the maid

a. = mjór (poet.).

(gen. meyjar, dat. mey or meyju, acc. mey, pl. meyjar), f.

1) maid, girl, virgin (úfröm sem ungar meyjar);

2) poet. daughter, answering to mögr( þegi þú Frigg, þú ert Fjörgyns mær).

* * *

f., gen. meyjar, dat. meyju, acc. mey; pl. meyjar, dat. meyjum: meyja, u, f. a later form in MSS. of the 14th century, sú meyja, meyjan, Stj. 136, Bs. ii. 27; þú meyja (voc.), Fb. ii. 194, Skáld H. 1. 9; as also nom. mey, Fas. iii. 177; [Ulf. mawi = κοράσιον, παις; A. S. meowle = meyla, q. v.; Swed. and Dan. mö; the Engl. maid and Germ. magd are derivatives]:—a maid, girl, virgin; þaðan koma meyjar, Vsp. 20; mey, Hm. 81, 96; meyjar orð, 83; mörg góð mær, 101; en horska mær, 95, Vþm. 47; meyja, 49; meyjar ástir, Alm. 8; mér tíða mey, Skm. 7; mær (voc.), 23, 25, 26; mær er mér tíðari, 7; mær heitir fyrst hver, en kerlingar er gamlar eru, Edda 108; leizt honum mærin fögr, Eg. 23; Egill sá þar mey fagra, … mærin var úkát ok grét … Egill mælti við meyna, 481, 483; mær tvítug eða ellri, Grág. i. 307, 465; ekkjur ok meyjar tvítöga ok ellri, ii. 108; eigi mær heldr göfuglig ekkja, Fms. x. 294: a girl, hón lék sér á gólfi við aðrar meyjar, hversu lízt þér á mey þessa, þykkir þér eigi fögr! ærit fögr er mær sjá, Nj. 2; Þóra ól barn um sumarit, ok var þat mær, Eg. 166; litlu síðarr fæddi hón barn, þat var mær, Steinn hélt meyjunni undir skírn, hét sú mær Þóra, Steinn gaf meyjunni fingrgull, Ó. H. 144; hvárt sem er sveinn eða mær, N. G. L. i:—a virgin, Gefjon, hón er mær ok henni þjóna þær er meyjar andask, Edda 21; hón var mær alla æfi, 655 ix. C. 1: allit., brúðr Guðs, mær ok móðir, Mar., esp. of the Virgin Mary, Lil.; mær meyja, the maid of maids, Hdl. (begin.):—of the zodiac, Rb. (1812) 16.

2. freq. in poetry = a daughter, thus answering to mögr; Gýmis meyjar, the daughter of G., Skm. 12; mey átti hann, Rm. 36 (Bugge); hefir minn faðir heitið meyju sinni, Hkv. 1. 18; Hýmis meyjar, Ls. 34; meyjar Mögþrasis, Vþm. 48; Billings mey, Hm. 96; Högna mær, Hkv.; fögr mær fíra, Vkv. 2: allit., Loka mær, the daughter of L. = Hel. Ýt.; mær ok mögr, daughter and son, Og. 9.

COMPDS: meyjarmál, meyjarmundr.

(heit; hét, hétum; heitinn), v.

1) to call give a name to;

Grímni mik hétu, they called me G.;

heitinn eptir e-m, called (named) after one;

2) to call on one;

heita e-n á brott, to call on one to be gone, bid one go (heitit mik héðan);

heita á e-n, to exhort one (in battle);

to invoke (heita á hinn heilaga Ólaf);

heita á e-n til e-s, to invoke (appeal to) one for a thing (hann hét á Þór til fulltings);

3) intrans., the pres. ‘heiti’ (not ‘heit’), to be hight, be called;

Óðinn ek, nú heiti, now I am called Odin;

Ólafr heiti ek, my name is O.;

Úlfr hét maðr, there was a man, whose name was U.;

bœr heitir á Bakka (at búrfelli), there is a farm called B.;

heita (to be reckoned) frjáls maðr, hvers manns níðingr;

4) with dat. to promise (heita e-m e-u);

mantu, hverju þú hézt mér, do you remember what you promised me?

heita e-m hörðu, to threaten one;

Bárði var heitit meyjunni, the maid was promised to B.;

5) refl., heitast, to vow, plight one’s faith (þeir hétust reka Hákon ór landi);

heitast e-m, to vow one’s person to one (heitast hinum heilaga Ólafi konungi);

to be betrothed to one.

(heitta, heittr), v.

1) to heat (heita spjót í eldi);

2) to brew (heita mungát, heita öl).

f. brewing (cf. ölheita).

* * *

pres. heit, heitr, and in A. II. heiti, heitir (bisyllabic), in mod. usage heiti through all significations; pret. hét, hétu, 2nd pers. hézt; part. heitinn.

A. [Ulf. haitan = καλειν; A. S. hâtan; Old Engl. hight, pret. hot; O. H. G. haizan; Germ. heissen; Swed. heta; Dan. hede]:

I. trans. with acc. to call, give name to; hve þik hétu hjú? Fsm. 47; Urð hétu eina, Vsp. 20; Heiði hana hétu, 25; Grímni mik hétu, Gm. 49; hve þik heitir halr, Hkv. Hjörv. 14; Hnikar hétu mik, Skv. 2. 18; hétu Þræl, Rm. 8; hétu Erna (Ernu?), 36: the naming of infants was in the heathen age accompanied by a kind of baptism (ausa vatni), vide ausa, p. 35.

2. metaph. to call on one; in the phrase, heita e-n á brott, to turn one out, call on one to be gone; þá er maðr á brott heitinn ef honum er eigi deildr matr at málum, Grág. i. 149; Vermundr hét hann á brott ok kvað hann eigi þar lengr vera skyldu, Sturl. ii. 230; so also, ef bóndi heitr griðmann sinn af vist foráttalaust, Grág. i. 157; eða heitið mik héðan, Ls. 7; ek var heitinn út ( turned out) fjórum sinnum, Sighvat:—with prep., heita á e-n, to call upon one (for help); hón hét á konur at skilja þá, Landn. 49: to exhort one (in battle), hét á Hólmrygi, Hkm. 2; Úlfr hét á oss, Hkr. iii. (in a verse); Gísli spratt upp skjótt ok heitr á menn sína, at skýli, Gísl. 22: to invoke one (a god, saint), hann trúði á Krist, en hét á Þór til sjófara ok harðræða, Landn. 206; hann heitr nú á fulltrúa sína Þorgerði ok Irpu, Fb. i. 213; ef ek heit á guð minn, Mar.; á Guð skal heita til góðra hluta, Sól. 4.

3. part. pass. hight, called; sú gjöf var heitin gulli betri, Ad. 9; löskr mun hann æ heitinn, Am. 57, Fms. vi. 39 (in a verse); sá maðr mun eigi ílla heitinn ( will not get a bad report) í atferð sinni, Sks. 55 new Ed.

β. heitinn, the late, of one dead; eptir Odd heitinn föður sinn, Dipl. iv. 13; Salgerðr h., the late S., Vm. 37: very freq. in mod. usage, hann Jón heitinn, hún Guðrún heitin, etc.

II. absol. or intrans., in which case pres. bisyllabic heiti (not heit), to be hight, be called, as in Goth. the pass. of haitan; Andvari ek heiti, A. am í hight, Skv. 2. 2; Ólafr heiti ek, Fms. x. 226; ek heiti Ari, Íb. (fine); Jósu vatni, Jarl létu heita, Rm. 31; Óðinn ek nú heiti, Yggr ek áðan hét, Gm. 54; Gangráðr ek heiti, Vþm. 8; Ask veit ek standa, heitir Yggdrasill, Vsp. 19: esp. freq. in an hist. style in introducing a person for the first time, Mörðr hét maðr, hann átti dóttur eina er Unnr hét, móðir hennar hét Þorgerðr, Rútr hét bróðir hans, Nj. 1, 2; þau áttu eptir dóttur er Þuríðr hét, hinn elzti son Bjarnar hét Grímkell, Ísl. ii. 4; Oddr hét maðr, son Önundar breiðskeggs, hann átti þá konu er Jórunn hét; annarr son þeirra hét Þóroddr en annarr Þorvaldr, Þuriðr hét dóttir Odds en önnur Jófriðr, 121, 122; Þorsteinn hét maðr, hann var Egilsson, en Ásgerðr hét móðir Þorsteins, 189; þau gátu son, ok var vatni ausinn ok hét Þórólfr, 146, etc.; and in endless instances answering to Engl. there was a man, and his name was ( he was hight) so and so. The ancients said, hve (or hversu) heitir þú, ‘how’ art thou named? Germ. wie heisst du? thus, hve þú heitir? hve þik kalla konir? answer, Atli ek heiti, and hve þú heitir, hála nágráðug? Hrímgerðr ek heiti, Hkv. Hjörv. 14–17; hve sú jörð heitir, hve sá himinn heitir, hversu máni heitir, hve sjá sól heitir, etc., Alm. 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24, 26, 28, 30, 32, 34, Vþm. 11, 13, 15, 17; the northern Icelanders still say, hvers’ (i. e. hversu) heitir maðrinn, sælir verið þér, hvörs’ heitir maðrinn? answer, Hrólfr heitir hann, Asgrímsson að norðan, Sig. Pétr. in Hrólfr (a play), p. 4: in mod. usage, hvat ( what) heitir þú? hvað heitir þú? Eg heiti Jón, Stef. Ól.: the same phrase occurs now and then in old writers, hvat heitir bær sjá? Ld. 234; hvat heitir hón? Helga heitir hón, Ísl. ii. 201 (Cod. Holm. hvart = hversu?): as also in the poem Fsm. (but only preserved in paper MSS.) 9, 11, 13, 19, 23, 31, 35, 37; but hve, 46, 47.

β. of places, often with dat. and prep. of the place; á þeim bæ er á Brjámslæk heitir, Bs. i. 379; land pat er í Hvammi heitir, Gísl. 121; bær hans hét á Stokkum, Fb. iii. 324; á þeim bæ er at Hóli heitir, Hrafn. 5; ok því heitir þat síðan í Geitdal, 3; bær heitir á Bakka, á Meðalhúsum, at Búrfelli, á Auðúlfsstöðum, at Svínavatni, í Vestrhópi, í Sléttadal, Ísl. ii. 322–325.

2. to be called, reckoned so and so; þá heitir hón sönn at sök, then she stands convicted, N. G. L. i. 351; þú skalt frá þessum degi frjáls maðr heita, Ld. 50; heit hvers manns níðingr ella, Nj. 176; heldr en h. kotkarl, eigi er þat nafn fyrir-lítanda, at heita húskarlar konungs, Sks. 270; sá er vill heitinn horskr, Hm. 61.

3. reflex., hétomc, to name oneself or to be called; hétomc Grímnir, hétomc Gangleri, einu nafni hétomc aldregi, hétomc Þundr fyrir þat, Gm. 46, 48, 54.

B. With dat., [cp. Goth. fauraga heitan; A. S. hâtan, pret. het; Germ. verheissen]:—to promise, with dat. both of the person and thing, or the thing in infin., or absol.; heita hörðu, to threaten, Am. 78; h. góðu, Sól.; h. bölvi, Hdl. 49; afarkostum, Fms. i. 75; hann heitr þeim þar í mót fornum lögum, Ó. H. 35; engu heit ek um þat, 167; mantú nokkut hverju þú hézt mér í fyrra, Anal. 190; at lítið mark sé at, hverju þú heitr, Fms. vii. 120; fyrir þau hin fögru fyrirheit er þú hézt þeim manni, er bana-maðr hans yrði—þat skal ek efna sem ek hét þar um, i. 217; kom Þorsteinn þar, sem hann hafði heitið, as he had promised, 72; þú munt göra okkr slíka sæmd sem þú hefir heitið, Nj. 5; Njáll hét at fara, 49.

