stated

(kveð; kvað, kváðum; kveðinn), v.

1) to say, utter;

hann kvað eigi orð, he did not utter a word;

kveða gleði-orð, to say a cheerful word;

with infin., hann kvað þat satt vera, he said it was true;

kveða at orði, to express oneself, say, speak;

2) to (compose and) say aloud (hann kvað vísu);

to recite, repeat (S. bað hann þá kveða kvæðit þat, er hann hafði ort);

3) with preps.:

kveða at, to say, state;

gramm. to pronounce, sound;

kveða e-t at e-m, to inflict on;

mikill harmr er at oss kveðinn, great grief has been sent on us;

kveða á, to fix, determine (kveða á stefnudag);

impers. to state;

kveðr þar skýrt á þetta, it is there expressly stated;

to cancel, object to (kveða á gögn, to cancel the evidence) to make up one’s mind, resolve;

kveða e-t upp, to recite, declare (þat skulu lög vera, sem hann kveðr upp);

kveða við, to reply, answer (hitki hann veit, hvat hann skal við kveða, ef);

to utter a cry, etc. (hundrinn kvað við hátt);

to sound (því næst kvað lúðr við);

4) refl., kveðast, to say of oneself;

þeir er biskupar kváðust vera, who said they were bishops;

hann kveðst eigi ríða mundu, he said he would not ride;

impers., mér kveðsk = ek kveð mér;

Kára kvaðsk (= Kári kvað sér) önnur ferð betri þykkja, K. said he thought another course preferable;

kveðast at, to exchange verses or songs.

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sing. kveðr, pret. kvað, 2nd pers. kvatt, kvattú, Fms. vi. 386, pl. kváðu, kvóðu, and kóðu, Ls. 24, Hom. 12, Ó. H. 48, Fms. viii. 71, xi. 107; pret. subj. kvæði; imperat. kveð, kveð-þú, kvettú, vi. 361, mod. kveddu; with neg. suff., pres. kveðk-a-ek, I say not, Ýt. 7: [Ulf. qiþan = λέγειν, εἰπειν, ἐρειν; A. S. cweðan; Engl. quoth; O. H. G. quedan; Swed. quäda; Dan. kvæde; cp. Lat. in-quit]:—to say; né því er kveðr kona, nor what a woman says, Hm. 83; at þú Frey kveðir úleiðastarr lifa, Skm. 19; kveða ( dicunt) Heimdal valda véum, Gm. 13: in an epic sense, to say, orð kvað þá Vingi, Am. 37, 38; Glaumvör kvað at orði, 30, 32; ok hann þat orða, alls fyrst um kvað = Homer’s καί μιν φωνήσας …, Þkv. 2, 3, 9, 12; or, þá kvað þat Heimdalr; Þá kvað þat Þórr; þá kvað þat Þrymr, 15, 17, 18, 20, 22, 25, 30; Egill fékk úgleði mikla svá at hann kvað eigi orð, Eg. 518; k. gleði-orð, to say a cheerful word, Vígl. 89 new Ed.; þeir kvóðu ekki gott orð at honum, 655 vii. 3; er hann hafði þat mælt, þá kvað hann úti annat orð, Fms. xi. 16; hverr þessa stafa, ef hann verðr í nef kveðinn, if he is nasal in sound, Skálda 162; lýsingar-váttar Marðar kváðu svá at orði, Nj. 233; til báls ok til brands kveðr at fornu máli, as it is said in old saws, N. G. L. i. 50; Rannveig kvað vel at hann færi útan, Nj. 111:—with infin., hón kvad þar eigi kvenna-vist, Fms. vii. 274; kveðum þá mæla ( let them speak) á várar tungur, 656 C. 6: the pret. kvað (proncd. kvu) as adv. or absol., ‘tis said, they say, það kvað (kvu) vera, they say so.

