the goddess of the

* * *

(pl. -jar), f. denial, protest; setja s. fyrir, to deny, repel a charge (hann setti þar s. fyrir, ok bauð skírslur).

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f., gen. synjar, [synja; syn is the root from which syn-ð is a derivative]:—a denial, protest; used in law phrases, koma, setja, hafa syn fyrir, to protest or repel a charge on oath, by ordeal, or the like; ef þeir hafa syn fyrir, þá skulu þeir synja með einseiði, K. Á. 150; hann setti þar syn fyrir, ok bauð skírslur, Fms. ix. 5; bændr kómu þar sumir syn fyrir sik, Hkr. i. 89; hón er sett til varnar á þingum … því er þat orðtak, at ‘syn sé fyrir sett’ þá er hann neitar, Edda 21; the word is freq. in the compd nauð-syn (q. v.), necessity, otherwise obsolete.

II. the name of a goddess, Edda 21; arin-syn, the goddess of the hearth, Þd.; mens Synjar (gen.), the goddess of the necklace, i. e. a woman, Lex. Poët.; according to Edda 21, Syn was the goddess of lawsuits: synjar-spann, N. G. L. i. 258, is prob. an error = smjör-spann.

(gen. Sifjar), f. the wife of Thor.

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f., pl. sifjar; [Ulf. sibja. Gal. iv. s. Rom. ix. 4; A. S. and Scot. sib; Engl. gos-sip = god-sib; Hel. sibbia; O. H. G. sibba; Germ. sippe]:—affinity.

2. in sing. the word is only used as a pr. name ot the goddess Sif, gen. sifjar (dat. sifju, Edda i. 340). Sif, the golden-haired goddess, wife of Thor, betokens mother earth with her golden sheaves of grain; she was the goddess of the sanctity of the family and wedlock, whence her name, see Edda and the old poems passim.

3. plur. ‘sib’, affinity, connection, by marriage; the word is used in ancient poems and in the law, and in compds; byggja sifjar, to marry; jafnnáit skal byggja sifjar ok frændsemi, Grág. i. 308; eigi skulu vera skyldri sifjar með þeim enn fimmta manni, i. e. no marriage nearer than the fifth degree, 310; sifjar ( affinity) is opp. to frændsemi ( blood relationship), flest stórmenni var bundit í frændsemi eða sifjum við hann, Fms. vii. 299, v. l.; spilla sifjum, to commit adultery; munu systrungar sifjum spilla, cousins will ‘spoil the sib,’ referring to adulterous intercourse with near relations in law, Vsp.; slíta sifjum = spilla sifjum, Merl. 154: again, þyrma sifjum, to hold the sifjar holy, Skv. 3. 28: hence sifja-slit and sifja-spell, n. pl. violation of the law of affinity, adultery; frændsemis-spell ok sifja-spell, Grág. i. 341, Sks. 338 B; þat eru sifjaslit en meiri, er maðr liggr með systrungum tveim, Grág. i. 358; í manndrápum ok í sifjasliti, Edda. The word sifjar also remains in bú-sifjar (q. v.), Landn. 147, Eg. 750, Fs. 31; guð-sifjar (q. v.), as also guð-sefi, guð-sifja (q. v.), a gossip, sponsor: in karl-sift, kvenn-sift, q. v.; cp. also barna sifjar, the bond or unity arising from having had children together, or = adoption (?), cp. Ulf. suniwe-sibja = υἱοθεσία, Gal. iv. 5, Ls. 16: lastly, the phrase, blanda sifjum, to blend sifjar together, to blend souls together (?), Hm. 125 (akin to sefi, q. v.)

n. (heathen) god.

* * *

n. pl. [all the Teutonic languages have this word in common; Ulf. guþa, n. pl., Gal. iv. 8; guda, id., John x. 34, 35; and Guþ, m.; A. S. godu, n. pl., and God, m.; O. H. G. Cot: in mod. languages masc.; Engl. God; Germ. Gott; Dan.-Swed. Gud].

A. HISTORICAL REMARKS.—In heathen times this word was neuter, and was used almost exclusively in plur., as were also other words denoting Godhead, e. g. regin or rögn = numina, q. v.; and bönd, höpt, prop. = bonds, and metaph. gods:—this plur. usage seems not to refer to a plurality of gods, but rather, as the Hebrew אלהים, to the majesty and mystery of the Godhead; it points to an earlier and purer faith than that which was current in the later ages of the Scandinavian heathendom; thus the old religious poem Völuspá distinguishes a twofold order of gods,—the heavenly powers (regin or ginn-heilög goð) who had no special names or attributes, and who ruled the world, like the Μοιρα or Αισα of Gr. mythology;—and the common gods who were divided into two tribes, Æsir ( Ases) and Vanir, whose conflict and league are recorded in Vsp. 27, 28, and Edda 47.

II. after the introduction of Christianity, the masculine gender (as in Greek and Latin) superseded the neuter in all Teutonic languages, first in Gothic, then in Old High German and Anglo-Saxon, and lastly in the Scandinavian languages; but neither in Gothic nor in Icel. did the word ever take the masc. inflexive r or s, so that it remains almost unique in form.

2. in Scandinavian the root vowel was altered from o to u (goð to guð), [Swed.-Dan. gud], yet in old poems of the Christian age it is still made to rhyme with o, Goðs, boðnum; Goð, roðnar, Sighvat; as also in the oldest MSS. of the 12th century; sometimes however it is written ḡþ, in which case the root vowel cannot be discerned.

3. in Icel. the pronunciation also underwent a change, and the g in Guð ( God) is now pronounced gw (Gwuð), both in the single word and in those proper names which have become Christian, e. g. Guðmundr pronounced Gwuðmundr, whence the abbreviated form Gvendr or Gvöndr. The old form with o is still retained in obsolete words, as goði, goðorð, vide below, and in local names from the heathen age, as Goð-dalir; so also Gormr (q. v.), which is contracted from Goð-ormr not Guð-ormr. On the other hand, the Saxon and German have kept the root vowel o.

III. in old poems of heathen times it was almost always used without the article; gremdu eigi goð at þér, Ls.; áðr vér heilög goð blótim, Fas. i. (in a verse); ginnheilög Goð, Vsp. passim; goðum ek þat þakka, Am. 53; með goðum, Alm.; in prose, en goð hefna eigi alls þegar, Nj. 132.

2. with the article goð-in, Vsp. 27: freq. in prose, um hvat reiddusk goðin þá er hér brann hraunit er nú stöndu vér á, Bs. i. (Kr. S.) 22; eigi eru undr at goðin reiðisk tölum slíkum, id.; Hallfreðr lastaði eigi goðin, þó aðrir menn hallmælti þeim, Fms. ii. 52; allmikin hug leggr þú á goðin, Fs. 94; eigi munu goðin þessu valda, Nj. 132, passim.

3. very seldom in sing., and only if applied to a single goddess or the like, as Öndor-goðs (gen.), Haustl. 7; Vana-goð, of Freyja, Edda; enu skírleita goði, of the Sun, Gm. 39.

IV. after the introduction of Christianity, the neut. was only used of false gods in sing. as well as in pl., Sólar-goð = Apollo, Orrostu-goð = Mars, Drauma-goð = Morpheus, Bret. (Verel.); and was held up for execration by the missionaries; gör þik eigi svá djarfa, at þú kallir goð hinn hæsta konung er ek trúi á, Fb. i. 371. Yet so strongly did the neut. gender cleave to the popular mind that it remains (Grág. Kb. i. 192) in the oath formula, goð gramt = Goð gramr; and Icel. still say, í Guðanna (pl.) bænum.

2. guðír, masc. pl., as in A. S. gudas, is freq. in eccl. writers, but borrowed from the eccl. Lat.

