two-up

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(-s, -ar), m.

1) bishop;

2) the Jewish high-priest.

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m., in very old MSS. spelt with y and o (byskop), but commonly in the MSS. contracted ‘bp̅,’ so that the spelling is doubtful; but biscop (with i) occurs Bs. i. 356, byscop in the old fragm. i. 391–394; biskup is the common form in the Edd. and at present, vide Bs. i. ii, Sturl. S., Íb. [Gr. επίσκοπος; A. S. biscop; Engl. bishop; Germ. bischof]:—a bishop. Icel. had two sees, one at Skalholt, erected A. D. 1056; the other at Hólar, in the North, erected A. D. 1106. They were united at the end of the last century, and the see removed to Reykjavik. Biographies of ten of the bishops of the 11th to the 14th century are contained in the Bs., published 1858, and of the later bishops in the Biskupa Annálar (from A. D. 1606), published in Safn til Sögu Íslands, vol. i. and Bs. ii, and cp. farther the Biskupaæfi, by the Icel. historian Jón Halldórsson (died A. D. 1736), and the Hist. Eccl. (H. E.). by Finn Jonsson (Finnus Johannæus, son of the above-mentioned Jón Halldórsson). During two hundred years of the commonwealth till the middle of the 13th century, the bishops of Skalholt and Hólar were elected by the people or by the magnates, usually (at least the bishops of Skalholt) in parliament and in the lögrétta (the legislative council), vide the Hungrv. ch. 2 (valinn til b. af allri alþýðu á Íslandi), ch. 5, 7, 13, 16, Sturl. 2, ch. 26, Kristni S. ch. 12, Íb. ch. 10, Þorl. S. ch. 9, Páls. S. ch. 2, Guðm. S. ch. 40, Jóns S. ch. 7 (þá kaus Gizurr biskup Jón prest Ögmundarson með samþykki allra lærðra manna ok úlærðra í Norðlendinga fjórðungi). Magnús Gizurarson (died A. D. 1237) was the last popularly elected bishop of Skalholt; bishop Gudmund (died A. D. 1237) the last of Hólar; after that time bishops were imposed by the king of Norway or the archbishop.

COMPDS: biskupabúningr, biskupafundr, biskupaþáttr, biskupaþing, biskupsbrunnr, biskupsbúr, biskupsdómr, biskupsdóttir, biskupsdæmi, biskupsefni, biskupsfrændi, biskupsgarðr, biskupsgisting, biskupskjör, biskupskosning, biskupslauss, biskupsmaðr, biskupsmark, biskupsmágr, biskupsmessa, biskupsmítr, biskupsnafn, biskupsríki, biskupssekt, biskupsskattr, biskupsskip, biskupsskrúði, biskupssonr, biskupsstafr, biskupsstofa, biskupsstóll, biskupssýsla, biskupstign, biskupstíund, biskupstíundarmál, biskupsvatn, biskupsveldi, biskupsvígsla.

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(blend; blétt, bléndum; blandinn), v. to blend, mix, e-t e-u, with a thing (blanda mjöð, drykk, eitri); blanda e-t saman, to mix together (blanda saman hvítt ok rautt); more common, blanda e-u við e-t; blanda vatni við vín, to mix wine with water; blanda mötuneyti (dat.,) við e-n, to eat together with one;

refl., blandast við e-n, to have intercourse with one, esp. of sexual intercourse (blandast við konur af heiðnum þjóðum).

(að), v. = prec.

f. mixture of two fluids (fór fyrst ór blóð, síðan blanda), esp. sour whey mixed with water.

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u, f. any mixture of two fluids, Fs. 145 (of watery blood); but esp. a beverage of hot whey mixed up with water, Vm. 60, Fms. ix. 360. Blanda also is the local name of a stream of glacier water in the north of Icel., v. Landn.

β. metaph. the name of a book, miscellanea; skal sjá skrá … heita B., því at saman er blandað skyldu tali ok úskyldu, Rb. 4, v. l., in MS. Am. 625, 4to. blöndu-horn, n. a cup of blanda, a cognom., Landn. 278.

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

1) to cause to move (quickly);

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

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

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

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

bregða augum sundr, to open the eyes;

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

bregða sér sjúkum, to feign illness;

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

3) to alter, change;

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

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

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

bregða tjöldum, to strike the tents;

bregða samvist, to leave off living together;

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

bregða boði, to countermand a feast;

bregða sýslu, to leave off working;

bregða svefni, blundi, to awake;

bregða tali, to break off talking;

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

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

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

7) with prepp.,

bregða e-m á loft, to lift one aloft;

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

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

bregða á leik, to begin playing or sporting;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8) refl., bregðast;

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

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

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

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

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

ljósi bregðr fyrir, a light passes before the eye;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A. ACT. WITH DAT.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. IMPERS.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

f. a ‘bridegroom’s ride;’ at weddings the bridegroom, as the host, had to meet his guests (boðsmenn) a quarter of a mile from his house; here he entertained them in tents, where they remained and enjoyed themselves till evening; when darkness began to set in, the party rode home in a procession drawn up two and two; this was called brúðguma-reið. The last bridegroom’s ride on record in Icel. was that of Eggert Olafsson, just a hundred years ago, at his wedding at Reykholt in the autumn of 1767 A. D. A minute description of this last Icel. b. exists in a MS. (in the possession of Maurer, in Munich). An interesting treatise upon the wedding feasts in Icel. in the Middle Ages, down to the 18th century, is among the Icel. MSS. in the Bodleian Library, no. 130.

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

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

* * *

(drekk; drakk, drukkum; drukkinn), v.

1) to drink (drekka mjöð, öl, mungát);

drekka full, minni, horn, to drink a toast, cup, horn;

drekka drykk, to drink a draught (þú skalt drekka af tvá drykki);

drekka brjóst spena, to suck;

drekka úmælt, without measure;

drekka fast (mjök), to drink hard;

drekka e-n af stokki, to drink one under the table;

drekka sér lítit vit, drekka frá sér vit ilit, to drink away one’s reason;

2) to hold, celebrate a feast (drekka veizlu, brullaup, erfi);

3) with preps.:

drekka af keri, to drink out of a vessel (drukku þeir af einu silfrkeri);

to drink off (empty) a vessel, cup (hann tók við horninu ok drakk af);

drekka á e-n, to drink to a person;

refl., drekkast á, to drink to one another;

impers., drekkr á e-n, one ships a sea;

drekka til e-s = drekka á e-n;

drekka e-t út, to consume or spend in drinking.

1) drink, beverage;

2) a drinking feast or banquet;

Ægis drekka, the drinking at Ægir’s.

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pret. drakk, pl. drukku; sup. drukkit; pres. drekk; pret. subj. drykki; [Ulf. drigkan; A. S. drinkan; Engl. drink; O. H. G. trinkan; M. H. G. trinken; Dan. drikke; Swed. dricka]:— to drink, the beverage or feast in acc.; d. mjöð, Hm. 18; mungát, el, Fms. viii. 166, Hm. 82; d. full, minni ( a toast), Eg. 552, Fms. vi. 442; d. horn, to drain, drink off a horn, a cup, Hkr. i. 35; síðan tók Kolskeggr justu eina af miði fulla ok drakk, Nj. 43; d. drykk, to drink a draught, Fms. xi. 233; eptir þat tók Þórir kalkann ok drakk af tvá drykki, Gullþ. 7; þú skalt d. af tvá drykki, id.; d. brjóst (acc.), to suck (v. brjóst-drekkr), Mar. 656 A. 23, cp. Gþl. 504.

β. to hold a feast, the feast in acc.; d. Jól, Fms. vi. 100, Fagrsk. 4 (in the poem of Hornklofi); d. veizlu, Nj. ii; d. brullaup, Fms. xi. 88; d. erfi, Nj. 167.

γ. denoting the mode of drinking; d. ein-menning, to drink one to one, Eg. 551; d. tví-menning, to drink two to two, id.; d. fast, to drink hard, Eb. 184; d. úmælt, to drink without measure (cp. mál-drykkja), Fms. iii. 18; d. til e-s, to drink to a person, Eg. 552, Sturl. iii. 305, Bs. i. 848, 798; d. á e-n, id., Fms. iv. 333, vi. 442 (cp. á-drykkja); d. e-n af stokki, to drink one under the table, iv. 167; d. frá sér vit, to drink one’s wits away, ix. 339, Hm. 11; the allit. phrase, d. ok dæma, to drink and chatter, Rm. 29: adding the prepp. af, ór, to drink off a cup; d. af dýra hornum, Fms. vi. 442, Eg. 206, 207: absol. to drink, hold a feast, Eg. 43.

δ. impers. (vide á-drykkir) of a ship, to ship a sea, metaph., Al. 139.

ε. recipr., drekkask á, to drink to one another, Hkr. ii. 249, N. G. L. i. 211, Js. 78.

2. part. pass. drukkinn, drunken, tipsy, Eb. 154, Fms. i. 59, Eg. 552.

(-jar, -ir), m.