2. with prep.; kveða at, adverb. so to say; svá mátti at kveða, id., Fms. xi. 72; er svá mun mega at k. at líf manna lægi við, Nj. 78; kveðr svá at, it is so said, Ver. 83; þá er svá at kveðit, 3; lögsögumaðr skal ráða ok at kveða ( determine) hvar hvergi dómr skal sitja, Grág. i. 27: gramm. to pronounce, sound, Skálda 165; mikill harmr er at oss kveðinn, mickle harm is doomed us, Nj. 201; mikit er at Kjartani kveðit (there’s mickle said against K., i. e. he is a doomed man), ok mun úhægt vera at göra við forlögum þeirra, Ld. 190: það kveðr mikið (lítið) að e-u, to be of great ( small) influence or importance:—kveða á, to fix, determine, Grág. i. 35, 39, Nj. 90, Ld. 74; var kveðit á brullaups-stefnu, Nj. 40; var gört um málit ok kveðit á fégjöld, 111, Fs. 68: to state, kveðr þar skýrt á þetta, it is expressly stated there, Ld. 334: a law term, to cancel, object to, kveða á gögn, to cancel the evidence, Grág. i. 67, 106: to fix, make up one’s mind, resolve, 100, Nj. 3, 252: part. ákveðinn, fixed, appointed, 256: fated, eigi má saka þik um þetta, segir Njáll, þvíat slíkt er mjök ákveðit, 166: ákveðin orð, an agreement, stipulation, Hkr. ii. 372; með ákveðnum orðum, in express words, Grett. 89; vant er mér þat at skýra með ákveðnum orðum, Sks. 660; með ákveðnu, id., K. Á. 208; mun ek ákveðit göra, hverir þar skulu vera, Ísl. ii. 346: ákveðin orð, pointed, libellous words, Bjarn. 57:—kveða við, to reply, Hm. 26:—k. upp, to pronounce, make known, Gísl. 10, Fms. vii. 88.

II. to sing; hón bað Þorstein kveða nokkut, Grett. 159; skemti Stúfr ok kvað flokk einn, ok er lokit var bað konungr hann enn k.—Hversu mörg hefir þú nú kvæðin kveðit? … hví kveðr þú flokka eina? Fms. vi. 391; skyldi ok engi kveða vísurnar, Nj. 71; Egill orti alla drápuna, ok hafði fest svá at hann mátti kveða um morguninn, Eg. 421; k. kvæði, Ísl. ii. 232; þótt hann kveði út kvæði þetta, Fms. v. 175; konungr mælti, tel þú oss kvæði nokkut,—Þormóðr settisk upp ok kvað hátt mjök, svá at heyrði um allan herinn, hann kvað Bjarka-mál en fornu, Ó. H. 207; harm hóf upp kvæðit ok kvað hátt, Eg. 427; slógu þá konur hring umhverfis hjallinn, en Þorbjörg sat uppi á seiðhjallinum, kvað Guðríðr þá kvæðit svá fagrt ok vel, at engi þóttisk heyrt hafa með fegri rödd kvæði kveðit, Þorf. Karl. 378: in mod. usage kveða is used of the rhapsodic delivery of a ballad (ríma), half reciting half singing, thus Icel. say, kveða rímur, to recite a ballad, as also kveða vel, to recite, sing well; hann er góðr kvæða-maðr, he is a good ballad-singer, but never of a hymn or full melody; þeir riðu um bygðina kveðandi um daginn, Fms. xi. 376; þá ferr hann með fjölkyngi, ef hann kveðr þat eða kennir, K. Þ. K.; nú eru Háva-mál kveðin, Háva höllu í, Hm. 165; ok Austmarr jöfri Sænskum gýmis ljóð at gamni kveðr, Ýt. 18; þar sat kona við kvern ok kvað forkunnar fagrt, Fms. vii. 233.

2. to make a verse; kvettú nú, Þjóðólfr, um deild þeirra, … Þjóðólfr kvað (and the verse follows), Fms. vi. 361; kveða vísu, to make a ditty, Fms., Nj. passim; kvæðit var mjök kveðit, Fms. v. 173; þessi vísa var ílla ort ok skal ek kveða aðra betri, hann kvað, vi. 416; heyr þjóðskáldit! kvattú svá, gröm, skömm? ekki eru þær hendingar jafnhávar, 386:—kveða á e-n, to challenge one in a song; kalla þær sé kveðit sik á | af kærleiks elsku-fundum, Skíða R. 3.