B. IN COMPDS:

I. with nouns, goða-blót, n. sacrifice to the gods, Fb. i. 35. goða-gremi, f. a term in the heathen oath, wrath of the gods, Eg. 352. goða-heill, f. favour of the gods, Þorst. Síðu H. 9. goða-hús, n. a house of gods, temple, Dropl. 11, Nj. 131, Fb. i. 337. goða-stallar, m. pl. the altar in temples, Fas. i. 454. goða-stúka, u, f. the sanctuary in heathen temples, answering to the choir or sanctuary in churches, Landn. 335 (App.) goða-tala, u, f. in the phrase, í goðatölu, in the tale ( list) of gods, 625. 41. goð-borinn, part. διογενής, god-born, Hkv. 1. 29. goð-brúðr, f. bride of the gods (the goddess Skaði), Edda (in a verse). Goð-dalir, m. pl. a local name, hence Goð-dælir, m. pl. a family, Landn. goð-gá, f. blasphemy against the gods, Nj. 163, Ld. 180. goð-heimr, m. the home of the gods, Stor. 20, cp. Ýt. goð-konungr, m. (cp. Gr. διογενής βασιλεύς), a king,—kings being deemed the offspring of gods, Ýt. goð-kunnigr and goð-kyndr, adj. of the kith of gods, Edda 6, 11, 13. goð-lauss, adj. godless, a nickname, Landn. goð-lax, m. a kind of salmon, Edda (Gl.) goð-leiðr, adj. loathed by the gods, Korm. goð-máligr, adj. skilled in the lore of the gods, Hým. 38. goð-mögn, n. pl. divine powers, deities, Edda 1; biðja til þinna goðmagna, Bret. (Verel.) goð-reið, f. ‘a ride of gods’ through the air, a meteor, thought to forebode great events, Glúm. (in a verse), cp. the Swed. åska. goð-rifi, n. scorn of the gods, Sks. 435. goð-rækr, adj. ‘god-forsaken,’ wicked, 623. 30. goðum-leiðr, adj. = goðleiðr, Landn. (in a verse). goð-vargr, m. a ‘god-worrier,’ sacrilegus, ‘lupus in sanctis,’ Bs. i. 13 (in a verse). goð-vefr, vide guðvefr. goð-vegr, m. the way of the gods, the heaven, the sky, Hdl. 5. Goð-þjóð, f. the abode of the gods, Vsp.:—but Goth. Gut-þjuda = the land of the Goths, by assimilation Goð-þjóð, passim in old poems and the Sagas.

II. with pr. names, originally Goð-, later and mod. Guð-; of men, Guð-brandr, Guð-laugr, Guð-leifr, Guð-mundr, Guð-röðr, Guð-ormr or Gutt-ormr, etc.; of women, Guð-björg, Guð-finna, Guð-laug, Guð-leif, Guð-ný, Guð-ríðr, Guð-rún, etc.; cp. the interesting statement in Eb. (App.) 126 new Ed. (from the Hauks-bók), that men of the olden time used to call their sons and daughters after the gods (Goð-, Þór-, Frey-, Ás-); and it was thought that a double (i. e. a compound) name gave luck and long life, esp. those compounded with the names of gods; menn höfðu mjök þá tvau nöfn, þótti þat likast til langlífis ok heilla, þótt nokkurir fyrirmælti þeim við goðin, þá mundi þat ekki saka, ef þeir ætti eitt nafn, though any one cursed them by the gods it would not hurt if they had ‘one’ name, i. e. if they were the namesakes of the gods, Eb. l. c.;—we read ‘eitt nafn’ for ‘eitt annat nafn’ of the Ed. and MS. In Fb. i. 23, the mythical king Raum is said to have had three sons, Alf, Björn, and Brand; the first was reared by the Finns, and called Finn-Alf; Björn by his mother (a giantess), and called Jötun-Björn; and Brand was given to the gods, and called Goð-Brand (Guð-brandr, whence Guðbrands-dalir, a county in Norway); cp. also Eb. ch. 7.

☞ For the Christian sense of God and its compds vide s. v. Guð.

(pl. dísir), f.

1) sister (heitir ok systir dís);

2) a female guardian angel, goddess;

3) maid.

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f., pl. disir, and an older but obsolete form jó-dís, which remains in the earliest poems, jódís ( the sister of) úlfs ok Nara = Hela, Ýt. 7; but Loga dís, the sister of Logi, 9; cp. Edda 109: it also remains in the Icel. fem. pr. name Jódís,—the explanation given in Skálda 183 (from jór, equus, and dís) has no philological value, being only the poet’s fancy: [Hel. idis = virgo; A. S. ides; Grimm ingeniously suggests that the Idistaviso in Tacitus may be corrupt for Idisiaviso, the virgin-mead, from idis and viso = Germ. wiese.]

I. a sister, Ýt. l. c.; heitir ek systir, dís, jódís, a sister is called dis and jódís, Edda 109; dís skjöldunga, the sister of kings, Bkv. 14.

II. generally a goddess or priestess (?), a female guardian-angel, who follows every man from his birth, and only leaves him in the hour of death, cp. the very interesting passages, Hallfr. S. Fs. 114, Þorst. Síðu H. Anal. 184, 185, Gísl., Fms. ii. 192–195 (cp. Nj. 148); hence the phrase, ek kveð aflima orðnar þér dísir, the dísir have left thee, thou art a lost man, Am. 26; cp. also the phrase, heillum horfinn.

2. poët. a maid in general, Lex. Poët.

3. freq. in Icel. as a fem. pr. name, in compds, Jó-dís, Her-dís, Val-dís, Vig-dís, Hjör-dís, etc.

COMPDS: dísablót, dísasalr, dísaskald.

f. the name of the goddess, Yngl. S. ch. 1, Edda ch. 1; in the Middle Ages the Icel. used to render Diana by Gefjon, e. g. mikil er G. gyðja, great is the goddess Diana, 655 xvi. B, Acts xix. 28; hof Gefjonar = Lat. templum Dianas, Bret. 20 note, passim: rarely = Venus, Stj. 90, or = Minerva, Bret. 20:—name of a woman, Dropl. 36.

(gen. -jar), f. the goddess Frigg (the wife of Odin).

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f. a pr. name, gen. friggjar, [cp. A. S. frigu = love], the heathen goddess Frigg, Edda, Vsp.

COMPDS: Friggjarelda, Friggjargras, Friggjarstjarna.

f. lady; the goddess Freyja.

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u, f. a lady, in hús-freyja, q. v.; prop. the goddess Freyja, Edda.

u, f. a lady; freyja mín es vanheil, Clem. 135.

1) goddess;

2) priestess.

* * *

u, f.

1. [goð], a goddess, Edda passim.

2. [goði], a priestess, Hdl. 12, Yngl. ch. 7; þá kreppi goð gyðju, Kristni S. (in a verse): in nicknames, Þuríðr gyðja, Th. the priestess, Landn.; Þorlaug gyðja, Landn. 64: in compds, blót-gyðja, hof-g., a temple priestess.

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.

m. heathen priest; chief (in Iceland during the republic).

* * *

a, m. [Ulf, renders ἱερεύς by gudja (ufar-gudja, ahumista-gudja, etc.), ἱερατεία by gudjinassus, ἱερατεύειν by gudjinôn; an Icel. gyði, gen. gyðja, would answer better to the Goth. form, but it never occurs, except that the fem. gyðja = goddess and priestess points not to goði, but to a masc. with a suppressed final i, gyði; a word coting occurs in O. H. G. glossaries, prob. meaning the same; and the form guþi twice occurs on Danish-Runic stones in Nura-guþi and Saulva-guþi, explained as goði by P. G. Thorsen, Danske Runem.; (Rafn’s explanation and reading of Nura-guþi qs. norðr á Gauði, is scarcely right): with this exception this word is nowhere recorded till it appears in Icel., where it got a wide historical bearing]:—prop. a priest, sacerdos, and hence a liege-lord or chief of the Icel. Commonwealth.