1) drink, drinking; sitja at (yfir) drykk, to sit drinking; hvat hafa Einherjar at drykk, what kind of drink have the E.;

2) drought; þreyta á drykkinn, to take a deep draught; drekka í tveimr, þremr, drykkjum, to drain in two, three draughts.

* * *

jar, m., pl. ir, [A. S. drinc; Engl. drink; Germ. trunk; Dan. drik]:—drink, beverage, Fms. xi. 108, 233; eiga drykk ok sess við e-n, Eg. 95: a draught, Edda 32, 48; hvat hafa Einherjar at drykk? 24; vatns-d., a draught of water, id.; svala-d., þorsta-d., a thirst-draught; muntu nú eigi sparask til eins drykkjar, one draught more, 32; þreyta á drykkinn, to take a deep draught, id.; drekka í tveimr, þremr … drykkjum, to drain in two, three … draughts, id.; undarliga mundi mér þykkja ef þvílíkir drykkir væri svá litlir kallaðir, id.

β. sour whey, proncd. drukkr, Krók. 64; freq. in western Icel.

COMPDS: drykkjarbolli, drykkjarföng, drykkjarhorn, drykkjarker, drykkjarkostr.

( dœgr), n. [dagr; in Dan. dögn means the natural day = 24 hours, and answers to Icel. sólar-hringr, whereas Icel. dægr usually means both night and day, so that one day makes two dægr]: hence dægra-mót or dægra-skipti, n., denotes the twilight in morning and evening, Hom. 41, Sks. 218; í degi dægr tvau, í dægri stundir tólf, in a day two dægr, in a dægr twelve hours, Rb. 6; þau (Day and Night) skulu ríða á hverjum tveim dægrum umhverfis jörðina, Edda 7; tuttugu ok fjórar stundir skulu vera í tveimr dægrum, Sks. 54: hann sigldi á átta dægrum til þess er hann tók Eyjar á Íslandi, and below, ek skildumk fyrir fjórum nóttum (viz. Sunday to Thursday) við Ólaf konung Haraldsson, Fms. iv. 280; þeir vóru þrjú dægr í leitinni, Nj. 265; á hverju dægri, Grág. ii. 169; á dægrinu, 360; tvau dægr, Fb. i. 539; þrjú d., 431; skipti þat mörgum dægrum, id.:—in all these passages the sense seems clearly to be as above.

2. in some few cases it seems to be used of the astronomical day = 24 hours, or the Danish dögn; such is the case with the interesting passage Landn. 1. ch. 1; the journey between Iceland and Ireland is here reckoned as five dægr, between Norway and Iceland seven, between Iceland and Greenland four, and to the deserts of Greenland (the east coast) one, etc.: sjau dægra sigling, fjögra d. sigling, fimm dægra haf, i. e. a sail of six, four, five dægr, Landn. 25, 26.

COMPDS: dægrafar, dægrastytting, dægratal.

(et, atta, attr), v.

1) to incite, egg (goad) on to fight, with dat.; etja hestum, to make horses fight; with acc., etja e-n til þolinmœði, to exhort one to patience;

2) etja hamingju, afli, við e-n, to match one’s luck, strength, with anolher’s; etja kappi við e-n, to contend in rivalry, vie with one; etja ráðum, hvárt …, to consider, if …; etja saman manndrápum, to incite two parties to manslaughter;

3) etja við e-t, to contend against; etja við aflsmun (liðsmun), to fight against odds;

4) to put forth; hann etr fram skallanum, he exposes his bare skull (to the blows);

5) to cause to be eaten; etja heyvi, heyjum, to feed cattle upon hay;

6) refl., etjast við e-n, to contend with one; ef menn etjast vitnum á, if men contend (plead) with witnesses.

* * *

atti; pres. et; part. att; but etjað, Andr. 625. 73; [it means probably ‘to make bite,’ a causal of eta]:—to make fight, with dat., esp. etja hestum, of horse fights, a favourite sport of the ancients; for a graphic description of this fight see Bs. i. 633. Arons S. ch. 18, Glúm. ch. 18, Rd. ch. 12, Nj. ch. 58, 59, Vígl. ch. 7, N. G. L. ii. 126; vide hesta-þing, hesta-at, víg-hestr, etc.

2. gener. to goad on to fight; atta ek jöfrum en aldri sætta’k, Hbl. 24.

β. etja hamingju við e-n, to match one’s luck with another, Fms. iv. 147; e. kappi við e-n, to match one’s force against one, Ld. 64, Eg. 82; e. vandræðum við e-n, 458; e. saman manndrápum, to incite two parties to manslaughter, Anecd. 14: in a good sense, to exhort, ok etjað þá þolinmæði, Andr. l. c. (rare).

γ. ellipt., etja við e-t, to contend against; e. við aflamun, to fight against odds, Al. 110; e. við liðsmun, id., Fms. i. 42, ix. 39, Fs. 122; e. við ofrefli, id., Fms. iii. 9; e. við reiði e-s, Fb. i. 240.

3. to stretch forth, put forth; hann etr fram berum skallanum, he put forth his bare skull to meet the blows, Fms. xi. 132; (Icel. now use ota, að, in this sense.)

II. reflex., lét eigi sama at etjask við kennimenn gamla, said it was unseemly to hoot old clergymen, Sturl. i. 104; er ofstopi etsk í gegn ofstopa, if violence is put against violence, 655 xxi. 3.

2. recipr. to contend mutually; ef menn etjask vitnum á, if men contend ( plead) with witnesses, N. G. L. i. 247; ok ef þeir vilja andvitnum á etjask, Gþl. 298.

III. the phrase, ettja heyvi (spelt with tt), to fodder (cattle) upon hay, Grág. ii. 278, 340; ettja andvirki, to fodder upon a hayrick, Gþl. 357.

* * *

1) a means off passage, ship; bjarga fari á floti, to save a vessel qflaat; in compds., a trading vessel (Íslands-far, Englands-far);

2) passage; taka (fá, ráða) sér fari or far, to take a passage in a ship; beiðast fars, to ask for a passage; synja e-m fars, to deny one a passage; banna e-m f., to forbid one to sail (cf. farbann);

3) trace, print, track (Sveinki rak lömb sín til fjöru í förin); villast hundarnir farsins, the hounds lose the track; of et sama f., on the same subject;

4) life, conduct, behaviour; í fari konungsins in the king’s character;

5) state, condition (gefa þeir eigi gaum um hennar far) f. veðranna, the course of the winds; at fornu fari, of yore, of old.

* * *

f. [Dan. faar], a sheep, D. N. ii. 312, Boldt 165; vide fær.

n. [A. S. fær; Hel. fâr = dolus; Germ. fahr = treason, gefahr = danger; Engl. fear = terror; cp. also Germ. furcht:—but in the old Scandin. languages the word does not rightly mean either fear or danger; the mod. Dan. fare and Swed. fara are borrowed from Germ.]

1. evil passion, bale, harm, mischief; fár ok fjandskapr, Gísl. 125; eigi standa orð þín af litlu fári, baleful words, Fas. i. 195; lesa fár um e-n, to speak foul calumnies of one, Hm. 23; af fári, from evil passion, Og. 12. Hm. 151; er þú felldir mér fár af höndum, that thou brakest my spell, Og. 10; flytjandi fárs, bringing mischief, Am. 4; ef ek vissa þat fár fyrir, if I could foresee that bale, Skv. 2. 7; halda kvið til fárs e-m, to withhold the verdict to the injury of the other party, Grág. i. 58; verða e-m at fári, to be one’s bale, Korm. 12 (in a verse); full skal signa ok við fári sjá, i. e. make a sign over the cup to prevent harm in it, Sdm. 8; þat er fár mikit (‘tis a bad omen), ef þú fæti drepr, Skv. 2. 24; þá er hann réttlauss ef hann þiggr fár á sér, if he receives bodily harm, N. G. L. i. 255.

2. plague, esp. of animals; hunda-fár, sickness among dogs; kúa-fár, nauta-fár, cattle plague, cp. heljar-fár, morð-fár, murderous pestilence; urðar-fár, a weird plague, Sturl. ii. 213 (in a verse); feikna-fár, deadly pain, Pass. 2. 11; vera í fári, to be in an extremity; í dauðans fári, in the death-agony, etc.

β. of men, a dangerous illness; lá hann í þessu fári nær viku, Bs. i. 761; cp. fár-veikr, dangerously ill; fár er nokkurs-konar nauð, Edda 110, cp. far B.

γ. wrath; fár er reiði, Edda 110; vera í íllu fári (vide far B), to be bent on doing mischief.

3. as a law term, fraud, such as selling sand or dirt instead of flour or butter, defined N. G. L. i. 24; kaupa fals, flærð eða fár, 324.

