt höfuð, high-minded man! Sighvat; tírar h., glorious man; leyfðar h., id., Geisli 56; vina höfuð = cara capita, Bm. 2; frænda höfuð, kinsmen, Skáld H. 3. 40; hvarfúst h., thou fickle woman! Hel. 2.

2. a number, tale, head, of animals; fádygt höfuð, of a fox, Merl. 1. 39: head, of cattle, þeir eiga at gjalda þingfarar-kaup, er skulda-hjóna hvert hefir höfuð, kú skuldalausa eða kúgildi, Grág. (Kb.) i. 159, referring to the old way of taxation, which is still the law in Icel., that a freeholder has to pay tax (skattr) only if he has more head of cattle (kúgildi, q. v.), than persons to support.

IV. a head, chief; höfuð lendra manna, Fms. vii. 273; h. ok höfðingi, Stj. 457; Þrándheimr er h. Noregs, Fms. vi. 38; höfuð allra höfuð-tíða (gen.), Leiðarvís. 23.

V. of head-shaped things:

1. a beak, of a ship; með gylltum höfðum, Fms. viii. 385, x. 10, 417, passim; dreka-höfuð, q. v.: the beak was usually a dragon’s head, sometimes a bison’s, Ó. H.; a steer’s, Landn. 5. ch. 8; or it was the image of a god, e. g. of Thor, Fms. ii. 325, (Ó. T. ch. 253); or of a man, Karl-höfði, Ó. H., the ship of St. Olave; cp. the interesting passage, þat var upphaf enna heiðnu laga, at menn skyldu eigi hafa höfuðskip í hafi, en ef þeir hefði, þá skyldi þeir af taka höfuð áðr þeir kæmi í lands-sýn, ok sigla eigi at landi með gapandum höfðum eðr gínandi trjónum, svá at landvættir fældisk við, Landn. (Hb.) 258, Fms. vi. 180 (in a verse), vii. 51 (in a verse). 2. the capital of a pillar, Al. 116, Fb. i. 359 (of tent poles): of carved heads in a hall, sér þú augun útar hjá Hagbarðs-höfðinu? Korm. ch. 3: heads of idols carved on chairs, Fbr. ch. 38: carved heads on high-seats, Eb. ch. 4: that these figures sometimes represented fairies or goddesses is shewn by the word brúða (q. v.) and stólbrúða; heads of bedsteads seem to have been carved in a similar way; cp. also Korm. 86, see tjasna.

3. the head-piece of a bridle; týndi maðr höfði á beisli því er görsema-vel var gört, Bs. i. 314, v. l.; the head of a rake, hrífu-h., etc.

COMPDS: höfðabúza, höfðafjöl, höfðalag, höfðaskip, höfðatal, höfðatala, höfuðband, höfuðbani, höfuðbein, höfuðburðr, höfuðbúnaðr, Höfuðdagr, höfuðdúkr, höfuðfaldr, höfuðfatnaðr, höfuðfetlar, höfuðgerð, höfuðgjarnt, höfuðgull, höfuðhlutr, höfuðhögg, höfuðlausn, höfuðlauss, höfuðleðr, höfuðlín, höfuðmein, höfuðmikill, höfuðmundr, höfuðórar, höfuðrót, höfuðsár, höfuðskél, höfuðskip, höfuðskjálfti, höfuðsmátt, höfuðsnauðr, höfuðsótt, höfuðsteypa, höfuðsundl, höfuðsvími, höfuðsvörðr, höfuðtíund, höfuðverkr, höfuðvíti, höfuðvörðr, höfuðþváttr, höfuðþyngsl, höfuðærr, höfuðærsl.

B. Chief, capital, found like the Gr. ἀρχι- in countless COMPDS: höfuðatriði, höfuðá, höfuðárr, höfuðátt, höfuðbarmr, höfuðbaðmr, höfuðbarmsmaðr, höfuðbaugr, höfuðbenda, höfuðbiti, höfuðbitarúm, höfuðblót, höfuðborg, höfuðból, höfuðbæli, höfuðbær, höfuðdrottning, höfuðefni, höfuðengill, höfuðfaðir, höfuðfirn, höfuðfól, höfuðgersemi, höfuðgjöf, höfuðglæpr, höfuðgoð, höfuðgrein, höfuðgæfa, höfuðhátíð, höfuðhetja, höfuðhof, höfuðinnihald, höfuðísar, höfuðíþrótt, höfuðkempa, höfuðkennimaðr, höfuðkirkja, höfuðklerkr, höfuðkonungr, höfuðkostr, höfuðkvöl, höfuðlist, höfuðlýti, höfuðlæknir, höfuðlærdómr, höfuðlöstr, höfuðsmaðr, höfuðmeistari, höfuðmerki, höfuðmusteri, höfuðnafn, höfuðnauðsyn, höfuðniðjar, höfuðprestr, höfuðráð, höfuðráðgjafi, höfuðskáld, höfuðskepna, höfuðskutilsvein, höfuðskömm, höfuðskörungr, höfuðsmiðr, höfuðspekingr, höfuðstaðr, höfuðstafn, höfuðstafr, höfuðstjarna, höfuðstóll, höfuðstólpi, höfuðstyrkr, höfuðsynd, höfuðsæti, höfuðtunga, höfuðvápn, höfuðveizla, höfuðvél, höfuðvindr, höfuðvinr, höfuðþing, höfuðætt.

(set, setta, settr), v.

1) to seat, set, place, put (hann setti sveininn í kné konungi; hón var í haug sett);

setja e-n inn, to put in prison;

setja inn fénað, svín, hross, to pen up, take in;

setja dóm, to set a court;

setja tjöld, herbúðir, to set up tents;

setja grundvöll til kirkju, to lay the foundation of;

setja borð, to set up tables;

setja e-m gisla, to give one hostages;

2) to drive (hann setti øxina í höfuð honum);

3) to make, establish (setja lög, frið, grið);

setja ráð, ráðagørð, to set on foot (contrive) a plan, plot (báðu þeir hann setja aðra ráðagørð);

setja e-m torg, markað, to set up a market;

4) to order, prescribe (setja e-m skript);

setja e-m dag, stefnu, to fix a day for one to appear;

5) with dat., setja e-u, to settle (setja máli);

6) to appoint (hann setti Guthorm son sinn til landvarnar);

7) to allay (sá dauði mun setja mína sút);

8) setja e-t e-u or með e-u, to set, inlay (hann lét gøra gullkaleik ok setja gimsteinum);

to embroider (seglit var sett með fögrum skriptum);

9) intrans., to set off (hann lagði halann á bak sér ok setti í burtu);

setja undan, to escape;

10) impers. it settles;

þegar er niðt setti moldrykit (acc.), when the dust settled;

jarl (acc.) setti svá rauðan sem blóð (dreyrrauðan), the earl turned red as blood;

þá setti at honum hósta, a fit of coughing seized him;

þá setr at henni grát mikinn, she bursts into tears;

11) with preps. and advs.:

setja e-n af kirkju, to put out of the church, excommunicate;

setja e-n af ríki, to depose one;

setja e-n af lífi, af sinni eign, to deprive one of life, of one’s property;

setja e-n aptr, hold one back, check (hann setti þá harðliga aptr, er á Þráin leituðu);

setja at e-m, to attack;

setja e-t á skrá, to enter, set in a scroll;

setja á sik hjálm, to put on a helmet;

setja á, to push (H. bað Ketil ganga fyrir skut ok setja á);

setja e-n eptir, to leave one behind;

setja fram skip, to launch a ship;

setja e-t fyrir, to prescribe (eptir fyrir-settri skipan);

setja þvert nei fyrir, to deny flatly (Þyri setti þvert nei fyrir, at hón myndi giptast gömlum konungi);

setja e-n í fjötur, bönd, to put in fetters;

hann hafði sett spjót í völlinn hjá sér, he had stuck his spear in the ground beside him;

setja e-n niðr, to make one sit down, put one down (H. þreif til hans ok setti hann niðr hjá sér);

setja niðr lík, to lay a corpse in earth, bury it;

setja niðr mál, deilu, vandræði, to settle it;

setja e-t saman, to put together, set up (setja bú saman);

to compose, write (eptir bókum þeim, er Snorri setti saman);

setja e-n til bókar, to set one to learn;

setja e-n til ríkis, to put one on the throne;

setja upp, to raise, erect, put up (setja upp skurðgoð);

setja upp segl, to hoist sail;

setja upp boga, to bend a bow;

setja skip upp, to draw a ship up, ashore;

setja skip út, to launch, = setja skip fram;

setja e-t við e-u, to set against (þat þótti höfðingjum ofrausn ok settu mjök hug sinn við);

to bet (ek set við hundrað marka silfrs, at hann ríðr mik eigi af baki);

setja e-n yfir e-t, to put one over, at the head of (H. konungr setti Eystein jarl yfir Vestfold);

12) refl., setjast.

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set, setti, sett; a causal to sitja, q. v.; [Ulf. satjan, ga-satjan, = τιθέναι, φυτεύειν; Engl. to set; Dan. sætte; Swed. sätta.]

A. To seat, set, place, put; hann setti sveininn í kné konungi, Fms. i. 16; hón var í haug sett, Ld. 20; bar hann inn ok setti hann í sæti, Nj. 179; hann setti hann í næsta sér, 46; setti hann í hásæti hjá sér, 282; setja höfuðit aptr á bolinn, Fms. x. 213; setja á sik hjálm, Nj. 42, 144; var settr undir hann stóll, 269; s. forsæti með endi-löngum bekkjum, 220; setja inn, to put in; s. inn fénað, svín, hross, to pen them, take them in, Gþl. 386, Grág. i. 436: to put in prison, Fms, x. 49; s. í fjötra, bönd, to ‘set in the stocks,’ put in fetters, ii. 173, x. 301; hann hafði sett spjótið ( stuck it) í völlinn hjá sér, Nj. 58; s. hest fyrir sleða, Landn. 94; s. e-n til bókar, to set one to book, set one to learn, Fms. vii. 199, viii. 9; s. til ríkis, to set one to reign, Eg. 366; hann setti sonu sína hina ellri til lands, Orkn. 4 old Ed.; s. á skrá, to enter, set in a scroll, Stj.; setja inn, to insert, Bs. i. 280:—þar var fimmtar-dómr settr, Nj. 241; þar er dómrinn var settr, Eg. 340; setja tjöld, to set up tents, Fms. xi. 85; s. herbúðir, id.; s. gamma sinn annan veg brekkunnar, 38, 79; s. grundvöll til kirkju, to lay the foundation of, 33; s. e-m borð, Nj. 220; setja e-m gísla, to give hostages, Fms. xi. 392.

2. special usages, to drive; hann setti öxina í höfuð honum, Nj. 53; þau setja þegar af þeim nýrun, they bite them clean off, Stj. 94.

3. intrans. to set off; hann lagði halann á bak sér ok setti í burtu, Fb. i. 565; enn úhreini andi greip grís, ok setti braut síðan, Greg. 56: s. undan, to escape, Nj. 136, Fms. ii. 325; s. undan e-m, s. undan á-gangi e-s, to make one’s escape, Al. 99, Fms, vi. 379.

4. with prepp.; setja af, to depose, see above:—s. e-n aptr, to repel, hold back, check, Hkr. i. 20, Fms. xi. 81, Nj. 123, Stj. 21:—setja at, to set against, attack; mun ek s. at hinni rauðu töflunni, of a move in chess, Fas. ii. 67:—setja á, to put up; s. á langar tölur, Sturl. i. 105; s. e-t á sig, to mark, notice; svá var á sett, at Böðvarr, 32: setja á vetr, of livestock in the autumn = Germ. anbinden:—s. eptir, to leave behind, Eg. 368, Fms. ix. 43:—setja e-ð fyrir sig, to set a thing before one, i. e. be sad and depressed on account of it:—setja fram, to put forward, produce, Mar. (fram-setja): setja fyrir, to set before, as a thing ordered; eptir fyrir settri skipan, Sks. 37; setja nei fyrir e-t, to deny, refuse, Fms. ii. 131, ix. 242; setja e-m e-t fyrir, to set as a task to one; hann (the teacher) setti mér þetta fyrir:—setja niðr, to set down, quash; þeir settu Þorgeir niðr á Ánabrekku, put him there, Eg. 237; cp. niðr-setningr, in mod. usage s. niðr ómaga, to distribute the paupers among the households in a parish: s. niðr lík, to lay a corpse in earth, H. E. i. 491, Fms. iv. 110; s. upp óp, gnegg, Hrafn. 7: metaph. to stop, Fms. ix. 355, 452, xi. 260, Hkr. ii. 136, Eg 729: to dispose, s. niðr eptir reglu, Fms. xi. 428:—s. saman, to put together; s. bú saman, iii. 29, Ld. 10, s. saman kvið, kviðburð, Grág., Nj.: to compose, K. Á. 220, Fms. vii. 242; eptir bókum þeim er Snorri setti saman, Sturl. ii. 123; bók þessi heitir Edda, hana hefir saman setta Snori Sturluson, Edda ii. 250; hér er lukt þeim hlut bókar er Ólafr Þórðarson hefir saman sett, 427:—s. fram skip, to launch a ship, Eg. 160, Fms. ix. 478: s. út skip, to launch, 480, Gþl. 371:—s. upp skip, to draw her up ashore (as used to be done for the winter months), Hkr. i. 152, Fms. i. 62, ix. 478, Nj. 281, Eg. 180, Gþl. 371 (upp-sátr); þar fellr á er heitir Gufu-á, í hann setti Ketill upp skip sitt ( laid her up in the river), Eg. 592; (in mod. usage setja (absol.) is to launch a boat); s. upp, to put up, erect, raise, Eg. 492, Fms. vii. 265., Ó. H. 170; s. upp segl, to hoist sail, 165, Fms. ix. 10; s. upp boga, Fas. ii. 543; hann lét s. upp skurðgoð, Ver. 41: s. út, to set out for sale, Bs. i. 636:—5. við, to let, Bær. 6.

II. metaph. usages, to make, establish; setja lög, lands-rétt (laga-setning), Kristinn-rétt setti hann við ráð Grímkels biskups, Ó. H. 44; lög þau er Hákon Aðalsteins-fóstri hafði sett í Þrándheimi, id.: svá settu þeir Ketill biskup ok Þorlákr biskup Kristinna laga þátt, K. Þ. K.; hann setti þat í lögum, at …, Ó. H. 4; hann setti Gulaþings-lög með ráði Þorieifs spaka, hann setti ok Frostaþings-lög með ráði Sigurðar jarls, … enn Heiðsefis-lög hafði fyrst sett Hálfdán Svarti, Fms. i. 23; á því þingi (in Nicea) var settr allr Kristinn-dómr, 625. 48; máldagi vel ok skynsamliga settr ok skipaðr, Dipl, i. 5; svá skulu hreppar settir, at hverr bóndi skal sitja it næsta öðrum, Grág. i. 443; setja frið um heim allan, setja frið millum landa, Rb. 412, Eg. 282; settum friði, Grág. ii. 167; s. grið, to make a truce, Nj. 248 (griða-setning); Julius setti misseris-tal, Rb. 412; setja á stofn, to start, begin, Fms. ii. 35: with dat. to settle, settu þeir þessu, Fms. ix. 452; s. þeim málum er konungar áttu um at dæma, Ld. 28; þeir (búar) áttu eigi at s. málinu, Nj. 87:—to appoint, hann setti Guthorm son sinn til landvarnar, Ó. H. 4, Fms. i. 24, 29, Eg. 272, 537, Nj. 129, Hom. 51, Dipl. v. 8; ef hann leysir þat svá af höndum sem hann er til settr, Grág. i. 497:—af-setja, to depose; setja e-n af kirkju, to put out of the church, excommunicate, Sturl. iii. 167; af setja e-n konungdómi, Stj.; s. e-n af ríki, af lífi, Hkr. i. 170; hann hefir af sett mik allri minni eign, Fms. i. 264, ii. 243:—to order, s. e-m skript, ii. 174; hann setti þeim þvílíkan markað, x. 237:—so in the law phrases, s. e-m dag, stefnu, stefnu-dag, fimmt, to fix a day for one to appear, etc., N. G. L. passim, Bs. i. 742; setja mál í dóm, Hrafn. 25:—to plan, contrive, setja ráð, ráða-görð, bragð, Fms. vii. 128, x. 305, 315, xi. 21, Nj. 106.

2. to allay; sá dauði mun setja mína, sút, Al. 110; setið svá fyrnsku yðra, H. E. i. 251: to settle, s. mál, Grág. i. 490; enda sé settar sakir þær allar eðr dæmdar, 116: to humble, ek skal s. þik ok semja dramb þitt, Fas. i. 38.

3. to set, inlay, by way of ornament; hann lét göra gullkaleik ok setja gimsteinum, Bs. i. 83; hjálm gimsteinum settan, Ld. 128, Fms. i. 15; slæður settar gull-knöppum, Eg. 516; segl sett pellum, Hkr. iii. 243; seglit var sett með fögrum skriptum, Fms. x. 77; skjöld settan járnslám, Fas. i. 415; brynja sett hringum, 215.

III. impers. it settles; þegar er niðr setti moldrykit (acc.), when the dust settled, Al. 109:—to turn of a sudden, jarl (acc.) setti svá rauðan sem blóð, Ísl. ii. 220, Finnb. 260; Páll jarl þagði, ok setti dreyr-rauðan, Orkn. 194; konungr þagði, ok setti hann dreyr-rauðan á at sjá, Eg. 113; þá setti at honum hósta ok þröngd svá mikla, a fit of coughing set on him, Fms. i. 282; þá setr at henni grát mikinn, she burst into tears, iii. 113; setr nú at honum kvarða, Skíða R. 41.

B. Reflex. to seat oneself, take a seat; ek settumk á fótskörina, Fms. ii. 188; setzk hann undir höfuð honum, Finnb. 238; þeir settusk niðr á völlinn, Nj. 144; s. á tal við, e-n, to sit down to talk with a person, Eg. 37; setjask í hásæti, Fms. i. 18; Hrapp þraut vistir, settisk hann þá at með þeim, Nj. 128:—to take up one’s abode, fór hann í Odda ok settisk þar, 117; at hann mundi fá hennar ok seljask þar, 280; setjask í kyrrsetu, Eg. 367; setjask um kyrrt, to settle oneself to rest, Fas. ii. 530: setjask í stein, to go into a cell, as an anchorite, Nj. 268; s. at ríki sínu, Fas. i. 531: setjask aptr, to desist from, esp. of a journey, Fms. xi. 129; setjask eptir, to remain behind, i. 62; s. heima, to stay at home, Grág. i. 491, N. G. L. i. 127; ek hefi hér upp sezk at þér ( I have taken up my abode with thee) ok tekit hér þrifnað, Lv. 36 (in mod. usage with a notion of intrusion, hann settisk þar upp); setjask fyrir e-t, to withstand, Finnb. 320; lét Sturla þá lausa lögsögu, ok settisk hjá öllum vandraeðum, Sturl. iii. 308; setjask um, to lay siege to (um-sátr), Fms. i. 103, x. 237; en þar sem hin himneski meistari sezk um, leggr hann …, Bs. i. 742 (or sesk um, i. e. sésk um, from sjá?), see the foot-note; nú setjask þeir yfir ( to seize upon) staðinn, ok alla staðarins eign, Sturl. ii. 13.

2. to set, go down; er ok þat meiri virðing at aukask af litlum efnum en at hefjask hátt ok setjask með lægingu, Fs. 13: of the sun and stars, þat er víða á því landi, at sól setzk eigi um nætr, Fms. i. 233; vetrardag, en (= er) sól setzk, when the sun sets, N. G. L. i. 348; frá jafndægrí er haust til þess er sól setzk í eyktar-stað, Edda 103 (see sólsetr = sunset); stjörnur renna upp ok setjask, Rb. 466; en þar er á millum allt einn dagr, svá at aldregi setzk dagr á allri þeirri stundu, Sks. 67 (see dagsetr); síðan sólu er sett, Gþl. 442; þegar degi er sett, when day is closing in, Fas. ii. 110.

3. to be settled, ended; nú skortir eigi sókn, ok setzk með því ( ends thus) at Sunnan-menn láta undan, Ísl. ii. 366; síðan settisk úfriðr í Svíþjóð, Fms. x. 47; freista ef þessi kurr mætti niðr setjask, Hkr. ii. 140; en niðr settusk allar sakar, Fms. iii. 39.

II. pass., ef þeir setjask (= eru settir, are appointed) til at dæma um mál manna, Sks. 649; setjask þá grið allra vinda á millum, 234 (influenced by the Latin).

III. part. settr, placed, situated, doing well or ill; Rútr var eptir með frændum sínum vel settr, Ld. 20; hón skal hér svá vel sett sem hón væri mín dóttir, Eg. 156; lítt var hann ok settr at klæðum, Fas. ii. 327, Grett. 91 A; langt kvæði ok íllt, ok sett með (set, studded with) mörgum hlutum íllum ok fáheyrðum, Fms. x. 264:—of a ship, deep in the water, heavy, var skútan mjök sett, Finnb. 254; sá þeir at skipit var sett mjök, Ó. H. 170; skip konungs vóru sett mjök ok sollin, Fms. iii. 44.

2. as adj. settled; eru eigi þá sakarnar settri en áðr, Grág. i. 362:—composed, settr ok stillir, ráð-settr, q. v.

* * *

(ber; bar, bárum; borinn), v.

I.