A. HISTORICAL REMARKS.—The Norse chiefs who settled in Icel., finding the country uninhabited, solemnly took possession of the land (land-nám, q. v.); and in order to found a community they built a temple, and called themselves by the name of goði or hof-goði, ‘temple-priest;’ and thus the temple became the nucleus of the new community, which was called goðorð, n.:—hence hof-goði, temple-priest, and höfðingi, chief, became synonymous, vide Eb. passim. Many independent goðar and goðorð sprang up all through the country, until about the year 930 the alþingi (q. v.) was erected, where all the petty sovereign chiefs (goðar) entered into a kind of league, and laid the foundation of a general government for the whole island. In 964 A. D. the constitution was finally settled, the number of goðorð being fixed at three in each þing ( shire), and three þing in each of the three other quarters, (but four in the north); thus the number of goðar came to be nominally thirty-nine, really thirty-six, as the four in the north were only reckoned as three, vide Íb. ch. 5. On the introduction of Christianity the goðar lost their priestly character, but kept the name; and the new bishops obtained seats in the Lögrétta (vide biskup). About the year 1004 there were created new goðar (and goðorð), who had to elect judges to the Fifth Court, but they had no seats in the Lögrétta, and since that time the law distinguishes between forn ( old) and ný ( new) goðorð;—in Glúm. ch. 1 the word forn is an anachronism. It is curious that, especially in the 12th century, the goðar used to take the lesser Orders from political reasons, in order to resist the Romish clergy, who claimed the right of forbidding laymen to be lords of churches or to deal with church matters; thus the great chief Jón Loptsson was a sub-deacon; at last, about 1185, the archbishop of Norway forbade the bishops of Icel. to ordain any holder of a goðorð, unless they first gave up the goðorð, fyrir því bjóðum vér biskupum at vígja eigi þá menn er goðorð hafa, D. I. i. 291. In the middle of the 13th century the king of Norway induced the goðar to hand their power over to him, and thus the union with Norway was finally brought about in the year 1262; since that time, by the introduction of new codes (1272 and 1281), the name and dignity of goðar and goðorð disappeared altogether, so that the name begins and ends with the Commonwealth.

B. DUTIES.—In the alþingi the goðar were invested with the Lögrettu-skipan (q. v.), that is to say, they composed the Lögrétta (the Legislative consisting of forty-eight members—on the irregularity of the number vide Íb. ch. 5), and were the lawgivers of the country; secondly, they had the dómnefna (q. v.), or right of naming the men who were to sit in the courts, vide dómr:—as to their duties in the quarter-parliaments (vár-þing) vide Grág. Þ. Þ. and the Sagas. The authority of the goðar over their liegemen at home was in olden times somewhat patriarchal, vide e. g. the curious passage in Hænsaþ. S. ch. 2; though no section of law relating to this interesting part of the old history is on record, we can glean much information from the Sagas. It is to be borne in mind that the goðar of the Saga time (10th century) and those of the Grágás and Sturlunga time (12th and 13th centuries) were very different; the former were a kind of sovereign chiefs, who of free will entered into a league; the latter had become officials, who for neglecting their duties in parliament might be fined, and even forfeit the goðorð to their liegemen, vide Grág. Þ. Þ. Neither þing (q. v.) nor goðorð was ever strictly geographical (such is the opinion of Konrad Maurer), but changed from time to time; the very word goðorð is defined as ‘power’ (veldi), and was not subject to the payment of tithe, K. Þ. K. 142. The goðorð could be parcelled out by inheritance or by sale; or they might, as was the case in the latter years of the Commonwealth, accumulate in one hand, vide esp. Sturl. passim, and Grág. The liegemen (þingmenn) were fully free to change their lords (ganga í lög með goða, ganga ór lögum); every franklin (þingmaðr) had in parliament to declare his þingfesti, i. e. to name his liegeship, and say to what goði and þing he belonged, and the goði had to acknowledge him; so that a powerful or skilful chief might have liegemen scattered all over the country. But the nomination to the courts and the right of sitting in the legislative body were always bound to the old names, as fixed by the settlement of the year 964; and any one who sought the name or influence of a goði had first (by purchase, inheritance, or otherwise) to become possessor of a share of one of the old traditionary goðorð; see the interesting chapter in Nj. The three goðar in one þing ( shire) were called sam-goða, joint-goðar; for the sense of allsherjar-goði vide p. 17.

C. NAMES.—Sometimes a chief’s name referred to the god whom he especially worshipped, as Freys-Goði, Hrafn., Gísl., whence Freys-gyðlingar, q. v.; (the ör-goði is dubious); more frequently the name referred to the liegemen or county, e. g. Ljósvetninga-Goði, Tungu-Goði, etc.; but in the Saga time, goði was often added to the name almost as a cognomen, and with some, as Snorri, it became a part of their name (as Cato Censor in Latin); hann varðveitti þá hof, var hann þá kallaðr Snorri Goði, Eb. 42; seg, at sá sendi, er meiri vin var húsfreyjunnar at Fróðá en Goðans at Helgafelli, 332. Names on record in the Sagas:—men living from A. D. 874 to 964, Hallsteinn Goði, Landn., Eb.; Sturla Goði, Landn. 65; Jörundr Goði and Hróarr Tungu-Goði, id.; Ljótólfr Goði, Sd.; Hrafnkell Freys-Goði, Hrafn.; Oddr Tungu-Goði, Landn.; Þormóðr Karnár-Goði, Vd.; Áskell Goði, Rd.; Úlfr Ör-goði, Landn.; Grímkell Goði, Harð. S.; Þorgrímr Freys-goði, Gísl. 100, 110:—964 to 1030, Arnkell Goði, Landn., Eb.; Þorgrímr Goði, Eb.; Geirr Goði, Landn., Nj.; Runólfr Goði, id.; Þóroddr Goði, Kristni S.; Þormóðr Allsherjar-Goði, Landn.; Þorgeirr Goði, or Ljósvetninga-Goði, Nj., Landn.; (Þorkell Krafla) Vatnsdæla-Goði, Vd.; Helgi Hofgarða-Goði, Landn., Eb.; Snorri Hlíðarmanna-Goði, Lv.; Þórarinn Langdæla-Goði, Heiðarv. S.; and last, not least, Snorri Goði:—in the following period goði appears, though very rarely, as an appellative, e. g. Þormóðr Skeiðar-Goði (about 1100):—of the new goðar of 1004, Höskuldr Hvítaness-Goði, Nj.:—used ironically, Ingjaldr Sauðeyja-Goði, Ld.

2. goðorð mentioned by name,—in the south, Allsherjar-goðorð, Landn. (App.) 336; Dalverja-goðorð, Sturl. ii. 48; Lundarmanna-goðorð, i. 223; Reykhyltinga-goðorð, 104, iii. 166, 169; Bryndæla-goðorð, Kjaln. S. 402: in the north, Ljósvetninga-goðorð, Lv. ch. 30; Möðruvellinga-goðorð, Bs. i. 488; Vatnsdæla-goðorð, Fs. 68; Fljótamanna-goðorð, Sturl. i. 138: in the west, Snorrunga-goðorð, 55; Jöklamanna-goðorð, iii. 166; Rauðmelinga-goðorð, Eb. 288; Reyknesinga-goðorð, Sturl. i. 9, 19; Þórsnesinga-goðorð, 198: the new godords of the Fifth Court, Laufæsinga-goðorð, Nj. 151; Melamanna-goðorð, id., Band., Sturl. i. 227. Passages in the Sagas and Laws referring to goðar and goðorð are very numerous, e. g. Íb. ch. 5, Nj. ch. 98, Grág., Lögréttu-þáttr, and Þ. Þ. passim, esp. ch. 1–5, 17, 35, 37, 39, 44, 58, 60, 61, Lv. ch. 4 (interesting), Vd. ch. 27, 41 (in fine), and 42, Vápn., Hrafn. ch. 2, Eb. ch. 10, 56, Sturl. iii. 98, 104, passim; for the accumulation of godords, see i. 227 (3, 22), Bs. i. 54; for the handing over the godords to the king of Norway, D. I. i; and esp. article 3 of the Sáttmáli, D. I. i. 631, 632. The godords were tithe-free, ef maðr á goðorð, ok þarf eigi þat til tíundar at telja, vald er þat en eigi fé:, K. Þ. K. 142.

