to+take+up+one's+quarters

(-ða, -ðr), v.

1) to harbour (a person);

2) to lodge, take up one’s quarters (= herbergja sik).

I) prep.

A. with dative.

I. Of motion;

1) towards, against;

Otkell laut at Skamkatli, bowed down to S.;

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

2) close atup to;

Brynjólfr gengr alit at honum, quite up to him;

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

3) to, at;

koma at landi, to come to land;

ganga at dómi, to go into court;

4) along (= eptir);

ganga at stræti, to walk along the street;

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

refr dró hörpu at ísi, on the ice;

5) denoting hostility;

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

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

6) around;

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

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

7) denoting business, engagement;

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

fara at landskuldum, to go collecting rents.

II. Of position, &c.;

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

at kirkju, at church;

at dómi, in court;

at lögbergi, at the hill of laws;

2) denoting participation in;

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

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

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

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

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

4) with proper names of places (farms);

konungr at Danmörku ok Noregi, king of;

biskup at Hólum, bishop of Holar;

at Helgafelli, at Bergþórshváli;

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

at hans (at his house) gisti fjölmenni mikit;

at Marðar, at Mara’s home;

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

at Ránar, at Ran’s (abode).

III. Of time;

1) at, in;

at upphafi, at first, in the beginning;

at skilnaði, at parting, when they parted;

at páskum, at Easter;

at kveldi, at eventide;

at þinglausnum, at the close of the Assembly;

at fjöru, at the ebb;

at flœðum, at the floodtide;

2) adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr’;

at ári komanda, next year;

at vári, er kemr, next spring;

generally with ‘komanda’ understood;

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

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

at sér lifanda, duing his lifetime;

at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all;

at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the hearing of the chief;

at upprennandi sólu, at sunrise;

at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks are past;

at honum önduðum, after his death;

4) denoting uninterrupted succession, after;

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

skildu menn at þessu, thereupon, after this;

at því (thereafter) kómu aðrar meyjar.

IV. fig. and in various uses;

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

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

verða at ormi, to become a snake;

2) for, as;

gefa e-t at gjöf, as a present;

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

3) by;

taka sverð at hjöltum, by the hilt;

draga út björninn at hlustunum, by the ears;

kjósa at afli, álitum, by strength, appearrance;

4) as regards as to;

auðigr at fé, wealthy in goods;

vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face;

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

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

6) as a paraphrase of a genitive;

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

aðili at sök = aðili sakar;

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

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

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

tvítugr at aldri, twenty years of age;

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

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

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

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

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

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

at ráði allra vitrustu manna, by the advice of;

at landslögum, by the law of the land;

at vánum, as was to be expected;

at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave;

10) in adverbial phrases;

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

bíta af allt gras at snøggu, quite bare;

at fullu, fully;

at vísu, surely;

at frjálsu, freely;

at eilífu, for ever and ever;

at röngu, at réttu, wrongly, rightly;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

at Hrungni dauðan, upon the death of Hrungnir.

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

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

2) in an objective sense;

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

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

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

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

hón grét at meir, she wept the more;

þykkir oss at líkara, all the more likely;

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

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

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

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

conj., that;

1) introducing a subjective or objective clause;

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

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

2) relative to svá, denoting proportion, degree;

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

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

4) since, because, as (= því at);

5) connected with þó, því, svá;

þó at (with subj.), though, although;

því at, because, for;

svá at, so that;

6) temp., þá at (= þá er), when;

þegar at (= þegar er), as soon as;

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

áðr at (= á. en), before;

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

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

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

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

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

odda at, Yggs at, battle.

* * *

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. LOC.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. METAPH. and in various cases:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

V. denoting the source of a thing:

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

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

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

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

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

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

IX. following many words:

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

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

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

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

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

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

WITH ACC.

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

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

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

I. it is used either,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

II. it is used,

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

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

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

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

III. used in connection with conjunctions,

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

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

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

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

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

IV. as a relat. conj.:

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

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

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

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

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

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

the negative verbal suffix, v. -a.

* * *

(geng; gekk, gengum; genginn), v.

1) to walk (reið jarl, en Karkr gekk);

2) to go;

ganga heim, to go home;

ganga braut, to go away;

ganga til hvílu, to go to bed;

ganga á skip, to go on board;

ganga af skipi, to go ashore;

with infin., ganga sofa or at sofa, to go to sleep;

ganga at eiga konu, to marry a woman;

3) to go about grazing, to graze (kálfrinn gekk í túni um sumarit);

4) of a ship, to run, sail (gekk skipit brátt út á haf);

5) to stretch out, extend, project (nes mikit gekk í sæ út);

6) of report, tales, to be current (litlar sögur megu ganga af hesti mínum);

7) to prevail;

gekk þaðan af í Englandi Valska, thereafter the French tongue prevailed in E.;

8) of money, to be current (peningar þeir, sem nú ganga);

of laws, to be valid (þau lög, er gengu á Uppsalaþingi);

of sickness, plague, famine, to rage (þá gekk landfarsótt, drepsótt, hallæri);

9) to go on, last (gnustu þá saman vápnin, ok gekk þat um hríð);

impers., gekk því lengi, so it went on for a long while;

10) láta ganga e-t, to let go on;

láta höggin ganga, to rain blows;

Birkibeinar létu ganga lúðrana, blew the trumpets vigorously;

11) to succeed;

ef þat gengr eigi, if that will not do;

impers., svá þykt, at þeim gekk þar eigi at fara, so close, that they could not go on there;

þeim gekk ekki fyrir nesit, they could not clear the ness;

12) to turn out, go in a specified way;

ganga andæris, to go all wrong;

mart gengr verr en varir, many a thing goes worse than is looked for;

gekk þeim lítt atsókinn, they made little progress with the attack;

impers., e-m gengr vel (illa), one fares (goes on, gets on) well (badly);

13) with acc., ganga e-n á bak, to force one to go backwards (harm gengr bjöninn á bak);

14) with dat., to discharge (gekk bann þá blóði);

15) with preps. and adverbs:

ganga af e-u, to depart from, leave (þá gekk af honum móðrinn);

ganga af vitinu, to go out of one’s wits;

ganga af trú sinni, to apostatize;

to pass (síðan gengu af páskarnir);

to go off (gekk þegar af höfuðit);

to be left as surplus (þat er af skuldinni gekk);

nú gengr honum hey af, now he has some hay left;

ganga af sér, to go to extremities, to go beyond oneself (mjök ganga þeir fóstbrœðr nú af sé);

ganga aptr, to revert (return) to the former proprietor (síðan gengu þau lönd aptr undir Árna);

to be void, annulled (þá skal kaup aptr ganga);

of a ghost, to walk again; of a door, to close, shut (gekk eigi aptr hurðin);

ganga at e-m, to attack one;

ganga at e-u, to agree to, accept a choice or offer (Flosi gekk fljótt at þessu öllu); to fit (skaltu fá mér lukla þá, sem ganga at kistum yðrum);

ganga á e-t, to encroach upon (ganga á ríki e-s); to break (ganga á orð sín, eiða, grið, sættir, trygðir); to pierce, penetrate;

hann var í panzara, er ekki gekk á, that was proof against any weapons;

ganga á vald e-s or e-m, ganga á hönd (hendr) e-m, to submit to, give oneself up to, surrender to one;

ganga á bak e-u, to contravene;

ganga eptir e-u, to go for, go to fetch (göngum heim eptir verðinu); to pursue, claim;

ganga eptir, to prove true, be fulfilled (þetta gekk allt eptir, sem M. sagði fyrir);

ganga frá e-u, to part with, lose (sumir munu ganga frá öllu fénu);

ganga fram, to step forward;

ganga fram vel, to go forward bravely, in a battle;

to come to pass, come into execution (skal þess bíða, er þetta gengr fram);

to increase (fé Hall gerðar gekk fram ok gørðist allmikit);

to depart this life (H. bóndi gengr fram til frænda sinna);

ganga fyrir e-n, to present oneself before one (ganga fyrir konung);

ganga fyrir e-u, to take charge of, manage (var þar mart fólk, en húsbóndi gekk svá fyrir, at ekkert skorti); to yield to, be swayed by (hann gekk þá fyrir fortölum hennar);

ganga í gegn e-m, to set oneself against one;

ganga í gegn e-u, to confess, acknowledge;

maðr gengr í gegn, at á braut kveðst tekit hafa, the man confessed and said that he had taken it away;

ganga í mál, to undertake a case;

ganga með e-m (of a woman), to marry;

ganga með barni, to be with child;

ganga með burði (of animals), to be with young;

ganga með e-u, to assist in, plead (ganga með máli, bónorði);

ganga milli (á m., í m.), to go between, intercede;

ganga móti (á m., í m.) e-m, to go to meet one;

ganga móti e-u, to resist, oppose;

to confess, = ganga í gegn, ganga við e-u;

ganga nær e-m, to be troublesome to one (þótti hón œrit nær ganga Þórgerði);

ganga e-m nær, to approach, come near to one (sá hefir á brott komizt, er næst gekk Gunnari um alla hluti);

ganga saman, to marry;

of an agreement, bargain, to be brought about;

saman gekk kaupit með þeim, they came to a bargain;

ganga sundr (í s.), to go asunder, part;

ganga til, to go up to a thing (gangit til ok hyggit at); of the wind, to veer (veðrit gekk til útsuðrs);

e-m gengr e-t til e-s, one has some reason for doing a thing;

en þat gekk mér til þess (that was my reason), at ek ann þér eigi;

hversu hefir ykkr til gengit, how have you fared?

Loka gekk lítt til, it fared ill with L.;

ganga um e-t, to go about a thing;

ganga um beina, to wait upon guests;

ganga um sættir, to go between, as peacemaker;

ganga um e-n, to befall, happen to one (þess, er um margan gengr guma); of the wind, to go round, veer (gekk um veðrit ok styrmdi at þeim); to manage (fékk hón svá um gengit, at);

ganga undan, to escape to absent oneself;

g. undir e-t, to take upon oneself, undertake (a duty);

ganga undir e-n, to subject oneself to;

ganga upp, to be wasted (of money);

to get loose, to he torn loose (þeir glímdu svá at upp gengu stokkar allir á húsinu);

of a storm, gale, to get up, rise (veðr gekk upp);

of an ice-bound river, áin var gengin upp, swollen with ice;

ganga við staf, to walk with a stick;

ganga við e-u or e-t, to avow;

ganga yfir e-t, to go beyond, disregard (hann vildi eigi ganga yfir þat, er hann vissi réttast);

ganga yfir e-n, to overcome, to befall, happen to one;

slíkt sem yfir hefir gengit, all that has happened;

eitt skal yfir okkr ganga, we shall share one fate;

16) refl., gangast.

1) walking (hann mœddist í göngu);

vera í göngu, to be on foot, to walk;

2) course (ganga tungls, vinds).

* * *

pret. gekk or gékk, 2nd pers. gékkt, mod. gékst; pl. gengu, geingu, or géngu, and an old poët. gingu; gengengu in Vsp. 12 is a mere misspelling (vide Sæm. Möb. 258); pres. geng, pl. göngum; pret. subj. gengi (geingi); imperat. gakk and gakktú; with the neg. suffix geng-at, gengr-at, gékk-at, gakk-attu, passim; a middle form göngumk firr, go from me, Gm. 1: a contracted form gá occurs now and then in mod. hymns; it is not vernacular but borrowed from Germ. and Dan.: [cp. Ulf. gaggan; A. S. and Hel. gangan; Scot. and North. E. gang, mod. Engl. go; Dan.-Swed. gange or gå; Germ. gehen; Ivar Aasen ganga: Icel., Scots, and Norsemen have preserved the old ng, which in Germ. and Swed.-Dan. only remains in poetry or in a special sense, e. g. in Germ. compds.]

A. To go:

I. to walk; reið jarl en Karkr gékk, Fms. i. 210, Rm. 1, 2, 6, 14, 23, 24, 30, Edda 10, Grág. ii. 95, passim; ganga leiðar sinnar, to go one’s way, Fms. x. 290, Krók. 26: adding acc., g. alla leið, Fms. xi. 202, 299; g. berg, to climb a cliff; g. afréttar, to search the fell-pastures (fjallganga), Háv. 39; also g. ( to climb) í fjall, í kletta, Fms. x. 313: Icel. also say, ganga skó og sokka, to wear out shoes and socks; hann gékk tvenna skó; ganga berserks gang, q. v.

β. absol. to go a-begging, Grág. i. 226, 232, Ísl. ii. 25; ganga vergang, húsgang, id. (göngumaðr).