II. to make a vow, the vow in dat., the god or person invoked with prep. and acc. (h. á e-n), cp. A. above; þat sýndisk mönnum ráð á samkomunni, at h. til verðr-bata, en um þat urðu menn varla ásáttir hverju heita skyldi, vill Ljótr því láta h. at gefa til hofs, en bera út börn en drepa gamal-menni, Rd. 248; þá heitr Ingimundr prestr at bóka-kista hans skyldi á land koma ok bækr, Bs. i. 424; ok skyldu menn taka at heita, þeir hétu at gefa …, 483; hét Haraldr því til sigrs sér, at hann skyldi taka skírn, Fms. i. 107; eptir þat hét hón miklum fégjöfum á hinn helga Jón biskup, Bs. i. 201 and passim, esp. in the Miracle-books.

III. reflex. and pass. to plight oneself, be betrothed; þá sá hón þat at ráði ok með henni vinir hennar at heitask Þórólfi, Eg. 36; þeim hétumk þá þjóðkonungi, Skv. 3. 36: to betroth, varkat ek heima þá er (hón) þér heitin var, when she (the bride) was given to thee, Alm. 4; kom svá, at Bárði var heitið meyjunni, that the maid was betrothed to B., Eg. 26.

2. to vow, plight one’s faith; þeir hétusk reka Hákon ór landi, Jd.: to vow one’s person to one, at hann heitisk hinum heilaga Ólafi konungi, Hkr. iii. 288: to bind oneself, þá menn er honum höfðu heitisk til föruneytis, Fms. vii. 204.

* * *

1) hind, cow;

2) woman (only in compds.).

* * *

u, f., prop. a deer without horns, a humble deer, a hind; féll hann þar á grasvöllinn hjá kollunni, Str. 4, 7; hirtir allir ok kollur, Karl. 476, (hjart-kolla, q. v.)

2. a cow; kollu hali, a cow’s tail, Bjarn. (in a verse); þat heita Kollu-vísur, er hann kvað um kýr út á Íslandi, Fms. vi. 366, Bjarn. 43, cp. 32.

3. in mod. usage, esp. a humble ewe; æ, þarna er hún Kolla mín blessuð komin af fjallinu! Piltr og Stúlka 20; Mó-kolla, Grett.

4. of a girl; frið-kolla, a ‘peace-maid,’ Swed. Dal-kulla = the maid of the Dales.

II. a pot or bowl without feet.

III. naut. one of the cleats in a ship (?), N. G. L. ii. 283, v. l. kollu-band, n. the stay fastened to the kolla.

1) lather;

2) froth, foam of the sea (alda lauðri faldin).

* * *

n., mod. löðr, but the diphthong is borne out by old rhymes as, lauðri, rauða, Fms. vi. 47 (in a verse); nauð, vii. 66; as also by the derivative leyðra, q. v.: [A. S. leaðor = a kind of nitre, used for soap; Engl. lather]:— the froth or foam of the sea water; lauðr var lagt í beði, Fms. vi. 180 (in a verse); ljótu lauðri dreif á lypting, id.; alda lauðri faldin, Orkn. (in a verse); viðr þolir nauð í lauðri, Fms. vii. (in a verse): lauðr Óðins elda, poët. = the blood, Gísl. (in a verse); haf-lauðr, sea-scum, Lex. Poët.; vápn-lauðr = blood.

II. in prose esp. of a kind of nitre or soap used in cleaning, e. g. the head; cp. Swed. lodder = a kind of soap, Engl. lather; ok þó hón höfuð hans, … ok hafði hón eigi þvegit lauðr ór höfði honum, Ísl. ii. 333 (Heiðarv. S.): líneik ( the maid) strauk lauðri um skör mína, Vígl. 82 new Ed. (in a verse).

(heit; hét, hétum; heitinn), v.

1) to call give a name to;

Grímni mik hétu, they called me G.;

heitinn eptir e-m, called (named) after one;

2) to call on one;

heita e-n á brott, to call on one to be gone, bid one go (heitit mik héðan);

heita á e-n, to exhort one (in battle);

to invoke (heita á hinn heilaga Ólaf);

heita á e-n til e-s, to invoke (appeal to) one for a thing (hann hét á Þór til fulltings);

3) intrans., the pres. ‘heiti’ (not ‘heit’), to be hight, be called;

Óðinn ek, nú heiti, now I am called Odin;

Ólafr heiti ek, my name is O.;

Úlfr hét maðr, there was a man, whose name was U.;

bœr heitir á Bakka (at búrfelli), there is a farm called B.;

heita (to be reckoned) frjáls maðr, hvers manns níðingr;

4) with dat. to promise (heita e-m e-u);

mantu, hverju þú hézt mér, do you remember what you promised me?

heita e-m hörðu, to threaten one;

Bárði var heitit meyjunni, the maid was promised to B.;

5) refl., heitast, to vow, plight one’s faith (þeir hétust reka Hákon ór landi);

heitast e-m, to vow one’s person to one (heitast hinum heilaga Ólafi konungi);

to be betrothed to one.

(heitta, heittr), v.

1) to heat (heita spjót í eldi);

2) to brew (heita mungát, heita öl).

f. brewing (cf. ölheita).

* * *

tt, [heitr], to heat; hón heitti steinana, Lv. 70; hann lét taka sement ok heita í katli, Fms. vi. 153; h. spjót í eldi, Fas. ii. 29; sólin heitir hafit, Rb. 444.,

2. to brew; heita mungát, Bs. i. 339, 340, K. Þ. K. 100, Finnb. 294, Eg. 88; heita öl, 148, Hkv. 3; heita til Jólanna, to brew for Yule, Orkn. 112;—the ancients used to drink fresh-brewed ale.

u, f. brewing, N. G. L. ii. 249, iii. 197; öl-heita, ale-brewing, Landn. 215.

COMPDS: heitugagn, heituhús, heitukerald, heituketill, heitukona, heitumaðr, heituviðr.

(að), v. to shed rays, to beam.

* * *

að, to shed rays, Sks. 206, Fms. iii. 51, v. 341, Sl. 42; geislaði af meyjunni, it beamed from the maid, she shed rays of light, Mar. 618: metaph. to shed, Magn. 428.

(-ða, -ðr), v. to make soft, to weaken.

f. servantmaid, dairymaid (deigja eðr önnur hjún).

* * *

u, f. a dairy-maid; this word is the humble mother of the Engl. lady, qs. la-dy (vide p. 76. s. v. brauð). A. S. hlæf-dige = bread-maid; cp. Norse bú-deigja (q. v.). Chaucer’s dey (a maner dey), and West Engl. day- (or dey-) house, a dairy. The deigja in old Norse farms was the chief maid, but still a bondwoman, N. G. L. i. 70, H. E. i. 510; öll ertú d. dritin. Ls. 56, where it is curiously enough addressed to the daughter of Byggvir (bygg = barley), a handmaid of the gods; deigja seems to mean a baker-woman, and the word no doubt is akin to deig, dough, and Goth. deigan, to knead, the same person being originally both dairy-woman and baker to the farm: in Icel. the word is never used, but it survives in the Norse bu-deia, sæter-deia, agtar-deia, reid-deia (Ivar Aasen), and Swed. deja, = a dairy-maid.

u, f. wetness, dump.

(fögr, fagrt; comp. fegri), a. fair, fine, beautiful; f. sýnum, álitum, fair to see; fagrt veðr, fair (fine) weather; f. söngr, beautiful (sweet) song; fagrt kvæði, a fine poem; talaði fagrt, en hugði flátt, spoke fair, but thought else.

* * *

adj., fem. fögr, neut. fagrt; compar. fagrari or better fegri, superl. fagrastr or better fegrstr; mod. fegurri, fegurstr; [Ulf. fagrs = ευθετος; A. S. fœger; Engl. fair; O. H. G. fagar; Dan. favre, in Dan. ballads favre mö = fair maid; Swed. fager]:—- fair; used very freq. and almost as in Engl., except that the Icel. does not use it in a moral sense, like Engl. fair, unfair:

1. of persons, the body, etc.; fögr mær, a fair maid, Nj. 2, Vkv. 2; fagr sýnum, fair to see, Fms. i. 116; f. álitum, id., Edda 5, Skv. 1. 27; fögr hönd, a fair hand (hand-fögr), Fms. ix. 283; fógr augu, fair eyes (fagr-eygr); fagrt hár, fair hair, Ísl. ii; fagrar brúðir, fair brides, Sdm. 28; mær undarliga fögr, a wonderfully fair maid, Hkr. i. 40; fegra mann ( a fairer man) eðr tígurlegra, Fms. vi. 438.

2. of places; fögr er Hlíðin svá at mér hefir hón aldri jafnfögr sýnzk, Nj. 112; fagra túna (gen.), a fair abode (‘toun’), þkv. 3; salr sólu fegri, Vsp. 63; fagrar lendur, fair fields, Ld. 96: freq. in local names, Fagra-brekka, Fagr-ey, Fagri-dalr, Fagra-nes, Fagri-skógr, etc., = Fair-brink, -isle, -dale, -ness, -wood, etc., Landn.

3. of light, wind, weather, etc.; fagrt ljós, a bright light, Hom. 111, Fms. i. 230; skína fagrt, to shine brightly (of the sun); fagr byrr, a fair wind, Fms. ii. 182, Orkn. 356; fagrt veðr, fair weather, Ó. H. 216.

4. as an epithet of tears; in the phrase, gráta fögrum tárum, cp. Homer’s θαλερον δάκρυ; hence grát-fagr, beautiful in tears, Edda 63.

5. of the voice; fögr rödd, a sweet voice; fagr söngr, a sweet song, Bs. i. 168; fögr orð, a fine speech, Mork.

6. of other things; fagrt skip, a fine ship, Eg. 173; fagr borði, Nj. 24; fagrt kvæði, a fine poem, Ísl. ii. 237.

II. metaph., fagrt líf, a fair, goodly life, Mork. 72; lifa fagrt, to live a happy life, Hm. 53; fagrir siðir, fine manners, Sks. 279.

β. as an epithet of victory; fagr sigr, með fögrum sigri (freq.)

γ. mæla (tala) fagrt, to speak fair, Hm. 91, Ísl. ii. 339; talaði fagrt, en hugði flátt, spoke fair, but thought false, Fms. ii. 91; heita fögru, to promise fair, Hm. 131, Eg. (in a verse); lota öllu fögrv, cp. the Dan. ‘love guld og grönne skove’; biðja fagrt, to bid fair (with false intention), Am. 37.

B. In COMPDS, with nouns, adjectives, fair, fine, gracious:

I. prefixed, e. g. munn-fagr, fine-mouthed; augna-fagr, fair eyed; hand-fagr, fair-handed; gang-fagr, with a fair, gracious gait; lit-fagr, of fair hue; hár-fagr, fair-haired, etc.