1) to bear, carry, convey (bar B. biskup í börum suðr í Hvamm);

bera (farm) af skipi, to unload a ship;

bera (mat) af borði, to take (the meat) off the table;

bera e-t á hesti, to carry on horseback;

2) to wear (bera klæði, vápn, kórónu);

bera œgishjálm, to inspire fear and awe;

3) to bear, produce, yield (jörðin berr gras; tré bera aldin, epli);

4) to bear, give birth to, esp. of sheep and cows;

kýr hafði borit kálf, had calved;

absol., ván at hón mundi bera, that the cow would calve;

the pp. is used of men; hann hafði verit blindr borinn, born blind;

verða borinn í þenna heim, to be born into this world;

þann sóma, sem ek em til borinn, born to;

borinn e-m, frá e-m (rare), born of;

Nótt var Nörvi borin, was the daughter of N.;

borinn Sigmundi, son of S.;

5) bera e-n afli, ofrafli, ofrliði, ofrmagni, ofríki, to bear one down, overcome, oppress, one by odds or superior force;

bera e-n ráðum, to overrule one;

bera e-n málum, to bear one down (wrongfully) in a lawsuit;

bera e-n sök, to charge one with a fault;

bera e-n bjóri, to make drunk with beer;

verða bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise;

borinn verkjum, overcome by pains;

þess er borin ván, there is no hope, all hope is gone;

borinn baugum, bribed; cf. bera fé á e-n, to bribe one;

6) to lear, be capable of bearing (of a ship, horse, vehicle);

þeir hlóðu bæði skipin sem borð báru, with as much as they could carry;

fig., to sustain, support (svá mikill mannfjöldi, at landit fekk eigi borit);

of persons, to bear up against, endure, support (grief, sorrow, etc.);

absol., bar hann drengiliga, he bore it manfully;

similarly, bera (harm) af sér, berast vel (illa, lítt) af;

bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore up bravely;

hversu berst Auðr af um bróðurdauðann, how does she bear it?

hon berst af lítt, she is much cast down;

bera sik vel upp, to bear well up against;

7) bera e-t á, e-n á hendr e-m, to charge or tax one with (eigi erum vér þess valdir, er þú berr á oss);

bera (kvið) á e-n, to give a verdict against, declare guilty (í annat sinn báru þeir á Flosa kviðinn);

bera af e-m (kviðinn), to give a verdict for;

bera e-t af sér, to deny having done a thing;

bera or bera vitni, vætti, to bear witness, testify;

bera or bera um e-t, to give a verdict in a case;

bera e-n sannan at sök, to prove guilty by evidence;

bera e-n undan sök, to acquit;

bera í sundr frændsemi þeirra, to prove (by evidence) that they are not relations;

bera e-m vel (illa) söguna, to give a favourable (unfavourable) account of one;

refl. (pass.), berast, to be proved by evidence (þótt þér berist þat faðerni, er þú segir);

8) to set forth, report, tell;

bera e-m kveðju (orð, orðsending), to bring one a greeting, compliments (word, message);

bera or bera fram erindi sín fyrir e-n, to state (tell) one’s errand or to plead one’s case before one;

bera e-m njósn, to apprise one;

bera e-t upp, to produce, mention, tell;

bera upp gátu, to give (propound) a riddle;

bera upp erindi sín, to state one’s errand;

bera saman ráð sín, to consult together;

eyddist það ráð, er þeir báru saman, which they had designed;

9) to keep, hold, bear, of a title (bera jarlnafn, konnungsnafn);

bera (eigi) giptu, gæfu, hammingju, auðnu til e-s, (not) to have the good fortune to do a thing (bar hann enga gæfu til at þjóna þér);

bera vit, skyn, kunnáttu á e-t, to have knowledge of, uniderstanding about;

vel viti borinn, endowed with a good understanding;

bera hug, áræði, þor, traust til e-s, to have courage, confidence to do a thing;

bera áhyggju fyrir e-u, to be concerned about;

bera ást, elsku, hatr til e-s, to bear affection, love, hatred to;

10) to bear off or away, carry off (some gain);

bera sigr af e-m, af e-u, to carry off the victory from or in;

hann hafði borit sigr af tveim orustum, he had been victorious in two battles;

bera hærra (lægra) hlut to get the best (the worst) of it;

bera efra (hærra) skjöld, to gain the victory;

bera hátt (lágt) höfuðit, to bear the head high (low), to be in high (low) spirits;

bera halann bratt, lágt, to cock up or let fall the tail, to be in high or low spirits;

11) with preps.:

bera af e-m, to surpass;

en þó bar Bolli af, surpassed all the rest;

bera af sér högg, lag to ward off, parry a blow or thrust;

bera eld at, to set fire to;

bera fjötur (bönd) at e-m, to put fetters (bonds) on one;

bera vápn á e-n, to attack one with sharp weapons;

bera á or í, to smear, anoint (bera vatn í augu sér, bera tjöru í höfuð sér);

bera e-t til, to apply to, to try if it fits (bera til hvern lykil af öðrum at portinu);

bera e-t um, to wind round;

þá bar hann þá festi um sik, made it fast round his body;

bera um með e-n, to bear with, have patience with;

bera út barn, to expose a child;

12) refl., berast mikit (lítit) á, to bear oneself proudly (humbly);

láta af berast, to die;

láta fyrir berast e-s staðar, to stay, remain in a place (for shelter);

berast e-t fyrir, to design a thing (barst hann þat fyrir at sjá aldregi konur);

at njósna um, hvat hann bærist fyrir, to inquire into what he was about;

berast vápn á, to attack one another;

berast at or til, to happen;

þat barst at (happened) á einhverju sumri;

ef svá harðliga kann til at berast, if that misfortune does happen;

berast í móti, to happen, occur;

hefir þetta vel í móti borizt, it is a happy coincidence;

berast við, to be prevented;

ok nú lét almáttugr guð við berast kirkjubrunann, prevented, stopped the burning of the church;

II. impers., denoting a sort of passive or involuntary motion;

1) with acc., it bears or carries one to a place;

alla berr at sama brunni, all come to the same well (end);

bar hann (acc.) þá ofan gegnt Ösuri, he happened to come down just opposite to Ö.;

esp. of ships and sailors; berr oss (acc.) til Íslands eða annarra landa, we drift to Iceland or other countries;

þá (acc.) bar suðr í haf, they were carried out southwards;

Skarpheðin (acc.) bar nú at þeim, S. came suddenly upon them;

ef hann (acc.) skyldi bera þar at, if he should happen to come there;

e-n berr yfir, one is borne onwards, of a bird flying, a man riding;

hann (acc.) bar skjótt yfir, it passed quickly (of a flying meteor);

2) followed by preps.:

Gunnar sér, at rauðan kyrtil bar við glugginn, that a red kirtle passed before the window;

hvergi bar skugga (acc.) á, there was nowhere a shadow;

e-t berr fram (hátt), is prominent;

Ólafr konungr stóð í lyptingu ok bar hann (acc.) hátt mjök, stood out conspicuously;

e-t berr á milli, comes between;

leiti (acc.) bar á milli, a hill hid the prospect;

fig. e-m berr e-t á milli, they are at variance about a thing;

mart (acc.) berr nú fyrir augu mér, many things come now before my eyes;

veiði (acc.) berr í hendr e-m, game falls to one’s lot;

e-t berr undan, goes amiss, fails;

bera saman, to coincide;

bar nöfn þeirra saman, they had the same name;

fig., with dat.; bar öllum sögum vel saman, all the stories agreed well together;

fund várn bar saman, we met;

3) bera at, til, við, at hendi, til handa, to befall, happen, with dat. of the person;

svá bar at einn vetr, it happened one winter;

þó at þetta vandræði (acc.) hafi nú borit oss (dat.) at hendi, has befallen us;

bar honum svá til, it so befell him;

þat bar við (it so happened), at Högni kom;

raun (acc.) berr á, it is proved by fact;

4) of time, to fall upon;

ef þing (acc.) berr á hina helgu viku, if the parliament falls in the holy week;

bera í móti, to coincide, happen exactly at the same time;

5) denoting cause;

e-t berr til, causes a thing;

konungr spurði, hvat til bæri úgleði hans, what was the cause of his grief;

ætluðu þat þá allir, at þat mundi til bera, that that was the reason;

berr e-m nauðsyn til e-s, one is obliged to do a thing;

6) e-t berr undir e-n, falls to a person’s lot;

hon á arf at taka, þegar er undir hana berr, in her turn;

e-t berr frá, is surpassing;

er sagt, at þat (acc.) bæri frá, hvé vel þeir mæltu, it was extraordinary how well they spoke;

7) e-t berr bráðum, happens of a sudden;

e-t berr stóru, stórum (stœrrum), it amounts to much (more), it matters a great deal (more), it is of great (greater) importance;

8) absol. or with an adv., vel, illa, with infin.;

e-m berr (vel, illa) at gera e-t, it becomes, beseems one (well, ill) to do a thing (berr yðr vel, herra, at sjá sannindi á þessu máli);

used absol., berr vel, illa, it is beseeming, proper, fit, or unbeseeming, improper, unfit (þat þykkir eigi illa bera, at).

(að), v. to make bare (hon beraði likam sinn).

f. she-bear, = birna.

* * *

u, f.

I. [björn], a she-bear, Lat. ursa; the primitive root ‘ber’ remains only in this word (cp. berserkr and berfjall), björn (q. v.) being the masc. in use, Landn. 176, Fas. i. 367, Vkv. 9: in many Icel. local names, Beru-fjörðr, -vík, from Polar bears; fem. names, Bera, Hallbera, etc., Landn.

II. a shield, poët., the proverb, baugr er á beru sæmstr, to a shield fits best a baugr (q. v.), Lex. Poët., Edda (Gl.); hence names of poems Beru-drápa, Eg.

bar, báru, borit, pres. berr,—poët. forms with the suffixed negative; 3rd pers. sing. pres. Indic. berrat, Hm. 10; 3rd pers. sing. pret. barat, Vellekla; 1st pers. sing. barkak, Eb. 62 (in a verse); barkat ek, Hs. 8; 2nd pers. sing. bartattu; 3rd pers. pl. bárut, etc., v. Lex. Poët. [Gr. φέρειν; Lat. ferre; Ulf. bairan; A. S. beran; Germ. gebären; Engl. bear; Swed. bära; Dan. bære].

A. Lat. ferre, portare:

I. prop. with a sense of motion, to bear, carry, by means of the body, of animals, of vehicles, etc., with acc., Egil tók mjöðdrekku eina mikla, ok bar undir hendi sér, Eg. 237; bar hann heim hrís, Rm. 9; konungr lét bera inn kistur tvær, báru tveir menn hverja, Eg. 310; bera farm af skipi, to unload a ship, Ld. 32; bera (farm) á skip, to load a ship, Nj. 182; tóku alla ösku ok báru á á ( amnem) út, 623, 36; ok bar þat ( carried it) í kerald, 43, K. Þ. K. 92; b. mat á borð, í stofu, to put the meat on table, in the oven; b. mat af borði, to take it off table, Eb. 36, 266, Nj. 75, Fms. ix. 219, etc.

2. Lat. gestare, ferre, denoting to wear clothes, to carry weapons; skikkja dýr er konungr hafði borit, Eg. 318; b. kórónu, to wear the crown, Fms. x. 16; atgeir, Nj. 119; vápn, 209: metaph., b. ægishjálm, to inspire fear and awe; b. merki, to carry the flag in a battle, Nj. 274, Orkn. 28, 30, 38, Fms. v. 64, vi. 413; bera fram merki, to advance, move in a battle, vi. 406.

3. b. e-t á hesti (áburðr), to carry on horseback; Auðunn bar mat á hesti, Grett. 107; ok bar hrís á hesti, 76 new Ed.; þeir báru á sjau hestum, 98 new Ed.

II. without a sense of motion:

1. to give birth to; [the root of barn, bairn; byrja, incipere; burðr, partus; and burr, filius: cp. Lat. parĕre; also Gr. φέρειν, Lat. ferre, of child-bearing.] In Icel. prose, old as well as mod., ‘ala’ and ‘fæða’ are used of women; but ‘bera,’ of cows and sheep; hence sauðburðr, casting of lambs, kýrburðr; a cow is snembær, siðbær, Jólabær, calves early, late, at Yule time, etc.; var ekki ván at hon ( the cow) mundi b. fyr en um várit, Bs. i. 193, 194; kýr hafði borit kálf, Bjarn. 32; bar hvárrtveggi sauðrinn sinn burð, Stj. 178: the participle borinn is used of men in a great many compds in a general sense, aptrborinn, árborinn, endrborinn, frjálsborinn, goðborinn, höldborinn, hersborinn, konungborinn, óðalborinn, samborinn, sundrborinn, velborinn, úborinn, þrælborinn, etc.; also out of compds, mun ek eigi upp gefa þann sóma, sem ek em til borinn, … entitled to by inheritance, Ld. 102; hann hafði blindr verit borinn, born blind, Nj. 152, Hdl. 34, 42, Vsp. 2: esp. borinn e-m, born of one, Rm. 39, Hdl. 12, 23, 27, Hðm. 2, Gs. 9, Vþm. 25, Stor. 16, Vkv. 15; borinn frá e-m, Hdl. 24: the other tenses are in theol. Prose used of Christ, hans blezaða son er virðist at láta berast hingað í heim af sinni blezaðri móður, Fms. i. 281; otherwise only in poetry, eina dóttur (acc.) berr álfröðull (viz. the sun, regarded as the mother), Vþm. 47; hann Gjálp um bar, hann Greip um bar …, Hdl. 36: borit (sup.), Hkv. 1. 1.

β. of trees, flowers; b. ávöxt, blóm …, to bear fruit, flower … (freq.); bar aldinviðrinn tvennan blóma, Fms. ix. 265; cp. the phrase, bera sitt barr, v. barr.

2. denoting to load, with acc. of the person and dat. of the thing:

α. in prop. sense; hann hafði borit sik mjök vápnum, he had loaded himself with arms, i. e. wore heavy armour, Sturl. iii. 250.

β. but mostly in a metaph. sense; b. e-n ofrafli, ofrmagni, ofrliði, ofríki, magni, to bear one down, to overcome, oppress one, by odds or superior force, Grág. i. 101, ii. 195, Nj. 80, Hkr. ii. 371, Gþl. 474, Stj. 512, Fms. iii. 175 (in the last passage a dat. pers. badly); b. e-n ráðum, to overrule one, Nj. 198, Ld. 296; b. e-n málum, to bearhim down (wrongfully) in a lawsuit, Nj. 151; b. e-n bjóri, to make drunk, Vkv. 26: medic., borinn verkjum, sótt, Bjarn. 68, Og. 5; bölvi, Gg. 2: borne down, feeling heavy pains; þess er borin ván, no hope, all hope is gone, Ld. 250; borinn sök, charged with a cause, Fms. v. 324, H. E. i. 561; bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise, Fms. iv. 111; b. fé, gull á e-n, to bring one a fee, gold, i. e. to bribe one, Nj. 62; borinn baugum, bribed, Alvm. 5; always in a bad sense, cp. the law phrase, b. fé í dóm, to bribe a court, Grág., Nj. 240.

3. to bear, support, sustain, Lat. sustinere, lolerare, ferre:

α. properly, of a ship, horse, vehicle, to bear, be capable of bearing; þeir hlóðu bæði skipin sem borð báru, all that they could carry, Eb. 302;—a ship ‘berr’ ( carries) such and such a weight; but ‘tekr’ ( takes) denotes a measure of fluids.

β. metaph. to sustain, support; dreif þannig svá mikill mannfjöldi at landit fékk eigi borit, Hkr. i. 56; but metaph. to bear up against, endure, support grief, sorrow, etc., sýndist öllum at Guð hefði nær ætlað hvat hann mundi b. mega, Bs. i. 139; biðr hann friðar ok þykist ekki mega b. reiði hans, Fms. iii. 80: the phrase, b. harm sinn í hljóði, to suffer silently; b. svívirðing, x. 333: absol., þótti honum mikit víg Kjartans, en þó bar hann drengilega, he bore it manfully, Ld. 226; er þat úvizka, at b. eigi slíkt, not to bear or put up with, Glúm. 327; b. harm, to grieve, Fms. xi. 425: in the phrases, b. sik, b. af sér, berask, berask vel (illa, lítt), to bear oneself, to bear up against misfortune; Guðrúnu þótti mikit fráfall Þorkels, en þó bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore her bravely up, Ld. 326–328; lézt hafa spurt at ekkjan bæri vel af sér harmana, Eb. 88; berask af; hversu bersk Auðr af um bróðurdauðann? (how does she bear it?); hón bersk af lítt ( she is much borne down) ok þykir mikit, Gísl. 24; niun oss vandara gört en öðrum at vér berim oss vel (Lat. fortiter ferre), Nj. 197; engi maðr hefði þar jamvel borit sik, none bad borne himself so boldly, Sturl. iii. 132; b. sik vel upp, to bear well up against, bear a stout heart, Hrafn. 17; b. sik beiskliga ( sorely), Stj. 143; b. sik lítt, to be downcast, Fms. ii. 61; b. sik at göra e-t, to do one’s best, try a thing.

III. in law terms or modes of procedure:

1. bera járn, the ordeal of bearing hot iron in the hand, cp. járnburðr, skírsla. This custom was introduced into Scandinavia together with Christianity from Germany and England, and superseded the old heathen ordeals ‘hólmganga,’ and ‘ganga undir jarðarmen,’ v. this word. In Norway, during the civil wars, it was esp. used in proof of paternity of the various pretenders to the crown, Fms. vii. 164, 200, ix. Hák. S. ch. 14, 41–45, viii. (Sverr. S.) ch. 150, xi. (Jómsv. S.) ch. 11, Grett. ch. 41, cp. N. G. L. i. 145, 389. Trial by ordeal was abolished in Norway A. D. 1247. In Icel. It was very rarely mentioned, vide however Lv. ch. 23 (paternity), twice or thrice in the Sturl. i. 56, 65, 147, and Grág. i. 341, 361; it seems to have been very seldom used there, (the passage in Grett. S. l. c. refers to Norway.)

2. bera út (hence útburðr, q. v.), to expose children; on this heathen custom, vide Grimm R. A. In heathen Icel., as in other parts of heathen Scandinavia, it was a lawful act, but seldom exercised; the chief passages on record are, Gunnl. S. ch. 3 (ok þat var þá siðvandi nokkurr, er land var allt alheiðit, at þeir menn er félitlir vórn, en stóð ómegð mjök til handa létu út bera börn sín, ok þótti þó illa gört ávalt), Fs. Vd. ch. 37, Harð. S. ch. 8, Rd. ch. 7, Landn. v. ch. 6, Finnb. ch. 2, Þorst. Uxaf. ch. 4, Hervar. S. ch. 4, Fas. i. 547 (a romance); cp. Jómsv. S. ch. 1. On the introduction of Christianity into Icel. A. D. 1000, it was resolved that, in regard to eating of horse-flesh and exposure of children, the old laws should remain in force, Íb. ch. 9; as Grimm remarks, the exposure must take place immediately after birth, before the child had tasted food of any kind whatever, and before it was besprinkled with water (ausa vatni) or shown to the father, who had to fix its name; exposure, after any of these acts, was murder, cp. the story of Liafburga told by Grimm R. A.); v. Also a Latin essay at the end of the Gunnl. S. (Ed. 1775). The Christian Jus Eccl. put an end to this heathen barbarism by stating at its very beginning, ala skal barn hvert er borit verðr, i. e. all children, if not of monstrous shape, shall be brought up, N. G. L. i. 339, 363.

β. b. út (now more usual, hefja út, Am. 100), to carry out for burial; vera erfðr ok tit borinn, Odd. 20; var hann heygðr, ok út borinn at fornum sið, Fb. i. 123; b. á bál, to place (the body and treasures) upon the pile, the mode of burying in the old heathen time, Fas. i. 487 (in a verse); var hon borin á bálit ok slegit í eldi, Edda 38.

B. Various and metaph. cases.

I. denoting motion:

1. ‘bera’ is in the Grág. the standing law term for delivery of a verdict by a jury (búar), either ‘bera’ absol. or adding kvið ( verdict); bera á e-n, or b. kvið á e-n, to give a verdict against, declare guilty; bera af e-m, or b. af e-m kviðinn, to give a verdict for; or generally, bera, or b. um e-t, to give a verdict in a case; bera, or b. vitni, vætti, also simply means to testify, to witness, Nj. 111, cp. kviðburðr ( delivering of verdict), vitnisburðr ( bearing witness), Grág. ii. 28; eigi eigu búar ( jurors) enn at b. um þat hvat lög eru á landi hér, the jurors have not to give verdict in (to decide) what is law in the country, cp. the Engl. maxim, that jurors have only to decide the question of evidence, not of law, Grág. (Kb.) ch. 85; eigi eru búar skildir at b. um hvatvetna; um engi mál eigu þeir at skilja, þau er erlendis ( abroad) hafa görzt, id.; the form in delivering the verdict—höfum vér ( the jurors), orðit á eitt sáttir, berum á kviðburðinn, berum hann sannan at sökinni, Nj. 238, Grág. i. 49, 22, 138, etc.; í annat sinn báru þeir á Flosa kviðinn, id.; b. annattveggja af eðr á; b. undan, to discharge, Nj. 135; b. kvið í hag ( for), Grág. i. 55; b. lýsingar vætti, Nj. 87; b. vitni ok vætti, 28, 43, 44; b. ljúgvitni, to bear false witness, Grág. i. 28; b. orð, to bear witness to a speech, 43; bera frændsemi sundr, to prove that they are not relations, N. G. L. i. 147: reflex., berask ór vætti, to prove that oneself is wrongly summoned to bear witness or to give a verdict, 44: berask in a pass. sense, to be proved by evidence, ef vanefni b. þess manns er á hönd var lýst, Grág. i. 257; nema jafnmæli berisk, 229; þótt þér berisk þat faðerni er þú segir, Fms. vii. 164; hann kvaðst ætla, at honum mundi berask, that he would be able to get evidence for, Fs. 46.

β. gener. and not as a law term; b. á, b. á hendr, to charge; b. e-n undan, to discharge, Fs. 95; eigi erum vér þessa valdir er þú berr á oss, Nj. 238, Ld. 206, Fms. iv. 380, xi. 251, Th. 78; b. e-m á brýnn, to throw in one’s face, to accuse, Greg. 51; b. af sér, to deny; eigi mun ek af mér b., at… ( non diffitebor), Nj. 271; b. e-m gott vitni, to give one a good…, 11; b. e-m vel (illa) söguna, to bear favourable (unfavourable) witness of one, 271.

2. to bear by word of mouth, report, tell, Lat. referre; either absol. or adding kveðju, orð, orðsending, eyrindi, boð, sögu, njósn, frétt…, or by adding a prep., b. fram, frá, upp, fyrir; b. kveðju, to bring a greeting, compliment, Eg. 127; b. erindi (sín) fyrir e-n, to plead one’s case before one, or to tell one’s errand, 472, 473; b. njósn, to apprise, Nj. 131; b. fram, to deliver (a speech), talaði jungherra Magnús hit fyrsta erindi (M. made his first speech in public), ok fanst mönnum mikit um hversu úbernsliga fram var borit, Fms. x. 53; (in mod. usage, b. fram denotes gramm. to pronounce, hence ‘framburðr,’ pronunciation); mun ek þat nú fram b., I shall now tell, produce it, Ld. 256, Eg. 37; b. frá, to attest, relate with emphasis; má þat frá b., Dropl. 21; b. upp, to produce, mention, tell, þótt slík lygi sé upp borin fyrir hann, though such a lie be told him, Eg. 59; þær (viz. charges) urðu engar upp bornar ( produced) við Rút, Nj. 11; berr Sigtryggr þegar upp erindi sín (cp. Germ. ojfenbaren), 271, Ld. 256; b. upp gátu, to give (propound) a riddle, Stj. 411, Fas. i. 464; b. fyrir, to plead as an excuse; b. saman ráð sín, or the like, to consult, Nj. 91; eyddist þat ráð, er þeir báru saman, which they had designed, Post. 656 A. ii; b. til skripta, to confess (eccl.), of auricular confession, Hom. 124, 655 xx.

II. in a metaphorical or circumlocutory sense, and without any sense of motion, to keep, hold, bear, of a title; b. nafn, to bear a name, esp. as honour or distinction; tignar nafn, haulds nafn, jarls nafn, lends manns nafn, konungs nafn, bónda nafn, Fms. i. 17, vi. 278, xi. 44, Gþl. 106: in a more metaph. sense, denoting endowments, luck, disposition, or the like, b. (ekki) gæfu, hamingju, auðnu til e-s, to enjoy (enjoy not) good or bad luck, etc.; at Þórólfr mundi eigi allsendis gæfu til b. um vináttu við Harald, Eg. 75, 112, 473, Fms. iv. 164, i. 218; úhamingju, 219; b. vit, skyn, kunnáttu á (yfir) e-t, to bring wit, knowledge, etc., to bear upon a thing, xi. 438, Band. 7; hence vel (illa) viti borinn, well (ill) endowed with wit, Eg. 51; vel hyggjandi borinn, well endowed with reason, Grág. ii; b. hug, traust, áræði, þor, til e-s, to have courage, confidence … to do a thing, Gullþ. 47, Fms. ix. 220, Band. 7; b. áhyggju, önn fyrir, to care, be concerned about, Fms. x. 318; b. ást, elsku til e-s, to bear affection, love to one; b. hatr, to hate: b. svört augu, to have dark eyes, poët., Korm. (in a verse); b. snart hjarta, Hom. 5; vant er þat af sjá hvar hvergi berr hjarta sitt, where he keeps his heart, Orkn. 474; b. gott hjarta, to bear a proud heart, Lex. Poët., etc. etc.; b. skyndi at um e-t, to make speed with a thing, Lat. festinare, Fms. viii. 57.

2. with some sense of motion, to bear off or away, carry off, gain, in such phrases as, b. sigr af e-m, af e-u, to carry off the victory from or in …; hann hafði borit sigr af tveim orrustum, er frægstar hafa verit, he had borne off the victory in two battles, Fms. xi. 186; bera banaorð af e-m, to slay one in a fight, to be the victor; Þorr berr banaorð af Miðgarðsormi, Edda 42, Fms. x. 400: it seems properly to mean, to bear off the fame of having killed a man; verðat svá rík sköp, at Regin skyli mitt banorð bera, Fm. 39; b. hærra, lægra hlut, ‘to bear off the higher or the lower lot,’ i. e. to get the best or the worst of it, or the metaphor is taken from a sortilege, Fms. ii. 268, i. 59, vi. 412; b. efra, hærra skjöld, to carry the highest shield, to get the victory, x. 394, Lex. Poët.; b. hátt (lágt) höfuðit, to bear the head high (low), i. e. to be in high or low spirits, Nj. 91; but also, b. halann bratt (lágt), to cock up or let fall the tail (metaph. from cattle), to be in an exultant or low mood: sundry phrases, as, b. bein, to rest the bones, be buried; far þú til Íslands, þar mun þér auðið verða beinin at b., Grett. 91 A; en þó hygg ek at þú munir hér b. beinin í Norðrálfunni, Orkn. 142; b. fyrir borð, to throw overboard, metaph. to oppress; verðr Þórhalli nú fyrir borð borinn, Th. was defied, set at naught, Fær. 234; b. brjóst fyrir e-m, to be the breast-shield, protection of one, Fms. vii. 263: also, b. hönd fyrir höfuð sér, metaph. to put one’s hand before one’s head, i. e. to defend oneself; b. ægishjálm yfir e-m, to keep one in awe and submission, Fm. 16, vide A. I. 2.