COMPDS: goðakviðr, goðalýrittr, goðaþáttr.

II. = goð, i. e. good genius, in the Icel. game at dice called goða-tafl, with the formula, heima ræð eg goða minn bæði vel og lengi, … og kasta eg svo fyrir þig, cp. also ást-goði.

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(gen. sólar, dat. sól and sólu), f.

1) sun (hann fal sik á hendi þeim guði, er sólina hafði skapat); á morgin fyrir s., before sunrise; einn morgin við s., about sunrise; þá var dagr all-ljóss, ok s. farin, the sun had risen; sól var lítt farin, lítt á lopt komin, not high above the horizon; s. rennr upp, the sun rises; þegar er sólina lægði, when the sun got low; s. gengr í ægi, til viðar, undir, s. sezt, the sun sets; ganga at sólu, to go prosperously, succeed to one’s wishes (honum gengu náliga allir hlutir at sólu);

2) day; fyrir ina þriðju s., before the third sun, within three days; áðr sjau sólir eru af himni, before seven days have passed.

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f., dat. sól, and older sólu; acc. with the article sólna, Edda 41, Ó. H. 216; sól is the Scandin. word, ‘sunna’ being only used in poets: [in Ulf. sauil occurs twice, Mark i. 32, xiii. 24; in A. S. poets sôl occurs once, see Grein; Dan.-Swed. sōl; Lat. sōl; Gr. ἥλιος.]

A. The sun, Vsp. 4. 5, 57, Gm. 38; úlfrinn gleypir sólna. Edda 41; vedr var heitt af sólu, Ó. H.; sól skein í heiði, 216; nú vil ek heita á þann er sólina hefir skapat, Fs. 59; hann lét sik bera í sólar-geisla í bana-sótt sinni ok fal sik á hendi þeim guði er sólina hafði skapat, Landn. 38.

2. various phrases as to the sun’s course; fyrir sól, before sunrise, Bs. ii. 241; einn morgin við sól, with the sun, about sunrise, Eg. 717; með sólu, id., Bs. ii. 243; sól rennr á fjöll, K. Þ. K.: or mod., sól kastar á fjöll, the sun appears on the fells; or sól roðar, það roðar af sólu; sól rýðr, or rýðr fjöll, the sun reddens the fells, Fms. xi. 438 (sólar-roð), all denoting the moment before sunrise: of the sunrise, þá rann sól upp, Ó. H. 109; þá er sól ridr upp, N. G. L. i. 218: early in the morning, sól skapthá, shaft-high, Grág.; sól lítt farin, Ó. H.; sól lítt á lopt komin, Ld. 36: of noon, sól hátt á lopti, sól hæst á lopti, sól í suðri, sól í landsuðri, Landn. 276, Sturl. iii. 70, Al. 51: of the afternoon and evening, er sólina lægði, Eb. 172; lágr veggr undir sólina, a low wall under the sun (cp. skapthá sól, in the morning), Sturl. iii. 70: of the sunset, er sól settisk (sól-setr), Eb. 172; sól gengr (rennr) í ægi, the sun sinks into the sea, the phrase suits a coast-land towards the west, Fms. ii. 302, Al. 67; or sól rennr á viðu (or til viðar), towards the wood, in a wooded inland country, Hkr. iii. 227; sól affjalla, ‘the sun is off the fells,’ i. e. is after sunset.

3. of the seasons; cp. the old Dan. phrase, solen bjerges, the sun is ‘mountained,’ sets over the fells; þá tognar dagr en sól vex, Sks. 234 (see sólar-gangr).

4. sól = day; in the law phrase, fyrir ina þriðju sól, before the third sun, within three days, Grág. ii. 20, 24, Eb. 222, Eg. 723; til hinnar þriðju sólar, Fas. i. 20; er þrjár sólir eru af himni, when three suns are off the heaven, three days hence, Nj. 206.

5. hann skyldi snemma upp rísa, ok fylgia sólu meðan hæst væri sumars, Lv. 43; þeir skyldi um nætr berjask, en eigi undir sólu, Fms. vii. 296; á þann bekk er vissi móti sólu, towards the south, Fms. vi. 439.

6. at sólu, following the sun’s course, in due course, prosperously, opp. to andsælis (q. v.), ‘withershins;’ þér skyldið rétt horfa á sólina, ok draumr þinn skyldi þér at sólu ganga, Fb. ii. 298; Páll biskup var svá mikill gæfu-maðr, at honum gengu náliga allir hlutir at sólu (sölu = s́lu, Ed.) hinn fyrra hlut æfi sinnar, Bs. i. 137: er náliga mun komið á enda æfi minnar, ok gengit áðr mart at sólu, 70; but wizards used to make a ring or walk against the sun’s course, saying charms, which was thought to work evil, see andsælis: gýgjar-sól (q. v.), a mock-sun, Sól.; auka-sólir, ‘eke-suns,’ mock-suns: a beam gener., skínn af sverði sól, Vsp. 51.

II. the Sun-goddess. the sister of Máni and daughter of the giant Möndilföri, Vþm., Gm., Edda.

☞ The sun as an object of worship and reverence:—the heathen Thorkel Máni, when on his death-bed, had himself carried out into the sun, and commended his spirit to the god who had made the sun, Landn. 38, see the citation above; sól ek sá … henni ek laut hinnsta sinni ægis-heimi í, I saw the sun and louted to him the last time in this world, Sól. So in Icel. at the present day children, immediately after getting out of bed in the morning, are made to run out of doors bare-headed, there to say a short prayer or verse, and when they return ‘bid good-day,’—a ‘good-day’ being not allowable till this is done; this is called to ‘fetch the good-morning,’ sækja góðan-daginn; the verse Pass. 3. 12 is set apart for this use; but the very words of this verse—á morni hverjum þá upp stend eg, fyrst eg stíg niðr fæti á jörð, færi eg þér hjartans þakkar-görð—were evidently suggested to the poet’s mind by, this beautiful and time-honoured custom then general, but now perhaps fast dying out.

B. COMPDS: sólarár, sólaráss, sólarbruni, sólarfall, sólargangr, sólargeisli, sólarglaðan, sólargoð, sólarhiti, sólarhringr, sólarhvarf, sólarlag, sólarlítill, sólarljós, sólarrás, sólarroð, sólarseta, sólarsetr, sólarsinnis, sólarskin, sólarsteinn, sólarsuðr, sólartal, sólartár, sólaruppkoma, sólarupprás, sólaröld.

1) always, ever, = ei, æ;

2) not, = ei, eigi;

ey manni þat veit, no man knows.

(gen. eyjar, dat. ey and eyju; pl. eyjar), f. an island.

