to word

1) word;

ef maðr mælir nökkuru orði í mót, if a man speaks a word against it;

segja í sínu orði hvárt, to say one thing in one breath and another in the next;

taka til orða, to begin to speak;

kveða at orði, to say, utter;

hafa við orð, to hint at;

vel orði farinn, well-spoken, eloquent;

fornkveðit orð, an old saw;

2) word, repute, report (gott, illt orð);

fyrir orðs sakir, because of what people might say;

leggja e-t til orðs, to talk about;

þótt okkr sé þat til orðs lagit, although we are blamed for it;

3) message (senda, gøra e-m orð).

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n. [Ulf. waurd = λόγος, ρημα; a word common to all Teut. languages, old and mod.; cp. also Lat. verbum]:—a word. In the earliest usage, as in Old Engl., every sentence, clause, or saw is called a word, cp. Germ. sprüch-wort; an address or a reply is ‘a word,’ cp. Germ. ant-wort; the grammatical notion (Lat. vox, verbum) is later and derived; hann skyldi hafa þau þrjú orð í framburði sínum, þat it fyrsta orð, ‘at allir menn skyldu Kristnir vera;’ þat annat ‘at úheilög skyldi vera hof öll ok skurðgoð;’ þat var it þriðja orð, ‘at fjörbaugsgarð skyldi varða blót öll, ef váttnæm yrði,’ Fms. ii. 237; þau eru orð þrjú er skóggang varða öll, ef maðr kallar mann ragan eðr stroðinn eðr sorðinn, enda á maðr vígt í gegn þeim orðum þremr, Grág. ii. 147; orð mér af orði orðs leitaði verk mér af verki verks leitaði, Hm. 142: the saw, ferr orð ef um munn líðr, Þorst. Síðu H., Vápn. 15; ef maðr mælir nokkuru orði í mót, if he says a word against it, Nj. 216; trúa öngu orði því er ek segi, 265; vil eg eiga leiðrétting orða minna, 132; cp. the saying, allir eiga leiðrétting orða sinna: satt orð, Fms. vii. (in a verse); sinna þrimr orðum við e-n, to exchange three words with a person, Hm. 126; mæla mörgum orðum, 104; skilin orð, 135; spyrja einu orði, Fms. vi. (in a verse); fá orð, a few words; góð orð good words; íll orð, bad language; hálft orð, in the phrase, eg vildi tala hálft orð við þig (half a word, i. e. a few words), lofa e-n í hverju orði; lasta hann í hverju orði; í einu orði, in one word; segja í sínu orði hvárt, to say one thing in one breath and another in the next, Nj. 261; auka tekið orð; orð eptir orð, word for word, Dipl. iii. 11; taka til orða orðs, to begin to speak, Nj. 122, 230; kveða at orði, to say, utter, 233, 238; hafa við orð, to hint at, 160; hafa þat orð á, to give out, Fms. vii. 285; göra orð á e-u, to notice, Nj. 197; vel orði farinn, well spoken, eloquent, Fms. xi. 193, Ld. 122; varð þeim mjök at orðum, they came to high words, Nj. 27 (sundr-orða, and-orða):—allit., orð ok verk (orig. vord ok verk), words and work, Grág. i. 162, ii. 336; fullréttis-orð, 147; fornkveðit orð, an old saw, Eg. 520; Heilög orð, holy words, Grág. i. 76; fá sér e-ð til orða, to notice, to resent; eg vil ekki fá mér það til orða, Vídal. ii. 41.

2. vísu-orð, a verse line, the eighth part of a strophe, Edda (Ht.); átta menn yrki alla vísu, ok yrki eitt orð hverr þeirra, if eight persons make a strophe, each of them making a ‘word,’ of a libel, Grág. ii. 152; ef maðr yrkir tvau orð en annarr önnur tvau ok ráða þeir báðir samt um ok varðar skóggang hvárum-tveggja, 148 (of a libel); síðan kváðu þær vísu þessa, ok kvað sitt orð hver, Sturl. ii. 9.

3. gramm. a word, verb; sögn er inn minnsti hluti samansetts máls, sú sögn er af alþyðu kölluð orð, Skálda 180; nafn ok orð, noun and verb, id.; viðr-orð, adverb, id.; þóat þat orð sé í tvau samstöfur deilt, 164.

II. metaph. and special usages:

1. word, fame, report; gott orð, good report, Fs. 17, Nj. 16; þar féll hann fyrir Barða, ok hafði gott orð, Ísl. ii. 366; íllt orð, evil report, Fms. vii. 59; lék hit sama orð á, Fs. 75; er þat hætt við orði, it will give rise to evil report. Band. 12 new Ed.; fyrir orðs sakir, for report’s sake, because of what people say, Nj. 6; þótt okkr sé þat til orðs lagit, although we are blamed for it, 246; þat lagði Skamkell mér til orðs, 85; aðrir leggja þeim þetta til orðs, Gísl. 84; en mér er þat lítt at skapi at hón hljóti af þér nökkut orð, Fbr. 30 new Ed.

2. a message; senda, göra e-m orð, Eg. 19, 26, 742, Nj. 163: a word, reply, sendimaðr sagði honum orð Úlfs, 160: a request, entreaty, ef þú vill ekki göra fyrir mín orð, 88; hann hefr upp orð sin ok biðr hennar, Eg. 26 (bónorð).

3. as a law phrase, an indictment, summons; enda á hann orði at ráða við hinn er við tekr, the receiver has the right of indictment or summoning, Grág. i. 334; hann á kost at sækja þann er hann vill um ok ráða sjálfr orði, 401; ok á sá orði um at ráða er eggver á, ii. 307; ok á þá hinn orði at ráða um við hann er fé þat átti, 309: orð ok særi, words and oaths, Vsp. 30:—a word, verdict, vote, or the like, kveðja búa allra þeirra orða, er hann skylda lög til um at skilja, Grág. i. 369, Nj. 238; sækja orð (vote) lögréttumanns til búðar, Grág. 1. 9; þá skal sækjandi bera fram vætti þat er nefnt var at orðum biskups, þá er hann lofaði fjár-heimting, 377.

III. bón-orð, wooing; heit-orð, lof-orð, a promise; dóms-orð, a sentence; vátt-orð, testimony; urðar-orð, the ‘weird’s word,’ fate, Fsm. May there not be some etymological connection between ‘word’ and ‘weird,’ Icel. orð and urðr, qs. word, wurðr? the notion of weird, doom prevails in compds, as ban-orð, dauða-orð, = death-weird, fate; other compds denote state, condition, as in leg-orð, vit-orð, = Ulf. wit-ods; goð-orð, priesthood; met-orð, rank; gjaf-orð, marriage, being given away.

B. COMPDS: orðaatvik, orðaákast, orðabelgr, orðabók, orðadráttr, orðafar, orðafjöldi, orðaframburðr, orðaframkast, orðafullting, orðfyndni, orðaglæsur, orðagnótt, orðagrein, orðahagr, orðahald, orðahendingar, orðheppinn, orðahjaldr, orðahnippingar, orðhof, orðskviðr, orðskviðaháttr, orðakvöð, orðalag, orðlagðr, orðalauss, orðaleiðing, orðalengd, orðlengja, orðamaðr, orðreyrr, orðarómr, orðræmðr, orðasafn, orðasamr, orðasemi, orðaskak, orðaskil, orðaskipan, orðaskipti, orðaskortr, orðaskrap, orðaskrum, orðastaðr, orðstafir, orðasveimr, orðsvif, orðatiltekja, orðatiltæki, orðstírr.

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(gen. pl. vikna), f.

1) week; nú lífa sumarit til átta vikna, till it was eight weeks to winter; hin helga v., Holy-week (after Whitsun); efsta v., the last week of Lent, Passion-week;

2) sea-mile, = vika sjóvar, v. sævar (Ólafseyjar liggja út á firðinum hálfa aðra viku undan Reykjanesi).

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u, f., gen. pl. vikna, pl. vikur: [this can hardly be a genuine Teutonic word, but rather is adopted from Lat. vice, otherwise the k could not have remained unchanged; thus Lat. vicus is Icel. vé, Goth. weihs: Ulf. only uses the word in a single instance, viz. to translate ἐν τη τάξει της ἐφημερίας αὐτου by in wikon kunjis seinis in Luke i. 8, where the Latin text ‘in vice sua’ perhaps suggested the word to the translator; A. S. and Hel. wica; Engl. week; O. H. G. wecha; Germ. woche; Dan. uge; Swed. wecha; in Norse dialects vika, veka, vuku, uku, and in compds -oke, Jóns-oke, Ivar Aasen.]

B. USAGES.—A week, passim: used in a peculiar manner, as marking the remaining weeks of the summer; líðr á sumarit til átta vikna, viz. till eight weeks remained before winter, Nj. 93; var Rútr heima til sex vikna, 10; vá Böðvarr Kolbein Drottins-daginn at fjórum vikum, Ann. 1376. The ancient Scandinavians and Teutons in heathen times seem to have counted the year by pentads, called fimt, as has already been remarked s. v. fimt (p. 153), to which may be added the authority of the late Prof. Schlegel of Copenhagen in a notice of 1825, mentioned in Lex. Mythol. p. 753. The time when the Scandinavians changed their system is quite unknown; it would seem that in Icel. ‘weeks’ were already in use in the middle of the 10th century, could we but trust the record in Íb. ch. 4 as authentic in its details.

II. spec. usages in the calendar; Helga vika, the Holy-week (i. e. after Whitsun), Thom. 22, Dipl. iii. 10, D. I. i. 594; Efsta-vika, the last week of Lent, i. e. Passion-week, Orkn. 386, D. I. i. 594; Páska-vika, Easter-week; Sælu-vika, Ember-week, passim, see Icel. Almanack; as also Auka-vika or Lagningar-vika, the additional week, intercalary week, = sumar-auki, see p. 604; fyrsta Sumar-vika, síðasta vika sumars, síðasta vika vetrar.