III. connected with prepp., b. af, and (rarely) yfir (cp. afburðr, yfirburðr), to excel, surpass; eigi sá hvárttveggja féit er af öðrum berr, who gets the best of it, Nj. 15; en þó bar Bolli af, B. surpassed all the rest, Ld. 330; þat mannval bar eigi minnr af öðrum mönnum um fríðleik, afi ok fræknleik, en Ormrinn Langi af öðrum skipum, Fms. ii. 252; at hinn útlendi skal yfir b. ( outdo) þann sem Enskir kalla meistara, xi. 431: b. til, to apply, try if it fits; en er þeir báru til (viz. shoes to the hoof of a horse), þá var sem hæfði hestinum, ix. 55; bera til hvern lykil at öðrum at portinu, Thom. 141; b. e-t við, to try it on (hence viðburðr, experiment, effort): b. um, to wind round, as a cable round a pole or the like, Nj. 115; þá bar hann þá festi um sik, made it fast round his body, Fms. ix. 219; ‘b. e-t undir e-n’ is to consult one, ellipt., b. undir dóm e-s; ‘b. e-t fyrir’ is to feign, use as excuse: b. á, í, to smear, anoint; b. vatn í augu sér, Rb. 354; b. tjöru í höfuð sér, Nj. 181, Hom. 70, 73, cp. áburðr; b. gull, silfr, á, to ornament with gold or silver, Ld. 114, Finnb. 258: is now also used = to dung, b. á völl; b. vápn á e-n, to attack one with sharp weapons, Eg. 583, Fms. xi. 334: b. eld at, to set fire to, Nj. 122; b. fjötur (bönd) at e-m, to put fetters (bonds) on one, Fms. x. 172, Hm. 150: metaph. reflex., bönd berask at e-m, a law term, the evidence bears against one; b. af sér, to parry off; Gyrðr berr af sér lagit, G. parries the thrust off, Fms. x. 421; cp. A. II. 3. β.

IV. reflex., berask mikit á (cp. áburðr), to bear oneself proudly, or b. lítið á, to bear oneself humbly; hann var hinn kátasti ok barst á mikit, Fms. ii. 68, viii. 219, Eb. 258; b. lítið á, Clem. 35; láta af berask, to die; Óttarr vill skipa til um fjárfar sitt áðr hann láti af b., Fms. ii. 12: berask fyrir, to abide in a place as an asylum, seek shelter; hér munu vit láta fyrir b., Fas. iii. 471; berask e-t fyrir, to design a thing, be busy about, barsk hann þat fyrir at sjá aldregi konur, Greg. 53; at njósna um hvat hann bærist fyrir, to inquire into what he was about, Fms. iv. 184, Vígl. 19.

β. recipr. in the phrase, berask banaspjót eptir, to seek for one another’s life, Glúm. 354: b. vápn á, of a mutual attack with sharp weapons, Fms. viii. 53.

γ. pass., sár berask á e-n, of one in the heat of battle beginning to get wounds and give way, Nj.:—berask við, to be prevented, not to do; ok nú lét Almáttugr Guð við berast kirkjubrunnann, stopped, prevented the burning of the church, Fms. v. 144; en mér þætti gott ef við bærist, svá at hón kæmi eigi til þín, vi. 210, vii. 219; ok var þá búit at hann mundi þegar láta hamarinn skjanna honum, en hann lét þat við berask, he bethought himself and did not, Edda 35; því at mönnum þótti sem þannig mundi helzt úhæfa við berask, that mischief would thus be best prevented, Sturl. ii. 6, iii. 80.

C. IMPERS.:—with a sort of passive sense, both in a loc. and temp. sense, and gener. denotes an involuntary, passive motion, happening suddenly or by chance:

I. with acc. it bears or carries one to a place, i. e. one happens to come; the proverb, alla (acc.) berr at sama brunni, all come to the same well (end), Lat. omnes una manet nox; bar hann þá ofan gegnt Özuri, he happened to come in his course just opposite to Ö., Lat. delatus est, Dropl. 25: esp. of ships or sailors; nú berr svá til ( happens) herra, at vér komum eigi fram ferðinni, berr oss (acc.) til Íslands eðr annara landa, it bore us to I., i. e. if we drive or drift thither, Fms. iv. 176; þá (acc. pl.) bar suðr í haf, they drifted southwards, Nj. 124.

β. as a cricketing term, in the phrase, berr (bar) út knöttinn, the ball rolls out, Gísl. 26, cp. p. 110 where it is transit.; berr Gísli ok út knöttinn, vide Vígl. ch. 11, Grett. ch. 17, Vd. ch. 37, Hallfr. S. ch. 2.

γ. Skarpheðin (acc.) bar nú at þeim, Sk. came suddenly upon them, Nj. 144; bar at Hróaldi þegar allan skjöldinn, the shield was dashed against H.’s body, 198; ok skyldu sæta honum, ef hann (acc.) bæri þar at, if he should per chance come, shew himself there, Orkn. 406; e-n berr yfir, it bears one, i. e. one is borne onwards, as a bird flying, a man riding; þóttist vita, at hann (acc.) mundi fljótara yfir bera ef hann riði en gengi, that he would get on more fleetly riding than walking, Hrafn. 7; hann (acc.) bar skjótt yfir, he passed quickly, of a flying meteor, Nj. 194; e-n berr undan, escapes.

2. also with acc. followed by prepp. við, saman, jafnframt, hjá, of bodies coinciding or covering one another: loc., er jafnframt ber jaðrana tungls ok sólar, if the orb of the moon and sun cover each other, Rb. 34; þat kann vera stundum, at tunglit (acc.) berr jafht á millum vár ok sólar (i. e. in a moon eclipse), 108; ber nokkut jaðar (acc.) þess hjá sólar jaðri, 34; Gunnarr sér at rauðan kyrtil (acc.) bar við glugginn, G. sees that a red kirtle passed before the window, Nj. 114; bar fyrir utan þat skip vápnaburð (acc.) heiðingja (gen. pl.), the missiles of the heathens passed over the ship without hurting them, flew too high, Fms. vii. 232; hvergi bar skugga (acc.) á, nowhere a shadow, all bright, Nj. 118; þangat sem helzt mátti nokkut yfir þá skugga bera af skóginum, where they were shadowed (hidden) by the trees, Fms. x. 239; e-t berr fram (hátt), a body is prominent, Lat. eminet; Ólafr konungr stóð í lyptingunni, bar hann (acc.) hátt mjök, king O. stood out conspicuously, ii. 308; b. yfir, þótti mjök bera hljóð (acc.) þar yfir er Ólafr sat, the sound was heard over there where O. sat, Sturl. i. 21; b. á milli, something comes between; leiti (acc.) bar á milli, a hill hid the prospect, Nj. 263: metaph., e-m berr e-t á milli, they come to dissent, 13, v. 1.; b. fyrir augu (hence fyrirburðr, vision), of a vision or the like; mart (acc.) berr nú fyrir augu mér, ek sé …, many things come now before my eyes, 104; hann mundi allt þat er fyrir hann hafði borit, i. e. all the dream, 195; eina nótt berr fyrir hann í svefni mikla sýn, Fms. i. 137, Rd. 290; veiði (acc.) berr í hendr e-m (a metaphor from hunting), sport falls to one’s lot; hér bæri veiði í hendr nú, here would be a game, Nj. 252; e-t berr undan (a metaphor from fishing, hunting term), when one misses one’s opportunity; vel væri þá … at þá veiði (acc.) bæri eigi undan, that this game should not go amiss, 69; en ef þetta (acc.) berr undan, if this breaks down, 63; hon bað hann þá drepa einhvern manna hans, heldr en allt (acc.) bæri undan, rather than that all should go amiss, Eg. 258: absol., þyki mér illa, ef undan berr, if I miss it, Nj. 155; viljum vér ekki at undan beri at…, we will by no means miss it…, Fms. viii. 309, v. 1. The passage Bs. i. 416 (en fjárhlutr sá er átt hafði Ari, bar undan Guðmundi) is hardly correct, fjárhlut þann would run better, cp. bera undir, as a law term, below.

II. adding prepp.; b. við, at, til, at hendi, at móti, til handa …, to befall, happen, Lat. accidere, occurrere, with dat. of the person, (v. atburðr, viðburðr, tilburðr); engi hlut skyldi þann at b., no such thing should happen as…, Fms. xi. 76; svá bar at einn vetr, it befell, x. 201; þat hefir nú víst at hendi borit, er…, Nj. 174; þó þetta vandræði (acc.) hafi nú borit oss (dat.) at hendi, Eg. 7; b. til handa, id., Sks. 327; bar honum svá til, so it befell him, Fms. xi. 425; at honum bæri engan váðaligan hlut til á veginum, that nothing dangerous should befall him on the way, Stj. 212; bæri þat þá svá við, at hann ryfi, it then perchance might happen, that …, 102; þat bar við at Högni kom, 169, 172, 82; raun (acc.) berr á, it is proved by the fact, event, Fms. ix. 474, x. 185.

2. temp., e-t berr á, it happens to fall on …; ef þing (acc.) ber á hina helgu viku, if the parliament falls on the holy week (Whitsun), Grág. i. 106; ef Crucis messu (acc.) berr á Drottins dag, Rb. 44; berr hana (viz. Petrs messu, June 29) aldrei svá optarr á öldinni, 78; þat er nú berr oss næst, what has occurred of late, Sturl. iii. 182: b. í móti, to happen exactly at a time; þetta (acc.) bar í móti at þenna sama dag andaðist Brandr biskup, Bs. i. 468; b. saman, id.; bar þat saman, at pá var Gunnarr at segja brennusöguna, just when G. was about telling the story, Nj. 269.

3. metaph. of agreement or separation; en þat (acc.) þykir mjök saman b. ok þessi frásögn, Fms. x. 276: with dat., bar öllum sögum vel saman, all the records agreed well together, Nj. 100, v. l.; berr nú enn í sundr með þeim, Bjarna ok Þorkatli at sinni, B. and Th. missed each other, Vápn. 25.

4. denoting cause; e-t (acc.) berr til …, causes a thing; ætluðu þat þá allir, at þat mundi til bera, that that was the reason, Nj. 75; at þat beri til skilnaðar okkars, that this will make us to part (divorce), 261; konungr spurði, hvat til bæri úgleði hans, what was the cause of his grief? Fms. vi. 355; þat berr til tunglhlaups, Rb. 32.

β. meiri ván at brátt beri þat (acc.) til bóta, at herviliga steypi hans ríki, i. e. there will soon come help (revenge), Fms. x. 264; fjórir eru þeir hlutir er menn (acc.) berr í ætt á landi hér, there are four cases under which people may be adopted, Grág. i. 361.

γ. e-t berr undir e-n, falls to a person’s lot; hon á arf at taka þegar er undir hana berr, in her turn, 179; mikla erfð (acc.) bar undir hana, Mar. (Fr.); berr yfir, of surpassing, Bs. ii. 121, 158; b. frá, id. (fráburðr); herðimikill svá at þat (acc.) bar frá því sem aðrir menn, Eg. 305; er sagt, at þat bæri frá hve vel þeir mæltu, it was extraordinary how well they did speak, Jb. 11; bar þat mest frá hversu illa hann var limaðr, but above all, how…, Ó. H. 74.

5. with adverbial nouns in a dat. form; e-t berr bráðum, happens of a sudden; berr þetta (acc.) nú allbráðum, Fms. xi. 139; cp. vera bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise (above); berr stórum, stærrum, it matters a great deal; ætla ek stærrum b. hin lagabrotin (acc.), they are much more important, matter more, vii. 305; var þat góðr kostr, svá at stórum bar, xi. 50; hefir oss orðit svá mikil vanhyggja, at stóru berr, an enormous blunder, Gísl. 51; svá langa leið, at stóru bar, Fas. i. 116; þat berr stórum, hversu mér þóknast vel þeirra athæfi, it amounts to a great deal, my liking their service, i. e. I do greatly like, Fms. ii. 37; eigi berr þat allsmám hversu vel mér líkar, in no small degree do I like, x. 296.

β. with dat., it is fitting, becoming; svá mikit sem landeiganda (dat.) berr til at hafa eptir lögum, what he is legally entitled to, Dipl. iii. 10; berr til handa, it falls to one’s lot, v. above, Grág. i. 93.

III. answering to Lat. oportet, absolutely or with an adverb, vel, illa, with infinit.; e-m berr, it beseems, becomes one; berr þat ekki né stendr þvílíkum höfuðfeðr, at falsa, Stj. 132; berr yðr (dat.) vel, herra, at sjá sannindi á þessu máli, Fms. ix. 326; sagði, at þat bar eigi Kristnum mönnum, at særa Guð, x. 22; þá siðu at mér beri vel, Sks. 353 B: used absol., berr vel, illa, it is beseeming, proper, fit, unbeseeming, unfit, improper; athæfi þat er vel beri fyrir konungs augliti, 282; þat þykir ok eigi illa bera, at maðr hafi svart skinn til hosna, i. e. it suits pretty well, 301: in case of a pers. pron. in acc. or dat. being added, the sentence becomes personal in order to avoid doubling the impers. sentence, e. g. e-m berr skylda (not skyldu) til, one is bound by duty; veit ek eigi hver skylda (nom.) yðr (acc.) ber til þess at láta jarl einn ráða, Fms. i. 52: also leaving the dat. out, skylda berr til at vera forsjámaðr með honum, vii. 280; eigi berr hér til úviska mín, it is not that I am not knowing, Nj. 135.

IV. when the reflex. inflexion is added to the verb, the noun loses its impers. character and is turned from acc. into nom., e. g. þar (þat?) mun hugrinn minn mest hafa fyrir borizt, this is what I suspected, fancied, Lv. 34; cp. hugarburðr, fancy, and e-t berr fyrir e-n (above, C. I. 2); hefir þetta (nom.) vel í móti borizt, a happy coincidence, Nj. 104; ef svá harðliga kann til at berask, if the misfortunes do happen, Gþl. 55; barsk sú úhamingja (nom.) til á Íslandi, that mischief happened (no doubt the passage is thus to be emended), Bs. i. 78, but bar þá úhamingju …; þat (nom.) barsk at, happened, Fms. x. 253; fundir várir (nom.) hafa at borizt nokkurum sinnum, vii. 256; þat barsk at á einhverju sumri, Eg. 154; bærist at um síðir at allr þingheimrinn berðist, 765, cp. berast við, berask fyrir above (B. V.): berast, absol., means to be shaken, knocked about; var þess ván, at fylkingar mundu berast í hergöngunni, that they would be brought into some confusion, Fms. v. 74; Hrólfr gékk at ramliga, ok barst Atli (was shaken, gave away) fyrir orku sakir, þar til er hann féll. Fas. iii. 253; barst Jökull allr fyrir orku sakir (of two wrestling), Ísl. ii. 467, Fms. iii. 189: vide B. IV.

D. In mod. usage the strong bera—bar is also used in impersonal phrases, denoting to let a thing be seen, shew, but almost always with a negative preceding, e. g. ekki bar (ber) á því, it could ( can) not be seen; að á engu bæri, láta ekki á bera ( to keep tight), etc. All these phrases are no doubt alterations from the weak verb bera, að, nudare, and never occur in old writers; we have not met with any instance previous to the Reformation; the use is certainly of late date, and affords a rare instance of weak verbs turning into strong; the reverse is more freq. the case.

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(legg, lagða, lagiðr, lagðr, laginn), v.

1) to lay, place (Már hafði lagt höfuð sitt í kné Rannveigar);

leggja net, to lay a net;

2) to put;

leggja eld í, to put fire to;

leggja söðul á hest, to put a saddle on a horse;

leggja árar upp, to lay up the oars, give up pulling;

leggja ofan segi, to haul down, take in the sails;

leggja at jörðu, at velli (or við jörðu, við velli), to overthrow, slay, kill;

leggja hlut sinn, to lose one’s lot, be worsted;

3) to lay, drop, of a beast (hvelparnir, er eigi vóru lagðir);

4) to lay, make, build;

leggja garða, to make fences;

5) to appoint, fix (leggja stefnu, leika, bardaga);

6) to tax, value (hann lagði hálft landit fyrir sex tigi silfrs);

leggja e-n úgildan, to award no fine for, put no price on;

leggja at léttu, to make light of;

7) to settle;

leggja sakar, to settle strife;

leggja lög, to lay down laws;

leggja leið sína, to take a direction;

hann lagði mjök kvámur sínar í Ögr, he was in the habit of coming often to O.;

8) to allot, assign (þér mun lagit verða at vera einvaldskonungr yfir Noregi);

hvat mun til líkna lagt Sigurði, what comfort is there appointed for S.?;

þér var lengra líf lagit, a longer life was destined for thee;

9) to lay out, pay, discharge;

leggja at veði, to give as bail;

leggja á hættu, to risk;

leggja á mikinn kostnað, to run into great expenses;

leggja líf á, to stake one’s life on a thing;

leggja fé til höfuðs e-m, to set a price on one’s head;

10) to lay a ship’s course, stand of or on, sail, absol., or the ship in dat. or acc., lét hann blása herblástr ok leggja út ór höfninni, and sailed out of the harbour;

leggja at, to land (lagði hann at við Sundólfsstaði);

in a naval battle, to attack (lögðu þeir þá at þeim);

leggja undir land, to stand in towards land;

fig. to give in;

leggja (skip) í rétt, to drift or run before the wind;

11) to set off, start;

leggja á flótta, to take toftight;

leggja eptir e-m, to pursue;

leggja upp, to start on a journey;

12) to stab, thrust, with a weapon (Þ. leggr hann spjóti til bana);

13) impers. it turns, is driven in a direction (of smoke, smell, fire);

hingat leggr allan reykinn, all the smoke blows hitherward;

to freeze over, be covered with snow or ice (þá er ísa lagði á vötn);

leggja nær, to be on the brink of;

nær lagði þat úfœru einu sinni, it had well nigh come to a disaster;

14) with preps.:

leggja e-t af, to cede, give up (H. bróðir hans lagði af við hann sinn part í eyjunni);

to leave off, desist from (legg af héðan af versagørð, sagði erkibiskup);

leggja af fénað, to slaughter cattle;

leggja e-t aptr, to give back, return (báðu mik leggja aptr taflit);

leggja at, leggja at landi, to land;

leggja at e-m, to attack;

leggja e-t á e-n, to impose, lay (a burden, tax) upon one (leggja skatt, skyldir, yfirbót á e-n);

leggja e-t á við e-n = leggja e-t á e-n;

leggja stund, kapp, hug á e-t, to take pains about, great interest in, a thing;

leggja ást, elsku, mætur á e-t, to feel love, affection, interest for a thing, to cherish a thing or person;

leggja fæð, öfund, hatr á, to take dislike, envy, hatred to;

leggja móti e-m, to oppose, contradict one;

leggja e-t til, to furnish, contribute, as one’s share (hvern styrk hefir móðir mín til lagit með þér?);

leggja fátt til, to say little, be reserved;

leggja lof til, to give praise to;

leggja gott (illt) til e-s, to lay a good (or ill) word to one, to interfere in a friendly (or unfriendly) manner;

leggja e-t til lofs e-m, to put a thing to a person’s credit;

leggja e-t til orðs, to talk about;

leggja e-m e-t til ámælis, orðs, to blame one for a thing;

leggja e-t undir or undir sik, to conquer, vanquish (Knútr konungr lagði allt land undir sik íNoregi);

leggja e-t undir e-n, to submit a matter to a person, refer to (þeir höfðu lagit mál undir Njál);

leggja undir trúnað e-s, to trust;

ok er þat mjök undir hann lagit, it depends much on him;

leggja e-t undir þegnskap sinn, to assert on one’s honour;

leggja e-t upp við e-n, to hand over to one;

leggja e-t eigi langt upp, not to make much of, to make light of (eigi legg ek slíkt langt upp);

leggja e-t við e-t, to add to (leggja aðra tölu við aðra);

leggja við líf sitt, höfuð sitt, to stake one’s life;

leggja við sekt, to fix a fine;

15) refl., leggjast.

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a causal of liggja, q. v.; pres. legg, pl. leggjum; pret. lagði; subj. legði; imperat. legg or leggðú; part. lagiðr, lagið, lagit; contr. lagðr, lögð, lagt; part. laginn, Fb. ii. 386, which form is in mod. Icel. used as an adjective only; a part. pass. lagztr, lögzt, lagzt, Fas. ii. 345, and in mod. usage: [Ulf. lagjan = τιθέναι; A. S. lecgan; Engl. lay; O. H. G. legjan; Germ. legen; Swed. lägga; Dan. lægge]:—to lay.

A. Prop. to lay, place; ok lagði hann á altara, Ver. 14; er hann var lagiðr á bálit, Hkr. i. 32; á lúðr lagiðr, Vþm.; vóru steinar lagðir í hring utan um, Eg. 486; Már lá útar á bekk, ok hafði lagt höfuð sitt í kné Rannveigar, Sturl. i. 13; leggja net, to lay a net, K. Þ. K. 88:—to lay down, leggja sinn aldr, Ht.

2. to put; leggja band um, umhverfis, to fasten a string round the body, Eg. 340; leggja saman augun, to put the eyes together, shut them, id.; leggja eld í, to put fire to, Nj. 74, 131; leggja hendr at síðum mér, Fms. x. 331; leggja stýri í lag, to put it right, Hkr. i. 32; leggja ofan segl ok viðu, to haul down, take in the sails, Fms. iv. 372, ix. 23; l. lénur, söðul, á hest, to put a saddle on a horse, Nj. 74, Landn. 151; l. á hest, or leggja á (simply), to saddle; leggja hapt á hest, Grág. i. 436; l. mark á, of sheep, 426; l. hús ofan, to pull it down, Bs. i. 163; l. klyfjar ofan, to unload a horse, K. Þ. K. 94; l. klyfjar upp, to pack a horse, N. G. L. i. 349; l. árar upp, to lay up the oars, give up pulling, Edda 36: the mod. phrase, leggja árar í bát, to give a thing up, lose heart; l. fyrir lið, to give up, see lið; fyrir lagðr, outworn, exhausted, Mar. 1060, Fas. ii. 278.

3. leggja at jörðu, at velli (or við jörðu, við velli), to overthrow, make bite the dust, Nj. 117, Eg. 426, Fms. vii. 296, viii. 43, x. 257, Njarð. 378; leggja fyrir borð, to put overboard, metaph. to forsake, Clem. 47; leggja í leg, to lay waste, Grág. ii. 278; leggja hlut sinn, to lay down or lose one’s lot, be worsted, Sturl. iii. 103: leggja mál í görð, to put into court, Nj. 88, 101; l. mál í umræðu, to put it to discussion, Orkn. 426; l. mál til sætta, Nj. 111.

4. to lay, drop, of a beast; hvelparnir er eigi vóru lagðir, Fb. i. 104.

II. metaph. in a mental sense; leggja stund, starf, hug, kapp … á e-t, to study a thing, take pains about, interest in it; as also, leggja ást, elsku, mætr á e-t, to feel love, affection, interest for, to love, cherish a thing or person; and again, leggja fæð, öfund, hatr … á, to take dislike, envy to, Al. 95, Ísl. ii. 197, Nj. 31, 46, Eg. 42, 418, Ld. 60, Fb. ii. 229, Fms. i. 31: freq. in old and mod. usage, thus, Sturla lagði mikinn hug á, at láta rita sögu-bækr eptir bókuni þeim er Snorri setti saman, Sturl. ii. 123; leggja e-t e-m til orðs, ámælis, to put a thing to a person’s blame, blame him for it, Nj. 62, 85, 138, 246, Ld. 250; l. e-t til lofs e-m, to laud one, put a thing to a person’s credit, Fms. x. 98.