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gen. eyjar; dat. eyju and ey, with the article eyinni and eyjunni; acc. ey; pl. eyjar, gen. eyja, dat. eyjum; in Norway spelt and proncd. öy; [Dan. öe; Swed. ö; Ivar Aasen öy; Germ. aue; cp. Engl. eyot, leas-ow, A. S. êg-land, Engl. is-land; in Engl. local names -ea or -ey, e. g. Chels-ea, Batters-ea, Cherts-ey, Thorn-ey, Osn-ey, Aldern-ey, Orkn-ey, etc.]:—an island, Fas. ii. 299, Skálda 172, Eg. 218, Grág. ii. 131, Eb. 12; eyjar nef, the ‘neb’ or projection of an island, Fb. iii. 316.

2. in various compds; varp-ey, an island where wild birds lay eggs; eyði-ey, a deserted island; heima-ey, a home island; bæjar-ey, an inhabited island; út-eyjar, islands far out at sea; land-eyjar, an island in an inlet, Landn.: a small island close to a larger one is called a calf (eyjar-kálfr), the larger island being regarded as the cow, (so the southernmost part of the Isle of Man is called the Calf of Man): it is curious that ‘islanders’ are usually not called eyja-menn ( islandmen), but eyjar-skeggjar, m. pl. ‘island-beards;’ this was doubtless originally meant as a nickname to denote the strange habits of islanders, Fas. i. 519 (in a verse), Fær. 151, 656 C. 22, Fms. ii. 169, viii. 283, Grett. 47 new Ed.; but eyja-menn, m. pl., Valla L. 228, Eb. 316 (and in mod. usage), cp. also Götu-skeggjar, the men of Gata, a family, Landn.; eyja-sund, n. a sound or narrow strait between two islands, Eg. 93, Fms. ii. 64, 298.

3. in local names: from the shape, Lang-ey, Flat-ey, Há-ey, Drang-ey: from cattle, birds, beasts, Fær-eyjar, Lamb-ey, Sauð-ey, Hrút-ey, Yxn-ey, Hafr-ey, Svín-ey, Kið-ey, Fugl-ey, Arn-ey, Æð-ey, Má-ey, Þern-ey, Úlf-ey, Bjarn-ey: from vegetation, Eng-ey, Akr-ey, Við-ey, Brok-ey, Mos-ey: from the quarters of heaven, Austr-ey, Norðr-ey, Vestr-ey, Suðr-ey (Engl. Sudor): an island at ebb time connected with the main land is called Örfiris-ey, mod. Öffurs-ey (cp. Orfir in the Orkneys): from other things, Fagr-ey, Sand-ey, Straum-ey, Vé-ey ( Temple Isle), Eyin Helga, the Holy Isle (cp. Enhallow in the Orkneys). Eyjar is often used κατ ἐξοχήν of the Western Isles, Orkneys, Shetland, and Sudor, hence Eyja-jarl, earl of the Isles (i. e. Orkneys), Orkn. (freq.); in southern Icel. it is sometimes used of the Vestmanna eyjar.

β. in old poets ey is a favourite word in circumlocutions of women, vide Lex. Poët.; and in poetical diction ey is personified as a goddess, the sea being her girdle, the glaciers her head-gear; hence the Icel. poetical compd ey-kona. For tales of wandering islands, and giants removing islands from one place to another, vide Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 209.

4. in female pr. names, Þór-ey, Bjarg-ey, Landn.: but if prefixed—as in Eyj-úlfr, Ey-steinn, Ey-mundr, Ey-vindr, Ey-dís, Ey-fríðr, Ey-vör, Ey-þjófr, etc.—ey belongs to a different root.

COMPD: eyjaklasi.

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(feld; félt, féldura; faldinn), v. to array with a woman’s hood (f. e-n or e-m e-u, or með or við e-u); f. sik motri, með or við motri, to hood oneself with a motr; Brandr var faldinn, Brand had on a woman’s headgear; hjálmi faldinn, wearing a helmet.

(að), v.

1) to hood (see prec.);

2) to fold; fá mer skyrtu þína, en ek skal f. hana saman, I shall fold it up; falda aptr, to unfold.

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in old writers this word (if used in sense II) always follows the strong form and is declined like halda, viz. pret. félt, Landn. 166, vide Lex. Poët. passim, pl. féldu; pres. sing. feld; imperat. falt; pret. subj. féldi, Orkn. (in a verse); part, faldinn; but in signf. I ( to fold) it is weak (faldar, faldaði), though it seldom occurs in old writers in this sense: in mod. usage the weak form only is used: [Ulf. falþan = πτύσσειν in Luke iv. 20. to fold or close the book; A. S. fealdan; Engl. to fold; Germ. falten; Dan. folde; Swed. fålla; Fr. fauder; cp. Lat. plicare]:—to fold, with acc.:

I. gener. to fold; ek skal f. hana saman, I shall fold her up, Str. 9; tók hón þá skyrtuna ok faldaði saman, id.; sem hón hafði saman faldat, id.; f. fald eptir, to unfold a fold, id.; at engi mundi þann fald aptr f., id.; ef hón gæti aptr faldat skyrtu þína, 13.

β. to hem; falda dúk, klút, etc., to hem a towel, kerchief, or the like; cp. faldaðr, ófaldaðr.

II. esp. to hood or cover the head, chiefly used of ladies wearing the fald, q. v.:

α. with acc. of the person, dat. of the dress; ek mun falda þik með höfuðdúki, Nj. 201; at hón hefði nú faldit sik við motrinum, Ld. 210; Brandr var faldinn, B. was hooded as a lady, Fs. 109; Hildr Eyvindar-dóttir félt honum, H. hooded him, 194 (Ed. fylgði wrongly); at hón hefði nú faldit (Ed. wrongly faldat) sik við motrinum, that she had hooded herself with the motr, Ld. 210; mundi Guðrún ekki þurfa at falda sik motri til þess, at sama betr en allar konur aðrar, id.; hennar höfut er faldit þremr skautum, her head is hooded in three sheets (hence skauta-faldr), Mar. 48 (Fr.)

β. with dat. of the person; þá segir Hrefna, at hón vill falda sér við motrinn (better motrinum), Ld. 192; ef maðr feldr sér til vélar við konu, eðr ferr hann í kvennklæði, if a man hoods his head wilily mocking a woman, Grág. i. 338 (liable to the lesser outlawry); f. þér við höfuðdúki, Nj. l. c., v. l.; aldri hefi ek frétt at konur féldi höfuðdúkum, Orkn. (in a verse); ek félt hjálmi, I covered my head in a helmet, Sighvat.

γ. the phrases, falda sítt, to hood the head so that the eyes and face cannot be seen; far á meðal kvenna, ok falt þér sítt, at ekki verðir þú kend, Post. 656 B. 11; brúðirnar falda sítt, svá at úgerla má sjá þeirra yfirlit, Fms. xi. 106; enn fyrsta aptan hafa brúðirnar síð-faldit, Jv. 29 (Ed. 1824); sú (kona) hafði sítt faldit, Fms. vii. 161, cp. Gen. xxxviii. 14; falda hátt, to wear a tall fald, cp. Eb. 136 (in a verse); falda blá, or svörtu, to hood the head in black, to mourn, Ísl. ii. 351 (in a verse): the metaph. phrase, f. rauðu, to hood the head in red, to die a bloody death, Landn. l. c.

2. part. faldinn, used as adj. hooded, mod. faldaðr, hooded, bordered, hemmed, etc., in compds, eld-faldinn, hooded with flames, poët. epithet of the foaming waves, Lex. Poët.; hjálmi faldinn, hooded with a helmet (poët.), Hkv. 1. 47; járn-faldinn, iron-hooded, helmed, Eb. 208 (in a verse): hag-faldin, hooded with hedges, poët. epithet of the goddess Earth, Fms. vi. 140 (in a verse); hvít-faldin, white-hooded, of glaciers or foaming waves, Snót 12, 16.

(gen. heljar, dat. helju), f.

