to+remain

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(sit; sat, sátum; setinn), v.

1) to sit, be seated;

hann sat it næsta honum, he sat next him;

sitja upp, to sit erect (þeir létu hann sitja upp í hauginum); to sit at table;

2) to stay, sojourn;

sitja heima, to stay at home (sitr Gunnarr nú heima nökkura hríð);

sitja kyrr, to remain quiet, stay at home;

sitja í festum, to sit as one’s betrothed (of the bride between the betrothal and wedding);

to reside (Haraldr konungr sat optast á Rogalandi);

to sit fishing (þeir vóru komnir á þær vastir, er hann var vanr at sitja);

3) to tarry (gørði liðinu leitt at sitja);

sitja veðrfastr, to lie weather-bound;

4) with acc., sitja e-t ór hendi sér, to let it slip through idleness;

sitja byr ór hendi sér, to miss a fair wind;

5) sitja vel (illa) jörð, to keep one’s estate in good (bad) order;

sitja launþing, to hold a secret meeting;

6) sitja e-t, to put up with, endure (eigi mundu þeir þvílíka skömm eða hneisu setið hafa);

sitja e-m e-t, to submit to, put up with at one’s hand (sitja mönnum skammir ok skapraunir);

er slíkt engum manni sitjanda, it is not to be endured from any man;

7) sitja e-m e-t, to cut one off from (hugðust þeir Sveinn at sitja honum vatn);

8) with preps.:

sitja at e-u, to sit busy with a thing;

sitja at sumbli, to sit at a banquet;

sitja at tafli, to sit at chess;

sitja at fé, nautum, to tend sheep, cattle;

sitja at málum, to sit over a case, debate it;

sitja á stefnu, to be in the chair at a meeting;

sitja á sannindum, to withhold (conceal) the truth;

sitja á sér, to control oneself, keep down one’s temper (Hallgerðr sat mjök á sér um vetrinn);

sitja á svikrædum, svikum við e-n, to plot against one;

sitja fyrir, to be on the spot (úvíst er at vita, hvar úvinir sitja á fleti fyrir);

sitja fyrir e-u, to be a hindrance to (sitja fyrir sœmd e-s);

to be exposed to, have to bear (sitja fyrir hvers manns ámæli);

sitja fyrir ádrykkju e-s, to be one’s drinking-mate;

sitja fyrir svörum, to stand questions, be the spokesman;

sitja fyrir málum, to lead the discussion;

sitja fyrir e-m, to lie in ambush (in wait) for;

sitja hjá e-u, to be present at (sitja hjá ráðagerðum e-s);

to sit idly by (þú munt þó drepa vilja bróður minn, ok er þat skömm, ef ek sit hjá);

sitja inni, to sit in prison;

sitja til e-s, to wait;

er þar til at sitja, we may wait till then;

sitja um e-t, to watch for an opportunity;

þeir sátu um at rengja, they watched to find a flaw in the proceedings;

to plot against (hann sitr um ríki hans);

sitja um líf e-s, to seek one’s life;

sitja um e-n, to lie in wait for, waylay;

sitja um e-u, to be busy with (sitja um nauðsynjamálum);

sitja um borðum, to sit at table;

sitja undir e-u, to be subject to;

sitja yfir e-u, to sit over a thing, be busy with (ekki mun ek lengr yfir þessu sitja);

sitja yfir drykkju, borðum, to sit drinking, at table;

to attend to (sitja yfir málum manna);

sitja yfir kvæðum, to listen to songs;

sitja yfir e-u, to take possession of;

láta slíka sitja yfir váru, to let such persons withhold our property from us;

to bear down (hann sat yfir virðland);

sitja yfir skörðum hlut, to suffer a loss of right;

sitja yfir sjúkum manni, to sit up with (nurse) a sick person, esp. a woman in labour;

9) recipr., sitjast nær, to sit near one another.

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pres. sit; pret. sat, sazt, sat, pl. sátu; subj. sæti; imperat. sit, sittú; part. setinn; with the neg. suff. sit-k-a, I sit not, Hkv. 2. 34: [Ulf. sitan = καθησθαι; A. S. sittan; Engl. sit; Germ. sitzen; Swed. sitta; Dan. sidde; Lat. sedere; Gr. ἔδος, ἔζεσθαι]:—to sit; s. á haugi. Vsp. 34, Þkv. 6, Skm. 11; þeir sátu á vellinum, Nj. 114; þar sem búarnir sitja, 110, Grág. i. 4; konungr sat á hesti, Fms. x. 255, 408; hann sat it næsta honum, Nj. 2; ganga til matar, ok sátu þeir um hríð, Eg. 483; svá vildi hverr maðr sitja ok standa sem hann bauð, … ok var rétt at segja at hann væri bæði konungr ok biskup yfir landinu, Bs. i. 67; s. fyrir, to be on the spot, Hm. 1: in greetings, sit heill! sitið heilir, ‘sit hale,’ be seated and welcome, Fms. x. 201, Ísl. ii. 438; nú sittú heill, Sighvat (Ó. H. in a verse); seggi biðr hann s. í frið, Skíða R. 28; s. at mat, to sit at meat, Fms. x. 378; s. at sumbli, Ls. 10; s. at tafli, to sit at chess, Ísl. ii. 359; s. at fé, s. at nautum, to tend sheep, neat-cattle, Boll. 336, Eg. 714, Sturl. i. 77; s. at málum, to sit over a case, debate it, Ld. 18; s. á stefnu, to be in the chair at a meeting, Ó. H. 85: s. upp, to sit up, sit erect; þeir létu hann s. upp í hauginum, Nj. 118: to sit at table, Jökull sat upp ok orti vísu, Ó. H. 191; gékk konungrinn at sjá þá er upp sátu, who sate at table, Greg. 43; Eyvindr hafði mest forráð at veizlunni, ok sat ekki upp, Orkn. 246; þeim sinnum er jarl sat upp (uppi Ed.) mataðisk sveinninn með honuni, Fms. ix. 245: s. úti, to sit outside (at night), of wizards (úti-seta), Vsp. 21, Orkn. 234, 246; þat er úbóta-verk at s. úti, N. G. L. i. 350; svá segja menn at Gunnhildr, fóstra Hákonar, léti s. úti til sigrs honum … en Þórdís skeggja er sú kona kölluð sem sagt er at úti sæti, Fms. vii. 275.

2. with prepp.; sitja á svikræðum, svikum við e-n, to plot against, Fms. i. 263, ii. 34; sitja á sér, to control, constrain oneself; Hallgerðr sat mjök á sér um vetrinn, Nj. 25; hann gat ekki á sér setið, he could not keep quiet:—s. fyrir e-u, to be exposed to, to have to stand the brunt of; s. fyrir ámæli, hættu, afar-kostum, Nj. 71, Fms. v. 71, vii. 125; s. fyrir svörum, to stand questions, be the spokesman, iv. 274, vi. 13, Ölk. 36, Band. 12; s. fyrir málum, to lead a discussion, Fms. ix. 98; s. fyrir e-m, to sit in ambush (fyrir-sát), Nj. 94, 107. Ld. 218: ellipt., Nj. 94, Eg. 577, 743:—s. hjá, to sit by:—s. til e-s, to watch for; er þar til at sitja, Nj. 103:—s. um e-t, to watch for an opportunity; þeir sátu um at rengja, 242; er ætíð sátu um þat at spilla friðinum, Magn. 464: to plot against, s. um sæmd e-s, Fms. v. 273; hann sitr um ríki hans, 293; s. um líf e-s, to seek one’s life, Ld. 40, Fms. i. 223; s. um e-n, to waylay, Landn. 287, Nj. 131:—s. undir, to sit under one, keep him on one’s knees; s. undir barni, sittu undir mér! s. undir lestri, to ‘sit under’ a preaching; s. undir hlyðni, to be subject to, Sks. 476 B:—s. yfir e-u, to sit over a thing; s. yfir drykkju, Eg. 6; s. yfir sjúkum manni, to sit up with a sick person, Fms. vii. 166, x. 250; esp. with a woman in labour, iv. 32, viii. 8 (yfirsetu-kona = a midwife); also, sitja yfir málum manna, to attend to (as judge), Ó. H. 86, Fms. vii. 60, Nj. 189; ekki er nú tóm at s. yfir kvæðum, to listen to songs, Ísl. ii. 235; s. yfir varningi sínum, to sit over one’s wares, Sks. 28: to superintend, Fms. viii. 5 (Fb. ii. 533): sitja yfir e-u, to take possession of what belongs to another person; at úvinir mínir siti eigi yfir mínu, Ísl. ii. 146, 224; þeir menn hafa setið yfir eignum várum ok ættleifð, Fms. i. 223; sitr nú yfir fé því Atli inn skammi, Eg. 468; hann sat yfir virðingu allra höfðingja, Nj. 173; s. yfir hlut e-s, 89, Ld. 66, Eg. 512: s. yfir skörðum hlut, to suffer a loss of right, Ld. 266.

II. to abide, stay, sojourn; sitja heima, to stay at home; sitr Gunnarr nú heima nokkuta hríð, Nj. 106; s. heima sem dóttir (heima-sæta); s. heima sem mær til kosta, Sams. S. 6; sat hann þar hálfan mánuð, Nj. 106; þat var engi siðr at s. lengr en þrjár nætr at kynni, Eg. 698; viku var at boðinu setið, Ld. 200; í slíkum fagnaði sem þeir sátu, Fms. x. 260; hann sat at Gufuskálum inn þriðja vetr, Eg. 592; setið hefir þú svá nær, at þú mættir hafa hefnt þessa, Nj. 178; sátu þingmenn Runólfs í hverju húsi, Bs. i. 20; s. kyrr, to remain quiet, stay at home, Grág. i. 163; s. í festum, of a betrothed woman between the espousals and the wedding, Nj. 4: to reside, Haraldr konungr sat optast á Rogalandi, Eg. 367, Nj. 268, Fms. i. 23, Ver. 60: s. at löndum, to reign, Hkr. ii. 3; s. at búum sínum, Fs. 12; sitja búðsetu, to live in a booth, Grág. i. 187, ii. 71; s. strandsetri, to live on the coast(fishing), i. 263, 290; s. slímu-setri, to hang on to a place, living upon other people, Gþl. 200, N. G. L. i. 70; þér munut þurrt hafa um setið allar vitundir, had no part nor knowledge of it, Sturl. iii. 261: to stay, answer not to a call, Grág. i. 447; nú sitr einn hverr lengr niðri, N. G. L. i. 40; s. um stefnu, 344; ef hann sitr svá þrjá vetr at hann geldr eigi tíund sína rétta, K. Á. 94; s. hjá e-u, to be neutral, take no part; hann hafði áðr setið hj;á málum þessum, Lv. 9, Ísl. ii. 267, Nj. 84, 97; þú lætr þá menn s. hjá kyrra, remain undisturbed, Ld. 258; s. hjá fé, to tend sheep.

2. a fishing term, to sit fishing on a mið, q. v.; á þær vastir er hann var vanr at s. ok draga flata fiska … þeir váru komnir svá langt út, at hætt var at s. útarr fyrir Miðgarðs-ormi, Edda 35.

3. to tarry; görði liðinu leitt at sitja, Fms. x. 344; s. veðr-fastr, to lie weather-bound, Eg. 482; s. í díblissu, to sit in a dungeon, Fms. ix. 219; s. kyrr, Grág. i. 163; s. fyrir, to remain sitting, Fms. v. 66; sitja til járns, to sit preparing for the ordeal, 308, 311; s. fyrir ádrykkju e-s, to be one’s cup-mate, Eg. 253.

III. with acc.; sitju e-t ór hendi sér, to ‘sit a thing out of one’s hands,’ let it slip through idleness, Fms. v. 276: mod., s. e-t af sér, id.; skulut ér ekki sitja byri því heldr, miss a fair wind, vi. 358; þegjandi sitr þetta Þórir jarl á Mæri, Orkn. (in a verse); hafði annat bréf komit til Lopts á sama sumri, ok sat hann bæði (acc.), he ‘sate it off,’ i. e. did not answer to the call, Bs. i. 726; (so in mod. usage, s. e-n af stokki, to ‘sit him off,’ wait till he is gone;) sátu margir af sínum hestum, many ‘sate off’ dismounted from, their horses, Fms. vi. 211; sitja rétti sínum, to remain inactive until one’s right is prescribed, Grág. ii. 91, K. Þ. K. 26.

2. sitja vel (ílla) jörð, to keep one’s estate in good (bad) order; sal hann þann bæ vel, Brandkr. 57; þessi jörð er vel setin; sátu þessir allir brullaup sitt í Gautavík, Vígl. 33; s. launþing, to hold a secret meeting, Fms. xi. 219.

3. sitja e-t, to put up with an injury; eigi mundu þeir þvilíka skömm eðr hneisu setið hafa, Ísl. ii. 338; þykkisk hann þá lengr hafa setið Sveini þann hlut er hann mundi eigi öðrum þola, Fms. xi. 62; menn munu þat eigi s. þér, ef þú meiðir fé manna, Glúm. 342; s. mönnum slíkar hneisur, Ld. 278; s. mönnum skammir ok skapraunir, Fms. ii. 14; s. e-m frýju, Hkr. iii. 397; er slíkt engum manni sitjanda (gerund.), ‘tis not to be endured from any man, Korm. 162.

4. to cut one off from; fyrr munu þér svelta í hel, enn þér sitið oss mat, Fms. vi. 152; hugðusk þeir Sveinn at s. honum vatn, x. 407; ok mundi svá ætla at s. þeim mat þar í Eyjunum, Orkn. 410.

IV. reflex. in recipr. sense; þeir skulu svá nær sitjask ( sit so near one another) at hvárir-tveggi nemi orð annarra, Grág. i. 69; er mér lítið um at hætta til lengr at þit sitisk svá nær, Ld. 158.

2. part., nú mun eigi mega sitjanda hlut í eiga, there is no time to rest, Nj. 110.

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(stend; stóð, stóðum; staðinn), v.

1) to stand, opp. to sitja or liggja (hann stóð við vegginn);

koma standandi niðr, to come down on one’s feet;

skal mik niðr setja standanda, in a standing position;

standa fast, to stand fast;

standa höllum fœti, to stand slanting;

2) to stand, stick (G. skaut svá fast niðr skildinum, at hann stóð fastr í jörðunni);

sveininum stóð fiskbein í hálsi, the bone stuck in his throat;

3) to stand, remain;

borð stóðu, stood, were not removed;

4) to stand, be situated (bœr einn stóð skamt frá þeim);

5) to stand still, rest, pause (stóð þá kyrrt nökkura hríð);

verðr hér fyrst at standa sagan, the story must stop here for the present;

6) to last (hafði lengi staðit bardaginn);

7) to befit, become (konungr kvað þat eigi standa, at menn lægi svá);

ekki stendr þér slíkt, it does not befit thee;

8) to stand in a certain way, project, trend (fjögur horn ok stóðu fagrt, hit þriðja stóð í lopt upp);

stendr inn straumrinn, the tide (current) stands in;

blóðbogi stóð ór hvárutveggja eyranu, a stream of blood gushed out of both his ears;

kallar hann betr standa veðrit at fara landhallt, that the wind stands better for making land;

stóð vindr af landi, the wind blew from the land;

standa grunnt, to be shallow (vinátta okkur stendr grunnt);

9) to touch;

standa grunn, to stick on the ground (örkin stóð grunn);

10) to catch, overtake (hann drap menn Eiríks konungs, hvar sem hann stóð þá);

standa e-n at e-u, to catch one doing a thing (ef maðr verðr at því staðinn, at hann meiðir smala manna);

11) to stand, endure, bear (standa e-t or e-u);

12) to press, urge, trouble (elli stóð Hárek);

hvat stendr þik, what ails thee?

13) to weigh so much (gullhringr, er stóð mörk);

14) to stand by one, side with one, with dat.;

mikils er vert, hversu fast N. stendr þér um alla ráðagerð, how close N. stands by thee in all counsel;

15) with preps.:

standa af e-u, to proceed from, be caused by (opt stendr illt af kvenna hjali);

vil ok ek eigi, at af mér standi brigð okkarrar vináttu, nor do I wish to be the cause of a breach in our friendship;

standa af e-u við e-n, to give up, cede to one;

impers., segir hann honum, hvernig af stóð um ferð hans, how the matter stood as to his journey;

standa at e-m, to attack (var við sjálft, at þeir mundu standa at prestinum);

to stand by one, on one’s side (ek veit eigi víst, hvaðan G. inn ríki stendr at);

standa á e-u, to stand on, insist on (statt ei á því, er þér er bannat);

impers., stendr á illu einu með þeim, they are on very bad terms;

standa á e-m, to hang over one (sú skóggangssök, er á þér stendr); to refer to (þat heilræði stóð upp á þenna sama sendiboða);

standa eptir, to remain, be left;

standa fyrir e-u, to stand in the way of (þeir kváðu geip hennar ekki skyldu standa fyrir þingreið þeira);

standa e-m fyrir þrifum, to stand in the way of one’s thriving;

to stand before one, protect one (vér skulum Egil af lífi taka, en hlífa engum, er fyrir honum vill standa);

standa hjá e-m, to stand by one, assist one;

standa í e-u, to be engaged in, busied with (standa í bardögum, einvígum, málum, kvánbœnum);

impers., stendr í deilu með þeim, there is a quarrel between them;

standa með blóma, to be in a flourishing condition;

standa móti (á móti, í móti) e-u, to stand against;

standa saman, to stand together, be gathered, amassed (þar stóð auðr mikill saman);

standa til e-s, to tend towards;

standa til umbótar, to stand for mending, need it;

sem bœn yður stendr til, as your prayer tends to;

eptir þeim efnum, sem honum þœtti til standa, according to the merits of the case;

eptir því sem lög stóðu til, as the law was (taka þeir allir við bótum, sem lög stóðu til);

impers., stendr til e-s, it is to be expected, feared (til langra meina mun standa, ef);

standa e-m til e-s, to assist, help one (B. segir, hversu Ó. hafði honum til staðit);

standa undan, to be lacking (mikit stendr undan við hann í vinfenginu);

standa vel undir e-t, to support well, back it up well (munu margir vel undir þat standa);

standa undir e-m, to be in one’s possession, keeping (féit stendr undir honum);

standa upp, to stand up from a seat (þá stóð S. upp ok mælti hátt); to rise from bed (standa upp ok klæðast); to be left standing (fimm einir menn stóðu upp á skipinu);

standa uppi, to be left standing (K. hinn auðgi flýði ok allt lið hans, þat er uppi stóð; hús þau, er uppi stóðu);

to be laid up ashore, of a ship (stigu þeir á skip þat, er þar hafði uppi staðit um vetrinn);

of a corpse, to lie on the bier (lík Kjartans stóð uppi í viku í Hjarðarholti);

of a bow, to be kept bent (boginn má eigi einart uppi standa);

standa við e-u, to withstand (víkingar svá harðfengir, at ekki stendr við);

impers., stendr við e-t, it is on the verge of (þeir áttu svá harða leika, at við meiðingar stóð);

standa yfir e-u, to be present at (heldr vildi hann þenna kjósa en standa yfir drápi Þorgils frænda síns); to extend (þar er þeira ríki stendr yfir);

standa yfir, to stand over, last (hversu lengi skal fjárbón sjá yfir standa?);

í þessum griðum ok svardögum, sem yfir standa, which now stand, are in force;

16) refl., standast.

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pres. stend, stendr, stöndum, standit, standa; pret. stóð, stótt, stóttú (mod. stóðst, stóðstú), stóð, pl. stóðum; subj. stæði; imperat. statt, stattú (cp. stand-þú); part. staðinn; pret. infin. stóðu = stelisse, Fms. vi. (in a verse); a medial form, pres. stöndumk (= stat mihi), Fm. 1. Kormak; pret. stóðumk (= stabant mihi), Hm. 106: with neg. suff. stóð-k-at, Fas. iii. 22 (in a verse). [Common to all Indo-Germ. languages.]

A. To stand; þó at hann gangi eðr standi áðr, Grág. ii. 95; hann stóð við vegginn, … stóð á víxl fótunum, Sturl. ii. 158; standa höllum fæti, Nj. 97; koma standandi niðr, to come down standing (after a leap), 85, Grág. ii. 110; skal mik niðr setja standanda, in a standing position, Ld. 54; munkr er eigi mátti standa á bænum ok reikaði, Greg. 62; standa á götu e-s, Nj. 109; standa fast, to stand fast, 92; standa frammi, to stand, be on one’s feet, Fms. vii. 85; s. fyrir dómstóli keisarans, 656 C. 19; s. fyrir manni, to stand before a man, so as to screen him, Grág. ii. 12. 115, Eg. 357: s. hjá, to stand by, metaph. to assist, Fas. ii. 501: standa nær e-m, to stand near one, metaph. to back, Nj. 76; nær standa vinir Gunnars, 88.

2. to stay; Egill stóð meðan ok beið þeirra, Eg. 483; statt ( stop) ok trú mér, 623. 17.

3. to stand, stick; stóðu spjót þeirra ofan frá þeim, Nj. 253; at hann standi fastr í fönninni, 84; skildinum, svá at fastr stóð í vellinum, 262; öxin stóð á hamri, i. e. went through to the back, and stuck there, 165; sveininum stóð fiskbein í hálsi, the bone stuck in his throat, Blas. 40; ef nökkurum stendr bein í hálsi, 655 ix. B. 2: absol., það stendr í e-m, it sticks in one’s throat.

4. to stand, remain; borð stóðu, stood, were not removed, Fms. vii. 144; skála þann sem enn stendr í dag, Þórð. 58 new Ed.; svá lengi sem heimrinn stendr, Rb. 64; skyli bú yðr standa ú-rænt, Nj. 208.

5. to stand, be seated, placed;í þeim dal stendr kirkja, Greg. 57; kirkja sú er stendr í Reykja-holti, D. I. i. 476; bær einn stóð skamt frá þeim, Eg. 230; ór þeim sal er und þolli stendr … ask veit ek standa, … stóð fyrir norðan salr, sal veit hón standa, Vsp.; Lissibón stendr á Spáni, Fms. vii. 80; Narbón stendr vid Jórsala-haf, x. 85; öll þau fylki er í hans biskups-ríki stóðu, vii. 300; Illugastaði ok Hrafnagil er standa í Laxárdal, Dipl. v. 17; standa á bók, reikningi, skrá …, [Germ. es steht geschrieben], ii. 12, 13, Bs. i, passim. II. with prepp.; standa á e-u, to stand on, insist on, persevere in; statt eigi á því er þér er bannat, Mirm.; s. á illu ráði, id.; s. á hendi e-m, Nj. 88, Grág. i. 121 (see hönd); mest mundi á fyrir-mönnum standa, Nj. 106: to stand upon, s. á lögum, Js. 41; s. á rétti sínum, … standa á dómi e-s, to stand by, abide by:—s. gegn, á móti, to withstand, Hom. 7, Fms. ii. 36, 225, x. 401:—s. af e-u, to give up, Dan. afstaae, Fb. i. 523:—s. at, to help (at-stoð); hvaðan Guðmundr stendr at, … hvaðan sem hann stendr at, Nj. 214; þeim er þaðan standa at, 193:—s. eptir, to remain, N. G. L. i. 335, Fms. ii. 231, vi. 248, Grág. ii. 301, Eg. 202, Rb. 116, Hom. 12, Stj. 422 (eptir-stöðvar = arrears):—s. fyrir, to stand before, to stand in the way of a thing, Ísl. ii. 262, Fms. vi. 61, Grág. i. 140; s. e-m fyrir þrifum, Fms. ii. 154; s. e-m fyrir gleði, vii. 162; s. e-m fyrir svefni, Gísl. (in a verse); s. e-m fyrir ljósi, to stand in the way of one’s light; láta e-t s. fyrir kaupi, Nj. 17; láta s. fyrir kviðburði, 87; ef afl hefir staðit fyrir kvið þeirra, Grág. i. 53; þat á eigi fyrir málum at s., 106; eiðr Vermundar stóð fyrir, Fbr. 22; járni á hann fyrir at standa, N. G. L. i. 342; s. fyrir með eineiði, 346:—s. í e-u, to be deeply engaged in; s. í bardögum, einvígum, málum, stórmælum, kvánbænum, etc., Eg. 486, Ld. 262, Nj. 53, 224, 227, Ísl. ii. 216; standa í ábirgð, Dipl. v. 24; s. í þjónustu, Mar.:—standa saman, to stand together, put together in one place; þar stóðu saman fé mikil, Eg. 318; stóð úmegð mörg saman, Ísl. ii. 198; þar stóð auðr mikill saman, Ld. 124: to consist, Hom. 2:—s. undir e-u, to be subject to; s. undir prófi, Dipl. i. 6; féit stendr undir honum, is in his keeping, Grág. i. 395: standa undir með e-m, to support, Sturl. i. 20; s. vel undir e-t, to support well, back, Nj. 215, Fms. vii. 125; jarl stóð vel undir hans mál, viii. 282; munu margir vel undir þat s., to back it up well, Ó. H. 52:—standa upp, to stand up from a seat, Nj. 3, Fms. i. 33, x. 401: to rise from bed, Nj. 69, Eg. 121; s. upp fyrir dag, 577; s. upp ok klæðask, Ld. 44; hann liggr sjúkr … þar er standi aldri upp, Nj. 80 (standa upp ór sótt); s. upp með e-m, to rise, join one, Sturl. ii. 203:—s. uppi, of a ship, to be laid up ashore (during the winter), Nj. 259, Ísl. ii. 273: of a corpse, to lie on the bier, Fms. ii. 257, Ám. 101: of a bow, to be kept bent, 623. 19: standa upp, to be standing, be left standing on one’s feet; færri standa upp enn fallnir eru, Fms. xi. 110; stóðu þá enn upp mjök margir á skeiðinni, many still stood up (not dead or wounded), 142; flýði allt lið er upp stóð, Eg. 33; fimm einir menn stóðu upp á skipinu, Orkn. 356 old Ed., (new Ed. 414 l. c. leaves out ‘upp’); meðan ek má upp standa ok vápnum valda, Ld. 170: standa uppi, id., Fms, viii. 139, Hkr. i. 210:—standa við e-u, to withstand, Grág. i. 1, 336 (við-staða); svá harðfengir at ekki stendr við, Nj. 271; svá mikit troll at ekki stendr við honum, Bárð. 177; þeir skutu svá hart, at ekki stóðu við hlífarnar, Fms. i. 173: to stand against, stop, hann stóð við litla stund (við-staða, a pause, halt):—standa yfir, svá lengi sem þingboð stæði yfir, lasted, Fms. ii. 216: hversu lengi skal fjárbón sjá yfir standa? Nj. 141; í þessum griðum ok svardögum sem yfir standa, which now stand, are in force, Fms. xi. 365; þar er þeirra ríki stendr yfir, extends, Eg. 344.

B. Metaph. usage, to stand still, rest, pause; verðr hér fyrst at standa sagan, the story must stop here, Fms. vi. 56: nú skal hér standa um athæfi Varbelgja, ix. 473; skulu sóknir standa, meðan leiðangr er úti, Gþl. 486; útlegðar-sakir skulu eigi standa um várþing, Grág. i. 103; skyldi málit standa um nóttina til rannsaks, Fms. ix. 414; skal þá standa leigan í hross-verðinu, Grág. i. 434; stóð þá kyrrt nokkura hrið, Fms. xi. 397; at svá búit stæði, Nj. 139; eigi mátti svá búit s., Fms. ii. 9; standa með blóma; stendr búit með miklum blóma, Band. 2.