II. suffixed, e. g. fagra-hvel, n. the fair wheel or disk, the sun (poët.), Alm. 17. fagra-ræfr, n. the fair roof, the sky (poët.), Alm. 13. fagr-bláinn, m. fair blue, a shield (poët.), Lex. Poët. fagr-blár, adj. light-blue. fagr-blóm, n., botan. trientalis, Hjalt. fagr-búinn, part. ‘fair-boun’, bright-dressed, chiefly as an epithet of a lady, Eg. 77, Hkr. iii. 290, Hom. 120, Am. 29: of a ship, Hkv. 1. 31. fagr-bygg, n. the fair ‘bigg’, gold (poët.), Lex. Poët., cp. Edda 83. fagr-dæll, adj. a man from Fairdale, Sturl. iii. 181, Landn. fagr-eygr (- eygðr), adj. fair-eyed, Bs. i. 127, 178, Hkr. ii. 2, Fms. xi. 205. fagr-ferðugr, adj. graceful, virtuous, Stj. 136, v. l. fagr-flekkóttr, adj. fair-flecked (of a snake), Stj. 97. fagr-gali, a, m. a fair, enticing song, enchantment, flattery. fagr-gim, n. the fair gem, the sun (poët.), Lv. 2. fagr-glóa, adj. fair-glowing, bright (poët.), Alm. 5 (the Sun as bride). fagr-grænn, adj. light-green, Fms. xi. 335, Hkr. i. 71 (of a field or tree). fagr-gulr, adj. light-yellow. fagr-hárr (- hærðr), adj. fair-haired, Nj. 16, Fms. xi. 205. fagr-hljóðr (-hljóðandi, - hljóðaðr), adj. sweet-voiced, Grett. 159, Fms. ii. 199. fagr-kinn, f. (fögrum-kinni, m., Fms. xi), fair-cheek, soubriquet of a lady, Sd. fagr-klæddr, part. fair-clad, Greg. 24, Dropl. 25. fagr-kolla, u, f., botan. hieracium, hawkweed, Hjalt. fagr-limi, a, m. ‘fair-branch’, a wood (poët.), Alm. 29. fagr-læti, n. blandishment, Barl. 119. fagr-máll, adj. fair-spoken, Fms. vi. 52. fagr-mæli, n. fair language, Barl. 24, 117, Nj. 167. Fms. i. 74. fagr-mæltr, part. bland, Fms. vi. 52, v. 1. fagr-orðr (- yrðr), adj. fair-spoken, bland, Sks. 370, 432, Sturl. ii. 133. fagr-raddaðr, part. sweet-voiced. fagr-rauðr, adj. light-red (opp. to dökk-rauðr or dumb-rauðr, dark-red), Þiðr. 181, Fas. i. 172, Vsp. 34. fagr-rendr, part. painted with fine stripes (of a shield), Hornklofi. fagr-skapaðr, part. fair-shapen, Sks. 627. fagr-skrifaðr, part. finely drawn, painted in bright colours, Greg. 26. fagr-skygðr, part. transparent as crystal (of a shield), Lex. Poët. fagr-strykvinn, part. painted with fair streaks (of a ship), Lex. Poët. fagr-varinn, part. wearing fine clothes (of a lady), Vkv. 37. fagr-vaxinn, part. of fair stature (of a lady), Band. (in a verse). fagr-yrði, n. pl. fair words, Fms. x. 104.

I) n.

1) household, house-folk; bondslaves;

2) bondwoman, female slave; þær ‘ro máttkar meyjar at mani hafðar, these mighty maids are held in bondage;

3) woman, esp. young woman, maid; líki leyfa hins ljósa mans, to praise the fair maid’s form.

II) from muna, munu.

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n., does not occur in plur. unless it be in gen. pl. mana, Stor. 13 (mͣ in MS.); [man is an ancient word only used in old laws and poetry, it remains in the compd man-sal, and in the Icel. local name Man-heimar; ‘man’ (ἀνδράποδον), being neuter and having but one n, is prob. of different origin from mann (ἄνθρωπος, ἀνήρ), which is masc. and has a double final n. The etymology of this word is lost in the remotest antiquity; it appears in the O. H. G. mana-houbit = a bondman’s head, a ‘serf’s head;’ (Grimm in R. A. expresses a doubt as to the current etymology of Lat. man-cipium from manu-capere; perh. man and caput?). In early Swed. law the word occurs twice or thrice, næmpnæ man, næmpnæ quicfæ, Schlyter i. 134; in Gutalagen—kauper tu mans man i garth thin (i. e. mans-mann = a bondman, cp. mans-manna and mans-maðr, see Schlyter’s Glossary).]

B. A bondman, prob. originally of prisoners of war who were sold as slaves (Irish in the west, Finns and Slaves in the east), see Ld. ch. 12, Ó. T. (Fms. i. ch. 92); svá ok ef hann vill í mani gjalda, tva aura fyrir einn, ok á hann lausn á maninu en næstu misseri ef hann hefir upp alit, Grág. i. 396; kaupa man ok gefa frelsi, N. G. L. i. 5, 6; ok þat fé skal hálft vera í gulli ok í silfri en hálit í mani hérrænu ( native bondmen) eigi ellra en fertogu, né yngra en fimmtán vetra, SS; mans leiga, 224; ok heimta hann sem annan mans-mann, K. Þ. K. 58; mani austrænu, eastern slaves, Hornklofi; máttkar meyjar at mani hafðar, Gs. 1, 15; er þú man keyptir, 8; hálfa aðra alin fyrir frjálsgjafa, penning veginn fyrir man-manna, N. G. L. i, 347; næst kirkju-garði skal grafa man-manna, 345; maðr manna, no doubt false for man-manna, 388; er hann réttlauss við hann ok hans konu ok man hans allt, 36, Am. 66; þar kom mart man falt, þar sá Loðinn konu nokkura er seld hafði verit mansali, Fms. i. 185: allit., mold ok man, N. G. L. iii. 92, v. l.

II. a girl, maid, as also in a worse sense, a mistress, for bondwomen often became their master’s mistresses (see Ld. ch. 12), so that this sense grew out of the preceding one; líki leyfa ens ljósa mans, Hm. 91; í myrkri skal við man spjalla, 81; et horska man, 101; et manunga man, 163; þat et unga man, þat et mjallhvíta man, Alm. 6, 7; bjarthaddað man, Skv. 1. 33; harðúðigt man, 27; fóstr-man, a bondwoman nurse, 3. 67; mans at kosta, Hbl. 16; hvé ek at andspilli komumk ens unga mans, Skm. 11; hve ek fyrir-banna manna glaum mani, manna nyt mani, how I ban her from all concourse with men, 34; Ylfinga man, Hkv. 2. 3; Yggjar man, the beloved of Ygg (Odin) = the Earth, Lex. Poët.; Héðins man = Hilda, the beloved of Hedin, Fms. ix. (in a verse); bjarnar man, a giantess, Stor. 13. It is probable that in some law phrases the obso- lete ‘man’ has been replaced by the common ‘mann,’ e. g. in gefa manni frelsi (mani? cp. manfrelsi), N. G. L. i. 5: as also in mana-kaup in the Swed. law, see Schlyter’s introd. to the 10th vol. of Sver. Gamla Lagar.

COMPDS: mansfólk, manfrelsi, Manheimar, mankynni, manmanna, manrúnar, mansal, mansalsmaðr, mansmaðr, mansöngr, mansöngsdrápa.

(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.

1) tern;

2) maid-servant.

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u, f. a tern or sea-swallow, sterna hirundo, Grág. ii. 347, Edda (Gl.); spá-þerna, Hkr. i. (in a verse), and in mod. usage: in the local name þern-ey, near Reykjavík.

II. a servant, [Dan. tærne; quite a different word, akin to þirr]:—a maid-servant, Stj. 138, 172, 616, and so in mod. usage.

n. bread; hleifr brauðs, a loaf of bread.

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n. [A. S. bread; Engl. bread; Germ. brod; Dan. bröd]. This word, which at present has become a household word in all branches of the Teutonic, was in early times unknown in its present sense: Ulf. constantly renders αρτος as well as ψωμίον by hlaibs; Engl. loaf; A. S. hlâf; the old A. S. poetry also has hlâf, and the old heathen Scandin. poems only hleifr, Hm. 40, 51, Rm. 4, 28. In Engl. also, the words lord, lady,—A. S. hlâford, hlâfdige, which properly mean loaf-warder, loaf-maid,—bear out the remark, that in the heathen age when those words were formed, breâd, in the sense of panis, was not in use in England; in old A. S. the word is only used in the compd beobreâd of the honeycomb (Gr. κηρίον), cp. Engl. bee-bread; O. H. G. bibrod; Germ. bienenbrod; and this seems to be the original sense of the word. The passage in which doubtless the Goths used ‘braud,’ Luke xxiv. 42—the only passage of the N. T. where κηρίον occurs—is lost in Ulf. Down to the 9th century this word had not its present sense in any Teut. dialect, but was, as it seems, in all of them used of the honeycomb only. The Icel. calls thyme ‘bráð-björg’ or ‘broð-björg’ (sweet food?); cp. the Lat. ‘redolentque thymo fragrantia mella;’ the root of ‘brauð’ is perhaps akin to the Lat. ‘fragrare.’ The transition from the sense of honeycomb to that of bread is obscure: in present usage the ‘bread’ denotes the substance, ‘loaf’ the shape; b. ok smjör, Eg. 204; b. ok kál, Mar.; heilagt b., Hom. 137; the Icel. N. T. (freq.)

2. food, hence metaph. living, esp. a parsonage, (mod.) The cures in Icel. are divided into þinga-brauð and beneficia.

(bregð; brá, brugðum; brugðinn), v. with dat.

1) to cause to move (quickly);

bregða sverði, knífi, to draw a sword, knife;

bregða fingri, hendi í e-t, to put (thrust) the finger, hand, into;

hón brá hárinu undir belti sér, she put (fastened) her hair under her belt;

bregða kaðli um e-t, to pass a rope round a thing;

bregða augum sundr, to open the eyes;

bregða e-m á eintal, to take one apart;

bregða sér sjúkum, to feign illness;

2) to deviate from, disregard (vér höfum brugðit af ráðum þínum);

3) to alter, change;

bregða lit, litum, to change colour, to turn pale;

bregða e-m í e-s líki, to turn one (by spell) into another shape (þú brátt þér í merar líki);

4) to break up, leave off, give up;

bregða tjöldum, to strike the tents;

bregða samvist, to leave off living together;

bregða ráðahag, to break off an engagement (wedding);

bregða boði, to countermand a feast;

bregða sýslu, to leave off working;

bregða svefni, blundi, to awake;

bregða tali, to break off talking;

bregða orrustu, kaupi, to break off a battle, bargain;

5) to break (bregða trúnaði, heiti, sáttmáli);

6) bregða e-m e-u, to upbraid, reproach one with a thing (Kálfr brá mér því í dag);

7) with prepp.,

bregða e-m á loft, to lift one aloft;

bregða e-u á, to give out, pretend (hann brá á því, at hann mundi ríða vestr til Miðfjarðar);

absol., bregða á e-t, to begin (suddenly) doing a thing;

bregða á leik, to begin playing or sporting;

Kimbi brá á gaman, took it playfully, laughed at it;

þeir brugðu á glímu ok á glens, they started wrestling and playing;

hestrinn brá á leik, broke into play, ran away;

hönd bregðr á venju, is ready for its old work;

þá brá Ingimundr til útanferðar, I. started to go abroad;

bregða e-u undan, to put it out of the way, to hide it;

bregða upp hendi, höndum, to hold up the hand;

bregða e-u við, to ward off with (bregða við skildi); fig. to put forth as an example, to praise, wonder at (þínum drengskap skal ek við bregða);

absol., bregða við, to start off, set about a thing without delay;

brá hann við skjótt ok fór, he started off at once and went;

8) refl., bregðast;

9) impers., e-u bregðr, it ceases, fails;

svá hart, at nyt bregði (to drive the ewes) so fast that they fail to give milk;

veðráttu brá eigi, there was no change in the weather;

of a sudden appearance, kláða brá á hvarmana, the eye-lids began to itch;

þá brá ljóma af Logafjöllum, then from L. there burst flashes of light;

ljósi bregðr fyrir, a light passes before the eye;

with preps., bregðr af vexti hans frá öðrum selum, his shape differs from that of other seals;

e-m bregðr í brún, one is amazed, startled (nú bregðr mönnum í brún mjök);

e-m bregðr til e-s, one person takes after, resembles another;

en því bregðr mér til foreldris míns, in that I am like my father;

þat er mælt, at fjórðungi bregði til fóstrs, the fostering makes the fourth part of a man;

e-m bregðr við e-t = e-m bregðr í brún;

brá þeim mjök við, er þeir sá hann inn ganga, it startled them much when they saw him come in;

en þó brá fóstru Melkorku mest við þessi tíðindi, this news most affected M.’s nurse.