COMPDS: fárhugr, fárleikr, fárliga, fárligr, fárramr, fárreiðr, fárskapr, fársótt, fársumar, fárveikr, fárverkr, fárviðri, fáryrði, fárskona, fársmaðr, fárssótt.

fem. fá, neut. fátt; dat. fám; acc. fá ( paucos and paucam); fán (paucum); fár ( paucae and paucas), but in mod. usage dissyllabic, fáum, fáa, fáan, fáar: gen. pl. fára, mod. fárra:—compar. færi, mod. færri with a double r; superl. fæstr, in books of last century sometimes spelt færstr,—a form warranted neither by etymology nor pronunciation: færst, however, occurs in the old MSS. Arna-Magn. 132. Ld. 210: [Lat. paucus; Ulf. faus; A. S. feá Engl. few; Hel. fáh; O. H. G. foh; lost in mod. Germ.; Dan. and Swed. få or faa]

I. few; Margr við Mývatn, en Fár í Fiskilækjar-hverfi (a pun), Rd. 311, Glúm. 361; með fá liði, with few men, Eg. 51; færa sauðfé, fewer sheep, Grág. (Kb.) 159; færi sauði, i. 423; í fám orðum, in few words, Stj. 29; við fá menn, Fms. i. 35; við fára manna vitni, Ld. 260; færi öfundarmenn, 204; fleiri … færi, Grág. i. 38; fáir einir, only a few; fá eina menn, Sturl. iii. 3; hjón fá ein, Eg. 573, vide einn.

2. used as noun, few, in the sense of few or none, none at all; fáir hafa af því sigrask, Nj. 103; þeir kváðu fá fúnað hafa fyrir honum, 263.

β. esp. in old sayings; e. g. fár er fagr ef grætr, Fb. i. 566; fár veit hverju fagna skal, Kvöldv. i. 47; fár bregðr hinu betra ef hann veit hit verra, Nj. 227: fár er hvatr er hrörask tekr ef í bernsku er blauðr, Fm. 6; fár er full-rýninn, Am. 11; fár hyggr þegjanda þörf, Sl. 28; fás er fróðum vant, Hm. 107; fátt er of vandlega hugat. Kvöldv. ii. 198; fátt veit sá er sefr, Mork. 36; fátt er svo fyrir öllu íllt að ekki boði nokkuð gott; fátt segir af einum, Volks. 62; fátt er ramara en forneskjan, Grett. 144; fátt er sköpum ríkra, Fs. 23; fár gengr of sköp norna, Km. 24; fátt er betr látið en efni eru til, Band. 2; fár er vamma vanr, Mirm. 68; fátt veit fyrr en reynt er, Fms. vi. 155; fátt gat ek þegjandi þar, Hm. 104. Many of these sayings are household words, and this use of the word is typical of the dry northern humour.

II. metaph. dismal, cold, reserved; Sigurðr konungr hafði verit nokkut fár (dismal, in low spirits) öndverðan vetr, en nú var hann glaðr ok spurall, Fms. iv. 82; varð hann fyrst fár ok úkátr, 192; vóru menn allir fáir við þá, v. 307; Vigdis varð fá um, Vigdis became silent about it, i. e. disliked it much, Sturl. iii. 180; var þá Gunnarr við hana lengi fár, for a long time G. was cold to her, Nj. 59.

2. neut. fátt, coldness, coolness; fátt var með þeim Rúti um samfarar, there was coolness between R. and his wife, Nj. 11; var fátt um með þeim bræðrum, 2, Eg. 199; var et fæsta með þeim, Ld. 234; verið hefir fátt með okkr, Gísl. 100: fátt kom á með þeim Gretti, Grett. 99.

III. neut., konungr svarar fá (dat.), Ó. H. 94; Guðrún talaði hér fæst um, Ld. 210; var eigi boðit færa en hundraði, not fewer than a hundred, Nj. 17; fátt af þeirra mönnum, only a few of their men, Fms. v. 290; fátt eina, only a few, Ld. 328: with gen., fátt manna, few men, Nj. 130; fátt góðs, but little good, Hom. 38; fátt einna hverra hluta, few of things, i. e. few things, Fms. iv. 175: þeir ugðu fátt at sér, they heeded them but little, Fms. vii. 201; hlutask til fás, Hrafn. 17.

β. as adv., in the phrases, sofa fátt, to sleep but little, be wakeful; leika fátt, to play but little, i. e. be in a dismal humour; tala fátt, to speak but little; syrgja fátt, to sorrow but little, i. e. to be gay, cp. Lex. Poët.

γ. with numerals, less than, short of, minus, save; vetri fátt í fjóra tigu, i. e. forty years save one, i. e. thirty-nine, Fms. x. 2, v. l.; tveimr ertogum fátt í átta merkr, eight marks less two ortogs, B. K. 84; lítið fátt í fimm tigi vetra, little short of fifty years, Fms. iii. 60; hálfum eyri fátt á átta merkr, eight marks less half an ounce; þremr mörkum fátt á laup, a bushel less three marks, B. K. 84, 11: at fæstu, the fewest, least, the minimum; tveir et fæsta, two at least, Grág. i. 9; sex menn et fæsta, 378; cp. the neut. afl-fátt, svefn-fátt, dag-fátt, q. v.

(compar. framarri, fremri; superl. framastr, fremstr), a.

1) forward, prominent; neut., framt, to such an extent; treysta framt á, to put full trust in; compar. the foremost of two; til hins fremra austrrúms, to the fore pumping room; hit fremra, the place nearest the door, the road along the coast (fóru sumir f. tit Seljalandsmúla);

2) fig., fremri e-m, superior to (öllum fremri) superl. foremost, best (fremstr at allri sœmd); furthest back (hvat þú fremst um veizt).

* * *

adj., compar. fremri or framari, Stj. 127; superl. fremstr or framastr, Fas. i. 320; [A. S. freme, fram = bonus; cp. Germ. fromm]:—forward; in the positive, used almost always in a bad sense, impertinently forward, intrusive (but ó-framr, shy); this distinction is old. e. g. mjök eru þeir menn framer, er eigi skammask at taka mína konu frá mér, says the old Thorodd, Skálda 163:—in a good sense, prominent, Bs. ii. 70, 155; framr ok góðr klerkr, i. 824; framr spámaðr, Stj. 33.

β. neut. framt as adv. so far, to such an extent, Stj. 254; ganga framt at, to deal harshly, Dipl. ii. 19; treysta framt á, to put full trust in, Fms. iii. 184: svá framt sem …, in case that …, Dipl. ii. 13,—better svá framarlega, as soon as, Stj. 287; svá framt sem hann hefir lukt, as soon as he has paid, Dipl. iii. 9.

II. compar. the foremost (of two); til hins fremra austrrúms, to the fore-pumping room, Fms. viii. 139; enum fremrum fótum, with the fore-feet (mod. fram-fótum), 1812. 16.

β. neut., hit fremra, the place nearest the door, Eg. 43: of a road, the ‘fore-road,’ the road along the coast, (opp. to ‘the in-road,’ across the inland), Nj. 207, Orkn. 6.

2. metaph. superior, with dat.; öllum fremri, Fas. i. 205; fremri í öllum hlutum, Fær. 47; göfgari maðr né fremri, Þórð. 9 new Ed.

III. superl. fremstr, foremost, Fms. i. 176, ii. 317, Al. 90, Ó. H. 121: metaph. the best, foremost, Stj. 93; fremstr at allri sæmd, Fms. viii. 272; jafn himum fremstum í öllum mannraunum, Eg. 21; allra þeirra bræðra framastr, Fas. i. 320.

2. temp. farthest back; sem ek fremst um man; better to be taken as adverb, cp. p. 169, col. 2, l. 5 from bottom.

(-da, -t), v. to wrestle.

f. wrestling.

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u, f. [this word occurs neither in Germ. nor in Saxon, nor yet in the mod. Scandin. tongues (of Sweden, Norway, and Denmark), and the origin is not known]:—wrestling, a favourite national sport with the Icel. people, in old as well as in modern times, answering to the Gr. πάλη: glímu-brögð, n. pl. wrestling-tricks, vide bragð II. 2: to the technical terms there mentioned, add, hnykkr, hælkrókr, sveifla, etc.: glímu-félagi, a, m. a wrestling-match, Háv. 41: glímu-færr, adj. able-bodied as a wrestler, Finnb. 328: glímu-galdr, m. a ‘wrestler-spell,’ to charm one’s legs and make them steady, Ísl. Þjóðs. i: glímu-maðr, m. a wrestler: glímumann-liga, adv. like a good wrestler, nimbly, Fas. iii. 502: glímu-völlr, m. the wrestling-ring. The earliest match recorded is that of Thor and the giantess Elli (Age),—for the tale vide Edda 33; freq. in the Sagas, Sturl. iii. 20, 268; glenz ok glímur, Fms. i. 149 sqq., 182, iii. 187, 188, Grett. and Finnb., Kjaln. passim, Eg. ch. 40; leikr ( sport) and glíma are often used synonymously, as Ld. ch. 45. The glíma was a popular game at any meeting or festival, where many young and active men met together: thus at the banquet in Reykhólar (1119) the guests amused themselves by dancing, glímur, and story-telling, Sturl. i. 23; at the parliament (alþing) there was a palaestra, Fanga-brekka (‘wrestling-brink’); in Glúm. ch. 13 a fight is recorded between the Northerners and Westerners assembled there; as also in Grett. ch. 75 (in the parliament at Hegranes); in Gunnl. ch. 11 the crew of the ships in harbour made up a glíma. The mod. Icel. bænda-glíma is just the same, as it was practiced in the college at Hólar, and later in the school at Bessastaðir, as also at fishing-stations and wherever young men came together; the young men are divided by lot into two parties, which are then drawn up in a row, each having their leader or ‘bóndi’ (whence the name); the bændr pair off their men against one another to wrestle in the arena or defile between the two ranks, one after another; if the one side was weaker in number, or the one bóndi had lost all his men, he might challenge his antagonist, and their match decided the game, Eggert Itin. ch. 518. The bænda-glíma at college and school was by far the best-played, and much stress was laid on nimble and graceful movements. ☞ In Hom. 24 scurrilitas is rendered by glíma.