2. to last; Guðs ríki stendr ei ok ei, Hom. 160; ok standa eina þrjá vetr, Sks. 323; þá sjau daga sem veizlan stóð, Stj.; en er þrjár nætr hafði veizlan staðit, Landn. 117; hafði lengi staðit bardaginn, Odd. 18; er deildir várar s. lengr, Eg. 738; stóð mikil deila milli þeirra langa hríð, Fms. x. 169; stóð þetta heimboð nokkut skeið, Nj. 81; meðan erfit stóð, Eb. ch. 54; stóð hennar hagr með þeim hætti, Bs. ii. 166:—to be valid, skal þetta testamentum s. ok haldask, Dipl. iv. 8; ok standa enn þau lög, Ver. 52; um tólf mánaðr stendr þeirra mál, Grág. i. 143; skal þat allt s. ok satt vera, 655 xxvii. 28; hans tala skal s. á fé sjálfs hans, K. Þ. K. 146; má þat eigi s. né fyrir satt halda, Stj. 31; hann mun láta s. boð þessi (stand by it), Nj. 77; þrjú kúgildi þau er standa með jörðunni, Dipl. iii. 8; ekki á Bjarkeyjar-réttr á því máli at standa, this case does not fall under the town jurisdiction, Fms. vii. 130; stendr þat mál ( it extends) um þrjá fjórðunga, Grág. i. 464.

3. to befit, become; konungr kvað þat ekki standa, at menn lægi svá, Fms. x. 157; berr þat eigi né stendr þvílíkum, Stj. 132; hví stalt þú guðum mínum, ekki stendr þér slíkt, 181.

4. phrases, nú stóð í stilli, see stilli; var þat boð með svá miklu kappi, at stóð í stönginni (cp. Dan. saa at det stod efter), Fms. xi. 424; standa í háska, Mar.

5. sem inn átti dagr Jóla standi á Dróttins degi, Rb. 128; en á þeim degi stóð Ólafs messu-aptann, Hom. 111.

II. of direction, to stand in a certain way, project, trend; fjögur horn ok stóðu fagrt, hit þriðja stóð í lopt upp, hit fjórða stóð ór enni, ok niðr fyrir augu honum, Ld. 120; geitar-horn stendr ór höfði henni, Fms. vii. 156; vápn stóðu á Birkibeini svá þykt at varla mátti hann falla, 325; gákk af bryggjunni eðr spjotið stendr á þér, 144; ella hefði spjótið staðit gegnum hann, Nj. 246; blóðbogi stóð ór hváru-tveggja eyranu, 210, Fms. vi. 419; boginn stóð inn um ræfrit, Eg. 239; kallar hann betr standa veðrit, at fara landhallt, the wind stands better for making land, Fms. x. 347; sunnan-vindr hvass ok stóð at virkinu, xi. 34; stóð gnæðingr með fjöllum, Bárð. 171; af íllsku ok úþef þeim er af stóð, Fms. iii. 128; stóð vindr af landi, Vigl. 79 new Ed.; stendr inn straumrinn, Bs. ii. 143: stóð stropinn um kyrtilinn, Clar.; standa grunnt, to be shallow; vinátta okkur stendr grunnt, Eg. 520; stóð hón alla vega jörð, touched the earth. Art.; stafir stórir ok stóðu grunn í ánni, Fb. ii. 19; örkin stóð grunn, stuck to the ground, Stj. 50, Gþl. 460, Grág. ii. 358; þrjár rætr standa; á þrjá vega undir aski Yggdrasils, Gm.; augu yður standa lengra fram, Sturl. iii. 129; finnr konungr at mikit stendr undan við hann í vinfenginu al hendi Sigvalda, Fms. xi. 106; heilræðit stóð á þenna sama sendiboða, referred to him, 433; hvaðan Guðmundr inn ríki stendr, on which side he stands, with whom he sides, Nj. 214.

2. to proceed from, be caused by; eigi standa þin orð af litlu fári, Fas. i. 195; stóð lítil stjórn af honum, Fms. xi. 223; þótti af honum minni ógn standa, Eg. 268; e-m stendr mein, úhapp, útili, íllt, gagn, hjálp … af e-m, 175; guðin rökðu til spádóma at af systkinum þessum mundi þeim mikil mein ok úhapp standa, Edda 18, Nj. 65, Barl. 39; eigi mun svá mikit íllt af þér standa, Nj. 368; opt stendr íllt af kvenna hjali. Gísl. 15: yðr munn vandræði af standa, Nj. 175.

3. standa til, to tend towards; nú stóð áðr til svá mikils váða, at …, Fms. vii. 144; þá stendr þó til meira geigs, xi. 275; standa til umbótar, to stand for mending, need it, Fb. ii. 234; flest frumsmíð stendr til bóta, needs mending; standa til mikils kostnaðar, D. N. ii. 18; sem bæn yður stendr til, tends to, Nj. 192; hvárt honum standi hugr til nökkurrar konu, Ísl. ii. 285; engi ván eða verðleikr stendr til at fáisk, Al. 91; sem bæn yður stendr til, Nj. 192; eptir þeim efnum sem honum þætti til standa, according to the merits of the case, Fms. vii. 60; eptir þvi sem lög stódu til, as the law stood, Nj. 146, Ld. 28; frekari álög en forn lög stæði til, Fms. xi. 224; latari enn líkendi stæði til, 256; fremr enn ritningar stóðu til, tended towards, i. e. warranted, Mar.; líta á mál hans eptir þeim efnum sem honum þætti til standa, as the merits were, Fms. vii. 60; eptir því sem lög stóðu til, Nj. 146, Ld. 28; standa til váða ok auðnar, Fms. x. 271.

III. to catch, overtake; hann drap menn Eiríks konungs hvar sem hann stóð þá, Hkr. i. 91; var hverr drepinn þar er staðinn varð, 107; lét hann ræna hvar sem hann stóð þá, Fms. vii. 181; hörmuðu bæði at þau máttu eigi fá staðit hann, Hom. 120; ef hann er með vátta inni staðinn, Grág. ii. 18; ef maðr tekr fé manns ok vinnr þjófskap at, enda standi hinn hann (acc.) at þvi er fé þat á, svá at handnumit verðr, ok …, 136; hinum er þýfð var í höndum staðin, id.; nú stendr maðr fé sitt þjófstolit í hendi öðrum manni, Gþl. 537.

2. to stand, i. e. to endure or bear; hverr sem fyrir-smár dómarann, ok vill eigi dóm standa, N. G. L. i. 452: to discharge, skal dæma landit þeim manni er varðveizlu stendr, to the man who stands as guardian, Grág. ii. 251; sá er vitna þarf skal standa þeim kost allan, Jb. 358.

3. to press, urge, trouble; ef ofviðri stendr mann, N. G. L. i. 349; Alfhildi stóð sótt, Hkr. ii. 199, Stj. 425; mun þik nú hræðsla standa, Fas. iii. 429; elli stóð Hárek, Ísl. ii. 482; hver fjölskylda sem þik stendr, Fms, xi. 429; segja máttu hvat þik stendr, what urges thee. Mar.; ok vænti af þér mests trausts, því heldr sem mik stendr meirr, Fms. iii. 70; standa mik svá stórar þröngslir, at …, Stj. 495; hvat stendr þik, what ails thee? Grett. 75 new Ed.; hvat stendr þik, Bergr, sagði biskup, Bs. i. 807; því at eins at þeim (þá?) standi ofviðri, N. G. L. i. 371.

4. to be of weight, value; skal hann eigi standa tómr meirr enn átta merkr, Gþl. 524; gullhringr stendr sex aura, mörk, Fms. ii. 246, xi. 204; strútrinn stóð tíu merkr, 77; vættir þær er hver þeirra standi hálfa níundu mörk, Gþl. 523.

C. Reflex. to stand right, be able to stand; steðjaði hann upp yfir törguna ok stóðsk þó, Nj. 144; þar mundir þú eigi hafa staðizk fylgjur þeirra Þorvarðs, Lv. 104; hann druknaði, því hann stóðsk ekki fjölkyngi Ragnars, Bárð. 181.

2. standask e-t, standask áhlaup, Sks. 411; höggum standask fáir, Sks. 411 B; fáir stóðusk honum, þótt fræknir væri, Grett. 87 A; gull stendsk elding, Grág. i. 501; þetta éi var með svá miklum býsnum, at ekki máttu sumir menn betr enn fá staðizk, Fms, xi. 136; var við sjálft at ek mætta eigi standask, x. 331; stóðsk hann eigi ok dó, 623. 33; hví lét Guð þeira freista, þar er hann sá at þau máttu eigi standask, Eluc. 28; at þér standisk jafnvel ef þér sjáit frændr yðra svívirða, Fms. v. 270.

3. to stand, bear, tolerate; hann skekr at honum sverðit, þetta fá þeir eigi staðizk ok hlaupa, Ísl. ii. 364; Kári stóðsk þetta eigi, Nj. 270; Björn stóðsk eigi ámælis-orð Sigmundar, Valla L. 218; standask frýju-orð, Fær. 196.

4. standask við e-m, to stand, be able to withstand; Heiðrekr vá með Tyrfingi ok stóðsk ekki við honum, Fas. i. 526; engi hlutr var svá sterkr at standask mætti fyrir honum. Edda.

5. to be valid; skulut mál hans standask um þá sök, Grág. i. 64; á þeirra dómr at standask, 80; eigu jammikit þeira orð at standask, sem annarra lögréttu-manna, 10; ef þú kemr til konungsins, ok megi þín orð nokkut standask, Fms. xi. 193; hennar orð stóðusk svá mikit, at …, Fas. i. 208; um þat vilda ek at mín at kvæði stæðisk, at …, Eb. 98.

6. of direction, to proceed from; standask af e-m, af henni mun standask allt it ílla, Nj. 49; svá stenzk af um ferð mína, the matter stands so as to my journey; Ólafr sagði jarli hversu af stóðsk um ferð hans, Ld. 112 (hversu af stóð, 340); ekki sagði Kjartan föður sínum hversu af stóðsk um ferð þessa, 208; Gautr segir honum geiniliga allt hversu af stóðsk inn ferðir hans, Fms. iii. 57; svá stendsk af um ferðir mínar, at ek má hér ekki dvelja lengr, vi. 350; eigi veit ek hvernig af stenzk (stennz) um för þína, hvárt þú ferr nökkut í konungs leyfi, Ó. H. 143.

7. a middle form; yfir ok undir stóðumk jötna vegir, the ‘giant-ways’ ( rocks) stood above and below, Hm.; stöndumk hjörr til hjarta, the sword touches me to the heart, Fm. 1.

II. recipr. to stand opposite one another in the same line: to meet, of ends; þat stóðsk á, nesit þvert ok fylking þeirra, Ísl. ii. 326; stóðsk þat á, at Jólin þraut ok lokit var sögunni. Fms. vi. 356; vígin Áskels ok Steingríms skyldi á standask, Rd. 281; stóðsk þat á endum ok ostkistan, Nj. 76; stóðsk þat á endum ok þat er Gunnarr; átti at gjalda, 111; létu þeir þat á endum standask, 120; standask á mót; sandmelr sá er á stendzk ok Seftjörn, Gísl. 23; bær hans stóðsk á ok konungs atsetr, Fas. ii. 63: bíða þess at á stæðisk misganga straumanna ok austan-veðr, Orkn. 266: stendzk heldr í móti með þeim hjónum, they were rather at sixes and sevens, did not agree well, Bjarn. 21: hendingar standask sem næst, to stand as close to one another as possible, Edda (Ht.); tungl þau er næst standask, nearest to one another, Rb. 34, 1812. 56.

III. staðinn = staddr, steadfast, placed, abiding; hvar sem maðr er staðinn, N. G. L. i. 163; vildi hann nú til staðins vita ( knew for certain) hver svör jarl vildi gefa, Vígl. 18.

prep with dat. and acc.;

I. with dat.

1) with verbs of motion, after (ríða, róa, fara, ganga, senda e-m);

2) denoting the aim and object of many verbs;

leita, spyrja, frétta, eptir e-u, to search, ask, inquire after;

líta eptir e-u, to look afler, attend to;

bíða eptir e-u, to wait for;

vaka eptir e-m, to sit up waiting for one;

segja eptir e-m, to report behind one’s back;

3) following the course of a track, road, etc., along;

niðr eptir hálsinum, down the hill;

eptir endilongu, from one end to the other;

eptir miðju, along the middle;

4) after, according to, in accordance with (eptir sið þeirra ok lögum);

hann leiddist eptir fortölum hennar, he was led by her persuasion;

gekk allt eptir því sem H. hafði sagt, according as H. had said;

5) denoting proportion, comparison;

fátt manna eptir því sem hann var vanr, few men in comparison to what he was want to have;

6) with verbs denoting imitation, indulgence, longing after;

láta eptir e-m, to indulge one;

breyta eptir e-m, to imitate;

7) behind (hann leiddi eptir sér hestinn);

fundust eptir þeim írskar bœkr, which they had left behind;

II. with acc.

1) of time, after, in succession to (vár kom eptir vetr);

hvern dag eptir annan, one day after the other;

ár eptir ár, dag eptir dag, year by year, day by day;

eptir þat, after that, thereafter;

2) denoting succession, inheritance;

taka e-t í arf eptir e-n, to inherit from one;

hann tók konungdóm eptir föður sinn, after his father;

vita þá skömm eptir sik, to leave such a bad report;

skaði mikill er eptir menn slíka, there is a great loss in such men;

III. as adv.

1) after;

annat sumar eptir, the second summer after;

um daginn eptir, the day after;

eptir um várit, later during the spring;

eptir koma úsvinnum ráð, the fool is wise when too late;

2) behind;

bíða sitja eptir, to wait, stay behind;

vera, standa eptir, to remain behind, be left;

halda e-u eptir, to keep back;

skammt get ek eptir þinnar æfi, I guess that little is left of thy life;

3) before the rel. part., eptir er = eptir þat er, after (ef maðr, andast á þingi eptir er menn eru á braut farnir);

4) eptir á, afterwards, later on;

in addition.

* * *

better spelt eftir, in common pronunciation ettir, a prep. with dat. and acc. and also used as adv. or ellipt. without a case: an older form ept or eft only occurs in poetry, Skm. 39, 41, Ýt. 2, Edda 91 (in a verse); ept víg, Hkr. i. 349 (in a verse), iii. 50 (Arnór); [cp. Goth. afar; Runic stone in Tune, after; A. S. æft; Engl. after, aft; Swed.-Dan. efter]:—after.

A. WITH DAT., LOC.; with verbs denoting following, pursuing, or the like; hann reið e. þeim, Eg. 149; hann bar merkit eptir honum, he bore the standard after him, 297; róa e. þeim, to pull after them, Ld. 118; þegar e. Kara, on the heels of Kari, Nj. 202; varð ekki e. honum gengit, none went after him, 270.

β. with the notion to fetch; senda e. e-m, to send after one, Eb. 22, Nj. 78, Fms. i. 2; ríða í Hornafjörð e. fé yðru, ride to H. after your things, Nj. 63.

γ. ellipt., viljum vér eigi e. fara, we will not follow after them. Eb. 242; ek mun hlaupa þegar e., Nj. 202.

2. metaph.,

α. with verbs denoting to look, stara, líta, sjá, gá, horfa, mæna, etc. e. e-u, to stare, look after a thing while departing, Ísl. ii. 261: leita, spyrja, frétta etc. e. e-u, to ask, ‘speer,’ seek after a thing, Nj. 75, Eg. 155, 686, Fms. i. 71, x. 148, etc.

β. segja e. e-m, to tell tales, report behind one’s back in a bad sense, 623. 62; þó at ek segða eigi óhapp eptir tengda-mönnum mínum, Sturl. i. 66; sjá e. e-u, to look after, miss a thing, Nj. 75; leggja hug e. e-u, to mind a thing, Ísl. ii. 426; taka e., to mind, mark a thing; ganga e. e-u, to retain a thing, Fms. x. 5.

γ. verbs denoting to expect; bíða, vænta e. e-u, to expect, wait for a thing; vaka e. e-m, to sit up waiting for one, but vaka yfir e-m, to sit up nursing or watching one, cp. Fas. ii. 535.

II. denoting along, in the direction of a track, road, or the like; niðr e. hálsinum, down the hill, Fms. iii. 192; út e. firði, stood out along the firth, i. 37; innar e. höllinni, Nj. 270; upp e. dal, Eb. 232; ofan e. dalnum, Nj. 34; ofan e. eyrunum, 143; upp e. eyrunum, 85; innar e. búðinni, 165; út e. þvertrénu, 202; ofan e. reykinum, Eb. 230; inn e. Skeiðum, 224; inn e. Álptafirði, id.; innar e. ísum, 236; inn e. ísum, 316; út e. ísnum, 236; út e. Hafsbotnum, Orkn. 1; e. endilöngu, from one end to another, Fms. x. 16; e. miðju, along the middle, vii. 89.

2. metaph. after, according to; e. því sem vera ætti, Ld. 66; e. sið þeirra ok lögum, Fms. i. 81; e. þínum fortölum, ii. 32; hann leiddisk e. fortölum hennar, he was led by her persuasion, v. 30; gékk allt e. því sem Hallr hafði sagt, Nj. 256; gékk allt e. því sem honum hafði vitrað verit, all turned out as he had dreamed, Fms. ii. 231; e. minni vísan, i. 71.

β. denoting proportion, comparison; þó eigi e. því sem faðir hans var, yet not like his father, Eg. 702; fátt manna e. því sem hann var vanr, few men in comparison to what he used to have, Sturl. ii. 253; þat var orð á, at þar færi aðrar e., people said that the rest was of one piece, Ld. 168.

γ. with verbs denoting imitation, indulgence, longing after, etc.; lifa e. holdi sínu, to live after the flesh, Hom. 25; lifa e. Guði, 73; lifit e. mér, follow after me, Blas. 45; láta e. e-m, to indulge one; mæla e. e-m, to take one’s part, Nj. 26: breyta e. e-m, to imitate; dæma e. e-m, to give a sentence for one, 150; fylgja e. e-m, to follow after one, N. T.; herma e. e-m, to mimic one’s voice and gesture, as a juggler; mun ek þar e. gera sem þér gerit fyrir, I will do after just as you do before, Nj. 90; hann mælti e. ( he repeated the words) ok stefndi rangt, 35; leika e. e-m, to follow one’s lead; telja e., to grudge; langa e., to long after, Luke xxii. 15.

δ. kalla, heita e. e-m, to name a child after one; kallaði Hákon eptir föður sínum Hákoni, Fms. i. 14; kallaðr e. Mýrkjartani móður-föður sínum, Ld. 108: lcel. now make a distinction, heita í höfuðit á e-m, of a living person, and heita e. e-m, of one deceased.

III. denoting behind; fundusk e. þeim Írskar bækr, Irish books were found which they had left behind, Landn. (pref.), Fms. xi. 410; draga þik blindan e. sér, vi. 323; bera e-t e. sér, to drag behind one; hann leiddi e. sér hestinn, he led the horse after him, Eg. 766.

β. as an adv., þá er eigi hins verra e. ván er slíkt ferr fyrir, what worse can come after, when such things went before? Nj. 34.

2. but chiefly ellipt. or adverb.; láta e., to leave behind, Sturl. i. 60; sitja e., to sit, stay behind, Fms. i. 66; bíða e., to stay behind; vera e., Grett. 36 new Ed., Bs. i. 21; standa e., to stay behind, remain, be left, Fms. ii. 231, vi. 248; dveljask e., to delay, stop, Sturl. ii. 253; leggja e., to lay behind, but liggja e., to lie behind, i. e. be left, Karl. 439; eiga e., to have to do, Nj. 56; ef ekki verðr e., if naught remain behind, Rb. 126; skammt get ek e., þinnar æfi, I guess that little is left of thy life, Nj. 182; þau bjoggu þar e., they remained, stayed there. 25.

B. WITH ACC., TEMP, after; vetri e. fall Ólafs, Eb. (fine); sextán vetrum e. dráp Eadmundar konungs …, vetrum e. andlát Gregorii, … e. burð Christi, Íb. 18; e. fall jarls, Eg. 297; e. verk þessi, Nj. 85: esp. immediately after, var kom e. vetr, spring came after winter, Eg. 260; hvern dag e. annan, one day after another, Hom. 158; ár e. ár, year after year, Rb. 292; dag e. dag, day after day, Fms. ii. 231; e. þat, or e. þetta, after that, Lat. deinde, deinceps, Nj. 151, Eb. 58, Bs. i. 5, etc. etc.; e. þingit, after the meeting, Eb. 108; e. sætt Eyrbyggja, 252.

2. denoting succession, inheritance, remembrance, etc.; eptir in this sense is frequent on the Runic stones, to the memory of, after; hón á arf allan e. mik, Nj. 3; tekit í arf e. föður þinn, inherited after thy father, Fms. i. 256; ef skapbætendr eru eigi til e. bauga, i. e. to receive the weregild, Grág. ii. 184; þeir er sektar-fé eiga at taka e. þik, Nj. 230; tók konungdóm e. föður sinn, took the kingdom after his father, Fms. i. 2; Þorkell tók lögsögu e. Þórarinn, Thorkel took the speakership after Thorarin, Íb. ch. 5, cp. ch. 8, 10: metaph., vita þá skömm e. sik, to know that shame [ will be] after one, i. e. leave such a bad report, Ld. 222; skaði mikill er e. menn slíka, there is a great loss in such men, Eg. 93; hann fastaði karföstu e. son sinn, he fasted the lenten fast after his son’s death, Sturl. ii. 231; sonr … e. genginn guma, a son to succeed his deceased father, Hm. 71; mæla e. en, or eiga vígsmál (eptir-mál) e. e-n, to conduct the suit after one if slain, Nj. 254 (freq.), hence eptir-mál; eptir víg Arnkels vóru konur til erfðar ok aðildar, Eb. 194; í hefnd e. e-n, to revenge one’s death, Nj. 118; heimta gjöld e. menn sína, to claim weregild, Fms. viii. 199.

β. the phrase, vera e. sig, to be weary after great exertion.

II. used as adv. after; síðan e. á öðrum degi, on the second day thereafter, Hom. 116: síðan e., Lat. deinceps, Fms. x. 210; um várit e., the spring after, Eb. 125 new Ed.; annat sumar e., the second summer after, Nj. 14; annat haust e., Eb. 184; annan dag e., the second day after, Nj. 3; um daginn e., the day after, Fms. vii. 153, Bs. i. 21; næsta mánuð e., Rb. 126.

β. by placing the adverb. prep. at the beginning the sense becomes different, later; e. um várit, later during the spring, Eb. 98.

III. used adverb. with the relat. particles er, at; e. er, Lat. postquam, Grág. i. 10; e. at, id., K. Þ. K. 32.

β. eptir á, afterward; the proverb, eptir (mod. eptir á) koma ósvinnum ráð í hug, the fool is wise too late, Vápn. 17, Fas. i. 98; eptir á, kvað hinn …, ‘ after a bit,’ quoth the …, (a proverb.)

* * *

(er; var, várum or vórum; verit), v.

1) to be, exist; þeir menn vóru, er, there were men who;

2) to be, happen; þat var, at hón fór brott, so it was that she went away; en er váraði, var þar búskortr, there was scarcity in the household; hvat er henni, what is the matter with her! þat var einn dag, at, it happened one day that; kann (má) v., at, it is possible, it may be that;

3) to last; meðan þingit væri, while the Thing lasted;

4) láta e-n v., to leave one alone (lát mik v. ok ger mér ekki illt); bað hann láta v., begged him to leave it undone, not to do it;

5) to dwell, stay; hann bað hana vera í búð sinni, he asked her to stay in his booth; hann var á Höskuldsstöðum um nótt, he passed a night at H.;

6) with infin., hlymr var at heyra, a clattering was to be heard; þar var at sjá, there was to be seen; v. at gera e-t, to be doing a thing; kvað hann v. at telja silfr, said he was counting the money; denoting necessity, a thing about to happen, or to be done; nú er þeim út at ganga öllum, er leyft er, now all those must go out to whom leave is given; er nú eigi Kára at varast, now there is no need to beware of K.; nú er þar til máls at taka, at, now it is to be told that; nú er at segja frá Skamkatli, now we must tell of S.;

7) with a predicate (noun, a., or adv.); v. konungr, Jarl, biskup, to be king, earl, bishop; v. glaðr, sæll, hryggr, ungr, gamall, to be glad, happy, sad, young, old; v. vel, illa til e-s, to be well, ill-disposed towards one; þat er illa, it is sad; vera spakliga í heraði, to behave gently; orð kvað þá Vingi þats án veri, words which he had better not have said;

8) impers., e-m er varmt, heitt, kalt, one is warm, cold;

9) with past participles in passive sense; v. kallaðr, sagðr, tekinn, to be called, said, taken;

10) with preps., v. af e-u, to be off, out of (v. af klæðum); v. at e-u, to be busy at; verkmenn váru at arningu, they were ploughing; to be present (þar varstu at); ek var at ok vafk, I was about weaving; þeir höfðu verit at þrjú sumur, they had been busy at it for three summers; v. eptir, to be left, remain (A. kvazt vilja v. eptir ok hvílast); v. fyrir, to lead ( see fyrir); v. til, to exist; v. um, undir, see um, undir.

1) stay, sojourn; ef hann á sér í vá veru, if he has a corner to stay in;

2) comfort (slíkt er válaðs v.).

* * *

older form vesa, the verb substantive; pres. em, ert, er, pl. erum, eruð, eru: pret. var, vart (mod. varst), var, pl. váru or vóru; a obsolete óru occurs, Sæm. (once), Orkn. 426. l. 11, Nj. 81, Thom. 28, 90, 102, 116, 150, 196, Ísl. ii. 482: pres. subj. sé, sér (Vþm. 4, 7), sé; the older form is sjá, en ek sjá, Clem. 138. l. 14; at ek sjá, … ok sé mér eigi reiðr, 145, Fms. viii. 299, x. 384, xi. 124, Eg. 127; for the forms sják, sjákk, see below: the mod. forms are sé, sért, sér (eg sé, þú sért; s ert and ert make a rhyme in Pass. 34. 5): imperat. ver, vertú; see Gramm. p. xxiii: there also occurs a subj. pres. verir, veri, Sdm. 22, Ls. 54; þatz án veri, Am. 36; skósmiðr þú verir, Hm. 126, but rarely.