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pret. sing. brá, 2nd pers. brátt, later brást; pl. brugðu, sup. brugðit; pres. bregð; pret. subj. brygði: reflex, (sk, z, st), pret. brásk, bráz, or brást, pl. brugðusk, etc.: poët. with the neg. suff. brá-at, brásk-at, Orkn. 78, Fms. vi. 51.

A. ACT. WITH DAT.

I. [A. S. bregdan, brædan; Old Engl. and Scot. to brade or braid; cp. bragð throughout]:—to move swiftly:

1. of a weapon, to draw, brandish; b. sverði, to draw the sword, Gísl. 55, Nj. 28, Ld. 222, Korm. 82 sqq., Fms. i. 44, ii. 306, vi. 313, Eg. 306, 505; sverð brugðit, a drawn sword, 746; cp. the alliterative phrase in Old Engl. Ballads, ‘the bright browne (= brugðinn) sword:’ absol., bregð (imperat.), Korm. l. c.: b. knífi, to slash with a knife, Am. 59; b. flötu sverði, to turn it round in the band, Fms. vii. 157; saxi, Bs. i. 629: even of a thrust, b. spjóti, Glúm. 344.

2. of the limbs or parts of the body, to move quickly; b. hendi, fingri, K. Þ. K. 10, Fms. vi. 122; b. augum sundr, to open the eyes, iii. 57, cp. ‘he bradde open his eyen two,’ Engl. Ballads; b. fótum, Nj. 253; b. fæti, in wrestling; b. grönum, to draw up the lips, 199, Fms. v. 220.

3. of other objects; b. skipi, to turn the ship (rare), Fms. viii. 145, Eb. 324; b. e-m á eintal, einmæli, to take one apart, Fms. vi. 11, Ölk. 35; b. sér sjúkum, to feign sickness, Fagrsk. ch. 51; bregða sér in mod. usage means to make a short visit, go or come for a moment; eg brá mér snöggvast til …, etc.

4. adding prepp.; b. upp; b. upp hendi, höndum, to hold up the hand, Fms. i. 167; b. upp glófa, 206, Eb. 326: b. e-m á lopt, to lift aloft, Eg. 122, Nj. 108; b. e-u undan, to put a thing out of the way, to hide it, Fas. i. 6; undir, Sturl. ii. 221, Ld. 222, Eb. 230: b. e-u við (b. við skildi), to ward off with …, Vápn. 5; but chiefly metaph. to put forth as an example, to laud, wonder at, etc.; þínum drengskap skal ek við b., Nj. 18; þessum mun ek við b. Áslaugar órunum, Fas. i. 257; nú mun ek því við b. ( I will speak loud), at ek hefi eigi fyr náð við þik at tala, Lv. 53: b. e-u á, to give out, pretend; hann brá á því at hann mundi ríða vestr til Miðfjarðar, Sturl. iii. 197, Fms. viii. 59, x. 322. β. to deviate from, disregard; vér höfum brugðit af ráðum þínum, Fær. 50, Nj. 13, 109, Ísl. ii. 198, Grág. i. 359; b. af marki, to alter the mark, 397.

5. to turn, alter, change; b. lit, litum, to change colour, to turn pale, etc., Fms. ii. 7, Vígl. 24; b. sér við e-t, to alter one’s mien, shew signs of pain, emotion, or the like, Nj. 116; b. e-m í (or b. á sik) e-s líki, to turn one (by spell) into another shape, Bret. 13; at þú brátt þér í merar líki, Ölk. 37; hann brá á sik ýmissa dýra líki, Edda (pref.) 149.

II. to break up or off, leave off, give up; b. búi, to give up one’s household, Grág. i. 153, Eg. 116, 704; b. tjöldum, to break up, strike the tents, Fms. iv. 302; b. samvist, to part, leave off living together, ii. 295; b. ráðahag, to break off an engagement, esp. wedding, 11; b. boði, to countermand a feast, 194; b. kaupi, to break off a bargain, Nj. 51, Rd. 251; b. sýslu, to leave off working, Fms. vi. 349; b. svefni, blundi, to awake, Sdm. 2; smátt bregðr slíkt svefni mínum, Lv. 53; b. tali, to break off talking, Vápn. 22; b. orustu, to break off the battle, Bret.: esp. freq. in poetry, b. hungri, föstu, sulti, to break or quell the hunger (of the wolf); b. gleði; b. lífi, fjörvi, to put to death, etc., Lex. Poët.

2. to break faith, promise, or the like; b. máli, Grág. i. 148; trúnaði, Nj. 141; brugðið var öllu sáttmáli, Hkr. ii. 121; b. heiti, Alvm. 3: absol., ef bóandi bregðr við griðmann ( breaks a bargain), Grág. i. 153.

3. reflex., bregðask e-m (or absol.), to deceive, fail, in faith or friendship; Gunnarr kvaðsk aldri skyldu b. Njáli né sonum hans, Nj. 57; bregðsk þú oss nú eigi, do not deceive us, Fms. vi. 17; vant er þó at vita hverir mér eru trúir ef feðrnir b., ii. 11; en þeim brásk framhlaupit, i. e. they failed in the onslaught, vii. 298; þat mun eigi bregðask, that cannot fail, Fas. ii. 526, Rb. 50; fáir munu þeir, at einörð sinni haldi, er slíkir brugðusk við oss, Fms. v. 36, Grett. 26 new Ed.

III. [A. S. brædan, to braid, braider], to ‘braid,’ knot, bind, the band, string being in dat.; hann bregðr í fiskinn öðrum enda, he braided the one end in the fish, Finnb. 220; hón brá hárinu undir belli sér, she braided her hair under her belt; (hann) brá ( untied) brókabelti sínu, Fas. i. 47; er þeir höfðu brugðið kaðli um, wound a cable round it, Fms. x. 53; hefir strengrinn brugðizk líttat af fótum honum, the rope had loosened off his feet, xi. 152: but also simply and with acc., b. bragð, to braid a braid, knit a knot, Eg. (in a verse); b. ráð, to weave a plot, (cp. Gr. ράπτειν, Lat. suere), Edda (in a verse); in the proper sense flétta and ríða, q. v., are more usual.

2. in wrestling; b. e-m, the antagonist in dat., the trick in acc., b. e-m bragð (hæl-krók, sveiflu, etc.)

3. recipr., of mutual strife; bregðask brögðum, to play one another tricks; b. brigzlum, to scold one another, Grág. ii. 146; b. frumhlaupum, of mutual aggression, 13, 48; bregðask um e-t, to contest a thing, 66, cp. i. 34.

4. part., brugðinn við e-t, acquainted with a thing; munuð þit brátt brugðnir við meira, i. e. you will soon have greater matters to deal with, Fs. 84; hann er við hvárttveggja b., he is well versed in both, Gísl. 51.

IV. metaph. to upbraid, blame, with dat. of the person and thing; fár bregðr hinu betra, ef hann veit hit verra (a proverb), Nj. 227; Þórðr blígr brá honum því ( Thord threw it in his face), á Þórsnesþingi, at …, Landn. 101; Kálfr brá mér því í dag, Fms. vi. 105; b. e-m brizglum, Nj. 227.

B. NEUT. OR ABSOL. without a case, of swift, sudden motion.

I. b. á e-t, as, b. á leik, gaman, etc., to start or begin sporting, playing; Kimbi brá á gaman, K. took it playfully, i. e. laughed at it, Landn. 101; b. á gamanmál, Fms. xi. 151; þeir brugðu á glímu ok á glens, they started wrestling and playing, Ld. 220; bregðr hann (viz. the horse) á leik, the horse broke into play, ran away, Fms. xi. 280; Glúmr svaraði vel en brá þó á sitt ráð, Glum gave a gentle answer, but went on in his own way, Nj. 26, Fas. i. 250: the phrase, hönd bregðr á venju, the hand is ready for its old work, Edda (Ht.) verse 26, cp. Nj. ch. 78 (in a verse).

2. b. við, to start off, set about a thing without delay, at a moment’s notice, may in Engl. often be rendered by at once or the like; brá hann við skjótt ok fór, he started off at once and went, Fms. i. 158; þeir brugðu við skjótt, ok varð þeim mjök við felmt, i. e. they took to their heels in a great fright, Nj. 105; þeir brugðu við skjótt, ok fara þaðan, 107; bregðr hon við ok hleypr, Grett. 25 new Ed., Bjarn. 60; hrossit bregðr nú við hart, id.; en er Ólafr spurði, at Þorsteinn hafði skjótt við brugðit, ok hafði mikit fjölmenni, Ld. 228.

β. b. til e-s, þá brá Ingimundr til utanferðar, Ingimund started to go abroad, Sturl. i. 117; b. til Grænlands ferðar, Fb. i. 430.

II. reflex, to make a sudden motion with the body; Rútr brásk skjótt við undan högginu, Nj. 28, 129; b. við fast, to turn sharply, 58, 97; bregðsk (= bregðr) jarl nú við skjótt ok ferr, the earl started at once, Fms. xi. 11; hann brásk aldregi við ( he remained motionless) er þeir píndu hann, heldr en þeir lysti á stokk eðr stein, vii. 227.

2. metaph. and of a circumlocutory character; eigi þætti mér ráðið, hvárt ek munda svá skjótt á boð brugðisk hafa, ef …, I am not sure whether I should have been so hasty in bidding you, if …, Ísl. ii. 156; bregðask á beina við e-n, to shew hospitality towards, Fms. viii. 59, cp. bregða sér above.

β. b. yfir, to exceed; heyra þeir svá mikinn gný at yfir brásk, they heard an awful crash, Mag. 6; þá brásk þat þó yfir jafnan ( it surpassed) er konungr talaði, Fms. x. 322, yet these last two instances may be better read ‘barst,’ vide bera C. IV; bregðask úkunnr, reiðr … við e-t, to be startled at the novelty of a thing, v. 258; b. reiðr við, to get excited, angry at a thing, etc.

C. IMPERS.

I. the phrase, e-m bregðr við e-t, of strong emotions, fear, anger, or the like; brá þeim mjök við, er þau sá hann inn ganga, it startled them much, when they saw him come in, Nj. 68; Flosa brá svá við, at hann var í andliti stundum sem blóð, 177; en þó brá fóstru Melkorku mest við þessi tíðindi, i. e. this news most affected Melkorka’s nurse, Ld. 82; aldri hefi ek mannsblóð séð, ok veit ek eigi hve mér bregðr við, I wot not how it will touch me, Nj. 59; brá honum svá við, at hann gerði fölvan í andliti … ok þann veg brá honum opt síðan ( he was oft since then taken in such fits), þá er vígahugr var á honum, Glúm. 342; en við höggit brá Glæsi svá at …, Eb. 324; Þorkell spurði ef honum hefði brugðit nokkut við þessa sýslu.—Ekki sjám vér þér brugðit hafa við þetta, en þó sýndist mér þér áðr brugðit, Fms. xi. 148.