3. kveða við, to scream; kvað sá við í því er kesjan stóð á honum miðjum, Fms. viii. 354; hundrinn kvað við hátt, Nj. 114: to sound, því næst kvað lúðr við, the trumpet sounded, Fms. vi. 16, vii. 288; þeir létu kveða við lúðra sína, ix. 527; í því kvað við klokka, Fb. i. 417, Fms. iii. 60, ix. 510.

III. reflex. to say of oneself; þeir er biskupar kváðusk vera, who said they were bishops, Íb. 13; hann kveðsk eigi ríða mundu, Nj. 12; Njáll kvaðsk með því einu fara myndu, 105; þeir kváðusk eigi vita hverju gegndi, Fms. vii. 272; þeir er sét kveðask hafa seglin, 322; þeir kóðusk koma mundu, xi. 107; hann kvaðsk þess albúinn, Nj. 100; Óttarr kvaðsk eigi vara, at …, Fs. 87.

2. also impers., mér kveðsk = eg kveð mér; er þér kveðsk þá þykkja gott at deyja, Fms. xi. 153; hafði hann fátt um í fyrstu, en kvaðsk þetta (= kvað sér þetta) þó vel líka, ix. 291; Kára kvaðsk (i. e. Kári kvað sér) önnur ferð betri þykkja, K. said he would like better to take another course, Nj. 139; herfiligt kveðsk honum þykkja at hokra þar fyrir stokkum eða steinum, Fas. ii. 505; Glúmi kveðsk því betr þykkja, Rd. 286; kvaðsk þeim horfin-heilla at þykkja, Fms. vii. 272; honum kveðsk vel á lítask, vi. 99; þeim kvaðsk þykkja sér vandalaust, 107; Vigdísi kvaðsk eigi vera um lygi, Ld. 44; honum kvaðsk meira um at halda fram, Fb. iii. 447; honum kvaðsk svá hugr um segja, Sturl.

3. kveðask at, recipr. to exchange songs, a game played at a wake or dance; sá leikr var mönnum tíðr, at kveðask skyldu at, karlmaðr at konu, ok kona at karlmanni, Bs. i. 165: in mod. usage, kveðast á, to cap verses, each party in turn replying in a verse beginning with the letter with which the preceding one ends; Komdú nú að kveðast á | kvæðin okkar stór og smá, a ditty, cp. kveða á II. 2. above.

(að), v.

1) to number, tax, value (akta fólkit, akta vísaeyri konungs);

2) to examine, search into (aktið þér ok öll leyni þau, er hann má felast);

3) to devote attention to, to study (akta ýmisligar íþróttir, bókligar listir);

4) to procure (akta þá hluti er hinum sjúka henta); akta e-t inn, to furnish, supply;

5) to debate, discuss in parliament (nú sem þetta var aktat, gengu menn til lögréttu).

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að, [for. word, which therefore does not observe the contraction into á, which is the rule with genuine words; it appears esp. in eccl. writers and annalists at the end of the 13th and 14th centuries, Arna b. S., K. Á., Stj., the Norse Gþl., etc.: cp. A. S. eahtan; Hel. ahton, censere, considerare; Germ. achten; mid. Lat. actare, determinare et actare, Du Cange in a letter of the year 1284.]

I. to number, tax, value, take a census; akta fólkið, Stj. 2 Sam. xxiv. 10; fóru þeir víða um land ok öktuðu vísaeyri konungs, taxed, Bs. i. 707; nú byggir maðr dýrra en vandi hefir á verit, akti ( tax) því fremr dýrra ok fremr til leiðangrs ok landvarnar, he shall be taxed in due proportion, Gþl. 337.

2. to examine, enquire; aktið inniliga öll þau leyni sem hánn má í felast, to take diligent heed of all the lurking-places, Stj. 479. 1 Sam. xxiii. 23; aktið þó áðr, and look, that, id. 2 Kings x. 23; hann aktaði eptir ( looked after) urn eignir staðarins, Bs. i. 778.