COMPDS: vikudagr, vikufrestr, vikuför, vikugamall, vikulagning, vikumunr, vikustafr, vikustef, vikustefna, vikuþing, viknamót, viknatal.

u, f. [a word quite different from the preceding, akin to vik and vík, the root word being víkja, q. v.]:—a sea mile, knot, answering to a mod. geographical mile, and equal to a ‘röst’ on land (see röst, p. 508): the term seems to have been derived from vík, a small bay, denoting the distance from ness to ness, and so referring to a time when ships coasted along-shore; the word is still in almost exclusive use in Icel. The following instances may suffice:—the distance from Reykjanes to Flatey in western Icel. is counted as three viknr (frá Reykjanesi til Flateyjar, þat eru þrjár vikur sjófar, Bs. i. 461); from Drangey in the north to the nearest point on the mainland as one vika (frá Revkjum er skemst til eyjarinnar ok er þat vika sjóvar … þat var vika sjáfar sem skemst var til lands ór eyjunni, Grett. 144, 148); eyjar þær sem Ólafs-eyjar heita, þær liggja út á firðinum hálfa aðra viku undan Reykjanesi, 125; heyrði yfir til Skarfstaða hálfa viku sjóvar (viz. from Ljárskógar), 129; for the respective distances see the map of Icel.: so in Norway, vatnið var hálfrar viku breitt, Fms. viii. 32; sigla þeir fyrir þat torleiði sex vikur sævar, Fb. i. 186: in the Faroes, þangat var skemst ok var þat þó löng vika sjóvar, Fær. 173 (viz. from the Great Dimon to Suðrey): in Greenland, hann lagðisk eptir geldingi gömlum út í Hvalsey, ok flutti á baki sér, þá er hann vildi fagna Eireki frænda sínum, en ekki var sæfært skip heima, þat er löng hálf vika, Landn. 107: great distances at the open sea are counted by ‘tylpt,’ ‘dozens, sc. of knots,’ leaving out the word ‘vika,’ þá mun siglt vera tylpt fyrir sunnan Ísland, Landn. 25: a writer of the 14th century calculates the voyage round Iceland direct from headland to headland at ‘fourteen dozens,’—fjórtan tylptir umbergis at sigla réttleiðis fyrir hvert nes, Bs. ii. 5.

ð, also spelt görva, giörva, geyra, giora, gera: prop. gøra, not gra (the ø was sounded nearly as y or ey), so that the g is to be sounded as an aspirate, however the word is spelt; and the insertion of i or j (giöra, gjöra), which is usual in mod. writing, and often occurs in old, is phonetic, not radical, and göra and gjöra represent the same sound. The word in the oldest form had a characteristic v, and is spelt so on the Runic stones in the frequent Runic phrase, gaurva kubl, Baut., and Danske Runemind. passim; but also now and then in old Icel. MSS., e. g. the Kb. of Sæm. (cited from Bugge’s Edit.), gorva, Am. 75, Skv. 1. 34, 3. 20, Hm. 123, Og. 29; gerva, Am. 64, Bkv. 3; giorva, Rm. 9; giorfa, 28; gorvir, Hkv. Hjörv. 41; gørvom, Hým. 6; gorviz, Am. 35; gerviz, Merl. 2. 89:—this characteristic v has since been dropped, and it is usually spelt without it in MSS., gora, Hým. 1, Og. 23, Ls. 65; gera, Am. 85; gorir, Hm. 114: the pret. always drops the v, gorþi, Hym. 21; gorðo or gorþo, fecerunt, Hm. 142, Am. 9; gorðumz, Hðm. 28; gerþi, Am. 74; gerþit, 26:—with i inserted, Rm. 9, 22; giordu, 11; in the Mork. freq. giavra. The ö is still sounded in the east of Icel., whereas gera is the common form in speech, gjöra in writing:—the old pres. indic. used by the poets and in the laws is monosyllabic görr, with suffixed negative, görr-a, Hkr. i. (in a verse); mod. bisyllabic görir, which form is also the usual one in the Sagas:—the old part. pass. was görr or gerr, geyrr, Fms. ix. 498, x. 75, where the v was kept before a vowel, and is often spelt with f, gorvan, gorvir, and gorfan, gorfir: dat. so-goro or so-guru adverbially = sic facto: the mod. part. gjörðr, gerðr, görðr, as a regular part. of the 2nd weak conjugation, which form occurs in MSS. of the 15th century, e. g. Bs. i. 877, l. 21. [This is a Scandin. word; Dan. gjöre; Swed. göra; Old Engl. and Scot. gar, which is no doubt of Scandin. origin, the Saxon word being do, the Germ. thun, neither of which is used in the Scandin.; the word however is not unknown to the Teut., though used in a different sense; A. S. gervan and gearvjan = parare; O. H. G. karwan; Germ. gerben, garben, but esp. the adj. and adv. gar, vide above s. v. gör-.] To make, to do; the Icel. includes both these senses.

A. To make:

I. to build, work, make, etc.; göra himin ok jörð, 623. 36, Hom. 100; göra hús, to build a house, Fms. xi. 4, Rb. 384; göra kirkju, Bjarn. 39; göra skip, N. G. L. i. 198; göra langskip, Eg. 44; göra stólpa, Al. 116; göra tól (= smíða), Vsp. 7; göra (fingr)-gull, Bs. i. 877; göra haug, to build a cairn, Eg. 399; göra lokhvílu, Dropl. 27; göra dys, Ld. 152; göra kistu ( coffin), Eg. 127; göra naust, N. G. L. i. 198; göra jarðhús, Dropl. 34; göra veggi, Eg. 724: also, göra bók, to write a book, Íb. 1, Rb. 384; göra kviðling, to make a song, Nj. 50; göra bréf, to draw up a deed ( letter), Fms. ix. 22; göra nýmæli, to frame a law, Íb. 17.

2. adding prep.; göra upp, to repair, rebuild, restore, Fb. ii. 370; göra upp Jórsala-borg, Ver. 43; göra upp skála, Ld. 298; göra upp leiði, to build up a grave.

II. to make, prepare, get ready; göra veizlu, drykkju, brúðkaup, erfi, and poët. öl, öldr, to make a feast, brew bridal ale, Fs. 23, Fms. xi. 156, Dropl. 6, Am. 86; göra seið, blót, to perform a sacrifice, Ld. 152; göra bú, to set up a house, Grág. i. 185, Ld. 68; göra eld, to make a fire, Fs. 100, K. Þ. K. 88; göra rekkju, to make one’s bed, Eg. 236; göra upp hvílur, Sturl. ii. 124; göra graut, to make porridge, Eg. 196, N. G. L. i. 349; göra drykk, to make a drink, Fms. i. 8; göra kol, or göra til kola, to make charcoal, Ölk. 35.

III. in somewhat metaph. phrases; göra ferð, to make a journey, Fms. x. 281; görði heiman för sína, he made a journey from home, Eg. 23; göra sinn veg, to make one’s way, travel, Mar.; göra uppreisn, to make an uprising, to rebel, Rb. 384, Fms. ix. 416; göra úfrið, to make war, 656 C. 15; göra sátt, göra frið, to make peace, Hom. 153, Bs. i. 24; göra féskipti, Nj. 118; göra tilskipan, to make an arrangement, Eg. 67; göra ráð sitt, to make up one’s mind, Nj. 267, Fms. ix. 21; göra hluti, to cast lots, Fms. x. 348.

2. to make, give, pay, yield; göra tíund, to pay tithes, Hom. 180; hann skal göra Guði tíunda hlut verðsins, id.; göra ölmusu, to give alms, 64; göra ávöxt, to yield fruit, Greg. 48; gefa né göra ávöxt, Stj. 43; göra konungi skatt eða skyld, Fms. xi. 225.

3. to contract; göra vináttu, félagskap, to contract friendship, Nj. 103, Eg. 29; göra skuld, to contract a debt, Grág. i. 126: göra ráð með e-m, to take counsel with, advise one, Eg. 12; göra ráð fyrir, to suppose, Nj. 103, Fms. ix. 10; göra mun e-s, to make a difference, i. 255, Eb. 106.

4. to make, make up, Lat. efficere; sex tigir penninga göra eyri, sixty pence make an ounce, Grág. i. 500, Rb. 458.

5. to grant, render; göra kost, to make a choice, to grant, Nj. 130, Dropl. 6, Fms. xi. 72, (usually ellipt., kostr being understood); vil ek at þér gerit kostinn, Nj. 3; ok megit þér fyrir því göra ( grant) honum kostinn, 49, 51; göra e-m lög, to grant the law to one, 237; göra guðsifjar, to make ‘gossip’ with one, to be one’s godfather, Fms. ii. 130.

6. special usages; göra spott, háð, gabb, … at e-u, to make sport, gibes, etc. at or over a thing, Fms. x. 124; göra iðran, to do penance, Greg. 22; göra þakkir, to give thanks, Hom. 55; göra róm at máli e-s, to cheer another’s speech, shout hear, hear! var görr at máli hans mikill rómr ok góðr, his speech was much cheered, Nj. 250,—a parliamentary term; the Teutons cheered, the Romans applauded (with the hands), cp. Tacit. Germ.

7. with prepp.; gera til, to make ready or dress meat; láta af ( to kill) ok göra til ( and dress), K. Þ. K. 80, Ísl. ii. 83, 331, Fs. 146, 149, Bjarn. 31, Finnb. 228; göra til nyt, to churn milk, K. Þ. K. 78; göra til sverð, to wash and clean the sword, Dropl. 19; máttu þeir eigi sjá, hversu Þorvaldr var til gerr, how Th. got a dressing, Nj. 19.

β. göra at e-u, to mend, make good, put right (at-görð), ek skal at því gera, Fms. xi. 153, Eg. 566, Nj. 130: to heal, Bárð. 171, Eg. 579, Grág. i. 220; göra at hesti, K. Þ. K. 54, Nj. 74: göra við e-u, vide B. II.