(-s, -ar), m. half; at helmingi, by half; skipta í helminga, to share in two equal portions.

* * *

m. and helming, f., Grág. ii. 370; helfingr, Anecd. 102; helfuingr, D. I. i. 280, [hálfr]:—a half, Nj. 189, Fms. i. 22, Anecd. 102; at helmingi, by half, Nj. 98, Fms. vi. 183, Grág. i. 171, D. I. l. c.; skipta til helmingar, to share in two equal portions, Grág. ii. 370; or skipta í helminga, id., Fms. viii. 43.

COMPDS: helmings-auki or helmingar-auki, a, m. a doubling, N. G. L. i. 328, Fms. viii. 270. helmings-ávöxtr, m. id., N. G. L. i. 328. helmingar-félag, n. a law term, a joint company with equal rights (e. g. between husband and wife), Nj. 3, Ld. 164, Sturl. ii. 83. helmings-kaup, n. a bargain by way of helmingarfélag; jörð er fallit hafði henni (the widow) í h. eptir Skapta bónda sinn, Dipl. v. 7.

II. poët. a host, Lex. Poët. passim, Edda (Gl.)

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(hin, hitt), dem. pron.

1) the other; á hinn fótinn, on the other leg; pl. the others, the rest (Kimbi bar sár sín engan mun betr en hinir);

2) emphatically, that; hitt ek hugða, that was what I thought; hitt vil ek vita, that I want to know.

(hin, hit), def. art., before an adjective standing alone or followed by a substantive, the, = inn, enn( eptir hinni eystri kvísl).

* * *

HIN, HIT, the article, an enclitic, which therefore can never serve as an accentuated syllable in a verse, either as rhyme or in alliteration. In good old MSS. (e. g. Cod. Reg. of Sæm.) it is hardly ever spelt with the aspirate, but is written inn, in, it or ið, or enn, en, et or eð, and thus distinguished from the demonstr. pron. hinn; but in the Editions the prob. spurious aspirate has been generally prefixed: an indecl. inu or hinu occurs often in later MSS. of the 14th century, e. g. the Fb.; but as it has not been heard of since and is unknown in the modern language, it simply seems to be a Norwegianism, thus, inu sömu orð, Th. 2; hinnu fyrri biskupa (gen. pl.), H. E. ii. 79; enu instu luti ( res intimas), Hom. 57 (Norse MS.); hinu ágæztu menn (nom. pl.), id.; innu óargu dýra, 657 A. ii. 12: [cp. Goth. jains = ἐκεινος; A. S. geond; Engl. yon; Germ. jener.]

A. The:

I. preceding the noun:

1. before an adjective standing alone or followed by a substantive; inn mæri, inn ríki, inn dimmi dreki, inn mikli mögr, Vsp.; in aldna, id.; inn góða mjöð, the good mead, Gm. 13; inn mæra mjöð, Skm. 16; inn helga mjöð, Sdm. 18; in forna fold, Hým. 24; in fríða frilla, 30; inn fróði jötum, Vþm. 20; inn gamli þulr, 9; inn hára þul, Fm. 34; inn fráni ormr, 19; opt inn betri bilar þá er inn verri vegr, Hm. 127; in alsnotra ambátt, in arma, Þkv.; enn fróði afi, Skm. 2; in ílla mæra, 32; enn fráni ormr, 27; eð manunga man, Hm. 163; enn aldna jötun, 104; en horska mær, 95; it betra, Stor. 22; ena þriðju, the third, Vsp. 20; inn móður-lausi mögr, Fm. 2; it gjalla gull, ok it glóðrauða fé, 9; ið fyrsta orð, Sdm. 14; enu skírleita goði, Gm. 39; in glýstömu græti, Hðm. 1; in svásu goð, Vþm. 17; enum frægja syni, Hm. 141; at ins tryggva vinar, 66; ennar góðu konu, 100; ins svinna mans, 162; ens dýra mjaðar, 141; ens hindra dags, 109; ens unga mans, Skm. 11; ens deykkva hrafns, Skv. 2. 20; æ til ins eina dags, Fm. 10; ena níundu hverja nótt, Skm. 21: with the ordinals, inn fyrsti, þriði …, Gm. 6 sqq., Sdm. 21 sqq.

2. so also before an adverb; it sama, likewise, Hm. 75, Fm. 4, Vþm. 22, 23, Gm. 15, Hdl. 26.

3. as an indecl. particle ‘in’ or ‘en’ before a comparative; in heldr, the more, Hm. 60, Sdm. 36, Hkv. 1. 12, Skv. 1. 21, Gh. 3, Nj. 219; in lengr, the longer, Am. 58, 61; this has been already mentioned s. v. en (p. 127, B. at bottom, and p. 128), but it is almost exclusively poetical.

II. placed between a pronoun and an adjective in the definite form:

1. after a demonstr.; sá inn fráni ormr, Fm. 26; sá inn harði hallr, Gs. 10; sá inn aldni jötun, Skm. 25; sá inn ámáttki jötunn, 10; þat ið mikla men, Þkv. 13; þat ið litla, ‘that the little,’ i. e. the little thing, Ls. 44: þann inn alsvinna jötun, Vþm. 1; þann inn aldna jötun, Fm. 29; þann inn hrímkalda jötun, 38; þess ins alsvinna jötuns, Vþm. 5; þat it unga man, Alm. 6; þann inn aldna jötun, Gm. 50; þau in harðmóðgu ský, 41; sá inn máttki munr, 93; mönnum þeim enum aldrœnum, Hbl. 44; börn þau in blíðu, Og. 9; hrís þat ið mæra, Akv. 5: in prose, fjölmenni þat it mikla, Eg. 46; þetta it mikla skip, Fms. x. 347, passim: with ordinals, segðu þat ið eina, say that the first, Vþm. 20; þat ið þriðja, fjórða …, 20 sqq.

2. after a possessive; síns ins heila hugar, síns ins svára sefa, Hm. 105; þíns ins hvassa hjörs, Fm. 29; minn inn hvassi hjörr, 6; míns ins hvassa hjörs, 28; bækr þínar inar bláhvítu, Hðm.

3. after a pers. pron.: þú hinn armi, thou wretch! Ld. 326; gakk þú hingat hinn mikli maðr! Eg. 488.

III. placed between two nouns in apposition:

1. between a proper name and a title or epithet in the definite form; Sigurðr inn Suðræni, Sigurd the Southerner, Skv. 3. 4; Atli inn Ríki, Akv. 29; Högna ins frækna, Hjalla ins blauða, 23; Guðröðr inn Göfugláti, Ýt.; Hamðir inn hugumstóri, Hðm. 25; Kjötva’nn (= Kjötva enn) Auðga, Hornklofi; Svan enum Rauða, Álfr enn Gamli, Hdl.; as also in prose, Ívarr inn Víðfaðmi, Haraldr enn Hárfagri, Ólafr inn Digri, Knútr inn Fundni, Auðr in Djúpauðga, Þorbjörg in Digra, Hildr in Mjófa, Steinólfr inn Lági, Þorkell inn Hávi, Kjarlakr inn Gamli, Björn inn Austræni, Ólafr inn Hvíti, Hálfdan inn Svarti, Sighvatr inn Rauði, Kyjólfr inn Grá, Gestr inn Spaki; Ari inn Fróði (Aren Froðe contr. = Are enn Froðe, Ó. T. 23, line 1), Ketill inn Heimski, Knútr inn Ríki, Eadvarðr inn Góði, Hálfdan inn Mildi, Ingjaldr inn Illráði, Helgi inn Magri, Úlfr inn Skjálgi, Landn., Fb. iii; cp. Gr. Νέστωρ ὁ γέρων, Σωκράτης ὁ φιλόσοφος, Germ. Nathan der Weise, Engl. Alfred the Great, etc.: of ships, Ormr inn Langi, Ormr inn Skammi.