3. to devote attention to, study; hann aktaði mjök bókligar listir, Bs. i. 666, 680.

II. a law term, esp. in the Arna b. S., to debate, discuss in parliament; mú er þetta var aktað ( debated) gengu menn til lögréttu, Bs. i. 719; var þá gengit til lögréttu, ok lesit bréf konungs ok drottningar ok aktað ( stated) af leikmanna hendi hversu prestar höfðu af stöðum gengit, 735; lögbók öktuð á alþingi, the code of law debated at the althing, H. Ann. 419. 19. Now only used in the sense of to care for, feel respect for, but a rare and unclassical

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(að), v.

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

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

3) to enter upon, begin;

byrja ferð sína, to begin one’s journey;

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

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

hefir þú fram byrjat (stated) erendi þitt.

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

sem byrja (as it behoves) hlýðnum syni;

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

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

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

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

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

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

IV. impers. with dat.:

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

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

(pl. hundruð), n. hundred; tírœtt h. = 100; tólfrœtt h. = 120; hundruðum, by (in) hundreds; as value, one hundred and twenty ells of the stuff wadmal; h. frítt, a hundred paid in cattle; tólf hundruð mórend, twelve hundred in dark-striped wadmal; hundrað silfrs, ? the silver value of 120 ells (= 20 ounces).

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n. pl. hundruð; the form hund- (q. v.) only occurs in a few old compd words: [Goth. hunda, pl.; A. S. hund; O. H. G. hunt; the extended form in Hel. and old Frank, hundered; Germ. hundert; Dan. hundrede; Swed. hundra; the inflexive syllable is prob. akin to - ræðr in átt-ræðr]:—a hundred; the Scandinavians of the heathen time (and perhaps also all Teutonic people) seem to have known only a duo-decimal hundred (= 12 × 10 or 120); at that time 100 was expressed by tíu-tíu, cp. Ulf. taihun-taihund = ten-teen; Pal Vídalín says,—hundrað tólfrætt er sannlega frá heiðni til vor komið, en hið tíræða er líkast að Norðrlönd hafi ekki vitað af fyrr en Kristni kom hér og með henni lærdómr þeirrar aldar, Skýr. s. v. Hundrað (fine): but with the introduction of Christianity came in the decimal hundred, the two being distinguished by adjectives,—tólfrætt hundrað = 120, and tírætt hundrað = 100. But still the old popular duodecimal system continued in almost all matters concerned with economical or civil life, in all law phrases, in trade, exchange, property, value, or the like, and the decimal only in ecclesiastical or scholastic matters (chronology, e. g. Íb. ch. 1, 10). At the same time the word in speech and writing was commonly used without any specification of tírætt or tólfrætt, for, as Pal Vídalín remarks, every one acquainted with the language knew which was meant in each case; even at the present time an Icel. farmer counts his flocks and a fisherman his share (hlutr) by the duodecimal system; and everybody knows that a herd or share of one hundred and a half means 120 + 60 = 180. In old writers the popular way of counting is now and then used even in chronology and in computation, e. g. when Ari Frode (Íb. ch. 4) states that the year consists of three hundred and four days (meaning 364); the census of franklins given by the same writer (where the phrase is hundruð heil = whole or full hundreds) is doubtless reckoned by duodecimal, not decimal hundreds, Íb. ch. 10; and in the census of priests and churches taken by bishop Paul (about A. D. 1200) ‘tíræð’ is expressively added, lest duodecimal hundreds should be understood, Bs. i. 136. The Landn. (at end) contains a statement (from Ari?) that Iceland continued pagan for about a hundred years, i. e. from about 874–997 A. D. In the preface to Ólafs S., Snorri states that two duodecimal hundreds (tvau hundruð tólfræð) elapsed from the first colonisation of Iceland before historical writing began (i. e. from about A. D. 874–1115): levies of ships and troops are in the laws and Sagas counted by duodecimal hundreds, e. g. the body-guard of king Olave consisted of a hundred hirð-men, sixty house-carles and sixty guests, in all ‘two hundred’ men, i. e. 240, Mork. 126; the sons of earl Strút-Harald had a hundred men, of whom eighty were billetted out and forty returned, Fms. xi. 88, 89; hálft hundrað, a half hundred = sixty, Mork. l. c.