8. adding acc. of an adj., part., or the like; göra mun þat margan höfuðlausan, Nj. 203; göra mikit um sik, to make a great noise, great havoc, Fb. i. 545, Grett. 133, Fms. x. 329; göra e-n sáttan, to reconcile one, Grág. i. 336; göra sér e-n kæran, to make one dear to oneself, Hkr. i. 209; göra sik líkan e-m, to make oneself like to another, imitate one, Nj. 258; göra sik góðan, to make oneself good or useful, 74, 78; göra sik reiðan, to take offence, 216; göra sér dælt, to make oneself at home, take liberties, Ld. 134, Nj. 216; göra langmælt, to make a long speech, Sks. 316; göra skjót-kjörit, to make a quick choice, Fms. ii. 79; göra hólpinn, to ‘make holpen,’ to help, x. 314; göra lögtekit, to make a law, issue a law, xi. 213, Bs. i. 37; hann gerði hann hálshöggvinn, he had him beheaded, Fms. ix. 488, v. l.; ok görðu þá handtekna alla at minsta kosti, Sturl. i. 40; várir vöskustu ok beztu menn era görfir handteknir, 41.

β. göra sér mikit um e-t, to make much of, admire, Eg. 5, Fms. x. 254, 364; göra e-t at ágætum, to make famous, extol a thing, vii. 147; göra at orðum, to notice as remarkable, Fas. i. 123; göra at álitum, to take into consideration, Nj. 3; göra sér úgetið at e-u, to be displeased with, Ld. 134; göra vart við sik, to make one’s presence noticed, Eg. 79; göra sér mikit, lítið fyrir, to make great, small efforts, Finnb. 234; göra sér í hug, to brood over; hann gerði sér í hug at drepa jarl, Fs. 112; göra sér í hugar lund, to fancy, think: göra af sér, to exert oneself, ef þú gerir eigi meira af þér um aðra leika, Edda 32; hvárt hann var með Eiríki jarli, eðr görði hann annat af sér, or what else he was making of himself, Fms. xi. 157.

9. phrases, gera fáleika á sik, to feign, make oneself look sad, Nj. 14; esp. adding upp, gera sér upp veyki, to feign sickness, (upp-gerð, dissimulation); göra sér til, to make a fuss, (hence, til-gerð, foppishness.)

B. To do:

I. to do, act; allt þat er hann gerir síðan ( whatever he does), þat á eigandi at ábyrgjask, Gþl. 190; þér munut fátt mæla eðr gera, áðr yðr munu vandræði af standa, i. e. whatsoever you say or do will bring you into trouble, Nj. 91; göra e-t með harðfengi ok kappi, 98; ger svá vel, ‘do so well,’ be so kind! 111; gerit nú svá, góði herra (please, dear lord!), þiggit mitt heilræði, Fms. vii. 157: and in mod. usage, gerið þér svo vel, gerðu svo vel, = Engl. please, do! sagði, at hann hafði með trúleik gört, done faithfully, Eg. 65; göra gott, to do good; göra íllt, to do evil, (góð-görð, íll-görð); ok þat var vel gört, well done, 64; geyrða ek hotvetna íllt, I did evil in all things, Niðrst. 109; hefir hann marga hluti gört stór-vel til mín, he has done many things well towards me, I have received many great benefits at his hands, Eg. 60: with dat., svá mikit gott sem jarl hefir mér gert, Nj. 133; þér vilda ek sízt íllt göra, I would least do harm to thee, 84: göra fúlmennsku, to do a mean act, 185; göra vel við e-n, to do well to one, Fs. 22; göra stygð við e-n, to offend one, Fms. x. 98; göra sæmiliga til e-s, to do well to one, Ld. 62, Nj. 71; göra sóma e-s, to do honour to one, Fms. vii. 155; göra e-m gagn, to give help to one, Nj. 262; göra e-m sæmd, skomm, to do ( shew) honour, dishonour, to one, 5, Fms. x. 43; göra háðung, xi. 152; göra styrk, to strengthen one, ix. 343; göra e-m skapraun, to tease one; göra ósóma, Vápn. 19; göra skaða ( scathe), Eg. 426; göra óvina-fagnað, to give joy to one’s enemies, i. e. to do just what they want one to do, Nj. 112; göra til skaps e-m, to conform to one’s wishes, 80; gerum vér sem faðir vár vill, let us do as our father wishes, 198; vel má ek gera þat til skaps föður míns at brenna inni með honum, id.; göra at skapi e-s, id., 3; var þat mjök gert móti mínu skapi, Fms. viii. 300; gera til saka við e-n, to offend, sin against one, Nj. 80; gera á hluta e-s, to wrong one, Vígl. 25; göra ílla fyrir sér, to behave badly, Fms. vii. 103.

II. adding prep.; göra til e-s, to deserve a thing (cp. til-görð, desert, behaviour); hvat hafðir þú til gört, what hast thou done to deserve it? Nj. 130; framarr en ek hefi til gört, more than I have deserved, Fms. viii. 300; ok hafit þér Danir heldr til annars gört, ye Danes have rather deserved the reverse, xi. 192, Hom. 159:—göra eptir, to do after, imitate, Nj. 90:—göra við e-u (cp. við-görð, amendment), to provide for, amend, ok mun úhægt vera at göra við forlögum þeirra, Ld. 190; er úhægt at göra við ( to resist) atkvæðum, Fs. 22; ok mun ekki mega við því gera, Nj. 198:—göra af við e-n (cp. af-görð, evil doing), to transgress against one, ek hefi engan hlut af gört við þik, Fms. vii. 104, viii. 241; ok iðrask nú þess er hann hefir af gert, 300; göra af við Guð, to sin against God, Hom. 44.

2. special usages; göra … at, to do so and so; spurði, hvat hann vildi þá láta at gera, he asked what he would have done, Nj. 100; hann gerði þat eina at, er hann átti, he did only what be ought, 220; þeir Flosi sátu um at rengja, ok gátu ekki at gert, F. tried, and could do nothing, 115, 242; þér munut ekki fá at gert, fyrr en …, 139; Flosi ok hans menn fengu ekki at gert, 199; mikit hefir þú nú at gert, much hast thou now done ( it is a serious matter), 85; er nú ok mikit at gert um manndráp siðan, 256; hann vildi taka vöru at láni, ok göra mikit at, and do great things, Ld. 70; Svartr hafði höggit skóg ok gert mikit at, Nj. 53; slíkt gerir at er sölin etr, so it happens with those who eat seaweed, i. e. that (viz. thirst) comes of eating seaweed, Eg. 605.

β. göra af e-u, to do so and so with a thing; hvat hafið ér gert af Gunnari, Njarð. 376; ráð þú draumana, vera má at vér gerim af nokkut, may be that we may make something out of it, Ld. 126; gör af drauminum slíkt er þér þykkir líkligast, do with the dream ( read it) as seems to thee likeliest, Ísl. ii. 196: göra við e-n, to do with one; þá var um rætt, hvað við þá skyldi göra, what was to be done with them? Eg. 232; ærnar eru sakir til við Egil, hvat sem eg læt göra við hann, 426; eigi veit ek hvat þeir hafa síðan við gört, 574: göra fyrir e-t, to provide; Jón var vel fjáreigandi, ok at öllu vel fyrir gört, a wealthy and well-to-do man, Sturl. iii. 195; þótt Björn sé vel vígr maðr, þá er þar fyrir gört, því at …, but that is made up, because …: fyrir göra (q. v.), to forfeit.

C. METAPH. AND SPECIAL USAGES:

I. to do, help, avail; nú skulum vér ganga allir á vald jarlsins, því at oss gerir eigi annat, nothing else will do for us, Nj. 267; þat mun ekki gera, that wont do, 84; en ek kann ekki ráð til at leggja ef þetta gerir ekki, Fms. ii. 326; konungr vill þat eigi, þvi at mér gerir þat eigi ( it will not do for me) at þér gangit hér upp, x. 357; þat gerir mér ekki, at þér gangit á Orminn, … en hitt má vera at mér komi at gagni, ii. 227; þóttisk þá vita, at honum mundi ekki gera ( it would do nothing) at biðja fyrir honum, Fb. i. 565; engum gerði við hann at keppa, 571; ekki gerði þeim um at brjótask, Bárð. 10 new Ed.; sagða ek yðr eigi, at ekki mundi gera at leita hans, Sks. 625; hvat gerir mér nú at spyrja, Stj. 518; ekki gerir at dylja, no use hiding it, Fbr. 101 new Ed.; ætla þat at fáir þori, enda geri engum, Band. 7; bæði var leitað til annarra ok heima, ok gerði ekki, but did no good, 4; hét hann þeim afarkostum, ok gerði þat ekki, but it did no good, Fms. ii. 143.

II. to send, despatch, cp. the Engl. to ‘do’ a message; hann gerði þegar menn frá sér, Eg. 270; hann hafði gört menn sex á skóginn fyrir þá, 568; þá gerði Karl lið móti þeim, Fms. i. 108; jarl gerði Eirík at leita Ribbunga, ix. 314; hann gerði fram fyrir sik Álf á njósn, 488; hann gerði menn fyrir sér at segja konunginum kvámu sína, x. 10; hleypi-skúta var gör norðr til Þrándheims, vii. 206; jafnan gerði jarl til Ribbunga ok drap menn af þeim, ix. 312; vilja Ósvífrs-synir þegar gera til þeirra Kotkels, despatch them to slay K., Ld. 144; skulu vér nú göra í mót honum, ok láta hann engri njósn koma, 242:—göra eptir e-m, to send after one, Nero bað göra eptir postulunum ok leiða þangat, 656 C. 26; nú verðr eigi eptir gört at miðjum vetri, Grág. i. 421; frændr Bjarnar létu göra eptir (Germ. abholen) líki hans, Bjarn. 69; síðan gerðu þeir til klaustrs þess er jómfrúin var í, Fms. x. 102:—gera e-m orð, njósn, to do a message to one; hann gerði orð jörlum sínum, Eg. 270; ætluðu þeir at göra Önundi njósn um ferðir Egils, 386, 582; vóru þangat orð gör, word was sent thither, Hkr. ii. 228.