II. adding adverbs, infinitives, adjectives, or the like,

α. an adverb denoting direction; g. út ok inn, Vkv. 4, Lv. 26; g. inn, Fms. i. 16, vi. 33; g. út, to go out, Lat. exire, Nj. 194; g. aptr, to return, Fms. x. 352; g. fram, to step forward, Hm. 1, Eg. 165; g. upp, to go up, ashore; g. ofan, niðr, to go down; g. heiman, 199; g. heim, to go home; gakk hingat, come hither! 488; g. móti, í gegn e-m, to go against, to meet one; g. braut, to go away; g. til e-s, or at e-m, to go to one; g. frá e-m, to leave one; g. með e-m, to go with one; g. hjá, to pass by; g. saman, to go together; g. yfir, to go over; g. gegnum, to go through; g. undir, to go under; g. undan, fyrir, to go before; g. eptir, to go behind; g. um, to rove, stroll about, and so on passim; g. í sæti, to go to one’s seat, take a seat, Eg. 551; g. til hvílu, to go to bed, Nj. 201; g. til matar, to go to dinner, Sturl. iii. 111, Eg. 483; g. til vinnu, verks, to go to one’s work, cp. Hm. 58; g. í kirkju, to go to church, Rb. 82; g. á fjall, to go on the fells, Hrafn. 34; g. á skip, to go on board, Fms. x. 10; g. af skipi, to go ashore.

β. with infin., in old poems often dropping ‘at;’ ganga sofa, to go to sleep, Fm. 27; g. at sofa, Hm. 19; g. vega, to go to fight, Vsp. 56, Ls. 15; g. at eiga konu, to go to be married, Grág. i. 318.

γ. with an adj.; g. hræddr, to be afraid; g. úviss, to be in ignorance, etc., Fms. vii. 271, Sks. 250, 688.

2. in a more special sense; g. til einvígis, bardaga, to go to a duel, battle, Nj. 64; g. á hólm (hólmganga), Eg. 504, 506; g. á eintal, Nj. 103; g. til máls við e-n, to speak to one, Eg. 199, 764; g. í glímu, to go a-wrestling, Ísl. ii. 246; g. á fang, id., Ld. 206; g. í danz, to go a-dancing; g. til skripta, to go to shrift, Hom. 157; g. at brúðkaupi, to go to be married, Fms. vii. 278; g. í skóla, klaustr, to go to school, go into a cloister (as an inmate), (hence skóla-genginn, a school-man, scholar), Bs. passim; g. í þjónustu, to take service, Nj. 268; g. í lið með e-m, to enter one’s party, side with one, 100; g. í lög, to enter a league with one; g. ór lögum, to go out of a league, passim; g. í félag, ór félagi, id.; g. á mala, to take service as a soldier, 121; g. á hönd, g. til handa, to submit to one as a liegeman, surrender, Eg. 19, 33, Ó. H. 184, Fms. vii. 180; g. á vald e-m, to give oneself up, Nj. 267; g. á hendr e-m, to encroach upon, Ver. 56; g. í skuld, to bail, Grág. i. 232, Dipl. ii. 12; g. í trúnað, to warrant, Fms. xi. 356; g. til trygða, Nj. 166, and g. til griða, to accept truce, surrender, Fas. ii. 556; g. í mál, to enter, undertake a case, Nj. 31; g. í ánauð, to go into bondage, Eg. 8; g. til lands, jarðar, ríkis, arfs, to take possession of …, 118, Stj. 380, Grág., Fms. passim; g. til fréttar, to go to an oracle, take auspices, 625. 89; g. til Heljar, a phrase for to die, Fms. x. 414; g. nær, to go nigh, go close to, press hard on, Ld. 146, 322, Fms. xi. 240 (where reflex.); var sá viðr bæði mikill og góðr því at Þorkell gékk nær, Th. kept a close eye on it, Ld. 316.

B. Joined with prepp. and adverbs in a metaph. sense:—g. af, to depart from, go off; þá gékk af honum móðrinn ok sefaðisk hann, Edda 28; þá er af honum gékk hamremin, Eg. 125, Eb. 136, Stj. 118; g. af sér, to go out of or beyond oneself; mjök g. þeir svari-bræðr nú af sér, Fbr. 32; í móti Búa er hann gengr af sér ( rages) sem mest, Fb. i. 193; þá gékk mest af sér ranglæti manna um álnir, Bs. i. 135: so in the mod. phrases, g. fram af sér, to overstrain oneself; and g. af sér, to fall off, decay: to forsake, g. af trú, to apostatize, Fms. ii. 213; g. af vitinu, to go out of one’s wits, go mad, Post. 656 C. 31; g. af Guðs boðorðum, Stj. passim: to pass. Páskar g. af, Ld. 200: to be left as surplus (afgangr), Rb. 122, Grág. i. 411, K. Þ. K. 92:—g. aptr, to walk again, of a ghost (aptrganga), Ld. 58, Eb. 278, Fs. 131, 141, passim; and absol., g. um híbýli, to hunt, Landn. 107: to go back, be void, of a bargain, Gþl. 491:—g. at e-m, to go at, attack, Nj. 80, 160: to press on, Grág. i. 51, Dipl. ii. 19 (atgangr): g. at e-u, to accept a choice, Nj. 256; g. at máli, to assist, help, 207: to fit, of a key, lykla þá sem g. at kístum yðrum, Finnb. 234, Fbr. 46 new Ed., N. G. L. i. 383: medic. to ail, e-ð gengr at e-m; ok gengr at barni, and if the bairn ails, 340, freq. in mod. usage of ailment, grief, etc.:—g. á e-t, to go against, encroach upon; ganga á ríki e-s, Fms. i. 2; g. upp á, to tread upon, vii. 166; hverr maðr er ólofat gengr á mál þeirra, who trespasses against their measure, Grág. i. 3: to break, g. á orð, eiða, sættir, trygðir, grið, Finnb. 311, Fms. i. 189, Ld. 234; g. á bak e-u, to contravene, Ísl. ii. 382; ganga á, to go on with a thing, Grág. ii. 363; hence the mod. phrase, mikið gengr á, much going on; hvað gengr á, what is going on? það er farið að g. á það (of a task or work or of stores), it is far advanced, not much left:—g. eptir, to go after, pursue, claim (eptirgangr), Nj. 154, Þórð. 67, Fms. vii. 5; g. eptir e-m, to humour one who is cross, in the phrase, g. eptir e-m með grasið í skónum; vertu ekki að g. eptir stráknum; hann vill láta g. eptir ser (of a spoilt boy, cross fellow): to prove true, follow, hón mælti mart, en þó gékk þat sumt eptir, Nj. 194; eptir gékk þat er mér bauð hugr um, Eg. 21, Fms. x. 211:—g. fram, to go on well in a battle, Nj. 102, 235, Háv. 57 (framgangr): to speed, Nj. 150, Fms. xi. 427: to grow, increase (of stock), fé Hallgerðar gékk fram ok varð allmikit, Nj. 22; en er fram gékk mjök kvikfé Skallagríms, Eg. 136, Vígl. 38: to come to pass, skal þess bíða er þetta gengr fram, Nj. 102, Fms. xi. 22: to die, x. 422:—g. frá, to leave (a work) so and so; g. vel frá, to make good work; g. ílla frá, to make bad work; það er ílla frá því gengið, it is badly done:—g. fyrir, to go before, to yield to, to be swayed by a thing; heldr nú við hót, en ekki geng ek fyrir slíku, Fms. i. 305; þó at vér gangim heldr fyrir blíðu en stríðu, ii. 34, Fb. i. 378, Hom. 68; hvárki gékk hann fyrir blíðyrðum né ógnarmálum, Fms. x. 292; hann gékk þá fyrir fortülum hennar, Bs. i. 742: in mod. usage reflex., gangast fyrir íllu, góðu: to give away, tók hann þá at ganga fyrir, Fb. i. 530: Icel. now say, reflex., gangast fyrir, to fall off, from age or the like (vide fyrirgengiligr): to prevent, skal honum þá eigi fyrnska fyrir g., N. G. L. i. 249; þá er hann sekr þrem mörkum nema nauðsyn gangi fyrir, 14; at þeim gangi lögleg forföll fyrir, Gþl. 12:—g. í gegn, to go against, to meet, in mod. usage to deny, and so it seems to be in Gþl. 156; otherwise in old writers it always means the reverse, viz. to avow, confess; maðr gengr í gegn, at á braut kveðsk tekit hafa, the man confessed and said that he had taken it away, Ísl. ii. 331; ef maðr gengr í gegn legorðinu, Grág. i. 340; sá goði er í gegn gékk ( who acknowledged) þingfesti hans, 20; hann iðraðisk úráðs síns, ok gékk í gegn at hann hefði saklausan selt herra sinn, Sks. 584,—this agrees with the parallel phrase, g. við e-t, mod. g. við e-u, to confess, both in old and mod. usage, id.:—g. hjá, to pass by, to waive a thing, Fms. vi. 168:—g. með, to go with one, to wed, marry (only used of a woman, like Lat. nubere), þú hefir þvert tekit at g. með mér, Ld. 262, Sd. 170, Grág. i. 178, Þiðr. 209, Gkv. 2. 27, Fms. xi. 5: medic., g. með barni, to go with child, i. 57; with acc. (barn), Bs. i. 790, and so in mod. usage; a mother says, sama sumarið sem eg gékk með hann (hana) N. N., (meðgöngutími); but dat. in the phrase, vera með barni, to be with child; g. með burði, of animals, Sks. 50, Stj. 70; g. með máli, to assist, plead, Eg. 523, Fms. xi. 105, Eb. 210; g. með e-u, to confess [Dan. medgaae], Stj., but rare and not vernacular:—g. milli, to go between, intercede, esp. as a peacemaker, passim (milli-ganga, meðal-ganga):—g. í móti, to resist, Nj. 90, 159, 171: of the tide, en þar gékk í móti útfalls-straumr, Eg. 600:—g. saman, to go together, marry, Grág. i. 324, Fms. xi. 77: of a bargain, agreement, við þetta gékk saman sættin, Nj. 250; saman gékk kaupit með þeim, 259:—g. sundr, to go asunder, part, and of a bargain, to be broken off, passim:—g. til, to step out, come along; gangit til, ok blótið, 623. 59; gangit til, ok hyggit at, landsmenn, Fms. iv. 282: to offer oneself, to volunteer, Bs. i. 23, 24: the phrase, e-m gengr e-ð til e-s, to purpose, intend; en þat gékk mér til þess ( that was my reason) at ek ann þér eigi, etc., Ísl. ii. 269; sagði, at honum gékk ekki ótrúnaðr til þessa, Fms. x. 39; gékk Flosa þat til, at …, Nj. 178; gengr mér meirr þat til, at ek vilda firra vini mína vandræðum, Fms. ii. 171; mælgi gengr mér til, ‘tis that I have spoken too freely, Orkn. 469, Fms. vi. 373, vii. 258: to fare, hversu hefir ykkr til gengið, how have you fared? Grett. 48 new Ed.; Loka gékk lítt til, it fared ill with L., Fb. i. 276: mod., þat gékk svá til, it so happened, but not freq., as bera við is better, (tilgangr, intention):—g. um e-t, to go about a thing; g. um sættir, to go between, as peacemaker, Fms. v. 156; g. um beina, to attend guests, Nj. 50, passim: to manage, fékk hón svá um gengit, Grett. 197 new Ed.; hversu þér genguð um mitt góðs, 206: to spread over, in the phrase, má þat er um margan gengr; þess er um margan gengr guma, Hm. 93: to veer, go round, of the wind, gékk um veðrit ok styrmdi at þeim, the wind went round and a gale met them, Bs. i. 775:—g. undan, to go before, escape, Ver. 15, Fms. vii. 217, Blas. 49: to be lost, wasted, jafnmikit sem undan gékk af hans vanrækt, Gþl. 338: to absent oneself, eggjuðusk ok báðu engan undan g., Fms. x. 238:—g. undir, to undertake a duty, freq.: to set, of the sun, Rb. 468, Vígl. (in a verse): to go into one’s possession, power, Fms. vii. 207;—g. upp, to be wasted, of money, Fær. 39, Fms. ix. 354: of stones or earth-bound things, to get loose, be torn loose, þeir glímdu svá at upp gengu stokkar allir í húsinu, Landn. 185; flest gékk upp þat sem fyrir þeim varð, Háv. 40, Finnb. 248; ok gékk ór garðinum upp ( was rent loose) garðtorfa frosin, Eb. 190: to rise, yield, when summoned, Sturl. iii. 236: of a storm, gale, to get up, rise, veðr gékk upp at eins, Grett. 94, Bárð. 169; gengr upp stormr hinn sami, Bs. ii. 50: of an ice-bound river, to swell, áin var ákafliga mikil, vóru höfuðísar at báðum-megin, en gengin upp ( swoln with ice) eptir miðju, Ld. 46, Fbr. 20 new Ed., Bjarn. 52; vötnin upp gengin, Fbr. 114; áin var gengin upp ok íll yfirferðar, Grett. 134:—g. við, in the phrase, g. við staf, to go with a staff, rest on it: with dat., g. við e-u, to avow (vide ganga í gegn above):—g. yfir, to spread, prevail, áðr Kristnin gengi yfir, Fms. x. 273; hétu á heiðin goð til þess at þau léti eigi Kristnina g. yfir landit, Bs. i. 23: the phrase, láta eitt g. yfir báða, to let one fate go over both, to stand by one another for weal and woe; hefi ek því heitið honum at eitt skyldi g. yfir okkr bæði, Nj. 193, 201, 204, Gullþ. 8: so in the saying, má þat er yfir margan gengr, a common evil is easier to bear, Fbr. 45 new Ed. (vide um above); muntu nú verða at segja slíkt sem yfir hefir gengið, all that has happened, Fms. xi. 240; þess gengr ekki yfir þá at þeir vili þeim lengr þjóna, they will no longer serve them, come what may, Orkn. 84: to overrun, tyrannize over, þeir vóru ójafnaðar menn ok ganga þar yfir alla menn, Fms. x. 198 (yfirgangr): to transgress, Hom. 109: to overcome, þótti öllum mönnum sem hann mundi yfir allt g., Fms. vii. 326: a naut. term, to dash over, as spray, áfall svá mikit at yfir gékk þegar skipit, Bs. i. 422; hence the metaph. phrase, g. yfir e-n, to be astonished; það gengr yfir mig, it goes above me, I am astonished.