1) Hel (the goddess of death);

blár sem hel, black as Hel;

2) abode of the dead (gráta Baldr ór helju);

leysa höfuð sitt ór helju, to save oneself from death;

rasa í helina opna, to rush into open death;

liggja á heljar þremi, to be on the verge of death;

3) death (þykkir ekki betra líf en hel);

berja e-n grjóti í hel, to stone one to death.

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f., gen. heljar, dat. helju or hel (less correct); a nom. helja never occurs in old writers, although a gen. helju is used in the mod. phrase, milli heims ok helju (old and better heljar); [Ulf. halja = αδης, Matth. xi. 23, Luke xvi. 23, 1 Cor. xv. 55; A. S. and Engl. hell; Hel. and O. H. G. hellia; Germ. hölle; cp. Dan. i hjel]:—the abode of the dead:

1. in a heathen sense answering to the Greek Hades, and distinguished from Valhalla; í Helju, Alm. 15, 19, 21, 27, 33; til Heljar, Skm. 27, Vtkv. 6, Vþm. 43; ok létta ekki fyrr en vér höfum Sigmund í Helju, Fær. 166; væntir mik, at hann sé nú í Helju, Fas. i. 233; at þau undr beri fyrir þik at þú sér brátt í Helju ok víst mun þetta þín furða vera, Ísl. ii. 351; fara til Heljar, to fare to Hel. to die, Gísl. 107.

2. phrases or sayings, heimta e-n ór Helju, to draw one out of Hel, i. e. to rescue him from imminent death or peril; þóttusk þeir hafa hann ór Helju heimtan, Eg. 533, Fs. 8, Fms. iii. 80; cp. gráta Baldr ór Helju, Edda 38, 39, Bs. i. 648 (in a verse); búask til Heljar, to busk one for a journey to Hel. i. e. to put him in a shroud; ok er þat því mælt at maðr þykki til Heljar búask, sá er sik klæðir mjök, þá er hann gengr út eðr klæðir sik lengi, Gísl. 107; liggja (vera) milli heims ok Heljar (see heimr II), Grett. 114, Fas. ii. 437, Fb. i. 260; liggja á Heljar þremi, to lie on the threshold of Hel. O. H. L. 71; eigi eru vér svá á Heljar þröm komnir, at þú hafir allt ráð várt í hendi þér, 655 x. 1; rasa í Helina opna, to rush into open Hel. i. e. to seek death, Fms. viii. 437; leysa höfuð ór Helju, to release one’s head out of Hel. Skv. 2. 1.

II. death; unnusk þeir Hákon mikit, svú at þá skildi ekki nema hel, Fms. vii. 733; höggr á tvær hendr ok þykkir eigi betra líf en hel, without caring for his life, Ísl. ii. 368; mér er verra líf en hel, Stj. 495; bíða heljar, to bide for death, Stor. 24; nema þeim liggi við hel eða húsgangr, N. G. L. i. 54; þat er vant at sjá, félagsmaðr, hvárt fyrr kemr, hel eðr langframi, Orkn. 466.

2. abverb. phrases,

α. til heljar, to death; hafðr til heljar, put to death, Grág. i. 34; drepa mann til heljar, 161; bíta e-u til heljar, N. G. L. i. 341; svelta til heljar, to starve to death, Bret. 8; færa e-n til heljar, to slay one, Fms. vi. 166.

β. í hel, to death (Dan. i hjel); sofa í hel, to sleep oneself to death, Rb. 356; vella möðkum í hel, 414; berja grjóti í hel, to stone to death, Landn. 236, Eb. 98, Ld. 152, Gísl. 118; berja e-n í hel, Fms. v. 181; drepa e-n í hel, Hbl. 27, Am. 38.

III. the ogress Hel, the Proserpine of Scandin. mythol., Edda 18, 37–39, Gm. 31, Vtkv. 3; með Helju, id.; bjóða Helju útlausn, etc., id.; haldi Hel því er hefir, Edda 38 (in a verse): Hel was represented as of a black, livid hue, whence the phrase, blár sem Hel, black as Hel, Nj. 177; blár sem Hel ok digr sem naut, Eb. 314: Heljar-skinn, n. ‘Hel-skin,’ Black-skin; hann lézk eigi slík Heljarskinn séð hafa, Landn. 121; also as a nickname, id. The inmates of Hel (ghosts called up from below) were supposed to be endowed with a supernatural strength, whence the phrases, heljar-afl, n. strength of Hel, gigantic strength; tók hann þá á sínu heljarafli, Od. ix. 538 (ἐπέρεισε δε ιν ἀπέλεθρον): heljar-karl, m. a ‘hell-carle,’ a person of gigantic strength, Fb. i. 212: heljar-maðr, m. (heljar-menni, n.), a man of Hel, like heljar-karl, Ld. 160; er þat jafnan reynt, at heljarmaðrinn er harðr við at eiga, Al. 109; Oddr kvað eigi hógligt við heljarmann þann, en við fjölkyngi móður hans, Fs. 32; ok er íllt at fásk við heljarmanninn, Grett. 134; görðu eigi þat at hætta þér einn undir vápn heljarmannsins, Þorst. S. St. 52; hann er h. ok ván at íllt hljótisk af, Fs. 36; ekki mun heljarmaðr þessi láta hér við lenda, Od. xxii. 70: Heljar-sinnar, m. pl. the champions of Hel, demons, ghosts, Edda (Sksm.) 41; salir Heljar, the halls of Hel, Vsp. 35: cp. also Heljar-grind, f. the gates of Hel; Heljar-meyjar, f. pl. the maids of Hel; Heljar-reip, n. the ropes of Hel, Sól. 37–39; Heljar-rann, n. the hall of Hel, Vtkv. 6; Heljar-diskr, m. the dish of Hel, Edda (Gl.), Sturl. (in a verse); Heljar-epli, n., Ísl. ii. 351 (in a verse); Heljar-askr, m. the ash of Hel, Sturl. (in a verse), cp. Vsp. 2.

(gen. jarðar, dat. jörðu; pl. jarðir), f.

1) earth, opp. to himinn( hvárt býr guð á himni eða jörðu?);

2) the surface of the earth, ground (féll hann þá dauðr til jarðar);

3) mould;

4) land, estate.

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f., gen. jarðar; dat. jörðu, mod. also jörð; pl. jarðir; in old writers dat. and acc. are carefully distinguished; in mod. prose and conversation the apocopated dative is mostly used, whereas the poets use either form, as is most convenient for the flow of the verse and the metre, as in the Passion hymns,

α. the full form; og hindra gjörðu, | Guðs dýrðarljós svo lýsi mér á lifandi manna jörðu, 9. 9; merk að úr jörðu mátti ei neinn, 46. 10; hróp og háreysti gjörðu … | kringum krossinn á jörðu, 39. 7; nakinn Jesum á jörðu … | með heiptar sinni hörðu, 33. 4; Lausnarinn niðr á jörðu, 34. 1; blóðsveitinn þinn eg bið mér sé, | blessan og vernd á jörðunni, 3. 12; eins hér á jörðu upp frá því, 21. 10; þó leggist lík í jörðu … | hún mætir aldrei hörðu, Hallgr.

β. the apocopated form; en Jesú hlýðni aptr hér, allri jörð blessan færir, Pass. 24. 6; heiðr, lof, dýrð á himni og jörð | hjártanleg ástar þakkar-gjörð, 3. 18; þó heiðarleg sé hér á jörð | holdi útvaldra líkför gjörð, 49. 14; ef hér á jörð er hróp og háð, 14. 16; hvað göra þeir sem hér á jörð | hafa að spotti Drottins orð, 10: [Goth. airþa; A. S. eorde; Hel. ertha; old Scot. yearthe; Engl. earth: O. H. G. erda; Germ. erde; Dutch aarde; Fris. irth; Swed.-Dan. jord.]