2. with prepp.; leggja á, to impose, put upon; leggja skyldir, skatt … á, Fms. x. 51, 93, Rb. 394:—leggja af, to leave off, cease doing; legg af héðan af versa-görð, sagði erkibiskup, ok stúdera heldr í kirkjunnar lögum, Bs. i. 799:—leggja e-t fyrir sik, to set a task before one, Fms. ii. 103, xi. 157:—leggja til, to add to, xi. 51, Hom. 138:—leggja undir or undir sik, to lay under oneself, conquer, vanquish, Fms. i. 3, x. 35, Eg. 12, Stj. 46, 146; leggja e-t undir þegnskap sinn, to assert on one’s honour, Grág. i. 29, Nj. 150; leggja e-t undir e-n, to submit it to a person, refer to, 105; l. e-t undir trúnað e-s, to trust, Fms. ix. 397; ok er þat mjök undir hann lagit, it depends much on him, Bjarn. 52:—leggja út, mod. to translate (út-legging):—leggja við, to add to, Grág. i. 22, Hom. 138, 155. Rb. 88, Al. 358.

III. to lay, place, found, build; leggja afla, Vsp. 7; leggja garða, to make fences, Rm. 12; leggja götur, to make roads, Dipl. iv. 12; leggja lúðra, to place right, adjust the bin, Gs. 3; leggja leið, to take a direction, Fas. i. 57; hann lagði mjök kvámur sínar í Ögr, he was in the habit of coming to O., Fbr. 30; leggja e-t í vana sinn, to make a habit of.

2. metaph. to lay, settle; leggja sakar, to settle strife, Vsp. 64; leggja landrétt, to settle the public rights, make laws, Sighvat; leggja lög, to lay down laws, of the three weird sisters ordering the fate of men, Vsp.:—to lay down, ordain, lagt er allt fyrir, all is predestined, Skv. I, Skm. 13, Ls. 48; era með löstum lögð æfi þér, Skv. 1, 33; hvat mun til líkna lagt Sigurði, 30; leggja á, to ordain, en þú hugfest þá hluti er ek segi þér, ok legg á þik, Bs. i. 199; ef þeir eru á lagðir ( ordered) fyrir váttum, Gþl. 439; þá hluti er ek hefi á lagt við þik, Eg. 738; leggja lög á, to make, lay down a law, Bs. i. 28: leggja ríkt á, to order peremptorily: of a spell, leggja á, to enchant; ‘mæli eg um og legg eg á!’ is in the tales the formula with which witches say the spell.

3. to appoint, fix, a meeting or the like; eru þá leikar lagðir í Ásbjarnar-nesi, Ld. 196; leikr var lagiðr á Hvítár-völlum, Eg. 188; þeir lögðu við landsmenn hálfs-mánaðar frið, 228; leggja stefnu með sér, Fms. i. 36; var lögð konunga-stefna í Elfi, vii. 62; leggja bardaga við e-n, xi. 418; l. með sér vináttu, Eg. 278; Augustus keisari lagði frið ( established peace) um allan heim, Edda.

IV. to tax, value (fjár-lag); hross eru ok lögð, hestr fjögurra vetra gamall við kú, Grág. i. 503; leggja lag á mjöl, ii. 404; ef fyrr er keypt en lag er á lagt, id.; leggja lag á varning manna, Ísl. ii. 126; þat þykkir mér jafnligast at þú leggir land svá dýrt, en ek kjósa hvárr okkarr leysa skal, … hann lagði hálft landit fyrir sex tigi silfrs, … er þú leggr svá údýrt Helgafells-land, Eb. 38; vil ek þat vinna til sætta at leggja son minn úgildan, Nj. 250; at Hallr af Síðu hafði lagit úgildan son sinn, ok vann þat til sætta, 251; leggja at léttu, to lay a tax on light, Fas. iii. 553.

V. to lay out, pay, discharge; leggja at veði, to give as bail, Edda 17; buðu at leggja sik í veð fyrir þessa menn, Nj. 163; leggja á hættu, to risk, Eg. 86; leggja á mikinn kostnað, to run into great expences, Eg. 43; leggja veð eðr fá vörzlu, Gþl. 389: leggja í kostnað, to expend, Fms. xi. 232; leggja sik í háska, veð, to put oneself in danger, to stake one’s life, vii. 263, Nj. 163:—leggja aptr, to pay back, Grett. 174 new Ed.; leggja líf á, to stake one’s life on a thing, Nj. 106, 178:—l. fram, to lay forth, lay out, exhibit (fram-lag); allan þann sóma er hann hefir fram lagit, Ld. 32; mikit muntú þurfa fram at leggja með honum, þvíat hón á allan arf eptir mik, Nj. 3; l. fram líf sitt, Eg. 426:—leggja til, to pay to, furnish, contribute, as one’s share; hvern styrk hefir móðir mín til lagit með þér, Nj. 7; hvat viltú þá til leggja? langskip tvau, 42; skortir mik eigi fé til at leggja fyrir farit, 128; kunni hann til alls góð ráð at leggja, Eg. 2; hefi ek þar til (lagit) mörg orð, 728; lét ek þar sælu-hús göra ok lagða fé til, Fms. vii. 122, Js. 4; þau ráð er Gregoríus lagði til, Fms. vii. 258; l. fé til höfuðs e-m, to set a price on one’s head, Nj. 112, Grett. passim:—metaph., leggja fátt til, to say little, be reserved, Nj. 88, 112; Gunnarr lagði ekki til, G. remained silent, 52; leggja lof til, to give praise to, Eg. 33; leggja orð í (til), to ‘lay a word to,’ say a word in a matter, remonstrate, Grág. i. 290; leggja gott, íllt til e-s, to lay a good (or ill) word to, to interfere in a friendly (or unfriendly) manner, Sturl. iii. 151 (til-lögur):—leggja hlut sinn, líf sitt, við, to risk one’s lot, stake one’s life, i. 162, Nj. 113, 218; l. sik allan við, to do one’s best, Eg. 738; l. sekt við, l. lögbrot við, of a penalty, Nj. 113, Eg. 352, H. E. i. 505:—leggja út, to lay out, pay, Vm. 33; of betting, Orkn. 200:—leggja fé upp, to lay up, invest; l. fé upp í jörð, Dipl. v. 21; lagða ek upp við minn kæra Orm biskup hálfan viðreka, I made it over to O., ii. 4; l. upp fé, to lay up, board.

VI. of direction, esp. as a naut. term, to stand off or on, lay a ship’s course, esp. from or towards a port, to or from an attack, to sail, proceed to sea, absol., or the ship in dat. or acc., leggja skip or skipi; þú skalt leggja fram sem þér líkar (place the ship to attack), Nj. 8; ok leggr fram skeiðina jafnfram skipi Rúts, id.; þeir leggja út undir eina ey ok bíða þar byrjar, 133; hann lagði skip sín inn á sundit, 271; þeir bjuggusk um sem skjótast ok lögðu út skipunum, Eg. 358; en er skipit var lagit út undir Fenhring, Fms. x. 64; Sigvaldi leggr skip sitt í miðja fylking ( lays his ship alongside of), xi. 126; þeir hittu drómund einn í hafi ok lögðu til níu skipum ok borðusk, … at lyktum lögðu þeir snekkjunum undir drómundinn, Hkr. iii. 353; leggja undir land, to stand in towards land, Eb. 126, where in a metaph. sense = to give in; lögðu þeir eigi inn í ósinn, en lögðu útarliga á höfnina, Ísl. ii. 126; bauð hann út leiðangri at liði ok skipum ok lagði ( stood) út til Staðs fyrir innan Þórsbjörg, Fms. i. 12; síðan leggja þeir í Löginn upp, Hkr. i. 32; Knútr konungr lagði þegar upp í ána ok at kastalanum, Fms. ix. 23, xi. 196; réru þeir langskipinu upp í ána ok lögðu til bæjar þess, Eg. 80; lögðu víkingar við þat frá, Landn. 223; þá lögðu þeir at nesi einu, Eg. 161; ok lögðu þar at landi, 203; lagði hann at ( landed) við Sundólfs-staði, Fms. ix. 483; en er þeir koma norðr at Hákonar-hellu þá lögðu þeir þar at, Hkr. i. 160: leggja at, to attack, in a naval battle (atlaga); lögðu þeir þá at þeim, Nj. 25, Eg. 81; munu vér leggja til orrostu við þá, Fms. vii. 257; létusk allir búnir at leggja at þeim Hákoni, id.; ef þeir leggja at, Jómsvíkingar, xi. 134:—leggja í rétt, to drift or run before the wind, skipverjar, þeir er sigla vildu, eðr þeir er í rétt vildu leggja skipit, Fbr. 59; mæltu þeir er leið sögðu at varligra væri at lægja seglit ok leggja skipit í rétt um nóttina, en sigla til lands at ljósum degi, Fms. ii. 64; þá kom andviðri ok leggja þeir í rétt, Bs. i. 420; þá lögðu þeir í rétt harðan, kom á stormr svá at eigi fengu þeir lengi í rétti legit, ok sigldu þeir þá við eitt rif, Bær. 5; þá kemr enn landviðri ok leggja cnn í rétt ok rekr vestr í haf, Bs. i. 483; þá lögðu þeir í rétt harðan, 484; féll veðrit ok görði lögn, lögðu þeir þá í rétt, ok létu reiða fyrir nokkurar nætr, Eg. 372.

2. without the notion of sea, to start; leggja á flótta, to turn to flight, fly, Fms. x. 241, xi. 341, 391, Orkn. 4, Hkr. i. 319, passim; leggja ú fund þeirra, Fms. vii. 258; leggja eptir, to pursue, x. 215; leggja upp, to start on a journey: metaph., leggja e-t ekki langt upp, Grett. 51 new Ed.

3. to stab, thrust with a weapon, the weapon in dat. or absol. (lag = a thrust), Nj. 8, 64, Njarð. 378, Eg. 216, 258, 298, Nj. 43, 56, Grág. ii. 7, Gþl. 165, passim; opp. to höggva, höggva ok leggja, hann hjó ok lagði, and the like.

VII. impers. it turns, in driven in a direction, of smoke, smell, fire, or the like; hingat leggr allan reykinn, all the smoke blows thitherward, Nj. 202; en eldinn lagði at þeim, Fms. i. 266; fyrir údaun er ór hauginum mun út leggja, iv. 28; varask gust þann ok údaun er út lagði or haugnum, … af fýlu þeirri sem út lagði, Ísl. ii. 45; ok er eldrinn var görr, lagði reykinn upp í skarðit, Eb. 220; ef hval leggr út, if a (dead) whale is driven off land, Gþl. 462:—of ice, snow, to freeze, be covered with snow, ice, þá leggr snjó nokkurn fyrir þá, 655 xv. 12; er ís leggr á vatnit, Grág. ii. 287; þá er ísa lagði á vötn, Fms. ii. 103: the place frozen in acc., vóru íslög mikil ok hafði langt lagt lit Breiðafjörð, Ld. 286; lagði ok Ögrsvatn, Fbr. 30 new Ed.; lagði fjörðinn út langt, 60 new Ed.: part., íss var lagðr á Hofstaða-vág, Eb. 236:—of winter, cold, þegar er gott er ok vetr (acc.) leggr á, Grett. 24 new Ed.; lagði þegar á frer ok snjófa, Bs. i. 872; but pers., leggr á hríðir ok snjóvar (better snjóva), Bs. i. 198.

2. the phrase, leggja nær, to ‘lie near,’ be on the brink of; nær lagði þat úfæru eitt sinn, it had well nigh come to a disaster, Edda 17; lagði þá svá nær at allr þingheimr mundi berjask, it was on the brink of …, Nj. 163; lagði nær at hann mundi reka í svelginn, Fms. x. 145.

B. Reflex. to lay oneself, lie; leggjask niðr í runna nokkura, Nj. 132; er Skálm merr yður leggsk undir klyfjum, Landn. 77; þá leggjask í akrinn flugur þær, er …, 673 A. 3:—of going to bed, þeir höfðu lagizk til svefns, were gone to sleep, Nj. 155; Skarphéðinn lagðisk ekki niðr um kveldit, 170:—leggjask með konu, to cohabit (illicitly), Fms. i. 57, K. Á. 118, Fas. iii. 390, Grág. i. 351:—of illness, to fall sick, take to bed, tók hón sótt ok lagðisk í rekkju, Nj. 14; þá lét hann búa hvílu sína ok lagðisk í sótt, Fms. xi. 214: the phrase, leggjask e-t ekki undir höfuð, not lay it under one’s pillow, do it promptly, be mindful of a thing, ii. 120, v. 264:—leggjask á e-t, to fall upon, of robbers, beasts of prey, etc.; at spillvirkjar mundi l. á fé þeirra, i. 226, Grett. 125 new Ed.; Vindr lögðusk á valinn ok raufuðu, xi. 380: örn lagðisk ( prayed) í eyna, Bs. i. 350:—leggjask fyrir, to take rest, lie down, from exhaustion, sickness, or the like, 387; lögðusk þá fyrir bæði menn ok hestar af úviðri, Sturl. iii. 292; þá lögðusk leiðsagnar-menn fyrir, þvíat þeir vissu eigi hvar þeir vóru komnir, Fms. viii. 52; fyrir leggjask um e-t mál, to give it up, Bs. i. 194: leggjask niðr, to pass out of use, cease, Fms. x. 179, xi. 12: leggjask á, to arise, mun sá orðrómr á leggjask, at …, Nj. 32, Fms. i. 291; úþokki lagðisk á milli þeirra bræðra, xi. 14.

2. to cease; at sá úvandi leggisk sem áðr hefir verit, Fms. i. 280.

II. to swim (partly answering to A. VI); leggjask til sunds, to go into the water and swim, Ld. 46; þeir leggjask um hríð … Sigmundr leggsk þá um hríð … hann lagðisk síðar ( swam behind), Fær. 173; hann lagðisk eptir geldingi gömlum út í Hvalsey, Landn. 107; Grettir lagðisk nú inn á fjörðinn, Grett. 148; hann lagðisk yfir þvert sundit ok gékk þar á land, 116, Hkr. i. 287, Finnb. 266; þeir koma upp ok leggjask til lands, Ld. 168; for legðir read legðiz, Njarð. 378.

2. to set out; leggjask í hernað, víking, to set out on a freebooting expedition, Fms. x. 414, passim: leggjask út, to set out into the wilderness, as a highwayman, Odd. 8, Fas. i. 154, passim (útilegu-maðr = a highwayman); ek lögðumk út á merkr, Fms. ii. 103; leggjask á flótta = leggja á flótta, to take to flight, xi. 305: leggjask djúpt, to dive deep (metaph.), Nj. 102; leggjask til e-s, to seek, try eagerly for, Stj. 90, Bs. i. 198; leggjask í e-t, to occupy oneself with, Rb. 312.

3. á lögðusk logn mikil, þokur ok sælægjur, Orkn. 358; vindar lögðusk ( the wind wafted) af hrauninu um kveldum, Eb. 218, (see A. VII): the phrase, ekki lagðisk mjök á með þeim frændum, they were not on good terms, Ld. 68: ok lagðisk lítt á með þeim Snorra, Sturl. i. 124; þeir töluðu lengi ok lagðisk vel á með þeim, things went well with them, Orkn. 408; þungt hefir á lagizk með okkr Strút-Haraldi jarli um hríð, Fms. xi. 84; Steinólfi þótti þat líkt ok ekki, ok lagðisk lítt á með þeim, Gullþ. 11:—lítið leggsk fyrir e-n, to come to a shameful end; lítið lagðisk nú fyrir kappann, þvíat hann kafnaði í stofu-reyk sem hundr, Grett. 115; svá lítið sem fyrir hann lagðisk, who had been so easily slain, had made so poor a defence, Ld. 150; lítið lagðisk hór fyrir góðan dreng, er þrælar skyldu at bana verða, Landn. 36; kann vera, at nú leggisk lítið fyrir hann, ek skal ráðin til setja, Fms. iv. 166.

III. recipr., leggjask at, to attack one another, Fms. xi. 130: leggjask hendr á, to lay hands on fine another, Ld. 154; leggjask hugi á, to take a liking for each other, Bárð.: leggjask nær, to run close up to one another, of two boats, Gísl. 51.

IV. part. lagðr, as adj. fit, destined to a thing, or fitted, of natural gifts; at hann mundi bæði spá-maðr vesa ok lagðr til mikils þrifnaðar ok gæfu Gyðinga-lýð, 625. 87; vera kann at þér sé meirr lagðr ( that thou art more fitted for) fésnúðr ok ferðir en tilstilli um mála-ferli, i. e. that thou art more fitted to be a traveller than a lawyer, Band. 5; öllu því íllu sem honum var lagit, Fb. i. 215; hón var þeim til lýta lagin, she was doomed to be their destruction, Sól. 11; sem mælt er um þá menn sem mjök er sú íþrótt lagin, Fms. v. 40; þvíat þér mun lagit verða at vera (’tis weirded for thee, thou art doomed to be) einvalds konungr yfir öllum Noregi, Fb. i. 564; þér var lengra lif lagit, a longer life was doomed to thee, Fas. iii. 344; allar spár sögðu, at harm mundi verða lagðr til skaða þeim, Edda 19: laginn, expert, skilled, disposed, freq. in mod. usage, hann er laginn fyrir að læra, hann er ekki lund-laginn á það, he has no inclination for it, whence lægni = skill; thus also, lagaðr from laga (q. v.), vera lagaðr fyrir e-t, lagaðr fyrir lærdóm, given to learn, of natural gifts.

V. part. pass. lagztr; er hann var lagztr niðr, when he had laid himself down, Fas. ii. 345: freq. in mod. usage, hann er lagztr fyrir, lagztr niðr, and so on.

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.

* * *

and að, prep., often used ellipt. dropping the case and even merely as an adverb, [Lat. ad; Ulf. at = πρός and παρά, A. S. ät; Engl. at; Hel. ad = apud; O. H. G. az; lost in mod. Germ., and rare in Swed. and Dan.; in more freq. use in Engl. than any other kindred language, Icel. only excepted]:—the mod. pronunciation and spelling is að (aþ); this form is very old, and is found in Icel. vellum MSS. of the 12th century, e. g. aþ, 623. 60; yet in earlier times it was sounded with a tenuis, as we may infer from rhymes, e. g. jöfurr hyggi at | hve ek yrkja fat, Egill: Sighvat also makes it rhyme with a t. The verse by Thorodd—þar vastu at er fjáðr klæðið þvat (Skálda 162)—is hardly intelligible unless we accept the spelling with an aspirate (að), and say that þvað is = þvá = þváði, lavabat; it may be that by the time of Thorodd and Ari the pure old pronunciation was lost, or is ‘þvat’ simply the A. S. þvât, secuit? The Icelanders still, however, keep the tenuis in compounds before a vowel, or before h, v, or the liquids l, r, thus—atyrða, atorka, athöfn, athugi, athvarf, athlægi; atvinna, atvik; atlaga, atlíðanði ( slope), atriði, atreið, atróðr: but aðdjúpr, aðfinsla (critic), aðferð, aðkoma, aðsókn, aðsúgr (crowding), aðgæzla. In some words the pronunciation is irregular, e. g. atkvæði not aðkv-; atburðr, but aðbúnaðr; aðhjúkran not athjúkran; atgörvi not aðgörfi. At, to, towards; into; against; along, by; in regard to; after.

Mostly with dat.; rarely with acc.; and sometimes ellipt.—by dropping the words ‘home,’ ‘house,’ or the like—with gen.

WITH DAT.

A. LOC.

I. WITH MOTION; gener. the motion to the borders, limits of an object, and thus opp. to frá:

1. towards, against, with or without the notion of arrival, esp. connected with verbs denoting motion (verba movendi et eundi), e. g. fara, ganga, koma, lúta, snúa, rétta at…; Otkell laut at Skamkatli, O. louted (i. e. bowed down) towards S., Nj. 77, Fms. xi. 102; sendimaðrinn sneri ( turned) hjöltum sverðsins at konungi, towards the king, i. 15; hann sneri egginni at Ásgrími, turned the edge towards A., Nj. 220; rétta e-t at e-m, to reach, hand over, Ld. 132; ganga at, to step towards, Ísl. ii. 259.

2. denoting proximity, close up to, up to; Brynjólfr gengr … allt at honum, B. goes quite up to him, Nj. 58; Gunnarr kom þangat at þeim örunum, G. reached them even there with his arrows, 115; þeir kómust aldri at honum, they could never get near him, to close quarters, id.; reið maðr at þeim (up to them), 274; þeir höfðu rakit sporin allt at ( right up to) gammanum, Fms. i. 9; komu þeir at sjó fram, came down to the sea, Bárð. 180.

3. without reference to the space traversed, to or at; koma at landi, to land, Ld. 38, Fms. viii. 358; ríða at dyrum, Boll. 344; hlaupa at e-m, to run up to, run at, Fms. vii. 218, viii. 358; af sjáfarganginum er hann gekk at landinu, of the surf dashing against the shore, xi. 6; vísa ólmum hundi at manni, to set a fierce hound at a man, Grág. ii. 118; leggja e-n at velli, to lay low, Eg. 426, Nj. 117; hníga at jörðu, at grasi, at moldu, to bite the dust, to die, Njarð. 378; ganga at dómi, a law term, to go into court, of a plaintiff, defendant, or bystander, Nj. 87 (freq.)

4. denoting a motion along, into, upon; ganga at stræti, to walk along the street, Korm. 228, Fms. vii. 39; at ísi, on the ice, Skálda 198, Fms. vii. 19, 246, viii. 168, Eb. 112 new Ed. (á is perh. wrong); máttu menn ganga bar yfir at skipum einum, of ships alone used as a bridge, Fas. i. 378; at höfðum, at nám, to trample on the slain on the battle-field, Lex. Poët.; at ám, along the rivers; at merkiósum, at the river’s mouth, Grág. ii. 355; at endilöngu baki, all along its back, Sks. 100.

5. denoting hostility, to rush at, assault; renna at, hlaupa at, ganga, fara, ríða, sækja, at e-m, (v. those words), whence the nouns atrenna, athlaup, atgangr, atför, atreið, atsókn, etc.

β. metaph., kom at þeim svefnhöfgi, deep sleep fell on them, Nj. 104. Esp. of weather, in the impers. phrase, hríð, veðr, vind, storm görir at e-m, to be overtaken by a snow storm, gale, or the like; görði þá at þeim þoku mikla, they were overtaken by a thick fog, Bárð. 171.

6. denoting around, of clothing or the like; bregða skikkju at höfði sér, to wrap his cloak over his head, Ld. 62; vefja motri at höfði sér, to wrap a snood round her head, 188; sauma at, to stick, cling close, as though sewn on; sauma at höndum sér, of tight gloves, Bs. i. 453; kyrtill svá þröngr sem saumaðr væri at honum, as though it were stitched to him, Nj. 214; vafit at vándum dreglum, tight laced with sorry tags, id.; hosa strengd fast at beini, of tight hose, Eg. 602; hann sveipar at sér iðrunum ok skyrtunni, he gathers up the entrails close to him and the skirt too, Gísl. 71; laz at síðu, a lace on the side, to keep the clothes tight, Eg. 602.

β. of burying; bera grjót at einum, to heap stones upon the body, Eg. 719; var gör at þeim dys or grjóti, Ld. 152; gora kistu at líki, to make a coffin for a body, Eb. 264, Landn. 56, Ld. 142.

γ. of summoning troops or followers; stefna at sér mönnum, to summon men to him, Nj. 104; stefna at sér liði, Eg. 270; kippa mönnum at sér, to gather men in haste, Ld. 64.

7. denoting a business, engagement; ríða at hrossum, at sauðum, to go looking after after horses, watching sheep, Glúm. 362, Nj. 75; fara at fé, to go to seek for sheep, Ld. 240; fara at heyi, to go a-haymaking, Dropl. 10; at veiðum, a-hunting; at fuglum, a-fowling; at dýrum, a-sbooting; at fiski, a-fishing; at veiðiskap, Landn. 154, Orkn. 416 (in a verse), Nj. 25; fara at landskuldum, to go a-collecling rents, Eg. 516; at Finnkaupum, a-marketing with Finns, 41; at féföngum, a-plundering, Fms. vii. 78; ganga at beina, to wait on guests, Nj. 50; starfa at matseld, to serve at table, Eb. 266; hitta e-n at nauðsynjum, on matters of business; at máli, to speak with one, etc., Fms. xi. 101; rekast at e-m, to pursue one, ix. 404; ganga at liði sér, to go suing for help, Grág. ii. 384.