C. Used singly, of various things:

1. of cattle, horses, to graze (haga-gangr); segja menn at svín hans gengi á Svínanesi, en sauðir á Hjarðarnesi, Landn. 124, Eg. 711; kálfrinn óx skjótt ok gékk í túni um sumarit, Eb. 320; Freyfaxi gengr í dalnum fram, Hrafn. 6; þar var vanr at g. hafr um túnit, Nj. 62; þar var til grass (görs) at g., Ld. 96, Grág. passim; gangandi gripr, cattle, beasts, Bjarn. 22; ganganda fé, id., Sturl. i. 83, Band. 2, Ísl. ii. 401.

2. of shoals of fish, to go up, in a river or the like (fiski-ganga, -gengd); vötn er netnæmir fiskar g. í, Grág. i. 149; til landauðnar horfði í Ísafirði áðr fiskr gékk upp á Kvíarmiði, Sturl. ii. 177; fiskr er genginn inn ór álum, Bb. 3. 52.

3. of the sun, stars, vide B. above, (sólar-gangr hæstr, lengstr, and lægstr skemstr = the longest and shortest day); áðr sól gangi af Þingvelli, Grág. i. 24; því at þar gékk eigi sól af um skamdegi, Landn. 140, Rb. passim:—of a thunder-storm, þar gékk reiði-duna með eldingu, Fb. iii. 174:—of the tide, stream, water, vide B. above, eða gangi at vötn eða skriður, K. Þ. K. 78.

4. of a ship, gékk þá skipit mikit, Eg. 390, Fms. vi. 249; létu svá g. suðr fyrir landit, Eg. 78; lét svá g. suðr allt þar til er hann sigldi í Englands-haf, Ó. H. 149; réru nótt ok dag sem g. mátti, Eg. 88; gékk skipit brátt út á haf, Ó. H. 136.

β. to pass; kvað engi skip skyldi g. (go, pass) til Íslands þat sumar, Ld. 18.

II. metaph. to run out, stretch out, project, of a landscape or the like; gengr haf fyrir vestan ok þar af firðir stórir, Eg. 57; g. höf stór ór útsjánum inn í jörðina; haf (the Mediterranean) gengr af Njörva-sundum (the Straits of Gibraltar), Hkr. i. 5; nes mikit gékk í sæ út, Eg. 129, Nj. 261; í gegnum Danmörk gengr sjór (the Baltic) í Austrveg, A. A. 288; fyrir austan hafs-botn þann (Bothnia) er gengr til móts við Gandvík (the White Sea), Orkn. begin.: frá Bjarmalandi g. lönd til úbygða, A. A. 289; Europa gengr allt til endimarka Hispaniae, Stj. 83; öllum megin gengr at henni haf ok kringir um hana, 85; þessi þinghá gékk upp ( extended) um Skriðudal, Hrafn. 24: of houses, af fjósi gékk forskáli, Dropl. 28.

2. to spread, branch out; en af því tungurnar eru ólíkar hvár annarri, þær þegar, er ór einni ok hinni sömu hafa gengit eða greinzt, þá þarf ólíka stafi í at hafa, Skálda (Thorodd) 160: of a narrative, gengr þessi saga mest af Sverri konungi, this story goes forth from him, i. e. relates to, tells of him, Fb. ii. 533; litlar sögur megu g. af hesti mínum, Nj. 90; um fram alla menn Norræna þá er sögur g. frá, Fms. i. 81.

III. to take the lead, prevail; gékk þaðan af í Englandi Valska, thereafter (i. e. after the Conquest) the Welsh tongue prevailed in England, Ísl. ii. 221; ok þar allt sem Dönsk tunga gengi, Fms. xi. 19; meðan Dönsk tunga gengr, x. 179:—of money, to be current, hundrað aura þá er þá gengu í gjöld, Dropl. 16; eigi skulu álnar g. aðrar en þessar, Grág. i. 498; í þenna tíð gékk hér silfr í allar stórskuldir, 500, Fms. viii. 270; eptir því sem gengr ( the course) flestra manna í millum, Gþl. 352:—of laws, to be valid, ok var nær sem sín lög gengi í hverju fylki, Fms. iv. 18; Óðinn setti lög í landi sínu þau er gengit höfðu fyrr með Ásum, Hkr. i. 13; þeirra laga er gengu á Uppsala-þingi, Ó. H. 86; hér hefir Kristindóms-bálk þann er g. skal, N. G. L. i. 339; sá siðr er þá gékk, Fb. i. 71, (vide ganga yfir):—of sickness, plague, famine, to rage, þá gékk landfarsótt, bóla, drepsótt, hallæri, freq.; also impers., gékk því hallæri um allt Ísland, Bs. i. 184; mikit hallæri ok hart gékk yfir fólkið, 486, v. l.; gékk sóttin um haustið fyrir sunnan land; þá gékk mest plágan fyrri, Ann. 1402, 1403.

IV. to go on, last, in a bad sense, of an evil; tókst síðan bardagi, ok er hann hafði gengit um hríð, Fs. 48: impers., hefir þessu gengit ( it has gone on) marga manns-aldra, Fms. i. 282; gékk því lengi, so it went on a long while, Grett. 79 new Ed.; gékk þessu enn til dags, Nj. 272; ok gékk því um hríð, 201; ok gékk því allan þann dag, Fms. vii. 147; lát því g. í allt sumar, xi. 57; gengr þessu þar til er …, Fb. i. 258.

V. denoting violence; létu g. bæði grjót ok vápn, Eg. 261; létu þá hvárir-tveggju g. allt þat er til vápna höfðu, Fms. ix. 44; láta höggin g., to let it rain blows, Úlf. 12. 40; háðung, spottyrði, hróp ok brigzl hver lét með öðrum g. á víxl, Pass. 14. 3, (vápna-gangr); Birkibeinar róa þá eptir, ok létu g. lúðrana, and sounded violently the alarum, Fms. ix. 50, (lúðra-gangr); láta dæluna g., to pour out bad language, vide dæla.

VI. to be able to go on, to go, partly impers.; ef þat gengr eigi, if that will not do, Fms. vi. 284; svá þykt at þeim gékk þar ekki at fara, they stood so close that they could not proceed there, Nj. 247; þá nam þar við, gékk þá eigi lengra, there was a stop; then it could go no farther, Fms. xi. 278; leiddu þeir skipit upp eptir ánni, svá sem gékk, as far as the ship could go, as far as the river was navigable, Eg. 127: esp. as a naut. term, impers., e. g. þeim gékk ekki fyrir nesið, they could not clear the ness; þá gengr eigi lengra, ok fella þeir þá seglið, Bs. i. 423; at vestr gengi um Langanes, 485, v. l.

VII. with adverbs; g. létt, fljótt, to go smoothly; g. þungt, seint, to go slowly; oss munu öll vápna-viðskipti þungt g. við þá, Nj. 201; þungt g. oss nú málaferlin, 181; gékk þeim lítt atsóknin, Stj. 385; at þeim feðgum hefði þá allir hlutir léttast gengit, Bs. i. 274; seint gengr, Þórir, greizlan, Ó. H. 149; g. betr, verr, to get the better, the worse; gékk Ribbungum betr í fyrstu, Fms. ix. 313; gengu ekki mjök kaupin, the bargain did not go well, Nj. 157, cp. ganga til (B. above):—to turn out, hversu g. mundi orrostan, 273; gékk þá allt eptir því sem Hallr hafði sagt, 256; ef kviðir g. í hag sækjanda, if the verdict goes for the plaintiff, Grág. i. 87; þótti þetta mál hafa gengit at óskum, Dropl. 14; mart gengr verr en varir, a saying, Hm. 39; þykir honum nú at sýnu g. ( it seems to him evident) at hann hafi rétt hugsað, Fms. xi. 437; g. andæris, to go all wrong, Am. 14; g. misgöngum, to go amiss, Grág. i. 435; g. e-m í tauma, to turn false ( crooked); þat mun mér lítt í tauma g. er Rútr segir, Nj. 20; g. ofgangi, to go too high, Fms. vii. 269.

VIII. of a blow or the like; hafði gengit upp á miðjan fetann, the axe went in up to the middle of the blade, Nj. 209; gékk þegar á hol, 60; gékk í gegnum skjöldinn, 245, Fb. i. 530.

IX. of law; láta próf g., to make an enquiry; láta vátta g., to take evidence, D. N.

X. to be gone, be lost; gékk hér með holdit niðr at beini, the flesh was torn off, Fb. i. 530: esp. in pass. part. genginn, dead, gone, eptir genginn guma, Hm. 71; moldar-genginn, buried, Sl. 60; hel-genginn, 68; afli genginn, gone from strength, i. e. powerless, Skv. 3. 13.

β. gone, past; gengið er nú það görðist fyr, a ditty; mér er gengið heimsins hjól, gone for me is the world’s wheel ( luck), a ditty.

XI. used as transit. with acc.; hann gengr björninn á bak aptr, he broke the bear’s back in grappling with him, Finnb. 248; ok gengr hana á bak, ok brýtr í sundr í henni hrygginn, Fb. i. 530.

2. medic. with dat. to discharge; ganga blóði, to discharge blood (Dan. blodgang), Bs. i. 337, 383; Arius varð bráðdauðr ok gékk ór sér öllum iðrum, Ver. 47.

D. REFLEX.:

I. singly, gangask, to be altered, to change, be corrupted; gangask í munni, of tradition; var þat löng ævi, ok vant at sögurnar hefði eigi gengisk í munni, Ó. H. pref.; má því eigi þetta mál í munni gengisk hafa, Fb. ii. Sverr. S. pref.; ok mættim vér ráða um nokkut, at málit gengisk, that the case could miscarry, be lost, Glúm. 380:—láta gangask, to let pass. waive; lét Páll þá g. þá hluti er áðr höfðu í millum staðit, Sturl. i. 102; ef þú lætr eigi g. þat er ek kref þik, Fms. xi. 61.

2. e-m gengsk hugr við e-t, to change one’s mind, i. e. to be moved to compassion, yield; sótti hón þá svá at honum gékksk hugr við, Eb. 264; þá gékksk Þorgerði hugr við harma-tölur hans, Ld. 232; ok mun honum g. hugr við þat, svá at hann mun fyrirgefa þér, Gísl. 98; nú sem hann grét, gékksk Ísak hugr við, Stj. 167; er sendimaðr fann at Birni gékksk hugr við féit, Ó. H. 194; við slíkar fortölur hennar gékksk Einari hugr (E. was swayed) til ágirni, Orkn. 24.