A. CHANGES AND FORMS.—Vera is an anomalous verb, which has undergone several changes:

I. by changing s to r; of the older form there occur, the infin. vesa, pres. es, pret. vas, vast (vastu), vas; pres. subj. vesi; imperat. ves, MS. 623. 25. l. 14, 645. 6l. l. 33, 677. 40. l. 38; vestu, 623. 25, Post. (Unger) 129. l. 27, 229. l. 12; vesum, Hom. (Arna-Magn. 237) p. 214. l. 8; pres. indic. 2nd pers. est, Glúm. 372; 3rd pers. es: but no traces remain of the older form in pret. plur. indic. and subj. (váru væri, never vásu væsi). Rhymes in poets and the spelling of the oldest extant poems shew that the s form alone existed in Icel. down to about the end of the 12th century, the time of Snorri Sturluson, when the modern forms crept in probably from Norway, for there the change seems to have taken place a century or so earlier; the old Norse vellums (written in Norway or by Norsemen) are distinguished from the Icel. by their constant use of the r: the phrase ‘at upp vesandi sólu’, in N. G. L. i. 4, being the only instance of the s form in all the Norse vellums. The earliest instances extant of a rhyme to the r form are, the Ht. of Rögnvald, earl of the Orkneys; he was a native of Norway, born about A. D. 1100, and the poem was composed about A. D. 1145; another instance is ‘vara, fara’ in Fms. vii. 185, in a poem about A. D. 1140, written by an Icelander who had lived in Norway the greater part of his life, the rhyme is therefore a Norwegianism. The first instance in an Icel. poem is in the Ht. of Snorri, A. D. 1222. Instances from poets, Hallfred, Sighvat, Arnórr, and coeval poets; vesa, vísi; sás með Sygna ræsi; þági vas sem þessum; vask til Róms í háska; vastu, kosta; vas fyrir Mikkjals- messu; nú es um verk þau er vísi; bráskat þat dægr háski: from A. D. 1100–1150, Geisli, Pd., etc., svás, ræsir; esat, risnu; vasa, tysvar; vestu. freistni; vestu, traustla: on the other hand, in the poem of earl Rögvald, vera, skera; gera, vera; var, skar (twice): from later Icel. poems it is sufficient to note, erðu, fyrðum; ertú, h jarta; verðú, f orðast, Leiðarv. etc. This may sometimes serve as a test, e. g. var ek nær viðr-eign þ eirra, Grett., and skap-kers saman vera, Gísl., are impossible in the mouth of poets of the early Saga time; the verses of both these Sagas are a later composition.

2. as to the spelling of the MSS.,—the oldest (the Arna-Magn. 677, the Eluc. 674, the Íb. etc.) use the s throughout: vellums of the next period, about A. D. 1200 (e. g. Arna-Magn. 623 and 645), use the later form sparingly, even the second hand in the Reykholts máldagi gives ‘es,’ not ‘er.’ Again, in the vellums of the middle of the 13th century, such as the Cod. Reg. of the Sæm., the Grág., and the Mork., the mod. spelling has entirely got the better of the old, and an ‘es’ only creeps in, as if unawares, from an older copy. Of the poetical literature, the Pd. alone has been preserved in a copy old enough to retain the s; all the rest have the modernised spelling, even in the rhymed syllables quoted above; such too is the case with the Cod. Reg. of the Sæm. Edda; but had that vellum been but fifty or sixty years older, the forms vesa, es, vas, etc. would now be the established spelling in Editions of these poems.

3. on Danish and Swedish Runic stones, the 3rd pers. pret. sing. is a word of frequent occurrence; the best Danish monuments have vas, e. g. ias vas farinn vestr, Thorsen 93 and 101 (on a stone of the reign of Sweyn, died A. D. 1014). In Sweden the great majority present the later form: the so-called Ingvar stones are chronologically certain, being of the middle of the 11th century (Ingvar died A. D. 1039); there we read, ‘vas’ (twice), ‘varinn’ (once), ‘var’ (thrice, being twice spelt with ᛦ, once with ᚱ): this shews that about this time in Sweden the later or more modern form had begun to be used, but that the old was still remembered.

II. suffixed personal pronoun or suffixed negation; em’k (tautologically ek em’k = I-am-I), emk, Ad. 1, Vþm. 8, Fms. xi. 91; ek emk, Mork. 89. l. 13, 104. l. 23, Clem. 136. l. 20, 138. l. 13; vask, I was, 133. l. 25, Mork. 89. l. 16; vark, Post. 225, v. l. 15; ek vark, Ls. 35; vestu, be thou, Clem. 129. l. 27; es þú, art thou, l. 30, 130. l. 11; sjá’k ( may I be), ek sják, Mork. 134; at sják, 189. l. 29; ek sják, Hbl. 9, Hkv. 1. 20; at ek gjarn sják, Stor.; with double kk, þó at ek sjákk, Mork. 89.

2. a medial form, erumk, erumz, or apocopated erum, Stor. 1, Ad. 16, Hkv. 1. 25, Korm. ch. 5. 2, Ls. 35, Bragi (see senna); leið erum-k fjöll, Edda (in a verse); várumk, were to me, Am. 78.

3. suff. neg. eru-mk-a, it is not to me, Stor. 17, Eg. (in a verse); emkat-ek, am I not I, i. e. I am not, Hbl. 34, Skm. 18, Ó. H. 192 (in a verse): er-at, es-at, or er-a, es-a, is not, passim; eru-ð, are not, Skv. 1. 42; ert-attu, thou art not, Vtkv.; vart-attu, thou wast not, Gs., Eg. (in a verse); veri-a, be not, Mork. 37. l. 8.

4. sá’s = sá es, that is, Hallfred (Fs. 95); svá’s = svá es, so is, Fms. vii. (in a verse).

III. the plur. eru when suffixed to words ending in r drops the initial e, and is suffixed; this spelling, which agrees with mod. Icel. pronunciation, was afterwards disused; þeir-ro, they are, Gm. 34; margir-ro, many are, Hkv. 2. 11; Æsir-ro, the Ases are, Vsp. 49; skildir-ro, shields are, 44; torogætir-ro, rare are, Korm. (in a verse); hverjar-ro, which are, Vþm. 48; langir-ro, long are, Gg.; tveir-ro, þrír-ro, fjórir-ro, two, three, four are, Edda 108; báðir-ro, both are, Mork. 169; hér-ro, here are, 234; þér-ro, ye are, MS. 686 B. 1; hryggvir-ro, id.; hver-ro, who are, Mork. 96; úvar-ro, wroth are, Gm. 53; værrom, vérrom, we are, Edda i. 526, Fms. x. 421; hverrtu [cp. North. E. wh’art’ou, lad] (hverrtú karl, who art thou, carle?), Frissb. 256. l. 8; ir-rot, ye are, Ó. H. 151.

IV. the pres. 1st pers. em [Engl. am] has changed into er (eg er, þú ert, hann er), making the 1st and 3rd pers. uniform; this new form appears in vellums about the end of the 13th century, but the word being usually abbreviated (ē = em, eͬ = er), it is often hard to distinguish. In the Icel. N. T. and in hymns the old ‘em’ still remains in solemn language, em eg, Matth. xxvii. 24; eigi em eg, John xviii. 17; eg em hann, 5, 8, xi. 25, xv. 1, 5, Matth. xiv. 27; em eg eigi postuli, em eg eigi frjáls, 1 Cor. ix. 1; em eg orðinn, 20, 22, and passim.

B. USAGE.—To be:

I. to be, exist; þær sakir skal fyrst dæma, ef þær eru, if such there are, Grág. (Kb.) i. 73; eigi vóru hans jafningjar, Eg. 1; Rachel grét sonu sína, … þvi at þeir eru eigi, Hom. 49; þeir menn vóru, er þess gátu, there were men who, Nj. 90.

2. to be, happen; þat var, at hón for brott, Nj. 51; él eitt mun vera, 198; þess sem vera vill, that which is to be, 186; ok er (is) Vagn þá fimtán vetra gamall, er þetta er, when this came to pass, Fms. xi. 97; at þessi orrosta hafi verit á öðrum degi viku, iii. 11; í þann tið var úfriðr Kristnum mönnum, Ver. 43; hvat er henni, what is the matter with her? Fms. ii. 290; hvat er þér, Atli? er þér hryggt í hug, Gkv. 3.

3. to last; meðan þingit væri, Nj. 12; hirðit eigi at óttask píslir þeirra—þvíat stund eina eru, 623. 32; meðan líf hans var, Bret. 100; þykkir eigi vera mega svá búit, Fms. xi. 62: to remain, leave alone, láttu það vera, let that be, Flóv.

4. to be, dwell, stay, sojourn; vask til Róms, I was at Rome, Sighvat; hann bað hana vera í búð sinni, Nj. 12; Gunnarr var á Höskuld-stöðum um nótt, passed a night there, 34, N. G. L. i. 347: so the phrase, biðja að lofa sér að vera, to ask for night-quarters, of a stranger or traveller; lofa honum að vera, to take a stranger in; honum var boðit at vera, Vápn. 23; hefi ek hér verit síðan, Nj. 45; Hallkell var þar með Otkatli, 73; þeir vildu eigi vesa hér við heiðna menn, Íb. 4; vera samvistum við e-n, Grág. ii. 80; vera við e-t, to be present at, Hom. 129: vera at, to be present; vark at þar, Glúm.: vera brottu, to be away, absent, Nj. 113; meðan ek em í brautu, 52: sagðisk eigi vita hvar þau væri, were to be found, Dipl. ii. 20; hvar ertu? slá ein var um þvert skipit, Nj. 44; hygg ek at þar hafi verit Bolli, Ld. 274; er þér hér nú minja-griprinn, Nj. 203: as with the notion of ‘towards’ a place, an irregular construction, vartú á land upp, Fas. ii. 174; meðan þeir vóru til Danmerkr, Fms. x. 104; Ribbungar höfðu ekki verit út í landit, ix. 359; verit eigi til orrostu, vii. 263, v. l.; vera á fund hans, Eg. 26.

5. with prepp.; vera at, to be busy at (see ‘at’ A. II, p. 26, col. 2): vera fyrir, to lead (see fyrir): vera til, to exist (see til IV); eiga fjölskyldi, vandræði, um at vera, to be in straits (see um C. VII); e-m er mikit, lítið, ekki um e-t (see um C. I. 3); vera við (see við B. VIII).

II. with a predicate:

1. with a noun, to be so and so; vera bróðir, systir, faðir, sonr, dóttir … e-s, vera konungr, jarl, biskup …, passim; hvers son ertú?—Ek emk Kattarson, Mork. 104; ek skal þer Mörðr vera, Nj. 15: followed by a gen. ellípt., er þat ekki karla, that is not men’s (affair), 75; er þat ekki margra, ‘that is not for many,’ few are equal to that (cp. Lat. ‘non cuivis homini,’ etc.), 48.

2. with adjectives, to be so and so, of a state or condition; vera kunnigr, Fms. x. 370; vera glaðr, sæll, hryggr, dauðr, lifandi, … ungr, gamall, to be glad …, young, old, passim; þó at ek sjákk ótignari, Mork. 89; nema ek dauðr sják, Hbl. 9; þótt ek sják einn, Mork. 134; vera kominn, to be come: so too with adverbs, vera vel, ílla … til e-s, er við e-n, to be, behave well, ill … to one, passim; or also, þat er ílla, it is sad, Nj. 70, 71; ílla er þá, fyrr væri ílla, 75, 260; drengr góðr, þar sem vel skyldi vera, when it was to be, i. e. when she wished, 147; vera spakliga í heraði, to behave gently, Sturl. iii. 143; at þú frændr þína vammalaust verir, to behave blamelessly, Sdm. 22; orð kvað hann þats án veri, words which he had better not have said, Am. 36.

3. impers., e-t er skylt, it is incumbent, Grág.; e-m er varmt, heitt, kalt, one is warm, cold, Nj. 95; er auðit, q. v.

4. with participles, in a passive sense; vera kallaðr, vera sagðr, tekinn, elskaðr, etc., to be called, said, taken, loved.

5. with infin.; hlymr var at heyra, was to hear, i. e. to be heard, Am.; þar var at sjá, there was to be seen, passim.

6. ellipt., dropping a noun or the like, denoting futurity, necessity, a thing at hand, about to happen, or to be done; ok er hér at þiggja, Hrafn, þann greiða sem þú vill, and it is now for thee, Rafn, to partake of what food thou wilt, Ísl. ii. 262; nú er þeim út at ganga öllum, er leyft er, now it is for them to go out, Nj. 200; nú er at verja sik, 83; er nú eigi Kára at varask, now there is no need to beware of K., 259; nú er at segja frá, now is to be told, 75, 259; er nú ekki fyrr frá at segja en þeir koma …, 21; er ekki um hans ferðir at tala fyrr en …, 215.

III. irregular usages:

1. ellipse of the infin. vera; ek skal þér Hrútr, I will [be] Hrútr to thee, Nj. 15; Gunnarr segir sér þat alvöru, G. says it [ is to be] his earnestness, 49; vil ek þá lauss máls þessa, 76; bað hann alla metta at miðri nótt, he begged all eating [ to be over] at midnight, Fms. ix. 353; þá þótti hverjum gott þar sem sat, Nj. 50; at skamt skyli okkar í meðal, 114; mun þín skömm lengi uppi, mun hans vörn uppi meðan landit er bygt, 116, 117: or also ‘var,’ ‘er’ may be understood, hann hafði hjálm á höfði, og gyrðr sverði, 70; sá ek glöggt hvat títt var,—barn at aldri, en vegit slíka hetju, a bairn in age, and to have slain such a champion! Glúm. 382: the dropping of the infin. vera is esp. freq. after the reflex. forms kveðsk, segjask, látask, þykkjask, virðask, sýnask when followed by a part. pret. or by an adjective, as also after the verbs munu, skulu,—thus, hann sagðisk kominn, he said he was come; hann lezt búinn, he made as if he was ready; hann þóttisk staddr, he thought that he was …; skal þat á þínu umdæmi, Fms. xi. 89; þess eins er mér þykkir betr, … til hvers þykkjast þessir menn færir, Hrafn. 17; mun þat harðla lítið, 21; at fátt muni manna á fótum, 20; þú virðisk okkr vaskr maðr, 23; þessi hestr sýnisk mér eigi betri en aðrir, id.

2. an irregularity, occurring now and then, is the use of the sing. ‘er’ for plur. eru; mannföll þessi er sögð, Gullþ. 71; nú er fram komin sóknar-gögn, Nj. 242.

IV. recipr., erusk, vórusk; viðr-gefendr ok endr-gefendr erosk lengst vinir, Hm. 40; þeir er í nánd erusk, those who are neighbours, 655 xxi. 3; þótt þau sésk eigi hjóna, though they be not man and wife, K. Þ. K. 158; ok városk góðir vinir, were good friends, Fms. xi. 39, 89; ok várusk þeir fóstbræðr, 55.

V. as to the poët. medial form, erumk, várumk (see ek C), the following instances are from the poems of Egil: grimmt várumk hlið, the breach was cruel to me, Stor.; erumk-a leitt, it is not to me, Eg. (in a verse); erumka þokkt þjóða sinni, see sinni II; mærðar-efni erumk auð-skæf, Ad.; mjök erum(k) tregt tungu at hræra, it is hard for me to move the tongue, Stor. 1; (hence one might correct the end verse of that poem into nú ‘erumk’ torvelt, for the modernised nú ‘er mér’ torvelt); blautr erumk bergi-fótar borr, Eg. (at the end); to which add, þat erumk sennt, it is told us, Bragi; lyst várumk þess, I had a longing to, Am. 74; ván erumk, ‘a hope is to me,’ I hope, Fagrsk. 122; the phrase, títt erumk, ‘tis ready to me, Eb. (in a verse).

VI. part., allir menn verandi ok eptir komandi, Dipl. i. 3; æ-verandi, everlasting, Hom. 107; hjá-verandi, being present, Vm. 47; nær-verandis, present; engi nær-verandis maðr, öllum lýð nær-verandis, Th. 77; klerkar ok nær-verandi leikmenn, Mar.; at upp-vesandi sólu, at sunrise, N. G. L. i. 4; verandi eigi úminnigr, being not unmindful, Fms. v. 230.

* * *

(ber; bar, bárum; borinn), v.

I.

1) to bear, carry, convey (bar B. biskup í börum suðr í Hvamm);

bera (farm) af skipi, to unload a ship;

bera (mat) af borði, to take (the meat) off the table;

bera e-t á hesti, to carry on horseback;

2) to wear (bera klæði, vápn, kórónu);

bera œgishjálm, to inspire fear and awe;

3) to bear, produce, yield (jörðin berr gras; tré bera aldin, epli);

4) to bear, give birth to, esp. of sheep and cows;

kýr hafði borit kálf, had calved;

absol., ván at hón mundi bera, that the cow would calve;

the pp. is used of men; hann hafði verit blindr borinn, born blind;

verða borinn í þenna heim, to be born into this world;

þann sóma, sem ek em til borinn, born to;

borinn e-m, frá e-m (rare), born of;

Nótt var Nörvi borin, was the daughter of N.;

borinn Sigmundi, son of S.;

5) bera e-n afli, ofrafli, ofrliði, ofrmagni, ofríki, to bear one down, overcome, oppress, one by odds or superior force;

bera e-n ráðum, to overrule one;

bera e-n málum, to bear one down (wrongfully) in a lawsuit;

bera e-n sök, to charge one with a fault;

bera e-n bjóri, to make drunk with beer;

verða bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise;

borinn verkjum, overcome by pains;

þess er borin ván, there is no hope, all hope is gone;

borinn baugum, bribed; cf. bera fé á e-n, to bribe one;

6) to lear, be capable of bearing (of a ship, horse, vehicle);

þeir hlóðu bæði skipin sem borð báru, with as much as they could carry;

fig., to sustain, support (svá mikill mannfjöldi, at landit fekk eigi borit);

of persons, to bear up against, endure, support (grief, sorrow, etc.);

absol., bar hann drengiliga, he bore it manfully;

similarly, bera (harm) af sér, berast vel (illa, lítt) af;

bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore up bravely;

hversu berst Auðr af um bróðurdauðann, how does she bear it?

hon berst af lítt, she is much cast down;

bera sik vel upp, to bear well up against;

7) bera e-t á, e-n á hendr e-m, to charge or tax one with (eigi erum vér þess valdir, er þú berr á oss);

bera (kvið) á e-n, to give a verdict against, declare guilty (í annat sinn báru þeir á Flosa kviðinn);

bera af e-m (kviðinn), to give a verdict for;

bera e-t af sér, to deny having done a thing;

bera or bera vitni, vætti, to bear witness, testify;

bera or bera um e-t, to give a verdict in a case;

bera e-n sannan at sök, to prove guilty by evidence;

bera e-n undan sök, to acquit;

bera í sundr frændsemi þeirra, to prove (by evidence) that they are not relations;

bera e-m vel (illa) söguna, to give a favourable (unfavourable) account of one;

refl. (pass.), berast, to be proved by evidence (þótt þér berist þat faðerni, er þú segir);

8) to set forth, report, tell;

bera e-m kveðju (orð, orðsending), to bring one a greeting, compliments (word, message);

bera or bera fram erindi sín fyrir e-n, to state (tell) one’s errand or to plead one’s case before one;

bera e-m njósn, to apprise one;

bera e-t upp, to produce, mention, tell;

bera upp gátu, to give (propound) a riddle;

bera upp erindi sín, to state one’s errand;

bera saman ráð sín, to consult together;

eyddist það ráð, er þeir báru saman, which they had designed;

9) to keep, hold, bear, of a title (bera jarlnafn, konnungsnafn);

bera (eigi) giptu, gæfu, hammingju, auðnu til e-s, (not) to have the good fortune to do a thing (bar hann enga gæfu til at þjóna þér);

bera vit, skyn, kunnáttu á e-t, to have knowledge of, uniderstanding about;

vel viti borinn, endowed with a good understanding;

bera hug, áræði, þor, traust til e-s, to have courage, confidence to do a thing;

bera áhyggju fyrir e-u, to be concerned about;

bera ást, elsku, hatr til e-s, to bear affection, love, hatred to;

10) to bear off or away, carry off (some gain);

bera sigr af e-m, af e-u, to carry off the victory from or in;

hann hafði borit sigr af tveim orustum, he had been victorious in two battles;

bera hærra (lægra) hlut to get the best (the worst) of it;

bera efra (hærra) skjöld, to gain the victory;

bera hátt (lágt) höfuðit, to bear the head high (low), to be in high (low) spirits;

bera halann bratt, lágt, to cock up or let fall the tail, to be in high or low spirits;

11) with preps.:

bera af e-m, to surpass;

en þó bar Bolli af, surpassed all the rest;

bera af sér högg, lag to ward off, parry a blow or thrust;

bera eld at, to set fire to;

bera fjötur (bönd) at e-m, to put fetters (bonds) on one;

bera vápn á e-n, to attack one with sharp weapons;

bera á or í, to smear, anoint (bera vatn í augu sér, bera tjöru í höfuð sér);

bera e-t til, to apply to, to try if it fits (bera til hvern lykil af öðrum at portinu);

bera e-t um, to wind round;

þá bar hann þá festi um sik, made it fast round his body;

bera um með e-n, to bear with, have patience with;

bera út barn, to expose a child;

12) refl., berast mikit (lítit) á, to bear oneself proudly (humbly);

láta af berast, to die;

láta fyrir berast e-s staðar, to stay, remain in a place (for shelter);

berast e-t fyrir, to design a thing (barst hann þat fyrir at sjá aldregi konur);

at njósna um, hvat hann bærist fyrir, to inquire into what he was about;

berast vápn á, to attack one another;

berast at or til, to happen;

þat barst at (happened) á einhverju sumri;

ef svá harðliga kann til at berast, if that misfortune does happen;

berast í móti, to happen, occur;

hefir þetta vel í móti borizt, it is a happy coincidence;

berast við, to be prevented;

ok nú lét almáttugr guð við berast kirkjubrunann, prevented, stopped the burning of the church;

II. impers., denoting a sort of passive or involuntary motion;

1) with acc., it bears or carries one to a place;

alla berr at sama brunni, all come to the same well (end);

bar hann (acc.) þá ofan gegnt Ösuri, he happened to come down just opposite to Ö.;

esp. of ships and sailors; berr oss (acc.) til Íslands eða annarra landa, we drift to Iceland or other countries;

þá (acc.) bar suðr í haf, they were carried out southwards;

Skarpheðin (acc.) bar nú at þeim, S. came suddenly upon them;

ef hann (acc.) skyldi bera þar at, if he should happen to come there;

e-n berr yfir, one is borne onwards, of a bird flying, a man riding;

hann (acc.) bar skjótt yfir, it passed quickly (of a flying meteor);

2) followed by preps.:

Gunnar sér, at rauðan kyrtil bar við glugginn, that a red kirtle passed before the window;

hvergi bar skugga (acc.) á, there was nowhere a shadow;

e-t berr fram (hátt), is prominent;

Ólafr konungr stóð í lyptingu ok bar hann (acc.) hátt mjök, stood out conspicuously;

e-t berr á milli, comes between;

leiti (acc.) bar á milli, a hill hid the prospect;

fig. e-m berr e-t á milli, they are at variance about a thing;

mart (acc.) berr nú fyrir augu mér, many things come now before my eyes;

veiði (acc.) berr í hendr e-m, game falls to one’s lot;

e-t berr undan, goes amiss, fails;

bera saman, to coincide;

bar nöfn þeirra saman, they had the same name;

fig., with dat.; bar öllum sögum vel saman, all the stories agreed well together;

fund várn bar saman, we met;

3) bera at, til, við, at hendi, til handa, to befall, happen, with dat. of the person;

svá bar at einn vetr, it happened one winter;

þó at þetta vandræði (acc.) hafi nú borit oss (dat.) at hendi, has befallen us;

bar honum svá til, it so befell him;

þat bar við (it so happened), at Högni kom;

raun (acc.) berr á, it is proved by fact;

4) of time, to fall upon;

ef þing (acc.) berr á hina helgu viku, if the parliament falls in the holy week;

bera í móti, to coincide, happen exactly at the same time;

5) denoting cause;

e-t berr til, causes a thing;

konungr spurði, hvat til bæri úgleði hans, what was the cause of his grief;

ætluðu þat þá allir, at þat mundi til bera, that that was the reason;

berr e-m nauðsyn til e-s, one is obliged to do a thing;

6) e-t berr undir e-n, falls to a person’s lot;

hon á arf at taka, þegar er undir hana berr, in her turn;

e-t berr frá, is surpassing;

er sagt, at þat (acc.) bæri frá, hvé vel þeir mæltu, it was extraordinary how well they spoke;

7) e-t berr bráðum, happens of a sudden;

e-t berr stóru, stórum (stœrrum), it amounts to much (more), it matters a great deal (more), it is of great (greater) importance;

8) absol. or with an adv., vel, illa, with infin.;

e-m berr (vel, illa) at gera e-t, it becomes, beseems one (well, ill) to do a thing (berr yðr vel, herra, at sjá sannindi á þessu máli);

used absol., berr vel, illa, it is beseeming, proper, fit, or unbeseeming, improper, unfit (þat þykkir eigi illa bera, at).

(að), v. to make bare (hon beraði likam sinn).

f. she-bear, = birna.

* * *

u, f.

I. [björn], a she-bear, Lat. ursa; the primitive root ‘ber’ remains only in this word (cp. berserkr and berfjall), björn (q. v.) being the masc. in use, Landn. 176, Fas. i. 367, Vkv. 9: in many Icel. local names, Beru-fjörðr, -vík, from Polar bears; fem. names, Bera, Hallbera, etc., Landn.

II. a shield, poët., the proverb, baugr er á beru sæmstr, to a shield fits best a baugr (q. v.), Lex. Poët., Edda (Gl.); hence names of poems Beru-drápa, Eg.

bar, báru, borit, pres. berr,—poët. forms with the suffixed negative; 3rd pers. sing. pres. Indic. berrat, Hm. 10; 3rd pers. sing. pret. barat, Vellekla; 1st pers. sing. barkak, Eb. 62 (in a verse); barkat ek, Hs. 8; 2nd pers. sing. bartattu; 3rd pers. pl. bárut, etc., v. Lex. Poët. [Gr. φέρειν; Lat. ferre; Ulf. bairan; A. S. beran; Germ. gebären; Engl. bear; Swed. bära; Dan. bære].

A. Lat. ferre, portare:

I. prop. with a sense of motion, to bear, carry, by means of the body, of animals, of vehicles, etc., with acc., Egil tók mjöðdrekku eina mikla, ok bar undir hendi sér, Eg. 237; bar hann heim hrís, Rm. 9; konungr lét bera inn kistur tvær, báru tveir menn hverja, Eg. 310; bera farm af skipi, to unload a ship, Ld. 32; bera (farm) á skip, to load a ship, Nj. 182; tóku alla ösku ok báru á á ( amnem) út, 623, 36; ok bar þat ( carried it) í kerald, 43, K. Þ. K. 92; b. mat á borð, í stofu, to put the meat on table, in the oven; b. mat af borði, to take it off table, Eb. 36, 266, Nj. 75, Fms. ix. 219, etc.

2. Lat. gestare, ferre, denoting to wear clothes, to carry weapons; skikkja dýr er konungr hafði borit, Eg. 318; b. kórónu, to wear the crown, Fms. x. 16; atgeir, Nj. 119; vápn, 209: metaph., b. ægishjálm, to inspire fear and awe; b. merki, to carry the flag in a battle, Nj. 274, Orkn. 28, 30, 38, Fms. v. 64, vi. 413; bera fram merki, to advance, move in a battle, vi. 406.

3. b. e-t á hesti (áburðr), to carry on horseback; Auðunn bar mat á hesti, Grett. 107; ok bar hrís á hesti, 76 new Ed.; þeir báru á sjau hestum, 98 new Ed.