III. with infin. as an auxiliary verb, only in poetry and old prose (laws); ef hón gerði koma, if she did come, Völ. 5; gerðit vatn vægja, Am. 25; gramr gørr-at sér hlífa, he does not spare himself, Hkr. i. (in a verse); gerðut vægjask, id., Fs. (in a verse); hann gerðisk at höggva, Jb. 41; görðir at segja, Bkv. 15; görðisk at deyja, Gkv. 1. 1: in prose, eigi gerir hugr minn hlægja við honum, Fas. i. 122; góðir menn göra skýra sitt mál með sannsögli, 677. 12; Aristodemus görði eigi enn at trúa, Post.: esp. in the laws, ef þeir göra eigi ganga í rúm sín, Grág. i. 8; ef goðinn gerr eigi segja, 32; ef hann gerr eigi í ganga, 33; ef þeir göra eigi hluta meðr sér, 63; ef dómendr göra eigi dæma, 67; ef dómendr göra eigi við at taka, id.; ef goðinn gerr eigi ( does not) nefna féráns-dóm, 94; nú göra þeir menn eigi úmaga færa, 86; ef þeir göra eigi nefna kvöðina af búanum, Kb. ii. 163; ef þeir göra eigi segja, hvárt …, Sb. ii. 52; nú gerr sá eigi til fara, Kb. ii. 96; göra eigi koma, 150; ef hann gerr eigi kjósa, § 113.

IV. a law term, göra um, or gera only, to judge or arbitrate in a case; fékksk þat af, at tólf menn skyldu göra um málit, Nj. 111; villt þú göra um málit, 21; bjóða mun ek at göra um, ok lúka upp þegar görðinni, 77; mun sá mála-hluti várr beztr, at góðir menn geri um, 88; málin vóru lagið í gerð, skyldu gera um tólf menn, var þá gert um málin á þingi, var þat gert, at … (follows the verdict), 88; vil ek at þú sættisk skjótt ok látir góða menn gera um …, at hann geri um ok enir beztu menn af hvárra liði lögliga til nefndir, 188; Njáll kvaðsk eigi gera mundu nema á þingi, 105; þeir kváðusk þat halda mundu, er hann gerði, id.; skaltú gera sjálfr, 58; fyrr en gert var áðr um hitt málit, 120; ek vil bjóðask til at göra milli ykkar Þórðar um mál yðar, Bjarn. 55; Þorsteinn kvað þat þó mundi mál manna, at þeir hefði góða nefnd um sættir þótt hann görði, 56; nú er þegar slegit í sætt málinu með því móti, at Áskell skal göra um þeirra í milli, Rd. 248; er nú leitað um sættir milli þeirra, ok kom svá at þeir skulu göra um málin Þorgeirr goði frá Ljósa-vatni ok Arnórr ór Reykjahlíð, sú var görð þeirra at …, 288; svá kemr at Ljótr vill at Skapti görði af hans hendi, en Guðmundr vill sjálfr göra fyrir sína hönd, skyldi Skapti gerð upp segja, Valla L. 225; eigi hæfir þat, leitum heldr um sættir ok geri Þorgeirr um mál þessi, Lv. 12; var jafnt gört sár Þórðar ok sár Þórodds, Eb. 246; þær urðu mála-lyktir at Þórðr skyldi göra um …, 24; ok vóru þá görvar miklar fésektir, 128; var leitað um sættir, ok varð þat at sætt, at þeir Snorri ok Steindórr skyldi göra um, 212; þit erut gerfir héraðs-sekir sem íllræðis-menn, Fs. 58: göra görð, Sturl. i. 63, 105: adding the fine, to fix the amount, þat er gerð mín, at ek geri verð húss ok matar, I fix the amount of the value of the house and (stolen) stores, Nj. 80; gerði Njáll hundrað silfrs, N. put it at a hundred silver pieces, 58; margir mæltu, at mikit vaeri gert, that the amount was high, id.; slíkt fégjald sem gert var, 120; vilit ér nokkut héraðs-sektir göra eða utanferðir, 189; hann dæmdi þegar, ok görði hundrað silfrs, 6l; síðan bauð Bjarni Þorkatli sætt ok sjálfdæmi, görði Bjarni hundrað silfrs, Vápn. 31; ek göri á hönd Þóri hundrað silfrs, Lv. 55; ek göri á hönd þér hundrað silfrs, id.; vilit þér, at ek göra millum ykkar? síðan görði konungr konuna til handa Þórði ok öll fé hennar, Bjarn. 17; Rafn kvað hann mikit fé annat af sér hafa gört, at eigi þætti honum þat betra, Fs. 30; Gellir görði átta hundrað silfrs, Lv. 97; fyrir þat gerði Börkr hinn digri af honum eyjarnar, B. took the isles from him as a fine, Landn. 123: adding the case as object, Gunnarr gerði gerðina, G. gave judgment in the case, Nj. 80; fyrr en gert var áðr um hitt málit, till the other case was decided, 120; þá sætt er hann görði Haraldi jarli, that settlement which he made for earl Harold, Fms. viii. 300: Flosi var görr utan ok allir brennu-menn, F. was put out ( banished) and all the burners, Nj. 251: metaph., nema þau vili annat mál á gera, unless they choose to settle it otherwise, Grág. i. 336.

2. in the phrase, göra sekð, to make a case of outlawry, Grág. i. 118; eigi um görir sekð manns ella, else the outlawry takes no effect; en hann um görir eigi ella sekðina, else he cannot condemn him, 119.

3. to perform; eptir-gerðar þeirrar sem hverr nennti framast at gera eptir sinn náung, Fms. viii. 103; en þat grunaði konung, at hann mundi ætla at göra eptir sumar sættir, i. e. that he had some back door to escape by, Orkn. 58 (cp. Ó. H.); allt þat er þér gerit nú fyrir þeirra sálum, id.

V. special usages, to make allowance for; gera fóðr til fjár, to make an arbitrary allowance for, Ísl. ii. 138; hence, to suppose, en ef ek skal göra til fyrir fram ( suggest) hvat er hón (the code) segir mér, þá segi ek svá, at …, Fms. ix. 331; gera sér í hug, Fs. 112; göra sér í hugar-lund, to fancy; göra e-m getsakir, to impute to one; gera orð á e-u, to report a thing; þat er ekki orð á því geranda, ‘tis not worth talking about; eigi þarf orð at göra hjá því (‘tis not to be denied), sjálfan stólkonunginn blindaði hann, Mork. 14 (cp. Fms. vi. 168, l. c.); gera sér létt, to take a thing lightly, Am. 70; göra sér far um, to take pains; göra sér í hug, hugar-lund, to suppose.

D. IMPERS. it makes one so and so, one becomes; hann görði fölvan í andliti, he turned pale, Glúm. 342; leysti ísinn ok görði varmt vatnið, the water became warm, 623. 34; veðr görði hvast, a gale arose, Eg. 128; hríð mikla gerði at þeim, they were overtaken by a storm, 267; þá gerði ok á hríð (acc.) veðrs, 281; féll veðrit ok gerði logn (acc.), and became calm, 372; görði þá stórt á firðinum, the sea rose high, 600; til þess er veðr lægði ok ljóst gerði, and till it cleared up, 129; um nóttina gerði á æði-veðr ok útsynning, 195; görir á fyrir þeim hafvillur, they lost their course (of sailors), Finnb. 242; mér gerir svefnhöfugt, I grow sleepy, Nj. 264; þá görði vetr mikinn þar eptir hinn næsta, Rd. 248.

E. REFLEX, to become, grow, arise, and the like; þá görðisk hlátr, then arose laughter, Nj. 15; görðisk bardagi, it came to a fight, 62, 108; sá atburðr görðisk, it came to pass, Fms. x. 279; þau tíðendi er þar höfðu görzt, Ld. 152; gerðisk með þeim félagskapr, they entered into fellowship, Eg. 29; gerðisk svá fallit kaup, Dipl. ii. 10; Sigurðr konungr gerðisk ( grew up to be) ofstopa-maðr …, görðisk mikill maðr ok sterkr, Fms. vii. 238; hann görðisk brátt ríkr maðr ok stjórnsamr, xi. 223; Unnr görðisk þá mjök elli-móð, U. became worn with age, Ld. 12; sár þat er at ben görðisk, a law term, a wound which amounted to a bleeding wound, Nj. passim:—to be made, to become, görask konungr, to become king, Eg. 12; ok görðisk skáld hans, and became his skáld, 13; görðisk konungs hirðmaðr, 27; görask hans eigin-kona, to become his wedded wife, Fms. i. 3; at hann skyldi görask hálf-konungr yfir Dana-veldi, 83; vill Hrútr görask mágr þinn, Nj. 3; hann gerðisk síðan óvarari, he became less cautious, Fms. x. 414.

2. with the prep. svá, to happen, come to pass so and so; svá görðisk, at …, it so happened, that …, Nj. 167; görðisk svá til, at …, Fms. x. 391; þá görðisk svá til um síðir, at…, at last it came to pass. that …, 392; enda vissi hann eigi, at þingför mundi af görask, in case he knew not that it would entail a journey to parliament, Grág. i. 46: with at added, to increase, þá görðisk þat mjök at um jarl ( it grew even worse with the earl) at hann var úsiðugr um kvenna-far, görðisk þat svá mikit, at …, it grew to such a pitch, that …, Hkr. i. 245; hence the mod. phrase, e-ð á-görist, it increases, gains, advances, esp. of illness, bad habits, and the like, never in a good sense.

3. impers. with dat., honum gerðisk ekki mjök vært, he felt restless, Ld. 152; næsta gerisk mér kynlegt, I feel uneasy, Finnb. 236.

4. to behave, bear oneself; Páll görðisk hraustliga í nafni Jesu, Post. 656 C. 13.

5. to set about doing, be about; fám vetrum síðan görðisk hann vestr til Íslands, Fms. x. 415; maðr kom at honum ok spurði, hvat hann gerðisk, what he was about, Ó. H. 244; görðisk jarl til Ribbunga, Fms. ix. 312, v. l.; tveir menn görðusk ferðar sinnar, two men set out for a journey, x. 279; görðusk menn ok eigi til þess at sitja yfir hlut hans, Eg. 512; at þessir menn hafa görzk til svá mikils stórræðis, Fms. xi. 261; eigi treystusk menn at görask til við hann, Bárð. 160.

6. (mod.) to be; in such phrases as, eins og menn nú gerast, such as people now are; eins og flestir menn gerast.