II. with prepp. (cp. B. above); gangask at, to ‘go at it,’ engage in a fight; nú gangask þeir at fast, Dropl. 24, Ísl. ii. 267; gengusk menn at sveitum, of wrestlers, they wrestled one with another in sections (Dan. flokkevis), Glúm. 354; þeir gengusk at lengi, Finnb. 248:—gangask fyrir, vide B. above:—gangask í gegn, at móti, to stand against, fight against; at vér látim ok eigi þá ráða er mest vilja í gegn gangask (i. e. the extreme on each side), Íb. 12, cp. Fms. ii. 241; at þeir skipaði til um fylkingar sínar, hverjar sveitir móti skyldi g., i. e. to pair the combatants off, ix. 489; þeir risu upp ok gengusk at móti, Stj. 497. 2 Sam. ii. 15:—g. nær, to come to close quarters (Lat. cominus gerere), Nj. 176, Fms. xi. 240:—gangask á, to dash against one another, to split; á gengusk eiðar, the oaths were broken, Vsp. 30: to be squared off against one another, sú var görð þeirra, at á gengusk vígin húskarlanna, Rd. 288; ekki er annars getið en þeir léti þetta á gangask, i. e. they let it drop, Bjarn. 47; gangask fyrir, to fall off, Fms. iii. 255:—gangask við, to grow, gain strength; áðr en við gengisk hans bæn, before his prayer should be fulfilled, x. 258; ef þat er ætlað at trúa þessi skuli við g., Nj. 162; hétu þeir fast á guðin, at þau skyldi eigi láta við garrgask Kristniboð Ólafs konungs, Fms. ii. 32; þetta gékksk við um öll þau fylki, vii. 300; mikit gékksk Haraldr við (H. grew fast) um vöxt ok afl, Fb. i. 566; Eyvindr hafði mikið við gengizk um menntir, E. had much improved himself in good breeding, Hrafn. 24; vildi hann prófa hvárr þeirra meira hafði við gengisk, which of them had gained most strength, Grett. 107: to be in vogue, in a bad sense, ok löngum við gengisk öfund ok rangindi, Fms. i. 221, cp. Pass. 37. 7:—gangask ór stað, to be removed, Fms. xi. 107.

III. in the phrase, e-m gengsk vel, ílla, it goes well, ill with one, Hom. 168, Am. 53; ílls gengsk þér aldri, nema …, the evil will never leave thee, thou wilt never be happy, unless …, 65.

* * *

I. with dat.

1) before, in front of (ok vóru fyrir honum borin merkin);

fyrir dyrum, before the door;

2) before one, in one’s presence;

hón nefndist fyrir þeim Gunnhildr, she told them that her name was G.;

3) for;

hann lét ryðja fyrir þeim búðina, he had the booth cleared for them, for their reception;

4) before one, in one’s way;

fjörðr varð fyrir þeim, they came to a fjord;

sitja fyrir e-m, to lie in wait for one;

5) naut. term. before, off;

liggja fyrir bryggjum, to lie off the piers;

fyrir Humru-mynni, off the Humber;

6) before, at the head of, over;

vera fyrir liði, to be over the troops;

vera fyrir máli, to lead the case;

sitja fyrir svörum, to undertake the defence;

7) of time, ago;

fyrir þrem nóttum, three nights ago;

fyrir stundu, a while ago;

fyrir löngu, long ago;

vera fyrir e-u, to forebode (of a dream);

8) before, above, superior to;

Hálfdan svarti var fyrir þeim brœðrum, H. was the foremost of the brothers;

9) denoting disadvantige, harm, suffering;

þú lætr Egil vefja öll mál fyrir þér, thou lettest E. thwart all thy affairs;

tók at eyðast fyrir herm lausa-fé, her money began to fail;

10) denoting obstacle, hindrance;

mikit gøri þer mér fyrir þessu máli, you make this case hard for me;

varð honum lítit fyrir því, it was a small matter for him;

Ásgrími þótti þungt fyrir, A. thought that things looked bad;

11) because of, for;

hon undi sér hvergri fyrir verkjum, she had no rest for pains;

fyrir hræðslu, for fear;

illa fœrt fyrir ísum, scarcely, passable for ice;

gáðu þeir eigi fyrir veiðum at fá heyjanna, because of fishing, they neglected to make hay;

fyrir því at, because, since, as;

12) against;

gæt þín vel fyrir konungi ok hans mönnum, guard thee well against the king and his men;

beiða griða Baldri fyrir alls konar háska, against all kinds of harm;

13) fyrir sér, of oneself;

mikill fyrir sér, strong, powerful;

minnstr fyrir sér, smallest, weakest;

14) denoting manner or quality, with;

hvítr fyrir hærum, while with hoary hair;

II. with acc.

1) before, in front of;

halda fyrir augu sér, to hold (one’s hands) before one’s eyes;

2) before, into the presence of;

stefna e-m fyrir dómstól, before a court;

3) over;

hlaupa fyrir björg, to leap over a precipice;

kasta fyrir borð, to throw overboard;

4) in one’s way, crossing one’s way;

ríða á leið fyrir þá, to ride in their way, so as to meet them;

5) round, off;

sigla fyrir nes, to weather a point;

6) along, all along;

fyrir endilangan Noreg, all along Norway, from one end to the other;

draga ör fyrir odd, to draw the arrow past the point;

7) of time, fyrir dag, before day;

fyrir e-s minni, before one’s memory;

8) for, on behalf of;

vil ek bjóða at fara fyrir þik, I will offer to go for thee, in thy stead;

lögvörn fyrir mál, a lawful defence for a case;

9) for, for the benefit of;

þeir skáru fyrir þá melinn, they cut the lyme-grass for them (the horses);

10) for, instead of, in place of, as;

11) for, because of (vilja Gunnar dauðan fyrir höggit);

fyrir þín orð, for thy words (intercession);

fyrir sína vinsæld, by reason of his popularity;

12) denoting value, price;

fyrir þrjár merkr, for three marks;

fyrir hvern mun, by all means, at any cost;

13) in spite of, against (giptast fyrir ráð e-s);

14) joined with adverbs ending in -an, governing acc. (fyrir austan, vestan, sunnan, norðan, útan innan, framan, handan, ofan, neðan);

fyrir austan, sunnan fjall, east, south of the fell;

fyrir neðan brú, below the bridge;

fyrir handan á, beyond the river;

fyrir innan garð, inside the fence;

III. as adverb or ellipt.

1) ahead, before, opp. to eptir;

þá var eigi hins verra eptir ván, er slíkt fór fyrir, when this came first, preceded;

2) first;

mun ek þar eptir gera sem þér gerit fyrir, I shall do to you according as you do first;

3) at hand, present, to the fore;

föng þau, er fyrir vóru, stores that were at hand;

þar var fyrir fjöldi boðsmanna, a host of guests was already present (before the bride and bridegroom came);

4) e-m verðr e-t fyrir, one takes a certain step, acts so and so;

Kolbeini varð ekki fyrir, K. was at a loss what to do;

e-t mælist vel (illa) fyrir, a thing is well (ill) spoken or reported of (kvæðit mæltist vel fyrir).

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prep., in the Editions spelt differently; in MSS. this word is usually abbreviated either  (i. e. firir), or Ꝼ̆, fur͛, fvr͛ (i. e. fyrir); in some MSS. it is idiomatically spelt with i, fir͛, e. g. Arna-Magn. 382 (Bs. i. 263 sqq.); and even in the old Miracle-book Arna-Magn. 645 (Bs. i. 333 sqq.), just as ifir is written for yfir ( over); in a few MSS. it is written as a monosyllable fyr, e. g. D. I. i. 475, Mork. passim; in Kb. (Sæm.-Edda) occurs fyr telia, Vsp. I; fyr norðan, 36; fyr dyrum, Gm. 22; fyr vestan ver, Hkv. 2. 8; in other places as a dissyll. fyrir, e. g. Hm. 56, Gm. 54, Skm. 34, Ls. 15, Am. 64, Hkv. 2. 2, 19 (quoted from Bugge’s edition, see his preface, p. xvi); fyr and fyrir stand to one another in the same relation as ept to eptir, und to undir, of ( super) to yfir: this monosyllabic form is obsolete, save in the compds, where ‘for-’ is more common than ‘fyrir-;’ in some cases both forms are used, e. g. for-dæming and fyrir-dæming; in others only one, but without any fixed rule: again, the forms fyri, fyre, or fire, which are often used in Edd., are just as wrong, as if one were to say epti, undi, yfi; yet this spelling is found now and then in MSS., as, fyre, Ó. H. (facsimile); fire, Grág. Sb. ii. 288 (also facsimile): the particles í and á are sometimes added, í fur, Fms. iv. 137; í fyrir, passim; á fur, Haustl. 1. [Ulf. faur and faura; A. S. fore and for; Engl. for and fore-; Germ. für and vor; Dan. for; Swed. för; Gr. προ-; Lat. pro, prae.]

WITH DAT., chiefly without the notion of movement.

A. LOCAL:

I. before, in front of; fyrir dyrum, before the doors, at the doors, Nj. 14, Vsp. 53, Hm. 69, Edda 130; niðr f. smiðju-dyrum, Eg. 142:—ahead, úti fyrir búðinni, Nj. 181; kómusk sauðirnir upp á fjallit f. þeim, ahead of them, 27; vóru fyrir honum borin merkin, the banner was borne before him, 274; göra orð fyrir sér, to send word before one, Fms. vii. 207, Hkr. iii. 335 (Ó. H. 201, l. c., frá sér):—also denoting direction, niðri í eldinum f. sér, beneath in the fire before them, Nj. 204; þeir sá f. sér bæ mikinn, they saw before them a great building, i. e. they came to a great house, Eg. 546; öðrum f. sér ( in front) en öðrum á bak sér, Grág. i. 5.

2. before one, before one’s face, in one’s presence; úhelgaða ek Otkel f. búum, before the neighbours, Nj. 87; lýsi ek f. búum fimm, 218; lýsa e-u ( to proclaim) f. e-m, Ld. 8; hann hermdi boð öll f. Gizuri, Nj. 78; hón nefndisk f. þeim Gunnhildr, told them that her name was G., Fms. i. 8; kæra e-t f. e-m, Ó. H. 60; slíkar fortölur hafði hann f. þeim, Nj. 200; the saying, því læra börnin málið að það er f. þeim haft, bairns learn to speak because it is done before them, i. e. because they hear it; hafa gott (íllt) f. e-m, to give a good (bad) example, e. g. in the presence of children; lifa vel f. Guði, to live well before God, 623. 29; stór ábyrgðar-hluti f. Guði, Nj. 199; sem þeir sjá réttast f. Guði, Grág. i. (pref.); fyrir öllum þeim, Hom. 89; á laun f. öðrum mönnum, hidden from other men, unknown to them, Grág. i. 337, Jb. 378; nú skaltú vera vin minn mikill f. húsfreyju minni, i. e. when you talk to my wife, Nj. 265; fyrir Drottni, before the Lord, Merl. 2. 78.

3. denoting reception of guests, visitors; hann lét ryðja f. þeim búðina, he had the room cleared for them, for their reception, Nj. 228; Valhöll ryðja fyr vegnu fólki, i. e. to clear Valhalla for slain folk, Em. I; ryðja vígvöll f. vegundum, Nj. 212; ljúka upp f. e-m, to open the door for one, Fms. xi. 323, Stj. 5; rýma pallinn f. þeim, Eg. 304; hann lét göra eld f. þeim, he had a fire made for them, 204; þeir görðu eld. f. sér, Fms. xi. 63; … veizlur þar sem fyrir honum var búit, banquets that were ready for him, Eg. 45.

II. before one, in one’s way; þar er díki varð f. þeim, Eg. 530; á (fjörðr) varð f. þeim, a river, fjord, was before them, i. e. they came to it, 133, 161; at verða eigi f. liði yðru, 51; maðr sá varð f. Vindum, that man was overtaken by the V., Hkr. iii. 363; þeirra manna er f. honum urðu, Eg. 92.

2. sitja f. e-m, to lie in wait for one, Ld. 218, Nj. 107; lá f. henni í skóginum, Edda (pref.); sitja f. rekum, to sit watching for wrecks, Eg. 136 (fyrir-sát).

3. ellipt., menn urðu at gæta sín er f. urðu, Nj. 100; Egill var þar f. í runninum, E. was before (them), lay in ambush, Eg. 378; hafði sá bana er f. varð, who was before (the arrow), i. e. he was hit, Nj. 8.