β. bregða í brún, to be amazed, shocked, Fms. i. 214; þá brá Guðrúnu mjök í brún um atburð þenna allan saman, Ld. 326, Nj. 14; þat hlægir mik at þeim mun í brún b., 239; nú bregðr mönnum í brún mjök ( people were very much startled), því at margir höfðu áðr enga frétt af haft, Band. 7.

II. with prepp. við, til, í, af; of appearances, kynligu, undarliga bregðr við, it has a weird look, looks uncanny, of visions, dreams, or the like; en þó bregðr nú kynligu við, undan þykir mér nú gaflaðit hvárt-tveggja undan húsinu, Ísl. ii. 352, Nj. 62, 197, Gísl. 83; nú bregðr undrum við, id., Fms. i. 292.

III. e-m bregðr til e-s, one person turns out like another, cp. the Danish ‘at slægte en paa;’ þat er mælt at fjórðungi bregði til fóstrs, the fostering makes the fourth part of the man, Nj. 64; en því bregðr mér til foreldris míns, in that I am like my father, Hkr. iii. 223; er þat líkast, at þér bregði meir í þræla ættina en Þveræinga, it is too likely, that thou wilt show thyself rather to be kith and kin to the thrall’s house than to that of Thweræingar, Fb. i. 434; b. til bernsku, to be childish, Al. 3.

β. bregðr af vexti hans frá öðrum selum, his shape differs from that of any other seals, Sks. 41 new Ed. (afbrigði).

IV. to cease; e-u bregðr, it ceases; svá hart … at nyt (dat.) bregði, ( to drive the ewes) so fast that they fail ( to give milk), Grág. ii. 231; þessu tali bregðr aldri (= þetta tal bregzk aldri), this calculation can never fail, Rb. 536; veðráttu (dat.) brá eigi, there was no change in the weather, Grett. 91; skini sólar brá, the sun grew dim, Geisü 19; fjörvi feigra brá, the life of the ‘feys’ came to an end (poët.), Fms. vi. 316 (in a verse); brá föstu, hungri, úlfs, ara, the hunger of wolf and eagle was abated, is a freq. phrase with the poets.

V. of a sudden appearance; kláða (dat.) brá á hvarmana, the eye-lids itched, Fms. v. 96: of light passing swiftly by, þá brá ljóma af Logafjöllum, Hkv. 1. 15; ljósi bregðr fyrir, a light passes before the eye; mey brá mér fyrir hvarma steina, a maid passed before my eyes, Snót 117; þar við ugg (dat.) at þrjótum brá, i. e. the rogues were taken by fear, 170.

mod. dans, n. a word of for. origin; [cp. mid. Lat. dansare; Fr. danser; Ital. danzare; Engl. dance; Germ. tanz, tanzen.] This word is certainly not Teutonic, but of Roman or perhaps Breton origin: the Icel. or Scandin. have no genuine word for dancing,—leika means ‘to play’ in general: the word itself (danza, danz, etc.) never occurs in the old Sagas or poetry, though popular amusements of every kind are described there; but about the end of the 11th century, when the Sagas of the bishops (Bs.) begin, we find dance in full use, accompanied by songs which are described as loose and amorous: the classical passage is Jóns S. (A. D. 1106–1121), ch. 13. Bs. i. 165, 166, and cp. Júns S. by Gunnlaug, ch. 24. Bs. i. 237—Leikr sá var kær mönnum áðr en hinn heilagi Jón varð biskup, at kveða skyldi karlmaðr til konu í danz blautlig kvæði ok rægilig; ok kona til karlmanns mansöngs vísur; þenna leik lét hann af taka ok bannaði styrkliga; mansöngs kvæði vildi hann eigi heyra né kveða láta, en þó fékk hann því eigi af komið með öllu. Some have thought that this refers to mythical (Eddic) poetry, but without reason and against the literal sense of the passage; the heathen heroic poems were certainly never used to accompany a dance; their flow and metre are a sufficient proof of that. In the Sturl. (Hist. of the 12th and 13th century) dancing is mentioned over and over again; and danz is used of popular ballads or songs of a satirical character (as those in Percy’s ballads): flimt ( loose song) and danz are synonymous words; the Sturl. has by chance preserved two ditties (one of A. D. 1221, running thus—Loptr liggr í Eyjum, bítr lunda bein | Sæmundr er á heiðum, etr berin ein. Sturl. ii. 62, and one referring to the year 1264—Mínar eru sorgirnar þungar sem blý, Sturl. iii. 317) sufficient to shew the flow and metre, which are exactly the same as those of the mod. ballads, collected in the west of Icel. (Ögr) in the 17th century under the name of Fornkvæði, Old Songs, and now edited by Jon Sigurdsson and Svend Grundtvig. Danz and Fornkvæði are both of the same kind, and also identical with Engl. ballads, Dan. kæmpeviser. There are passages in Sturl. and B.S. referring to this subject — færðu Breiðbælingar Lopt í flimtun ok görðu um hann danza marga, ok margskonar spott annat, Sturl. ii. 57, cp. 62; Danza-Bergr, the nickname of a man (Stud, ii), prob. for composing comic songs; danza-görð, composing comic songs; fylgðar-menn Kolbeins fóru með danza-görð, … en er Brandr varð varr við flimtan þeirra, iii. 80; þá hrökti Þórðr hestinn undir sér, ok kvað danz þenna við raust, 317.

β. a wake, Arna S. ch. 2; in Sturl. i. 23; at the banquet in Reykhólar, 1119, the guests amused themselves by dancing, wrestling, and story-telling; þá var sleginn danz í stofu, ii. 117; í Viðvík var gleði mikil ok gott at vera; þat var einn Drottins dag at þar var danz mikill; kom þar til fjöldi manna; ok ríðr hann í Viðvík til danz, ok var þar at leik; ok dáðu menn mjök danz hans, iii. 258, 259; honum var kostr á boðinn hvat til gamans skyldi hafa, sögur eða danz um kveldit, 281;—the last reference refers to the 21st of January, 1258, which fell on a Sunday (or wake-day): in ballads and tales of the Middle Ages the word is freq.:—note the allit. phrase, dansinn dunar, Ísl. Þóðs. ii. 8: the phrases, stiga danz; ganga í danz; brúðir í danz, dansinn heyra; dans vill hun heyra, Fkv. ii. 7. Many of the burdens to the mod. Icel. ballads are of great beauty, and no doubt many centuries older than the ballads to which they are affixed; they refer to lost love, melancholy, merriment, etc., e. g. Blítt lætur veröldin, fölnar fögr fold | langt er síðan mitt var yndið lagt í mold, i. 74; Út ert þú við æginn blá, eg er hér á Dröngum, | kalla eg löngum, kalla eg til þin löngum; Skín á skildi Sól og sumarið fríða, | dynur í velli er drengir í burtu riða, 110; Ungan leit eg hofmann í fögrum runni, | skal eg í hljóði dilla þeim mér unm; Austan blakar laufið á þann linda, 129; Fagrar heyrða eg raddirnar við Niflunga heim; Fagrt syngr svanrinn um sumarlanga tíð, | þá mun list að leika sér mín liljan fríð, ii. 52: Einum unna eg manninum, á meðan það var, | þó hlaut eg minn harm að bera í leyndum stað, 94; Svanrinn víða. svanurinn syngr viða, 22; Utan eptir firðinum, sigla fagrar fleyr | sá er enginn glaður eptir annan þreyr, 110; Svo er mér illt og angrsamt því veldur þú, | mig langar ekki í lundinn með þá jungfrú, Espol. Ann. 1549. The earliest ballads seem to have been devoted to these subjects only; of the two earliest specimens quoted in the Sturl. (above), one is satirical, the other melancholy; the historical ballads seem to be of later growth: the bishops discountenanced the wakes and dancing (Bs. l. c., Sturl. iii), but in vain: and no more telling proof can be given of the drooping spirits of Icel. in the last century, than that dancing and wakes ceased, after having been a popular amusement for seven hundred years. Eggert Olafsson in his poems still speaks of wakes, as an eyewitness; in the west of Icel. (Vestfirðir) they lasted longer, but even there they died out about the time that Percy’s ballads were published in England. The Fornkvæði or songs are the only Icel. poetry which often dispenses with the law of alliteration, which in other cases is the light and life of Icel. poetry; vide also hofmaðr, viki-vakar, etc. In the 15th century the rímur (metrical paraphrases of romances) were used as an accompaniment to the danz, höldar danza harla snart, ef heyrist vísan mín; hence originates the name man-söngr ( maid-song), minne-sang, which forms the introduction to every ríma or rhapsody; the metre and time of the rímur are exactly those of ballads and well suited for dancing. An Icel. MS. of the 17th century, containing about seventy Icel. Fornkvæði, is in the Brit. Mus. no. 11,177; and another MS., containing about twenty such songs, is in the Bodl. Libr. no. 130.

(gen. -ar), m. the sum which the bridegroom had to pay for his bride, and which after the wedding became her own property.

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m., gen. mundar, dat. mundi; [cp. O. H. G. munt, whence low Lat. mundium = tutelage in the old Teut. laws; women are said to live ‘sub mundio’ of their parents and husbands, Du Cange, s. v.; cp. also Germ. vor-mund = a guardian, and mündling = a minor or a person living under tutelage; perh. akin to mund ( hand), as hand and authority are kindred notions. So in Lat. phrases, in manu parentis, manumissio, etc., used of minors, slaves. In Norse the word is used in a special sense.]

B. In the ancient laws and customs matrimony was a bargain (brúð-kaup), hence the phrase to buy a wife, kaupa konu; the wooing was often performed by a deputy, and at the espousals (festar) a sum was agreed on, which the bridegroom was to pay for his bride. This sum was called mundr; and this transaction between the damsel’s father or guardian and the other party was called mundar-mál or mund-mál, e. g. Nj. ch. 2, Mörðr (the father) svarar, hugsað hefi ek kostinn, hón (i. e. my daughter, the damsel) skal hafa sextigi hundraða, ok skal aukask þriðjungi í þínum garði: hence the phrases, kaupa mey mundi, to buy a maid by mund; mey mundi keypt; gjalda mund, Skv. 1. 30, Fm. 41, N. G. L. i. 27, 48, Am. 93, and passim. No marriage was lawful without the payment of mund, for even if the wedding had been lawfully performed, without such previous payment of mund the sons of such a wedlock were illegitimate, and were called hornung (q. v.),—hann kallaði ykkr frillu-sonu,—Hárekr sagði at þeir mundi vitni til fá at móðir þeirra var mundi keypt, Eg. 40; the least amount of mund in Norway was twelve ounces, called the poor man’s mund (öreiga mundr), N. G. L. i. 27, 54; in Iceland it was a mark, sá maðr er eigi arfgengr er móðir hans er eigi mundi keypt, mörk eða meira fé, Grág. (Kb.) i. 222. On the wedding night the stipulated mund became the wife’s personal property, and thus bears some resemblance to the ‘morning-gift’ (morgun-gjöf) of the later legislation; þá er hjú koma í eina sæing, at þá er konu heimill mundr sinn ok svá vextir af fé því öllu er henni er mælt í mundar-málum, Grág. i. 370. The wife herself or her parents might, in case of divorce after misconduct, call on the husband to pay up the mund and the heiman-fylgja (q. v.) of which he had the charge, Grág. Festaþ. ch. 51; ella mun ek láta nefna mér vátta nú þegar, ok segja skilit við þik, ok mun ek láta föður minn heimta mund minn ok heiman-fylgju, Gísl. 16 (p. 32 in Mr. Dasent’s Gisli the Outlaw), cp. also Yngl. S. ch. 17; nefndi Mörðr (the father) sér vátta, ok lýsti fésök á hendr Rúti (the husband) um fémál dóttur sinnar ok taldi níutigi hundraða fjár, lýsti hann til gjalda ok útgreiðslu, Nj. 15 and Dasent’s Burnt Njal (l. c.), the Sagas passim, at abo Grág., esp. the section Festaþ. ch. vii. sqq. The mundr therefore was different to the dowry (heiman-fylgja), and has nothing answering to it in the modern law, nor perhaps in the old Greek or Roman customs; hence Tacitus speaks of it as something strange, dotem non uxor marito, sed maritus uxori affert. Germ. ch. 18. On the other hand, the Teutonic rites of marriage call to mind the ancient patriarchal times as described in Gen. xxiv and xxix. The etymological connection between mundium = tutelage and the Norse word is not altogether clear. In modern Icelandic usage heiman-mundr is erroneouslv used instead of heiman-fylgja, q. v.