F. PART. PASS. görr, geyrr (Fms. ix. 498, x. 75), gjörr, gerr, as adj., compar. görvari, superl. görvastr; [A. S. gearu; gare, Chaucer, Percy’s Ballads; O. H. G. garwe; Germ. gar]:—skilled, accomplished; vaskligr, at sér görr, Ld. 134; vel at sér görr, Ísl. ii. 326, Gísl. 14; gerr at sér um allt, Nj. 51; hraustir ok vel at sér görvir, Eg. 86; at engi maðr hafi gervari at sér verit en Sigurðr, Mork. 221; allra manna snjallastr í máli ok görvastr at sér, Hkr. iii. 360: the phrase, leggja görva hönd á e-t, to set a skilled hand to work, to be an adept, a master in a thing; svá hagr, at hann lagði allt á görva hönd, Fas. i. 391, (á allt görva hönd, iii. 195.)

2. ready made, at hand; in the saying, gott er til geyrs (i. e. görs, not geirs) at taka, ‘tis good to have a thing at hand, Hkm. 17; ganga til görs, to have it ready made for one, Ld. 96; gör gjöld, prompt punishment, Lex. Poët.:—with infin., gerr at bjóða, ready to offer, Gh. 17; gervir at eiskra, in wild spirits, Hom. 11; görvar at ríða, Vsp. 24: with gen. of the thing, gerr ílls hugar, prone to evil, Hým. 9; gerr galdrs, prone to sorcery, Þd. 3; skulut þess görvir, be ready for that! Am. 55.

II. [cp. görvi, Engl. gear], done, dressed; svá görvir, so ‘geared,’ so trussed, Am. 40.

III. adverb. phrases, so-gurt, at soguru, so done; verða menn þat þó so-gurt at hafa, i. e. there is no redress to be had, Hrafn. 9; hafi hann so-gurt, N. G. L. i. 35, Nj. 141; kvað eigi so-gort duga, 123, v. l.; at (með) so-guru, this done, quo facto, Skv. 1. 24, 40; freq. with a notion of being left undone, re infecta. Germ. unverrichteter sache, Eg. 155, Glúm. 332, Ó. H. 202; enda siti um so-gort, and now let it stand, Skálda 166; við so-gurt, id., 655 vii. 4; á so-gurt ofan, into the bargain, Bs. i. 178, Ölk. 36, Fas. i. 85.

a. heathen, pagan; heiðnir menn, heathens.

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adj. [A. S. hæðen; Engl. heathen; O. H. G. heidan; Germ. heide and heidnisch; Dan. hedensk; this word is prob. derived not from heiðr, a heath, but from Gr. ἐθνικός as used in the N. T.; Ulf. in a single passage, Mark vii. 26, renders γυνὴ Έλληνίς by qino haiþno; it is even possible that the eccl. paganus, which, according to Du Cange, only appears after A. D. 365, may be merely a translation of the Teutonic word under the notion that haiþan was derived from haiþi = a heath, open country (Gr. ἀγρός, Lat. pagus): then, as haiþi was pronounced much like ἔθνος, the true etymology of heiðinn was lost; and so the long vowel and the aspirated initial may be accounted for. To the worshippers of Thor and Odin the name heathen was unknown; Christians were the first that used the word, and we meet with it first in Hkm. of Eyvind, who speaks of heiðin goð, heathen gods; heiðinn stallr, a heathen altar, Kristni S., by the missionary Þorvald, A. D. 982; it is also used by Hallfred and Sighvat; heiðinn dómr, heathendom, Sighvat; heiðnar stjörnur, heathen stars, Sól.: the verse in Ísl. ii. 50 is spurious (as are all the verses of that Saga); so also the verses in Landn. 84 (Hb.), and in Bergbúa-þáttr, where the word heiðinn is put into the mouth of a ghost and a giant, in songs which are merely a poetical fiction of later times. The word heiðingi for wolf is curious: probably it is merely a metaph. phrase from heiðinn, gentilis, and if so, it gives an additional evidence to the age of the poem Atla-kviða; which poem, from its nickname the ‘Greenlandish,’ cannot be older than the discovery of Greenland, A. D. 985]:—heathen, gentilis, ethnicus, the Sagas passim, esp. Nj. ch. 101–106, Kristni S., Ó. T., Ó. H., etc.: a child not christened was in olden times called heathen, N. G. L. i. 340; heiðit morð, the murder of an infant not christened, 339: in mod. Icel. usage, a boy or girl before confirmation is called heathen; this improper use of the word is caused by a confusion between baptism and confirmation: so in Norway a woman between child-birth and churching is called heathen (Ivar Aasen).

(gen. -ar), m. veto, interdict; verja e-t lýriti, to put a veto on, forbid by law.

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m., or better lýritr or lýrittr, gen. lyritar (but lyrits, Grág. ii. 233), dat. lyriti, plur. lyritar. N. G. L. ii. 94, Jb. 193; the quantity cannot be ascertained because the vellums do not distinguish between long and short vowels; it is spelt with one t throughout the Grág. (Kb.); the alliterative phrase lagalyritr, as also the invariable spelling in the Grágás, shew that the word had no initial h. Former attempts at an etymology, from læ and rifta (Björn á Skarðsá), hlýrar and réttir (Pal Vídal.), lygi and rift (Fritzner), must be dismissed; tiie spelling lyriftar, which once or twice occurs in Norse MSS. of the 14th century (N. G. L. i. 394, ii. 94, v. l. 19), is probably a mere corruption. Lyritr is a compd word from lög, law, and rör or reyr, a landmark, which word in the old Swed. law exactly answers to lyrit in the Norse law; lyrit is thus qs. lý-ryr-ti, by assimilation and by weakening the y into i, lyritti; the t being inflexive: its literal sense, therefore, is a lawful rör or landmark. In Sweden there were often five mark-stones, but it is added (Schlyter iii. s. v. rör)—fiuri stenar oc þri stenar mughu rör heta = four stones and even three stones may be called rör, i. e. make a ‘law-rör,’ a lawful landmark, a lyrit; this, we believe, is the etymology of this much-contested word. About the gender (masc., not fem.) there can be no doubt, from the numerous instances in the Grágás; but in the 13th century the word began to become neuter, thus we have lyritit, Grág. (Kb.) i. 103, lines 14 and 21, but lyritinn several times in the same page: nom. lyriti in Grág. (Sb.) ii. 226; and elalausu lyriti, Nj. passim.

B. SENSE:

I. prop. when the boundary of a field or estate was to be drawn, the law prescribed that a mark-stone (mark-steinn) should be raised on the spot, and three other stones laid beside it; these three stones were called landmark-stones (lyrit-steinar or lyritar); by their number and position they were distinguished from all other stones in the field, see N. G. L. ii. 94, cp. note 19 (Jb. 193).

II. metaph. in the Icel. law, a full title of possession, lawful claim to right or property; thus defined by Konrad Maurer—‘Lyrit bedeutet in der Grágás und in den ältern Sagas, das volle Eigentums-recht, oder auch den Bann, der dem Grunde gentümer zum Schutze seines Eigentumes, dem Goden aber Kraft seiner Amtsgewalt zusteht:’

1. the earliest kind was probably the land-lyrit or ‘land-ban;’ this law term was originally borrowed from the mark-stones themselves, and then came to mean a full title to land, field, pasture, or estate, Grág. ii. 224, 225:—eignar-lyritr, full lawful possession, a legal title of ownership; hafa eignar-lyrit fyrir landi, 204, 222.

2. a veto; Goða-lyritr, the veto of a Goði ( Priest), forbidding the court or neighbours to deliver a sentence or verdict in a case, and thus quashing the suit. A Goði alone, by virtue of his office, was entitled to stop a court in this way, whether personally or by one of his liegemen, so that if any one else wished thus to stop a suit, he had first to go to his liegelord (Goði) and be authorised by him to do so; cp. the phrases, taka lyrit af Goða, selja lyrit, ef Goði færir lyrit sinn sjálfr fram, and similar law phrases, Grág. i. 109–111, cp. esp. Þ. Þ. ch. 38; neglect of this was contempt of court, punishable by the lesser outlawry. The word lyritr occurs at every step in the Grágás, esp. in the phrase, verja lyriti, or verja e-t lyriti, to defend through a lyrit, i. e. to put under veto, to vindicate one’s right, forbid, or the like; eigi varðar hagabeit, nema lyriti sé varið, Grág. ii. 224; verja lyriti haga, 225; þótt maðr veri fleirum lyriti (dat.), 226, Nj.; láta lyrit koma fyrir sök, to stop on a case, Grág. i. 109; kaupa land lagn kaupi ok lyritar, to buy land by a lawful bargain and with full tide of possession, ii. 213; eptir þat nefndi Þorkéll sér vátta, ok setti (varði?) þeim lyriti, ok fyrirbauð þeim at dæma, Lv. 31; ok er únýt stefna hans eðr lyriti (lyritr?), Grág. ii. 226; hann (the Goði) skal nefna sér vátta, áðr hann færi lyrit fram, í þat vætti, at ek ver lyriti, goða-lyriti, löglyriti fullum dómendum at dæma um sök þá … enda skal hann svá verja kviðmönnum lyriti, at bera kviðu um hann, i. 111; ek ver lyriti mínum, löglyriti dómendum at dæma, id.; færa lyrit sinn fram, to utter one’s veto, id.; fara með land-lyriti, ii. 225.

COMPDS: lyritareiðr, lyritarvarzla, lyritarvörn.

pron. any (í nekkhverjum hlut), = nakkvarr, nökkurr.

* * *

indef. pron.; this word is a compound of the negative particle né (q. v.) and the pronoun hverr, qs. nih-hverr, ne-hverr, nekkverr; the double k (in the oldest MSS. often represented by cq) may be due to the final h of the particle, as the compd was formed at a time when the final h had not been absorbed into né: [Dan. nogen; Swed. någon. Mr. Uppström, and since Bugge, derive this word from ne-veit-hverr, instead of Grimm’s ne-hverr, cp. A. S. nâthwæt = ne-wât-hwæt = Icel. nakkvat; this would better account for the double k, but otherwise it has no influence on the inflexive changes of the word.]