β. of festivals; snúa, fá at blóti, veizlu, brullaupi, to prepare for a sacrificial banquet, wedding, or the like, hence at-fangadagr, Eb. 6, Ld. 70; koma at hendi, to happen, befall; ganga at sínu, to come by one’s own, to take it, Ld. 208; Egill drakk hvert full er at honum kom, drained every horn that came to him, Eg. 210; komast at keyptu, to purchase dearly, Húv. 46.

8. denoting imaginary motion, esp. of places, cp. Lat. spectare, vergere ad…, to look or lie towards; horfði botninn at höfðanum, the bight of the bay looked toward the headland, Fms. i. 340, Landn. 35; also, skeiðgata liggr at læknum, leads to the brook, Ísl. ii. 339; á þann arminn er vissi at sjánum, on that wing which looked toward the sea, Fms. viii. 115; sár þau er horft höfðu at Knúti konungi, xi. 309.

β. even connected with verbs denoting motion; Gilsáreyrr gengr austan at Fljótinu, G. extends, projects to F. from the east, Hrafh. 25; hjá sundi því, er at gengr þingstöðinni, Fms. xi. 85.

II. WITHOUT MOTION; denoting presence at, near, by, at the side of, in, upon; connected with verbs like sitja, standa, vera…; at kirkju, at church, Fms. vii. 251, K. f). K. 16, Ld. 328, Ísl. ii. 270, Sks. 36; vera at skála, at húsi, to be in, at home, Landn. 154; at landi, Fms. i. 82; at skipi, on shipboard, Grág. i. 209, 215; at oldri, at a banquet, inter pocula; at áti, at dinner, at a feast, inter edendum, ii. 169, 170; at samförum ok samvistum, at public meetings, id.; at dómi, in a court; standa (to take one’s stand) norðan, sunnan, austan, vestan at dómi, freq. in the proceedings at trials in lawsuits, Nj.; at þingi, present at the parliament, Grág. i. 142; at lögbergi, o n the hill of laws, 17, Nj.; at baki e-m, at the back of.

2. denoting presence, partaking in; sitja at mat, to sit at meat, Fms. i. 241; vera at veizlu, brullaupi, to be at a banquet, nuptials, Nj. 51, Ld. 70: a law term, vera at vígi, to be an accessory in manslaying, Nj. 89, 100; vera at e-u simply means to be about, be busy in, Fms. iv. 237; standa at máli, to stand by one in a case, Grág. ii. 165, Nj. 214; vera at fóstri, to be fostered, Fms. i. 2; sitja at hégóma, to listen to nonsense, Ld. 322; vera at smíð, to be at one’s work, Þórð. 62: now absol., vera at, to go on with, be busy at.

3. the law term vinna eið at e-u has a double meaning:

α. vinna eið at bók, at baugi, to make an oath upon the book by laying the band upon it, Landn. 258, Grág., Nj.; cp. Vkv. 31, Gkv. 3. 3, Hkv. 2. 29, etc.: ‘við’ is now used in this sense.

β. to confirm a fact (or the like) by an oath, to swear to, Grág. i. 9, 327.

γ. the law phrase, nefna vátta at e-u, of summoning witnesses to a deed, fact, or the like; nefna vátta at benjum, to produce evidence, witnesses as to the wounds, Nj., Grág.; at görð, Eg. 738; at svörum, Grág. i. 19: this summoning of witnesses served in old lawsuits the same purpose as modern pleadings and depositions; every step in a suit to be lawful must be followed by such a summoning or declaration.

4. used ellipt., vera at, to be about, to be busy at; kvalararnir er at vóru at pína hann, who were tormenting him; þar varstu at, you were there present, Skálda 162; at várum þar, Gísl. (in a verse): as a law term ‘vera at’ means to be guilty, Glúm. 388; vartattu at þar, Eg. (in a verse); hence the ambiguity of Glum’s oath, vask at þar, I was there present: var þar at kona nokkur ( was there busy) at binda sár manna, Fms. v. 91; hann var at ok smíðaði skot, Rd. 313; voru Varbelgir at ( about) at taka af, þau lög …, Fms. ix. 512; ek var at ok vafk, I was about weaving, xi. 49; þeir höfðu verit at þrjú sumur, they had been busy at it for three summers, x. 186 (now very freq.); koma at, come in, to arrive unexpectedly; Gunnarr kom at í því, G. came in at that moment; hvaðan komtú nú at, whence did you come? Nj. 68, Fms. iii. 200.

5. denoting the kingdom or residence of a king or princely person; konungr at Danmörk ok Noregi, king of…, Fms. i. 119, xi. 281; konungr, jarl, at öllum Noregi, king, earl, over all N., íb. 3, 13, Landn. 25; konungr at Dyflinni, king of Dublin, 25; but í or yfir England!, Eg. 263: cp. the phrase, sitja at landi, to reside, of a king when at home, Hkr. i. 34; at Joini, Fms. xi. 74: used of a bishop; biskup at Hólum, bishop of Hólar, Íb. 18, 19; but biskup í Skálaholti, 19: at Rómi, at Rome, Fbr. 198.

6. in denoting a man’s abode (vide p. 5, col. 1, l. 27), the prep. ‘at’ is used where the local name implies the notion of by the side of, and is therefore esp. applied to words denoting a river, brook, rock, mountain, grove, or the like, and in some other instances, by, at, e. g. at Hofi (a temple), Landn. 198; at Borg ( a castle), 57; at Helgafelli (a mountain), Eb. constantly so; at Mosfelli, Landn. 190; at Hálsi (a hill), Fms. xi. 22; at Bjargi, Grett. 90; Hálsum, Landn. 143; at Á ( river), 296, 268; at Bægisá, 212; Giljá, 332; Myrká, 211; Vatnsá, id.; þverá, Glúm. 323; at Fossi (a ‘force’ or waterfall), Landn. 73; at Lækjamoti (waters-meeting), 332; at Hlíðarenda ( end of the lithe or hill), at Bergþórshváli, Nj.; at Lundi (a grove), at Melum (sandhill), Landn. 70: the prep. ‘á’ is now used in most of these cases, e. g. á Á, á Hofi, Helgafelli, Felli, Hálsi, etc.

β. particularly, and without any regard to etymology, used of the abode of kings or princes, to reside at; at Uppsölum, at Haugi, Alreksstöðum, at Hlöðum, Landn., Fms.

γ. konungr lét kalla at stofudyrum, the king made a call at the hall door, Eg. 88; þeir kölluðu at herberginu, they called at the inn, Fms. ix. 475.

7. used ellipt. with a gen., esp. if connected with such words as gista, to be a guest, lodge, dine, sup (of festivals or the like) at one’s home; at Marðar, Nj. 4; at hans, 74; þingfesti at þess bóanda, Grág. i. 152; at sín, at one’s own home, Eg. 371, K. Þ. K. 62; hafa náttstað at Freyju, at the abode of goddess Freyja, Eg. 603; at Ránar, at Ran’s, i. e. at Ran’s house, of drowned men who belong to the queen of the sea, Ran, Eb. 274; at hins heilaga Ólafs konungs, at St. Olave’s church, Fms. vi. 63: cp. ad Veneris, εις Κίμωνος.

B. TEMP.

I. at, denoting a point or period of time; at upphafi, at first, in the beginning, Ld. 104; at lyktum, at síðustu, at lokum, at last; at lesti, at last, Lex. Poët., more freq. á lesti; at skilnaði, at parting, at last, Band. 3; at fornu, in times of yore, formerly, Eg. 267, D. I. i. 635; at sinni, as yet, at present; at nýju, anew, of present time; at eilífu, for ever and ever; at skömmu, soon, shortly, Ísl. ii. 272, v. l.

II. of the very moment when anything happens, the beginning of a term; denoting the seasons of the year, months, weeks, the hours of the day; at Jólum, at Yule, Nj. 46; at Pálmadegi, on Palm Sunday, 273; at Páskum, at Easter; at Ólafsvöku, on St. Olave’s eve, 29th of July, Fms.; at vetri, at the beginning of the winter, on the day when winter sets in, Grág. 1. 151; at sumarmálum, at vetrnáttum; at Tvímánaði, when the Double month (August) begins, Ld. 256, Grág. i. 152; at kveldi, at eventide, Eg. 3; at því meli, at that time; at eindaga, at the term, 395; at eykð, at 4 o’clock p. m., 198; at öndverðri æfi Abra hams, Ver. II; at sinni, now at once, Fms. vi. 71; at öðruhverju, every now and then.

β. where the point of time is marked by some event; at þingi, at the meeting of parliament (18th to the 24th of June), Ld. 182; at féránsdómi, at the court of execution, Grág. i. 132, 133; at þinglausnum, at the close of the parliament (beginning of July), 140; at festarmálum, eðr at eiginorði, at betrothal or nuptials, 174; at skilnaði, when they parted, Nj. 106 (above); at öllum minnum, at the general drinking of the toasts, Eg. 253; at fjöru, at the ebb; at flæðum, at flood tide, Fms. viii. 306, Orkn. 428; at hrörum, at an inquest, Grág. i. 50 (cp. ii. 141, 389); at sökum, at prosecutions, 30; at sinni, now, as yet, v. that word.

III. ellipt., or adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr,’ of the future time:

1. ellipt., komanda or the like being understood, with reference to the seasons of the year; at sumri, at vetri, at hausti, at vári, next summer, winter…, Ísl. ii. 242; at miðju sumri, at ári, at Midsummer, next year, Fas. i. 516; at miðjum vetri, Fms. iv. 237,

2. adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr;’ at ári komanda, Bárð. 177; at vári er kemr, Dipl. iii. 6.

IV. used with an absolute dat. and with a pres. part.:

1. with pres. part.; at morni komanda, on the coming morrow, Fms. i. 263; at sér lifanda, in vivo, in his life time, Grág. ii. 202; at þeim sofundum, illis dormientibus, Hkr. i. 234; at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all, Fms. x. 329; at úvitanda konungi, illo nesciente, without his knowledge, 227; at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the chief’s bearing, 235.

2. of past time with a past part. (Lat. abl. absol.); at hræjum fundnum, on the bodies being found, Grág. ii. 87; at háðum dómum ok föstu þingi, during the session, the courts being set, i. 484; at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks past, Band. 13; at svá búnu, so goru, svá komnu, svá mæltu (Lat. quibus rebus gestis, dictis, quo facto, dicto, etc.), v. those words; at úreyndu, without trial, without put ting one to the test, Ld. 76; at honum önduðum, illo mortuo.

3. ellipt. without ‘at;’ en þessum hlutum fram komnum, when all this has been done, Eb. 132.

V. in some phrases with a slight temp, notion; at görðum gildum, the fences being strong, Gþl. 387; at vörmu spori, at once, whilst the trail is warm; at úvörum, unawares, suddenly, Nj. 95, Ld. 132; at þessu, at this cost, on that condition, Eb. 38, Nj. 55; at illum leiki, to have a narrow escape, now við illan leik, Fms. ix. 473; at því, that granted, Grág. ii. 33: at því, at pessu, thereafter, thereupon, Nj. 76.

2. denoting succession, without interruption, one after another; hverr at öðrum, annarr maðr at öðrum, aðrir at öðrum; eina konu at annarri, Eg. 91, Fms. ii. 236, vi. 25, Bs. i. 22, 625. 80, H. E. i. 522.

C. METAPH. and in various cases:

I. denoting a transformation or change into, to, with the notion of destruction; brenna at ösku, at köldum kolum, to burn to ashes, to be quite destroyed, Fms. i. 105, Edda 3, Sturl. ii. 51: with the notion of transformation or transfiguration, in such phrases as, verða at e-u, göra e-t at e-u, to turn it into:

α. by a spell; verða at ormi, to become a snake, Fms. xi. 158; at flugdrekum, Gullþ. 7; urðu þau bönd at járni, Edda 40.

β. by a natural process it can often be translated by an acc. or by as; göra e-n at urðarmanni, to make him an outlaw, Eg. 728; græða e-n at orkumlamanni, to heal him so as to maim him for life, of bad treatment by a leech, Eb. 244: in the law terms, sár görist at ben, a wound turning into a ben, proving to be mortal, Grág., Nj.; verða at ljúgvætti, to prove to be a false evidence, Grág. i. 44; verða at sætt, to turn into reconciliation, Fms. i. 13; göra e-t at reiði málum, to take offence at, Fs. 20; at nýjum tíðindum, to tell as news, Nj. 14; verða fátt at orðum, to be sparing of words, 18; kveðr (svá) at orði, to speak, utter, 10; verða at þrifnaði, to geton well, Fms. vii. 196: at liði, at skaða, to be a help or hurt to one; at bana, to cause one’s death, Nj. 223, Eg. 21, Grág. ii. 29: at undrum, at hlátri, to become a wonder, a laughing-stock, 623. 35, Eg. 553.

II. denoting capacity, where it may be translated merely by as or for; gefa at Jólagjöf, to give for a Christmas-box, Eg. 516; at gjöf, for a present; at erfð, at láni, launum, as an inheritance, a loan; at kaupum ok sökum, for buying and selling, Ísl. ii. 223, Grág. i. 423; at solum, ii. 204; at herfangi, as spoil or plunder; at sakbótum, at niðgjöldum, as a compensation, weregeld, i. 339, ii. 171, Hkr. ii. 168; taka at gíslingu, to take as an hostage, Edda 15; eiga e-n at vin, at óvin, to have one as friend or foe, illt er at eiga þræl at eingavin, ‘tis ill to have a thrall for one’s bosom friend (a proverb), Nj. 77; fæða, eiga, at sonum (syni), to beget a son, Edda 8, Bs. i. 60 (but eiga at dóttur cannot be said); hafa möttul at yfirhöfn, Fms. vii. 201; verða nökkut at manni (mönnum), to turn out to be a worthy man; verða ekki at manni, to turn out a worthless person, xi. 79, 268.

2. in such phrases as, verða at orðum, to come towards, Nj. 26; var þat at erindum, Eg. 148; hafa at veizlum, to draw veizlur ( dues) from, Fms. iv. 275, Eg. 647; gora e-t at álitum, to take it into consideration, Nj. 3.

III. denoting belonging to, fitting, of parts of the whole or the like; vóru at honum (viz. the sword) hjölt gullbúin, the sword was ornamented with a hilt of gold, Ld. 330; umgörð at ( belonging to) sverði, Fs. 97 (Hs.) in a verse; en ef mór er eigi at landinu, if there be no turf moor belonging to the land, Grág. ii. 338; svá at eigi brotnaði nokkuð at Orminum, so that no harm happened to the ship Worm, Fms. x. 356; hvatki er meiðir at skipinu eðr at reiðinu eðr at viðum, damage done t o …, Grág. ii. 403; lesta ( to injure) hús at lásum, við eðr torfi, 110; ef land hefir batnað at húsum, if the land has been bettered as to its buildings, 210; cp. the phrase, göra at e-u, to repair: hamlaðr at höndum eðr fótum, maimed as to hands or feet, Eg. 14; heill at höndum en hrumr at fótum, sound in band, palsied in foot, Fms. vii. 12; lykill at skrá, a key belonging, fitting, to the latch; hurð at húsi; a key ‘gengr at’ ( fits) skrá; and many other phrases. 2. denoting the part by which a thing is held or to which it belongs, by; fá, taka at…, to grasp by …; þú tókt við sverði hans at hjöltunum, you took it by the bill, Fms. i. 15; draga út björninn at hlustum, to pull out the bear by the ears, Fas. ii. 237; at fótum, by the feet, Fms. viii. 363; mæla ( to measure) at hrygg ok at jaðri, by the edge or middle of the stuff, Grág. i. 498; kasta e-m at höfði, head foremost, Nj. 84; kjósa e-n at fótum, by the feet alone, Edda 46; hefja frændsemi at bræðrum, eða at systkynum, to reckon kinship by the brother’s or the sister’s side, Grág. i. 28; kjósa at afli, at álitum, by strength, sight, Gs. 8, belongs rather to the following.

IV. in respect of, as regards, in regard to, as to; auðigr at fé, wealthy of goods, Nj. 16, 30, 51; beztir hestar at reið, the best racehorses, 186; spekingr at viti, a man of great intellect, Ld. 124; vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face, Nj. 30, Bs. i. 61; kvenna vænst at ásjónu ok vits munum, of surpassing beauty and intellect, Ld. 122; fullkominn at hyggju, 18; um fram aðra menn at vinsældum ok harðfengi, of surpassing popularity and hardihood, Eb. 30.

2. a law term, of challenging jurors, judges, or the like, on account of, by reason of; ryðja ( to challenge) at mægðum, guðsifjum, frændsemi, hrörum …; at leiðarlengd, on account of distance, Grág. i. 30, 50, Nj. (freq.)

3. in arithm. denoting proportion; at helmingi, þriðjungi, fjórðungi, tíunda hluta, cp. Lat. ex asse, quadrante, for the half, third… part; máttr skal at magni (a proverb), might and main go together, Hkr. ii. 236; þú munt vera at því mikill fræðimaðr á kvæði, in the same proportion, as great, Fms. vi. 391, iii. 41; at e-s hluta, at… leiti, for one’s part, in turn, as far as one is con cerned, Grág. i. 322, Eg. 309, Fms. iii. 26 (freq.): at öðrum kosti, in the other case, otherwise (freq.) More gener., at öllu, öngu, in all (no) respects; at sumu, einhverju, nokkru, partly; at flestu, mestu, chiefly.

4. as a paraphrase of a genitive; faðir, móðir at barni (= barns); aðili at sök (= sakar a.); morðingi at barni (= barns), faðerni at barni (barns); illvirki at fé manna (cp. Lat. felo de se), niðrfall at sökum (saka), land gangr at fiskum (fiska), Fms. iv. 274, Grág. i. 277, 416, N. G. L. i. 340, K. Þ. K. 112, Nj. 21.

5. the phrase ‘at sér,’ of himself or in himself, either ellipt. or by adding the participle görr, and with the adverbs vel, ilia, or the like; denoting breeding, bearing, endowments, character …; væn kona, kurteis ok vel at sér, an accomplished, well-bred, gifted lady, Nj. I; vitr maðr ok vel at sér, a wise man and thoroughly good in feeling and bearing, 5; þú ert maðr vaskr ok vel at þér, 49; gerr at sér, accomplished, 51; bezt at sér görr, the finest, best bred man, 39, Ld. 124; en þó er hann svá vel at sér, so generous, Nj. 77; þeir höfðingjar er svá vóru vel at sér, so noble-minded, 198, Fms. i. 160: the phrase ‘at sér’ is now only used of knowledge, thus maðr vel að sér means clever, a man of great knowledge; illa að sér, a blockhead.

6. denoting relations to colour, size, value, age, and the like; hvitr, svartr, grár, rauðr … at lit, white, swarthy, gray, red … of colour, Bjarn. 55, 28, Ísl. ii. 213, etc.; mikill, lítill, at stærð, vexti, tall, small of size, etc.; ungr, gamall, barn, at aldri, young, old, a child of age; tvítugr, þrítugr … at aldri, twenty, thirty … years of age (freq.): of animals; kyr at fyrsta, öðrum … kálfi, a cow having calved once, twice…, Jb. 346: value, amount, currency of money, kaupa e-t at mörk, at a mark, N. G. L. 1. 352; ok er eyririnn at mörk, amounts to a mark, of the value of money, Grág. i. 392; verðr þá at hálfri murk vaðmála eyrir, amounts to a half a mark, 500.

β. metaph. of value, connected with verbs denoting to esteem, hold; meta, hafa, halda at miklu, litlu, vettugi, engu, or the like, to hold in high or low esteem, to care or not to care for (freq.): geta e-s at góðu, illu, öngu, to mention one favourably, unfavourably, indifferently … (freq.), prop. in connection with. In many cases it may be translated by in; ekki er mark at draumum, there is no meaning in dreams, no heed is to be paid to dreams, Sturl. ii. 217; bragð er at þá barnið finnr, it goes too far, when even a child takes offence (a proverb): hvat er at því, what does it mean? Nj. 11; hvert þat skip er vöxtr er at, any ship of mark, i. e. however small, Fms. xi. 20.

V. denoting the source of a thing:

1. source of infor mation, to learn, perceive, get information from; Ari nam ok marga fræði at Þuríði, learnt as her pupil, at her hands, as St. Paul at the feet of Gamaliel, (just as the Scotch say to speer or ask at a person); Ari nam at Þorgeiri afraðskoll, Hkr. (pref.); nema kunnáttu at e-m, used of a pupil, Fms. i. 8; nema fræði at e-m, xi. 396.

2. of receiving, acquiring, buying, from; þiggja e-t at e-m, to receive a thing at his hands, Nj. 51; líf, to be pardoned, Fms. x. 173; kaupa land at e-m, to buy it from, Landn. 72, Íb. II, (now af is more freq. in this sense); geta e-t at e-m, to obtain, procure at one’s hands, impetrare; þeirra manna er þeir megu þat geta at, who are willing to do that, Grág. i. I; heimta e-t at e-m (now af), to call in, demand (a debt, money), 279; fala e-t at e-m (now af), to chaffer for or cheapen anything, Nj. 73; sækja e-t at e-m, to ask, seek for; sækja heilræði ok traust at e-m, 98; leiga e-t at e-m (now af), to borrow, Grág. ii. 334; eiga e-t (fé, skuld) at e-m, to be owed money by any one, i. 399: metaph. to deserve of one, Nj. 113; eiga mikit at e-m, to have much to do with, 138; hafa veg, virðing, styrk, at, to derive honour, power from, Fms. vi. 71, Eg. 44, Bárð. 174; gagn, to be of use, Ld. 216; mein, tálma, mischief, disadvantage, 158, 216, cp. Eg. 546; ótta, awe, Nj. 68.

VI. denoting conformity, according to, Lat. secundum, ex, after; at fornum sið, Fms. i. 112; at sögn Ara prests, as Ari relates, on his authority, 55; at ráði allra vitrustu manna, at the advice of, Ísl. ii. 259, Ld. 62; at lögum, at landslögum, by the law of the land, Grág., Nj.; at líkindum, in all likelihood, Ld. 272; at sköpum, in due course (poet.); at hinum sama hætti, in the very same manner, Grág. i. 90; at vánum, as was to be expected, Nj. 255; at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave, Eg. 35; úlofi, Grág. ii. 215; at ósk, vilja e-s, as one likes…; at mun, id. (poet.); at sólu, happily (following the course of the sun), Bs. i. 70, 137; at því sem …, as to infer from …, Nj. 124: ‘fara, láta, ganga at’ denotes to yield, agree to, to comply with, give in, Ld. 168, Eg. 18, Fms. x. 368.

VII. in phrases nearly or quite adverbial; gróa, vera græddr, at heilu, to be quite healed, Bárð. 167, Eb. 148; bíta at snöggu, to bite it bare, Fms. xi. 6; at þurru, till it becomes dry, Eb. 276; at endilöngu, all along, Fas. ii; vinnast at litlu, to avail little, 655 x. 14; at fullu, fully, Nj. 257, Hkr. i. 171; at vísu, of a surety, surely, Ld. 40; at frjálsu, freely, 308; at líku, at sömu, equally, all the same, Hom. 80, Nj. 267; at röngu, wrongly, 686 B. 2; at hófi, temperately, Lex. Poët.; at mun, at ráði, at marki, to a great extent; at hringum, utterly, all round, (rare), Fms. x. 389; at einu, yet, Orkn. 358; svá at einu, því at einu, allt at einu, yet, however, nevertheless.

VIII. connected with comparatives of adverbs and adjectives, and strengthening the sense, as in Engl. ‘the,’ so much the more, all the more; ‘at’ heldr tveimr, at ek munda gjarna veita yðr öllum, where it may be translated by so much the more to two, as I would willingly grant it to all of you; hon grét at meir, she grat (wept) the more, Eg. 483; þykir oss at líkara, all the more likely, Fms. viii. 6; þess at harðari, all the harder, Sturl. iii. 202 C; svá at hinn sé bana at nær, Grág. ii. 117; at auðnara, at hólpnara, the more happy, Al. 19, Grett. 116 B; þess at meiri, Fms. v. 64; auvirðismaðr at meiri, Sturl. ii. 139; maðr at vaskari, id.; at feigri, any the more fey, Km. 22; maðr at verri, all the worse, Nj. 168; ok er ‘at’ firr…, at ek vil miklu heldr, cp. Lat. tantum abest… ut, Eg. 60.