2. a division of troops = 120; hundraðs-flokkr, Fms. vi. (in a verse).

II. in indef. sense, hundreds, a host, countless number, see hund-, as also in the adverb, phrase, hundruðum, by hundreds (indefinitely), Fms. vi. 407, Þiðr. 275, 524: in mod. usage as adjective and indecl., except the pl. in -uð, thus hundruð ásauðum, Dipl. iv. 10.

B. As value, a hundred, i. e. a hundred and twenty ells of the stuff wadmal, and then simply value to that amount (as a pound sterling in English). All property, real as well as personal, is even at present in Icel. taxed by hundreds; thus an estate is a ‘twenty, sixty, hundred’ estate; a franklin gives his tithable property as amounting to so and so many hundreds. As for the absolute value of a hundred, a few statements are sufficient, thus e. g. a milch cow, or six ewes with lambs, counts for a hundred, and a hundrað and a kúgildi (cow’s value) are equal: the charge for the alimentation of a pauper for twelve months was in the law (Jb. 165) fixed to four hundred and a half for a male person, but three hundred and a half for a female; cp. also the phrase, það er ekki hundrað í hættunni, there is no hundred at stake, no great risk! In olden times a double standard was used,—the wool or wadmal standard, called hundrað talið = a hundred by tale, i. e. a hundred and twenty ells as stated above, and a silver standard, called hundrað vegit, a hundred by weight, or hundrað silfrs, a hundred in silver, amounting to two marks and a half = twenty ounces = sixty örtugar; but how the name hundred came to be applied to it is not certain, unless half an örtug was taken as the unit. It is probable that originally both standards were identical, which is denoted by the phrase, sex álna eyrir, six ells to an ounce, or a hundred and twenty ells equal to twenty ounces (i. e. wadmal and silver at par); but according as the silver coinage was debased, the phrases varied between nine, ten, eleven, twelve ells to an ounce (N. G. L. i. 80, 81, 387, 390, passim), which denote bad silver; whereas the phrase ‘three ells to an ounce’ (þriggja álna eyrir, Sturl. i. 163, passim, or a hundred in wadmal equal to half a hundred in silver) must refer either to a double ell or to silver twice as pure: the passage in Grág. i. 500 is somewhat obscure, as also Rd. 233: the words vegin, silfrs, or talin are often added, but in most cases no specification is given, and the context must shew which of the two standards is there meant; the wool standard is the usual one, but in cases of weregild the silver standard seems always to be understood; thus a single weregild (the fine for a man’s life) was one hundred, Njála passim.

2. the phrases, hundrað frítt, a hundred paid in cattle, Finnb. 236; tólf hundruð mórend, twelve hundred in dark striped wadmal, Nj. 225; hundrað í búsgögnum ok í húsbúningi, Vm. 65; hundraðs-gripr, hestr, hross, kapall, hvíla, sæng, rekkja, psaltari, etc., a beast, a horse, a bed, etc., of a hundred’s value, Am. 2, 10, Vm. 25, 39, 60, 153, Jm. 3, 30; hundraðs-úmagi, a person whose maintenance costs a hundred, Vm. 156; hundraðs virði, a hundred’s value, 68. For references see the Sagas and laws passim, and for more information see Mr. Dasent’s Essay in Burnt Njal.