II. without a sense of motion:

1. to give birth to; [the root of barn, bairn; byrja, incipere; burðr, partus; and burr, filius: cp. Lat. parĕre; also Gr. φέρειν, Lat. ferre, of child-bearing.] In Icel. prose, old as well as mod., ‘ala’ and ‘fæða’ are used of women; but ‘bera,’ of cows and sheep; hence sauðburðr, casting of lambs, kýrburðr; a cow is snembær, siðbær, Jólabær, calves early, late, at Yule time, etc.; var ekki ván at hon ( the cow) mundi b. fyr en um várit, Bs. i. 193, 194; kýr hafði borit kálf, Bjarn. 32; bar hvárrtveggi sauðrinn sinn burð, Stj. 178: the participle borinn is used of men in a great many compds in a general sense, aptrborinn, árborinn, endrborinn, frjálsborinn, goðborinn, höldborinn, hersborinn, konungborinn, óðalborinn, samborinn, sundrborinn, velborinn, úborinn, þrælborinn, etc.; also out of compds, mun ek eigi upp gefa þann sóma, sem ek em til borinn, … entitled to by inheritance, Ld. 102; hann hafði blindr verit borinn, born blind, Nj. 152, Hdl. 34, 42, Vsp. 2: esp. borinn e-m, born of one, Rm. 39, Hdl. 12, 23, 27, Hðm. 2, Gs. 9, Vþm. 25, Stor. 16, Vkv. 15; borinn frá e-m, Hdl. 24: the other tenses are in theol. Prose used of Christ, hans blezaða son er virðist at láta berast hingað í heim af sinni blezaðri móður, Fms. i. 281; otherwise only in poetry, eina dóttur (acc.) berr álfröðull (viz. the sun, regarded as the mother), Vþm. 47; hann Gjálp um bar, hann Greip um bar …, Hdl. 36: borit (sup.), Hkv. 1. 1.

β. of trees, flowers; b. ávöxt, blóm …, to bear fruit, flower … (freq.); bar aldinviðrinn tvennan blóma, Fms. ix. 265; cp. the phrase, bera sitt barr, v. barr.

2. denoting to load, with acc. of the person and dat. of the thing:

α. in prop. sense; hann hafði borit sik mjök vápnum, he had loaded himself with arms, i. e. wore heavy armour, Sturl. iii. 250.

β. but mostly in a metaph. sense; b. e-n ofrafli, ofrmagni, ofrliði, ofríki, magni, to bear one down, to overcome, oppress one, by odds or superior force, Grág. i. 101, ii. 195, Nj. 80, Hkr. ii. 371, Gþl. 474, Stj. 512, Fms. iii. 175 (in the last passage a dat. pers. badly); b. e-n ráðum, to overrule one, Nj. 198, Ld. 296; b. e-n málum, to bearhim down (wrongfully) in a lawsuit, Nj. 151; b. e-n bjóri, to make drunk, Vkv. 26: medic., borinn verkjum, sótt, Bjarn. 68, Og. 5; bölvi, Gg. 2: borne down, feeling heavy pains; þess er borin ván, no hope, all hope is gone, Ld. 250; borinn sök, charged with a cause, Fms. v. 324, H. E. i. 561; bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise, Fms. iv. 111; b. fé, gull á e-n, to bring one a fee, gold, i. e. to bribe one, Nj. 62; borinn baugum, bribed, Alvm. 5; always in a bad sense, cp. the law phrase, b. fé í dóm, to bribe a court, Grág., Nj. 240.

3. to bear, support, sustain, Lat. sustinere, lolerare, ferre:

α. properly, of a ship, horse, vehicle, to bear, be capable of bearing; þeir hlóðu bæði skipin sem borð báru, all that they could carry, Eb. 302;—a ship ‘berr’ ( carries) such and such a weight; but ‘tekr’ ( takes) denotes a measure of fluids.

β. metaph. to sustain, support; dreif þannig svá mikill mannfjöldi at landit fékk eigi borit, Hkr. i. 56; but metaph. to bear up against, endure, support grief, sorrow, etc., sýndist öllum at Guð hefði nær ætlað hvat hann mundi b. mega, Bs. i. 139; biðr hann friðar ok þykist ekki mega b. reiði hans, Fms. iii. 80: the phrase, b. harm sinn í hljóði, to suffer silently; b. svívirðing, x. 333: absol., þótti honum mikit víg Kjartans, en þó bar hann drengilega, he bore it manfully, Ld. 226; er þat úvizka, at b. eigi slíkt, not to bear or put up with, Glúm. 327; b. harm, to grieve, Fms. xi. 425: in the phrases, b. sik, b. af sér, berask, berask vel (illa, lítt), to bear oneself, to bear up against misfortune; Guðrúnu þótti mikit fráfall Þorkels, en þó bar hon sköruliga af sér, she bore her bravely up, Ld. 326–328; lézt hafa spurt at ekkjan bæri vel af sér harmana, Eb. 88; berask af; hversu bersk Auðr af um bróðurdauðann? (how does she bear it?); hón bersk af lítt ( she is much borne down) ok þykir mikit, Gísl. 24; niun oss vandara gört en öðrum at vér berim oss vel (Lat. fortiter ferre), Nj. 197; engi maðr hefði þar jamvel borit sik, none bad borne himself so boldly, Sturl. iii. 132; b. sik vel upp, to bear well up against, bear a stout heart, Hrafn. 17; b. sik beiskliga ( sorely), Stj. 143; b. sik lítt, to be downcast, Fms. ii. 61; b. sik at göra e-t, to do one’s best, try a thing.

III. in law terms or modes of procedure:

1. bera járn, the ordeal of bearing hot iron in the hand, cp. járnburðr, skírsla. This custom was introduced into Scandinavia together with Christianity from Germany and England, and superseded the old heathen ordeals ‘hólmganga,’ and ‘ganga undir jarðarmen,’ v. this word. In Norway, during the civil wars, it was esp. used in proof of paternity of the various pretenders to the crown, Fms. vii. 164, 200, ix. Hák. S. ch. 14, 41–45, viii. (Sverr. S.) ch. 150, xi. (Jómsv. S.) ch. 11, Grett. ch. 41, cp. N. G. L. i. 145, 389. Trial by ordeal was abolished in Norway A. D. 1247. In Icel. It was very rarely mentioned, vide however Lv. ch. 23 (paternity), twice or thrice in the Sturl. i. 56, 65, 147, and Grág. i. 341, 361; it seems to have been very seldom used there, (the passage in Grett. S. l. c. refers to Norway.)

2. bera út (hence útburðr, q. v.), to expose children; on this heathen custom, vide Grimm R. A. In heathen Icel., as in other parts of heathen Scandinavia, it was a lawful act, but seldom exercised; the chief passages on record are, Gunnl. S. ch. 3 (ok þat var þá siðvandi nokkurr, er land var allt alheiðit, at þeir menn er félitlir vórn, en stóð ómegð mjök til handa létu út bera börn sín, ok þótti þó illa gört ávalt), Fs. Vd. ch. 37, Harð. S. ch. 8, Rd. ch. 7, Landn. v. ch. 6, Finnb. ch. 2, Þorst. Uxaf. ch. 4, Hervar. S. ch. 4, Fas. i. 547 (a romance); cp. Jómsv. S. ch. 1. On the introduction of Christianity into Icel. A. D. 1000, it was resolved that, in regard to eating of horse-flesh and exposure of children, the old laws should remain in force, Íb. ch. 9; as Grimm remarks, the exposure must take place immediately after birth, before the child had tasted food of any kind whatever, and before it was besprinkled with water (ausa vatni) or shown to the father, who had to fix its name; exposure, after any of these acts, was murder, cp. the story of Liafburga told by Grimm R. A.); v. Also a Latin essay at the end of the Gunnl. S. (Ed. 1775). The Christian Jus Eccl. put an end to this heathen barbarism by stating at its very beginning, ala skal barn hvert er borit verðr, i. e. all children, if not of monstrous shape, shall be brought up, N. G. L. i. 339, 363.

β. b. út (now more usual, hefja út, Am. 100), to carry out for burial; vera erfðr ok tit borinn, Odd. 20; var hann heygðr, ok út borinn at fornum sið, Fb. i. 123; b. á bál, to place (the body and treasures) upon the pile, the mode of burying in the old heathen time, Fas. i. 487 (in a verse); var hon borin á bálit ok slegit í eldi, Edda 38.

B. Various and metaph. cases.

I. denoting motion:

1. ‘bera’ is in the Grág. the standing law term for delivery of a verdict by a jury (búar), either ‘bera’ absol. or adding kvið ( verdict); bera á e-n, or b. kvið á e-n, to give a verdict against, declare guilty; bera af e-m, or b. af e-m kviðinn, to give a verdict for; or generally, bera, or b. um e-t, to give a verdict in a case; bera, or b. vitni, vætti, also simply means to testify, to witness, Nj. 111, cp. kviðburðr ( delivering of verdict), vitnisburðr ( bearing witness), Grág. ii. 28; eigi eigu búar ( jurors) enn at b. um þat hvat lög eru á landi hér, the jurors have not to give verdict in (to decide) what is law in the country, cp. the Engl. maxim, that jurors have only to decide the question of evidence, not of law, Grág. (Kb.) ch. 85; eigi eru búar skildir at b. um hvatvetna; um engi mál eigu þeir at skilja, þau er erlendis ( abroad) hafa görzt, id.; the form in delivering the verdict—höfum vér ( the jurors), orðit á eitt sáttir, berum á kviðburðinn, berum hann sannan at sökinni, Nj. 238, Grág. i. 49, 22, 138, etc.; í annat sinn báru þeir á Flosa kviðinn, id.; b. annattveggja af eðr á; b. undan, to discharge, Nj. 135; b. kvið í hag ( for), Grág. i. 55; b. lýsingar vætti, Nj. 87; b. vitni ok vætti, 28, 43, 44; b. ljúgvitni, to bear false witness, Grág. i. 28; b. orð, to bear witness to a speech, 43; bera frændsemi sundr, to prove that they are not relations, N. G. L. i. 147: reflex., berask ór vætti, to prove that oneself is wrongly summoned to bear witness or to give a verdict, 44: berask in a pass. sense, to be proved by evidence, ef vanefni b. þess manns er á hönd var lýst, Grág. i. 257; nema jafnmæli berisk, 229; þótt þér berisk þat faðerni er þú segir, Fms. vii. 164; hann kvaðst ætla, at honum mundi berask, that he would be able to get evidence for, Fs. 46.

β. gener. and not as a law term; b. á, b. á hendr, to charge; b. e-n undan, to discharge, Fs. 95; eigi erum vér þessa valdir er þú berr á oss, Nj. 238, Ld. 206, Fms. iv. 380, xi. 251, Th. 78; b. e-m á brýnn, to throw in one’s face, to accuse, Greg. 51; b. af sér, to deny; eigi mun ek af mér b., at… ( non diffitebor), Nj. 271; b. e-m gott vitni, to give one a good…, 11; b. e-m vel (illa) söguna, to bear favourable (unfavourable) witness of one, 271.

2. to bear by word of mouth, report, tell, Lat. referre; either absol. or adding kveðju, orð, orðsending, eyrindi, boð, sögu, njósn, frétt…, or by adding a prep., b. fram, frá, upp, fyrir; b. kveðju, to bring a greeting, compliment, Eg. 127; b. erindi (sín) fyrir e-n, to plead one’s case before one, or to tell one’s errand, 472, 473; b. njósn, to apprise, Nj. 131; b. fram, to deliver (a speech), talaði jungherra Magnús hit fyrsta erindi (M. made his first speech in public), ok fanst mönnum mikit um hversu úbernsliga fram var borit, Fms. x. 53; (in mod. usage, b. fram denotes gramm. to pronounce, hence ‘framburðr,’ pronunciation); mun ek þat nú fram b., I shall now tell, produce it, Ld. 256, Eg. 37; b. frá, to attest, relate with emphasis; má þat frá b., Dropl. 21; b. upp, to produce, mention, tell, þótt slík lygi sé upp borin fyrir hann, though such a lie be told him, Eg. 59; þær (viz. charges) urðu engar upp bornar ( produced) við Rút, Nj. 11; berr Sigtryggr þegar upp erindi sín (cp. Germ. ojfenbaren), 271, Ld. 256; b. upp gátu, to give (propound) a riddle, Stj. 411, Fas. i. 464; b. fyrir, to plead as an excuse; b. saman ráð sín, or the like, to consult, Nj. 91; eyddist þat ráð, er þeir báru saman, which they had designed, Post. 656 A. ii; b. til skripta, to confess (eccl.), of auricular confession, Hom. 124, 655 xx.

II. in a metaphorical or circumlocutory sense, and without any sense of motion, to keep, hold, bear, of a title; b. nafn, to bear a name, esp. as honour or distinction; tignar nafn, haulds nafn, jarls nafn, lends manns nafn, konungs nafn, bónda nafn, Fms. i. 17, vi. 278, xi. 44, Gþl. 106: in a more metaph. sense, denoting endowments, luck, disposition, or the like, b. (ekki) gæfu, hamingju, auðnu til e-s, to enjoy (enjoy not) good or bad luck, etc.; at Þórólfr mundi eigi allsendis gæfu til b. um vináttu við Harald, Eg. 75, 112, 473, Fms. iv. 164, i. 218; úhamingju, 219; b. vit, skyn, kunnáttu á (yfir) e-t, to bring wit, knowledge, etc., to bear upon a thing, xi. 438, Band. 7; hence vel (illa) viti borinn, well (ill) endowed with wit, Eg. 51; vel hyggjandi borinn, well endowed with reason, Grág. ii; b. hug, traust, áræði, þor, til e-s, to have courage, confidence … to do a thing, Gullþ. 47, Fms. ix. 220, Band. 7; b. áhyggju, önn fyrir, to care, be concerned about, Fms. x. 318; b. ást, elsku til e-s, to bear affection, love to one; b. hatr, to hate: b. svört augu, to have dark eyes, poët., Korm. (in a verse); b. snart hjarta, Hom. 5; vant er þat af sjá hvar hvergi berr hjarta sitt, where he keeps his heart, Orkn. 474; b. gott hjarta, to bear a proud heart, Lex. Poët., etc. etc.; b. skyndi at um e-t, to make speed with a thing, Lat. festinare, Fms. viii. 57.

2. with some sense of motion, to bear off or away, carry off, gain, in such phrases as, b. sigr af e-m, af e-u, to carry off the victory from or in …; hann hafði borit sigr af tveim orrustum, er frægstar hafa verit, he had borne off the victory in two battles, Fms. xi. 186; bera banaorð af e-m, to slay one in a fight, to be the victor; Þorr berr banaorð af Miðgarðsormi, Edda 42, Fms. x. 400: it seems properly to mean, to bear off the fame of having killed a man; verðat svá rík sköp, at Regin skyli mitt banorð bera, Fm. 39; b. hærra, lægra hlut, ‘to bear off the higher or the lower lot,’ i. e. to get the best or the worst of it, or the metaphor is taken from a sortilege, Fms. ii. 268, i. 59, vi. 412; b. efra, hærra skjöld, to carry the highest shield, to get the victory, x. 394, Lex. Poët.; b. hátt (lágt) höfuðit, to bear the head high (low), i. e. to be in high or low spirits, Nj. 91; but also, b. halann bratt (lágt), to cock up or let fall the tail (metaph. from cattle), to be in an exultant or low mood: sundry phrases, as, b. bein, to rest the bones, be buried; far þú til Íslands, þar mun þér auðið verða beinin at b., Grett. 91 A; en þó hygg ek at þú munir hér b. beinin í Norðrálfunni, Orkn. 142; b. fyrir borð, to throw overboard, metaph. to oppress; verðr Þórhalli nú fyrir borð borinn, Th. was defied, set at naught, Fær. 234; b. brjóst fyrir e-m, to be the breast-shield, protection of one, Fms. vii. 263: also, b. hönd fyrir höfuð sér, metaph. to put one’s hand before one’s head, i. e. to defend oneself; b. ægishjálm yfir e-m, to keep one in awe and submission, Fm. 16, vide A. I. 2.

III. connected with prepp., b. af, and (rarely) yfir (cp. afburðr, yfirburðr), to excel, surpass; eigi sá hvárttveggja féit er af öðrum berr, who gets the best of it, Nj. 15; en þó bar Bolli af, B. surpassed all the rest, Ld. 330; þat mannval bar eigi minnr af öðrum mönnum um fríðleik, afi ok fræknleik, en Ormrinn Langi af öðrum skipum, Fms. ii. 252; at hinn útlendi skal yfir b. ( outdo) þann sem Enskir kalla meistara, xi. 431: b. til, to apply, try if it fits; en er þeir báru til (viz. shoes to the hoof of a horse), þá var sem hæfði hestinum, ix. 55; bera til hvern lykil at öðrum at portinu, Thom. 141; b. e-t við, to try it on (hence viðburðr, experiment, effort): b. um, to wind round, as a cable round a pole or the like, Nj. 115; þá bar hann þá festi um sik, made it fast round his body, Fms. ix. 219; ‘b. e-t undir e-n’ is to consult one, ellipt., b. undir dóm e-s; ‘b. e-t fyrir’ is to feign, use as excuse: b. á, í, to smear, anoint; b. vatn í augu sér, Rb. 354; b. tjöru í höfuð sér, Nj. 181, Hom. 70, 73, cp. áburðr; b. gull, silfr, á, to ornament with gold or silver, Ld. 114, Finnb. 258: is now also used = to dung, b. á völl; b. vápn á e-n, to attack one with sharp weapons, Eg. 583, Fms. xi. 334: b. eld at, to set fire to, Nj. 122; b. fjötur (bönd) at e-m, to put fetters (bonds) on one, Fms. x. 172, Hm. 150: metaph. reflex., bönd berask at e-m, a law term, the evidence bears against one; b. af sér, to parry off; Gyrðr berr af sér lagit, G. parries the thrust off, Fms. x. 421; cp. A. II. 3. β.

IV. reflex., berask mikit á (cp. áburðr), to bear oneself proudly, or b. lítið á, to bear oneself humbly; hann var hinn kátasti ok barst á mikit, Fms. ii. 68, viii. 219, Eb. 258; b. lítið á, Clem. 35; láta af berask, to die; Óttarr vill skipa til um fjárfar sitt áðr hann láti af b., Fms. ii. 12: berask fyrir, to abide in a place as an asylum, seek shelter; hér munu vit láta fyrir b., Fas. iii. 471; berask e-t fyrir, to design a thing, be busy about, barsk hann þat fyrir at sjá aldregi konur, Greg. 53; at njósna um hvat hann bærist fyrir, to inquire into what he was about, Fms. iv. 184, Vígl. 19.

β. recipr. in the phrase, berask banaspjót eptir, to seek for one another’s life, Glúm. 354: b. vápn á, of a mutual attack with sharp weapons, Fms. viii. 53.

γ. pass., sár berask á e-n, of one in the heat of battle beginning to get wounds and give way, Nj.:—berask við, to be prevented, not to do; ok nú lét Almáttugr Guð við berast kirkjubrunnann, stopped, prevented the burning of the church, Fms. v. 144; en mér þætti gott ef við bærist, svá at hón kæmi eigi til þín, vi. 210, vii. 219; ok var þá búit at hann mundi þegar láta hamarinn skjanna honum, en hann lét þat við berask, he bethought himself and did not, Edda 35; því at mönnum þótti sem þannig mundi helzt úhæfa við berask, that mischief would thus be best prevented, Sturl. ii. 6, iii. 80.

C. IMPERS.:—with a sort of passive sense, both in a loc. and temp. sense, and gener. denotes an involuntary, passive motion, happening suddenly or by chance:

I. with acc. it bears or carries one to a place, i. e. one happens to come; the proverb, alla (acc.) berr at sama brunni, all come to the same well (end), Lat. omnes una manet nox; bar hann þá ofan gegnt Özuri, he happened to come in his course just opposite to Ö., Lat. delatus est, Dropl. 25: esp. of ships or sailors; nú berr svá til ( happens) herra, at vér komum eigi fram ferðinni, berr oss (acc.) til Íslands eðr annara landa, it bore us to I., i. e. if we drive or drift thither, Fms. iv. 176; þá (acc. pl.) bar suðr í haf, they drifted southwards, Nj. 124.

β. as a cricketing term, in the phrase, berr (bar) út knöttinn, the ball rolls out, Gísl. 26, cp. p. 110 where it is transit.; berr Gísli ok út knöttinn, vide Vígl. ch. 11, Grett. ch. 17, Vd. ch. 37, Hallfr. S. ch. 2.

γ. Skarpheðin (acc.) bar nú at þeim, Sk. came suddenly upon them, Nj. 144; bar at Hróaldi þegar allan skjöldinn, the shield was dashed against H.’s body, 198; ok skyldu sæta honum, ef hann (acc.) bæri þar at, if he should per chance come, shew himself there, Orkn. 406; e-n berr yfir, it bears one, i. e. one is borne onwards, as a bird flying, a man riding; þóttist vita, at hann (acc.) mundi fljótara yfir bera ef hann riði en gengi, that he would get on more fleetly riding than walking, Hrafn. 7; hann (acc.) bar skjótt yfir, he passed quickly, of a flying meteor, Nj. 194; e-n berr undan, escapes.

2. also with acc. followed by prepp. við, saman, jafnframt, hjá, of bodies coinciding or covering one another: loc., er jafnframt ber jaðrana tungls ok sólar, if the orb of the moon and sun cover each other, Rb. 34; þat kann vera stundum, at tunglit (acc.) berr jafht á millum vár ok sólar (i. e. in a moon eclipse), 108; ber nokkut jaðar (acc.) þess hjá sólar jaðri, 34; Gunnarr sér at rauðan kyrtil (acc.) bar við glugginn, G. sees that a red kirtle passed before the window, Nj. 114; bar fyrir utan þat skip vápnaburð (acc.) heiðingja (gen. pl.), the missiles of the heathens passed over the ship without hurting them, flew too high, Fms. vii. 232; hvergi bar skugga (acc.) á, nowhere a shadow, all bright, Nj. 118; þangat sem helzt mátti nokkut yfir þá skugga bera af skóginum, where they were shadowed (hidden) by the trees, Fms. x. 239; e-t berr fram (hátt), a body is prominent, Lat. eminet; Ólafr konungr stóð í lyptingunni, bar hann (acc.) hátt mjök, king O. stood out conspicuously, ii. 308; b. yfir, þótti mjök bera hljóð (acc.) þar yfir er Ólafr sat, the sound was heard over there where O. sat, Sturl. i. 21; b. á milli, something comes between; leiti (acc.) bar á milli, a hill hid the prospect, Nj. 263: metaph., e-m berr e-t á milli, they come to dissent, 13, v. 1.; b. fyrir augu (hence fyrirburðr, vision), of a vision or the like; mart (acc.) berr nú fyrir augu mér, ek sé …, many things come now before my eyes, 104; hann mundi allt þat er fyrir hann hafði borit, i. e. all the dream, 195; eina nótt berr fyrir hann í svefni mikla sýn, Fms. i. 137, Rd. 290; veiði (acc.) berr í hendr e-m (a metaphor from hunting), sport falls to one’s lot; hér bæri veiði í hendr nú, here would be a game, Nj. 252; e-t berr undan (a metaphor from fishing, hunting term), when one misses one’s opportunity; vel væri þá … at þá veiði (acc.) bæri eigi undan, that this game should not go amiss, 69; en ef þetta (acc.) berr undan, if this breaks down, 63; hon bað hann þá drepa einhvern manna hans, heldr en allt (acc.) bæri undan, rather than that all should go amiss, Eg. 258: absol., þyki mér illa, ef undan berr, if I miss it, Nj. 155; viljum vér ekki at undan beri at…, we will by no means miss it…, Fms. viii. 309, v. 1. The passage Bs. i. 416 (en fjárhlutr sá er átt hafði Ari, bar undan Guðmundi) is hardly correct, fjárhlut þann would run better, cp. bera undir, as a law term, below.

II. adding prepp.; b. við, at, til, at hendi, at móti, til handa …, to befall, happen, Lat. accidere, occurrere, with dat. of the person, (v. atburðr, viðburðr, tilburðr); engi hlut skyldi þann at b., no such thing should happen as…, Fms. xi. 76; svá bar at einn vetr, it befell, x. 201; þat hefir nú víst at hendi borit, er…, Nj. 174; þó þetta vandræði (acc.) hafi nú borit oss (dat.) at hendi, Eg. 7; b. til handa, id., Sks. 327; bar honum svá til, so it befell him, Fms. xi. 425; at honum bæri engan váðaligan hlut til á veginum, that nothing dangerous should befall him on the way, Stj. 212; bæri þat þá svá við, at hann ryfi, it then perchance might happen, that …, 102; þat bar við at Högni kom, 169, 172, 82; raun (acc.) berr á, it is proved by the fact, event, Fms. ix. 474, x. 185.

2. temp., e-t berr á, it happens to fall on …; ef þing (acc.) ber á hina helgu viku, if the parliament falls on the holy week (Whitsun), Grág. i. 106; ef Crucis messu (acc.) berr á Drottins dag, Rb. 44; berr hana (viz. Petrs messu, June 29) aldrei svá optarr á öldinni, 78; þat er nú berr oss næst, what has occurred of late, Sturl. iii. 182: b. í móti, to happen exactly at a time; þetta (acc.) bar í móti at þenna sama dag andaðist Brandr biskup, Bs. i. 468; b. saman, id.; bar þat saman, at pá var Gunnarr at segja brennusöguna, just when G. was about telling the story, Nj. 269.

3. metaph. of agreement or separation; en þat (acc.) þykir mjök saman b. ok þessi frásögn, Fms. x. 276: with dat., bar öllum sögum vel saman, all the records agreed well together, Nj. 100, v. l.; berr nú enn í sundr með þeim, Bjarna ok Þorkatli at sinni, B. and Th. missed each other, Vápn. 25.

4. denoting cause; e-t (acc.) berr til …, causes a thing; ætluðu þat þá allir, at þat mundi til bera, that that was the reason, Nj. 75; at þat beri til skilnaðar okkars, that this will make us to part (divorce), 261; konungr spurði, hvat til bæri úgleði hans, what was the cause of his grief? Fms. vi. 355; þat berr til tunglhlaups, Rb. 32.

β. meiri ván at brátt beri þat (acc.) til bóta, at herviliga steypi hans ríki, i. e. there will soon come help (revenge), Fms. x. 264; fjórir eru þeir hlutir er menn (acc.) berr í ætt á landi hér, there are four cases under which people may be adopted, Grág. i. 361.

γ. e-t berr undir e-n, falls to a person’s lot; hon á arf at taka þegar er undir hana berr, in her turn, 179; mikla erfð (acc.) bar undir hana, Mar. (Fr.); berr yfir, of surpassing, Bs. ii. 121, 158; b. frá, id. (fráburðr); herðimikill svá at þat (acc.) bar frá því sem aðrir menn, Eg. 305; er sagt, at þat bæri frá hve vel þeir mæltu, it was extraordinary how well they did speak, Jb. 11; bar þat mest frá hversu illa hann var limaðr, but above all, how…, Ó. H. 74.

5. with adverbial nouns in a dat. form; e-t berr bráðum, happens of a sudden; berr þetta (acc.) nú allbráðum, Fms. xi. 139; cp. vera bráðum borinn, to be taken by surprise (above); berr stórum, stærrum, it matters a great deal; ætla ek stærrum b. hin lagabrotin (acc.), they are much more important, matter more, vii. 305; var þat góðr kostr, svá at stórum bar, xi. 50; hefir oss orðit svá mikil vanhyggja, at stóru berr, an enormous blunder, Gísl. 51; svá langa leið, at stóru bar, Fas. i. 116; þat berr stórum, hversu mér þóknast vel þeirra athæfi, it amounts to a great deal, my liking their service, i. e. I do greatly like, Fms. ii. 37; eigi berr þat allsmám hversu vel mér líkar, in no small degree do I like, x. 296.