A. The earth; jörð ok himin, Nj. 194; jörð ok upphimin, Vsp. 3; jörð iðja-græna, 58; íllt er á jörð of orðit, Glúm. (in a verse), Hm. 138, and prose passim; jarðar yfirbragð er böllótt, Rb. 460, 465; jarðar bugr, böllr, hringr, hvel, mynd, endi, bygð, the earth’s bight, ball, ring, wheel, shape, end, habitation, 440, 466, 472: for the mythol. genesis of the earth see Vsp. l. c., Vþm. 20, 21, Gm. 40: as a mythical goddess, the Earth was daughter of Ónar (Ónars-dóttir) and Nótt (the night), and sister of Day on the mother’s side, Edda 7: Thor was the Earth’s son, Jarðar-sonr, m., Haustl.

II. the surface of the earth, earth; falla til jarðar, Nj. 64; koma til jarðar, to throw down, Fms. v. 348; falla frjáls á jörð, N. G. L. i. 32, Grág. ii. 192; á jörðu ok í jörðu, Finnb. 290; bíta gras af jörðunni, Fms. xi. 7; skeðja jörðu, K. Þ. K. 22; jörð eða stein, Sks. 88; erja jörð, to ‘ear’ the earth, plough, Rb. 100; flestir menn séru jarðir sínar, Fms. i. 92: jarðar aldin, ávöxtr, blómi, dupt, dust, dýr, kvikendi, skriðdýr, etc., the earth’s fruit, produce, blossom, dust, deer, beasts, reptiles, etc., H. E. ii. 188, Grág. ii. 347, Ver. 17, Fas. iii. 669, Sks. 527, 628, Stj. 18, 77.

2. pasture; görði kulda mikla með snjóum ok íllt til jarðar, Grett. 91 A; taka til jarðar, to graze, Skm. 15: freq. in mod. usage, góð jörð, lítil jörð, jarð-leysi, jarð-laust, jarð-bann, q. v.

3. mould, Lat. humus; jörð sú er á innsigli er lögð, Lækn. 472: soil, sand-jörð, sandy soil; leir-jörð, clayey soil, etc.

COMPDS: jarðarber, jarðarför, jarðarmegin, jarðarmen.

B. Land, an estate, very freq. in Icel., answering to Norse bol, Dan. gaard; thus, túlf, tuttugu, sextíu, … hundraða jörð, land of twelve, twenty, sixty, … hundreds value; byggja jörð, to lease a farm; búa á jörð, to live on a farm; leigja jörð, to hold land as a tenant (leigu-liði); góð bú-jörð, good land for farming; harðbala-jörð, barren, bad land; plógs-jörð, land yielding rare produce, eider-down or the like; land-jörð, an inland estate, opp. to sjóvar-jörð, land by the sea side; Benedikt gaf sira Þórði jarðir út á Skaga hverjar svá heita …, Dipl. v. 27.

COMPDS: jarðar-, sing. or jarða-, pl.: jarðarbrigð, jarðarbygging, jarðareigandi, jarðarhefð, jarðarhelmingr, jarðarhundrað, jarðarhöfn, jarðarflag, jarðarkaup, jarðarleiga, jarðarlýsing, jarðarmark, jarðamat, jarðamáldagi, jarðarmáli, jarðarmegin, jarðarpartr, jarðarrán, jarðarreitr, jarðaskeyting, jarðarskipti, jarðaskipti, jarðarspell, jarðatal, jarðarteigr, jarðarusli, jarðarverð, jarðarvígsla, jarðarþjófr.

(gen. völu; pl. völur), f. prophetess, sibyl, wise woman, witch (fóru þá um landit spákonur, er kallaðar vóru völur).

* * *

u, f., also spelt völfa, gen. völu, pl. völur; völfu. or also völfur or voluur; gen. pl. does not occur; the nom. Vala is erroneous: [the etymology as well as the origin of this word is uncertain; but may not the Norse Völva and the Gr. σίβυλλα be relations? the identity in sense at least is very striking; the Gr. word first occurs in Aristoph., and then in Plato; may it not have been adopted from some Scythian tribe, for a word like this, if Greek, could hardly fail to occur in Homer? in völva an initial s, we suppose, has been lost (qs. svölva); in the Greek the ĭ would be an inserted vowel]:—a prophetess, sibyl, wise woman; völva, seiðkona, spákona (qq. v.) are synonymous. The ancient Sagas contain many remarkable records of the heathen wise-women or sibyls, who were held in honour and reverence; at the great feasts and sacrifices in the autumn, the völva (often a woman of rank) went with her troop of maidens through the country, where she, so to say, crowned the feast; she was seated on a high seat (seiðhjallr) in the hall, where she wrought her spells and sang her ‘weird-songs’ (varðlokur), after which the guests went past her one by one, and she told each his fate, or whatever else one wanted to know, e. g. the course of the coming winter and the like. The former part of the Völuspá is evidently conceived as the inspired song of a völva, seated on her high seat, and addressing Odin, while the gods listen to her words; and the latter part of the poem appears to be a kind of necromancy, or the raising of a dead völva, as also is the lay Vegtamskviða; sú kona var þar í bygð er Þorbjörg hét, ok var kölluð lítil völva, hón hafði áttar sér níu systr, ok vóru allar spákonur, en hón var ein þá á lífi, þat var háttr Þorbjargar um vetrum, at hón fór á veizlur ok buðu þeir menn henni mest heim er forvitni var á at vita forlög sín eða árferð, Þorf. Karl. Names of such wise women, Gróa völva, Edda; Heimlaug völva, Gullþ.; Heiðr völva, Landn. 173; Huldr völva, Yngl. S., Hkr. i. 21; to which add the ‘Weleda’ of Tacitus: class. passages are Þorf. S. ch. 3 (exceedingly interesting), Örvar-Odds S. ch. 3 (Fas. ii. 506), Vd. ch. 10: völu vél-spá, Vsp.; eru völfur allar frá Víðólfi, Hdl.; völva ok vís kona. Vtkv.; þá kom til völva sú er Gróa hét, Edda 58; var á því landi spákona sú er sagði fyrir örlög manna, … þeir fara til móts við völunna, Fb. ii. 28; ek fór í skóg til þín í völvu líki, Fas. i. 135; þóttusk menn vita at þar mundi verst hafa völu-leiði, Ld. 328; þá reið Óðinn fyrir austan dyrr þar er hann vissi völu leiði, Vtkv.; úrsvöl Gýmis völva, of Rán the goddess, Edda (in a verse); at hás völva valdi því bölvi, Kormak; in a bad sense, völva and skollvis kona, Hkv. 1. 34; Tacitus (Germ. ch. 8, 46, and Hist. iv. 61, 65, v. 22, 24) speaks of these practices, as also does Plutarch, Caesar ch. 19,— τα μαντεύματα των ἱερων γυναικων.

COMPDS: Völuspá, Völvustaðir.

* * *

(gen. frú, pl. frúr), f. mistress, lady (= freyja).