2. between an appellative and an adjective; sveinn inn hvíti, Ls. 20; hendi inni hægri, 61; þengill inn meins-vani, Gm. 16; seggr inn ungi, Skm. 2; skati inn ungi, Hdl. 9; brúðr in kappsvinna, Am. 75; hest inn hraðfæra, Gh. 18; varr inn vígfrækni, gumi inn gunnhelgi, Hðm. 30; auð inn fagra, Skv. 1. 13; orm inn frána, 1, 11; fjánda inn fólkská, Fm. 37; konungr inn Húnski, Skv. 3. 8, 18, 63, 64; orð ið fyrra, Og. 9; mál ið efsta, 16; seggr inn suðræni, Akv. 3; seggr inn æri, 6; mar’inum mélgreypa, 3, 13; borg inni há, 14; sól inni suðrhöllu, 30; veðrs ens mikla, Hkv. 1. 12; handar ennar hægri, Ls. 38, 61; vífs ins vegliga, Am. 54; konung inn kostsama, Hkm.; gramr inn glaðværi, id.; hlut inn mjóvara, Ýt. 13; konungr inn kynstóri, fylkir inn framlyndi, hilmi’nom hálsdigra, konu’na Dönsku, hverr’ enni Heinversku, Hornklofi, Sæm. (Möb.) 228–231; við arm inn vestra, Sighvat; so also in prose passim.

B. When there was no adjective the article became a suffix to the noun (see Gramm. pp. xix, xx), a usage common even in early prose, but extremely rare in poetry; the reason is, not that the poems were composed before the suffixed article had come into use, but that the metres themselves in which all the old poems were composed are older than that usage, and are not well adapted to it, so that the absence of the article became traditional. The old poem Harbarðsljóð makes an exception, no doubt not from being later than all other poems, but from being composed in a peculiar metre, half verse and half prose; thus in that single poem alone there are nearly twenty instances, or about twice or thrice as many as in all the other poems together:—váginn, Hbl. 2, 13, 15; sundit, 1, 3, 8, 13; verðinum, 4; eikjunni, 7; skipit, id.; stöðna, landit, id.; leiðina, 55; höfuðit, 15; bátinum, 53; veggsins, stokksins, steinsins, 56; matrinn, 3: other solitary instances are, goðin öll, Vsp. 27 (prob. somewhat corrupt); eiki-köstinn, Gh. 20; vömmin vár, Ls. 52.

II. in prose, old and modern, the suffixed article occurs at every step; only one or two instances are worth noticing as peculiar to the Icelandic:

1. as vocative in addressing; konan, O woman! mjöðnannan, id., Sighvat (in a verse of A. D. 1018, and so in mod. usage); elskan! hjartað! heillin! ástin, my love! dear! heart! þursinn! Fas. i. 385; hundarnir! = ω κύνες, Od. xxii. 35: also with another word, barnið gott, good child! Þrúðnaþussinn, thou monster giant! Miðgarðs-ormrinn! Fas. i. 373.

2. esp. if with a possessive adjective following, as in Gr. οὑμός, τοὐμόν, τἀμά, etc.; elskan mín, ástin mín, hjartað mitt, góðrinn minn! hér er nú ástin mín, here is my darling! Sturl. ii. 78, of a father presenting a darling child to a friend; and so in mod. usage: as abuse, hundrinn þinn, thou dog! Ísl. ii. 176; þjófrinn þinn! Fms. vii. 127; dyðrillinn þinn! ii. 279; hundinum þínum! vi. 323: this use is not confined to the vocative, e. g. konan mín biðr að heilsa, my wife (kona mín is never used); maðrinn minn, my husband; biddu foreldrana þína ( ask thy parents) að lofa þér að fara; augun hans, his eyes, Pass. 24. 4; hugrinn vor og hjartað sé, our mind and heart (cp. Gr. τω ἐμω θυμω), 43. 5; svo hjartað bæði og málið mitt | mikli samhuga nafnið þitt, 10. 7; gef þú að móður-málið mitt, 35. 9; bókin mín, my favourite book, my own book; as also, fáðu mér hattinn minn, vetlingana mína, skóna mína, give me my hat, gloves, shoes; tungan í þér, augun í þér, thy tongue, thy eyes; höfuðið á mér, fætrnir á mér, my head, my feet; hendrnar á þér (‘á mér, á þér’ are here equivalent to a possessive, see p. 37, C. IV), thy hands, cp. Homer, τα σα γούνατα; hestana þína, Gr. ϊππους τους σούς: similar is the instance, vömmin vár, the sins of ours, Ls. 52; this may be a remnant of a time when the article was used separately, even with an indefinite adjective.

3. a double article, one suffixed to the noun and the other prefixed to the word in apposition; hirðin sú in Danska, Fms. vi. 323; þau in stóru skipin, viii. 384 and passim: again, when a noun is put in the genitive after another noun the former has no article; as the Engl. phrase ‘the fish of the sea and the fowl of the air’ is in Icel. ‘fiskar sjávarins og fuglar loptsins:’ but this belongs to the syntax; see also Grimm’s D. G. iv. 432.

C. SPECIAL CHANGES, in mod. usage:

I. the demonstr. pron. sá, sú, það has in speech generally taken the place of inn, in, it; thus, sá gamli maðr, sú gamla kona, það gamla skáld; sometimes the article is dropped altogether, e. g. á fimta degi, on the fifth day (= á enum fimta degi); á sömn stundu, in the same hour; even in old writers this is found, með sömu ætlan, Bs. i. 289; á níundu tíð dags, Stj. 41, (but rarely); yet the old form is often retained in writing.

II. in case A. II. the article may be dropped; þann gamla maim, þá gömlu konu, það gamla skáld, þú armi, etc.; sá ráða-góði, sú goðum-líki, sá ágæti Odysseifr, sú vitra Penelopa, sá Jarðkringjandi Pósídon, Od. passim (in Dr. Egilsson’s translation).

III. in case A. III. 1. the article is also dropped, Knútr Ríki, Haraldr Hárfagri; even old writers (esp. in later vellums) omitted it now and then, Hálfdan Svarta, Fms. i. 1; Haraldr Grænski, 90; Haraldr Hárfagri, 192; Óttarr ungi, Hdl.: even in the Sæm. Cod. Reg., Völsungr ungi, Skv. 3. 1, 3.

IV. in case A. III. 2. the pronouns sá, sú, það, and hinn, hin, hit may be used indiscriminately, although the former is more usual.

V. lastly, in case B. the suffixed article has gained ground, and is in modern prose used more freq. than in ancient.

☞ CONCLUSION.—The old poetical language, with the sole exception of a single poem, had no article in the modern and proper sense; in every instance the ‘inn, in, it’ bears the character of a demonstrative pronoun, preceding an adjective and enhancing and emphasising its sense, like the pers. pron. hann, q. v.; but it is never attached to a single substantive; when the adjective was placed in apposition after a noun, the pronoun came to stand as an enclitic just after the noun, and was sounded as if suffixed thereto; at last it was tacked as an actual suffix to single nouns standing without apposition, and thus the true suffixed article gradually arose, first in speech, then in writing; whereas at the same time the old pronominal enclitic (A. I-III) gradually went out of use, and was either dropped or replaced by the stronger demonstrative pronoun ‘sá, sú.’

HIN, HITT, demonstr. pron., prob. identical in etymology with the preceding word, from which it is however distinguished,

1. by the neut. hitt, Dan. hint;

2. by the initial aspirate, which is never dropped;

3. by being a fully accentuated pronoun, so that the h can stand as an alliterative letter, e. g. handar ennar hægri | mun ek hinnar geta, Ls.; veitkat ek hitt hvart Heita | hungr …, Hallfred; Hitt kvað þá Hamðir, etc., Hom. 23, 25, Korm. 40; Raun er hins at Heinir | hræ …; Skáld biðr hins at haldi | hjálm …, Sighvat, Hkv. Hjörv. 26: [Ulf. jains = ἐκεινος; A. S. geond; Engl. yon; Germ. jener.]

A. This pronoun is used,

I. in a demonstr. sense, emphatically and without being opp. to a preceding demonstr.; raun er hins at …, it is proved that …; skáld biðr hins, at …, Sighvat; veitkat ek hitt hvat (hvárt) …, Hallfred; hitt ek hugða, emphatically, that was what I thought, I thought forsooth, Hm. 98; hitt kvað pá Hróðrglóð, Hðm. 13; hitt kvað þá Hamðir, 25; hitt vil ek vita, that I want to know, Vþm. 3, 6; þó ek hins get, ef …, yet I guess, that if …, Skm. 24; vita skal hitt, ef …, Korm. 40 (in a verse), Ísl. ii. 225 (in a verse); hitt var fyrr = in former times, formerly, Ýt., Fs. 94 (in a verse); hinn er sæll, er …, he is happy, that …, Hm. 8; maðr hinn er …, ‘man he that’ = the man who, 26; hinn er Surts ór Sökkdölum, Edda 51 (in a verse); veitat hinn er tin tannar, hinn er um eyki annask, Kormak (in a verse); handar innar hægri mun ek hinnar geta, er …, the right hand, that hand namely, which …, Ls. 38; this usage scarcely occurs except in old poetry.