C. A hundred, a political division which in olden times was common to all Teut. nations, but is most freq. in old Swedish laws, where several hundreds made a hérað or shire; cp. the A. S. and Engl. hundred, Du Cange hundredum; old Germ. hunderti, see Grimm’s Rechts Alterthümer; the centum pagi of Caesar, Bell. Gall. iv. ch. 1, is probably the Roman writer’s misconception of the Teut. division of land into hundreds; this is also the case with Tacit. Germ. ch. 12: cp. the Swed. local names Fjaðrunda-land, Áttundaland, and Tíunda-land, qs. Fjaðr-hunda land, Átthunda land, Tíhunda land, i. e. a combination of four, eight, ten hundreds. The original meaning was probably a community of a hundred and twenty franklins or captains. This division is not found in Icel.

f. [hjú], the ‘wedding-nights,’ i. e. the three nights either just before or rather just after the wedding (Skm. 42): that they were three is stated in Fas. i. 250 (in a verse), where hýjar-nætr = hýnætr seems to be the true reading; the same number is hinted at in the Skm. l. c.,—hve um þreyjak ‘þrjár.’ May not the Engl. honeymoon be derived from this old word, qs. hýnóttar mánuðr = the wedding-night month?

(gen. laðar), f. invitation (poet.).

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f. [the word is prob. akin to loðinn], the crop or produce of the land, as opp. to buildings or establishments, a law term; lóð ok allan áverka, the crop and all produce, N. G. L. i. 240; þá skal lög fyrir lóð festa, 154; ef lóð eða bú berr í erfð, 216; á landsdrottinn í lóðinni svá mikit sem húsit metzk, Gþl. 330, 331, Jb. passim. In mod. usage lóð means the ground, esp. on which houses are built, but that this was not the true old sense is clear from the above passage, as is stated by Pál Vídal., s. v. lóð; cp. also lóð-bruni, lóð-torfa, below.

II. Lat. lanugo, the shagginess of cloth, proncd. ló, qs. lóð, hence af-lóa, qs. af-lóða = threadbare:—ló or lóð is also a flock of wool thrown away in walking or spinning; Bárðr minn á Jökli, leggstu á þólið mitt, eg skal gefa þer lóna og leppana í skóna, a ditty.

u, f. an ‘oven-closet,’ close stove, bath-room, Fms. vi. 440, where it is stated that king Olave the Quiet (1066–1093) was the first who introduced ovens or stoves (ofn-stofa) into the hall instead of the old open fires, see eldr (II); these stoves served for bathing and for heating the rooms; hann lét ok fyrst göra ofnstofur ok steingólf vetr sem sumar. The account of the death of the Berserkers in Eb. ch. 28, referring to the 10th century, may therefore be an anachronism and not an historical fact, for it is reported as extraordinary for Iceland that a bishop of Hólar (a Norseman) in the year 1316 built a ‘stone-oven’ ( brick-oven) in his house, Laur. S. l. c.

m. ‘skald-spoiler,’ the nickname of the poet Eyvind; the name was, we believe, a bye-word, a ‘poetaster,’ ‘plagiarist;’ we believe that this nickname was given to this poet because two of his chief poems were modelled after other works of contemporary poets, the Háleygja-tal after the Ynglinga-tal, and the Hákonar-mál after the Eiríks-mál; (as to the latter poem this is even expressly stated in Fagrsk. 22); the word would thus be the same as íll-skælda, a word applied to a poet for having borrowed the refrain of his poem, Fms. iii. 65.

1) mid-forenoon, 9 a. m. (um morgininn at undorni);

2) midafternoon, 3 p. m..

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m. (not n. as stated in Lex. Poët.), also spelt undurn and undarn, see the references below: [this word occurs in all ancient Teut. languages; Ulf. undaurni-mats or undurn-meat = ἄριστον, Luke xiv. 12; A. S. undern; Hel. undorn: O. H. G. untarn. Afterwards it was disused in writing, but in provincial dialects it still survives in all Teutonic countries, Scandinavia, Germany (Bavaria, the Rhine), England (Cumberland, Yorkshire), everywhere, except in Iceland, where, strange to say, it is unknown in speech as well as in writing; thus, Swed. undan, undarn, unden; in Norway undaaln; Bavaria untern (Schmeller); Fris. ounern; provinc. Engl. orndorns, ownder (Brocket); in all these dialects it means a middle-meal, a kind of lunch, taken either in the afternoon at three o’clock (this seems to be the prevailing sense, at least in Scandinavia), or in the forenoon at nine: even a verb has been formed, thus in Sweden sova und is to take a nap at lunch-time, at midday (Rietz); in the Rhine country ondern is said of cattle lying down at midday (Schmeller).]