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(sú, þat), dem. pron.

1) with a subst. that (sá maðr, sú kona); sá maðr, er Sóti heitir, that (or the) man who is named S.; with the suff. art.; sú ein er sagan eptir, er ek þori eigi þér at segja, that story alone is left which I dare not tell thee;

2) such (varð sá fundr þeirra, at Egill felldi tvá menn); vil ek ok þat vita, hvárt nökkurr er sá hér, at, whether there be any (such) man here, who;

3) preceding the art. with an a.; sá inn ungi maðr, that young man; hyrnan sú in fremri, the upper horn of the axe; sometimes leaving out the art. (sá ungi maðr; á því sama þingi);

4) without subst., almost as a pers. pron.; maðr la skamt frá honum, ok var sá eigi lítill, and he was no small man; þar ríðr maðr, sá hefir skjöld mikinn, he has a large shield; with the relative part.; sá er sæll, er he is lucky, that.

(sæ or sái, sera or søra, later saða; sáinn, later sáðr), v.

1) to sow, with dat. (sá korni);

2) to sow, stock with seed, with acc. (flestir bœndr seru jarðir sínar);

3) fig. to throw broadcast, scatter, with dat. (sá gulli, silfri).

from sjá.

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fem. sú (neut. þat), demonstr. pron., see Gramm. p. xxi; an older form sjá is, esp. in old vellums, often used as common for masc. and fem. (sjá maðr, sjá kona), see the references below:—that.

A. As adj.:

I. with a subst. this, that; sá hlutrinn, Fins, xi. 129; sjá maðr, that man, Fs. 5, 102, 143, Fms. ii. 28, Grág. i. 74, Nj. 6; sjá bók, Íb. (fine); sá kostr, Nj. 1; sá salr, Vsp. 44; sá staðr, Fb. i. 31; sá bær, Dropl. 5; sjá sveinn, Hom. 50; sjá hverr, that cauldron, Gkv. 3. 9; sjá bragr, Fms. iv. 12 (in a verse); sjá fótr, Ó. H. (in a verse); sjá kylfa, Fms. xi. (in a verse); sjá byrðr, etc.:—placed after the noun, so giving emphasis, konungr sjá, Ó. H. 140; mær sjá, this maid, Nj. 2; minning sjá, Ld. 234; á sú, that water, 33:—with the reflex. particle er, sá er (he, she, that = which), þöll sú er stendr þorpi á, the pine ‘she that’ stands, i. e. which stands, Hm. 49; öld sú er, Fms. vi. 336 (in a verse): contracted sá’s, Hallfred (Fs.); sú’s = she that, Hkr. iii. 139 (in a verse); sá maðr er Sóti heitir, that man who is named Sóti, Nj. 5; er sá engi minn frændi at gangi í þetta mál, there is none of my kinsmen that …, 31; sá sem, he, she, that, Stj. 178, passim:—with the suff. article, sá dómarinn er allt veit, Barl. 32; var sá úkyrr hlutrinn er þat merkði, Fms. xi. 129; sú ein er sagan eptir, er ek þori eigi þér at segja, … sú er ok svá sagan, at mér er mest forvitni á at heyra …, this tale is just that which I should most like to hear, Fms. vi. 355.

2. such; varð sá fundr þeirra, at Egill felldi tvá menn, Eg. 572; vera kann at enn sé sá ríkismunr, Eg.; hann er sá heilhugi, at …, Fb. ii. 318; hann er sá orðhákr, at …, Fms. vi. 372.

II. with an adjective:

1. in the indef. form; sjá móðr konungr, Og. 13, stands perh. alone in the whole literature, otherwise always,

2. in the def. form, with the prefixed article inn; sá inn máttki munr, Hm.; sá inn góði maðr, that good man, Barl. 74; sá enn sami maðr, Fms. iv. 122; sá inn sæti postuli, Post.; hyrnan sú in fremri, Nj. 198; sá inn þriði, the third, Gm. 6:—leaving out the article, sjá óhreini andi, the unclean spirit, Fms. v. 172; sá ungi maðr, the young man, Hom. 114; sú ílla atkváma, 122:—at last ‘sá’ was simply used as the definite article the instead of the ancient hinn, sá vísasti klerkr, the wisest clerk, Bs. ii. 223; sá fegrsti vínviðr, the fairest vine, Art. 80 (see foot-note 25), this is esp. freq. in mod. usage, e. g. sá bleikhári Menelás, sá ráða-góði, sá ágæti Odysseifr, sú vitra Penelopa, sú árborna, rósfingraða Morgungyðja, etc., in Dr. Egilsson’s Translation of the Odyssey, as also in Vídal.

B. As subst. used almost as a pers. pron. he, she (it), [cp. Engl. she; Germ. sie]; Slíðr heitir sú, she (it) hight Slid, Vsp. 42; en sá Brímir heitir, 43; ör liggr par, ok er sú (viz. ör) af þeirra örum, Nj. 115; samkunda, sú (viz. samkunda) var knýtt festum, Am. 1; skal tólptar-eiðr skilja, hvárt sjá eigi arf at taka, whether he is to inherit, Grág. i. 269; sömdu þeir þessa ráða-gjörð, at sjá (viz. ráðagörð) skyldi fram koma, Nj. 107: esp. ‘kostr’ understood, er þá sjá einn til, 227, Fms. vii. 265; þótti honum sá (viz. maðr) ærit hár er þat rúm var ætlað, Fs. 5; sjá mun vera sönn saga, Fms. ii. 87; sá (he) kemr í borgina, Þiðr. 11; sá er vel skygðr, 81; þar ríðr maðr, sá hefir skjöld mikinn, 101; sú er öll gulli búin, 189; almáttigr Guð, sá er einn í guðdómi, almighty God, he is one in Godhead, Fb. i. 30; sá (he) seðr oss með lífligu brauði, Hom. 59; sú var stjúp-dóttir konungsins, she was the king’s step-daughter; sá er sæll, er …, he is lucky, that …, Hm.; sú er há kona er þar fór, Nj. 200; sá yðar er sik lægir, he of you who lowers himself, Hom. 50; sá er ( he who) af öllum hug treystir Kristi, he that …, Hom.; sá er leyndr syndum sínum, and so in countless instances, old and mod., except that the mod. usage prefers sá ‘sem,’ sú sem.

C. As adv. = svá, q. v.; skrímingr lítill sá, Ísl. ii. 46; landnyrðingr léttr sá, Fms. viii. 335.

pres. sær, Gísl. 147, Edda i. 398 (in a verse of the 11th century), Edda (Ht. 52); but sáir, Gþl. 384; sár, Nj. 82; pret. söri, seri, Akv. 39, Hom. 67, Ó. H. 135, Edda 83, Fms. i. 9: in mod. usage, pres. sá, pret. sáði, part. sáð, of which the pret. sáði already occurs, 656 C. 32, Barl. 18, Fb. ii. 258: [A. S. sawan; Engl. sow; Germ. säben; cp. Lat. sero]:— to sow; ok sár hann niðr korninu, Nj. 82; karlar korni sá, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 170; sá akra, Stj. 225; um várit vildi hann sá, Landn. 35; bar út korn sitt ok seri, Hom. 67; korn hafði vaxit hvar sem sáð hafði verit, Fms. i. 92; sá sæði sínu, Barl. 18; sá niðr sæði, Fb. ii. 24; sá eilífu sáði, 656 C. 32; þá skal hann sá þá jörð, N. G. L. i. 39; er hann hafði þessu orða-sáði sáit í brjóst þeim, Fms. x. 236:—with acc., sá þar í Guðs orð, Barl. 18, but rare.

2. metaph. to sow, throw broadcast; ætla ek at sá silfrinu, Eg. 765; hón seri því um gammann, Fms. i. 9; ok söri allt um götuna, Edda 83, Hkr. i. 42; berr Hávarðr í brott vörðuna, ok ser (i. e. sær) hvern stein, Gísl. 147; hann seri því eptir í slóðna, Ó. H. 135 (sáði, Fb. ii. 258, l. c.)

and brul-laup, n. a wedding feast, bridal; these two words are identical in sense, but different in etymology; brúðkaup, prop. bride’s bargain, refers to the old notion, that marriage was a bargain or purchase, not that the bride was bought herself, but the word refers to the exchange of mundr (by the bridegroom) and heimanfylgja (by the bride’s father), vide these words; hence the allit. phrase, mey mundi keypt, and mundr and mey (‘mund’ and maid); again, brullaup, [qs. brúð-hlaup, bride’s leap, cp. Germ. brautlauf, M. H. G. brûtlouf, Swed. bröllopp, Dan. bryllup; Grimm mentions an A. S. brydlop (not found in Grein’s Glossary or Bosworth’s A. S. Dictionary); the full form brúðhlaup scarcely occurs in very old MSS., it is found in the Játv. S. MS. A. D. 1360, but only assimilated, Grág. i. 303, 311, l. i] refers either to the bride’s journey = brúðför, or to some bridal procession on the wedding day, probably the first; but in fact both words are only used of the wedding feast, the Engl. ‘bridal,’ A. S. bryd-eala. At the wedding feast the contract, though agreed upon at the espousals (festar), was to be read: to make a lawful ‘brúðkaup’ there must be at least six guests—þá er brullaup gert at lögum, ef lögráðandi fastnar konu, enda sé sex menn at brullaupi et fæsta, ok gangi brúðguminn i ljósi í sama sæing konu, Grág. i. 175; ráða b., to fix the wedding day. Nj. 4; vera at brullaupi, Ld. 70; drekka b., to drink, i. e. hold, a wedding, 16, Fms. iv. 196; koma til b., Sturl. iii. 182; göra b., Fms. i. 150; göra b. til, to wed, Eg. 160, Landn. 243; veita b., Eb. 140: as to the time of wedding, vide Grág. i. 311.

COMPDS: brúðkaupsferð, brúðkaupsgörð, brúðkaupsklæði, brúðkaupskostr, brúðkaupsstefna, brúðkaupsveizla, brúðkaupsvitni.

n. cow-house, byre; vera í fjósi, to attend to the cows.

* * *

n., contr. form = fé-hús = ‘cow-house,’ [Norse fjös; the contracted form is usual even in the earliest writers]:—a cow-house, byre, stall, Ld. 98, Gísl. 28 sqq., Dropl. 28, Njarð. 368, Sturl. ii. 43, iii. 54, Fms. ix. 508; vera í fjósi, or fara í fjós, to attend to the cows.