4. verða f. e-u, to be hit, taken, suffer from a thing; ef hann verðr f. drepi, if he be struck, Grág. ii. 19; verða f. áverka, to be wounded, suffer injury, Ld. 140; verða f. reiði konungs, to fall into disgrace with the king, Eg. 226; verða f. ósköpum, to become the victim of a spell, spell-bound, Fas. i. 130; sitja f. hvers manns ámæli, to be the object of all men’s blame, Nj. 71; vera eigi f. sönnu hafðr, to be unjustly charged with a thing, to be innocent.

III. a naut. term, before, off; liggja f. bryggjum, to lie off the pier, Ld. 166; skip fljóta f. strengjum, Sks. 116; þeir lágu f. bænum, they lay off the town, Bs. i. 18; liggja úti f. Jótlands-síðu, off Jutland, Eg. 261; hann druknaði f. Jaðri, off the J., Fms. i. II; þeir kómu at honum f. Sjólandi, off Zealand, x. 394; hafa úti leiðangr f. landi, Hkr. i. 301; f. Humru-minni, off the Humber, Orkn. 338, cp. Km. 3, 8, 9, 13, 19, 21; fyrir Nesjum, off the Ness, Vellekla; fyrir Tungum, Sighvat; fyrir Spáni, off Spain, Orkn. 356.

IV. before, at the head of, denoting leadership; smalamaðr f. búi föður síns, Ver. 26 (of king David); vera f. liði, to be over the troops, Eg. 292, Nj. 7; vera f. máli, to lead the case, Band. 8; vera forstjóri f. búi, to be steward over the household, Eg. 52; ráða f. landi, ríki, etc., to rule, govern, Ó H. 33, Nj. 5; hverr f. eldinum réði, who was the ringleader of the fire, Eg. 239; ráða f. e-u, to rule, manage a thing, passim: the phrase, sitja f. svörum, to respond on one’s behalf, Ölk. 36, Band. 12; hafa svör f. e-m, to be the chief spokesman, Fms. x. 101, Dipl. v. 26.

V. special usages; friða f. e-m, to make peace for one, Fms. vii. 16, Bs. i. 65; bæta f. e-m, to make things good for one, Hom. 109; túlka, vera túlkr, flytja (etc.) f. e-m, to plead for one, Fms. iii. 33, Nj. 128,—also spilla f. e-m, to disparage one, Eg. 255; haga, ætla f. e-u, to manage, arrange for one, Ld. 208, Sturl. i. 14, Boll. 356; rífka ráð f. e-m, to better one’s condition, Nj. 21; ráða heiman-fylgju ok tilgjöf f. frændkonu sinni, Js. 58; standa f. manni, to stand before, shield a man, stand between him and his enemy, Eg. 357, Grág. ii. 13; vera skjöldr f. e-m, 655 xxxii. 4; hafa kostnað f. e-u, to have the expences for a thing, Ld. 14; vinna f. e-m, to support one by one’s work, Sks. 251; starfa f. fé sínu, to manage one’s money, Ld. 166; hyggja f. e-u, to take heed for a thing, Nj. 109; hyggja f. sér, Fs. 5; hafa forsjá f. e-m, to provide for one, Ld. 186; sjá f. e-u, to see after, Eg. 118, Landn, 152; sjá þú nokkut ráð f. mér, Nj. 20: ironic. to put at rest, Háv. 40: ellipt., sjá vel f., to provide well for, Nj. 102.

B. TEMP. ago; fyrir þrem nóttum, three nights ago; fyrir stundu, a while ago, Nj. 80; fyrir litlu, a little while ago, Fms. i. 76, Ld. 134; fyrir skömmu, a sbort while ago; fyrir löngu, a long while ago, Nj. 260, Fms. i. 50; fyrir öndverðu, from the beginning, Grág. i. 80, ii. 323, 394, Finnb. 342; fyrir þeim, before they were born, Fms. i. 57.

2. the phrase, vera f. e-u, to forebode; vera f. stórfundum, Nj. 107, 277; þat hygg ek vera munu f. siða-skipti, Fms. xi. 12; þessi draumr mun vera f. kvámu nökkurs manns, vii. 163; dreyma draum f. e-u, 8; fyrir tiðendum, ii. 65:—spá f. e-m, to ‘spae’ before, prophecy to one, Nj. 171.

C. METAPH.:

I. before, above; þóttu þeir þar f. öllum ungum mönnum, Dropl. 7; þykkisk hann mjök f. öðrum mönnum, Ld. 38; ver f. hirðmönnum, be first among my herdsmen, Eg. 65; Hálfdan svarti var f. þeim bræðrum, H. was the foremost of the brothers, Fms. i. 4; þorgrímr var f. sonum Önundar, Grett. 87; var Haraldr mest f. þeim at virðingu, Fms. i. 47.

II. denoting help, assistance; haun skal rétta vættið f. þeim, Grág. i. 45 (vide above A. IV and V).

2. the following seem to be Latinisms, láta lífit f. heilagri Kristni, to give up one’s life for holy Christianity, = Lat. pro, Fms. vii. 172; ganga undir píslir fyrir Guðs nafni, Blas. 38; gjalda önd mína f. önd þinni, Johann. 17; gefa gjöf f. sál sinni ( pro animâ suâ), H. E. i. 466; fyrir mér ok minni sál, Dipl. iv. 8; færa Guði fórnir f. e-m, 656 A; heita f. e-m, biðja f. e-m, to make a vow, pray for one (orare pro), Fms. iii. 48, Bs. i. 70; biðja f. mönnum, to intercede for, 19, Fms. xi. 287: even with a double construction, biðja f. stað sinn (acc., which is vernacular) ok heilagri kirkju (dat., which is a Latinism), x. 127.

III. denoting disadvantage, harm, suffering; þú lætr Egil vefja öll mál fyrir þér, thou lettest Egil thwart all thy affairs, Eg. 249; únýtir hann þá málit fyrir sér, then he ruins his own case, Grág. i. 36, Dropl. 14, 16; Manverjar rufu safnaðinn f. Þorkatli, the Manxmen broke up the assembly, i. e. forsook Thorkel, Fms. ix. 422; kom upp grátr f. henni, she burst into tears, 477; taka fé f. öðrum, to take another’s money, N. G. L. i. 20; knörr þann er konungr lét taka fyrir Þórólfi, Landn. 56; ef hross verðr tekit f. honum, if a horse of his be taken, Grág. i. 436; hann tók upp fé fyrir öllum, he seized property for them all, Ó. H. 60; e-t ferr ílla f. e-m, a thing turns out ill for one; svá fór f. Ólófu, so it came to pass for O., Vígl. 18; loka dyrr f. e-m, to lock the door in one’s face, Edda 21: þeir hafa eigi þessa menn f. yðr drepit, heldr f. yðrar sakir þessi víg vegit, i. e. they have not harmed you, but rather done you a service in slaying those men, Fbr. 33; tók at eyðask f. henni lausa-fé, her money began to fail, Nj. 29; rak á f. þeim storma ok stríðviðri, they were overtaken by gales and bad weather, Vígl. 27; Víglundr rak út knöttinn f. Jökli, V. drove the ball for J., i. e. so that he had to run after it, 24; sá er skar tygil f. Þóri, he who cut Thor’s line, Bragi; sverð brast f. mér, my sword broke, Korm. 98 (in a verse); brjóta e-t f. e-m, to break a thing for one, Bs. i. 15 (in a verse); Valgarðr braut krossa fyrir Merði ok öll heilög tákn, Nj. 167; árin brotnaði f. honum, his oar broke; allar kýrnar drápust fyrir honum, all his cows died.

2. denoting difficulty, hindrance; sitja f. sæmd e-s, to sit between oneself and one’s honour, i. e. to hinder one’s doing well, Sturl. 87; mikit göri þér mér f. þessu máli, you make this case sore for me, Eb. 124; þér er mikit f. máli, thy case stands ill, Fms. v. 325; ekki er Guði f. því, it is easy for God to do, 656 B. 9; varð honum lítið f. því, it was a small matter for him, he did it easily, Grett. III; mér er minna f. því, it is easier for me, Am. 60; þykkja mikit f. e-u, to be much grieved for a thing, do it unwillingly, Nj. 77; Icel. also say, þykja fyrir (ellipt.), to feel hurt, be displeased:—ellipt., er þeim lítið fyrir at villa járnburð þenna, it is a small matter for them to spoil this ordeal, Ó. H. 140; sem sér muni lítið f. at veiða Gunnar, Nj. 113; fast mun f. vera, it will be fast-fixed before (one), hard to move, Ld. 154; Ásgrími þótti þungt f., A. thought that things looked sad (heavy), Nj. 185; hann var lengi f., he was long about it, Fms. x. 205; hann var lengi f. ok kvað eigi nei við, he was cross and said not downright no, Þorf. Karl. 388.

IV. in a causal sense, for, because of, Lat. per, pro; sofa ek né mákat fugls jarmi fyrir, I cannot sleep for the shrill cry of birds, Edda 16 (in a verse); hon undi sér hvergi f. verkjum, she had no rest for pains, Bjarn. 69; fyrir gráti, tárum, = Lat. prae lacrymis; fyrir harmi, for sorrow; f. hlátri, for laughter, as in Engl.; þeir æddust f. einni konu, they went mad for the sake of one woman, Sól. 11; ílla fært f. ísum, scarce passable for ice, Fms. xi. 360; hætt var at sitja útar f. Miðgarðs-ormi, Edda 35; hann var lítt gengr f. sárinu, he could hardly walk for the wound, Fbr. 178; fyrir hræðslu, for fear, Hbl. 26; heptisk vegrinn f. þeim meinvættum sem …, Fs. 4; gáðu þeir eigi f. veiðum at fá heyjanna, because of fishing they took no care to make hay, Landn. 30; fyrir riki konungs, for the king’s power, Eg. 67, 117; fyrir ofríki manna, Grág. i. 68; fyrir hví, for why? Eluc. 4; fyrir hví þeir væri þar, Eg. 375; fyrir því, at …, for that, because, Edda 35, Fms. i. 22, vii. 330, Ld. 104; en fyrir því nú at, now since, Skálda 171; nú fyrir því at, id., 169: the phrase, fyrir sökum, for the sake of, because of, passim; vide sök.

V. by, by the force of; öxlin gékk ór liði fyrir högginu, the shoulder was disjointed by the force of the stroke, Háv. 52.

2. denoting contest; falla f. e-m, to fall before one, i. e. fighting against one, Fms. i. 7, iv. 9, x. 196; verða halloki f. e-m, to be overcome in fighting one, Ld. 146; látask f. e-m, to perish by one, Eb. 34; hafa bana f. e-m, to be slain by one, Nj. 43; þeir kváðu fá fúnað hafa f. honum, 263; mæddisk hann f. þeim, he lost his breath in fighting them, Eg. 192; láta ríki f. e-m, to lose the kingdom before another, i. e. so that the latter gains it, 264; láta lausar eignir mínar f. þér, 505; láta hlut sinn f. e-m, Fs. 47; standask f. e-m, to stand one’s ground before one, Edda (pref.); hugðisk hann falla mundu f. sjóninni einni saman, that he would sink before his glance, 28, Hým. 12; halda hlut f. e-m, Ld. 54; halda frið ok frelsi f. várum óvinum, Fms. viii. 219; fara mun ek sem ek hefi áðr ætlað f. þínum draum ( thy dream notwithstanding), Ld. 216; þér farit hvárt er þér vilit f. mér, you go wherever you like for me, so far as I am concerted, Fær. 37; halda vöku f. sér, to keep oneself awake, Fms. i. 216.

β. with verbs, flýja, hlaupa, renna, stökkva f. e-m, to fly, leap, run before one, i. e. to be pursued, Bs. i. 774, Grág. ii. 359; at hann rynni f. þrælum hans, Ld. 64; fyrir þessum úfriði stökk Þangbrandr til Noregs, 180; skyldi hann ganga ór á f. Hofsmönnum, Landn. 178; ganga f. e-u, to give way before, yield to a thing, Fms. i. 305, x. 292; vægja f. e-m, to yield to one, give way, Eg. 21, 187, Nj. 57, Ld. 234.

VI. against; verja land f. e-m, Eg. 32; verja landit f. Dönum ok öðrum víkingum, Fms. i. 23; til landvarnar f. víkingum, Eg. 260; landvarnar-maðr f. Norðmönnum, Fms. vi. 295; gæta brúarinnar f. bergrisum, Edda 17; gæt þín vel f. konungi ok hans mönnum, guard thee well against the king and his men, Eg. 113; góð aðstoð f. tröllum ok dvergum, Bárð. 163; beiða Baldri griða f. allskonar háska, Edda 36; auðskæðr f. höggum, Eg. 770.