β. with dat., it is fitting, becoming; svá mikit sem landeiganda (dat.) berr til at hafa eptir lögum, what he is legally entitled to, Dipl. iii. 10; berr til handa, it falls to one’s lot, v. above, Grág. i. 93.

III. answering to Lat. oportet, absolutely or with an adverb, vel, illa, with infinit.; e-m berr, it beseems, becomes one; berr þat ekki né stendr þvílíkum höfuðfeðr, at falsa, Stj. 132; berr yðr (dat.) vel, herra, at sjá sannindi á þessu máli, Fms. ix. 326; sagði, at þat bar eigi Kristnum mönnum, at særa Guð, x. 22; þá siðu at mér beri vel, Sks. 353 B: used absol., berr vel, illa, it is beseeming, proper, fit, unbeseeming, unfit, improper; athæfi þat er vel beri fyrir konungs augliti, 282; þat þykir ok eigi illa bera, at maðr hafi svart skinn til hosna, i. e. it suits pretty well, 301: in case of a pers. pron. in acc. or dat. being added, the sentence becomes personal in order to avoid doubling the impers. sentence, e. g. e-m berr skylda (not skyldu) til, one is bound by duty; veit ek eigi hver skylda (nom.) yðr (acc.) ber til þess at láta jarl einn ráða, Fms. i. 52: also leaving the dat. out, skylda berr til at vera forsjámaðr með honum, vii. 280; eigi berr hér til úviska mín, it is not that I am not knowing, Nj. 135.

IV. when the reflex. inflexion is added to the verb, the noun loses its impers. character and is turned from acc. into nom., e. g. þar (þat?) mun hugrinn minn mest hafa fyrir borizt, this is what I suspected, fancied, Lv. 34; cp. hugarburðr, fancy, and e-t berr fyrir e-n (above, C. I. 2); hefir þetta (nom.) vel í móti borizt, a happy coincidence, Nj. 104; ef svá harðliga kann til at berask, if the misfortunes do happen, Gþl. 55; barsk sú úhamingja (nom.) til á Íslandi, that mischief happened (no doubt the passage is thus to be emended), Bs. i. 78, but bar þá úhamingju …; þat (nom.) barsk at, happened, Fms. x. 253; fundir várir (nom.) hafa at borizt nokkurum sinnum, vii. 256; þat barsk at á einhverju sumri, Eg. 154; bærist at um síðir at allr þingheimrinn berðist, 765, cp. berast við, berask fyrir above (B. V.): berast, absol., means to be shaken, knocked about; var þess ván, at fylkingar mundu berast í hergöngunni, that they would be brought into some confusion, Fms. v. 74; Hrólfr gékk at ramliga, ok barst Atli (was shaken, gave away) fyrir orku sakir, þar til er hann féll. Fas. iii. 253; barst Jökull allr fyrir orku sakir (of two wrestling), Ísl. ii. 467, Fms. iii. 189: vide B. IV.

D. In mod. usage the strong bera—bar is also used in impersonal phrases, denoting to let a thing be seen, shew, but almost always with a negative preceding, e. g. ekki bar (ber) á því, it could ( can) not be seen; að á engu bæri, láta ekki á bera ( to keep tight), etc. All these phrases are no doubt alterations from the weak verb bera, að, nudare, and never occur in old writers; we have not met with any instance previous to the Reformation; the use is certainly of late date, and affords a rare instance of weak verbs turning into strong; the reverse is more freq. the case.

* * *

(held; hélt, héldum; haldinn), v.

I. with dat.

1) to hold fast (Gunnarr var kyrr svá at honum hélt einn maðr);

to keep back, restrain (Hrafn fekk eigi haldit henni heima);

2) to withhold (héldu bœndrgjaldinu);

3) to keep, retain (þú skalt jafhan þessu sæti halda);

to preserve (halda virðingu sinni, lífi ok limum);

halda vöku sinni, to keep oneself awake;

4) to hold, keep one’s stock;

also ellipt. (vetr var illr ok héldu menn illa);

5) phrases, halda njósnum, to keep watch, to spy (= halda njósnum til um e-t);

halda (hendi) fyrir auga, to hold (the hand) before the eyes, shade the eyes;

halda hendi yfir e-m, to protect one;

6) to hold, stand, steer, ellipt., þeir héldu aptr (held back again) um haustit;

þeir héldu út eptir fírði, they stood out the firth;

halda heim, to steer homewards;

7) to graze, put in the field (halda fé til haga);

8) impers. to continue, last (hélt því lengi um vetrinn);

II. with acc.

1) to hold in possession, a fief, land, estate (þeir héldu alla hina beztu staði með sjónum);

2) to hold, keep, observe, a feast, holiday (í hvers minning heldr þú þenna. dag?);

3) to keep (halda orð sín, eið, sættir, frið);

to observe (halda guðs lög ok landsins);

4) to uphold, maintain, support (halda vini sína, halda e-n til ríkis);

5) halda sik, to comport oneself (kunna halda sik með hófi);

halda sik ríkmannliga, to fare sumptuously;

halda sik aptr af e-u, to abstain from;

6) to hold, consider, deem (hón hélt engan hans jafningja);

7) to hold, keep up;

halda varnir, to keep up a defence;

halda vörð, to keep watch;

8) to hold, compel, bind (heldr mik þá ekki til útanferðar);

þó heldr þik várkunn til at leita á, thou hast some excuse for trying;

III. with preps.:

halda á e-u, to hold, wield in the hand (halda á sverði);

to hold to a thing, go on with it, be busy about (halda á drykkju, á ferð sinni, á sýslu);

halda e-t af e-m, to hold (land, office) from or of one (þeir er höfðu haldið land af Danakonungi);

halda mikit af e-m, to make much of one;

halda eptir e-m, to pursue one;

halda e-u eptir, to keep back;

halda sik frá e-u, to keep oneself back from, refrain from;

halda e-u fram, to uphold, support;

halda e-u fyrir e-u, to withhold from one;

to protect against (héldu engar grindr fénu fyrir birninum);

halda e-n fyrir e-t, to hold, consider one to be so and so (síðan hélt konungr Erling fyrir tryggvan vin);

halda í e-t, to hold fast, grasp (þú skalt halda í hurðarhringinn);

halda til e-s, to be the cause of, be conducive to;

heldr þar margt til þess, there are many reasons for this;

hélt til þess (conduced to it) góðgirni hans;

halda til e-s, to be bent on, fond of (halda mjök til skarts, til gleði);

halda til jafns við e-n, to bear up against one, to be a match for one;

halda um e-t, to grasp with the hand (= halda hendi um e-t);

halda barni undir skírn, to hold at baptism;

halda e-u upp, to hold aloft, lift (halda upp höndum);

halda upp árum, to hold up the oars, cease pulling;

to uphold, maintain, support (halda upp hofum, kristninni);

to keep going (halda upp bardaga);

to discharge (halda upp kostnaði, bótum);

halda upp bœnum fyrir e-m, to pray for one;

halda e-u við, to maintain a thing;

halda við e-m, to stand against (hvar sem harm kom fram, hélt ekki við honum);

impers. to be on the point of;

hélt þá við atgöngu (acc.), they were near coming to fight;

heldr nú við hót, it is little short of threats;

IV. refl., haldast.

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pret. hélt (= Goth. haihald), 2nd pérs. hélt, mod. hélzt, pl. héldum; pres. held, pl. höldum; pret. subj. héldi; part. haldinn; imperat. hald and haltú: [Ulf. haldan = βόσκειν, ποιμαίνειν, whereas he renders to keep, hold by other words; Hel. haldan = alere, fovere, colere, which thus seems to be the primitive sense of the word, and to be akin to Lat. cŏlo; again, A. S. healdan, Engl. hold, O. H. G. haltan, Germ. halten, Swed. hålla, halda, Dan. holde, are all of them used in a more general sense]:—to hold.

A. WITH DAT. to hold to:

I. to hold fast by; with the notion of restraint or force, tók Gizurr förunaut Ögmundar ok hélt honum, Sturl. i. 150; Gunnarr var kyrr svá at honum hélt einn maðr, Nj. 92; ef maðr heldr manni …, varðar fjörbaugs-garð, Grág. ii. 110; h. e-m undir drep, 17; h. skipum ( to grapple the ships) með stafnljám, Fms. ii. 315: to keep back, Hrafn fékk eigi haldit henni heima þar, Ísl. ii. 249; ok halda þeim veðr í enni sömu höfn, Grág. i. 92; h. (sér) í e-t, to hold oneself fast by, grasp, þú skalt h. í hurðar-hringinn, Dropl. 29; heldr sér í faxit, Sd. 177.

β. so in the phrases, halda barni (manni) undir skírn, vatn, primsignan, biskups hönd, eccl. to hold a bairn ( man) at baptism, prima signatio, confirmation, Grág. i. 29; h. vatni (tárum), to hold one’s tears, 623. 56, Fms. viii. 232, vi. (in a verse); halda munni, to hold one’s tongue, be silent, vii. 227; halda tungu sinni, Þórð.

2. to withhold; þá megu þeir h. tíundum hans í móti, K. Þ. K. 62; h. vætti, Grág. i. 42; h. gögnum, 56; ef goði heldr tylftar-kvið, er hann heldr kviðnum, 58; halda matinum fyrir honum, 47; h. sköttum fyrir e-m, Nj. 8; h. skógar-manni fyrir e-m, Finnb. 334; um þat er hann hefir konunni haldit, Grág. i. 313; héldu bændr gjaldinu, Fms. vii. 302; hélt ek því (i. e. the money) fyrir honum, i. e. paid it not, Ísl. ii. 244.

II. to hold, of a rope or the like; sá maðr hugði h. mundu er festi, … ok h. mundu í slíku veðri, Grág. ii. 361; reip þau tíu er tveggja manna afli haldi hvert, id.; skal hann svá göra at haldi fyrir fyrnsku, 268.

β. to hold, hold out, last; optast halda þar íllviðri litla hríð, Sks. 212; sunnudags-helgi ríss upp á laugardegi, ok heldr ( lasts) til mánadags, N. G. L. i. 138.

III. to keep, retain, Germ. behalten; fá-ein skip héldu seglum sinum, Fms. x. 143; þú skalt jafnan þessu sæti h., Nj. 6; h. bústað sínum, Ld. 26; h. ríki sínu, Al. 58, Fms. i. 13; h. öllum Noregi, viii. 155; h. frelsi ok eignum, vi. 40; h. hlut sínum, to uphold one’s right, Eg. passim; halt sömum vinum sem ek hefi haft, Fas. i. 375; h. hreinleik sínum, Al. 58.

β. to hold, keep safe, preserve; h. hlut sínum, Ld. 54; h. heilsu, Grág. i. 145; h. virðingu sinni, Ld. 16; þá heldr hann kosti sínum, Grág. ii. 209; h. tíma ( honour) sínum, Al. 59; h. lífi ok limum, Eg. 89; h. lífinu, Nj. 111; h. trúnaði sínum, 109; vináttu sinni, Ld. 200; einorð sinni, Fb. ii. 265; h. sér réttum, to keep oneself right, Ld. 158; h. e-m heilum, Odd. 30; h. ríki fyrir e-m, Fms. v. 279; h. manna-forræði fyrir e-m, Hrafn. 19; h. réttu máli fyrir e-m, Fms. vii. 64.

2. to continue to keep, keep all along; h. teknum hætti, Fms. iv. 254; h. vöku, to keep oneself awake, Ld. 152; but h. vöku fyrir e-m, to keep another awake; halda sýslu sinni, Fs. 36; h. högum, to keep grazing, Eb. 104, Ld. 148.

3. to hold, keep one’s stock; ellipt., vetr var íllr ok héldu menn ílla, the winter was cold and it was ill to keep live stock, Sturl. ii. 143, (cp. fjár-höld); hann hélt vel svá at nær lifði hvat-vetna, Hrafn. 22: metaph., ílla hefir þinn faðir þá haldit, Fms. xi. 144; öld hefir ílla haldit, the people have had a sad loss, vi. (in a verse); h. fangi, and also ellipt. halda, of sheep and cattle, opp. to ‘to go back.’

4. phrases, halda njósnum, to keep watch, to spy, Fms. viii. 146, Nj. 113; hann hélt njósnum til Önundar, Landn. 287; hélt konungr njósnum til, ef …, Fms. vii. 128; hann skyldi h. njósnum til ok gera orð konungi, i. 54; h. njósnum til um e-t, iv. 119, Nj. 93; halda njósn (sing.) um skip þat, Eg. 74; þér haldit njósnum nær færi gefr á Arnkatli, Eb. 186; hann lét h. njósnum uppi á landi, Fms. vii. 316; hann hélt fréttum til, ef …, iv. 349.

β. halda (hendi) fyrir auga, to hold ( the hand) before the eyes, shade the eyes, Nj. 132, Fms. v. 196; h. fyrir munn e-m, to hold ( the hand) over one’s mouth; h. hendi yfir e-m, to hold the hand over one, protect one, Nj. 266, Fbr. 22, Korm.; h. hendi um háls e-m, to clasp the hands around one’s neck, Fms. i. 9; h. skildi fyrir e-n, to hold the shield for one as a second in a duel, Ísl. ii. 257, passim; h. e-m til náms, to hold one to the book, make one study, K. Þ. K. 56; h. e-m til virðingar, Ld. 98.

IV. ellipt. (liði, skipi, för, stefnu, etc. understood), to hold, stand in a certain direction, esp. as a naut. term; þeir héldu aptr ( stood back again) um haustið, Eg. 69; treystisk hann eigi á haf at halda, Eb. 6; héldu þeir vestr um haf, id.; stigu þeir á skip sín, ok héldu út ( stood out) eptir firði, Fms. i. 63; þeir héldu þat sama sumar til Íslands, Ld. 6; hann hélt upp eptir hinni eystri kvísl, Fms. vii. 55; h. heim, to hold one’s course, stand homewards, Odd. 30; h. á braut, Grág. i. 92; Hrútr hélt suðr til Eyrar-sunds, Nj. 8; h. eptir e-m, to pursue one, 7; h. undan, to fly, Fms. x. 396, Nj. 98 (on land); kom móti þeim sunnan-veðr með myrkri, ok urðu þeir fyrir at h., to lay one’s course for the wind, A. A. 271; h. útleið, to stand on the outer tack, Eg. 78; h. til, to turn against, attack (on sea), Fms. xi. 72; hélt hann liði sínu suðr á Mæri, i. 62; þeir héldu liði sínu norðr til Þrándheims, id.; Haraldr konungr hélt norðan liði sínu, Eg. 32; héldu þeir skipi því suðr með landi, 69; skipi því lét hann halda vestr til Englands, id.; Unnr hélt skipinu í Orkneyjar, eptir þat hélt Unnr skipi sínu til Færeyja, Ld. 8.

β. to graze, put in the field, of sheep, cattle; þykkir mér þat miklu skipta at þeim sé vel til haga haldit, Eg. 714; hvert Steinarr hafði látið nautum sínum halda, 715; ok bað hann h. nautunum annan veg, 716.

γ. phrases, halda kyrru fyrir, to hold still, remain quiet, Ld. 216, Þórð. 30 new Ed., Nj. 223, 258; Hallr heldr nú til fangs ( went fishing) sem áðr, Ld. 38.

V. with prep.; halda á e-u, to hold, wield in the hand, freq. in mod. usage, h. á bók, penna, fjöðr, hníf, skærum, nál, etc.; hafði hverr þat er hélt á, Nj. 279; h. á sverði, Fb. i. 33; hann tók við öxinni ok hélt (viz. á), ok sá á, Eg. 180: to hold fast, heldr nú maðr á manni, Fas. i. 12; eigi máttu helvítis byrgi h. á honum, 656 C. 6; ef hann heldr á fénu ( withholds it), Grág. i. 427.

β. [Germ. anhalten], to hold to a thing, go on with, be busy about; h. á sýslu, to be busy, Rm. 14; h. á keri, qs. halda á drykkju, to go on drinking, carousing, Hm. 18: h. á hinni sömu bæn, Stj. 417; h. á fyrirsátrum við e-n, Þórð. 51 new Ed.; h. á búnaði sínum, Ld. 164; hélt hann þá á búnaði sínum sem skjótligast, Fms. ix. 215, x. 119, Sturl. ii. 245; þogar á bak Jólum hélt Ólafr konungr á búningi, Fms. v. 41; hann heldr nú á málinu, Nj. 259; nú heldr Þórðr á málinu ok verðr Oddný honum gipt, Bjarn. 11, Konr. (Fr.); h. á tilkalli, Fms. i. 84; h. á þessum sið, xi. 41; h. á för, to go on with one’s journey, Sighvat; gengu síðan brott ok héldu á ferð sinni, and went on their journey, Sturl.;—whence the mod. phrase, halda áfram, to go on, which seems not to occur in old writers.

2. halda e-u fram, to hold up, make much of; bróðir minn mun mér mjök hafa fram haldit fyrir ástar sakir, Nj. 3.

β. to hold on doing, (hence fram-hald, continuation); halda fram upp-teknu efni, Fms. i. 263; slíku hélt hann fram meðan hann lifði, iv. 254; hélt hann (fram) teknum hætti um veizlurnar, id., Grett. 14.

3. halda saman, to hold together, Eluc. 6, Fms. vii. 140, Rb. 340.

4. halda e-u upp, to hold aloft, Yngvarr hélt upp vísu þeirri, Eg. 152; steinninn heldr upp annarr öðrum, Rb. 390; h. upp árum, to hold up the oars, cease pulling, Fas. ii. 517, N. G. L. i. 65.

β. to uphold, maintain, support; halda upp hofi, Landn. 64, Eb. 24; h. upp hofum ok efla blót, Fms. i. 91; h. upp kirkju, K. Þ. K. 52; h. upp Kristninni, Fms. i. 32: to keep going, h. upp bardaga, orrostu, xi. 66, 188, 340.

γ. to discharge; h. upp féráns-dómi, Grág. i. 120; h. upp lögskilum, 145; h. upp svörum, Ó. H. 174; h. upp kostnaði, Eg. 77; h. upp gjaldi, Grág. i. 384; gjöldum, Fms. i. 81; h. upp bót, Grág. ii. 182; bótum, Eb. 100, 162, N. G. L. i. 311; ef hann heldr upp yfirbót ( penance) þeirri, Hom. 70; h. upp bænum fyrir e-m, to pray for one, Fms. xi. 271; hélt hann því vel upp sem vera átti, discharged it well, x. 93.

δ. halda sér vel upp, to hold oneself well up, Sturl.

ε. metaph., skal-at hann lögvillr verða, svá at honum haldi þat uppi (i. e. went unpunished), Grág. i. 316; ok heldr honum þat uppi ( that will save him), ef hann er rétt-hafi at orðinn, ii. 242.

5. halda e-u við, to maintain a thing, Hkr. i. 195.

VI. impers.,

1. to continue, last; hélt því nokkura stund dags, Fms. x. 125: hélt því lengi um vetrinn, Ld. 288; regni hélt haustnótt gegnum, Fms. vi. 83.

2. with prep. við, to be on the brink of; hélt þá við atgöngu, they were within a hair’s breadth of coming to fight, Hkr. i. 143; hélt þá við vandræði, Fms. ix. 434; heldr við bardaga, vi. 8; heldr nú við hót, it is little short of a threat, i. 305; hélt við blót, x. 106; ok hélt við flótta, i. 174; hélt við meiðingar, Nj. 21, Sd. 143; henni hélt við, at hón mundi drepa hana, Nj. 118; þeim hélt við váða sjálfan, Ó. H. 168; konungi hélt við, hvárt hann mundi standask eðr eigi, Mag. 100; honum hélt við kafnan, Bs. i. 18; hélt þó við at þeir mundi berjask, Fs. 53.

B. WITH ACC. to hold:

I. to hold in possession, a fief, land, estate, office, or the like; þeir héldu alla hina beztu staði með sjónum, Fms. xi. 131; þeir er áðr höfðu haldit land af Dana-konungi, i. 232; Eirekr skyldi h. land af Aðalsteini konungi, 23; Vemundr hélt Firða-fylki, Eg. 12; hélt hann þat ríki undir Knút konungi, Ísl. ii. 242; í þeirri borg héldu þeir langfeðgar fimmtán konungdóma, Ver. 37; h. land sem leigu-land, Grág. ii. 278; konungrinn heldr af Guði nafnit, Sks. 599 B; prestar er kirkjur halda, H. E. i. 486; sá prestr er heldr Pétrs-kirkju, N. G. L. i. 312; presta þeirra er kirkju halda, 346; skal sá maðr ráða er kirkju heldr, K. Þ. K. 60; Ólafs kirkju þá er Væringjar halda (the parish church of W.), Hkr. iii. 408.

2. halda ábyrgju, ábyrgð á e-n, to have the responsibility of a thing, Grág. ii. 399, K. Þ. K. 66; h. grip, to be in the possession of, Grág. i. 438, ii. 190; h. skóla, to keep a school, Mar.; h. fylgð, to perform, Fms. ix. 279; eiga vandræði at h., to be in a strait, difficulty, Eb. 108.

II. to hold, keep, observe, a feast, holiday, or the like; halda kirkju-dag, K. Þ. K. 42; í hvers minning heldr þú þenna dag? Nj. 157; h. helgan þvátt-dag hvern, Pr. 437; h. helga daga, Sl.; h. Jóla-dag, Páska, Hvíta-sunnu, Rb. 134; minnstú að h. helgan hvíldar-daginn Drottins Guðs þíns (the Fourth Commandment in the Icel. version); h. heilagt, to keep holiday, Dipl. ii. 14; í dag þá hátíð höldum vér til himna sté vor Herra, Hólabók 54; er Júdar héldu hátíðligt, Stj. 110; (hence forn-haldinn, time-honoured): of the day-marks (vide dagr, p. 95), er þaðan haldinn miðr-morgin, Hrafn. 9.

2. to keep; halda orð sín, to keep one’s word, Fms. x. 95; höldum öll einka-mál vár, vii. 305; h. sættir, Nj. 57; gerðú svá vel, félagi, at þú halt vel sætt þessa, 111, Sturl. iii. 153, Fs. 65, Gullþ. 20; hann kvaðsk vilja hafa svardaga af þeim ok festu, at halda, Nj. 164; h. eið, Sturl. iii. 153; h. frið, to keep peace, Greg. 7; ef þú vilt nokkura hluti eigi h. þá er ek hefi á lagt við þik, Eg. 738: to observe faith, law, rite, etc., halda átrúnað, Fms. i. 34, x. 277; h. Guðs lög ok landsins, vii. 305; h. lands lög, viii. 155; h. ein lög, 625. 52; hafa ok halda þau lög, Fms. i. 34; h. Kristilega trú, K. Á. 74; h. mál (orð) e-s, Greg. 17; h. alla hluti með athugasamlegu minni, Sks. 439.

3. to keep, tend; halda geitr, Hkv. 2. 20 (exactly as in Gothic).

III. to uphold, maintain, support; þykkir mér þér sé nú ísjár-vert, hvárt þú munt fá haldit þik eðr eigi, Nj. 155; munu vér þó ekki einhlitir at h. oss eptir þessi verk, Háv. 50; at hón mætti með valdi h. sik ok menn sína, Fas. i. 375; þat væri nokkurr várkunn, at þú héldir frænda þinn eðr fóstbróður, en þetta er alls engi (at) halda útlaga konungs, Ó. H. 145; enda ætla ek lítinn viljann til at h. vini þína, Fms. vii. 244; því at Eysteinn konungr kenndi Inga konungi, at hann héldi þá menn, 248; ef þú heldr hann ( upholdest him) til þess at ganga á vini mína, Eg. 339; viljum vér allir fylgja þér ok þik til konungs halda, Fms. i. 34; Stephanus skyldi h. hann til laga ok réttinda, Sks. 653; h. e-n til ríkis, Fb. i. 236; vinsæld föður hans hélt hann mest til alþýðu vináttu, Fms. vii. 175; þeir sem upp h. ( sustain) þenna líkama, Anecd. 4.

β. phrases, halda e-m kost, borð, to keep at board, entertain, Fms. ix. 220, x. 105, 146, Nj. 6; or, halda e-n at klæðum ok drykk, Ó. H. 69; h. stríð, bellum gerere (not class.), Fms. x. 51; h. úfrið, Fas. ii. 539.

2. halda sik, to comfort oneself, Sks. 281, Hom. 29; kunna sik með hófi at h., Sturl. iii. 108; h. sik ríkmannliga, to fare sumptuously, Ld. 234; hann hélt betr húskarla sína en aðrir, Fms. vii. 242; h. mjök til skarts, to dress fine, Ld. 196; þar var Hrefna ok hélt allmjök til skarts, id.; hann var hægr hvers-dagliga, ok hélt mjök til gleði, Sturl. iii. 123; hélt hann hér mjök til vinsælda ok virðinga, he enjoyed much popularity and fame, Ld. 298.

β. ellipt. (sik understood), at h. til jafns við e-n, to bear up against one, to be a match for one, Ld. 40; ef þér hefir eigi til þess hug eðr afl at h. til jafns við e-n húskarl Þorsteins, Eg. 714; h. til fullnaðar, to stand on one’s full rights; ef þær taka eigi fullrétti, eðr h. eigi til fullnaðar, Grág. ii. 109; h. fullara, to hold one above other men, Ó. H. (in a verse); lét konungr þá h. mjök til ( make great preparations) at syngja messu hátíðliga, Hkr. i. 287.

3. to hold forth, put forward; at þeim inyiidi þungbýlt vera í nánd honum, ef þeir héldi nokkurn annan fyrir betra mann en hann, Ld. 26; síðan hélt konungr Erling fyrir tryggvan mann, Fms. ix. 399.

β. to hold, deem, be of opinion; the old writers seem not to use the word exactly in this sense, but near to it come such phrases as, hón hélt engan hans jafningja innan hirðar hvárki í orðum né öðrum hlutum, i. e. she held him to be above all men, Ld. 60; halda menn hann fyrir konung, Fb. i. 216; still closer, halda menn at Oddný sé nú betr gipt, Bjarn. 12 (but only preserved in a paper MS.): this sense is very freq. in mod. usage, to hold, mean, eg held það; eg held ekki, I think not; (hence hald, opinion.)

γ. phrases, halda mikit upp á e-n, to hold one in much esteem, love, Stj. 33; halda af e-m, id., Fas. i. 458, ii. 63, 200, iii. 520, esp. freq. in mod. usage, (upp-á-hald, af-hald, esteem.)

4. to hold on, keep up; halda varnir, to keep up a defence, Sks. 583; halda vörð, to keep watch, Eg. 120, Grág. i. 32, 264; halda njósn, Eg. 72, 74, Fms. xi. 46; halda tal af e-m, to speak, communicate with one, ii. 88.

5. to hold, be valid, be in force, a law term; á sú sekt öll at halda, Grág. i. 89; á þat at h. allt er þeir urðu á sáttir, 86; enda á þat at h. með þeim síðan, ii. 336.