COMPDS: fjós-dyr, fjós-haugr, fjós-hlaða, fjós-hurð, fjós-reka, fjós-veggr, etc., the door, mound, barn, hurdle, spade, wall, etc. of a fjós. fjós-gata, u, f. the byre-path, Landn. 51. Fjósa-karlar, m. pl. the ‘byre-carles,’ the three stars in the sword of Orion. fjósa-kona, u, f. a byre-maid, Landn. (Hb.) 51: fjósa-konur, the ‘byre-maids,’ the three stars in the belt of Orion, because the dairy-work is in the winter months (Dec., Jan.) fixed by the rising of these stars. fjósa-verk, n. ‘byre work,’ attendance on the cows, Nj. 185, v. l.

mod. þjós, f. the carcase of a whale, Grág. ii. 360, 372, Jb. 310 B (passim).

(-ar, pl. -ir, acc. -i or -u), m.

1) choice, alternative (hann sá engan sinn kost annan);

mun ek engan kost á gøra, I will give no choice in the matter;

2) choice, terms (hvern kost vili þér nú gøra Ingjaldi);

hugsat hefi ek kostinn, I have thought over the terms;

3) choice, chance, opportunity;

kostr er e-s, there is a chance (þat er hverjum manni boðit at leita sér lífs, meðan kostr er);

eiga e-s kost, to have a choice of (eiga slíkra manna kost);

eiga alls kosti við e-n, to have one altogether in one’s power;

4) match (Sigríðr hét dóttir hans ok þótti bezir kostr á Hálogalandi);

hann spyrr, hverr eigi að ráða fyrir kosti hennar, who was to give her away;

5) state, condition;

sjá fyrir sínum kosti, to take care of oneself;

síðan lét Símon varðveita kost hennar, look after her affairs;

6) cost, expense = kostnaðr( þat skip höfðu bœjarmenn látit gøra af sínum kosti);

7) means, victuals, provisions (bauð hann Oddi alla kosti með sér);

8) food (þat var siðr at fœra konum þeim kost, er á sæng hvíldu);

9) board (þá bauð Ketill fé fyrir kost hennar);

10) stores, goods (tvau skip hlaðin vænum kosti);

11) good quality, good things;

segja kost ok löst á e-u, to tell both the good and the bad of a thing;

fær þú fátt af mér fríðra kosta, thou shalt get little good from me;

12) virtue, opp. to löstr;

13) adverb. usages:

þat er til kostar, ef, it is well done, if;

at þeim kosti, on that condition;

at öðrum kosti, else, otherwise;

at síðasta, efsta kosti, in the last instance, last emergency;

alls kostar, quite, in every respect;

eigi eins kostar, not very, not peculiarly;

annars kostar, as for the rest;

nökkurs kostar, in any wise;

þess kostar, in this case, thus.

* * *

m., gen. kostar, pl. kostir, old acc. pl. kostu, which is used in old poets as Sighvat (Ó. H. 39), Arnór (Edda 50); but the usual form in the MSS. as well as in mod. usage is kosti; [Ulf. kustus = δοκιμή, 2 Cor. ii. 9, xiii. 3; Germ. and Dan. kost = fare, food]:—a choice, the fundamental notion being trial;

I. condition, chance, but mostly with the notion of a hard choice; eru nú tveir kostir til, sá annarr, at …, hinn annarr, at …, Nj. 199; sá er hinn þriði kostr, Grág. ii. 83; munu þér hinn sama kost fyrir höndum eiga sem vær áttum, at verja fé yðvart ok frelsi … en at öðrum kosti, Eg. 8; hann sá engan sinn kost annan, en hann lét fallask þvers undan laginu, Nj. 246, Eg. 24; sám vér þann helzt várn kost at firrask fund hans, 70; nú má Flosi sjá sinn kost, hvárt hann vill sættask til þess at sumir sé utan sætta, Nj. 250; það er hverjum manni boðit, at leita sér lífs meðan kostr er, 202; einbeygðr kostr, the only choice left, Orkn. 58.

2. choice, terms; hvern kost vili þér nú göra Ingjaldi? Nj. 3; ek göri þér skjótan kost, Dropl. 6; göra e-m tvá kosti, Ld. 212, Fs. 57; tók Kali þenna kost, Orkn. 214.

3. a chance, opportunity, possibility; göra kost á e-u, Nj. 155, 271; mun ek öngan kost á göra, I will give no choice in the matter, i. e. will not do it, 149; kost muntú láta at etja, 90:—kostr er á, or gen. kostr e-s, a thing is possible, there is a chance, 254, 263; ef þess er k., Grág. ii. 56; Háreks var ekki við k., there was no question as to H., Ísl. ii. 315; þá er mín er eigi við kostr, when I am gone, Stj. 363:—eiga e-s kosti, to have a chance of, be able, allowed, Grág. i. 63, 468, Ld. 84, 160, 184, Nj. 57, 132, Eg. 16, 60, 531, Sks. 20 B.

4. a match, of an unmarried woman; Sigríðr hét dóttir hans ok þótti beztr kostr á Hálogalandi, Eg. 25; hann átti dóttur eina er Unnr hét, hón var væn kona ok kurteis ok vel at sér, ok þótti sá beztr k. á Rangárvöllum, Nj. (begin.); Hallr kvað góðan kost í henni, H. said she was a good match, 180, Fs. 88, Stj. 187; engi kostr þótti þá þvílíkr sem Helga hin Fagra í öllum Borgarfirði, Ísl. ii. 206: giving a woman away, hann spyrr hverr ráða eigi fyrir kosti hennar, who was to give her away, Band. 9 new Ed.; mey til kosta, a maid to be married, Hm. 81, (MS. kossa), cp. liggja heima sem mær til kosta, Fas. iii. 409, (ráða-kostr, a match); kvennkostr (q. v.), góðr kvennkostr.

5. choice, state, condition; þat mun mína kosti hér fram draga, at þú átt ekki vald á mér, Orkn. 120; kostum drepr kvenna karla ofríki, i. e. the tyranny of man crushes a woman’s right, Am. 69; drap þá brátt kosti, then the state grew worse, id.; sjá fyrir sínum kosti, to take care of oneself, Fms. x. 236; eigi mun honum þykkja batnað hafa várr kostr, Eg. 287; eigi treystusk menn at raska kosti þeirra, people dared not meddle with them, disturb them, Ld. 146; bændr vildu verja kost sinn, defend themselves, Fms. ix. 306; síðan lét Simon varðveita kost hennar, guard her affairs, vii. 233; þá heldr hann kosti sínum, then he holds his place, loses not his right, Grág. ii. 209; ú-kostir, afar-kostir, a hard, evil choice; ör-kostr, lack of choice, poverty.

II. cost, expence; allan þann kost er hann hefir fyrir haft, Jb. 321; sá er vitna þarf skal standa þeim kost allan, 358; hver maðr er sik ok sín hjú heldr á sínum kosti, K. Á. 78; þat skip höfðu bæjar-menn látið göra af sínum kosti, Fms. ix. 270; hann hélt sik ríkmannlega at klæðum ok öllum kosti ( fare), ii. 278; hann lét alla sína félaga á sinn kost þann vetr, Gullþ. 9; hví hann var svá djarfr at taka slíka menn upp á kost hans, Landn. 149, v. l.; hann gaf sér mikinn kost til ( he took great pains), at koma þeim öllum í vingun við Guð, Hom. 108; þóat hann hefði mörgu sinni mikinn kost ( pains) til gefit, Al. 116; hann lézk þar vildu sína kosti til leggja ( do his best), at þeir Hákon deildi enga úhæfu, Fms. i. 22.

III. means; er (þeir) synja ölmusu, er kosti höfðu til, Hom. 64; hafa meira kost, to be the strongest, Fb. ii. 361; eiga alls kosti við e-n, to have it all in one’s power, i. e. to be the strongest; Jökull gaf honum líf ok átti áðr alls kosti við hann, Fs. 10; eiga alla kosti, Fms. iv. 296, Stj. 481; Bessus er slíks átti kosti við hann er hann vildi gört hafa, Al. 101; eiga nokkurs góðs kosti, 96; hafa lítils kosti, to have small chance, be little worth, Mar.: means, provisions, meðan mér endask föng til, þótt ek véla um mína kosti, though I am left to my own supplies, Eg. 66; bauð hann Oddi alla kosti með sér, Fas. ii. 540; ef vér hittumk síðar svá at þeir hafi meiri kosli ( forces), Fms. v. 87; bændr efldu þá kost hans um búit, Sturl. iii. 196 C: stores, tvau skip hlaðin vænum kosti, Fms. xi. 436; hér sé ek beggja kost, I see here plenty of either, Sighvat; mungát né aðra kosti ( fare), setjask í kosti e-s, Fms. viii. 58; bændr uggðu at sezt mundi á kost þeirra, ok kurruðu ílla, Bs. i. 549: victuals, provisions, Germ. kost, selja silfr fyrir kost, Fas. i. 450; hveiti ok annarr kostr, Stj. 112; Kirkja á þetta í kosti, tvær vættir skreiðar, vætt smjörs, vætt kjöts, Pm. 34; tvau hundruð í haustlagi, tíu aura í kosti, Vm. 42: board, bóndi skal halda honum kost, Jb. 374; þá bauð Ketill fé fyrir kost hennar, Dropl. 4; til kostar ok klæða, fare and clothing, B. K. 108; at konungs kosti, at the king’s table, Bs. i. 782; far-k. (q. v.), a ship, vehicle; liðs-k., forces, troops.

IV. cost, quality; af léttum kosti, Fms. x. 173; þat sax var afburðar-járn kosti, of fine steel, id.

2. good things; friði fylgja allir kostir ok öll fríðindi, Clem. 29; kyn ok kostr ( quality), MS. 4. 9; fátt fríðra kosta, Hdl. 45: þeir kostir skulu ok fylgja, at þik skal aldri kala í skyrtunni, Fas. ii. 529, 531; þá ferr hann ór skyrtu sinni, ok hélt hón öllum kostum sínum, 539: fatness, Lat. ubertas glebae, jarðarinnar kost ok feitleik, Stj. 167; þar vóru allgóðir lands-kostir, Hkr. i. 55; er mér sagt gott frá landa-kostum, at þar gangi fé sjálfala á vetrum en fiskr í hverju vatni, Fs. 20, 25, Landn. 225, v. l.; af kostum skal þessu landi nafn gefa ok kalla Markland, Fb. i. 539.

3. virtue; þeir stígask yfir af hermönnum Krists fyrir helga kosti, Hom. 27; Kristni þróask at mannfjölda ok kostum, MS. 677. 8; eigi er þat rúnanna kostr, … heldr er þat þinn kostr, Skálda 162, freq. in mod. usage.

4. a good quality, virtue; segja kost ok löst, to tell fairly the good and bad of a thing; skalt þú segja kost ok löst á konunni, Nj. 23; hann sagði kost ok löst af landinu, Landn. 30; löstu ok kostu bera ljóða synir blandna brjóstum í, Hm. 134; ú-kostr, a fault, flaw; mann-kostir, virtues.

5. spec. of a horse, plur. a fine pace; hestr óð kafs af kostum, Sighvat.