VII. in the sense of being driven before; fyrir straumi, veðri, vindi, before the stream, wind, weather (forstreymis, forvindis), Grág. ii. 384, Fms. vii. 262; halda f. veðri, to stand before the wind, Róm. 211.

2. rýrt mun verða f. honum smá-mennit, he will have an easy game with the small people, Nj. 94: ellipt., hafði sá bana er f. varð, 8; sprakk f., 16, 91.

VIII. fyrir sér, of oneself, esp. of physical power; mikill f. sér, strong, powerful; lítill f. sér, weak, feeble, Nj. 20, Ísl. ii. 368, Eg. 192; þér munuð kalla mik lítinn mann f. mér, Edda 33; minnstr f. sér, smallest, weakest, Eg. 123; gildr maðr f. sér, Ísl. ii. 322, Fms. ii. 145; herðimaðr mikiil f. sér, a hardy man, Nj. 270; hvat ert þú f. þér, what kind of fellow art thou? Clem. 33; vera einn f. sér, to be a strange fellow, Grett. 79 new Ed.; Icel. also say, göra mikið (lítið) f. sér, to make oneself big ( little).

β. sjóða e-t f. sér, to hesitate, saunter, Nj. 154; mæla f. munni, to talk between one’s teeth, to mutter, Orkn. 248, Nj. 249.

IX. denoting manner or quality; hvítr f. hærum, white with hoary hairs, Fms. vi. 95, Fas. ii. 540; gráir fyrir járnum, grey with steel, of a host in armour, Mag. 5; hjölt hvít f. silfri, a hilt white with silver = richly silvered, Eb. 226.

X. as adverb or ellipt.,

1. ahead, in front, = á undan, Lat. prae, opp. to eptir; þá var eigi hins verra eptir ván, er slíkt fór fyrir, as this came first, preceded, Nj. 34; at einhverr mundi fara heim fyrir, that some one would go home first (to spy), Eg. 580; Egill fór f., E. went in before, id.; at vér ríðim þegar f. í nótt, 283.

β. first; hann stefndi f. málinu, en hann mælti eptir, one pronounced the words first, but the other repeated after him, Nj. 35; mun ek þar eptir göra sem þér gerit f., I shall do to you according as you do first, 90:—temp., sjau nóttum f., seven nights before, Grág. ii. 217.

2. to the fore, at hand, present; þar var fyrir fjöldi boðsmanna, a host of guests was already to the fore, i. e. before the bride and bridegroom came, Nj. 11; úvíst er at vita hvar úvinir sitja á fleti fyrir, Hm. 1; skal þá lögmaðr þar f. vera, he shall be there present, Js. 3; heima í túni fyrir, Fær. 50; þar vóru fyrir Hildiríðar-synir, Eg. 98; var honum allt kunnigt fyrir, he knew all about the localities, 583; þeim ómögum, sem f. eru, who are there already, i. e. in his charge, Grág. i. 286: of things, föng þau er f. vóru, stores that were to the fore, at hand, Eg. 134.

3. fore, opp. to ‘back,’ of clothes; slæður settar f. allt gullknöppum, Eg. 516; bak ok fyrir, back and front, = bak ok brjóst, Mar.

XI. in the phrase, e-m verðr e-t fyrir, a thing is before one, i. e. one takes that and that step, acts so and so in an emergency; nú verðr öðrum þeirra þat f., at hann kveðr, now if the other part alleges, that …, Grág. i. 362; Kolbeini varð ekki f., K. had no resource, i. e. lost his head, Sturl. iii. 285:—the phrase, e-t mælisk vel (ílla) fyrir, a thing is well ( ill) reported of; víg Gunnars spurðisk ok mæltisk ílla fyrir um allar sveitir, Nj. 117, Sturl. ii. 151; mun þat vel f. mælask, people will like it well, Nj. 29, Þórð. 55 new Ed.; ílla mun þat f. mælask at ganga á sættir við frændr sína, Ld. 238; ok er lokit var, mæltisk kvæðit vel f., the people praised the poem, Fms. vii. 113.

XII. in special senses, either as prep. or adv. (vide A. V. above); segja leið f. skipi, to pilot a ship, Eg. 359; segja f. skipi, to say a prayer for a new ship or for any ship going to sea, Bs. i. 774, Fms. x. 480; mæla f. e-u, to dictate, Grág. ii. 266; mæla f. minni, to bring out a toast, vide minni; mæla f. sætt, i. 90; skipa, koma e-u f., to arrange, put right; ætla f. e-u, to make allowance for; trúa e-m f. e-u, to entrust one with; það fer mikið f. e-u (impers.), it is of great compass, bulky; hafa f. e-u, to have trouble with a thing; leita f. sér, to enquire; biðjask f., to say one’s prayers, vide biðja; mæla fyrir, segja f., etc., to order, Nj. 103, Js. 3: of a spell or solemn speaking, hann mælti svá f., at …, Landn. 34; spyrjask f., to enquire, Hkr. ii. 333; búask f., to prepare, make arrangement, Landn. 35, Sks. 551; skipask f., to draw up, Nj. 197; leggjask f., to lie down in despair, Bs. i. 194; spá fyrir, to ‘spae’ before, foretell; þeir menn er spá f. úorðna hluti, Fms. i. 96; segja f., to foretell, 76, Bb. 332; Njáll hefir ok sagt f. um æfi hans, Nj. 102; vita e-t f., to ‘wit’ beforehand, know the future, 98; sjá e-t f., to foresee, 162; ef þat er ætlat f., fore-ordained, id.

WITH ACC., mostly with the notion of movement.

A. LOCAL:

I. before, in front of; fyrir dyrrin, Nj. 198; láta síga brýnn f. brár, Hkv. Hjörv. 19; halda f. augu sér, to hold (one’s hands) before one’s eyes, Nj. 132; leggja sverði fyrir brjóst e-m, to thrust a sword into his breast, 162, Fs. 39.

2. before one, before a court; stefna e-m f. dómstól, Fms. xi. 444; ganga, koma f. e-n, to go, come before one, Fms. i. 15, Eg. 426, Nj. 6, 129, passim; fyrir augu e-s, before one’s eyes, Stj. 611.

3. before, so as to shield; hann kom skildinum f. sik, he put the shield before him, Nj. 97, 115; halda skildi f. e-n, a duelling term, since the seconder had to hold one’s shield, Ísl. ii. 257.

4. joined to adverbs such as fram, aptr, út, inn, ofan, niðr, austr, vestr, suðr, norðr, all denoting direction; fram f., forward; aptr f., backward, etc.; hann reiddi öxina fram f. sik, a stroke forward with the axe, Fms. vii. 91; hann hljóp eigi skemra aptr en fram fyrir sik, Nj. 29; þótti honum hann skjóta brandinum austr til fjallanna f. sik, 195; komask út f. dyrr, to go outside the door, Eg. 206:—draga ofan f. brekku, to drag over the hill, Ld. 220; hrinda f. mel ofan, to thrust one over the gravel bank, Eg. 748; hlaupa f. björg, to leap over a precipice, Eb. 62, Landn. 36; elta e-n f. björg, Grág. ii. 34; hlaupa (kasta) f. borð, to leap ( throw) overboard, Fms. i. 178, Hkr. iii. 391, Ld. 226; síga ( to be hauled) niðr f. borgar-vegg, 656 C. 13, Fms. ix. 3; hlaupa niðr f. stafn, Eg. 142; niðr f. skaflinn, Dropl. 25; fyrir brekku, Orkn. 450, Glúm. 395 (in a verse).

II. in one’s way, crossing one’s way; þeir stefndu f. þá, Fms. ix. 475; ríða á leið f. þá, to ride in their way, so as to meet them, Boll. 348; hlaupa ofan f. þá, Nj. 153; vóru allt komin f. hann bréf, letters were come before him, in his way, Fms. vii. 207; þeir felldu brota f. hann, viz. they felled trees before him, so as to stop him, viii. 60, ix. 357; leggja bann f. skip, to lay an embargo on a ship, Ld. 166.

III. round, off a point; fyrir nesit, Nj. 44; út f. Holm, out past the Holm, Fms. vii. 356: esp. as a naut. term, off a point on the shore, sigla f. England, Norðyrnbraland, Þrasnes, Spán, to sail by the coast of, stand off England, Northumberland, … Spain, Orkn. 338, 340, 342, 354; fyrir Yrjar, Fms. vii. (in a verse); fyrir Siggju, Aumar, Lista, Edda 91 (in a verse); er hann kom f. Elfina, when be came off the Gotha, Eg. 80; leggja land f. skut, to lay the land clear of the stern, i. e. to pass it, Edda l. c.; göra frið f. land sitt, to pacify the land from one end to another, Ld. 28; fyrir uppsprettu árinnar, to come to ( round) the sources of the river, Fms. iii. 183; fyrir garðs-enda, Grág. ii. 263; girða f. nes, to make a wall across the ness, block it up, cp. Lat. praesepire, praemunire, etc., Grág. ii. 263; so also binda f. op, poka, Lat. praeligare, praestringere; hlaða f. gat, holu, to stop a hole, opening; greri f. stúfinn, the stump (of the arm or leg) was healed, closed, Nj. 275; skjóta slagbrandi f. dyrr, to shoot a bolt before the door, to bar it, Dropl. 29; láta loku (lás) f. hurð, to lock a door, Gísl. 28; setja innsigli f. bréf, to set a seal to a letter, Dipl. i. 3: ellipt., setr hón þar lás fyrir, Ld. 42, Bs. i. 512.

2. along, all along; f. endilanga Danmörk, f. endilangan Noreg, all along Denmark, Norway, from one end to the other, Fms. iv. 319, xi. 91, Grett. 97:—öx álnar f. munn, an axe with an ell-long edge, Ld. 276; draga ör f. ödd, to draw the arrow past the point, an archer’s term, Fms. ii. 321.

IV. with verbs, fyrir ván komit, one is come past hope, all hope is gone, Sturl. i. 44, Hrafn. 13, Fms. ii. 131; taka f. munn e-m, to stop one’s mouth; taka f. háls, kverkar, e-m, to seize one by the throat, etc.; taka mál f. munn e-m, ‘verba alicujus praeripere,’ to take the word out of one’s mouth, xi. 12; taka f. hendr e-m, to seize one’s hands, stop one in doing a thing, Eb. 124; mod., taka fram f. hendrnar á e-m.

B. TEMP.: fyrir dag, before day, Eg. 80; f. miðjan dag, Ld. 14; f. sól, before sunrise, 268; f. sólar-lag, before sunset; f. miðjan aptan, Nj. 192; f. náttmál, 197; f. óttu, Sighvat; f. þinglausnir, Ölk. 37; f. Jól, Nj. 269; f. fardaga, Grág. ii. 341; viku f. sumar, 244; f. mitt sumar, Nj. 138; litlu f. vetr, Eg. 159; f. vetrnætr, Grág. ii. 217; f. e-s minni, before one’s memory, Íb. 16.

C. METAPH.:

I. above, before; hann hafdi mest fyrir aðra konunga hraustleikinn, Fms. x. 372.

II. for, on behalf of; vil ek bjóða at fara f. þik, I will go for thee, in thy stead, Nj. 77; ganga í skuld f. e-n, Grág. i. 283; Egill drakk … ok svá f. Ölvi, Eg. 210; kaupa e-t f. e-n, Nj. 157; gjalda gjöld f. e-n, Grág. i. 173; verja, sækja, sakir f. e-n, Eg. 504; hvárr f. sik, each for oneself, Dipl. v. 26; sættisk á öll mál f. Björn, Nj. 266; tók sættir f. Björn, Eg. 168; svara f. e-t, Fms. xi. 444; hafa til varnir f. sik, láta lýrit, lög-vörn koma f.; færa vörn f. sik, etc.; verja, sækja sakir f. sik, and many similar law phrases, Grág. passim; biðja konu f. e-n, to woo a lady for another, Fms. x. 44; fyrir mik, on my behalf, for my part, Gs. 16; lögvörn f. mál, a lawful defence for a case, Nj. 111; hafa til varnar f. sök, to defend a case, Grág. i. 61; halda skiladómi f. e-t, Dipl. iv. 8; festa lög f. e-t, vide festa.