IV. to hold, compel, bind (with the notion of obligation or duty); heldr mik þá ekki til utan-ferðar, Nj. 112; þó heldr þik várkunn til at leita á, i. e. thou art excused, thou hast some excuse in trying, 21; var auðsætt hvat til hélt um sættir, Bjarn. 70; þik heldr eigi hér svá mart, at þú megir eigi vel bægja héraðs-vist þinni, Eb. 252; þar mælir þú þar, er þik heldr várkunn til at mæla, Nj. 227; ek mun vera vinr hans, ok alla þá, er at mínum orðum láta, halda til vináttu við hann, i. e. I will be his friend, and all those who lend ear to my words I will hold to friendship with him, Eg. 18.

2. halda sik frá e-u, to keep oneself from, to refrain from a thing, Sks. 276 B; h. sik frá munaðlífi, Post. 656 A. ii. 16, Hom. 53, 135; h. sik aptr af e-u, to abstain from, Hkr. i. 512.

V. absol. to be the cause of, be conducive to a thing; heldr þar margt til þess, there are many reasons for this, Nj. 192; vildim vér vita hvat til heldr, Fms. vii. 106; en hann vissi eigi hvat til hafði haldit, er hann kom eigi, xi. 11; margir hlutir héldu til þess, Eg. 38; þat hélt til þess, at …, Al. 94; hélt til þess ( conduced to it) góðgirnd hans, stórmennska ok vitsmunir, Fs. 29; hefir þat mjök til haldit, er ek hefi svá lengi dvalizt, at ek ætlaða, Ld. 32; hann lét bæði til h. vingan ok mágsemd, Fs. 24; heldr þat mest til at þá var komit útfall sjávar, Ld. 56; hélt þat mest til þess, at hann gafsk bezt í öllum mannraunum, 60; þat eitt hélt til, at þeir fóru eigi málum á hendr Þórði, at þeir höfðu eigi styrk til, 138.

VI. to hold, comprise; sólar-öld heldr tuttugu ok átta ár, Rb. 510; h. skor (of weight), Grág. i. 500.

☞ In some instances the use of dat. and acc. wavers, e. g. halda húsum, to keep up the houses, Grág. ii. 278, 335; h. hliði, to keep the gate in repair, 265; but halda hlið (acc.), 332: to keep, observe, h. lögum, griðum, boðorðum, Glúm. 333, Grág. i. 357, ii. 166, 623. 28; hélt hann þessu sumu, Fms. x. 416 (Ágrip); halda ílla orðum, vii. (in a verse); þeir er því þingi áttu at h., Glúm. 386; h. sáttum, St. 17; h. eiðum, Bkv. 18; Gizuri þótti biskup h. ríkt ( protect strongly) brennu-mönnum, Sturl. i. 201 C; Guð er sínum skepnum heldr (keeps, protects) ok geymir, Mar.; þá hélt engi kirkju mönnum, … kept no man safe, Fms. ix. 508; h. njósn (acc.) um e-t, Eg. 74; h. til njósn, 72; njósnir, Fms. xi. 46. In most of these instances the acc. is the correct case, and the dat. is due either to careless transcribers or incorrect speaking: in some instances an enclitic um has been taken for a dative inflexion, thus e. g. sáttum haldi in Stor. l. c. is to be restored to sátt um haldi; eiðum haldit in Bkv. l. c. to eið (for eiða) um haldit; in others the prep. um has caused the confusion, as ‘halda njósn um at’ has been changed into halda njósnum at. But in the main the distinction between the use of dat. and acc. is fixed even at the present time: the acc. seems to represent the more primitive usage of this verb, the dat. the secondary.

C. REFLEX.:

I. to hold oneself, to stay; héldusk þeir þá ekki fyrir norðan Stað, Fms. i. 63; mátti hann eigi þar haldask, Landn. 246; h. á baki, to keep oneself on horseback, keep one’s seat, Grág. ii. 95; munu þeir skamma stund hér við haldask, Nj. 247: to be kept, remain, þá skal hann h. með Helju, Edda 39: to resist, megu vér ekki við h. fyrir ofreflis-mönnum þessum, Nj. 254; hélzk þá ekki við honum, Eg. 289; mann er svá hefir haldisk við höfuð-syndum, Hom. 157.

β. to hold out, last, continue; ok hélzk ferillinn, Eg. 579; hélzk undr þetta allt til dags, Nj. 272 (twice); hélzk konungdómr í kyni hans, Rb. 394; lengi síðan hélzk bruna-öld með Svíum, Yngl. S.; lengi hélzk þat í ætt þeirri, at …, Eg. 770; hélzk vinátta með þeim, Nj. 66; þat hefir enn haldizk í ætt hans, Fms. iv. 8; ok hefir þat haldizk ( it has continued to be so) síðan er ek hefi hann séð, Ld. 174; honum haldisk (imperat.) sigr ok langt líf, Ver. 57; betr þætti mér, at hún héldisk þér, that it (the luck) would hold out for thee, Fb. ii. 74; ef hann helzk í útrú sinni, if he perseveres in his untruth, 623. 26.

γ. to be kept safe and sound; menn allir héldusk ( all bands were saved) ok svá fé, Ld. 8, Fs. 143; þar héldusk menn allir ok mestr hluti fjár, Eg. 405; hafði fé vel haldizk, has been well kept, done well, Ld. 34.

δ. to be valid, stand; eigu þau handsöl hennar at haldask, Grág. i. 334; engi má haldask dómr hans, Edda 15; skyldu þau (the truce) haldask um þingit, Nj. 348.

2. impers., mér helzk, e-m helzk vel, ílla, á e-u, to have a good hold, have luck with a thing; mér helzk lítt á sauða-mönnum, Grett. 110 A.

3. recipr., haldask á, to hold or pull one against another, wrestle, (hence á-höld); var sagt Magnúsi, at þeir héldisk á úti, that they were fighting outside, Sturl. ii. 44.

II. part. pass. haldinn, [Dan. holden], so ‘holden,’ in such and such a state; vel haldinn, in good condition, faring well, well to do, Eg. 20, 234; hugðusk þar ok haldnir ( safe) mundu vera, Ver. 34; þungliga h., very sick, Eg. 565, Hkr. ii. 199; vel haldinn, doing well; tak heldr annat fé, svá mikit, at þú þykisk vel haldinn af, i. e. fully satisfied, having got full redress, Boll. 350; Sveinn sagði, at hann vill hafa tvá hluti fjárins, Hrani sagðisk ekki af því haldinn ( satisfied) vera, Fms. iv. 31: in the phrase, heilu ok höldnu, safe and sound, Bs. i. 191, Fms. xi. 376, Hkr. i. 319; með höldnu hljóði, preserving the sound, Skálda 175.

2. ok mun þykkja sér misboðit ef þú ert haldinn (kept, protected), Finnb. 344.

β. kept, observed, Fms. xi. 99.

γ. held in custody, in prison, Bs. i. 419, Sturl. i. 151.

III. gerund., haldandi, holding good, valid; sá dómr er eigi haldandi, is not valid, K. Á. 304; af öllu afli er friðr haldandi, Hom. 5.

2. part. act., með upp haldandi höndum, with uplifted hands, Bs. i. 684.

(má, mátta, mátt), v.

1) to be able to do, with acc.; eigi eru Asynjur úhelgari ok eigi megu þær minna, they are not less powerful; svá at vér mættim ekki, so that we could do nothing; m. betr, to be the stronger; m. við e-m, to be able to withstand one (hann mun ekki m. einn við mörgum); skulu mikit þín orð m. við mik, thy words shall have much weight with me;

2) of health; m. vel, to be well; m. lítt, illa, to be poorly (hann spurpi, hversu hann mætti. — Eigi má ek nú vel, sagði hann); m. e-m, to do for one (má yðr þat, er yfir margan gengr);

3) with infin., to be able; mátt þú sjá hana, ef þú vill, thou canst see her, if thou wilt; hann mátti ekki mæla, he could say nothing;

4) to be permitted, allowed (hann mátti aldri tala til Kjartans, svá at Þorkell var hjá); nú man eigi m. sitjanda hlut í eiga, one must not remain sitting, be inactive;

5) ellipt., the verb being understood (lemja man ek bogann, ef ek má); ferr þat sem má, go that as it may; má, at, it is possible that; þeir spurðu hversu þat mætti, how that could be.

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pres. in a pret. form má, mátt, má; plur. megum, megut, megu, later and mod. megit, mega; pret. mátti; subj. pres. megi, pret. mætti; part. mátt; with suff. má’k = má ek, Og. 33; mætta’k = mætta ek, Þkv. 3; máttú = mátt-þú, passim: with neg. suff. pres. 1st pers. má’k-a, I cannot, Stor. 18; má’k-at ek, Am. 12; má’k-a’k, 52; má’kk-at-ek, Hallfred (Fs. 107): pret. mátti’g-a’k, I could not, Og. 32: [Ulf. magan = δύνασθαι; A. S. magan; Engl. may, might; Germ. mögen; Dan. maae.]

B. To have strength to do, avail; svá at vér mættim ekki, so that we availed not, Am. 17; mega betr, to be the stronger, Karl. 423; allt má þó nauðigr skyldi, a saying, i. e. necessity is a great schoolmaster, Sturl. iii. 255; eigi megu þær minna, they are not less powerful, Edda 13; hverr er sá Guð, eða hvat má hann? 2: with dat., mega við e-m, to be able to withstand one; hann mun ekki mega einn við mörgum, Art. 22; ekki má við marginum, none can withstand the many, Fms. xi. 278; mega sér, var honum haldit til vinnu þegar er hann mátti sér nokkut, as soon as he grew strong, had any strength, Bs. i. 35; skulu mikit þín orð mega við mik, thy words shall go for much, Nj. 175; jafnmikit mega níu momentur ok tólf, Rb. 458.

2. of health, like Lat. valere; mega vel, to be well; mega ílla, lítt, to be poorly, and so on; Komtú í Hitardal? segir Sturla—Já, sagði ferðamaðr—Hversu mátti Þorleifr?—Vel mátti hann, ok því var betr, at hann mátti vel, Sturl. i. 89; Hallr spurði, hversu þær mætti,—Harðla vel megum vit, Fms. ii. 201; hann var spurðr hversu hann mætti,—Má ek harða ílla, vi. 237; hann spyrr at Sigvalda, honum er sagt, at hann mátti lítið, xi. 102; hann spurði hversu hann mætti,—Eigi má ek nú vel, sagði hann, Bs. i. 182:—to do for one, má yðr þat er yfir margan gengr, it will do for one, what all others must bear, Eb. 168.

II. followed by an infinitive, to be able; mátt þú sjá hana ef þú vill, thou canst see her if thou wilt, Nj. 3; þóttusk menn eigi mega leita hans, Eg. 230; at hann mætti fá sæmd sína, Fms. vi. 398; allt þat hann má miðla, Grág. i. 250; fé máttu þeir ekki bjarga, Nj. 267; hann mátti ekki mæla, Band. 14; sá einn hlutr var svá, at Njáli féll svá nær, at hann mátti aldri úklökvandi um tala, Nj. 171; þaðan sem þú mátt vel eta, 75; litlar sögur megu ganga frá hesti mínum, 90; fá mættim vér betr; landtöku, id.; í öllu er prýða má góðan höfðingja, Fms. x. 230; dyrr þær er ganga mátti upp í húsit, Eg. 421; svá at hann mátti kveða um morguninn, id.; má vera, it may be, Nj. 75: hvat megi! as adverb, hvat megi til vita! nema þér vilit bíða vár hér, may be ye will wait here for us, Band. 40 new Ed.; hvat megi vinna okkrum ástum? Konnak; and so in countless instances.

2. to be permitted, allowed; hann mátti aldri tala til Kjartans svá at Þorkell væri hjá, Ld. 232; halda máttú þessu sæti þótt hón komi sjálf til, Nj. 6; graut má göra hvárt er sygnt er eða heilagt, N. G. L. i. 349; kynfylgju spell, svá at hann má eigi ( cannot) lag eiga við konu sína, þá megu þau ( then they may) skiljast, H. E. i. 248; nú man eigi mega sitjanda hlut í eiga, in that case one must not remain sitting, be inactive, a looker on, Nj. 110; hann kvað þat eigi mega (that would not do, not be lawful) er maðr var sekr orðinn, 117.

3. ellipt., the verb göra or vera being understood; lemja man ek bogann, ef ek má (viz. göra þat), Fms. x. 362; þat má vel, sagði Özurr. I may as well do so, I will, Nj. 6, Barl. 2, 4, 25: ef svá má (viz. vera), if so be, Grág. i. 411: the saying, ungr má en gamall skal, the young may, the old must (die); nálgastú mik ef þú megir, if thou canst, Gm.; þeir spurðu, hversu þat mætti, Fms. ix. 239; ok má (it may be, perhaps), at hans menn fari á land, Fbr. 74 new Ed.; en þá, verðr eptir þat sem má, leave the rest to luck, Gullþ. 7; ferr þat sem má, fare that as it may, go that as it may, Nj. 38; en þat mætti (viz. vera) at vér vikim þá skammt inn at leginu, Fms. vii. 361; má ok, at sumir sé vinhollir nokkut, ix. 331; má, at hana hendi eigi slík úgipta í annat sinn, Nj. 23; má, at ek leiti þagat vináttu. Fms. vi. 399: the ellipt. mættim (hafa), ix. 239 (lines 17, 18), is a mere slip.

III. part. megandi, availing, mighty, strong; athafnarlauss ok ekki megandi, listless and of no avail, Fms. iii. 154; fylldi hann þat heit, er hann var megandi maðr, as soon as he grew to be a man of might, Bs. i. 791; lítt megandi, ‘of little main,’ feeble, helpless, Vsp. 17; ú-megandi, poor, destitute; cp. ú-magi.

(þolda, þolt or þolat), v.

1) to bear, endure, suffer (þola högg, mannraun dauða); reyna, hvárt hann þyldi járn eða eigi, to try whether he could bear iron or not; þola hart, to suffer hardship; hversu þoldi S. í brennunni, how did S. bear the burning?;

2) þola e-m e-t, to bear it at one’s hand (kann verap at þá sá nökkurir svá röskvir, at ei þoli jarli allan ósóma); þola eigi lög, not to bear the law; eigi skal þat, ok skal þola Snorra lög, S. shall have the benefit of the law;

3) to feel at rest, be still or quiet; þá œðist dýrit svá at þat þolir hvergi, so that it has no rest; fylgdi svá mikill verkr, at hann mátti hvergi kyrr þola, so great pain that he could nowhere remain quiet.

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pres. þoli, pret. þolði, subj. þylði (þølði); part. þolt, later form þolat; [Goth. þulan = ἀνέχεσθαι, στέγειν; A. S. þoljan; Old Engl. and Scot. thole.; O. H. G. doljan, dolon; Dan. taale; Germ. dulden; Lat. tulisse, tol-erare; Gr. τλα- in τληναι, etc.]:—to bear, endure, suffer; reyna hvert hann þyldi járn eðr eigi, whether he could bear it or not, Fms. vii. 250; hvárt Þrændir þyldi atgörða-laust, ef …, vi. 38; ok þoli skor, Grág. ii. 188; at þau (the ships) þeyldi (i.e þøldi) mannfarminn, Fms. viii. 380, v. l.; mannraunir er hann hafði þolat, vi. 19; hversu þoldi Skarphéðinn í brennunni … vel fyrst en þó lauk svá at hann grét, Nj. 270; ef slíkt þolist, Ísl. ii. 406; eigi er þat þolanda (gerund.), it is intolerable, K. Á. 36; spyrr hversu lengi hann hafði þat áfelli þolt, Fms. x. 226; lengi höfu vér þolt þeirra ofsa, 237; þau hafa mart högg þolt í dag, 360; hversu hart þeir hafa þolat, Fas. i. 339.

2. þola e-m e-t, to bear it at one’s hand; kann vera at þá sé nokkurir svá röskvir at eigi þoli jarli allan ósóma, Fms. i. 208; munt þú skora mér á hólm ok þola eigi lög, Nj. 87; eigi skal þat ok skal þola Snorra lög, let us ‘thole’ the law to Snorri, i. e. let us give him the benefit of the law, Eb. 100; undrumk ek at Guð þolir honum þá ofdirfð, Fms. vii. 261; þeir þolðu honum eigi réttindi, Ó. H. 190; mun konungr eigi þola þér lengr at þú gangir á hans ríki, Fms. xi. 62; hugði hann at jarl mundi þola honum her, he had a mind that the earl should thole war at his hand, he would wage war against the earl, 3; at hann mundi lúka honum skatt eðr tola her ella, Fas. i. 329.

3. þola ílla, þola hart, to suffer hardship, Stj. 247, Bs. i. 201; þola önd, to keep breath; hann rann hundrað skrefa meðan hann þoldi önd einu sinni, in one breath, Rb. 482: hence the mod. þola önn (i. e. önd) fyrir e-n, to feel a pang for one, feel anxiety, concern; see önd.

II. to feel at rest, be still or quiet, stir not; kistan þoldi uppi sem fyrr eða nokkuru verr …, Bs. i. 712; (one would say that the mod. tolla, to rest, sit fast, was a corruption of this phrase, were it not that tolla occurs in the verse in Hallfr. S.); æðisk dyrit svá at þat þolir hvergi, so that it has no rest, Lækn. 472; fylgði svá mikill verkr, at hann mátti hvergi kyrr þola, so great pain that he could nowhere remain quiet, Grett. 152; rekr Grettir hrossin, ok þolir Kingála eigi í haga, K. was restless, 25 new Ed.; hann þolir ekki við fyrir verkjum, he has no rest for pains.

or -AT or -T, a negative suffix to verbs, peculiar to Iceland and a part, at least, of Norway. Occurs frequently in old Icelandic poetry and laws, so as almost to form a complete negative voice. In the 1st pers. a personal pronoun k (g) = ek is inserted before the negative suffix, in the 2nd pers. a t or tt. As a rule the pron. as thus repeated; má-k-at-ek, non possum; sé-k-at-ek, non video; hef-k-at-ek, non habeo; skal-k-at-ek; vil-k-at-ek, nolo; mon-k-at-ek, non ero, etc.: 2nd pers. skal-t-at-tu; mon-t-at-tu; gaf-t-at-tu, non dabas: and after a long vowel a tt, mátt-at-tu, sátt-at-tu; so almost invariably in all monosyllabic verbal forms; but not so in bisyllabic ones, máttir-a-þú, non poteras: yet in some instances in the 1st pers. a pronominal g is inserted, e. g. bjargi-g-a-k, verbally servem ego non ego; höggvi-g-a-k, non cædam; stöðvi-g-a-k, quin sistam; vildi-g-a-k, nolui; hafði-g-a-k, non babui; mátti-g-a-k, non potui; görði-g-a-k, non feci: if the verb has gg as final radical consonants, they change into kk, e. g. þikk-at-ek = þigg-k-at-ek, nolo accipere. In the 3rd pers. a and at or t are used indifferently, t being particularly suffixed to bisyllabic verbal flexions ending in a vowel, in order to avoid an hiatus,—skal-at or skal-a, non erit; but skolo-t, non sunto: forms with an hiatus, however, occur,—bíti-a, non mordat; renni-a, ne currat; skríði-a, id.; leti-a, ne retardet; væri-a, ne esset; urðu-a, non erant; but bíti-t, renni-t, skríði-t, urðu-t are more current forms: v. Lex. Poët. The negative suffix is almost peculiar to indic., conj., and imperat. moods; the neg. infin. hardly occurs. Nothing analogous to this form is to be found in any South-Teutonic idiom; neither do there remain any traces of its having been used in Sweden or Denmark. A single exception is the Runic verse on a stone monument in Öland, an old Danish province, now Swedish, where however the inscriptions may proceed from a Norse or Icel. hand. The Runic inscriptions run thus, sa’r aigi flo, who did not fly, old Icel. ‘flo-at,’ Baut. 1169. Neither does it occur in any Norse prose monuments (laws): but its use may yet be inferred from its occurrence in Norse poets of the 10th century, e. g. the poets Eyvind and Thiodolf; some of which instances, however, may be due to their being transmitted through Icel. oral tradition. In Bragi Gamli (9th century) it occurs twice or thrice; in the Haustlöng four times, in Ynglingatal four times, in Hákonarmál once (all Norse poems of the 10th century). In Icel. the suffixed negation was in full force through the whole of the 10th century. A slight difference in idioms, however, may be observed: Völuspá, e. g., prefers the negation by né (using vas-at only once, verse 3). In the old Hávamal the suffix abounds (being used thirty-five times), see the verses 6, 10, 11, 18, 26, 29, 30, 34, 37–39, 49, 51, 52, 68, 74, 88, 113–115, 126–128, 130, 134, 136, 147, 149, 151, 153, 159. In Skírnismál, Harbarðsljóð, Lokasenna—all these poems probably composed by the same author, and not before the 10th century—about thirty times, viz. Hbl. 3, 4, 8, 14, 26, 35, 56; Skm. 5, 18, 22; Ls. 15, 16, 18, 25, 28, 30, 36, 42, 47, 49, 56, 60, 62. Egil (born circa 900, died circa 990) abounds in the use of the suffixed neg. (he most commonly avails himself of -at, -gi, or né): so, too, does Hallfred (born circa 968, died 1008), Einar Skálaglam in Vellekla (circa 940–995), and Thorarin in the Máhlíðingavísur (composed in the year 981); and in the few epigrams relating to the introduction of Christianity in Icel. (995–1000) there occur mon-k-að-ek, tek-k-at-ek, vil-k-at-ek, hlífði-t, mon-a, es-a; cp. the Kristni S. and Njala. From this time, however, its use becomes more rare. Sighvat (born circa 995, died 1040) still makes a frequent but not exclusive use of it. Subsequent poets use it now and then as an epic form, until it disappeared almost entirely in poetry at the middle or end of the 13th century. In the Sólarljóð there is not a single instance. The verses of some of our Sagas are probably later than the Sagas themselves; the greatest part of the Völsungakviður are scarcely older than the 11th century. In all these -at and conj. eigi are used indifferently. In prose the laws continued to employ the old forms long after they were abolished in common prose. The suffixed verbal negation was used,

α. in the delivering of the oath in the Icel. Courts, esp. the Fifth Court, instituted about the year 1004; and it seems to have been used through the whole of the Icel. Commonwealth (till the year 1272). The oath of the Fifth (High) Court, as preserved in the Grágás, runs in the 1st pers., hefka ek fé borit í dóm þenna til liðs mér um sök þessa, ok ek monka bjóða, hefka ek fundit, ok monka ek finna, hvárki til laga né ólaga, p. 79; and again p. 81, only different as to ek hefka, ek monka (new Ed.): 3rd pers., hefirat hann fé; borit í dóm þenna ok monat hann bjóða, ok hefirat hann fundit, ok monat hann tinna, 80, 81; cp. also 82, and Nj. l. c. ch. 145, where it is interesting to observe that the author confounds the ist and 3rd persons, a sign of decay in grammatical form.

β. the Speaker (lögsögumaðr), in publicly reciting and explaining the law, and speaking in the name of the law, from the Hill of Laws (lögberg), frequently employed the old form, esp. in the legal words of command es and skal (yet seldom in plur.): erat in the dictatorial phrases, erat skyldr (skylt), non esto obligatus; erat landeigandi skyldr, Grág. (Kb.) i. 17; erat hinn skyldr, 21; yngri maðr era skyldr at fasta, 35; enda erat honum þá skylt at …, 48; erat þat sakar spell, 127; era hinn þá skyldr at lýsa, 154; erat hann framar skyldr sakráða, 216; ok erat hann skyldr at ábyrgjask þat fé, 238; ok erat hann skyldr, id.; ok erat sakar aðili ella skyldr, ii. 74; erat hinn skyldr við at taka, 142; erat manni skylt at taka búfé, 143; enda erat heimting til fjár þess, 169; era hann þá skyldr at taka við í öðru fé nema hann vili, 209; ok erat þeim skylt at tíunda fé sitt, 211; ok erat hann skyldr at gjalda tíund af því, 212; erat kirkjudrottinn þá skyldr, 228; ef hann erat landeigandi, i. 136. Skalat: skalat maðr eiga fó óborit, i. 23; skalat homum þat verða optar en um siun, 55; skalat maðr ryðja við sjálfan sik, 62; skalat hann þat svá dvelja, 68; skalat hann til véfangs ganga, 71; skalat aðilja í stefnuvætti hafa, 127; ok skala hann gjalda fyrir þat, 135; ok skalat hann með sök fara, 171; enda skalat hann fleirum baugum bœta, 199; skalat hann skilja félagit, 240; skalat hann meiri skuld eiga en, ii. 4; skalat þeim meðan á brott skipta, 5; skalat hann lögvillr verða, svá, 34; skalat hon at heldr varðveita þat fé, 59; í skalat enn sami maðr þar lengr vera, 71; ok skala honum bæta þat, 79; skalat fyl telja, 89; skalat hann banna fiskför, 123; skalat hann lóga fé því á engi veg, 158; skalat drepa þá menn, 167; skalat svá skipta manneldi, 173; skalat maðr reiðast við fjórðungi vísu, 183. Plur.: skolut menn andvitni bera ok hér á þingi, i. 68; skolut mál hans standast, 71; skolut þeir færi til vefangs ganga en, 75, etc. etc. Other instances are rare: tekrat þar fé er eigi er til (a proverb), i. 9; ok um telrat þat til sakbóta, ok of telrat þá til sakbóta ( it does not count), 178; ef hann villat ( will not) lýsa sár sitt, 51; ok ræðrat hann öðrum mönnum á hendr þann úmaga, 248; ræðrat sá sínum ómögum á hendr, ii. 18; verðrat honum at sakarspelli and verðrat honum þat at s., i. 63; verðrat honum þat at sakarvörn, 149; kömrat hann öðru við, ii. 141; þarfat hann bíða til þess, i. 70; ok skilrat hann frá aðra aura, ii. 141, i. 136. Reflexive form: kömskat hann til heimtingar um þat fé, he loses the claim to the money, ii. 180, etc. All these instances are taken from the Kb. (Ed. 1853). Remarkable is also the ambiguity in the oath of Glum (see Sir Edm. Head, Viga-Glum, pp. 102, 103, note, I. c.), who, instead of the plain common formal oath—vask-at-ek þar, vák-at-ek þar, rauðk-at-ek þar odd ok egg—said, vask at þar, vák at þar, rauðk at þar. He inverted the sense by dropping the intermediate pronominal ek between the verb and þar, and pronouncing ‒ ‒́ instead of ‒́ ⏑. It further occurs in some few proverbs: varat af vöru, sleikði um þvöru, Fs. 159; veldrat sá er varir, Nj. 61 (now commonly ekki veldr sá er v., so in Grett.); erat héra at borgnara þótt hœna beri skjöld, Fms. vii. 116; era hlums vant kvað refr, dró hörpu á ísi, 19: also in some phrases, referred to as verba ipsissima from the heathen age—erat vinum líft Ingimundar, Fs. 39; erat sjá draumr minni, Ld. 128. Thorodd employs it twice or thrice: því at ek sékk-a þess meiri þörf, because í do not see any more reason for this, Skálda 167; kannka ek til þess meiri ráð en lítil, I do not know, id.; mona ( will not) mín móna ( my mammy) við mik göra verst hjóna, 163. In sacred translations of the 12th century it occurs now and then. In the Homilies and Dialogues of Gregory the Great: monatþu í því flóði verða, thou shalt not; esa þat undarligt þótt, it is not to be wondered at; hann máttia sofna, he could not sleep; moncaþ ek banna, I shall not mind, Greg. 51, 53; vasal kall heyrt á strætum, was not, Post. 645. 84; nú mona fríðir menn hér koma, Niðrst. 623. 7. In later writers as an archaism; a few times in the Al. (MS. A. M. 519), 3, 5, 6, 44, 108; and about as many times in the MS. Eirspennill (A. M. 47, fol.) [Etymon uncertain; that at is the right form may be inferred from the assimilation in at-tu, and the anastrophe in t, though the reason for the frequent dropping of the t is still unexplained. The coincidence with the Scottish dinna, canna is quite accidental.]