β. following after a negation; eigi at síðr, no less, Nj. 160, Ld. 146; eigi… at meiri maðr, any better, Eg. 425, 489; erat héra at borgnara, any the better off for that, Fms. vii. 116; eigi at minni, no less for that, Edda (pref.) 146; eigi at minna, Ld. 216, Fms. ix. 50; ekki at verri drengr, not a bit worse for that, Ld. 42; er mér ekki son minn at bættari, þótt…, 216; at eigi vissi at nær, any more, Fas. iii. 74.

IX. following many words:

1. verbs, esp. those denoting, a. to ask, enquire, attend, seek, e. g. spyrja at, to speer (ask) for; leita at, to seek for; gæta, geyma at, to pay attention to; huga, hyggja at; hence atspurn, to enquire, aðgæzla, athugi, attention, etc.

β. verbs denoting laughter, play, joy, game, cp. the Engl. to play at …, to laugh at …; hlæja, brosa at e-u, to laugh, smile at it; leika (sér) at e-u, to play at; þykja gaman at, to enjoy; hæða, göra gys at …, to make sport at …

γ. verbs denoting assistance, help; standa, veita, vinna, hjálpa at; hence atstoð, atvinna, atverk:—mode, proceeding; fara at, to proceed, hence atför and atferli:—compliance; láta, fara at e-u, v. above:— fault; e-t er at e-u, there is some fault in it, Fms. x. 418; skorta at e-u, to fall short of, xi. 98:—care, attendance; hjúkra at, hlýja at, v. these words:—gathering, collecting; draga, reiða, flytja, fá at, congerere:—engagement, arrival, etc.; sækja at, to attack; ganga at, vera at, to be about; koma at, ellipt. to arrive: göra at, to repair: lesta at, to impair (v. above); finna at, to criticise (mod.); telja at, id.: bera at, to happen; kveða at e-m, to address one, 625. 15, (kveða at (ellipt.) now means to pronounce, and of a child to utter (read) whole syllables); falla at, of the flood-tide (ellipt.): metaph. of pains or straits surrounding one; þreyngja, herða at, to press hard: of frost and cold, with regard to the seasons; frjósa at, kólna at, to get really cold (SI. 44), as it were from the cold stiffening all things: also of the seasons themselves; hausta, vetra að, when the season really sets in; esp. the cold seasons, ‘sumra at’ cannot be used, yet we may say ‘vára að’ when the spring sets in, and the air gets mild.

δ. in numberless other cases which may partly be seen below.

2. connected ellipt. with adverbs denoting motion from a place; norðan, austan, sunnan, vestan at, those from the north, east…; utan at, innan at, from the outside or inside.

3. with adjectives (but rarely), e. g. kærr, elskr, virkr (affectionate), vandr (zealous), at e-m; v. these words.

WITH ACC.

TEMP.: Lat. post, after, upon, esp. freq. in poetry, but rare in prose writers, who use eptir; nema reisi niðr at nið (= maðr eptir mann), in succession, of erecting a monument, Hm. 71; in prose, at þat. posthac, deinde, Fms. x. 323, cp. Rm., where it occurs several times, 2, 6, 9, 14, 18, 24, 28, 30, 35; sonr á at taka arf at föður sinn, has to take the inheritance after his father, Grág. i. 170 new Ed.; eiga féránsdóm at e-n, Grág. i. 89; at Gamla fallinn, after the death of G., Fms. x. 382; in Edda (Gl.) 113 ought to be restored, grét ok at Oð, gulli Freyja, she grat (wept) tears of gold for her lost husband Od. It is doubtful if it is ever used in a purely loc. sense; at land, Grág. (Sb.)ii. 211, is probably corrupt; at hönd = á hönd, Grág. (Sb.) i. 135; at mót = at móti, v. this word.

☞ In compounds (v. below) at- or að- answers in turn to Lat. ad- or in- or con-; atdráttr e. g. denotes collecting; atkoma is adventus: it may also answer to Lat. ob-, in atburðr = accidence, but might also be compared with Lat. occurrere.

and að, the mark of the infinitive [cp. Goth. du; A. S. and Engl. to; Germ. zu]. Except in the case of a few verbs ‘at’ is always placed immediately before the infinitive, so as to be almost an inseparable part of the verb.

I. it is used either,

1. as, a simple mark of the infinitive, only denoting an action and independent of the subject, e. g. at ganga, at hlaupa, at vita, to go, to run, to know; or,

2. in an objective sense when following such verbs as bjóða segja…, to invite, command …; hann bauð þeim at ganga, at sitja, be bade, ordered them to go, sit, or the like; or as gefa and fá; gefa e-m at drekka, at eta, to give one to drink or to eat, etc. etc.

β. with the additional notion of intention, esp. when following verba cogitandi; hann ætlaði, hafði í hyggju at fara, he had it in his mind to go (where ‘to go’ is the real object to ætlaði and hafði í hyggju).

3. answering to the Gr. ινα, denoting intention, design, in order to; hann gékk í borg at kaupa silfr, in order to buy, Nj. 280; hann sendi riddara sína með þeim at varðveita þær, 623. 45: in order to make the phrase more plain, ‘svá’ and ‘til’ are frequently added, esp. in mod. writers, ‘svá at’ and contr. ‘svát’ (the last however is rare), ‘til at’ and ‘til þess at,’ etc.

II. in the earlier times the infin., as in Greek and Lat., had no such mark; and some verbs remain that cannot be followed by ‘at;’ these verbs are almost the same in Icel. as in Engl.:

α. the auxiliary verbs vil, mun ( μέλλω), skal; as in Engl. to is never used after the auxiliaries shall, will, must; ek vil ganga, I will go; ek mun fara, (as in North. E.) I mun go; ek skal göra þat, I shall do that, etc.

β. the verbs kunna, mega, as in Engl. I can or may do, I dare say; svá hygginn at hann kunni fyrir sökum ráða, Grág. ii. 75; í öllu er prýða má góðan höfðingja, Nj. 90; vera má, it may be; vera kann þat, id.: kunnu, however, takes ‘at’ whenever it means to know, and esp. in common language in phrases such as, það kann að vera, but vera kann þat, v. above.

γ. lata, biðja, as in Engl. to let, to bid; hann lét (bað) þá fara, he let (bade) them go.

δ. þykkja, þykjast, to seem; hann þykir vera, he is thought to be: reflex., hann þykist vera, sibi videtur: impers., mér þykir vera, mibi videtur, in all cases without ‘at.’ So also freq. the verbs hugsa, hyggja, ætla, halda, to think, when denoting merely the act of thinking; but if there be any notion of intention or purpose, they assume the ‘at;’ thus hann ætlaði, hugði, þá vera góða menn, he thought them to be, acc. c. inf.; but ætlaði at fara, meant to go, etc.

ε. the verbs denoting to see, bear; sjá, líta, horfa á … ( videre); heyra, audire, as in Engl. I saw them come, I heard him tell, ek sá þá koma, ek heyrði hann tala.

ζ. sometimes after the verbs eiga and ganga; hann gékk steikja, be went to roast, Vkv. 9; eiga, esp. when a mere periphrasis instead of skal, móður sína á maðr fyrst fram færa (better at færa), Grág. i. 232; á þann kvið einskis meta, 59; but at meta, id. l. 24; ráða, nema, göra …, freq. in poetry, when they are used as simple auxiliary verbs, e. g. nam hann sér Högna hvetja at rúnum, Skv. 3. 43.

η. hljóta and verða, when used in the sense of must (as in Engl. he must go), and when placed after the infin.of another verb; hér muntu vera hljóta, Nj. 129; but hljóta at vera: fara hlýtr þú, Fms. 1. 159; but þú hlýtr at fara: verða vita, ii. 146; but verða at vita: hann man verða sækja, þó verðr (= skal) maðr eptir mann lifa, Fms. viii. 19, Fas. ii. 552, are exceptional cases.

θ. in poetry, verbs with the verbal neg. suffix ‘-at,’ freq. for the case of euphony, take no mark of the infinitive, where it would be indispensable with the simple verb, vide Lex. Poët. Exceptional cases; hvárt sem hann vill ‘at’ verja þá sök, eða, whatever he chooses, either, Grág. i. 64; fyrr viljum vér enga kórónu at bera, en nokkut ófrelsi á oss at taka, we would rather bear no crown than …, Fms. x. 12; the context is peculiar, and the ‘at’ purposely added. It may be left out ellipt.; e. g. þá er guð gefr oss finnast (= at finnast), Dipl. ii. 14; gef honum drekka (= at drekka), Pr. 470; but mostly in unclassical writers, in deeds, or the like, written nastily and in an abrupt style.

and að, conj. [Goth. þatei = οτι; A. S. þät; Engl. that; Germ, dass; the Ormul. and Scot. at, see the quotations sub voce in Jamieson; in all South-Teutonic idioms with an initial dental: the Scandinavian idioms form an exception, having all dropped this consonant; Swed. åt, Dan. at]. In Icel. the Bible translation (of the 16th century) was chiefly based upon that of Luther; the hymns and the great bulk of theol. translations of that time were also derived from Germany; therefore the germanised form það frequently appears in the Bible, and was often employed by theol. authors in sermons since the time of the Reformation. Jón Vidalin, the greatest modern Icel. preacher, who died in 1720, in spite of his thoroughly classical style, abounds in the use of this form; but it never took root in the language, and has never passed into the spoken dialect. After a relative or demonstr. pronoun, it freq. in mod. writers assumes the form eð, hver eð, hverir eð, hvað eð, þar eð. Before the prep. þú (tu), þ changes into t, and is spelt in a single word attú, which is freq. in some MS.;—now, however, pronounced aððú, aððeir, aððið …, = að þú…, with the soft Engl. th sound. It gener. answers to Lat. ut, or to the relat. pron. qui.

I. that, relative to svá, to denote proportion, degree, so…, that, Lat. tam, tantus, tot…, ut; svá mikill lagamaðr, at…, so great a lawyer, that…, Nj. 1; hárið svá mikit, at þat…, 2; svá kom um síðir því máli, at Sigvaldi, it came so far, that…, Fms. xi. 95, Edda 33. Rarely and unclass., ellipt. without svá; Bæringr var til seinn eptir honum, at hann … (= svá at), Bær. 15; hlífði honum, at hann sakaði ekki, Fas. iii. 441.

II. it is used,

1. with indic, in a narrative sense, answering partly to Gr. οτι, Lat. quod, ut, in such phrases as, it came to pass, happened that …; þat var einhverju sinni, at Höskuldr hafði vinaboð, Nj. 2; þat var á palmdrottinsdag, at Ólafr konungr gékk út um stræti, Fms. ii. 244.

2. with subj. answering to Lat. acc. with infin., to mark the relation of an object to the chief verb, e. g. vilda ek at þú réðist, I wished that you would, Nj. 57.

β. or in an oblique sentence, answering to ita ut…; ef svá kann verða at þeir láti…, if it may be so that they might…, Fms. xi. 94.

γ. with a subj. denoting design, answering to ϊνα or Lat. ut with subj., in order that; at öll veraldar bygðin viti, ut sciat totus orbis, Stj.; þeir skáru fyrir þá melinn, at þeir dæi eigi af sulti, ut ne fame perirent, Nj. 265; fyrsti hlutr bókarinnar er Kristindómsbálkr, at menn skili, in order that men may understand, Gþl. p. viii.

III. used in connection with conjunctions,

1. esp. þó, því, svá; þó at freq. contr. þótt; svát is rare and obsolete.

α. þóat, þótt (North. E. ‘thof’), followed by a subjunctive, though, although, Lat. etsi, quamquam (very freq.); þóat nokkurum mönnum sýnist þetta með freku sett… þá viljum vér, Fms. vi. 21: phrases as, gef þú mér þó at úverðugri, etsi indignae (dat.), Stj. MS. col. 315, are unclass., and influenced by the Latin: sometimes ellipt. without ‘þó,’ eigi mundi hón þá meir hvata göngu sinni, at (= þóat) hon hraeddist bana sinn, Edda 7, Nj. 64: ‘þó’ and ‘at’ separated, svarar hann þó rétt, at hann svari svá, Grág. i. 23; þó er rétt at nýta, at hann sé fyrr skorinn, answering to Engl. yet—though, Lat. attamen —etsi, K. Þ. K.

β. því at, because, Lat. nam, quia, with indic.; því at allir vóru gerfiligir synir hans, Ld. 68; því at af íþróttum verðr maðr fróðr, Sks. 16: separated, því þegi ek, at ek undrumst, Fms. iii. 201; því er þessa getið, at þat þótti, it i s mentioned because …, Ld. 68.

γ. svá at, so that, Lat. ut, ita ut; grátrinn kom upp, svá at eingi mátti öðrum segja, Edda 37: separated, so … that, svá úsvúst at …, so bad weather, that, Bs. i. 339, etc.

2. it is freq. used superfluously, esp. after relatives; hver at = hverr, quis; því at = því, igitur; hverr at þekkr ok þægiligr mun verða, Fms. v. 159; hvern stvrk at hann mundi fá, 44; ek undrumst hvé mikil ógnarraust at liggr í þér, iii. 201; því at ek mátti eigi þar vera elligar, því at þar var kristni vel haldin, Fas. i. 340.

IV. as a relat. conj.:

1. temp, when, Lat. quum; jafnan er ( est) mér þá verra er ( quum) ek fer á braut þaðan, en þá at ( quum) ek kem, Grett. 150 A; þar til at vér vitum, till we know, Fms. v. 52; þá at ek lýsta (= þá er), when, Nj. 233.

2. since, because; ek færi yðr (hann), at þér eruð í einum hrepp allir, because of your being all of the same Rape, Grág. i. 260; eigi er kynlegt at ( though) Skarphéðinn sé hraustr, at þat er mælt at…, because (since) it is a saying that…, Nj. 64.

V. in mod. writers it is also freq. superfluously joined to the conjunctions, ef að = ef, si, (Lv. 45 is from a paper MS.), meðan að = meðan, dum; nema að, nisi; fyrst að = fyrst, quoniam; eptir að, síðan að, postquam; hvárt að = hvárt, Lat. an. In the law we find passages such as, þá er um er dæmt eina sök, at þá eigu þeir aptr at ganga í dóminn, Grág. i. 79; ef þing ber á hina helgu viku, at þat á eigi fyrir þeim málum at standa, 106; þat er ok, at þeir skulu reifa mál manna, 64; at þeir skulu með váttorð þá sök sækja, 65: in all these cases ‘at’ is either superfluous or, which is more likely, of an ellipt. nature, ‘the law decrees’ or ‘it is decreed’ being understood. The passages Sks. 551, 552, 568, 718 B, at lokit (= at ek hefi lokit), at hugleitt (= at ek hefi h.), at sent (= at ek hefi sent) are quite exceptional.

and að, an indecl. relat. pronoun [Ulf. þatei = ος, ος αν, οστις, οσπερ, οιος, etc.; Engl. that, Ormul. at], with the initial letter dropped, as in the conj. at, (cp. also the Old Engl. at, which is both a conj. and a pronoun, e. g. Barbour vi. 24 in Jamieson: ‘I drede that his gret wassalage, | And his travail may bring till end, | That at men quhilc full litil wend.’ | ‘His mestyr speryt quhat tithings a t he saw.’—Wyntoun v. 3. 89.) In Icel. ‘er’ (the relat. pronoun) and ‘at’ are used indifferently, so that where one MS. reads ‘er,’ another reads ‘at,’ and vice versâ; this may easily be seen by looking at the MSS.; yet as a rule ‘er’ is much more freq. used. In mod. writers ‘at’ is freq. turned into ‘eð,’ esp. as a superfluous particle after the relative pron. hverr (hver eð, hvað eð, hverir eð, etc.), or the demonstr. sá (sá eð, þeir eð, hinir eð, etc.):—who, which, that, enn bezta grip at ( which) hafði til Íslands komið, Ld. 202; en engi mun sá at ( cui) minnisamara mun vera, 242; sem blótnaut at ( quae) stærst verða, Fms. iii. 214; þau tiðendi, at mér þætti verri, Nj. 64, etc. etc.

n. collision (poët.); odda at, crossing of spears, crash of spears, Höfuðl. 8.

β. a fight or bait of wild animals, esp. of horses, v. hesta-at and etja.

the negative verbal suffix, v. -a.

* * *

prep. w. dat.

I. Of place:

1) off, from;

G. hljóp af hesti sínum, G. jumped off his horse;

ganga af mótinu, to go away from the meeting;

Flosi kastaði af sér skikkjunni, threw off his cloak;

Gizzur gekk af útsuðri at gerðinu, from the south-west;

hann hafði leyst af sér skúa sína, he had taken off his shoes;

Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér, throw him off;

tók Gísli þá af sér vápnin, took off his arms;

bréf af Magnúsi konungi, a letter from king Magnus;

land af landi, from one land to the other;

hverr af öðrum, one after another, in succession;

vil ek þú vinnir af þér skuldina, work off the debt;

muntu enga sætt af mér fá, no peace at my hand;

rísa af dauða, to rise from the dead;

vakna af draumi, to awaken from a dream;

lúka upp af hrossi, to open a gate from off a horse;

vindr stóð af landi, the wind blew from the land;

2) out of;

verða tekinn af heimi, to be taken out of the world;

gruflar hón af læknum, she scrambles out of the brook;

Otradalr var mjök af vegi, far out of the way.

Connected with út; föstudaginn fór út herrinn af borginni, marched out of the town.

II. Of time; past, beyond:

af ómagaaldri, able to support oneself, of age;

ek em nú af léttasta skeiði, no longer in the prime of life;

þá er sjau vikur eru af sumri, when seven weeks of summer are past;

var mikit af nótt, much of the night was past.

III. In various other relations:

1) þiggja lið af e-m, to receive help from one;

hafa umboð af e-m, to be another’s deputy;

vera góðs (ills) maklegr af e-m, to deserve good (bad) of one;

féll þar lið mart af Eyvindi, many of Eyvind’s men fell there;

þá eru þeir útlagir ok af goðorði sínu, have forfeited their goðorð;

þá skalt þú af allri fjárheimtunni, forfeit all the claim;

ek skal stefna þér af konunni, summon thee to give up;

2) off, of;

höggva fót, hönd, af e-m, to cut off one’s foot, hand;

vil ek, at þú takir slíkt sem þér líkar af varningi, whatever you like of the stores;

þar lá forkr einn ok brotit af endanum, with the point broken off;

absol., beit hann höndina af, bit the hand off;

fauk af höfuðit, the head flew off;

3) of, among;

hinn efniligasti maðr af ungum mönnum, the most promising of the young men;

4) with;

hláða, (ferma) skip af e-u, to load (freight) a ship with;

fylla heiminn af sínu kyni, to fill the world with his offspring;

5) of (= ór which is more frequent);

húsit var gert af timbr stokkum, was built of trunks of trees;

6) fig., eigi vita menn hvat af honum er orðit, what has become of him;

hvat hefir þú gert af Gunnari, what hast thou done with Gunnar?;

7) denoting parentage, descent, origin;

ok eru af þeim komnir Gilsbekkingar, are descended from them;

kominn af Trójumönnum, descended from the Trojans;

8) by, of (after passive);

ek em sendr hingat af Starkaði, sent hither by;

ástsæll af landsmónnum, beloved of;

9) on account of, by reason of, by;

úbygðr at frosti ok kulda, because of frost and cold;

ómáli af áverkum, speechless from wounds;

af ástæld hans, by his popularity;

af því, therefore;

af hví, wherefor why;

af því at, because;

10) by means of, by;

framfœra e-n af verkum sínum, by means of his own labour;

af sínu fé, by one’s own means;

absol., hann fekk af hina mestu sœmd, derived great honour from it;

11) with adjectives, in regard to;

mildr af fé, liberal of money;

góðr af griðum, merciful;

fastr af drykk, close (stingy) in regard to drink;

12) used absol. with a verb, off away;

hann bað hann þá róa af fjörðinn, to row the firth off;

ok er þeir höfðu af fjörðung, when they had covered one forth of the way;

sofa af nóttina, to sleep the night away.

* * *

prep. often used elliptically by dropping the case, or even merely adverbially, [Ulf. af; A. S. and Engl. of, off; Hel. ab; Germ. ab; Gr. άπό; Lat. a, ab.] With dat. denoting a motion a loco; one of the three prepp. af, ór, frá, corresponding to those in loco—á, í, við, and ad locum—á, í, at. It in general corresponds to the prepp. in loco—á, or in locum— til, whilst ór answers more to í; but it also frequently corresponds to yfir, um or í. It ranges between ór and frá, generally denoting the idea from the surface of, while ór means from the inner part, and frá from the outer part or border. The motion from a hill, plain, open place is thus denoted by af; by ór that from an enclosed space, depth, cavity, thus af fjalli, but ór of a valley, dale; af Englandi, but ór Danmörk, as mörk implies the notion of a deep wood, forest. The wind blows af landi, but a ship sets sail frá landi; frá landi also means a distance from: af hendi, of a glove, ring; ór hendi, of whatever has been kept in the hand (correl. to á hendi and í hendi). On the other hand af is more general, whilst frá and ór are of a more special character; frá denoting a departure, ór an impulse or force; a member goes home af þingi, whereas ór may denote an inmate of a district, or convey the notion of secession or exclusion from, Eb. 105 new Ed.; the traveller goes af landi, the exile ór landi: taka e-t af e-m is to take a thing out of one’s hand, that of taka frá e-m to remove out of one’s sight, etc. In general af answers to Engl. of, off, ór to out of, and frá to from: the Lat. prepp. ab, de, and ex do not exactly correspond to the Icelandic, yet as a rule ór may answer to ex, af sometimes to ab, sometimes to de. Of, off, from among; with, by; on account of by means of, because of concerning, in respect of.

A. Loc.

I. With motion, off, from:

1. prop. corresp. to á,

α. konungr dró gullhring af hendi sér (but á hendi), Ld. 32; Höskuldr lætr bera farm af skipi, unload the ship (but bera farm á skip), id.; var tekit af hestum þeirra, they were unsaddled, Nj. 4; Gunnarr hafði farit heiman af bæ sínum, he was away from home, 82; Gunnarr hljóp af hesti sínum, jumped off his horse (but hl. á hest), 83; hlaupa, stökkva af baki, id., 112, 264 ; Gunnarr skýtr til hans af boganum, from the bow, where af has a slight notion of instrumentality, 96; flýja af fundinum, to fly from off the battle-field, 102; ríða af Þríhyrningshálsum, 206; út af Langaholti, Eg. 744 ; sunnan ór Danmörk ok af Saxlandi, 560; ganga af mótinu, to go from the meeting, Fms. vii. 130; af þeirra fundi reis María upp ok fór, 625. 85 ; Flosi kastaði af ser skikkjunni, threw his cloak off him (but kasta á sik),Nj. 176; taka Hrungnis fót af honum, of a load, burden, Edda 58; land þat er hann fiskði af, from which he set off to fish, Grág. i. 151, is irregular, frá would suit better; slíta af baki e-s, from off one’s back, ii. 9 ; bera af borði, to clear the table, Nj. 75.

β. where it more nearly answers to í; þeir koma af hafi, of sailors coming in (but leggja í haf), Nj. 128 ; fara til Noregs af Orkneyjum (but í or til O.), 131; þeim Agli fórst vel ok komu af hafi i Borgarfjörð, Eg. 392 ; hann var útlagi ( outlawed) af Noregi, where ór would be more regular, 344; af Islandi, of a traveller, Fms. x. 3; búa her af báðum ríkjunum, to take a levy from, 51; hinir beztu bændr ór Norðlendingafjórðungi ok af Sunnlendingafjórðungi, the most eminent Southerners and Northerners, 113; Gizzurr gékk af útsuðri at gerðinu, from south-west, Sturl. ii. 219; prestar af hvárutveggja biskupsdæmi, from either diocess, Dipl. ii. 11; verða tekinn af heimi, to be taken out of the world, 623. 21; gruflar hon af læknum, scrambles out of the brook, Ísl. ii. 340; Egill kneyfði af horninu í einum drykk, drained off the horn at one draught, literally squeezed every drop out of it, Eg. 557; brottuaf herbúðunurn, Fms. x. 343.