A. THE FORMS: this pronoun has undergone great changes. The earliest declension is the same as that of hverr, see Gramm. p. xxi; nekkverr, nekkver, Bs. i. 353, Greg. 13, 26, 33, Grág. ii. 205, 206, 304, Fms. x. 389, 393: gen. nekkvers, nekkverrar, passim: dat. nekkverjum, nekkverju, nekkverri, Greg. 16, 79, Eluc. 27, Bs. i. 352: acc. nekkvern, nekkverja, Grág. i. 41, ii. 251, 270, 313, Fms. x. 381, 390, 391, Greg. 15, Bs. i. 337, 344 (line 14), 352: nom. pl. masc. and fem. nekkverir, nekkverjar, Grág. ii. 205, Bs. i. 355: gen. nekkverra, Greg. 23, 28, and so on. The word then underwent further changes,

α. by dropping the j; nekkveru, Grág. ii. 281; nekkverar, Fms. x. 381; nekkverum, 382; nekkvera, 393, 415.

β. by change of the vowels; nakkverr or nekkvarr, or even nakkvarr, nakkvat, see below; nakkvert, Bs. i. 342 (line 12); nakkvara, Ó. H. 62, 116; nakkvars, Fms. vii. 388, xi. 29, Edda 48; nakkvarir, Fms. vii. 337, Mork. 169; nakkvarar, Fms. vii. 328, Greg. 9; nakkvarra (gen. pl.), D. I. i. 185; nakkvarrar, Ó. H. 116; nakkverrar (gen. fem. sing.), Bs. i. 393.

γ. the a of nakk through the influence of the v was changed into ö (nökk), and then into o, and the final va into vo, and in this way the word became a regular adjective, nökkvorr or nokkvorr, nokkvor, Mork. 57, Fms. x. 261; nokkvot, Bs. i. 393; nökkvoð, Mork. 62, Fms. x. 383, 391; nokkvors, passim; nokkvoru, Nj. 34, Fms. x. 393, 394; nokkvorum, 305; nokkvorrar, Edda i. 214; nokkvorn, 210; nokkvorir, Fms. vi. 5, x. 294.

δ. the v dropped out; nökkorr, nokkurr, nokkorr, nokkor, Vsp. 33 (Bugge), Greg. 9, Grág. (Kb.) i. 66, 75, 208, ii. 3, Mork. 168, Ó. H. 224, Grág. i. 1, ii. 366, Nj. 267, Fms. ix. 276, x. 135; nokkoð, Hkv. 2. 5; nokkort, Grág. i. 460; nokkorum, Skv. 3. 58 (Bugge), Grág. i. 45, 361, Fms. ix. 370, Nj. 7; nokkoru, Fms. i. 1, x. 420, Grág. ii. 129, Nj. 41, Eg. 394, Hkr. iii. 160; nökkorn, Fms. x. 409; nokkorn, xi. 6, Nj. 6, Mork. 205, Ld. 30; nokkorir, Mork. 205; nokkorar, Nj. 252, Fms. x. 388; see Gramm. p. xxi.

ε. finally in mod. usage we have contracted forms before a vowel, thus nokkrir, nokkrum, nokkrar, except that the gen. pl. and gen. fem. sing. are still pronounced as trisyllables, nokkurrar, nokkurra; these contracted forms have erroneously crept into Editions from paper MSS. (as Vd. in the Fs.), where nokkrir etc. should be restored to nokkurir etc. ☞ All the above forms occur confusedly even in very old MSS., and even the latest form nokkorr occurs in vellums as old as Cod. Reg. of the elder Edda, in the Mork., Greg., Grág. (Kb.) In addition to the above, there are mixed forms, nekkurr, 623. 41; nekkorar, Fms. x. 388; nekkers, Grág. (Kb.) 22; nökkurja, 623. 50; nakkor, B. K. 124; nokkverja, Fms. xi. 6; nauccverjar, navcqveriom, Mork. 62, 64, 65.

II. nakkvat, n. subst., answering to hvat (q. v.), Ó. H. 72, Bs. i. 344, 348, 350, 353, Am. 32, Bugge. 2. nökkvi (Lat. aliquanto), an obsolete dat. (subst.) answering to hví; svá nökkvi, Hallfred (Fs. 89); í nökkvi, in aught, Hom. 43; af nökkvi, for aught, Fs. 94 (v. l.), Fms. iii. 27; noqvi, Hkv. 2. 26 (Bugge); nökkvi ofarr, Fms. vii. 304 (in a verse); nökkvi síðarr, ix. 533 (in a verse): in prose, nökkvi yngri, xi. 96; neykvi nær sanni, Hkr. iii. 360; nekkvi réttligar, 677. 11; nökkvi helst, Fms. xi. 78, MS. 677. 6; véla e-n í nökkvi, Grág. ii. 22, 367; því nökkvi, 129; nær sanni nökkvi, Fms. x. 420; neykvi, Am. 26 (Bugge); framast nekkvi.

III. the neut. sing. is thus distinguished; nakkvat, nokkvoð, nokkuð (answering to hvat), are often used as a substantive, but nekkvert, nokkvort, nokkurt (answering to hvert), as an adjective. ☞ The primitive hverr has partly undergone the same metamorphosis as the compd nehverr, and in western Icel. is sounded kvur, and in mod. Norse dialect kor, shewing the complete change.

B. THE SENSE: the negative particle, the first part of the compound, has quite lost its force, as is the case with neinn, q. v.; but the word is used in negative sentences = any; á öngum bæ fannsk nökkurr maðr, Fms. ix. 355, and so freq. in mod. usage.

2. single and without a preceding negative; ef nökkurr maðr veit eigi, if anybody know not, Grág. ii. 209; er nökkverr Guð sem várr Guð, 623. 35; ef hann vissi nökkurn hest jafnskjótan, Fms. vii. 169.

3. as subst., nokkut = anything, nokkur = anybody; ef þér segit nokkurum, if you tell it to anybody, Nj. 7; ef nokkurr hefir, Grág. ii. 366; eldi eða því nokkuru, fire or any such thing, 129; styrkja e-n at nokkuru, Nj. 41; ef hann meiðir í nökkuru lönd manna, Grág. ii. 281; kanntú nokkut í lögum, Nj. 33: with gen., nekkverr yðar, any of you, 677. 13; nokkort þessarra húsa, Grág. i. 460; nakkverr þeirra manna, 232: with prep., nokkura af þessum konum, any of these women, Ld. 30; nökkut manna, Fms. vi. 121.

II. some, a certain …, Lat. quidam; maðr nokkurr, kona nokkur, konur nokkurar, Nj. 252, passim; nokkora hríð, for some time, 2, Fms. xi. 6; nekkverja lund, Grág. ii. 251; nakkvorir stórir höfðingjar, Fms. vii. 338; nokkvorir Íslenzkir menn, x. 294; nokkor góð verk, nekkver íll verk, 677. 9, 25, 26; um dag nekkvern, a certain day, Fms. x. 391; þann bjargkvið nekkvern ( some such), Grág. i. 41; at þeim hlut nokkorum, 361; nokkvot þorp, Fms. x. 294; ráð nakkvað, xi. 16; fé nökkvart, Grág. ii. 262: as subst., nokkuru fyrir vetr, a while before winter, Eg. 394; nokkuru meir, somewhat more, Fms. i. 1:—of some importance, þeim er nokkorir eru í skapi, iv. 80; þeir einir menn ef nokkut var til, of any weight, Eg. 267, and so in countless instances.

III. spec. usages, added to a numeral, about; þrjú nokkur, Nj. 267; nokkur sex skip eða sjau, Fms. ix. 276; braut nokkur tíu skip, x. 135; með nokkur fimm hundrað manna, ix. 276; til nokkurra fjórtán hundraða, H. E. i. 418; nokkurum tveim sinnum eða þrim, Fms. ix. 370.

2. svá nokkut, thereabouts; lið svá nokkuru mart, Fms. xi. 48; svá nokkoru mikit, x. 4; svá nokkuru mjök, Nj. 228; svá nokkvoru mun yðar leita farit, 34; svá nakkvarn, Fms. v. 319; nokkurs til þungr, Ld. 128; nokkurs til seinir, Fms. xi. 29; slíkt nökkut, iv. 283; svá nokkuru, í nökkvi öðru, Hom. 25; svá nökki, about so, Hallfred; stórt nokkuð, somewhat great, Ld. 104:—about, var kveðit á viku stef nokkut, a notice of about a week was given, Eg. 394.

IV. adverbial usages, the neuter being used as adverb; something, a deal, marka nakkvat skaplyndi hans, Fms. xi. 78; breytask nökkvat, 99; henni var skapþungt nokkut, Nj. 11: in some way, somehow, at hann skyldi nokkot benda hvat sveinninn skyldi heita, 625. 86: nökkut svá, a bit, somewhat; hann gékk um teiginn uokkut svá, Ísl. ii. 354; stóð höfuð gneipt af bolnum nakkvat svá, Eb. 244; sefask konungr n. svá, Fms. xi. 11, 129:—neykvi nær sanni, somewhat nearer the truth, Hkr. iii. 360; var þat nær sanni nökkvi, Fms. x. 420, see the references above (A).

2. perhaps, may be; vilt þú nökkut taka við fjárfari mínu? Nj. 40; viltú n. sonu þína við láta vera, 65; ef hann hefði nokkut siglt til annarra landa, 41; ef Gunnarr hefði n. þess leitað, 47.

C. COMPDS: nokkurnig, nokkurskonar, nokkursstaðar.

(-s, -ar), m.

1) freebooter, sea-rover, pirate, viking (Flóki Vilgerðarson hét maðr, hann var v. mikill);

2) in later times, robber, highwayman.

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m. a freebooter, rover, pirate, but in the Icel. Sagas used specially of the bands of Scandinavian warriors, who during the 9th and 10th centuries harried the British Isles and Normandy: the word is peculiarly Norse, for although it occurs in A. S. in the poem Byrnoth (six or seven times), it is there evidently to be regarded as a Norse word; and prob. so too in the poem ‘Exodus,’ in the words rondas bærun sæwicingas, over saltne mere; lastly, in ‘Widsith,’ as the name of a people, and Liðvicingas (= Liðungar? q. v.) The word ‘víkingr’ is thought to be derived from vík ( a bay), from their haunting the bays, creeks, and fjords;—or it means ‘the men from the fjords,’ the coincidence that the old Irish called the Norsemen ‘Lochlannoch.’ and Norway ‘Lochlan,’ is curious.