* * *

f., an older nom. sing. frauva, u, f., occurs Fms. x. 421, (Ágrip); frouva, Stj. 47; frou, id.; frú is prop. a later contracted form from freyja; therefore the gen. in old writers is always frú (qs. frúvu); and the word is in the sing. indecl., thus, frú-innar, Fms. ix. 292; hann fékk frú Ceciliu, x. 3; móðir frú Ingigerðar, Landn. 240; frú Kristínar, Fms. ix. 8; slíkrar frou (sic) sem ek em, Str. 40, 47: in mod. usage gen. frúar, if used by itself or put after one’s name, but indecl. if put before it in addressing any one, thus, Frú Kristínar, but Kristínar frúar; the gen. frúar occurs Fas. iii. 586, in a MS. of the 15th century; pl. frúr, but older form fruvur or frovur, e. g. frovor, Edda (Arna-Magn.) i. 96 (Kb.); but Ob. frúr, Hkr. i. 16: [freyja was origin. fem. of freyr, and prop. meant Lat. domina; Germ. frau; Dan. frue; no Goth. fraujô is found]:—a lady; in Icel. at present only used of the wives of men of rank or title, e. g. biskups-frú, amtmanns-frú; wives of priests are not called so: again, húsfreyja is more homely, Germ. hausfrau, Engl. housewife, always of a married woman, vide e. g. the Þjóðólfr (Icel. newspaper): in the 14th century in Icel. frú was used of abbesses and wives of knights, but was little used before the 13th century: af hennar (the goddess Freyja) nafni skyldi kalla allar konur tignar ( noble woman), svá sem nú heita fruvor, Hkr. l. c.; af hennar nafni er þat tignar-nafn er ríkis-konur ( women of rank) eru kallaðar fruvor, Edda l. c.; Kolr hafði talat margt við frú eina ríka (of a foreign lady in Wales), Nj. 280: again, good housewives, such as Bergthora in Njála, are called hús-freyjur, but never frúr; thus, kemsk þó at seinna fari, húsfreyja, Nj. 69; gakk þú út, húsfreyja, þvíat ek vil þik fyrir öngan mun inni brenna, 200; búandi ok húsfreyja, Grág. i. 157; góð húsfreyja, Nj. 51; gild húsfreyja, Glúm. 349, Bs. i. 535:—the Virgin Mary is in legends called vár frú, our Lady; cp. jungfrú (pronounced jómfrú).

(-s, -ir), m.

1) skin, slough; hleypa hömum, to cast the slough (of snakes);

2) shape, form; skipta hömum, to change one’s shape.

* * *

m., pl. hamir, dat. hami, Vsp. 36, but ham, Höfuðl. (where ham, gram, and fram form a rhyme), as also Haustl. 2, Hkr. i. 228, all of them poems of the 10th century; [A. S. hama, homa; Hel. hamo; O. H. G. hemedi, whence mod. Germ. hemd; Dan. ham; akin to hamr is Ital. camisa, Fr. chemise, with a final s answering to hams below]:—a skin, esp. the skin of birds flayed off with feathers and wings; álptar-hamr, a swan’s skin; fugls-hamr, a bird’s skin; arnar-hamr, an eagle’s skin; gásar-hamr, a goose’s skin, etc.; hams, q. v., of snakes: ham bera svanir hvítfjaðraðan (of a swan’s skin), Fas. i. 471 (in a verse); hleypa hömum (of snakes), to cast the slough, Konr. 34; hlátra hamr, poët. laughter’s cover, the breast, Höfuðl. 19.

II. shape, esp. in a mythol. sense, connected with the phrase, skipta hömum, to change the shape, described in Yngl. S. ch. 7, Völs. S. ch. 7, 8, and passim; cp. also the deriv. ein-hamr, ham-farir, ham-ramr, ham-stola, hamingja, hamask, etc.,—an old and widespread superstition found in the popular lore and fairy tales of almost every country;—Óðinn skipti hömum, lá þá búkrinn sem sofinn eðr dauðr, en hann var þá fugl eða dýr, fiskr eða ormr, ok fór á einni svipstund á fjarlæg lönd, Yngl. S. l. c., Fas. i. 128 (Völs. S. l. c.); it is described in Völs. S. ch. 8,—þeir hafa orðit fyrir úsköpum, því at úlfa-hamir ( wolf-coats) héngu yfir þeim; it tíunda hvert dægr máttu þeir komask ór hömunum, etc.; þeir fundu konur þrjár ok spunnu lín, þar vóru hjá þeim álptar-hamir þeirra, Sæm. 88 (prose to Vkv.); fjölkyngis-kona var þar komin í álptar-ham, Fas. i. 373, cp. Helr. 6; víxla hömum, to change skins, assume one another’s shape, Skv. 1. 42; Úlf-hamr, Wolf-skin, the nickname of a mythol. king, Hervar. S., prob. from being hamramr; manns-hamr, the human skin, Str. 31; hugða ek at væri hamr Atla, methought it was the form or ghost of Atli, Am. 19; jötunn í arnar-ham, a giant in an eagle’s skin, Vþm. 37, Edda; í gemlis-ham, id., Haustl.; fjaðr-hamr, Þkv.; í faxa-ham, in a horse’s skin, Hkr. i. (in a verse); í trölls-hami, in an ogre’s skin, Vsp. 36; vals-hamr, a falcon’s skin, Edda (of the goddess Freyja): it remains in mod. usage in metaph. phrases, að vera í góðum, íllum, vondum, ham, to be in a good, bad, dismal frame of mind or mood; vera í sínum rétta ham, to be in one’s own good frame of mind; færast í annan ham, to enter into another frame of mind: in western Icel. an angry, ill-tempered woman is called hamr, hún er mesti hamr (= vargr): hams-lauss, adj. distempered, furious, esp. used in Icel. of a person out of his mind from restlessness or passion, the metaphor from one who cannot recover his own skin, and roves restlessly in search of it, vide Ísl. Þjóðs. passim.

COMPDS: hamdökkr, hamfagr, hamljótr, hamvátr, Hamðir.

* * *

1) any unlawful seizure or holding of property;

2) robbery, plundering;

3) plunder, booty.

* * *

f., dat. Rán, Hkv. i. 30, Hkv. Hjörv. 18; Ráni, Gg. 6, is a corrupt passage; [this word cannot be related to the preceding]:—the name of the giant-goddess the queen of the sea; she was wife of Egir, mother of the Nereids, called Ránar-dætr; all that perished in the sea came and abode with her; Rán átti net, þat er hón veiddi í menn alla þá er á sæ kómu, Edda 66, 69, Eb. 274, Fas. ii. 77, Eb. ch. 54, Friðþ. S. ch. 6; þat höfðu menn fyrir satt, at þá væri mönnum vel fagnat at Ránar, ef sjódauðir menn vitjaði erfis síns, Eb. l. c., Stor. 7; sitja at Ránar, Fms. vi. 376 (in a verse); ræsis rekka er þú mundir Rán gefa, Hkv. Hjörv. 18:—the allit. phrase, Rán ok Regin, was a form of oath, Ölk. 36: in poët. circumlocutions, dýnu Rán = a woman, Hallfred; ósk-rán.

COMPDS: Ránardætr, Ránar-land, -salr, -vegr, Rán-heimr, Lex. Poët. rán-boðr, m. the bed of Rán, the bottom of the sea, Fas. ii. 77 (in a verse).

f., acc. and dat. Þrúði, the name of a goddess, the daughter of Thor and Sif, Edda, Lex. Poët.; also the name of a woman, Þrúðr; as also in compds, Her-þrúðr, Sig-þrúðr, Jar-þrúðr, Landn., Fms.; cp. the Germ. drude = a witch or evil fairy, Grimm’s Dict. s. v.

B. IN COMPDS; [the etymology may be illustrated from the Goth. þroþjan = γυμνάζειν, us-þroþjan = μυειν, us-þroþeins = γυμνασία; to this root belongs í-þrótt (q. v.), qs. ið-þrót; perh. also þróttr, q. v.; or is it akin to Germ. drude (for which see Grimm’s Dict.)?]: used in some old poët. compd words referring to Thor: Þrúð-hamarr, m. the master hammer of Thor, Ls. 57: Þrúð-heimr, Þrúð-vangr, m. the name of the mythical abode of Thor, Gm. 4, Edda: þ;rúð-valdr, in þrúðvaldr goða, the heroic, doughty defender of the gods, i. e. Thor, Hbl.