γ. of things more or less surrounding the subject, corresp. to yfir or um; láta þeir þegar af sér tjöldin, break off, take down the tents in preparing for battle, Eg. 261; kyrtillinn rifnaði af honum, his coat burst, caused by the swollen body, 602; hann hafði leyst af sér skúa sína, he untied his shoes (but binda á sik), 716; Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér, throw him off, of one clinging to one’s body, 747; tók Gísli þá af sér vápnin, took off his arms, Fms. vii. 39. Of putting off clothes; fara af kápu, Nj. 143; far þú eigi af brynjunni, Bs. i. 541; þá ætlaði Sigurðr at fara af brynjunni, id.; þá var Skarphéðinn flettr af klæðunum, Nj. 209: now more usually fara or klæðum, fötum, exuere, to undress.

δ. connected with út; föstudaginn for út herrinn af borginni, marched out of the town, Nj. 274; ganga út af kirkjunni, to go out of the church, now út úr, Fms. vii. 107: drekki hann af þeirri jörðunni, of something impregnated with the earth, Laekn. 402.

ε. more closely corresponding to frá, being in such cases a Latinism (now frá); bréf af páfa, a pope’s bull, Fms. x. 6; rit af hánum, letter from him, 623. 52; bréf af Magnúsi konungi, a letter from king Magnus, Bs. i. 712; farið þér á brautu af mér í eilífan eld, Hom. 143; brott af drottins augliti, Stj. 43.

ζ. denoting an uninterrupted continuity, in such phrases as land aflandi, from land to land, Eg. 343, Fas. ii. 539; skip af skipl. from ship to ship, Fms. v. 10; brann hvat af öðru, one after another, of an increasing fire, destroying everything, i. 128; brandr af brandi brenn, funi kveykist af funa, one from another, Hm. 56; hverr af öðrum, one after another, in succession, also hverr at öðrum, Eb. 272, 280 (where at in both passages).

2. metaph., at ganga af e-m dauðum, to go from, leave one dead on the spot, of two combatants; en hann segiz bani hins ef hann gekk af dauðum manni, Grág. ii. 88, Hkr. 1. 327; undr þykir mér er bróðir þinn vildi eigi taka af þér starf þetta, would not take this toil from thee, Nj. 77; þegnar hans glöddust af honum, were fain of him, Fms. x. 380; at koma þeim manni af sér er settr var á fé hans, to get rid of, Ld. 52; vil ek þú vinriir af þér skuldina, work off the debt, Njarð. 366; reka af sér, to repel, Sturl. ii. 219; hann á þá sonu er aldri munu af oss ganga, who will never leave us, whom we shall never get rid of, Fas. i. 280; leysa e-n af e-u, to relieve, 64; taka e-n af lífi, to kill, Eg. 48, 416, Nj. 126; af lífdögum, Fms. vii. 204; ek mun ná lögum af því máli, get the benefit of the law in this case, Eg. 468; muntu enga sætt af mér fá, no peace at my hand, 414; rísa af dauða, to rise from death, Fms. ii. 142; guð bætti honum þó af þessi sótt, healed him of this sickness, ix. 390; vakna af sýn, draumi, svefni, to awaken from a vision, dream, sleep, 655 xxxii. I, Gísl. 24, Eb. 192, Fas. i. 41. Rather with the notion out of, in the phrase af sér etc., e. g. sýna e-t af scr, to shew, exhibit a disposition for or against, Ld. 18; gera mikit af sér, to shew great prowess, Ísl. ii. 368; éf þú gerir eigi meira af þér um aðra leika, unless you make more of thyself, Edda 32; Svipdagr hafði mikit af sér gert, fought bravely, Fas. i. 41; góðr (illr) af sér, good ( bad) of oneself, by nature; mikill af sjálfum sér, proud, bold, stout, Nj. 15; ágætastr maðr af sjálfum sér, the greatest hero, Bret.: góðr af ser, excellent, Hrafn. 7; but, on the contrary, af sér kominn, ruinous, in decay; this phrase is used of old houses or buildings, as in Bs. i. 488 = Sturl. l. c.; af sér kominn af mæði can also be said of a man fallen off from what he used to be; kominn af fotum fram, off his legs from age, Sturl. i. 223, Korm. 154 (in a verse).

II. WITHOUT MOTION:

1. denoting direction from, but at the same time continuous connection with an object from which an act or thing proceeds, from; tengja skip hvárt fram af stafni annars, to tie the ships in a line, stem to stern, Fms. i. 157, xi. 111; svá at þeir tóku út af borðum, jutted out of the boards, of rafters or poles, iv. 49; stjarna ok af sem skaft, of a comet, ix. 482; lúka upp af hrossi, to open a gate from off a horse, Grág. ii. 264; hon svarar af sínu sæti sem álpt af baru, Fás. i. 186; þar er sjá mátti utau af firði, af þjóðleið, that might be seen from the fareway on the sea when sailing in the firth, Hkr. ii. 64; þá mun hringt af (better at) Burakirkju, of bells rung at the church, Fms. xi. 160; gengr þar af Meðalfellsströnd, projects from, juts out, of a promontory, Ld. 10.

2. denoting direction alone; upp af víkinni stóð borg mikil, a burg inland from the inlet, Eg. 161; lokrekkja innar af seti, a shut bed inward from the benches in the hall, Ísl. ii. 262; kapella upp af konungs herbergjum, upwards from, Fms. x. 153; vindr stóð af landi, the wind stood off the land, Bárð. 166.

β. metaph., stauda af e-u, vide VI. 4.

γ. ellipt., hallaði af norðr, of the channel, north of a spot, Boll. 348; also, austr af, suðr af, vestr af, etc.

3. denoting absence; þingheyendr skulu eigi vera um nótt af þingi ( away from the meeting), eðr lengr, þá eru þeir af þingi ( away from (be meeting) ef þeir eru or ( out of) þingmarki, Grág. i. 25; vera um nótt af várþingi, 115; meðan hann er af landi héðan, abroad, 150.

β. metaph., gud hvíldi af öllum verkum sínum á sjaunda degi, rested from his labours, Ver. 3.

4. denoting distance; þat er komit af þjóðleið, out of the high road, remote, Eg. 369; af þjóðbraut, Grág. ii. 264, i. 15; Otradalr (a farm) var mjök af vegi, far out of the way, Háv. 53.

B. TEMP, past, from, out of, beyond:

1. of a person’s age, in the sense of having past a period of life; af ómaga aldri, of age, able to support oneself, Grág. i. 243; af aeskualdri, stricken in years, having past the prime of life, Eg. 202; lítið af barnsaldri, still a child, Ld. 74; ek em nú af léttasia skeiði, no longer in the prime of life, Háv. 40.

2. of a part or period of time, past; eigi síðar en nótt er af þingi, a night of the session past, Grág. i. 101; þá er sjau vikur eru af sumri, seven weeks past of the summer, 182; tíu vikur af sumri, Íb. 10; var mikit af nótt, much of the night was past, Háv. 41; mikið af vetri, much of the winter was past, Fas. ii. 186; þriðjungr af nótt, a third of the night past, Fms. x. 160; stund af degi, etc.; tveir mánoðr af sumri, Gþl. 103.

3. in adverbial phrases such as, af stundu, soon; af bragði, at once; af tómi, at leisure, at ease; af nýju, again; af skyndingu, speedily; af bráðungu, in a hurry, etc.

C. In various other relations:

I. denoting the passage or transition of an object, concrete or abstract, of, from.

1. where a thing is received, derived from, conferred by a person or object; þiggja lið af e-m, to derive help from, Edda 26; taka traust af e-m, to receive support, comfort from, Fms. xi. 243; taka mála af e-m, to be in one’s pay, of a soldier, Eg. 266; halda land af e-m, to hold land of any one, 282; verða viss af e-m, to get information from, 57, Nj. 130; taka við sök af manni (a law term), to undertake a case, suit, Grág. i. 142; hafa umboð af e-m, to be another’s deputy, ii. 374; vera góðs (ills) maklegr af e-m, to deserve good (bad) of, Vd. 88 (old Ed., the new reads frá), Fs. 45; afla matar af eyjum, to derive supplies from, Eb. 12.

2. where an object is taken by force:

α. prop. out of a person’s hand; þú skalt hnykkja smíðit af honum, wrest it out of his hand, Nj. 32; cp. taka, þrífa, svipta e-u (e-t) af e-m, to wrest from.

β. metaph. of a person’s deprival of anything in general; hann tók af þér konuna, carried thy wife off, Nj. 33; tók Gunnarr af þér sáðland þitt, robbed thee of seedland, 103; taka af honum tignina, to depose, degrade him, Eg. 271; vinna e-t af e-m, to carry off by force of arms, conquer, Fms. iii. 29; drepa menn af e-m, for one, slay one’s man, Eg. 417; fell þar lið mart af Eyvindi, many of Eyvind’s people fell there, 261.

γ. in such phrases as, hyggja af e-u (v. afhuga), hugsa af e-u, to forget; hyggja af harmi; sjá af e-u, to lose, miss; var svá ástúðigt með þeim, at livargi þóttist mega af öðrum sjá, neither of them could take his eyes off the other, Sturl. i. 194; svá er mörg við ver sinn vær, at varla um sér hon af hoiuun nær, Skálda 163.

3. denoting forfeiture; þá eru þeir útlagir, ok af goðorði sínu, have forfeited their priesthood, Grág. i. 24; telja hann af ráðunum fjár síns alls, to oust one, on account of idiocy or madness, 176; verða af kaupi, to be off the bargain, Edda 26; þá skalt þú af allri fjárheimtunni, forfeit all the claim, Nj. 15; ek skal stefna þér af konunni, summon thee to forfeit, a case of divorce, id.; ella er hann af rettarfari um hana, has forfeited the suit, Grág. i. 381.

β. ellipt., af ferr eindagi ef, is forfeited, Grág. i. 140.

II. denoting relation of a part to a whole, off, of, Lat. de; höggva hönd, höfuð, fót af e-um, to cut one’s hand, head, foot off, Nj. 97, 92, Bs. i. 674; höggva spjót af skapti, to sever the blade from the shaft, 264; hann lét þá ekki hafa af föðurarfi sínum, nothing of their patrimony, Eg. 25; vil ek at þú takir slíkt sem þér líkar af varningi, take what you like of the stores, Nj. 4; at þú eignist slíkt af fé okkru sem þú vili, 94.

β. ellipt., en nú höfum vér kjörit, en þat er af krossinum, a slice of, Fms. vii. 89; Þórðr gaf Skólm frænda sínum af landnámi sínu, a part of, Landn. 211; hafði hann þat af hans eigu er hann vildi, Sturl. ii. 169; þar lá forkr einn ok brotið af endanum, the point broken off, Háv. 24, Sturl. i. 169.

γ. absol. off; beit hann höndina af, þar sem nú heitir úlfliðr, bit the hand off, Edda 17; fauk af höfuðit, the head flew off, Nj. 97; jafnt er sem þér synist, af er fótrinn, the foot is off, id.; af bæði eyru, both ears off, Vm. 29.

2. with the notion of—among; mestr skörungr af konum á Norðrlöndum, the greatest heroine in the North, Fms. i. 116; hinn efniligasti maðr af ungum mönnum í Austfjörðum, the most hopeful of youths in the Eastfirths, Njarð. 364; af ( among) öllurn hirðmönnuni virði konungr mest skáld sín, Eg. 27; ef hann vildi nokkura kaupa af þessum konum, Ld. 30; ör liggr þar útiá vegginum, ok er sú af þeirra örum, one of their own arrows, Nj. 115.

β. from, among, belonging to; guð kaus hana af ollum konum sér til móður, of the Virgin Mary, Mar. A. i. 27.

γ. metaph., kunna mikit (lítið) af e-u, to know much, little of, Bragi kann mest af skáldskap, is more cunning of poetry than any one else, Edda 17.

δ. absol. out of, before, in preference to all others; Gunnarr bauð þér góð boð, en þú vildir eingi af taka, you would choose none of them, Nj. 77; ráða e-t af, to decide; þó mun faðir minn mestu af ráða, all depends upon him, Ld. 22; konungr kveðst því mundu heldr af trúa, preferred believing that of the two, Eg. 55; var honum ekki vildara af ván, he could expect nothing better, 364.

3. with the additional sense of instrumentality, with; ferma skip af e-u, to freight a ship with, Eg. 364; hlaða mörg skip af korni, load many ships with corn, Fms. xi. 8; klyfja tvá hesta af mat, Nj. 74; var vágrinn skipaðr af herskipum, the bay was covered with war ships, 124; fylla ker af glóðum, fill it with embers, Stj. 319; fylla heiminn af sínu kyni, to fill the world with his offspring, Ver. 3.

III. denoting the substance of which a thing is made, of; used indifferently with ór, though ór be more frequent; þeir gerðu af honum jörðina, af blóði hans sæinn ok vötnin, of the creation of the world from the corpse of the giant Ymir; the poem Gm. 40, 41, constantly uses ór in this sense, just as in modern Icelandic, Edda 5; svá skildu þeir, at allir hlutir væri smíðaðir af nokkru efni, 147 (pref.); húsit var gert af timbrstokkum, built of trunks of timber, Eg. 233; hjöhin vóru af gulli, of gold, golden, Fms. i. 17; af osti, of cheese, but in the verse 1. c. ór osti, Fms. vi. 253; línklæði af lérepti, linen, Sks. 287.

2. metaph. in the phrases, göra e-t af e-n ( to dispose of), verða af ( become of), hvat hefir þú gört af Gunnari, what hast thou done with Gunnar? Njarð. 376; hvat af motrinuni er orðit, what has become of it? of a lost thing, Ld. 208; hverfr Óspakr á burt, svá eigi vita menn hvat af honum er orðit, what has become of him? Band. 5.

IV. denoting parentage, descent, origin, domicile, abode:

1. parentage, of, from, used indifferently with frá; ok eru af þeim komnir Gilsbekkingar, descend from them, but a little below—frá honum eru konmir Sturlungar, Eb. 338, cp. afkvæmi; af ætt Hörðakára, Fms. i. 287; kominn af Trojumönnum, xi. 416; af Ása-ætt (Kb. wrongly at), Edda I.

β. metaph., vera af Guði (theol.), of God, = righteous, 686 B. 9; illr ávöxtr af íllri rót, Fms. ii. 48; Asia er kölluð af nafni nokkurar konu, derives her name from, Stj. 67; af honum er bragr kallaðr skáldskapr, called after his name, Edda 17.

2. of domicile; af danskri tungu, of Danish or Scandinavian origin, speaking the Danish tongue, Grág. ii. 73; hvaðan af löndum, whence, native of what country? Ísl.

β. especially denoting a man’s abode, and answering to á and í, the name of the farm (or country) being added to proper names, (as in Scotland,) to distinguish persons of the same name; Hallr af Síðu, Nj. 189; Erlingr af Straumey, 273; Ástríðr af Djúpárbakka, 39; Gunnarr af Hlíðarenda (more usual frá); þorir haklangr konungr af Ögðum, king of Agdir, Eg. 35, etc.; cp. ór and frá.

V. denoting a person with whom an act, feeling, etc. originates, for the most part with a periphrastic passive:

1. by, the Old Engl. of; as, ek em sendr hingað af Starkaði ok sonum hans, sent hither by, Nj. 94; inna e-t af hendi, to perform, 257; þó at alþýða væri skírð af kennimönnum, baptized of, Fms. ii. 158; meira virðr af mönnum, higher esteemed, Ld. 158; ástsæll af landsmönnum, beloved, íb. 16; vinsæll af mönnum, Nj. 102; í allgóðu yfirlæti af þeim feðgum, hospitably treated by them, Eg. 170; var þá nokkut drukkið af alþjóð, there was somewhat hard drinking of the people, Sturl. iii. 229; mun þat ekki upp tekið af þeim sükudólgum mínum, they will not clutch at that, Nj. 257; ef svá væri í hendr þér búit af mér, if í had so made everything ready to thy hands, Ld. 130; þá varð fárætt um af föður hans, his father said little about it, Fms. ii. 154.

2. it is now also sometimes used as a periphrase of a nom., e. g. ritað, þýtt af e-m, written, translated, edited by, but such phrases scarcely occur in old writers.

VI. denoting cause, ground, reason:

1. originating from, on account of, by reason of; af frændsemis sökum, for kinship’s sake, Grág. ii. 72; ómáli af áverkum, speechless from wounds, 27; af manna völdum, by violence, not by natural accident, of a crime, Nj. 76; af fortölum Halls, through his pleading, 255; af ástsæld hans ok af tölum þeirra Sæmundar, by his popularity and the eloquence of S., Íb. 16; af ráðum Haralds konungs, by his contriving, Landn. 157; úbygðr af frosti ok kulda, because of frost and cold, Hkr. i. 5.

β. adverbially, af því, therefore, Nj. 78; af hví, why? 686 B. 9; þá verðr bóndi heiðinn af barni sínu, viz. if he does not cause his child to be christened, K. Þ. K. 20.

2. denoting instrumentality, by means of; af sinu fé, by one’s own means, Grág. i. 293; framfæra e-n af verkum sinum, by means of one’s own labour, K. Þ. K. 142; draga saman auð af sökum, ok vælum ok kaupum, make money by, 623. I; af sínum kostnaði, at hi s own expense, Hkr. i. 217.

β. absol., hún fellir á mik dropa svá heita at ek brenn af öll, Ld. 328; hann fékk af hina mestu sæmd, derived great honotur from it, Nj. 88; elli sótti á hendr honum svá at hann lagðist í rekkju af, he grew bedridden from age, Ld. 54; komast undan af hlaupi, escape by running, Fms. viii. 58; spinna garn af rokki, spin off a wheel (now, spinna á rokk), from a notion of instrumentality, or because of the thread being spun out (?), Eb. 92.

3. denoting proceeding, originating from; lýsti af höndum hennar, her hands spread beams of light, Edda 22; allir heimar lýstust ( were illuminated) af henni, id.; en er lýsti af degi, when the day broke forth, Fms. ii. 16; lítt var lýst af degi, the day was just beginning to break, Ld. 46; þá tók at myrkja af nótt, the ‘mirk-time’ of night began to set in, Eg. 230; tók þá brátt at myrkva af nótt, the night grew dark, Hkr. ii. 230.

4. metaph., standa, leiða, hljótast af, to be caused by, result from; opt hlýtst íllt af kvenna hjali, great mischief is wrought by women’s gossip (a proverb), Gísl. 15, 98; at af þeim mundi mikit mein ok úhapp standa, be caused by, Edda 18; kenna kulda af ráðum e-s, to feel sore from, Eb. 42; þó mun her hljótast af margs manns bani, Nj, 90.

5. in adverbial phrases, denoting state of mind; af mikilli æði, in fury, Nj. 116; af móð, in great emotion, Fms. xi. 221; af áhyggju, with concern, i. 186; af létta, frankly, iii. 91; af viti, collectedly, Grág. ii. 27; af heilu, sincerely, Eg. 46; áf fári, in rage; af æðru, timidly, Nj. (in a verse); af setning, composedly, in tune, Fms. iii. 187; af mikilli frægð, gallantly, Fas. i. 261; af öllu afli, with all might, Grág. ii. 41; af riki, violently, Fbr. (in a verse); af trúnaði, confidently, Grág. i. 400.

VII. denoting regard to, of, concerning, in respect of, as regards:

1. with verbs, denoting to tell of, be informed, inquire about, Lat. de; Dioscorides segir af grasi því, speaks of, 655 xxx. 5; er menn spurðu af landinu, inquired about it, Landn. 30; halda njósn af e-u, Nj. 104; er þat skjótast þar af at segja, Eg. 546, Band. 8.

β. absol., hann mun spyrja, hvárt þér sé nokkut af kunnigt hversu for með okkr, whether you know anything about, how, Nj. 33; halda skóla af, to hold a school in a science, 656 A. i. 19 (sounds like a Latinism); en ek gerða þik sera mestan mann af öllu, in respect of all, that you should get all the honour of it, Nj. 78.

2. with adjectives such as mildr, illr, góðrafe-u, denoting disposition or character in respect to; alira manna mildastr af fo, very liberal, often-banded, Fms. vii. 197; mildr af gulli, i. 33; góðr af griðum, merciful, Al. 33; íllr af mat en mildr af gulli, Fms. i. 53; fastr af drykk, close, stingy in regard to, Sturl. ii. 125; gat þess Hildigunnr at þú mundir góðr af hestinum, that you would be good about the horse, Nj. 90, cp. auðigr at, v. at, which corresponds to the above phrases; cp. also the phrase af sér above, p. 4, col. I, ll. 50 sqq.

VIII. periphrasis of a genitive (rare); provincialis af öllum Predikaraklaustrum, Fms. x. 76; vera af hinum mesta fjandskap, to breathe deep hatred to, be on bad terms with, ix. 220; af hendi, af hálfu e-s, on one’s behalf, v. those words.

IX. in adverbial phrases; as, af launungu, secretly; af hljóði, silently; v. those words.

β. also used absolutely with a verb, almost adverbially, nearly in the signification off, away; hann bað þá róa af fjörðinn, pass the firth swiftly by rowing, row the firth off, Fms. ix. 502; var pá af farit þat seni skerjóttast var, was past, sailed past, Ld. 142; ok er þeir höfðu af fjórðung, past one fourth of the way, Dropl. 10: skína af, to clear up, of the skv, Eb. 152; hence in common language, skína af sér, when the sun breaks forth: sofa af nóttina, to sleep it away, Fms. ii. 98; leið af nóttin, the night past away, Nj. 53; dvelja af stundir, to kill the time, Band. 8; drepa af, to kill; láta af, to slaughter, kill off;

γ. in exclamations; af tjöldin, off with the awnings, Bs. i. 420, Fins, ix. 49.

δ. in the phrases, þar af, thence; hér af, hence, Fms. ii. 102; af fram, straight on, Nj. 144; now, á fram, on, advance.

X. it often refers to a whole sentence or to an adverb, not only like other prepp. to hér, hvar, þar, but also redundantly to hvaðan, héðan, þaðan, whence, hence, thence.

2. the preposition may sometimes be repeated, once elliptically or adverbially, and once properly, e. g. en er af var borit at borðinu, the cloth was taken off from the table, Nj. 176; Guð þerrir af (off, away) hvert tár af ( from) augum heilagra manna, God wipes off every tear from the eyes of his saints, 655 xx. vii. 17; skal þó fyrst bætr af lúka af fé vegaiula, pay off, from, Gþl. 160, the last af may be omitted—var þá af borið borðinu—and the prep. thus be separated from its case, or it may refer to some of the indecl. relatives er or sem, the prep. hvar, hér, þar being placed behind them without a case, and referring to the preceding relative, e. g. oss er þar mikit af sagt auð þeim, we have been told much about these riches, Band. 24; er þat skjótast þar af at segja, in short, shortly. Eg. 546; þaðan af veit ek, thence í infer, know, Fms. i. 97.

XI. it is moreover connected with a great many verbs besides those mentioned above, e. g. bera af, to excel, whence afbragð, afbrigði; draga af, to detract, deduct, hence afdráttr; veita ekki af, to be hard with; ganga at, to be left, hence afgangr; standast af um e-t, to stand, how matters stand; sem af tekr, at a furious rate; vita af, to be conscious, know about (vide VII).

D. As a prefix to compounds distinction is to be made between:

I. af privativum, denoting diminution, want, deduction, loss, separation, negation of, etc., answering indifferently to Lat. ab-, de-, ex-, dis-, and rarely to re- and se-, v. the following COMPDS, such as segja, dicere, but afsegja, negare; rækja, colere, but afrækja, negligere; aflaga, contra legem; skapligr, normalis, afskapligr, deformis; afvik, recessus; afhús, afhellir, afdalr, etc.

II. af intensivum, etymologically different, and akin to of, afr-, e. g. afdrykkja = ofdrykkja, inebrietas; afbrýði, jealously; afbendi, tenesmus; afglapi, vir fatuus, etc. etc. Both the privative and the intensive af may be contracted into á, esp. before a labial f, m, v, e. g. á fram = af fram; ábrýði = afbrýði; ávöxtr = afvöxtr; áburðr = afburðr; ávíta = afvíta (?). In some cases dubious. With extenuated and changed vowel; auvirðiligr or övirðiligr, depreciated, = afv- etc., v. those words.

prep. with dat. and acc.