II. demonstr. referring to another pronoun, denoting the former, farther, the other, = Dan. hiin, hint, Germ. jener, cp. Gr. ἐκεινος, Lat. ille; freq. in prose, old and mod.; fóru þeir með þau skip er þeim þóttu bezt en brenndu hin, Fms. v. 8; Kimbi bar sár sitt engan mun betr en hinir, er hann hafði áðr á fært, 92; en hitt er meira, at hann lætr sér annarra manna fé jafnheimilt, Eg. 47; kemr örvar-oddrinn í strenglag hinnar örvarinnar, Fb. iii. 405; er þú hefir mik fyrir lagt á hinu áðr, 407; hinir frændr þínir, ii. 425; á hinn fótinn, on that, the other leg, Nj. 97; þat er válítið, … hitt er undr …, Ls. 33; hinir hlaða seglunum ok bíða, Fms. x. 347; ef hinn ( the other part) er eigi þar við staddr, Grág. i. 52; hvárt hinn ( the other one) hefir jafnmikit fé hins ( of the other one) er austr er, 220; rétt er at kveðja frá hennar heimili ef hann veit hvártki hinna (gen. pl.), 339; ok vill annarr hluta en annarr eigi … ok verðr sem hinn mæli ekki um er eigi vill hluta, 393; ef maðr sendir annan mann til eindaga, ok erat hinn skyldr við at taka, id.; þess á milli er hón fór at sofa á kveldit, ok hins er hón var klædd, Ld. 14; ærit fögr er mær sjá, … en hitt veit ek eigi hvaðan þjófs-augu eru komin í ættir várar, forsooth she is a beautiful girl, but yet I know not, Nj. 2:—demonstr. in the sense of this (but rare), stjörnur þær er nær eru leiðar-stjöruu ganga aldri undir með oss, en í Blálandi eðr Arabia ganga hinar stjörnur, these very stars, Rb. 468: phrases, hitt ok annat, this and the other, Rd. 235; mod. hitt og þetta.

B. COMPOUND FORMS, hinn-ug, hinn-og, or hins-ig, mod. hins-egin, also hizig, q. v. [from vegr], adv. the other way; þótt Gísl þykki hinsig (hinn veg, v. l.) eigi síðr til vísa, Fms. vii. 46; hinnig værir þú undir brún at líta sem …, Nj. 55: locally, there, in the other place, illic, ok láta bera vætti þat hinneg var nefnt, Grág. i. 90; heimta af erfingja ef hinnig er eigi til, K. Þ. K. 28; brenndi þar ok görði hervirki eigi minna enn hinneg, Fms. vi. 340; ef hinnig mundi kostr, K. Þ. K. 24; eigi er hægra undir þeim at búa fyrir kulda sakir, enn hinnog er fyrir ofrhita sakir, Sks. 196; því at hón er kaldari hér en hizug, 70: temp. the other day, formerly (rare), er ek hinnig mælta, Og. 11.

2. denoting motion, hither, thither; hinnig deyja ór Helju halir, Vþm. 43; renna hinnig, Gh. 18; ríða hinig, Fm. 26: koma hinig, Gs. 18.

(-ar, -ir), m.

1) lot;

bera (leggja) hluti í skaut, to throw the lots into a cloth (lap of a garment);

skera (marka) hluti, to mark the lots;

2) amukt, talisman (hlutr er horfinn or pússi þínum);

3) share, allotment, portion (hann fœrði Ølvi skip sin ok kallar þat vera hans hlut);

4) part (of a whole);

höggva í tvá hluti, to cut in two parts;

mestr hlutr liðs, the most part of the company;

meiri hlutr dómanda, the majority of the judges;

tveim hlutum dýrra, twice as dear;

5) participation;

eiga hlut í e-u or at e-u, to have part in, be concerned in (mér uggir, at hér muni eigi gæfumenn hlut í eiga);

þar er þú ættir hlut at, wherein thou wast concerned;

6) condition, position, lot;

eiga hlut e-s, to be in one’s place (position);

ef þú ættir minn hlut, if thou wert in my place;

láta hlut sinn, to be worsted;

sitja yfir hlut e-s, to oppress, weigh a person down;

leggja hlut sinn við e-t, to cast in one’s lot with, to espouse a cause;

hafa (fá) hærra, meira (lægra) hlut, to get the best (worst) of it;

7) thing;

allir hlutir, all things;

kynligr hlutr, a strange thing;

um alla hluti, in all things, in all respects.

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m., the original form was diphthongal, hlautr, like the Gothic, as is borne out by the kindred and derivative words hlaut, hleyti, q. v.; the acc. was weakened into o, hlotr, Fms. xi. 128; and lastly into u, hlutr; old nom. pl. hlotar, Jómsv. S. l. c., but commonly hlutir; gen. sing. hlutar: [Goth. hlauts = κληρος, Mark xv. 24, Col. i. 12, Ephes. i. 11, Luke i. 9; A. S. and Hel. hlot; Engl. lot; Germ. loos; Dan. lod; Swed. lott; the Goth., Germ., and earliest Scandin. have a long vowel, and prob. also A. S. and O. H. G. (hlôt, not hlot); the Ormul. spells lott with a short vowel, as is the case also in Icel., Dan., Swed., and Engl.]

A. A lot; the ceremony of drawing lots was like that described in Homer; each party marked his lot (skera or marka hluti), which was then thrown into a sheet (lap of a garment, bera or leggja hluti í skaut), and a third person came and drew a lot out; (it was not thrown out by shaking.) This drawing of lots was originally a sacred ceremony; it was used in sacrifices (by way of augury, see below), in sharing booty or an inheritance; in law the order in which suits came on was decided by lot, in banquets the seats of honour were so assigned (e. g. who was to sit next to the daughter of the house), etc. Many words in the language refer to this old rite, and the ceremony is thus described: en hluti skyldi skera ok í skaut bera, Fms. vii. 140; kom þat ásamt með þeim at hluti skyldi bera í skaut, … skyldi því hvárir-tveggju una sem hlutr segði, vóru þá hlutir markaðir; þá mælti Norðbrikt til Gyrgis: ‘lát mik sjá hversu þú markar þinn hlut at vit markim eigi báðir einn veg;’ hann gerði svá; síðan markaði Norðbrikt sinn hlut, ok kastaði í skaut ok svá báðir þeir; síðan gékk sá maðr at er til (upp, v. l.) skyldi taka, ok tók upp annan hlutinn milli fingra sér …; síðan var at hugat þeim hlutinum ok kenndu þar allir mark Gyrgis, vi. 136, 137: hverr maðr er sök hefir með at fara í dóm, þá skal hlut bera í skaut, einn, þótt hann hafi fleiri sakar í dóm þann, hverr maðr skal merkja hlut sinn ok bera alla saman í skaut, ok skal maðr taka fjóra hluti senn upp, Grág. i. 37; bjóða til hlutfalla ok bera þar hluti í skaut, 74; menn báru þá hluti sína í skaut ok tók jarlinn upp; … svá sagði hlutr til, at Egill skyldi sitja hjá jarls-dóttur um kveldit, Eg. 247; en þá er tólfmenningr var skipaðr til at sitja ok settir hlutir til hverr næst skyldi sitja Ástríði, dóttur Vigfúss hersis, ok hlaut Eyjólfr ávalt at sitja hjá henni, Glúm. 331: nú ræða þeir um goðorðit ok verða eigi ásáttir, vildi hverr sinn hlut ( case) fram draga; þá leggja þeir hluti í skaut, ok kom jafnan upp hlutr Silfra, Fs. 68; þeir lögðu hluti á, ok hlaut Þrándr, Fær.

2. of sacrifice; vóru þá görvir hlutir af vísinda-mönnum ( soothsayers), ok feldr blótspánn til, en svá gékk fréttin, at …, Fas. i. 452; cp. hristu teina ok á hlaut sá, Hym. 1; and, þá kná Hænir hlautvið kjósa (= taka upp hluti), Vsp. l. c.; see also hlaut, hlauttein, p. 270.

II. the hlutir were talismans or little images, which people used to wear on their persons; síðan tekr jarl skálar ( scales) góðar … ok fylgðu tvau met ( weights), annat af gulli en annat af silfri; þar var á líkneskja manns, ok hétu þat hlutar (hlotar sem fornmönnum var títt at hafa, add. in v. l.), ok fylgði sú náttúra, at þá er jarl lagði þá í skálarnar, ok kvað á hvat hvárr skyldi merkja, ok ef sá kom upp ( turned up) er hann vildi, þá breylti sá í skálinni svá at varð glamm af. Jarl gaf Einari skálarnar ok varð hann glaðr við ok síðan kallaðr Einarr Skálarglam, Jómsv. S. (1824) 37, 38; hlutr er horfinn ór pússi þínum sá er Haraldr konungr gaf þér í Hafrsfirði, ok er hann nú kominn í holt þat er þú munt byggja, ok er á hlutnum markaðr Freyr af silfri, Fs. 19; ok vili Freyr þar láta sinn hlut niðr koma er hann vill sitt sæmdar-sæti setja, 22; cp. Landn., hann sendi Finna tvá í hamförum til Íslands eptir hlut sínum, 174; hann hefir líkneski Þórs í pungi sínum af tönn gört …; nú fannsk engi sá ‘hlutr’ í hans valdi, Fs. 97: the ‘gumna heillir’ or talismans, mentioned in Sdm., were prob. hlutir.