III. in a distributive sense; penning f. mann, a penny per man, K. Þ. K. 88; fyrir nef hvert, per nose = per head, Lv. 89, Fms. i. 153, Ó. H. 141; hve f. marga menn, for how many men, Grág. i. 296; fyrir hverja stiku, for each yard, 497.

IV. for, for the benefit of; brjóta brauð f. hungraða, Hom. 75; þeir skáru f. þá melinn, they cut the straw for them (the horses), Nj. 265; leggja kostnað f. e-n, to defray one’s costs, Grág. i. 341.

V. for, instead of; hann setti sik f. Guð, Edda (pref.); hafa e-n f. Guð (Lat. pro Deo), Stj. 73, Barl. 131; geta, fá, kveðja mann f. sik, to get a man as one’s delegate or substitute, Grág. i. 48 passim; þeir höfðu vargstakka f. brynjur, Fs. 17; manna-höfuð vóru f. kljána, Nj. 275; gagl f. gás ok grís f. gamalt svín, Ó. H. 86; rif stór f. hlunna, Háv. 48; buðkr er f. húslker er hafðr, Vm. 171; auga f. auga, tönn f. tönn, Exod. xxi. 24; skell f. skillinga, Þkv. 32.

VI. because of, for; vilja Gunnar dauðan fyrir höggit, Nj. 92, Fms. v. 162; eigi f. sakleysi, not without ground, i. 302; fyrir hvat (why, for what) stefndi Gunnarr þeim til úhelgi? Nj. 101; ok urðu f. þat sekir, Landn. 323; hafa ámæli f. e-t, Nj. 65, passim.

2. in a good sense, for one’s sake, for one; fyrir þín orð, for thy words, intercession, Ísl. ii. 217; vil ek göra f. þín orð, Ld. 158, Nj. 88; fyrir sína vinsæld, by his popularity, Fms. i. 259: the phrase, fyrir e-s sök, for one’s sake, vide sök: in swearing, a Latinism, fyrir trú mína, by my faith! (so in Old Engl. ‘fore God), Karl. 241; fyrir þitt líf, Stj. 514; ek særi þik f. alla krapta Krists ok manndóm þinn, Nj. 176. VII. for, at, denoting value, price; fyrir þrjár merkr, for three marks, Eg. 714; er sik leysti út f. þrjú hundruð marka, Fms. ix. 421; ganga f. hundrað, to pass or go for a hundred, D. I. i. 316:—also of the thing bought, þú skalt reiða f. hana þrjár merkr, thou shall pay for her three marks, Ld. 30; fyrir þik skulu koma mannhefndir, Nj. 57; bætr f. víg, Ísl. ii. 274; bætr f. mann, Eg. 259, passim; fyrir áverka Þorgeirs kom legorðs-sökin, Nj. 101:—so in the phrase, fyrir hvern mun, by all means, at any cost; fyrir öngan mun, by no means, Fms. i. 9, 157, Gþl. 531:—hafði hverr þeirra mann f. sik, eða tvá …, each slew a man or more for himself, i. e. they sold their lives dearly, Ó. H. 217.

2. ellipt., í staðinn f., instead of, Grág. i. 61; hér vil ek bjóða f. góð boð, Nj. 77; taka umbun f., Fms. vii. 161; svara slíku f. sem …, Boll. 350; þér skulut öngu f. týna nema lífinu, you shall lose nothing less than your head, Nj. 7.

VIII. by means of, by, through; fyrir þat sama orð, Stj.; fyrir sína náttúru, Fms. v. 162; fyrir messu-serkinn, iii. 168; fyrir þinn krapt ok frelsis-hönd, Pass. 19. 12; svikin f. orminn, by the serpent, Al. 63,—this use of fyrir seems to be a Latinism, but is very freq. in eccl. writings, esp. after the Reformation, N. T., Pass., Vídal.; fyrir munn Davíðs, through the mouth of David, etc.:—in good old historical writings such instances are few; þeir hlutuðu f. kast ( by dice), Sturl. ii. 159.

IX. in spite of, against; fyrir vilja sinn, N. G. L. i. 151; fyrir vitorð eðr vilja e-s, against one’s will or knowledge, Grág. ii. 348; kvángask (giptask) f. ráð e-s, i. 177, 178, Þiðr. 190; nú fara menn f. bann ( in spite of an embargo) landa á milli, Gþl. 517; hann gaf henni líf f. framkvæmd farar, i. e. although she had not fulfilled her journey ( her vow), Fms. v. 223; fyrir várt lof, vi. 220; fyrir allt þat, in spite of all that, Grett. 80 new Ed.; fyrir ráð fram, heedlessly; fyrir lög fram, vide fram.

X. denoting capacity, in the same sense as ‘at,’ C. II, p. 27, col. 1; scarcely found in old writers (who use ‘at’), but freq. in mod. usage, thus, eigi e-n f. vin, to have one for a friend, in old writers ‘at vin;’ hafa e-n f. fífl, fól, to make sport of one.

2. in old writers some phrases come near to this, e. g. vita f. vist, to know for certain, Dipl. i. 3; vita f. full sannindi, id., ii. 16; hafa f. satt, to take for sooth, believe, Nj. 135; koma f. eitt, to come ( turn) all to one, Lv. 11, Nj. 91, Fms. i. 208; koma f. ekki, to come to naught, be of no avail, Ísl. ii. 215; fyrir hitt mun ganga, it will turn the other way, Nj. 93; fyrir hann er einskis örvænt orðs né verks, from him everything may be expected, Ísl. ii. 326; hafa e-s víti f. varnað, to have another’s faults for warning, Sól. 19.

XI. joined with adverbs ending in -an, fyrir austan, vestan, sunnan, norðan, útan, innan, framan, handan, ofan, neðan, either with a following acc. denoting. direction, thus, fyrir austan, sunnan … fjall, east, south of the fell, i. e. on the eastern, southern side; fyrir neðan brú, below the bridge; fyrir útan fjall = Lat. ultra; fyrir innan fjall = Lat. infra; fyrir handan á, beyond the river; fyrir innan garð, inside the yard; fyrir ofan garð, above, beyond the yard, etc.; vide these adverbs:—used adverb., fyrir sunnan, in the south; fyrir vestan, in the west; fyrir norðan, in the north; fyrir austan, in the east,—current phrases in Icel. to mark the quarters of the country, cp. the ditty in Esp. Árb. year 1530; but not freq. in old writers, who simply say, norðr, suðr …, cp. Kristni S. ch. 1: absol. and adverb., fyrir ofan, uppermost; fyrir handan, on the other side:—fyrir útan e-t, except, save, Anal. 98, Vkv. 8; fyrir fram, vide fram.

☞ For- and fyrir- as prefixes, vide pp. 163–167 and below:

I. fore-, for-, meaning before, above, in the widest sense, local, temp., and metaph. furthering or the like, for-dyri, for-nes, for-ellri, for-beini, etc.

β. before, down, for-brekkis, -bergis, -streymis, -vindis, -viðris, etc.

2. in an intens. sense = before others, very, but not freq.; for-dyld, -góðr, -hagr, -hraustr, -kostuligr, -kuðr, -lítill, -ljótr, -prís, -ríkr, -snjallr.

II. (cp. fyrir, acc., C. IX), in a neg. or priv. sense; a few words occur even in the earliest poems, laws, and writers, e. g. for-að, -átta, -dæða, -nám, -næmi, -sending, -sköp, -verk, -veðja, -viða, -vitni, -ynja, -yrtir; those words at least seem to be original and vernacular: at a later time more words of the same kind crept in:

1. as early as writers of the 13th and 14th centuries, e. g. for-boð, -bænir, -djarfa, -dæma (fyrir-dæma), -taka (fyrir-taka), -þóttr; fyrir-bjóða, -fara, -göra, -koma, -kunna, -líta, -muna, -mæla, -vega, -verða.

2. introduced in some words at the time of the Reformation through Luther’s Bible and German hymns, and still later in many more through Danish, e. g. for-brjóta, -drífa, -láta, -líkast, -merkja, -nema, -sorga, -sóma, -standa, -svara, -þénusta, and several others; many of these, however, are not truly naturalised, being chiefly used in eccl. writings:—it is curious that if the pronoun be placed after the verb (which is the vernacular use in Icel.) the sense is in many cases reversed; thus, fyrir-koma, to destroy, but koma e-u fyrir can only mean to arrange; so also fyrir-mæla, to curse, and mæla fyrir, to speak for; for-bænir, but biðja fyrir e-m, etc.; in the latter case the sense is good and positive, in the former bad and negative; this seems to prove clearly that these compds are due to foreign influence.

(-s, -ar), m.

1) opinion, judgement (dómr um dauðan hvern);

2) judicial decision, decree, judgement, sentence; stríðr dómr, a severe judgement; réttlátr í dómum, impartial as judge; segja upp dóm, to pronounce (pass) sentence;

3) court (of judicature), the body of judges; ganga í dóm, to go into court, take one’s seat in court; setja dóm, to set the court, to let the judges take their seats; sitja í dómi, to sit in judgement or in court; nefna dóm, to nominate (appoint) the judges; sœkja mál í dóm, to prosecute a lawsuit in court; hleypa upp dómi, to break up the court by force; bera fé í dóm, to bribe the court; ryðja dóm, to challenge the court; mál ferr í dóm, a case goes into court;

4) state, condition; heiðinn dómr, heathenism; kristinn dómr, the Christian faith;

5) heilagr dómr, helgir dómar, relic, relics;

6) in compds., -dom, -head, -hood (guðdómr, Godhead, manndómr, manhood, konungdómr, kingdom, &c.).

* * *

m. [Goth. dôms, which occurs once, but not in Ulf., who only uses the word in compds, and renders κρίσις and κριτής by siaua; A. S. dôm; Engl. doom and the termin. -dom; O. H. G. tom; known in Germ. only from the termin. - tum (-thum)].

I. a court of judgment, the body of judges, or the ‘court’ itself; the Icel. law of the Commonwealth distinguishes between several bodies of judges; in parliament there were Fjórðungs-dómar, ‘Quarter Courts,’ one for each of the political quarters of the country, Breiðfirðinga-d. or Vestfirðinga-d. for the West, Rangæinga-d. for the South, Eyfirðinga-d. or Norðlendinga-d. for the North, and Austfirðinga-d. for the East; these courts were instituted by Thord Gellir A. D. 964: at a later date a fifth High Court, called Fimtar-domr, the Fifth Court, was erected about A. D. 1004; vide Nj. ch. 98, Íb. ch. 8, Grág., esp. Þ. Þ. in the first chapters, and many passages in the Sagas, esp. Nj., Sturl.; and of mod. authors, Konrad Maurer in his essay, Die Entstehung des Icel. Staates, Ed. 1852, Dasent’s Introd. to Burnt Njal;—the treatise of Maurer is an indispensable guide in matters of the Fimtar-dómr. There are other courts on record, e. g. dyra-dómr, a court at the door of the defendant, vide Eb. ch. 18 and N. G. L.; nú skal dóm setja fyrir durum verjanda, en eigi á bak húsi; hann (viz. the plaintiff) skal setja dóm sinn eigi nær húsi en svá, at verjandi (the defender) megi setja sinn dóm milli dura ok dóms hans ok aka hlassi viðar milli dóms ok dura (vide dæma), N. G. L. i. 22: technical law-phrases as to the courts, setja dóm, to set the court, let the judges take their seats; dómar fara út, the courts ‘fare out,’ i. e. open; færa út dóm, dóma-útfærsla, i. e. the opening of the courts, Grág. i. 27,—the judges went out in a body in procession and took their seats; ryðja dóm, to challenge the court, Nj.; ganga at dómi, to go into court; nefna dóm, to name the judges (dóm-nefna); sitja í dómi, to sit in court; mál ferr í dóm, a case goes into court; hleypa upp dómi, to break up the court by force; bera fé í dóm, to bribe the court; dóms-afglapan, vide afglapan;—for all these phrases, vide Grág., Þ. Þ. in the first chapters, Nj., esp. ch. 140 sqq., Eg. ch. 57, N. G. L. i, Gþl. This sense is now almost obsolete, but it remains in the Manx demster and Scot. doomster.

II. doom, judgment, sentence, and this may be the original sense; dóms-atkvæði, dóms-orð, and dóms-uppsaga mean doom, sentence, as pronounced by the presiding judge, Nj., H. E. ii. 115, Sks. 159, Band. 6, Grág. i. 3, 83; dóma-dagr, doomsday, the day of judgment; Norna-dómr, the doom of the Norns, their weird, fate, Ýt. 23, Fm. 11; skapa-dómr, id.