I) prep.

A. with dative.

I. Of motion;

1) towards, against;

Otkell laut at Skamkatli, bowed down to S.;

hann sneri egginni at Ásgrími, turned the edge against A.;

2) close atup to;

Brynjólfr gengr alit at honum, quite up to him;

þeir kómust aldri at honum, they could never get near him, to close quarters with him;

3) to, at;

koma at landi, to come to land;

ganga at dómi, to go into court;

4) along (= eptir);

ganga at stræti, to walk along the street;

dreki er niðr fór at ánni (went down the river) fyrir strauminum;

refr dró hörpu at ísi, on the ice;

5) denoting hostility;

renna (sœkja) at e-m, to rush at, assault;

gerði þá at þeim þoku mikla, they were overtaken by a thick fog;

6) around;

vefja motri at höfði sér, to wrap a veil round one’s head;

bera grjót at e-m, to heap stones upon the body;

7) denoting business, engagement;

ríða at hrossum, at sauðum, to go looking after horses, watching sheep;

fara at landskuldum, to go collecting rents.

II. Of position, &c.;

1) denoting presence at, near, by, upon;

at kirkju, at church;

at dómi, in court;

at lögbergi, at the hill of laws;

2) denoting participation in;

vera at veizlu, brullaupi, to be at a banquet, wedding;

vera at vígi, to be an accessory in man-slaying;

3) ellipt., vera at, to be about, to be busy at;

kvalararnir, er at vóru at pína hann, who were tormenting him;

var þar at kona nökkur at binda (was there busy dressing) sár manna;

4) with proper names of places (farms);

konungr at Danmörku ok Noregi, king of;

biskup at Hólum, bishop of Holar;

at Helgafelli, at Bergþórshváli;

5) used ellipt. with a genitive, at (a person’s) house;

at hans (at his house) gisti fjölmenni mikit;

at Marðar, at Mara’s home;

at hins beilaga Ólafs konungs, at St. Olave’s church;

at Ránar, at Ran’s (abode).

III. Of time;

1) at, in;

at upphafi, at first, in the beginning;

at skilnaði, at parting, when they parted;

at páskum, at Easter;

at kveldi, at eventide;

at þinglausnum, at the close of the Assembly;

at fjöru, at the ebb;

at flœðum, at the floodtide;

2) adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr’;

at ári komanda, next year;

at vári, er kemr, next spring;

generally with ‘komanda’ understood;

at sumri, hausti, vetri, vári, next summer, &c.;

3) used with an absolute dative and present or past part.;

at sér lifanda, duing his lifetime;

at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all;

at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the hearing of the chief;

at upprennandi sólu, at sunrise;

at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks are past;

at honum önduðum, after his death;

4) denoting uninterrupted succession, after;

hverr at öðrum, annarr at öðrum, one after another;

skildu menn at þessu, thereupon, after this;

at því (thereafter) kómu aðrar meyjar.

IV. fig. and in various uses;

1) to, into, with the notion of destruction or change;

brenna (borgina) at ösku, to burn to ashes;

verða at ormi, to become a snake;

2) for, as;

gefa e-t at gjöf, as a present;

eiga e-n at vin, to have one as friend;

3) by;

taka sverð at hjöltum, by the hilt;

draga út björninn at hlustunum, by the ears;

kjósa at afli, álitum, by strength, appearrance;

4) as regards as to;

auðigr at fé, wealthy in goods;

vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face;

5) as a law term, on the grounds of, by reason of;

ryðja ( to challenge) dóm at mægðum, kvið at frændsemi;

6) as a paraphrase of a genitive;

faðir, móðir at barni (= barns, of a child);

aðili at sök = aðili sakar;

7) with adjectives denoting colour, size, age, of;

hvítr, svartr, rauðr at lit, while, black, red of colour;

mikill, lítill at stœrð, vexti, tall, small of stature;

tvítugr at aldri, twenty years of age;

kýr at fyrsta, öðrum kálfi, a cow that has calved once, twice;

8) determining the source from which anything comes, of, from;

Ari nam ok marga frœði at Þuríði (from her);

þiggja, kaupa, geta, leigja e-t at e-m, to receive, buy, obtain, borrow a thing from one;

hafa veg (virðing) styrk at e-m, to derive honour, power, from one;

9) according, to, after (heygðr at fornum sið);

at ráði allra vitrustu manna, by the advice of;

at landslögum, by the law of the land;

at vánum, as was to be expected;

at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave;

10) in adverbial phrases;

gróa (vera grœddr) at heilu, to be quite healed;

bíta af allt gras at snøggu, quite bare;

at fullu, fully;

at vísu, surely;

at frjálsu, freely;

at eilífu, for ever and ever;

at röngu, at réttu, wrongly, rightly;

at líku, at sömu, equally, all the same;

at mun, at ráði, at marki, to a great extent.

B. with acc., after, upon (= eptir);

sonr á at taka arf at föður sinn, to take the inheritance after his father;

eiga féránsdóm at e-n, to hold a court of execution upon a person;

at þat (= eptir þat), after that, thereafter;

connected with a past part. or a., at Gamla fallinn, after the fall of Gamli;

at Hrungni dauðan, upon the death of Hrungnir.

1) as the simple mark of the infinitive, to;

at ganga, at ríða, at hlaupa, to walk, to ride, to run;

2) in an objective sense;

hann bauð þeim at fara, sitja, he bade (ordered) them to go, sit;

gefa e-m at eta, at drekka, to give one to eat, to drink;

3) denoting design or purpose, in order to (hann gekk í borg at kaupa silfr).

1) demonstrative particle before a comparative, the, all the, so much the;

hón grét at meir, she wept the more;

þykkir oss at líkara, all the more likely;

þú ert maðr at verri (so much the worse), er þú hefir þetta mælt;

2) rel. pron., who, which, that (= er);

þeir allir, at þau tíðindi heyrðu, all those who heard;

sem þeim er títt, at ( as is the custom of those who) kaupferðir reka.

conj., that;

1) introducing a subjective or objective clause;

þat var einhverju sinni, at Höskuldr hafði vinaboð, it happened once that H.;

vilda ek, at þú réðist austr í fjörðu, I should like you to go;

2) relative to svá, denoting proportion, degree;

svá mikill lagamaðr, at, so great a lawyer, that;

3) with subj., denoting end or purpose, in order that (skáru þeir fyrir þá (viz. hestana) melinn, at þeir dœi eigi af sulti);

4) since, because, as (= því at);

5) connected with þó, því, svá;

þó at (with subj.), though, although;

því at, because, for;

svá at, so that;

6) temp., þá at (= þá er), when;

þegar at (= þegar er), as soon as;

þar til at (= þar til er), until, till;

áðr at (= á. en), before;

7) used superfluously after an int. pron. or adv.;

Ólafr spurði, hvern styrk at hann mundi fá honum, what help he was likely to give him;

in a relative sense; með fullkomnum ávexti, hverr at (which) þekkr ok þægiligr mun verða.

negative verbal suffix, = ata; var-at, was not.

n. an incited conflict or fight ( see etja);

odda at, Yggs at, battle.

* * *

and að, prep., often used ellipt. dropping the case and even merely as an adverb, [Lat. ad; Ulf. at = πρός and παρά, A. S. ät; Engl. at; Hel. ad = apud; O. H. G. az; lost in mod. Germ., and rare in Swed. and Dan.; in more freq. use in Engl. than any other kindred language, Icel. only excepted]:—the mod. pronunciation and spelling is að (aþ); this form is very old, and is found in Icel. vellum MSS. of the 12th century, e. g. aþ, 623. 60; yet in earlier times it was sounded with a tenuis, as we may infer from rhymes, e. g. jöfurr hyggi at | hve ek yrkja fat, Egill: Sighvat also makes it rhyme with a t. The verse by Thorodd—þar vastu at er fjáðr klæðið þvat (Skálda 162)—is hardly intelligible unless we accept the spelling with an aspirate (að), and say that þvað is = þvá = þváði, lavabat; it may be that by the time of Thorodd and Ari the pure old pronunciation was lost, or is ‘þvat’ simply the A. S. þvât, secuit? The Icelanders still, however, keep the tenuis in compounds before a vowel, or before h, v, or the liquids l, r, thus—atyrða, atorka, athöfn, athugi, athvarf, athlægi; atvinna, atvik; atlaga, atlíðanði ( slope), atriði, atreið, atróðr: but aðdjúpr, aðfinsla (critic), aðferð, aðkoma, aðsókn, aðsúgr (crowding), aðgæzla. In some words the pronunciation is irregular, e. g. atkvæði not aðkv-; atburðr, but aðbúnaðr; aðhjúkran not athjúkran; atgörvi not aðgörfi. At, to, towards; into; against; along, by; in regard to; after.

Mostly with dat.; rarely with acc.; and sometimes ellipt.—by dropping the words ‘home,’ ‘house,’ or the like—with gen.

WITH DAT.

A. LOC.

I. WITH MOTION; gener. the motion to the borders, limits of an object, and thus opp. to frá:

1. towards, against, with or without the notion of arrival, esp. connected with verbs denoting motion (verba movendi et eundi), e. g. fara, ganga, koma, lúta, snúa, rétta at…; Otkell laut at Skamkatli, O. louted (i. e. bowed down) towards S., Nj. 77, Fms. xi. 102; sendimaðrinn sneri ( turned) hjöltum sverðsins at konungi, towards the king, i. 15; hann sneri egginni at Ásgrími, turned the edge towards A., Nj. 220; rétta e-t at e-m, to reach, hand over, Ld. 132; ganga at, to step towards, Ísl. ii. 259.

2. denoting proximity, close up to, up to; Brynjólfr gengr … allt at honum, B. goes quite up to him, Nj. 58; Gunnarr kom þangat at þeim örunum, G. reached them even there with his arrows, 115; þeir kómust aldri at honum, they could never get near him, to close quarters, id.; reið maðr at þeim (up to them), 274; þeir höfðu rakit sporin allt at ( right up to) gammanum, Fms. i. 9; komu þeir at sjó fram, came down to the sea, Bárð. 180.

3. without reference to the space traversed, to or at; koma at landi, to land, Ld. 38, Fms. viii. 358; ríða at dyrum, Boll. 344; hlaupa at e-m, to run up to, run at, Fms. vii. 218, viii. 358; af sjáfarganginum er hann gekk at landinu, of the surf dashing against the shore, xi. 6; vísa ólmum hundi at manni, to set a fierce hound at a man, Grág. ii. 118; leggja e-n at velli, to lay low, Eg. 426, Nj. 117; hníga at jörðu, at grasi, at moldu, to bite the dust, to die, Njarð. 378; ganga at dómi, a law term, to go into court, of a plaintiff, defendant, or bystander, Nj. 87 (freq.)

4. denoting a motion along, into, upon; ganga at stræti, to walk along the street, Korm. 228, Fms. vii. 39; at ísi, on the ice, Skálda 198, Fms. vii. 19, 246, viii. 168, Eb. 112 new Ed. (á is perh. wrong); máttu menn ganga bar yfir at skipum einum, of ships alone used as a bridge, Fas. i. 378; at höfðum, at nám, to trample on the slain on the battle-field, Lex. Poët.; at ám, along the rivers; at merkiósum, at the river’s mouth, Grág. ii. 355; at endilöngu baki, all along its back, Sks. 100.

5. denoting hostility, to rush at, assault; renna at, hlaupa at, ganga, fara, ríða, sækja, at e-m, (v. those words), whence the nouns atrenna, athlaup, atgangr, atför, atreið, atsókn, etc.

β. metaph., kom at þeim svefnhöfgi, deep sleep fell on them, Nj. 104. Esp. of weather, in the impers. phrase, hríð, veðr, vind, storm görir at e-m, to be overtaken by a snow storm, gale, or the like; görði þá at þeim þoku mikla, they were overtaken by a thick fog, Bárð. 171.

6. denoting around, of clothing or the like; bregða skikkju at höfði sér, to wrap his cloak over his head, Ld. 62; vefja motri at höfði sér, to wrap a snood round her head, 188; sauma at, to stick, cling close, as though sewn on; sauma at höndum sér, of tight gloves, Bs. i. 453; kyrtill svá þröngr sem saumaðr væri at honum, as though it were stitched to him, Nj. 214; vafit at vándum dreglum, tight laced with sorry tags, id.; hosa strengd fast at beini, of tight hose, Eg. 602; hann sveipar at sér iðrunum ok skyrtunni, he gathers up the entrails close to him and the skirt too, Gísl. 71; laz at síðu, a lace on the side, to keep the clothes tight, Eg. 602.

β. of burying; bera grjót at einum, to heap stones upon the body, Eg. 719; var gör at þeim dys or grjóti, Ld. 152; gora kistu at líki, to make a coffin for a body, Eb. 264, Landn. 56, Ld. 142.

γ. of summoning troops or followers; stefna at sér mönnum, to summon men to him, Nj. 104; stefna at sér liði, Eg. 270; kippa mönnum at sér, to gather men in haste, Ld. 64.

7. denoting a business, engagement; ríða at hrossum, at sauðum, to go looking after after horses, watching sheep, Glúm. 362, Nj. 75; fara at fé, to go to seek for sheep, Ld. 240; fara at heyi, to go a-haymaking, Dropl. 10; at veiðum, a-hunting; at fuglum, a-fowling; at dýrum, a-sbooting; at fiski, a-fishing; at veiðiskap, Landn. 154, Orkn. 416 (in a verse), Nj. 25; fara at landskuldum, to go a-collecling rents, Eg. 516; at Finnkaupum, a-marketing with Finns, 41; at féföngum, a-plundering, Fms. vii. 78; ganga at beina, to wait on guests, Nj. 50; starfa at matseld, to serve at table, Eb. 266; hitta e-n at nauðsynjum, on matters of business; at máli, to speak with one, etc., Fms. xi. 101; rekast at e-m, to pursue one, ix. 404; ganga at liði sér, to go suing for help, Grág. ii. 384.

β. of festivals; snúa, fá at blóti, veizlu, brullaupi, to prepare for a sacrificial banquet, wedding, or the like, hence at-fangadagr, Eb. 6, Ld. 70; koma at hendi, to happen, befall; ganga at sínu, to come by one’s own, to take it, Ld. 208; Egill drakk hvert full er at honum kom, drained every horn that came to him, Eg. 210; komast at keyptu, to purchase dearly, Húv. 46.

8. denoting imaginary motion, esp. of places, cp. Lat. spectare, vergere ad…, to look or lie towards; horfði botninn at höfðanum, the bight of the bay looked toward the headland, Fms. i. 340, Landn. 35; also, skeiðgata liggr at læknum, leads to the brook, Ísl. ii. 339; á þann arminn er vissi at sjánum, on that wing which looked toward the sea, Fms. viii. 115; sár þau er horft höfðu at Knúti konungi, xi. 309.

β. even connected with verbs denoting motion; Gilsáreyrr gengr austan at Fljótinu, G. extends, projects to F. from the east, Hrafh. 25; hjá sundi því, er at gengr þingstöðinni, Fms. xi. 85.

II. WITHOUT MOTION; denoting presence at, near, by, at the side of, in, upon; connected with verbs like sitja, standa, vera…; at kirkju, at church, Fms. vii. 251, K. f). K. 16, Ld. 328, Ísl. ii. 270, Sks. 36; vera at skála, at húsi, to be in, at home, Landn. 154; at landi, Fms. i. 82; at skipi, on shipboard, Grág. i. 209, 215; at oldri, at a banquet, inter pocula; at áti, at dinner, at a feast, inter edendum, ii. 169, 170; at samförum ok samvistum, at public meetings, id.; at dómi, in a court; standa (to take one’s stand) norðan, sunnan, austan, vestan at dómi, freq. in the proceedings at trials in lawsuits, Nj.; at þingi, present at the parliament, Grág. i. 142; at lögbergi, o n the hill of laws, 17, Nj.; at baki e-m, at the back of.

2. denoting presence, partaking in; sitja at mat, to sit at meat, Fms. i. 241; vera at veizlu, brullaupi, to be at a banquet, nuptials, Nj. 51, Ld. 70: a law term, vera at vígi, to be an accessory in manslaying, Nj. 89, 100; vera at e-u simply means to be about, be busy in, Fms. iv. 237; standa at máli, to stand by one in a case, Grág. ii. 165, Nj. 214; vera at fóstri, to be fostered, Fms. i. 2; sitja at hégóma, to listen to nonsense, Ld. 322; vera at smíð, to be at one’s work, Þórð. 62: now absol., vera at, to go on with, be busy at.

3. the law term vinna eið at e-u has a double meaning:

α. vinna eið at bók, at baugi, to make an oath upon the book by laying the band upon it, Landn. 258, Grág., Nj.; cp. Vkv. 31, Gkv. 3. 3, Hkv. 2. 29, etc.: ‘við’ is now used in this sense.

β. to confirm a fact (or the like) by an oath, to swear to, Grág. i. 9, 327.

γ. the law phrase, nefna vátta at e-u, of summoning witnesses to a deed, fact, or the like; nefna vátta at benjum, to produce evidence, witnesses as to the wounds, Nj., Grág.; at görð, Eg. 738; at svörum, Grág. i. 19: this summoning of witnesses served in old lawsuits the same purpose as modern pleadings and depositions; every step in a suit to be lawful must be followed by such a summoning or declaration.

4. used ellipt., vera at, to be about, to be busy at; kvalararnir er at vóru at pína hann, who were tormenting him; þar varstu at, you were there present, Skálda 162; at várum þar, Gísl. (in a verse): as a law term ‘vera at’ means to be guilty, Glúm. 388; vartattu at þar, Eg. (in a verse); hence the ambiguity of Glum’s oath, vask at þar, I was there present: var þar at kona nokkur ( was there busy) at binda sár manna, Fms. v. 91; hann var at ok smíðaði skot, Rd. 313; voru Varbelgir at ( about) at taka af, þau lög …, Fms. ix. 512; ek var at ok vafk, I was about weaving, xi. 49; þeir höfðu verit at þrjú sumur, they had been busy at it for three summers, x. 186 (now very freq.); koma at, come in, to arrive unexpectedly; Gunnarr kom at í því, G. came in at that moment; hvaðan komtú nú at, whence did you come? Nj. 68, Fms. iii. 200.

5. denoting the kingdom or residence of a king or princely person; konungr at Danmörk ok Noregi, king of…, Fms. i. 119, xi. 281; konungr, jarl, at öllum Noregi, king, earl, over all N., íb. 3, 13, Landn. 25; konungr at Dyflinni, king of Dublin, 25; but í or yfir England!, Eg. 263: cp. the phrase, sitja at landi, to reside, of a king when at home, Hkr. i. 34; at Joini, Fms. xi. 74: used of a bishop; biskup at Hólum, bishop of Hólar, Íb. 18, 19; but biskup í Skálaholti, 19: at Rómi, at Rome, Fbr. 198.

6. in denoting a man’s abode (vide p. 5, col. 1, l. 27), the prep. ‘at’ is used where the local name implies the notion of by the side of, and is therefore esp. applied to words denoting a river, brook, rock, mountain, grove, or the like, and in some other instances, by, at, e. g. at Hofi (a temple), Landn. 198; at Borg ( a castle), 57; at Helgafelli (a mountain), Eb. constantly so; at Mosfelli, Landn. 190; at Hálsi (a hill), Fms. xi. 22; at Bjargi, Grett. 90; Hálsum, Landn. 143; at Á ( river), 296, 268; at Bægisá, 212; Giljá, 332; Myrká, 211; Vatnsá, id.; þverá, Glúm. 323; at Fossi (a ‘force’ or waterfall), Landn. 73; at Lækjamoti (waters-meeting), 332; at Hlíðarenda ( end of the lithe or hill), at Bergþórshváli, Nj.; at Lundi (a grove), at Melum (sandhill), Landn. 70: the prep. ‘á’ is now used in most of these cases, e. g. á Á, á Hofi, Helgafelli, Felli, Hálsi, etc.

β. particularly, and without any regard to etymology, used of the abode of kings or princes, to reside at; at Uppsölum, at Haugi, Alreksstöðum, at Hlöðum, Landn., Fms.

γ. konungr lét kalla at stofudyrum, the king made a call at the hall door, Eg. 88; þeir kölluðu at herberginu, they called at the inn, Fms. ix. 475.

7. used ellipt. with a gen., esp. if connected with such words as gista, to be a guest, lodge, dine, sup (of festivals or the like) at one’s home; at Marðar, Nj. 4; at hans, 74; þingfesti at þess bóanda, Grág. i. 152; at sín, at one’s own home, Eg. 371, K. Þ. K. 62; hafa náttstað at Freyju, at the abode of goddess Freyja, Eg. 603; at Ránar, at Ran’s, i. e. at Ran’s house, of drowned men who belong to the queen of the sea, Ran, Eb. 274; at hins heilaga Ólafs konungs, at St. Olave’s church, Fms. vi. 63: cp. ad Veneris, εις Κίμωνος.

B. TEMP.

I. at, denoting a point or period of time; at upphafi, at first, in the beginning, Ld. 104; at lyktum, at síðustu, at lokum, at last; at lesti, at last, Lex. Poët., more freq. á lesti; at skilnaði, at parting, at last, Band. 3; at fornu, in times of yore, formerly, Eg. 267, D. I. i. 635; at sinni, as yet, at present; at nýju, anew, of present time; at eilífu, for ever and ever; at skömmu, soon, shortly, Ísl. ii. 272, v. l.

II. of the very moment when anything happens, the beginning of a term; denoting the seasons of the year, months, weeks, the hours of the day; at Jólum, at Yule, Nj. 46; at Pálmadegi, on Palm Sunday, 273; at Páskum, at Easter; at Ólafsvöku, on St. Olave’s eve, 29th of July, Fms.; at vetri, at the beginning of the winter, on the day when winter sets in, Grág. 1. 151; at sumarmálum, at vetrnáttum; at Tvímánaði, when the Double month (August) begins, Ld. 256, Grág. i. 152; at kveldi, at eventide, Eg. 3; at því meli, at that time; at eindaga, at the term, 395; at eykð, at 4 o’clock p. m., 198; at öndverðri æfi Abra hams, Ver. II; at sinni, now at once, Fms. vi. 71; at öðruhverju, every now and then.

β. where the point of time is marked by some event; at þingi, at the meeting of parliament (18th to the 24th of June), Ld. 182; at féránsdómi, at the court of execution, Grág. i. 132, 133; at þinglausnum, at the close of the parliament (beginning of July), 140; at festarmálum, eðr at eiginorði, at betrothal or nuptials, 174; at skilnaði, when they parted, Nj. 106 (above); at öllum minnum, at the general drinking of the toasts, Eg. 253; at fjöru, at the ebb; at flæðum, at flood tide, Fms. viii. 306, Orkn. 428; at hrörum, at an inquest, Grág. i. 50 (cp. ii. 141, 389); at sökum, at prosecutions, 30; at sinni, now, as yet, v. that word.

III. ellipt., or adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr,’ of the future time:

1. ellipt., komanda or the like being understood, with reference to the seasons of the year; at sumri, at vetri, at hausti, at vári, next summer, winter…, Ísl. ii. 242; at miðju sumri, at ári, at Midsummer, next year, Fas. i. 516; at miðjum vetri, Fms. iv. 237,

2. adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr;’ at ári komanda, Bárð. 177; at vári er kemr, Dipl. iii. 6.

IV. used with an absolute dat. and with a pres. part.:

1. with pres. part.; at morni komanda, on the coming morrow, Fms. i. 263; at sér lifanda, in vivo, in his life time, Grág. ii. 202; at þeim sofundum, illis dormientibus, Hkr. i. 234; at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all, Fms. x. 329; at úvitanda konungi, illo nesciente, without his knowledge, 227; at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the chief’s bearing, 235.

2. of past time with a past part. (Lat. abl. absol.); at hræjum fundnum, on the bodies being found, Grág. ii. 87; at háðum dómum ok föstu þingi, during the session, the courts being set, i. 484; at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks past, Band. 13; at svá búnu, so goru, svá komnu, svá mæltu (Lat. quibus rebus gestis, dictis, quo facto, dicto, etc.), v. those words; at úreyndu, without trial, without put ting one to the test, Ld. 76; at honum önduðum, illo mortuo.

3. ellipt. without ‘at;’ en þessum hlutum fram komnum, when all this has been done, Eb. 132.

V. in some phrases with a slight temp, notion; at görðum gildum, the fences being strong, Gþl. 387; at vörmu spori, at once, whilst the trail is warm; at úvörum, unawares, suddenly, Nj. 95, Ld. 132; at þessu, at this cost, on that condition, Eb. 38, Nj. 55; at illum leiki, to have a narrow escape, now við illan leik, Fms. ix. 473; at því, that granted, Grág. ii. 33: at því, at pessu, thereafter, thereupon, Nj. 76.

2. denoting succession, without interruption, one after another; hverr at öðrum, annarr maðr at öðrum, aðrir at öðrum; eina konu at annarri, Eg. 91, Fms. ii. 236, vi. 25, Bs. i. 22, 625. 80, H. E. i. 522.

C. METAPH. and in various cases:

I. denoting a transformation or change into, to, with the notion of destruction; brenna at ösku, at köldum kolum, to burn to ashes, to be quite destroyed, Fms. i. 105, Edda 3, Sturl. ii. 51: with the notion of transformation or transfiguration, in such phrases as, verða at e-u, göra e-t at e-u, to turn it into:

α. by a spell; verða at ormi, to become a snake, Fms. xi. 158; at flugdrekum, Gullþ. 7; urðu þau bönd at járni, Edda 40.

β. by a natural process it can often be translated by an acc. or by as; göra e-n at urðarmanni, to make him an outlaw, Eg. 728; græða e-n at orkumlamanni, to heal him so as to maim him for life, of bad treatment by a leech, Eb. 244: in the law terms, sár görist at ben, a wound turning into a ben, proving to be mortal, Grág., Nj.; verða at ljúgvætti, to prove to be a false evidence, Grág. i. 44; verða at sætt, to turn into reconciliation, Fms. i. 13; göra e-t at reiði málum, to take offence at, Fs. 20; at nýjum tíðindum, to tell as news, Nj. 14; verða fátt at orðum, to be sparing of words, 18; kveðr (svá) at orði, to speak, utter, 10; verða at þrifnaði, to geton well, Fms. vii. 196: at liði, at skaða, to be a help or hurt to one; at bana, to cause one’s death, Nj. 223, Eg. 21, Grág. ii. 29: at undrum, at hlátri, to become a wonder, a laughing-stock, 623. 35, Eg. 553.