B. Metaph., without the actual drawing of lots:

I. a share, allotment, portion; skal þat þeirra er biskup lofar skilnað, hafa slíkan hlut fjár ( portion) við annat, Grág. i. 329: of booty, hann færði Ölvi skip sín ok kallar þat vera hlut hans, Nj. 46: of a finder’s share, heimtir hlut af sauðunum, Háv. 40; halda til hlutar, id.

β. esp. of a fisherman’s share of the catch, Band. 4, cp. Höfuðl. 1; a fishing boat has one or two hundred … í hlut, each of the crew (hásetar) taking his ‘hlutr,’ and besides this there was a færis-hlutr ( line share) or netja-hlutr ( net share), skips-hlutr (ship’s share), and lastly for-manns-hlutr (foreman’s share, he getting double); see the remarks on aflausn.

γ. a share, lot, portion, of inheritance, often in early Dan. law, where the daughter received a half, the brother a whole portion, sun til ful lot, oc dotær til half lot, Wald. Sjæll. Lov., p. 1;—whence in Dan. broder-lod, söster-lod, = a brother’s, sister’s portion; en komi jafnmikit fé á hlut hvers þeirra, Grág. (Kb.) i. 220: of duty, kom þat á hlut Andreas postula, 625. 64.

2. metaph. phrases; láta hlut sinn, to let go one’s share, be worsted, Fms. i. 74, Fb. ii. 62; þeirra h. brann við, got singed, Hkr. ii. 178; þinn hlutr má ekki verða betri en góðr, thy case cannot be better than good, is as good as it can be, Nj. 256; ella muntú finna á þínum hlut, thou shalt find it to thy cost, Ld. 98; þeirra h. varð æ minni ok minni, their lot grew ever worse and worse, Fms. x. 250; eigi skyldi hennar h. batna við þat, her case should not mend with that, Nj. 52; sitja yfir hlut e-s, to oppress, weigh a person down, Eg. 512, Nj. 89, Fb. iii. 450; mínka sinn hlut, to yield one’s lot ( right), 451; láta sinn (hlut) undir liggja, to let one’s lot be the nethermost, Bárð.; leggja hlut sinn við e-t, to throw in one’s lot with a thing, to espouse a cause, run a risk, Lv. 45 (twice), Fb. iii. 166, Sturl. i. 162 C; eigi mundi svá Sverrir gera, ef hann ætti várn hlut, S. would not do so if he had our lot, our cards in his hand, Fms. viii. 392; eigi mundir þú svá renna frá þínum manni, ef þú ættir minn hlut, xi. 72; hafa (fá) hærra (meira, lægra) hlut, to get the better ( less) share, to get the best ( worst) of it, to win or lose, Eb. 194, Fs. 32, 113, Nj. 90, 224, Fas. i. 252, Fms. vi. 412, viii. 284, Hkv. 2. 19; hafa allan hlut mála, Bs. i. 82; eiga hlut at e-u, to own a share in, take part ( interest) in, interfere ( meddle) in a thing, be concerned about, Eb. 124, Nj. 27, 101, 119, Fms. xi. 83; þar er þú ættir hlut at, wherein thou wast concerned, Nj. 54; nú mun eigi mega sitjanda hlut í eiga, to take a sitter’s part in it, i. e. not stir in the matter, 110; hér munu eigi gæfu-menn í hlut eiga, 179; hafa inn vesta hlut af, to behave meanly, Eg. 271.

II. a part, Lat. pars; enn efra hlut Hrunamanna-hrepps, Landn. 312: mestr h. liðs, the most part of the body, Eg. 275; meiri hlutr, búa, dómanda …, the majority of the neighbours, judges …, Nj. 237, Grág. i. 79; tíundi h. eyrir, a tenth part of an ounce, 357: byggja jörð til hlutar, to lease an estate in shares, N. G. L. i. 137: sjau hlutum ljósari, seven times brighter, Eluc. 44; tveim hlutum dýrra, twice as dear, Landn. 243; eins hlutar ( on the one hand) … annars hlutar ( on the other hand), 625. 172.

III. a case, thing, Lat. res; hvern hlut, everything, Nj. 53; á engum hlut, in nothing, Fms. ii. 27; í öllum hlutum, in everything, passim; allir hlutir, all things, Edda 147 (pref.); aðra hluti, other things, Fms. i. 213; alla hluti þá er …, all things whatsoever, Ld. 18; allir þeirra hlutir, all their things, Fms. x. 250; fjórir eru þeir hlutir ( cases) er menn ber í átt, Grág. i. 361; hverngi hlut ( reason) er maðr vill til þess færa, 179; fyrir tengda sakir ok annarra stórra hluta er hér hvarfla í milli, Nj. 147; undarlegr, kynlegr h., a strange thing, Ld. 200, Fms. x. 169; iðna slíka hluti, Grág. i. 149; eru þér stórir hlutir á höndum, Fms. vii. 30: a deed, fact, orðinn h., a bygone thing, Fr. fait accompli, Nj. 20; einn lítill h., a little thing, small matter, Fms. ix. 448.

β. with neg. adv. = Engl. naught; görðit hlut þiggja, Am. 94; ekki lyt (lyf MS.), Skv. 1. 9; engi hluta(r), noways, 656 C. 25.

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1) closed hand, fist;

2) the king in hnefa-tafl.

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a, m. the king in a kind of chess played by the ancients, Fas. ii. 68: the game was called hnefa-tafl, n., which is variously spelt—nettafl, Gullþ. 20, and hnettafl, Grett. 144 A (which are contracted or assimilated forms); hneftafl, Mork. 186, Fms. vi. 29, Fas. i. 284; hnottafl (a bad form), Fas. i. 476 in a spurious verse, and in Krók. ch. 10; hnefa-tafl (the true form), Fas. i. 67. The game is best described in Friðþ. S. ch. 3, and in one of the riddles in Hervar. S. (where however the rhymed replies are not genuine): ‘Who are the maids that fight about their unarmed lord, the dark all day defending, but the fair slaying?’ The players were two, as in chess; there was only one king (hnefi), here called the ‘unarmed lord;’ the pieces (töflur) were white and red, the white attacking, the red defending the hnefi; þat er hneftafl, enar dökkri verja hnefann, en hinar hvítari sækja, Fas. i. 474; þat er húninn í hneftafli, 476: pieces made of silver are recorded in Gullþ. S., of walrus-bone in Krók. l. c. For the general use of this game, cp. the dialogue between the two brother kings, Mork. l. c.,—teflig hneftafl betr, era þat minna vert en afl þitt; Sigurðr Ormr í auga ok Hvítserkr hvati sitja at hneftafli, Fas. i. 284: whenever tafl is mentioned, this particular game seems to be understood, e. g. the gullnar töflur and tefldu í túni of the Vsp.; cp. earl Rögnvald’s verse in Orkn. ch. 61; and the fatal game of chess between king Canute and earl Ulf in Roeskilde A. D. 1027 was probably a hneftafl. We see from Mork. l. c. that it was still played at the beginning of the 12th century, but in after times it was superseded by the true chess (skák); both games were probably of the same origin.

COMPDS: hnefatafla, hneftöfl, hnettöfl, hnettafla.

or hvárr-tveggja; an older form, hvaðar-tveggi, occurs in Hkr. i. 205 (in a verse), and acc. m. hvaðran-tveggja, Korm. 224 (middle of the 10th century).

A. Forms:—the older declension is hvárr-tveggja, originally in two words, of which the latter is a gen. of tveir, literally = uter duorum, whether of twain; this form freq. occurs in old writers, the latter part being indecl., thus, neut. hvárt-tveggja, utrum duorum, Grág. i. 113, Hom. 156, Eg. 61, v. 1.: gen. hvárs-tveggja, Fms. i. 19, Grág. ii. 144: dat. hvárum-tveggja, hváru-tveggja, Fms. ii. 310, vii. 251, x. 304, Hkr. iii. 8, Grág. i. 113, Nj. 64, Eg. 181, Ísl. ii. 332; dat. fem. hvárri-tveggja, Sks. 215 B: acc. hvárn-tveggja, Nj. 145, Fms. i. 12, 13, K. Þ. K. 158: nom. pl. hvárir-tveggja, Sks. 272: gen. pl. hvárra-tveggja, Fms. x. 276.

II. tveggja afterwards took a kind of weak inflexion, viz. tveggi in nom. sing., tveggju in the oblique cases and in plur., in dat. tveggjum, but these forms are often applied with great irregularity; nom. sing. hvárr-tveggi, Grág. i. 6l, Fms. i. 17, 265, x. 249, Nj. 39, 55, 59, Ld. 290, Landn. 47, Ísl. ii. 360, 366, 369, Eg. 765, Js. 8, Hkr. iii. 8, passim: gen. fem. hvarrar tveggju, Boll. 326 C: dat. fem. sing. hvárri-tveggju, Grág. ii. 228, Nj. 210, v. 1.: acc. fem. hvára-tveggju, Fms. i. 62: pl. hvárir-tveggju, 655 xvii. i, Grág. i. 69, 107, Fms. i. 38, Eg. 267, Fb. ii. 103, 211, Fbr. 98, passim: acc. pl. hvára-tveggju, Grág. i. 78, Ld. 210: gen. pl. hvárra-tveggju, Eg. 32, Fms. ii. 14: dat. pl. hvárum-tveggjum, Grág. i. 30, ii. 44, Fms. i. 114, Landn. 160, passim.