β. judgment, opinion.

III. denoting state, condition, age, in words such as heiðin-dómr, Kristin-dómr, the heathen, Christian age, faith; konung-dómr, a kingdom; biskups-dómr, a bishopric, etc.; hefja ór heiðnum dómi, to lift out of heathendom, baptize, Sighvat.

2. helgir dómar, relics, Bs., H. E., Grág. ii. 165, Fms. i. 230, v. 143, Gpl. 70:—but helgidómr, Old Engl. halidom, Germ. heiligthum: leyndr d., mystery, μυστήριον of the N. T.; leynda dóma himnaríkis, Matth. xiii. 11; þenna leyndan dóm, Rom. xi. 25; sjáið, að eg segi yðr leyndan dóm, 1 Cor. xv. 51.

3. in many compds = Engl. -dom, -hood, -head; Guð-dómr, Godhead; mann-dómr, manhood,

* * *

(-da, -dr), v.

1) to divide into parts;

sú á, er deilir með jötna sonum grund ok með goðum, that river which parts the giants and the gods;

alit þat land, er vatnsföll deila til sjófar, of which the rivers form the boundaries down to the sea;

vildi H. bæði kjósa ok deila, H. would both choose and deal (viz. divide the catch in shares and choose for himself the share he liked best);

láta en kjósa ok deila, to give one an arbitrary power in a case;

with dat. (hversu má keisarinn deila sér í tvá staði);

2) to deal out, apportion, allot;

deildr hlutr, a share allotted to one;

deila dögurð, mat á málum, to deal out portions of food in a household;

deila víg með verum, to deal victory fairly among men;

3) to distinguish, discern, = greina;

eptir þat sá sól ok mátti þá deila ættir, they could then discern the quarters of heaven;

deila liti, to discern colours;

eigi deilir litr kosti (acc. pl.), colour is no sure test of the quality;

4) to busy or occupy oneself with, deal with (engi maðr á önnur mál at deila í kirkju, nema biðja fyrir sér);

hann við Ríg rúnar deildi, he capped ritnes (spells) with R.;

deila orðspeki við e-n, to contend in learning with one;

þótt hringbrotar heiptir deili, though men hate one another;

deila kníf ok kjötstykki, to share knife and meat;

5) deila við e-n, to quarrel with one (deila við heimska hali);

deili gröm við þik, may the fiends bandy words with thee;

deila um e-t, to quarrel, contest about;

þeir deildu um (they have a lawsuit about) jarðir;

deila á e-n, to contend against one;

deila illyrðum, illdeildum, to chide, abuse one another;

deila afli, ofríki, við e-n, to deal harshly and overbearingly with one;

impers., ef í þat deilir, if there be dissent on that point;

ef í deilir með þeim, if they disagree;

6) to be master of, possess (deila bauga, fé);

hug skaltu deila, thou shalt control thy mind (feelings);

þar er munuð deilir, when love is concerned, in a matter of love;

7) refl., deilast, to spread, branch off (svá viða sem kristni deilist um heim);

meðan mér deilist lífit til, as long, as life is granted me;

deilast at e-u, to disagree about a thing.

f. disagreement, contest;

eiga, halda, deilu við e-n, to quarrel or contend with one.

* * *

d, [Goth. dailjan and ga-dailjan = μερίζειν, μεταδιδόναι, διαιρεθν, etc.; A. S. dælan; Engl. to deal; Germ. theilen; O. H. G. tailjan; Swed. dela; Dan. dele.]

I. with acc. (never dat.), to deal, divide; the phrase, vilja bæði kjósa ok deila, will both choose and deal, of unfair dealing, a metaphor taken from partners, e. g. fishermen, where one makes the division into shares (deilir), and the others choose (kjósa) the shares they like best, Ld. 38; deildr hlutr, a dealt lot. i. e. share dealt or allotted to one, Grág. i. 243; d. e-m e-t, to allot one a thing, to deal out to one, ii. 294: deila dögurð, d. mat (in mod. usage skamta), to deal out portions of food in a household, Ísl. ii. 337; sér at þar var manni matr deildr, Gísl. 47; þú kunnir aldregi d. mönnum mat, Ls. 46: þá er maðr á brot heitinn ef honum er eigi deildr matr á malum, Grág. i. 149; cp. the proverb, djarfr er hver inn deildan verð; d. fé, Skm. 22; d. bauga, Rm. 20; d. e-t út, to deal out, give, Fms. xi. 434.

2. of places, to divide, bound; fírðir deila, the firths are the boundaries, Grág. ii. 217; vatnsföll ( rivers) d. til sjávar. Eg. 131: sva vítt sem vatnsföll deila til sjávar, Landn. 57. K. Þ. K. 34.

β. used impers. as it seems; deilir norðr vatnsföllum, Ísl. ii. 345; fjöll þau er vatnsföll deilir af milli héraða, the fells that divide the waters, form the water-shed, between the counties, Grág. i. 432; þar er víkr deilir, Hlt.

3. metaph. to distinguish, discern; eptir þat sá sól, ok máttu þá d. ættir, after that the sun broke forth, and they could discern the airts (of heaven), Fb. i. 431, Fms. iv. 38; deila liti, to discern colours (lit-deili), hence the proverb, eigi deilir litr kosti (acc. pl.), colour (i. e. look, appearance) is no sure test, Nj. 78: metaph., d. víg, to act as umpire in a fight, tourney, or the like, Ls. 22: we ought perh. to read deila (not bera) tilt með tveim, 38.

4. various phrases, deila sér illan hlut af, to deal onself a had share in, to deal badly in a thing, Ld. 152: the phrase, e-t deilir máli (impers.), it goes for a great deal, is of great importance, Hs. 65, mod. usage skipta máli, miklu, etc.: d. mál, to deal with a thing, Hom. 34; d. mál e-s, to deal speech, to discuss or confer with one, Ó. H. 82 (in a verse): d. e-n málum, to deal, i. e. speak, confer, with one, Krók. 36 C: d. orðspeki við e-n, to deal, i. e. contend in learning with one, Vþm. 55; rúnar, Rm. 42; eiga við e-t at d., to have to deal with a thing, Fms. viii. 288: the phrase, d. mál brotum, to deal piecemeal with a case, take a partial or false view of a thing, or is the metaphor taken from bad payment (in bauga-brot, q. v.)? Eb. 184; þeir hafa eigi deilt þetta mál brotum, i. e. they have done it thoroughly, have not been mistaken, Konr. 52: to share in a thing, d. kníf ok kjötstykki, to share knife and meat, Grág., Ísl. ii. 487: the phrase, d. hug, to ‘deal one’s mind,’ pay attention to, with a notion of deep concern and affliction; heil vertú Sváfa, hug skaltú d., thy heart shall thou cleave, Hkv. Hjörv. 40: deildusk hugir, svá at huskarlar héldu varla vatni, their minds were so distraught, that the house-carles could hardly forbear weeping, Fms. vi. (in a verse); hence a hardened man is called lítill skapdeildar maðr, (Hugdeila, mind’s concern, is the name of a poem of the 17th century): at þeir deildi enga úhæfu, that they should forbear dealing outrageously, Fms. i. 22; d. heiptir, to deal hatred, to hate (poët.), Hkv. 41: d. afli, ofríki við e-n, to deal harshly and overbearingly with one. Fms. i. 34; d. illyrðum, ill-deildum, to chide, abuse one another, Háv. 37, Ld. 158.

II. neut. to be at feud, quarrel; the saying, sjaldan veldr einn þegar tveir deila; deili gröm við þig, Hkv. I. 43; ek bað flögð d. við þau, Sighvat: d. til e-s, to quarrel for a thing, Eg. 510: d. upp á e-n, to complain of one, Stj. 294. Exod. xvii. 2, ‘Why chide ye with me?’

β. impers., ef í þat deilir, if there be dissent on that point, Grág. ii. 125; ef í deilir með þeim, if they dissent, i. 58.

2. d. um e-t, to contend about a thing, as a law term; þeir deildu ( they had a lawsuit) um jarðir, Fms. iv. 201; þeir deildu um landaskipti, 315; þeir deildu um land þat er var …, Landn. 125; þeir deildu um leysingja-arf, 100, 101: metaph., d. um stafn, to come to a close fight, Orkn. 232.

III. reflex. to spread, branch off; vatnsföll deilask milli héraða, Grág. ii. 218; svá víða sem hón (i. e. Christianity) deilisk um heim, Hom. 49.

2. meðan mér deilisk lífit til, as long as life be dealt (i. e. granted) me, Fms, viii. 205; e-t deilisk af, a thing comes to pass, Hkr. iii. 55 (in a verse); kölluðu þeir, at lengi mundi vörn deilask af úti, that a long defence would be dealt out, i. e. there would be a long struggle, Sturl. i. 59, cp. the Goth. afdailjan = to pay off; hugr deilisk (vide above): þat mun oss drjúgt deilask, it will cost us dear, Am. 19.

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.

* * *

n. [éta, át, edere, A. S. ǽt], the act of eating, in the phrase, at öldri ok at áti, inter bibendum et edendum, Grág. ii. 170, N. G. L. i. 29; át ok drykkja, Fas. ii. 552, Orkn. 200; át ok atvinna, Stj. 143: of beasts, kýr hafnaði átinu, the cow (being sick) would not eat, Bs. i. 194.

* * *

(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.

* * *

I. with dat.,

1) in, within; fela fé sitt í jörðu, to hide one’s money in the earth; fastir í vellinum, fast in the ground; vera í sveit, to live in a district; í öðrum löndum, in other lands;

2) with local names (í Orkneyjum, í Laxárdal, í Borgarfirði, etc.);

3) in a certain spot; í einum stað, í þeim (hverjum) stað, in one, that (every) place; standa í höggfœri, within sword’s reach;

4) in, among; í valnum, among the slain;

5) of clothes; vera í, to have on, wear (hann var í blám stakki, í litklæðum);

6) during, in; þenna vetr í jólum, during Yule; í sumri (hausti), this summer (autumn); í því bili, in that moment; í því er Gunnar stendr upp, at the very moment when G. rises;

7) denoting action, state, condition; vera í för með e-m, to travel in one’s company; vera í víkingu, to be engaged in freebooting; í trausti e-s, in his trust, under his protection; vera í góðu yfirlæti, to be in good quarters, live well; liggja í úviti, to lie in a swoon; vera í góðu (illu) skapi, to be in good (ill) humour;

8) in respect of, in regard to; roskinn í orðum, mature in words; léttr í máli, cheerful in speech; í öllum mannraunum, in all trials;

9) denoting form or content, in; at eigi hafi komit til Noregs meiri gørsemi í skikkju, such a jewel of a cloak; fé er í því there is value in it; Hallr kvað góðan kost í henni, H. said she was a good match; hvat er íþví? how is that? what is the matter?

10) by means of, through (opt kaupir sér í litlu lof);

11) equivalent to a gen. or poss. pron.; hann braut hrygg í henni, he broke her back; hann knýtir saman alla halana í nautunum, all the cows’ tails;

II. with acc.,

1) in, into (spjótit fló niðr í völlinn); leggja e-t í kistu, to put into a chest (coffin); steinninn kom í höfuð honum, the stone hit him in the head; sigla (láta) í haf, to stand out to sea; var þat sagt Gunnari inn í búðina, word was carried into the booth to Gunnar; giptast í önnur lönd, to marry into other countries, marry an alien; deyja Mælifell, to pass into M. after death; þórðr svaf ok horfði í lopt upp, with his face turned upwards;

2) of time; in, during; í þat mund, at that hour; í nótt, this night; í vetr, this winter; í (= um) fjórtán vetr, for fourteen winters;

3) denoting entrance into a state, condition, in, into; ganga íbönd ok eiða, to enter into bonds and oaths; falla í úvit, to fall into a swoom; taka e-n í frið, to pardon one; bjóða búum í setu, to call on the neighbours to take their seats;

4) denoting change into; skjöldrinn klofnaði í tvá hluti, split in two; brotna í spán, to be shivered to pieces; verja fé sínu í lausaeyri, to convert one’s property into movables;

5) denoting the object, purpose, etc.; gjalda í sonarbœtr, to pay as the son’s weregild; þiggja e-t vingjafir, to accept as a friend’s gift; kaupa e-t í skuld, to buy on credit; gøra e-t í hag (vil) e-m, to do something in one’s favour.

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

* * *

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

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

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

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

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

COMPDS: goðakviðr, goðalýrittr, goðaþáttr.

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