V. spec. and adverb. usages; til kostar, well! all right! well done! er þat til kostar, ef eigi flýjum vér fyrir mönnunum, Fms. xi. 139; þat er til kostar, ef …, well done, if …, Hým. 33; er þat ok til kostar ( it is a comfort) at Höskuldi muni þá tveir hlutir ílla líka, Ld. 70: because, allra mest af þeim kosti, at …, Hom. 33: sagði Ósvífr at þeir mundi á kostum ( indeed) finna, at þau Guðrún vóru eigi jafnmenni, Ld. 122; þeim kosti, in that case, Grág. i. 40; engum kosti, by no means, MS. 4. 21; at þeim kosti, on that condition, Grág. ii. 239; at öðrum kosti, else, otherwise, Eg. 8, 749; at þriðja kosti, thirdly, 14, Grág. i. 395; at síðasta, efsta kosti, in the last instance, last emergency, Nj. 221; at fæsta kosti, at least, N. G. L. i. 61; at versta kosti, in the worst case, 101; at minnsta kosti, at least: gen., alls kostar, quite, in every respect, Sks. 674 B, passim; eigi eins kostar, not very, not peculiarly, Ísl. ii. 322; annars kostar, as for the rest, 108 B; nokkurs kostar, in any wise, Fms. xi. 79, Fb. i. 74; sums kostar, in some respect, Fas. ii. 547, v. 69, Hom. 89; þess kostar, in this case, thus, Fms. xi. 79, Rb. 36, Hom. (St.): acc., þá kostu, as adv., in such a manner, N. G. L. i. 327; fyrir hvern kost, by every means. ☞ Kostr, in sense I, is in old writers often omitted, and left to be supplied by the adjective or pronoun, e. g. þann (viz. kost) munu vér af taka, Ld. 188; at hann mundi verða þann upp at taka, Eg. 157, Nj. 222; er þá ok sá einn (viz. kostr) til, 227, Fms. vii. 265; er oss nú engi annarr til, Nj. 143, Eg. 405; er yðr engi annarr á görr en snúa aptr, Nj. 207; Hákon jarl er alltrauðr undir trúna at ganga, ok þykkir vera harðr (viz. kostr) á annat borð, Fms. xi. 39.

COMPDS: kostarhald, kostarlauss, kostaboð, kostamikill, kostamunr, kostavandr, kostavanr.

* * *

(leik; lék, lékum; leikinn), v.

1) to play (við skulum nú leika fyrst);

leika leik, to play a play;

leika tveim skjöldum, to play a double game;

leika at e-u, to play (amuse oneself) with (Katla sat ok lék at hafri sínum);

leika at tafli, to play at chess;

leika sér, to play (hann lék sér þá enn á gólfi með öðrum börnum);

2) to perform, of a feat or act of prowess (en ek hygg, at engi annarr fái þat leikit);

3) to move, swing, wave to and fro, hang loosely (leika á lopti);

landit skalf sem á þræði léki, as if balanced on a string;

4) of flame, fire, water, waves, to play lightly about or over, lick (eldr tók at leika húsin);

eldrinn lék skjótt, the fire spread fast;

leikr hár hiti við himin sjálfan, the lofty blaze plays against the very heavens;

fig., e-m leikr e-t í skapi (í mun), one feels inclined to, has a mind to (þat leikr mér í skapi at kaupa Íslandsfar);

5) to deal (hardly) with, to (ill-)treat (leika e-n illa, hart, sárt, sárliga);

6) to play a trick upon, delude, = leika á e-n (djöfullinn leikr þá alla);

7) to bewitch, esp. in pp. (maðr sá var leikinn af flagði einu);

8) with preps.:

leika á e-n, to play a trick upon (mjök hefir þú á oss leikit);

fig., lék þat orð á, at, it was rumoured, that;

e-m leikr öfund á, to envy;

e-m leikr hugr á, to have a mind to;

þar leikr minn hugr á, my mind is bent upon that;

hón segir föður sínum um hvat at leika er, she told her father how things stood;

leika e-n út, esp. in pp., to ill-treat (konungr sér nú Áka, hversu hann er út leikinn);

leika við e-n, to play with one;

leika við, to continue (meinit hafð lengi við leikit);

9) refl., leikast, to be performed, done;

ef þat má leikast, if this can be done;

leikst á e-n, it goes against one, he gets the worst of it (mjök hefir leikizt á minn hluta);

leikast við, to play one against the other, play a match;

höfðu þeir leikizt við barna leikum, meðan þeir vóru ungir, they had been playmates.

(pl. leiku), n. plaything, doll.

1) = leika, n.;

2) play-sister (vér vórum leikur vetr níu).

* * *

pres. leik; pret. lék, léku; part. leikinn; [Ulf. laikan = σκιρταν; A. S. lâcan; mid. H. G. leiche; Dan. lege; Swed. leka; North. E. to lake]:—to play, sport, Vsp. 42, Am. 76; hann leikr nú eptir magni, Lv. 28; leika leik, 68; hann lék fyrir honum marga fimleika, Fær. 66; leika at skáktafli, to play at chess, Fms. iv. 366; en er þeir léku at taflinu, þá lék konungr fingrbrjót mikinn, ok sagði hann skyldi annat leika, id.; leika hörpu, to play the harp, Stj. 458; leika sungfæri, 631:—leika sér, to play, esp. of children, passim; as also, leika sér at e-u, to play at a thing, passim.

2. to delude, play a trick on; Djöfullinn leikr þá alla, Andr. 66: esp. with prepp., leika á e-n, to play a trick on a person, Nj. 155; mjök hefir þú á oss leikit, nær sem vér fáum þess hefnt, Grett. 149; ef aðrir leita á oss, þá má vera at vér leikim þá enn nokkut í mot, to make a counter move, Boll. 346; lék hón feðr sinn af sér, she played him off, Stj. 181; svá at eins leikr þú við flesta vini þína, Fms. ii. 181.

3. ef svá ílla er, at um þat sé at leika, if that is on the cards, Fms. viii. 102, Al. 132, 134; hón segir föður sínum um hvat at leika er, she told her father how things stood, Ld. 206, Fms. viii. 93.

4. to perform, of a feat or act of prowess, of a play; þú fékt eigi leikit þat er mjúkleikr var í, Fms. vii. 119; þeir kváðu hann verðan vera at hafa, ef hann léki þat, Finnb. 220; en ek hygg at engi annarr fái þat leikit, Fms. i. 152; hann lék þat optliga, er hann barðisk, er fáir gátu við séð, ii. 106; þat má leikask, Fas. i. 88; þessa þrjá hluti lék hann senn, Eb. 240.

5. the phrases, leika lauss við, to be free, at large, disengaged (cp. ‘to play fast and lose with’); láti þér hann nú eigi lausan við leika lengi, Fms. xi. 154; en Hákon sjálfr skal leika lauss við svá, H. shall not be engaged in the battle, i. e. be in reserve, 127; leika lausum hala (see hali); leika tveim skjöldum, to play a double game, Hkr. i. (in a verse).

II. to move, swing, wave to and fro, hang loosely; leika á lopti, Hm. 156; leika á mars baki, Hðm. 12; lék þar grind á járnum, Fms. v. 331; landið skalf sem á þræði léki, Fas. i. 424; skjálfa þótti húsit sem á als oddi léki, 87; lét hann leika laust knéit í brókinni, Fms. vii. 170; árar léku lausar í höndum honum, vi. 446; þeir steypðo golli nýteknu ór afli leikanda ( melted gold) í munn honum, Hom. (St.) 69.

2. to lick, of flame, to catch, of fire = Lat. lambere; þeir vöknuðu eigi fyrr en logi lék um þá, Fms. i. 292; hiti leikr við himin, Vsp. 57; varð eldr lauss í miðjum bænum, eldrinn lék skjótt, ætluðu þeir at verja eldinum, en þá var þar svá mjök leikit (so much burnt) at þeir máttu ekki við festask, Fb. iii. 175; eldr tók at leika húsin, Gullþ. 28; eldrinn tók at leika vatns-keröldin ok viðinn, Fms. xi. 35; heldr en þar léki eldr yfir, viii. 341; lék eldrinn skjótt tjörgaða spónu í keröldunum, i. 128.

3. of water, waves, stream, to play, wash; unnir léku, Hkv. 2. 11, Lex. Poët.; þótti honum þat helzt frói at hafa höndina niðri í læknum, ok láta strauminn leika um sárit, Fas. iii. 388; vatnit var djúpt at landinu, ok hafði leikit undan bakkanum, svá at holt var með, the water had washed the earth away, and made the bank hollow, Grett. 131 A:—of wind, veðr var kalt ok lék á nordan, 113 new Ed.: allir ketill lék utan ok innan sem ein sía, Bs. ii. 9.

4. metaph., lék þat orð á, it was rumoured, Fms. i. 288, Fs. 75; var þá vinátta þeirra kær, þótt þat léki nökkut á ýmsu, though there were ups and downs in their friendship, Fms. vi. 369; leika á tvennu, id., Mag. 33; lék á hinu sama, it went all one way, Fms. v. 252; leika á tveim tungum, ‘to swing on two tongues,’ of various reports of the same thing, ix. 255; leikr þat sízt á tvímæli, hverr fræði-maðr sem frá þeim hefir sagt, Edda (pref.) 147; ef tortrygð leikr á, if there is any suspicion, Js. 26; þar leikr þó minn hugr á, have a mind for a thing, Eg. 520; þat leikr mér í skapi ( I have a mind) at kaupa Íslands-far, Fms. ii. 4; ok ef þér leikr aptr munr at, Ld. 318, v. l.; leika í mun, id., Skv. 3. 39; leika landmunir, to feel homesick, Bjarn.; e-m leikr öfund á e-u, to envy, Fms. vi. 342; leika hugr á, to have a mind to, love; hón er svá af konum, at mér leikr helzt hugr á, vii. 103.

III. esp. in the part. hag-ridden, bewitched, as madmen or people bedridden or taken by a strange illness were thought to be ‘ridden’ by trolls; syndisk mönnum þann veg helzt sem hann mundi leikinn, þvíat hann fór hjá sér ok talaði við sjálfan sik, Eb. 270; maðr sá er Snorri hét var leikinn af flagði einu, Bs. i. 464.

2. metaph. to ill-treat, vex; hví ertú svá ílla leikin? Nj. 18, Sd. 169; sárt ertú leikinn, Sámr fóstri, Nj. 114; sagði þeim engan frama at drepa fá menn ok þó áðr ílla leikna, Fms. ix. 47; börðu þeir mik ok léku sárliga, Fb. i. 547; þeir tóku hann ok léku hart ok börðu, Andr. 64; Loka mær hefir leikinn allvald, Loki’s maid (Death) has laid hands on the king, Ýt.:—to vex, annoy, cp. at þjófar né leiki, that the thieves shall not take it, Hm.; þau á vági vindr of lék, the wind swamped them, Gkv. 1; meinit hafði lengi við leikit, the illness had vexed him a long time, Bs. i. 190.

IV. reflex. to be performed, done; ef þat má leikask, if this can be done, Fas. i. 88; sögðu at þat mætti þá vel leikask, at vinda segl á Orminum ok sigla á haf út, Fms. ii. 326:—leikask á e-n, to get the worst of it; mjök hefir á leikisk minn hluta, I have been utterly worsted, Ísl. ii. 269; ok léksk mjök á mönnum Agða jarls, Fms. iii. 187; ok þótti nú opt á leikask í viðskiptum þeirra Grettis, Grett. 151.

2. recipr., leikask við, to play a match, to play one against another; ok er þat bezt at vit sjálfir leikimk við, Grett. 99 new Ed., Sturl. i. 23, Fms. ii. 269, Þórð. 15 new Ed.; ok höfðu þeir leikisk við barnleikum allir þrír meðan þeir vóru ungir, they had been playmates, Fms. vi. 343; ef þeir skyldi tveir við leikask, Glúm. 370:—at þér komizt undan með lausafé yðart, en þá leikisk um lönd sem auðit er, escape with the movable property and leave the land to its fate, and let them quarrel about the land as best they can, Eb. 98.