I. with dat.

1) against;

hann sló honum niðr v. steininum, he dashed his head against the stone;

hús liggja v. velli, the houses lie in ruins;

kasta sér niðr v. velli, to cast oneself down on the ground;

er inn efri kjöptr v. himni, en inn neðri við jörðu, the upper jaw touches the heaven, the lower the earth;

hann hjó hann upp v. garðinum, he smote him close by the fence;

skera af sér strenginn við øxinni, to cut the string, asunder against the axe;

2) against, towards, of direction;

horfa v. e-m, to look towards, face;

3) along with (hann hafði marga smiðu v. sér);

4) with, of an instrument (jarl hljóp upp v. sverði);

5) among;

gengu síðan í sæti sin v. öðrum mönnum, among other men;

6) denoting barter, exchange, against, for (geta gull v. grjóti);

7) denoting remedy, against (hjálpa e-m v. e-u);

8) against, denoting contest, warding off (hafa liðsafla v. e-m);

hafa (viz. afl) v. e-m, to be one’s match;

9) ellipt. usages;

stinga v. fótum, to stop;

hrífa v., to catch hold;

búast v., to make oneself ready;

risa v., to withstand;

hvatz hann fiðr v., whatsoever he may object;

II. with acc.

1) by, at, close to (sníða skeggit við hökuna);

skjöldr við skjöld, shield to shield;

v. Sandhólaferju, at Sandholferry;

v. veginn, by the wayside;

v. ána, by the river;

draga segl v. hún, to hoist the sail to the top;

festa e-n v. meið, tré, to fasten to a pole, tree;

binda v. fót e-s, to bind up a broken leg;

dró upp flóka v. austr, in the east;

2) of time, towards, at;

v. solar-setr, at sunset;

v. sól, with the sun, at sunrise;

v. aptan, towards evening;

vera v. aldr, to be stricken in years;

3) at, by (vera heima v. bú sitt);

Hrútr var v. skip um sumarit, H. stayed by his ship during the summer;

sitja v. stýri, to sit at the rudder;

styðja sik v. e-t, to lean on;

ganga v. staf, to walk with a staff;

vera v. e-t, to be present at;

sitja v. drykk, to sit at drink;

4) denoting direction;

í sýn v. bœinn, within sight of the town;

5) denoting company, with (bauð þeim heim vill alla sína menn);

v. annan, þriðja, fjórða mann, being two, three, four altogether;

6) towards (a person or thing), respecting, regarding (mildr, blíðr, góðr v. e-n);

til gæzlu v. e-n: for keeping, watching one;

hræddr v. e-n, afraid of one;

7) of cause, by, at;

falla v. högg, to fall by a stroke;

sigla v. stjörnuljós, to sail by starlight;

verða reiðr v. e-t, to become wroth at;

8) as compared with, set off against (þrjóta mun okkr illsku v. þik);

eigi minna virðr en v. konunginn, of equal worth with the king;

9) according to, after (gera klæði v. vöxt e-s);

v. sik, in proportion;

hann var skapaðr allr v. sik, well shaped, symmetrical;

vita, hvat v. sik væri, to know what was the matter;

10) denoting means, with, by (v. þessar fortölur);

tendra eld v. e-t, to make fire by;

11) ellipt. usages;

bregða við, to start;

hann þagði v., he remained silent;

fá v. þrjú skip, to add three ships;

þurfa v., to need;

bjarga, hjálpa e-u v., to help, put right;

koma e-u við, to bring about.

(gen. -jar, pl. -jar), f. withy, withe; collar (viðjar af gulli).

pers. pron. dual, we two.

* * *

f., gen. sing. viðjar, pl. viðjar, [Dan. vidje; Engl. withy; akin is víðir, q. v.]:— a withy or with; síðan var viðin ( a withy halter) dregin á hals honum, Fms. vii. 13 (see v. l.); þarmarnir urðu at viðu (sic) sterkri, Fas. iii. 34; ef röng eða viðjar slitna, Jb. 398; var enginn saumr í, en viðjar fyrir kné, of a boat, Fms. vii. 216; höggva tré til viðja, K. Þ. K. 88; viðjar af gulli ok silfri, on a dog, Hkr. i. 136, Fas. iii. 45; tún-svín þat er hringr, knappr eða við sé í rana, Grág. ii. 232; stjórn-við, the ‘rudder-withy,’ the strap in which the paddle-like rudder moved, like the ζευκτηρίαι in Act. Apost. xxvii. 40.

pron. pers. dual (= vit), we two (see ek C); this spelling, which is also that of the oldest vellums, answers to the mod. pronunciation, passim: in mod. usage it has quite taken the place of the old plur. vér.

prep., also used ellipt. without its case, or simply as an adverb; við is a curtailed form of viðr, which latter form remains in a few compds, even in mod. usage, thus, viðr-eign, viðr-kenna, viðr-nefni, viðr-lífi, viðr-væri; when found singly, við is the common form in Icel.; but as in MSS. it is commonly abbreviated, v̾, the two forms are hardly distinguishable; við, however, is received as the usual form, viðr being more freq. in Norse vellums, and in some later Icel. vellums imitating the Norse spelling: [Goth. wiþra = πρός; A. S. wider; cp. Scot. wither-shins; O. H. G. widar; Germ. wieder; but Engl. with; Dan. ved; Swed. wäd]:—against, towards, etc.

WITH DAT.

A. Against, denoting a leaning or resting on, striking against, or the like; hann hjó hann upp við garðinum, smote him standing against the wall, Nj. 120; stinga höndum við berginu, Symb. 59; ganga við brekkunni, up-hill, against the hill, cp. Lat. adversus montem, Valla L. 212; skjóta við honum skildinum, Fms. i. 44; ljósta skildi við kesjunni, Eg. 378; hann spyrndi við svá fast … spyrna við grunni, Edda 36; kasta sér niðr við vellinum, Nj. 58; leggja e-n við velli, Boll. 344; slá honum niðr við steininum, dashed his head against the stone, Finnb. 292; hann drap hann við borðinu, Korm. 236; hjó af honum höfuð við stokkinum, Fas. ii. 285; ok lagði (þá) við stokki, Am. 73; hús liggja við velli, lie down in ruins, Fms. iii. 144; er hinn efri kjöptr við himni enn hinn neðri við jörðu, the upper jaw touching the heaven, the lower the earth, Edda 41; skera af sér strenginn við öxinni, rubbing it against the axe, Nj. 136; vóru segl hans at sjá við hafi, the sails were seen out at sea, far in the offing, Fas. ii. 403.

II. against, towards, of direction; gapa við tunglinu, Fas. iii. 622; horfa við e-m, to look towards, face, Eg. 293; horfa baki við e-m, Hkr. iii. 384; líta við e-m, Nj. 132, Fms. i. 125, vii. 314; horfa vid landi, A.A. 24; snúa baki við e-m, Fas. i. 296; snúask við e-m, Hkr. ii. 120.

III. along with, with, denoting company; hann hafði við sér harpara einn, Str. 57; hann hafði marga smiðu við sér, Fms. ix. 377; fór Margaðr ok Guthormr við honum, Hkr. iii. 113; at Ástríðr mundi vera við feðr sínum, i. 188; er hér ok Sigurðr við jarli, Fms. ix. 327; hann var þar upp fæddr við henni, x. 421; bjóðum vér þér við Hákoni þangat, ix. 252; ferr heim við sínum mönnum, Rd. 312; fór hann við liði sínu, Hkr. iii. 44; við hundrað skipum, Fas. i. 461; gengr síðan í sæti sín við oðrum mönnum, Fms. x. 17; bað biskup ríða við sér (= með sér), 6.

2. with, of an instrument; jarl hljóp upp við sverði, Fms. ix. 340; sjau menn við vápnum, viii. 14; gengu tveir menn við merkjum, x. 15: the phrase, eiga, ala, geta barn við kouu, Grág., Fms. i. 113, iii. 110, Ld. 102, Eg. 31; merrin fékk við þeim hesti, Landn. 195.

3. spec. usages; við góðum vinskap, Boll. 362; halda vináttu við föstum trúnaði, Fms. ix. 375; at þær sagnir muni vera við sannindum, true, viii. 6; at berjask við honum eðr við honum lífit láta, ix. 332; fara við herskildi … eyða land við eldi, x. 134; ausa e-t við moldu, Hkr. i. 220; skipuðu mörgum hlutum við (with, among) sínum mönnum, Fms. x. 91; gengu síðan í sæti sín við öðrum mönnum, among other men, 17; skreiðask fram við (= með) landinu, viii. 437.

4. = ok, with, together with; Þórr við Grimni = Th. and G., Hallfred; höfuð við hjarta, head and heart, Kormak.

B. METAPH. USAGES:

I. denoting barter, exchange, against, for (like Gr. ἀντί); gefa gull við grjóti, Fas. iii. 45; selja við verði, Fms. i. 80; seldu mik við hleifi, Hm.; við litlu verði, Eg. 100; við fémútu, Nj. 215; meta e-t við silfri, Fms. x. 5; gefa margra manna líf við yðvarri þrályndi, iv. 194.

2. denoting remedy, against; beiti við bit-sóttum en við bölvi rúnar, Hm. 140; hjálpa e-m við e-u, to help against, passim.

II. against, denoting contest, warding off, withstanding; hafa afla við e-m, Lv. 43; hafa liðs-afla, liðs-kost við e-m, Ld. 372, Hkr. i. 272: ellipt., hafa (viz. afi) við e-m, to be one’s match, Lv. 109; þótti sem engi mundi hafa við þeim í vígi, Nj. 89; eg hefi ekki við þér, I cannot lift with (i. e. am no match for) thee; ábyrgjask e-t við e-u, Grág. ii. 216, 364; forða e-m við háska, Edda i. 116; halda þá við ágangi Hákonar, Fms. i. 224; varðveita e-n við e-u, Grág.; ekki hélzk við þeim, Eg. 125; rísa við e-m, Sturl. ii. 119; vera búinn, van-búinn við e-m, Ld. 324; sat hann þar við áhlaupum Dana, Fms. i. 28; vinna við sköpum, Fas. i. 199; sporna við e-u, göra við e-u, see göra, sporna; ef þat nemr við förinni, Ld. 70 (see nema A.I. 7, 8); mæla við e-u, Hkr. ii. 198; tölðu allir við förinni, Greg. 28; setja hug sinn við e-u, Fms. x. 232; kveða nei við e-u, Sturl. i. 27; drepa hendi við e-u, Hkr. ii. 164; reiðask við e-u, Nj. 182; e-m ríss hugr við e-u, Fas. i. 30; mér býðr við e-u, to loathe; sjá við e-u, to shun; varna við e-u, to beware of; vera hætt við e-u, in danger of, Ísl. ii. 262; ú-hætt við e-u, safe, Landn. 319.

III. with verbs;liggja við e-u, to lie on the verge of; honum lá við falli, Fas. iii. 261; búið við skipbroti, Ísl. ii. 245; honum var við andhlaupi, Eg. 553; sjá, horfa, líta … við e-u, to look towards; taka við e-u, to receive; búask við e-u, to prepare for, expect, Ld. 106; verða vel, ílla, við e-u, to behave well, ill, on some occasion; komask við veðri, see veðr.

IV. ellipt. usages; þeir snerusk þá við, turned round, facing, Nj. 245; hón drap við hendi, Lv. 38; hann laust við atgeirinum, Nj. 84.; hann stakk við forkinum, Eg. 220; hann stakk við fótum, stopped, Finnb. 300; hrífa við, to catch hold, Bs. i. 197, 423, Gísl. 125; búask við, to make oneself ready; göra við, to resist; rísa við, to withstand, Fs.; at ek bjóða við tvenn verð, Ld. 146; hvatz hinn fiðr við, whatsoever he may object, Nj. 99; taka við, to begin where another stops; þú skalt gefa mér við ( in return) verjuna, Fbr.

WITH ACC.

A. By, at, close to:

I. denoting proximity; skjöldr við skjöld, shield to shield, in a row, Nj. 125; skip við skip, Ó. H. (in a verse); samnask hlutr við hlut, Rb. 108; hálsinn við herðarnar, Ld. 40; sníða skeggið við hökuna, Eg. 564; við bryggju-sporðinn, Fms. i. 14; grafa barn við kirkju-garð út, K. Þ. K.; uppi við fjallit, Eg. 137; við Sandhóla-ferju, Nj. 29; við vaðit, 83; við veginn, by the way-side, Fb. ii. 330; hér við ána, by the river, Ld. 46; búa við Þjórsá, Nj. 93; liggja við land, Fms. i. 14; við Ísland, Grág.; binda stein við hálsinn, Ld. 154; draga segl við hún, hoist sail to the top, Hkr. ii. 6; reka spora við eyra e-m, Nj. 82; festa e-n við meið, tré, to fasten to a pole, a tree, Glúm. 391; nísta við gólfit, to pin it to the floor (see nista); binda við fót e-s, to bind up a broken leg, Bárð. 167; dró upp flóka við austr, in the east, Vígl. 22.

2. temporal, towards, at; við vetr sjálfan, Fms. ii. 97; Krók. 51 C; við sólar-setr, Fas. i. 514; við sól, with the sun, at sunrise. Eg. 717; við aptan, towards evening, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 143; við þat sjálft, at that moment, Fms. xi. 432; bregða í kross við hvert orð, at every word, K. Þ. K.; vera við aldr, to be stricken in years, Eb. 18, Ísl. ii. 192, Fms. ii. 81; ef barn er við dauða, on the point to die, N. G. L. i. 345; við sjálft, on the verge of (see sjálfr); við váða sjálfan, búið við geig, on the verge of, Eg. 158; Grettir var við svefn, just asleep, Grett. 127.

3. phrases, við svá búit, after all done, often with the notion of ‘in vain, nothing having been done’ (búa B. II. δ); fóru við þat heim, Fms. i. 54, ix. 469, Nj. 127; skildu við þetta, 260, Ísl. ii. 217.

II. at, to; Hrútr er við skip, Nj. 4; Hrútr var við búð, 79; vera heima við bú sitt, 215; hanga upp við siglu-rá, Fas. iii. 659; bundinn við staf, Eg. 232; fastr við altara, fastened to the altar, Vm. 110; styðja sik vid e-t, to lean on, Fms. ix. 512; sitja upp við hægindit, leaning on it, Ld. 16; sitja upp við vegginn, Nj. 153; ganga við staf, 219; ganga við tréfót, Eb. 66; styðjask við höndina, Fas. i. 228; rísa upp við olboga, Þórð. 15; sitja við stýri, at the rudder, Eg. 385; hafa barn við brjóst, to have a bairn at breast, N. G. L. i. 340; leggja, bæta, auka, við e-t, to add to; blanda við e-t, to mix with; vera við e-t, to be present at, Ld. 92, Eg. 540; sitja við drykk, mat, to sit at drink, meat, Eg. 303, 420.

III. denoting association, together with; vera samþingi, samfjórðungs við e-n, Grág. ii. 237; vera saman við e-n, vera samvista við e-n, eiga samneyti við, vera sammæðr við e-n, passim; vera utan-fjórðungs við víg, Grág. ii. 89; vera við e-t riðinn; þeir vildu eigi vera hér við heiðna menn, Íb. 4; búa við e-n, Gísl. 17.

2. direction; í sýn við bæinn, Fas. ii. 507; í örskots-helgi við garðinn, Grág.; standa í höggfæri við e-n, Nj. 97; við þat lík at lifa, Hm.

IV. denoting company, with; bauð þeim heim við alla sína menn, Vígl. 27; riðu við sextigi manna, Nj. 10, 213, Ld. 164; gékk á land við einn svein, Fms. ix. 502; sækja land við útlendan her, Hkr. i. 198; við fá, marga … menn, Fas. i. 35; the phrase, við annan, þriðja fjórða … mann (see annarr I. 1); þú ert hér kominn við svá mikit fé, Ld. 112; sækja mál við níu búa, Grág.; við váttorð, Kb. i. 103; leyfa e-t við vitni, Ld. 104; bjóða e-t við váttorð, in the presence of, by witnesses, Nj. 243.

B. METAPH. USAGES:

I. towards a person or thing, respecting, regarding; hryðja við aðilja, Grág. (Kb.) i. 127; missa fjár síns við þjóf, Grág.; skilja við e-n, to part with (see skilja); til metnaðar við sik, Edda i. 20; til huggunar við sik, Ld. 228; til þjónustu við e-n, Eg. 28; til gæzlu við e-n, for keeping, watching one, Ld. 152; ganga, koma, fara til fundar, til móts … við e-n, 62, 90, Nj. 4, Eg. 101; mildr, blíðr, léttr, kátr, ástúðigr, góðr, harðr, grimmr, reiðr, harðráðr, stríðr, … við menn, mild … towards, Nj. 2, 47, 48; víkjast undan við e-n, Ld. 42; fyrir kapps sakir við e-n, til liðveizlu, hjálpar … við e-n, Eg. 44, Nj. 75; sýna vinskap, halda vinskap við e-n, Ld. 150; leggja ást við e-n, 34; líka vel, ílla við e-n, Nj. 53; eiga eyrindi við e-n, Eg. 260; eiga orð við e-n, 255; hafa lög við e-n, Nj. 106; tala, mæla, ræða, segja, spjalla við e-n, to talk, speak … with a person, passim; skipta, eiga, … við e-n, to deal… with; berjask, deila við e-n, to fight with, against; göra e-t við e-n, so to act with, Greg. 43; reyna e-t við e-n, to contend with one, Nj. 46, 94, Edda i. 106; hafa misgört við e-n, Fms. viii. 103; láta vaxa óþokka við e-n, Nj. 107; tilför við Gunuar, 101; mála-tilbúnaðr við e-n, 100; sekr við e-n, útlagr við goða, Grág.

2. hræddr við e-n, afraid of one; verða varr við e-t, to perceive; vanr við e-t, used to a thing; hann var svá vanr við vini sína, Fms. viii. 220; fella sik við e-t, kunna við e-t, to apply oneself to, to like.

II. of cause, by, at; falla við högg, to fall by a stroke, Nj. 163; hrata við lagit, Eg. 379; vakna við e-t, Fas. ii. 116; vakna við draum; verða glaðr, reiðr, hryggr, úkátr … við e-t, to become glad, wroth … at, Íb. 10, Eg. 102, 321, passim; bregða sér við e-t, Ld. 190: by, við minn atbeina, Fms. vi. 66; við samþykki e-s, Eg. 165; við ráð e-s, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 30; gört þat við einræði þitt, Ld. 188; et þat at vánum við skaplyndi Þorgeirs, Nj. 255; hlaða seglum við mikinn háska, with great danger, Korm. 168; sigla við stjörnu-ljós, to sail by star-light, Fms. i. 24; lesa við ljós, to read with a light; búa sik við skart, to dress fine.

III. as compared with, set off against; sex sær við kú, Grág. i. 502–504; selja, virðing sína við íllgirni þínaa, Eb. 160; þrjóta mun mik íllsku við þik. Hkr. i. 322; mik skortir við hann, Nj. 90; hafa afta við e-n, Eg. 187; eigi minna virðr enn við konunginn, i. e. of equal worth with the king, Fms. xi. 45; er þetta við mikla fémuni, Hrafn. 19; fjórðungi skerð við goðorð önnur, Grág. (Kb.) i. 211; Skotland er þriðjungr ríkis við England, Nj. 266; þriðjung við liðsmenn, Eg. 57; at þriðjungi við ykkr, Ld. 102; helming við hann, Fms. i. 22; gaf þeim hálfar tekjur við sik, 7.

IV. við þann kost, on that condition, Grág. (Kb.) i. 233: of medicine, for, við svefnleysi, við orms-bit, við offeitan kvið …, Lækn.: in mod. usage dat., and so in Hm. 138.

V. denoting fitness, proportion; göra klæði við vöxt e-s, Eg. 516; við þeirra hæfi, 109; er þat ekki við þitt æði, Ld. 298; vera við alþýðu-skap, Fs. 63; við sik, in proportion, B. K. 8; neyta skógar við sik sem þarf, Grág. ii. 292; þat er hann má eigi sjálfr við sik njóta, himself alone, 623. 21; hann var skapaðr allr við sik, well shaped, symmetrical, Fas. i. 173; fagrt ok allt vel við sik, Fms. x. 321; veðrit vesnaði en nátt-myrkr á við sik. Bjarn. 52; vita hvat við sik væri, to know what was the matter, Fms. xi. 11, Fas. ii. 516; leggja mál við tré, Ld. 316; draga kvarða við lérept, vaðmál, Grág. i. 497, 498.

VI. with, by, denoting means; tendra eld við fjallrapa, to light fire with, Bs. i. 7; við þessar fortölur, Ld. 204; kom svá við umtölur góðra manna, Nj. 267; við áskoran þína, 258; mýkjask við e-t, Fms. v. 239; húð skorpnuð við eld, Nj. 208.

VII. with verbs; lifa við skömm, meizlur, harm, lifa við slíka harma, to live with or in shame, sorrow, Nj. 92, Hkr. ii. 107, Eg. 604, Ld. 332; leika við e-n, Nj. 2; kaupa við e-n, Grág.; binda við e-t, to bind, fasten to; sætta, rægja, friða e-n við e-n, Eg. 226, Grág. ii. 99; tala, … við e-n, to speak, deal … with, Nj. 2, 197, Ld. 22 (see I); hefja upp bónorð við e-n, Eg. 38; leita eptir við e-n, leita ráða við e-n, eiga hlut at við e-n, Nj. 75, 101, 213, Eg. 174; fæða, lifa, fæðask, ala, búa, bjargast, við e-t, to feed, live, subsist … on, Edda i. 46, Fms. i. 226, v. 219, Nj. 236, passim; vera við e-t, to be present at, and metaph. to enjoy, Hom. 87, Edda (pref.); nema lyfsteinn sé við riðinn, Ld. 250; hann brá upp við fætinum (viz. við lagit), Nj. 264; binda við e-t, to bind to, Fms. ix. 358; at þeim heimilum ok í örskotshelgi við (viz. þau) á alla vega, Grág. (Kb.) i. 88; þar við, hér við, at engi mundi þar þora við at etja, Nj. 89.

2. hagr við e-t, skilful at; kunna vel við e-t, id.; skjarr við skot, Ls.; temja, venja, … við e-t; drekka við sleitur (see sleita); kveða við raust, Sturl. iii. 317, Eg. 554; syngja vid tón, Sturl. iii. 210; búa sik við skart, skikkja búin við gull, Fms. x. 199; skyrta saumuð við gull, embroidered with, Fas. ii. 529; glóa við gull, to glow or gleam with gold, Lex. Poët.

VIII. elliptical or ad- verbial usages; bregða við, to start; hann þagði við, remained silent, Nj. 2; verða bilt, felmt við, Ísl. ii. 274, Nj. 105; fá við þrjú skip, to add three ships, Fms. xi. 73; jók nú miklu við, it waxed much, Ld. 54; kveða við, gella við, to scream, yell; þurfa við, to need, Nj. 74; njóta e-s við, to enjoy, 85; komask við, to be touched; leita við, to try; bera við, to happen (see bera); koma við, to touch; standa, bíða við, to stop a bit; nema við, to hinder, cause a hindrance; kunna við, to like; koma e-u við, to bring a thing about, 101; ef ek viðr um kæmumk, if I could manage it, Hbl.; bjarga e-u við, hjálpa við, to help, put right; reisa við, rétta við, to raise up again, put right; kannask við, to recognise; vera við staddr, to be present, = við e-t staddr.

IX. in recipr. phrases, talask við, eigask við, fásk við, etc., to speak … to one another, where the object is suffixed to the preceding verb.

X. with an adverb or particle, of direction; upp á við, niðr á við, upwards, downwards; vestr á við, Fas. ii. 244; móts við, towards; á við, equivalent to (það er á við tvær merkr); austan við, vestan við, sunnan við, fram við, inn við, etc., followed by an accusative.

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I. with dat.

1) before, in front of (ok vóru fyrir honum borin merkin);

fyrir dyrum, before the door;