II. denoting capacity, where it may be translated merely by as or for; gefa at Jólagjöf, to give for a Christmas-box, Eg. 516; at gjöf, for a present; at erfð, at láni, launum, as an inheritance, a loan; at kaupum ok sökum, for buying and selling, Ísl. ii. 223, Grág. i. 423; at solum, ii. 204; at herfangi, as spoil or plunder; at sakbótum, at niðgjöldum, as a compensation, weregeld, i. 339, ii. 171, Hkr. ii. 168; taka at gíslingu, to take as an hostage, Edda 15; eiga e-n at vin, at óvin, to have one as friend or foe, illt er at eiga þræl at eingavin, ‘tis ill to have a thrall for one’s bosom friend (a proverb), Nj. 77; fæða, eiga, at sonum (syni), to beget a son, Edda 8, Bs. i. 60 (but eiga at dóttur cannot be said); hafa möttul at yfirhöfn, Fms. vii. 201; verða nökkut at manni (mönnum), to turn out to be a worthy man; verða ekki at manni, to turn out a worthless person, xi. 79, 268.

2. in such phrases as, verða at orðum, to come towards, Nj. 26; var þat at erindum, Eg. 148; hafa at veizlum, to draw veizlur ( dues) from, Fms. iv. 275, Eg. 647; gora e-t at álitum, to take it into consideration, Nj. 3.

III. denoting belonging to, fitting, of parts of the whole or the like; vóru at honum (viz. the sword) hjölt gullbúin, the sword was ornamented with a hilt of gold, Ld. 330; umgörð at ( belonging to) sverði, Fs. 97 (Hs.) in a verse; en ef mór er eigi at landinu, if there be no turf moor belonging to the land, Grág. ii. 338; svá at eigi brotnaði nokkuð at Orminum, so that no harm happened to the ship Worm, Fms. x. 356; hvatki er meiðir at skipinu eðr at reiðinu eðr at viðum, damage done t o …, Grág. ii. 403; lesta ( to injure) hús at lásum, við eðr torfi, 110; ef land hefir batnað at húsum, if the land has been bettered as to its buildings, 210; cp. the phrase, göra at e-u, to repair: hamlaðr at höndum eðr fótum, maimed as to hands or feet, Eg. 14; heill at höndum en hrumr at fótum, sound in band, palsied in foot, Fms. vii. 12; lykill at skrá, a key belonging, fitting, to the latch; hurð at húsi; a key ‘gengr at’ ( fits) skrá; and many other phrases. 2. denoting the part by which a thing is held or to which it belongs, by; fá, taka at…, to grasp by …; þú tókt við sverði hans at hjöltunum, you took it by the bill, Fms. i. 15; draga út björninn at hlustum, to pull out the bear by the ears, Fas. ii. 237; at fótum, by the feet, Fms. viii. 363; mæla ( to measure) at hrygg ok at jaðri, by the edge or middle of the stuff, Grág. i. 498; kasta e-m at höfði, head foremost, Nj. 84; kjósa e-n at fótum, by the feet alone, Edda 46; hefja frændsemi at bræðrum, eða at systkynum, to reckon kinship by the brother’s or the sister’s side, Grág. i. 28; kjósa at afli, at álitum, by strength, sight, Gs. 8, belongs rather to the following.

IV. in respect of, as regards, in regard to, as to; auðigr at fé, wealthy of goods, Nj. 16, 30, 51; beztir hestar at reið, the best racehorses, 186; spekingr at viti, a man of great intellect, Ld. 124; vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face, Nj. 30, Bs. i. 61; kvenna vænst at ásjónu ok vits munum, of surpassing beauty and intellect, Ld. 122; fullkominn at hyggju, 18; um fram aðra menn at vinsældum ok harðfengi, of surpassing popularity and hardihood, Eb. 30.

2. a law term, of challenging jurors, judges, or the like, on account of, by reason of; ryðja ( to challenge) at mægðum, guðsifjum, frændsemi, hrörum …; at leiðarlengd, on account of distance, Grág. i. 30, 50, Nj. (freq.)

3. in arithm. denoting proportion; at helmingi, þriðjungi, fjórðungi, tíunda hluta, cp. Lat. ex asse, quadrante, for the half, third… part; máttr skal at magni (a proverb), might and main go together, Hkr. ii. 236; þú munt vera at því mikill fræðimaðr á kvæði, in the same proportion, as great, Fms. vi. 391, iii. 41; at e-s hluta, at… leiti, for one’s part, in turn, as far as one is con cerned, Grág. i. 322, Eg. 309, Fms. iii. 26 (freq.): at öðrum kosti, in the other case, otherwise (freq.) More gener., at öllu, öngu, in all (no) respects; at sumu, einhverju, nokkru, partly; at flestu, mestu, chiefly.

4. as a paraphrase of a genitive; faðir, móðir at barni (= barns); aðili at sök (= sakar a.); morðingi at barni (= barns), faðerni at barni (barns); illvirki at fé manna (cp. Lat. felo de se), niðrfall at sökum (saka), land gangr at fiskum (fiska), Fms. iv. 274, Grág. i. 277, 416, N. G. L. i. 340, K. Þ. K. 112, Nj. 21.

5. the phrase ‘at sér,’ of himself or in himself, either ellipt. or by adding the participle görr, and with the adverbs vel, ilia, or the like; denoting breeding, bearing, endowments, character …; væn kona, kurteis ok vel at sér, an accomplished, well-bred, gifted lady, Nj. I; vitr maðr ok vel at sér, a wise man and thoroughly good in feeling and bearing, 5; þú ert maðr vaskr ok vel at þér, 49; gerr at sér, accomplished, 51; bezt at sér görr, the finest, best bred man, 39, Ld. 124; en þó er hann svá vel at sér, so generous, Nj. 77; þeir höfðingjar er svá vóru vel at sér, so noble-minded, 198, Fms. i. 160: the phrase ‘at sér’ is now only used of knowledge, thus maðr vel að sér means clever, a man of great knowledge; illa að sér, a blockhead.

6. denoting relations to colour, size, value, age, and the like; hvitr, svartr, grár, rauðr … at lit, white, swarthy, gray, red … of colour, Bjarn. 55, 28, Ísl. ii. 213, etc.; mikill, lítill, at stærð, vexti, tall, small of size, etc.; ungr, gamall, barn, at aldri, young, old, a child of age; tvítugr, þrítugr … at aldri, twenty, thirty … years of age (freq.): of animals; kyr at fyrsta, öðrum … kálfi, a cow having calved once, twice…, Jb. 346: value, amount, currency of money, kaupa e-t at mörk, at a mark, N. G. L. 1. 352; ok er eyririnn at mörk, amounts to a mark, of the value of money, Grág. i. 392; verðr þá at hálfri murk vaðmála eyrir, amounts to a half a mark, 500.

β. metaph. of value, connected with verbs denoting to esteem, hold; meta, hafa, halda at miklu, litlu, vettugi, engu, or the like, to hold in high or low esteem, to care or not to care for (freq.): geta e-s at góðu, illu, öngu, to mention one favourably, unfavourably, indifferently … (freq.), prop. in connection with. In many cases it may be translated by in; ekki er mark at draumum, there is no meaning in dreams, no heed is to be paid to dreams, Sturl. ii. 217; bragð er at þá barnið finnr, it goes too far, when even a child takes offence (a proverb): hvat er at því, what does it mean? Nj. 11; hvert þat skip er vöxtr er at, any ship of mark, i. e. however small, Fms. xi. 20.

V. denoting the source of a thing:

1. source of infor mation, to learn, perceive, get information from; Ari nam ok marga fræði at Þuríði, learnt as her pupil, at her hands, as St. Paul at the feet of Gamaliel, (just as the Scotch say to speer or ask at a person); Ari nam at Þorgeiri afraðskoll, Hkr. (pref.); nema kunnáttu at e-m, used of a pupil, Fms. i. 8; nema fræði at e-m, xi. 396.

2. of receiving, acquiring, buying, from; þiggja e-t at e-m, to receive a thing at his hands, Nj. 51; líf, to be pardoned, Fms. x. 173; kaupa land at e-m, to buy it from, Landn. 72, Íb. II, (now af is more freq. in this sense); geta e-t at e-m, to obtain, procure at one’s hands, impetrare; þeirra manna er þeir megu þat geta at, who are willing to do that, Grág. i. I; heimta e-t at e-m (now af), to call in, demand (a debt, money), 279; fala e-t at e-m (now af), to chaffer for or cheapen anything, Nj. 73; sækja e-t at e-m, to ask, seek for; sækja heilræði ok traust at e-m, 98; leiga e-t at e-m (now af), to borrow, Grág. ii. 334; eiga e-t (fé, skuld) at e-m, to be owed money by any one, i. 399: metaph. to deserve of one, Nj. 113; eiga mikit at e-m, to have much to do with, 138; hafa veg, virðing, styrk, at, to derive honour, power from, Fms. vi. 71, Eg. 44, Bárð. 174; gagn, to be of use, Ld. 216; mein, tálma, mischief, disadvantage, 158, 216, cp. Eg. 546; ótta, awe, Nj. 68.

VI. denoting conformity, according to, Lat. secundum, ex, after; at fornum sið, Fms. i. 112; at sögn Ara prests, as Ari relates, on his authority, 55; at ráði allra vitrustu manna, at the advice of, Ísl. ii. 259, Ld. 62; at lögum, at landslögum, by the law of the land, Grág., Nj.; at líkindum, in all likelihood, Ld. 272; at sköpum, in due course (poet.); at hinum sama hætti, in the very same manner, Grág. i. 90; at vánum, as was to be expected, Nj. 255; at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave, Eg. 35; úlofi, Grág. ii. 215; at ósk, vilja e-s, as one likes…; at mun, id. (poet.); at sólu, happily (following the course of the sun), Bs. i. 70, 137; at því sem …, as to infer from …, Nj. 124: ‘fara, láta, ganga at’ denotes to yield, agree to, to comply with, give in, Ld. 168, Eg. 18, Fms. x. 368.

VII. in phrases nearly or quite adverbial; gróa, vera græddr, at heilu, to be quite healed, Bárð. 167, Eb. 148; bíta at snöggu, to bite it bare, Fms. xi. 6; at þurru, till it becomes dry, Eb. 276; at endilöngu, all along, Fas. ii; vinnast at litlu, to avail little, 655 x. 14; at fullu, fully, Nj. 257, Hkr. i. 171; at vísu, of a surety, surely, Ld. 40; at frjálsu, freely, 308; at líku, at sömu, equally, all the same, Hom. 80, Nj. 267; at röngu, wrongly, 686 B. 2; at hófi, temperately, Lex. Poët.; at mun, at ráði, at marki, to a great extent; at hringum, utterly, all round, (rare), Fms. x. 389; at einu, yet, Orkn. 358; svá at einu, því at einu, allt at einu, yet, however, nevertheless.

VIII. connected with comparatives of adverbs and adjectives, and strengthening the sense, as in Engl. ‘the,’ so much the more, all the more; ‘at’ heldr tveimr, at ek munda gjarna veita yðr öllum, where it may be translated by so much the more to two, as I would willingly grant it to all of you; hon grét at meir, she grat (wept) the more, Eg. 483; þykir oss at líkara, all the more likely, Fms. viii. 6; þess at harðari, all the harder, Sturl. iii. 202 C; svá at hinn sé bana at nær, Grág. ii. 117; at auðnara, at hólpnara, the more happy, Al. 19, Grett. 116 B; þess at meiri, Fms. v. 64; auvirðismaðr at meiri, Sturl. ii. 139; maðr at vaskari, id.; at feigri, any the more fey, Km. 22; maðr at verri, all the worse, Nj. 168; ok er ‘at’ firr…, at ek vil miklu heldr, cp. Lat. tantum abest… ut, Eg. 60.

β. following after a negation; eigi at síðr, no less, Nj. 160, Ld. 146; eigi… at meiri maðr, any better, Eg. 425, 489; erat héra at borgnara, any the better off for that, Fms. vii. 116; eigi at minni, no less for that, Edda (pref.) 146; eigi at minna, Ld. 216, Fms. ix. 50; ekki at verri drengr, not a bit worse for that, Ld. 42; er mér ekki son minn at bættari, þótt…, 216; at eigi vissi at nær, any more, Fas. iii. 74.

IX. following many words:

1. verbs, esp. those denoting, a. to ask, enquire, attend, seek, e. g. spyrja at, to speer (ask) for; leita at, to seek for; gæta, geyma at, to pay attention to; huga, hyggja at; hence atspurn, to enquire, aðgæzla, athugi, attention, etc.

β. verbs denoting laughter, play, joy, game, cp. the Engl. to play at …, to laugh at …; hlæja, brosa at e-u, to laugh, smile at it; leika (sér) at e-u, to play at; þykja gaman at, to enjoy; hæða, göra gys at …, to make sport at …

γ. verbs denoting assistance, help; standa, veita, vinna, hjálpa at; hence atstoð, atvinna, atverk:—mode, proceeding; fara at, to proceed, hence atför and atferli:—compliance; láta, fara at e-u, v. above:— fault; e-t er at e-u, there is some fault in it, Fms. x. 418; skorta at e-u, to fall short of, xi. 98:—care, attendance; hjúkra at, hlýja at, v. these words:—gathering, collecting; draga, reiða, flytja, fá at, congerere:—engagement, arrival, etc.; sækja at, to attack; ganga at, vera at, to be about; koma at, ellipt. to arrive: göra at, to repair: lesta at, to impair (v. above); finna at, to criticise (mod.); telja at, id.: bera at, to happen; kveða at e-m, to address one, 625. 15, (kveða at (ellipt.) now means to pronounce, and of a child to utter (read) whole syllables); falla at, of the flood-tide (ellipt.): metaph. of pains or straits surrounding one; þreyngja, herða at, to press hard: of frost and cold, with regard to the seasons; frjósa at, kólna at, to get really cold (SI. 44), as it were from the cold stiffening all things: also of the seasons themselves; hausta, vetra að, when the season really sets in; esp. the cold seasons, ‘sumra at’ cannot be used, yet we may say ‘vára að’ when the spring sets in, and the air gets mild.

δ. in numberless other cases which may partly be seen below.

2. connected ellipt. with adverbs denoting motion from a place; norðan, austan, sunnan, vestan at, those from the north, east…; utan at, innan at, from the outside or inside.

3. with adjectives (but rarely), e. g. kærr, elskr, virkr (affectionate), vandr (zealous), at e-m; v. these words.

WITH ACC.

TEMP.: Lat. post, after, upon, esp. freq. in poetry, but rare in prose writers, who use eptir; nema reisi niðr at nið (= maðr eptir mann), in succession, of erecting a monument, Hm. 71; in prose, at þat. posthac, deinde, Fms. x. 323, cp. Rm., where it occurs several times, 2, 6, 9, 14, 18, 24, 28, 30, 35; sonr á at taka arf at föður sinn, has to take the inheritance after his father, Grág. i. 170 new Ed.; eiga féránsdóm at e-n, Grág. i. 89; at Gamla fallinn, after the death of G., Fms. x. 382; in Edda (Gl.) 113 ought to be restored, grét ok at Oð, gulli Freyja, she grat (wept) tears of gold for her lost husband Od. It is doubtful if it is ever used in a purely loc. sense; at land, Grág. (Sb.)ii. 211, is probably corrupt; at hönd = á hönd, Grág. (Sb.) i. 135; at mót = at móti, v. this word.

☞ In compounds (v. below) at- or að- answers in turn to Lat. ad- or in- or con-; atdráttr e. g. denotes collecting; atkoma is adventus: it may also answer to Lat. ob-, in atburðr = accidence, but might also be compared with Lat. occurrere.

and að, the mark of the infinitive [cp. Goth. du; A. S. and Engl. to; Germ. zu]. Except in the case of a few verbs ‘at’ is always placed immediately before the infinitive, so as to be almost an inseparable part of the verb.

I. it is used either,

1. as, a simple mark of the infinitive, only denoting an action and independent of the subject, e. g. at ganga, at hlaupa, at vita, to go, to run, to know; or,

2. in an objective sense when following such verbs as bjóða segja…, to invite, command …; hann bauð þeim at ganga, at sitja, be bade, ordered them to go, sit, or the like; or as gefa and fá; gefa e-m at drekka, at eta, to give one to drink or to eat, etc. etc.

β. with the additional notion of intention, esp. when following verba cogitandi; hann ætlaði, hafði í hyggju at fara, he had it in his mind to go (where ‘to go’ is the real object to ætlaði and hafði í hyggju).

3. answering to the Gr. ινα, denoting intention, design, in order to; hann gékk í borg at kaupa silfr, in order to buy, Nj. 280; hann sendi riddara sína með þeim at varðveita þær, 623. 45: in order to make the phrase more plain, ‘svá’ and ‘til’ are frequently added, esp. in mod. writers, ‘svá at’ and contr. ‘svát’ (the last however is rare), ‘til at’ and ‘til þess at,’ etc.

II. in the earlier times the infin., as in Greek and Lat., had no such mark; and some verbs remain that cannot be followed by ‘at;’ these verbs are almost the same in Icel. as in Engl.:

α. the auxiliary verbs vil, mun ( μέλλω), skal; as in Engl. to is never used after the auxiliaries shall, will, must; ek vil ganga, I will go; ek mun fara, (as in North. E.) I mun go; ek skal göra þat, I shall do that, etc.

β. the verbs kunna, mega, as in Engl. I can or may do, I dare say; svá hygginn at hann kunni fyrir sökum ráða, Grág. ii. 75; í öllu er prýða má góðan höfðingja, Nj. 90; vera má, it may be; vera kann þat, id.: kunnu, however, takes ‘at’ whenever it means to know, and esp. in common language in phrases such as, það kann að vera, but vera kann þat, v. above.

γ. lata, biðja, as in Engl. to let, to bid; hann lét (bað) þá fara, he let (bade) them go.

δ. þykkja, þykjast, to seem; hann þykir vera, he is thought to be: reflex., hann þykist vera, sibi videtur: impers., mér þykir vera, mibi videtur, in all cases without ‘at.’ So also freq. the verbs hugsa, hyggja, ætla, halda, to think, when denoting merely the act of thinking; but if there be any notion of intention or purpose, they assume the ‘at;’ thus hann ætlaði, hugði, þá vera góða menn, he thought them to be, acc. c. inf.; but ætlaði at fara, meant to go, etc.

ε. the verbs denoting to see, bear; sjá, líta, horfa á … ( videre); heyra, audire, as in Engl. I saw them come, I heard him tell, ek sá þá koma, ek heyrði hann tala.

ζ. sometimes after the verbs eiga and ganga; hann gékk steikja, be went to roast, Vkv. 9; eiga, esp. when a mere periphrasis instead of skal, móður sína á maðr fyrst fram færa (better at færa), Grág. i. 232; á þann kvið einskis meta, 59; but at meta, id. l. 24; ráða, nema, göra …, freq. in poetry, when they are used as simple auxiliary verbs, e. g. nam hann sér Högna hvetja at rúnum, Skv. 3. 43.

η. hljóta and verða, when used in the sense of must (as in Engl. he must go), and when placed after the infin.of another verb; hér muntu vera hljóta, Nj. 129; but hljóta at vera: fara hlýtr þú, Fms. 1. 159; but þú hlýtr at fara: verða vita, ii. 146; but verða at vita: hann man verða sækja, þó verðr (= skal) maðr eptir mann lifa, Fms. viii. 19, Fas. ii. 552, are exceptional cases.

θ. in poetry, verbs with the verbal neg. suffix ‘-at,’ freq. for the case of euphony, take no mark of the infinitive, where it would be indispensable with the simple verb, vide Lex. Poët. Exceptional cases; hvárt sem hann vill ‘at’ verja þá sök, eða, whatever he chooses, either, Grág. i. 64; fyrr viljum vér enga kórónu at bera, en nokkut ófrelsi á oss at taka, we would rather bear no crown than …, Fms. x. 12; the context is peculiar, and the ‘at’ purposely added. It may be left out ellipt.; e. g. þá er guð gefr oss finnast (= at finnast), Dipl. ii. 14; gef honum drekka (= at drekka), Pr. 470; but mostly in unclassical writers, in deeds, or the like, written nastily and in an abrupt style.

and að, conj. [Goth. þatei = οτι; A. S. þät; Engl. that; Germ, dass; the Ormul. and Scot. at, see the quotations sub voce in Jamieson; in all South-Teutonic idioms with an initial dental: the Scandinavian idioms form an exception, having all dropped this consonant; Swed. åt, Dan. at]. In Icel. the Bible translation (of the 16th century) was chiefly based upon that of Luther; the hymns and the great bulk of theol. translations of that time were also derived from Germany; therefore the germanised form það frequently appears in the Bible, and was often employed by theol. authors in sermons since the time of the Reformation. Jón Vidalin, the greatest modern Icel. preacher, who died in 1720, in spite of his thoroughly classical style, abounds in the use of this form; but it never took root in the language, and has never passed into the spoken dialect. After a relative or demonstr. pronoun, it freq. in mod. writers assumes the form eð, hver eð, hverir eð, hvað eð, þar eð. Before the prep. þú (tu), þ changes into t, and is spelt in a single word attú, which is freq. in some MS.;—now, however, pronounced aððú, aððeir, aððið …, = að þú…, with the soft Engl. th sound. It gener. answers to Lat. ut, or to the relat. pron. qui.

I. that, relative to svá, to denote proportion, degree, so…, that, Lat. tam, tantus, tot…, ut; svá mikill lagamaðr, at…, so great a lawyer, that…, Nj. 1; hárið svá mikit, at þat…, 2; svá kom um síðir því máli, at Sigvaldi, it came so far, that…, Fms. xi. 95, Edda 33. Rarely and unclass., ellipt. without svá; Bæringr var til seinn eptir honum, at hann … (= svá at), Bær. 15; hlífði honum, at hann sakaði ekki, Fas. iii. 441.

II. it is used,

1. with indic, in a narrative sense, answering partly to Gr. οτι, Lat. quod, ut, in such phrases as, it came to pass, happened that …; þat var einhverju sinni, at Höskuldr hafði vinaboð, Nj. 2; þat var á palmdrottinsdag, at Ólafr konungr gékk út um stræti, Fms. ii. 244.

2. with subj. answering to Lat. acc. with infin., to mark the relation of an object to the chief verb, e. g. vilda ek at þú réðist, I wished that you would, Nj. 57.

β. or in an oblique sentence, answering to ita ut…; ef svá kann verða at þeir láti…, if it may be so that they might…, Fms. xi. 94.

γ. with a subj. denoting design, answering to ϊνα or Lat. ut with subj., in order that; at öll veraldar bygðin viti, ut sciat totus orbis, Stj.; þeir skáru fyrir þá melinn, at þeir dæi eigi af sulti, ut ne fame perirent, Nj. 265; fyrsti hlutr bókarinnar er Kristindómsbálkr, at menn skili, in order that men may understand, Gþl. p. viii.

III. used in connection with conjunctions,

1. esp. þó, því, svá; þó at freq. contr. þótt; svát is rare and obsolete.

α. þóat, þótt (North. E. ‘thof’), followed by a subjunctive, though, although, Lat. etsi, quamquam (very freq.); þóat nokkurum mönnum sýnist þetta með freku sett… þá viljum vér, Fms. vi. 21: phrases as, gef þú mér þó at úverðugri, etsi indignae (dat.), Stj. MS. col. 315, are unclass., and influenced by the Latin: sometimes ellipt. without ‘þó,’ eigi mundi hón þá meir hvata göngu sinni, at (= þóat) hon hraeddist bana sinn, Edda 7, Nj. 64: ‘þó’ and ‘at’ separated, svarar hann þó rétt, at hann svari svá, Grág. i. 23; þó er rétt at nýta, at hann sé fyrr skorinn, answering to Engl. yet—though, Lat. attamen —etsi, K. Þ. K.

β. því at, because, Lat. nam, quia, with indic.; því at allir vóru gerfiligir synir hans, Ld. 68; því at af íþróttum verðr maðr fróðr, Sks. 16: separated, því þegi ek, at ek undrumst, Fms. iii. 201; því er þessa getið, at þat þótti, it i s mentioned because …, Ld. 68.

γ. svá at, so that, Lat. ut, ita ut; grátrinn kom upp, svá at eingi mátti öðrum segja, Edda 37: separated, so … that, svá úsvúst at …, so bad weather, that, Bs. i. 339, etc.

2. it is freq. used superfluously, esp. after relatives; hver at = hverr, quis; því at = því, igitur; hverr at þekkr ok þægiligr mun verða, Fms. v. 159; hvern stvrk at hann mundi fá, 44; ek undrumst hvé mikil ógnarraust at liggr í þér, iii. 201; því at ek mátti eigi þar vera elligar, því at þar var kristni vel haldin, Fas. i. 340.

IV. as a relat. conj.:

1. temp, when, Lat. quum; jafnan er ( est) mér þá verra er ( quum) ek fer á braut þaðan, en þá at ( quum) ek kem, Grett. 150 A; þar til at vér vitum, till we know, Fms. v. 52; þá at ek lýsta (= þá er), when, Nj. 233.

2. since, because; ek færi yðr (hann), at þér eruð í einum hrepp allir, because of your being all of the same Rape, Grág. i. 260; eigi er kynlegt at ( though) Skarphéðinn sé hraustr, at þat er mælt at…, because (since) it is a saying that…, Nj. 64.

V. in mod. writers it is also freq. superfluously joined to the conjunctions, ef að = ef, si, (Lv. 45 is from a paper MS.), meðan að = meðan, dum; nema að, nisi; fyrst að = fyrst, quoniam; eptir að, síðan að, postquam; hvárt að = hvárt, Lat. an. In the law we find passages such as, þá er um er dæmt eina sök, at þá eigu þeir aptr at ganga í dóminn, Grág. i. 79; ef þing ber á hina helgu viku, at þat á eigi fyrir þeim málum at standa, 106; þat er ok, at þeir skulu reifa mál manna, 64; at þeir skulu með váttorð þá sök sækja, 65: in all these cases ‘at’ is either superfluous or, which is more likely, of an ellipt. nature, ‘the law decrees’ or ‘it is decreed’ being understood. The passages Sks. 551, 552, 568, 718 B, at lokit (= at ek hefi lokit), at hugleitt (= at ek hefi h.), at sent (= at ek hefi sent) are quite exceptional.

and að, an indecl. relat. pronoun [Ulf. þatei = ος, ος αν, οστις, οσπερ, οιος, etc.; Engl. that, Ormul. at], with the initial letter dropped, as in the conj. at, (cp. also the Old Engl. at, which is both a conj. and a pronoun, e. g. Barbour vi. 24 in Jamieson: ‘I drede that his gret wassalage, | And his travail may bring till end, | That at men quhilc full litil wend.’ | ‘His mestyr speryt quhat tithings a t he saw.’—Wyntoun v. 3. 89.) In Icel. ‘er’ (the relat. pronoun) and ‘at’ are used indifferently, so that where one MS. reads ‘er,’ another reads ‘at,’ and vice versâ; this may easily be seen by looking at the MSS.; yet as a rule ‘er’ is much more freq. used. In mod. writers ‘at’ is freq. turned into ‘eð,’ esp. as a superfluous particle after the relative pron. hverr (hver eð, hvað eð, hverir eð, etc.), or the demonstr. sá (sá eð, þeir eð, hinir eð, etc.):—who, which, that, enn bezta grip at ( which) hafði til Íslands komið, Ld. 202; en engi mun sá at ( cui) minnisamara mun vera, 242; sem blótnaut at ( quae) stærst verða, Fms. iii. 214; þau tiðendi, at mér þætti verri, Nj. 64, etc. etc.

n. collision (poët.); odda at, crossing of spears, crash of spears, Höfuðl. 8.

β. a fight or bait of wild animals, esp. of horses, v. hesta-at and etja.