B. A few selected references will illustrate the word:—Naddoddr hét maðr, hann var víkingr mikill, Landn. 26; Flóki Vilgerðarson hét maðr, hann var v. mikill, 28; slógusk í Eyjarnar víkingar ok herjuðu ok ræntu víða, 41; Úlfr víkingr ok Ólafr bekkr fóru samskipa til Íslands, 202; en er þeir lágu til hafs kómu at þeim víkingar ok vildu ræna þá, en Gautr laust stafnbúann þeirra við hjálmun-veli, ok lögðu víkingar við þat frá, siðan var hann kallaðr Hjálmun-gautr, 223; Hrafn hafnar-lykkill var víkingr mikill, hann fór til Íslands ok nam land …, 269; Ölvir barna-karl hét maðr ágætr í Noregi, hann var víkingr mikill, hann lét eigi henda börn á spjóta-oddum sem þá var víkingum títt, því var hann barna-karl kallaðr, 308; maðr hét Þorsteinn, gamall maðr ok sjónlítill, hann hafði verit rauða-víkingr (q. v.) í æsku sinni, Þorst. S.; Þorkell miðlangr, hann er rauðr víkingr ok í missætti við Hákon jarl, Fms. xi. 121; her-víkingr, a pirate, i. 225 (p. 259); víkings efni, víkinga höfðingi, konungr, Eg. 190, Fms. vi. 389, Fas. ii. 132; víkinga lið, Stj.; víkinga skip, skeið, snekkja, Hkr. i. 296, Korm. 236, Fms. i. 289; víkinga bæli, Eg. 251; víkinga rán, Fms. vi. 291; Bera kvað Egil vera víkings-efni … þegar hann hefði aldr til ok honum væri fengin herskip, Eg. 190 (and the following verse—þat mælti mín móðir, at mér skyldi kaupa fley ok fagrar árar, fara í hring með víkingum …); af Gizori má göra þrjá menn, hann má vera víkinga höfðingi …, þá má hann ok vera konungr …, með þriðja hætti má hann vera biskup, ok er hann bezt til þess fallinn af þessum þremr, Fms. vi. 389: on Swed. Runic stones, sá var víkinga-vörðr með Gauti, Baut. 267; allir víkingar, Brocm. 197. Of old poems the Hkv. Hund. well illustrates the life and warfare of Vikings of the 9th and 10th centuries, where also the word itself occurs (verpr vígroða um víkinga); as also vinr víkinga, in the song in Hervar. S.; víkingr Dana, Helr. 11; the saying, víkingar fara ekki at lögum.

2. in after times the word fell into discredit, and is used, esp. in eccl. legends, as = robber, being applied by a misnomer even to highwaymen, Stj. passim; víkingsins Alexandri, Al. 98; Besso þeim vánda víkingi, 122; víkinga dráp, Grett. 100; þessum vansignaða víkingi, Stj. 463 (of Goliath), so in Grág. ii. 136; or even in the Landn., Þorbjörn bitra hét maðr, hann var v. ok íllmenni, 159. For the laws of the ancient Vikings, their discipline and manners, see esp. Hálfs S. ch. 10, Jómsvík. ch. 24 (Fms. xi), Flóam. S. ch. 2, Vd. ch. 2, Yngl. S. ch. 34, 41, Eg. ch. 48, Ó. T. (Hkr.) ch. 101, 102, Ó. H. ch. 21, the Orkn. S. (Sweyn Asleifson) ch. 115, Þorvalds S. Víðf. ch. 1 (Bs. i. 36, 37): records of their wars and voyages, the Landn. passim, the first chapters of Eg., Eb., Ld., Grett., Orkn., Hkr. i. passim.

II. Víkingr, a pr. name, Landn. and several times on the Swed. Runic stones; cp. Súð-víkingr, a man from Súðavík, Bs.

(gen. -rs or -s, pl. -rar or -ar), m. apple-tree.

* * *

rs, m. pl. rar, [O. H. G. aphaltrâ; A. S. apuldre; Dan. abild; Swed. apel], doubtless a southern word, the inflective syllable dr being a mutilation of ‘tré,’ arbor, a word now almost extinct in Germany, (for a homely, common word such as ‘tré’ could not have been corrupted in the native tongue);—apaldr thus, etymologically as well as properly, means an apple-tree; fruits and fruit-trees were doubtless imported into Scandinavia from abroad; the word appears only in the later heroic poems, such as the Hkv. Hjörv. 6; the verses in Sdm. 5 are in a different metre from the rest of the poem, and probably interpolated, Fas. i. 120; epli á apaldri, Sks. 106; tveir apaldar (with the radical r dropped), Fas. iii. 60; apaldrs flúr, Karl. 200, 311: as the etymological sense in the transmuted word soon got lost, a fresh pleonastic compound was made, viz. apaldrs-tré.

COMPDS: apaldrsgarðr, apaldrsklubba, apaldrstré.

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

* * *

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.

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.

1) half-past three o’clock, p. m. (var þat nær e. dags);

2) time of three hours (þá er þógn hafði verit nær hálfa e.).

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eykð, f. three or half-past three o’clock P. M.; many commentaries have been written upon this word, as by Pal Vídalín Skýr., Finn Johnson in H. E. i. 153 sqq. note 6, and in Horologium, etc. The time of eykð is clearly defined in K. Þ. K. 92 as the time when the sun has past two parts of the ‘útsuðr’ (q. v.) and has one part left, that is to say, half-past three o’clock P. M.: it thus nearly coincides with the eccl. Lat. nona (three o’clock P. M.); and both eykt and nona are therefore used indiscriminately in some passages. Sunset at the time of ‘eykð’ is opposed to sunrise at the time of ‘dagmál,’ q. v. In Norway ‘ykt’ means a luncheon taken about half-past three o’clock. But the passage in Edda—that autumn ends and winter begins at sunset at the time of eykt—confounded the commentators, who believed it to refer to the conventional Icel. winter, which (in the old style) begins with the middle of October, and lasts six months. In the latitude of Reykholt—the residence of Snorri—the sun at this time sets about half-past four. Upon this statement the commentators have based their reasoning both in regard to dagmál and eykt, placing the eykt at half-past four P. M. and dagmál at half-past seven A. M., although this contradicts the definition of these terms in the law. The passage in Edda probably came from a foreign source, and refers not to the Icel. winter but to the astronomical winter, viz. the winter solstice or the shortest day; for sunset at half-past three is suited not to Icel., but to the latitude of Scotland and the southern parts of Scandinavia. The word is also curious from its bearing upon the discovery of America by the ancients, vide Fb. l. c. This sense ( half-past three) is now obsolete in Icel., but eykt is in freq. use in the sense of trihorium, a time of three hours; whereas in the oldest Sagas no passage has been found bearing this sense,—the Bs. i. 385, 446, and Hem. l. c. are of the 13th and 14th centuries. In Norway ykt is freq. used metaph. of all the four meal times in the day, morning-ykt, midday-ykt, afternoon-ykt (or ykt proper), and even-ykt. In old MSS. (Grág., K. Þ. K., Hem., Heið. S.) this word is always spelt eykð or eykþ, shewing the root to be ‘auk’ with the fem. inflex. added; it probably first meant the eke-meal, answering to Engl. lunch, and thence came to mean the time of day at which this meal was taken. The eccl. law dilates upon the word, as the Sabbath was to begin at ‘hora nona;’ hence the phrase, eykt-helgr dagr (vide below). The word can have no relation to átta, eight, or átt, plaga coeli. At present Icel. say, at eykta-mótum, adv. at great intervals, once an eykt, once in three hours.

I. half-past three; þá er eykð er útsuðrs-átt er deild í þriðjunga, ok hefir sól gengna tvá hluti en einn ógenginn, K. Þ. K. 92; net skal öll upp taka fyrir eykð, 90; helgan dag eptir eykð, 88; ef þeir hafa unnit á eykð, 94; enda skal hann undan honum hafa boðit fyrir miðjan dag en hinn skal hafa kosit at eykþ, Grág. i. 198; ok á maðr kost at stefna fyrir eykþ ef vill, 395; í þat mund dags er tók út eyktina, Fms. xi. 136; eptir eykt dags, rendering of the Lat. ‘vix decima parte diei reliqua,’ Róm. 313; þeir gengu til eyktar, ok höfðu farit árla morguns, en er nón var dags, etc., Fs. 176; at eykð dags þá kómu heim húskarlar Barða. Ísl. ii. 329; nú vættir mik at þar komi þér nær eykð dags, 345; var þat nær eykð dags, 349; var hón at veraldligu verki þangat til er kom eykð, þá fór hón til bænar sinnar at nóni, Hom. (St.) 59.

COMPDS: eykðarhelgr, eyktarstaðr, eykðartíð.

II. trihorium; en er liðin var nær ein eykt dags, Bs. i. 446; at þat mundi verit hafa meir en hálf eykt, er hann vissi ekki til sín, 385; þessi flaug vanst um eina eykð dags, Hem. (Hb.)

a. pleasant (frýnlooking), inviting (only with negative, cf. úfrýnn).

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or frýniligr, adj.; this word is never used but as compounded with the prefix ú- (except Fas. ii. 351 in a bad and late Saga), viz. ú-frýnn or ú-frýniligr = frowning. The sense as well as the etymology of frýnn is somewhat dubious; there is the Germ. fron or frohn or fran; but that word seems purely German and is by Grimm supposed to be qs. fro min = my lord (vide Hel.); neither does Icel. frýnn or Germ. frohn correspond properly as to the root vowel (cp. e. g. Germ. lohn = Icel. laun): on the other hand there is the Engl. frown, which in form answers to the simple frýnn, but in sense to the compd ú-frýnn; as no similar word is found in A. S. (nor in Germ. nor in Hel.), frown is most likely a Scandin. word; and we suppose that the Icel. prefix syllable ú- is not in this instance = un-, that is to say, negative, but = of-, that is to say, intensive (= too, very, greatly); the original forms of-frýnn, of-frýniligr were contr. and assimilated into ófrýnn, ófrýniligr, meaning very frowning, and these compds then superseded the primitive simple word: this is confirmed by the freq. spelling in MSS. with ‘ of-’ e. g. ofrynn, Ó. H. 144; all-ofrynn, Eg. Cod. Wolph.; heldr ofrynn, Ó. H. 167; but yet more freq. with ‘ú-’ e. g. Orkn. 440, Boll. 358, Fær. 50, Fms. i. 40, Fb. i. 73; the ekki frýnn, Fas. l. c., is again a variation of úfrýnn: the statement by Björn that frýnn is = bland, affable, is a mere guess by inference from the compd.

m. (and n.), God.

