tólf hofgoðar vóru œztir

i. e. œðri, compar. higher, superl. œztr, highest (spelt eozt, Rb. 1812. 51; the mod. spelling is æðstr); it has no positive: [this word is the same as the Goth. auhuma, auhumists, h and þ being interchanged; the usages in the Icel. N. T., when compared with the Goth., shew the identity of the words beyond doubt, e. g. æðstu prestar, Matth. xxvi. 59; sá æðsti prestr, 63; þeim æðstu prestum, xxvii. 3; þeir æðstu prestar, 6, 20: with which cp. ahumists gudja in Ulf.: þess árs æðsti prestr, John xviii. 15 (where Ulf. ‘ahumists’ weiha)]:—higher, highest:

I. in a local sense; uppi ok niðri leitaða ek æðra vegar up and down I sought for the higher road, Sól. 52; á bekk annan þann er æðri var, Ld. 294,—in the old halls the two sets of benches were technically called the æðri, the higher, and the ú-æðri, th e lower; as also æðra öndvegi and ú-æðra öndvegi, the upper and lower high-seat, passim: þeir náðu uppgöngu ok urðu æðri, higher, Fms. x. 412; ef leysings leysingr verðr veginn, ok á inn æðri (the former, Germ. jener) þar sök ok bætr, Grág. ii. 71; in all other places used,

2. metaph. higher in rank or dignity; heilagir englar, aðrir eru öðrum œðri, ok öfundar engi annan, Greg. 37; œðri tign, Eluc. 12; œðri kraptr, Sks. 25; tólf hofgoðar vóru œztir, Hkr. i. 6; askr Ygdrasils hann er œztr viða, Gm. 44; biskupa allra er páfi œztr, 415. 5; þeim sveini er œztr væri, Heiðrekr segir, Haralds son vera œztan, Fas. i. 526; œztr ok mest virðr, Fms. i. 247; fyrstr eðr êdzstr (sic), Sti, 278, v. l.; hit œzta hof í Gautlandi, Fms. x. 252; inni æztu Guðs þjónustu, K. Á. 36; þar er œzt kirkja Benedikti, Symb. 25: the word is still in freq. use both in speech and in writing, see the references above from the Icel. N. T.

a. superl. highest;

1) in a local sense;

2) fig. highest in rank or dignity (tólf hofgoðar vóru œztir).

adj. superl. от œðri (н-и. æðstur)

1) (наи)высший, самый высокий

2) перен. верховный, самый знатный, самый выдающийся, наилучший