B. USAGE.—In old Icel, or Norse writers the word occurs five times, thrice in poets, twice in prose; the original sense was undoubtedly a time of the day, either mid-afternoon, i. e. three o’clock P.M., or mid-forenoon, i. e. nine o’clock A.M., the sense of food being a derived one (like mál, q. v.):

1. mid-afternoon, answering to the nones of eccl. writers; morgin hétu ok miðjan dag, undorn ok aptan, they called morning and midday, ‘undorn’ and evening, Vsp. 6 (undurn, Hb. l. c.), where undorn is placed midway between noon and eve.

2. mid-forenoon; um morguninn at undurni, in the morning at undurn time, O. H. L. 65; þá hringt er til miðs-morguns, ok hafa unninn eiðinn fyrr en hringi at undurn (dat.) at Krists-kirkju, when it rings at mid-morning time, and shall have taken the oath ere the bells at Christ’s kirk ring at undurn, N. G. L. i. 308.

II. a meal; hjuggu vér undurn frekum vargi, we carved a meal for the greedy wolf, i. e. we slew many in the battle, Km. 2; örn drekkr undarn, the eagle drinks undarn, Edda 101 (in a verse of about 1030 A. D.), the various readings (undranar and undjarn) shew that the transcribers did not understand the word. ☞ In the Icel. day-marks only nón (q. v.) is of eccl. Lat. origin; may not undorn be the old heathen term which was displaced by that word? the passage in Vsp. favours this suggestion.

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(-tta, -ttr), v.

1) to grant, give (v. e-m líð, hjálp, huggun, grið, trygðir);

2) to help, assist, stand by one (þeir veittu Gizuri hvíta í hverju máli);

3) to grant, permit (Þ. beiddist at sjá gripina, ok þat veitti hón henni); v. e-m bœn, to grant one a request;

4) v. veizlu, to give a feast; v. brúðkaup e-s, to hold a wedding; v. útferð e-s, to hold a funeral feast; also absol. to give a feast or entertainment (v. stórmannliga, með inni mestu rausn);

5) to entertain, treat (konungr veitti sveitungum sínum);

6) to sustain, support an indigent person (síra Hafliði veitti þessi góðu konu allt til dauðadags);

7) of a performance; v. e-u áhald, to lay hold on; v. atfór, heimferð at e-m, to make an expedition against one; v. e-m atsókn, to allack; v. e-m áverka, to inflict a wound on; v. e-m eptirför, to pursue one;

8) e-t veitir e-m þungt, erfitt, it proves hard, difficult for one (Dönum veitti þungt atsóknin); impers., keisaranum veitti þungt, the emperor had the luck against him; e-t veitir erfitt, it is hard work; Geirmundi veitti betr, G. got the better of it, carried the day;

9) to happen (þat veitir sjaldan, optliga, stundum);

10) recipr., veitast at, to back one another (vit Egill munum nú v. at); þeir veittust at öllum málum, they stood by one another in all suits.

(-tta, -ttr), v. to convey, lead (water), with acc. or dat. (v. vatn or vatni); v. ánni ór enum forna farveg, to divert the river from its old course; impers., veitir vatn til sjóvar, the rivers trend towards the sea.

1) draining;

2) ditch; trench;

3) = veitiengi.

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u, f., qs. vreita, dropping the r, [akin to reitr, rít, q. v., the root word; A. S. wrîtan = to trench; this is borne out by the mod. Norwegian forms as stated by Ivar Aasen, veit in Sogn, but vreite in Thelemarken; reite near Mandal]:—a trench, ditch; of vatn-veitur, of water-trenches, aqueducts, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 97; eigi skal hann annarra lönd meiða í veitunni, … of veitu-garða, trench-ditches, Grág. ii. 281; eigi á maðr at göra veitur í landi sínu svá at hann spilli landi eða engi manns þess er fyrir neðan býr, 282.