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m.; the plur. used to render the Lat. dii is guðir; [for etymology and changes of this word see p. 207]:—God.

A. Though the primitive form Goð rhymes with boð ( bidding), stoð ( help), and many other words, the second form Guð rhymes with no single word, so that in hymns the poets are wont to use incomplete rhymes, as brauð ( bread), nauð ( need); and exact rhymes can only be obtained by the last syllables of derivatives, e. g. Iðranin blíðkar aptur Guð | ei verður syndin tilreiknuð, Pass. 40. 4; or Upphaf alls mesta ófögn uðs | áklögun ströng og reiði Guðs, 3. 14; Svo er nú syndin innsigluð | iðrandi sála kvitt við Guð, 50. 14; but these rhyme-syllables can only occur in trisyllabic words (Gramm. p. xv):—the following are examples of incomplete rhymes, Vinir þér enga veittu stoð | svo vinskap fengi eg við sannan Guð, Pass. 3. 7; Föðurlegt hjarta hefir Guð | við hvern sem líðr kross og nauð, 3. 16; Herra minn þú varst hulinn Guð | þá hæðni leiðst og krossins nauð, 40. 16; as also in the hymn, Til þín Heilagi Herra Guð | hef eg lypt sálu minni | af hug og hjarta í hverri neyð | hjástoð treystandi þinni, Hólabók 108, rendering of Ps. xxv; Luther’s hymn, Ein feste burg ist unser Gott, is in the Icel. rendering, Óvinnanlig borg er vor Guð | ágæta skjöldr og verja | hann frelsar oss af allri nauð, Hólabók 182; Fyrir valtan veraldar auð | set þína trú á sannan Guð | sem allt skapaði fyrir sitt boð, 208 (in Hans Sachs’ hymn); hugsjúkir eta harma brauð | hollari fæðu gefr Guð | sér ljúfum þá þeir sofa, 124, Ps. cxxvii. 2.

B. PHRASES:—Guðs ást, Guðs elska, the love of God; Guðs gata, the way of God, 625. 87; Guðs gæðska, Guðs náð, the grace, goodness of God; Guðs miskunn, Guðs mildi, the mercy of God; Guðs ótti, the fear of God; Guðs gjöf, God’s gift; Guði friðr, the peace of God; Guðs hús, the house of God; Guðs musteri, the temple of God; Guðs orð, the word of God; and in popular usage, Guðsorða-bók, ‘God’s word-book,’ i. e. a religious book, not only of the Bible, but generally of hymns, sermons, etc., opp. to historical or secular books, sögu-bækr; Guðs maðr, a man of God, Stj. passim; Guðs ríki, the kingdom of God; Guðs Kristni, the Church of God, 625. 82; Guðs vin, God’s friend, Fms. i. 139; Guðs þjónn, God’s servant; Guðs þræll, the thrall of God, Greg. 54, Bs. i. 638; Guðs Sonr, the Son of God; Guðs trú, faith in God; Guðs þjónusta, Divine service (in Papal times the mass), K. Á. 36; of the sacrament, Bs. i. 638; Guðs akr, Germ. Gottes acker, ‘God’s acre,’ a churchyard; Guðs kista, God’s chest, the temple-treasury, Mark xii. 41; Guðs líkami = Corpus Domini, K. Á. 38; Guðs móðir, God’s mother (the Virgin Mary):—in Papal times, Guðs eign, God’s property = church glebes; Guðs lög, God’s law, i. e. the ecclesiastical law, as opp. to lands lög, the law of the land, i. e. the secular or civil law, K. Á. ch. 9, (for an interesting note upon this subject vide H. E. i. 133, note b); Guðs réttr, God’s right, i. e. ecclesiastical right, Fms. vii. 305; Guðs þakkir, ‘God’s thanks,’ charity, Grág. i. 222, K. Þ. K. 142, Hom. 34; whence the popular contracted form gustuk, a charity, pittance, in such phrases as, það er ekki gustuk, ‘tis no charity, ‘tis a pity, e. g. of dealing harshly with the poor; gustuka-verk, a work of charity; göra e-t í gustuka skyni, to do a thing as a charity: in former times the phrases Guðs þakkir and sálu-gjafir (soul’s gifts) were synonymous, including not only gifts to churches, clergy, and the poor, but also the building of bridges, erecting hostelries, especially in desert places, and the like, whence the words, sælu-brú, soul’s bridge; sælu-hús, soul’s house.

2. in Icel. many sayings referring to the name of God are still household words, e. g. in entering a house, as a greeting, hér sé Guð, God be here! (from Luke x. 5): in returning thanks, Guðs ást, God’s love! Guð laun or Guð laun’ fyrir mig, God’s reward! Germ. vergelt’s Gott! or gefið þið í Guðs friði! to which the reply is, Guð blessi þig, God bless thee ! (which is also the answer to a greeting or to thanks); Guðs friði! or vertu í Guðs friði, be in God’s peace! is the usual farewell; and the answer is, Guð veri með þér, God be with thee! Guð hjálpi þér, God help thee! Germ. helf Gott! Engl. God bless you! (to one sneezing); Guð varðveiti þig, God ward thee! (to one playing with dangerous things); biddu Guð fyrir þér! (denoting wonder), pray God! gáðu að Guði, heed God! take heed! fyrir Guðs skuld, for God’s sake! ef Guð lofar, proncd. as one word (ef-guðlogar, changing f into g), God willing, a common phrase when speaking of plans for the future, eg skal koma á morgun, ef-guðlogar, I will come to-morrow, God willing (from James iv. 13–15), occurs in Skálda (Thorodd) 165, as also, ef Guð vill, if God will (less freq.); Guði sé lof, God be praised! Guð gæfi, God grant! Guðs mildi, by God’s grace; það var mesta Guðs mildi hann slasaði sig ekki; Guð gefi þér góðan dag, Guð gefi þér góðar nætr, whence abbreviated góðan dag, good day; góðar nætr, good night: the sayings, sá er ekki einn sem Guð er með; and þann má ekki kefja sem Guð vill hefja, Fb. iii. 408; eitthvað þeim til líknar legst, sem ljúfr Guð vill bjarga.

1) token, proof (of a thing);

hafa e-t til jartegna, to use as a token or evidence;

vera til jartegna, to serve as a token;

2) miracle.

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or jartein, later form jarteikn or even jarðteikn, but not so in good MSS.; in Thom. S. even spelt hjartegn; jargtegn (badly), Fms. xi. 38: that the syllable tein was sounded guttural is also shewn by the rhyme, slíks eru jarteignir, Eb. (in a verse); and fr egnar jart egnir, Leiðarv. 6; but also hr ein … jart einir, 36: in the Rekst. the former syllable jart is rhymed on bjart: [Hel. word-têkan, O. H. G. and mid. H. G. wort-zeichen shew the true etymology to be word-token, whence, by a false etymology, arose the mid. H. G. and mod. Germ. war-zeichen; in the Scandin. the w was changed into j, Dan. jertegn, Grimm’s Gramm. ii. 481, note; the word is however scarcely genuine Scandinavian, although it occurs in poems of the former part of the 11th century, e. g. the Rekst., as also in Eb. in the Hrafnsmál; but it is freq. used in the Sagas]:

I. a token, a ring, knife, belt, sword, or the like; properly, ‘a word’s token,’ which a messenger had to produce in proof that his word was true; orð ok jartegnir, orðsending ok jartegnir, Fms. i. 21. Eg. 36. 167, 467, 477; erendi ok j., 472; bréf ok j., Fms. vii. 47, (see bréf); með skilríkum vitnum ok jartegnum, Gþl. 60; senda menn með jartegnum, Eg. 67; fá e-m jartegnir sínar, bera fram jartegnir e-s, 96; bera upp örendi sín ok sýna jartegnir, Ó. H. 53; fingrgull þetta fær þú Rögnvaldi jarli, þær jartegnir mun hann kenna, id.; bar hann fram orðsendingar konungs ok sýndi þat með jartegnum, Eg. 38; þeim er taka vilja við vináttu minni ok jartegnum, Ó. H. 75; vera til jartegna, to be a token or proof of a thing, Eg. 49, 768; hafa e-t til jartegna, use as a token, proof, Sks. 725 B, Fms. viii. 197, Gísl. 97; nú tak hér gullit ok haf til jartegna, Fs. 8; nú er hér gull er þú skalt bera til jarteigna, at ek sendi þik, 7; fluttu sendimenn hér með konungi berar jarteignir af jarli at þeir fóru með sönnum hans eyrendum, Hkr. i. 327; sannar jartegnir, til sannra jartegna at þú segir satt, þá fær þú honum, Fms. iii. 61, Eg. 28, 476; þat eru miklar jartegnir, hve hlyðnir …, it is a great token, how …, Íb. 16; þat vóru jarteinir, at herr var í landi, it served as a token, that …, Fms. i. 167.

II. in sing. as well as plur. a miracle, esp. as a token or proof of the holiness of a saint, Nj. 162, Clem. 47, 59, Fms. vii. 351, xi. 38, Rb. 374, 418, Hkr. ii. 393; þat mun þér þykkja jartein—Þat kalla ek atburð, segir hann, en eigi jartein, Sturl ii. 54; báru jarteinir vitni heilagleik hans, Greg. 57; Guðs jarteinir, Fms. i. 133.

2. a mystery; vita jartegnir ríkis Guðs, Hom. 67 (Mark iv. 11): in mod. usage, N. T., Pass., Vídal., krapta-verk, and not jarteikn.

III. gramm. token, value, of a letter; hafa eitt hljóð ok jartein, Skálda 166 (Thorodd); þeirra stafa má þarnask ef vill í váru máli, þvíat engi er einka jartein þeirra, 167; líkneski, nafn ok j., id.

COMPDS: jarteinabók, jarteinagörð, jarteinakraptr, jarteinamaðr, jarteinarsamliga.