2. mixed irreg. forms, nom. pl. hvárir-tveggi, Grág. i. 69; hváru-tveggju (as nom. pl.), Ísl. ii. 254, scarcely occurs in good old MSS., but is freq. in mod. usage even as an indecl. form.

B. Usage:

I. either, each of two, both, Lat. uterque, Gr. ἑκάτερος, used both as adjective and substantive: 1. as adjective; ór hvárritveggju hlustinni, Nj. 210; ór hvárutveggju liðinu, Hkr. iii. 8; hvárumtveggjum leysingjunum, Fms. i. 114; ór hvárutveggja því vatni, vii. 251; hvárrtveggi herrinn, Hkr. iii. 8; um Mæri hváratveggju, Fms. i. 62; at hvárritveggju tiltekju þessi. Grág. ii. 228; á Bálkastöðum hvárumtveggjum, Landn. 160.

2. as substantive, with gen.; hvárrtveggi þeirra, Grág. i. 61; hvárumtveggja þeirra, Nj. 64; hugr hvárstveggja þeirra, Fms. i. 19: with a possess, pron., hvárrtveggi okkarr, Nj. 55.

β. absol., til hvárstveggja, góðs ok ílls, Grág. ii. 144; hvárttveggja, fuglar ok aðrar skepnur, Sks. 103 B; við skaplyndi hvárratveggju, Fms. ii. 14; hvárttveggja, ok þó …, Sks. 351 B; at hvárirtveggi nemi orð annarra, Grág. i. 69.

II. the neut. hvárttveggja, used as adverb, both; þá hefir þat h. tynt góðum siðum ok dugandi mönnum, Sks. 348; very freq. in mod. usage with the particle enda ironically expressing dislike, það er hvortveggja hann kann mikit, enda veit hann af því, ‘tis true he knows much, but he lets it be seen.

(-s, -ar), m. heavy, peaked clouds; cf. úviðris-klakkr.

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m. a peg, prop. the peg of a pack-saddle on which the packs are hung; setja, lypta á klakk, to lift to the k.; hrökkva upp af klökkunum, to be flung down from the k., freq.:—metaph. heavy, peaked clouds (ský-klakkar, klakka-ský), íllviðris-k., q. v.: in local names of peaks (two and two), Dimunar-klakkar in Breiðifjördr.

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(kann, kunna, kunnat), v.

1) to know, understand (þú kannt margt þat er eigi kunnu aðrir menn);

2) to know (by memory);

ljóð ek þau kann, er kannat þjóðans kona, I know songs, such as no king’s daughter knows;

3) to know a person;

unni honum hverr maðr, er hann (acc.) kunni, every man that knew him loved him;

4) spec. phrases;

kunna hóf at um e-t, kunna hóf sitt, to know the proper mean, to behave with moderation;

uxarnir kunnu þó heim, the oxen found their way home;

kunna enga mannraun to have no experience of men;

kunna e-m þökk, aufusu, to be thankful, obliged to one;

5) kunna sik, to know oneself (sá er svinnr, er sik kann); to behave well (G. kveðst mundu meiða hann, ef hann kynni sik eigi);

6) kunna sér e-t, to understand, have clear knowledge of (something as concerning oneself or touching one’s own interest);

kunna sér margt, to be skilled in many things;

kunna fyrir sér = kunna sér; also ellipt. know how to conduct oneself;

7) with dat. to know;

ek kan skapi Gunnhildar, I know Gunhild’s temper;

8) kunna e-n e-s or um e-t, to blame a person for a thing (eigi hugða ek, at hann mætti mik þessa kunna);

eigi er hann um þat at kunna, he is not to be blamed for it;

9) to be pleased or not with a thing;

Eyjúlfr lézt því nafni mundu vel kunna, E. said he should be well pleased with that name;

10) to be able, with infin.;

þú skalt eigi kunna frá tíðindum at segja, thou shalt not escape to tell the tale;

11) to chance, happen;

hvar sem þik kann at at bera, wheresoever thou may happen to arrive.

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pres. (in pret. form) kann, kannt (kanntú), kann; pl. kunnum, kunnut, kunnu (mod. kunnum, kunnit, kunna); pret. kunni; subj. kynni; imperat. kunn; part. neut. kunnat; the pres. infin. kunnu for kunna is obsolete, whereas a pret. infin. kunnu, potuisse, occurs, Ísldr. 9: with neg. suff. kann-at, Hm. 147; kann-k-a ek, I know not, Skálda (Thorodd) 167, Hallfred; see Gramm. p. xxiii: [Ulf. kunnan = γιγνώσκειν, εἰδέναι; A. S. and Hel. cunnan; O. H. G. kunnan; in these old languages, the two senses of knowing how to do and being able to do are expressed by the same form, and this remains in Dan. kunde, Swed. kunna: in others, a distinction is made: Old Engl. and Scot. ken, know and can; Germ. kennen and können.]

A. To know, understand, of art, skill, knowledge, with acc.; hann þóttisk rísta henni manrúnar, en hann kunni þat eigi, Eg. 587; hann kunni margar tungur, Fms. xi. 326; þú kannt mart þat er eigi kunnu aðrir menn, v. 236; k. seið, Vsp. 25; Hann ræddi, ef hann kynni nafn Guðs it hæsta—Kann ek nökkurt nafn Guðs,—Þykkja mér slíkt eigi prestar er eigi kunna it hæsta nafn Guds—Kanntú nafnit?—Ek veit þann mann er kunna mun, … Nefn þú þá ef þú kannt! … Guð veit at ek vilda gjarna kunna, Bs. i. 421; engi skal sá vera hér með oss er eigi kunni nökkurs-konar list eðr kunnandi, Edda 31; ekki kann ek í skáldskap, Fms. vii. 60; kannt þú nakkvat í lögum?—Kunna þótta ek norðr þar, Nj. 33; at þetta væri at vísu lög þótt fáir kynni, 237; ek kann lítt til laga, 31: of sports, kunna á skíðum, Fms. i. 9; k. við skíð ok boga, Ó. H. 71; k. við buklara, Sturl. ii. 44; kunna á bók, to know by book, know how to read, Mar.

2. to know by memory; kunna menn enn kvæði þeirra, Hkr. (pref.); hví kveðr þú flokka eina, kanntú ok engar drápur?—Eigi kann ek drápurnar færi en flokkana, Fms. vi. 391; ljóð ek þau kann, er kannat þjóðans son, Hm. 147 sqq.; þat kann ek it áttjánda, er ek æva kennig, 164; en Konr ungr kunni rúnar, Rm. 40, 42; kunna betr, id., Vkv. 26; kunna utan-bókar, to know without book, know by heart; hón kunni þær allar (Spurningar) vel, nema Sjötta kapitulann, … Sigríðr kunni allar Úlfars-rímur, Piltr og Stúlka 23.

3. to know a person, a face; synir Heli vóru úsiðugir ok kunnu eigi Guð Dróttinn, Stj. 429; ek kann þann mann, 460; ok unni honum hverr maðr er hann (acc.) kunni, every man that knew him loved him, Hkr. i. 121; kann kvaðsk eigi k. þá ok eigi hirða hverir vóru, Barl. 36; þik kann ek fullgerva, I know thee well enough, Ls. 30; góða menn þá er ek görva kunna, Hbl. 7; kunna ek báða Brodd ok Hörvi, Hdl. 24; hverr er kunni (mik), Helr. 7; hvars menn eðli okkart k., 3: to know, of the character, hann kvað þá k. sik úgörla, er þeir veittu honum átölur, því at ek hefi dregit yðr undan dauða, segir hann, Ld. 282; ek kann hvárn-tveggja ykkarn konungs, Fms. vi. 100.

4. spec. phrases; kunna góða stilling á e-u, hversu góða stilling hann kunni á herstjórninni, how skilful he was in military things, Fms. i. 98; k. hóf at um e-t, to know one’s measure in respect of a thing, to behave with moderation, Finnb. 356; Þorvaldr kvað hana ekki hóf at kunna, Ld. 134; allt kann sá er hófit kann, Gísl. 27; ef Griss kynni hóf sitt, Sd. 139; Klaufi, Klaufi, kunn þú hóf þitt? id.; kunna sér margt, to be skilled in many things; hón var væn kona, ok kunni sér allt vel, Dropl. 7, 35; hann kunni enga leið, he knew no road, Eg. 149; þeir munu eigi k. leiðina, Fs. 105: absol., uxarnir kunnu þó heim, found their way home, Dropl. 8; k. skyn e-s, to know all about …; hann kunni allra skyn í borginni, Fms. vi. 410; Ása ok Álfa ek kann allra skil, Hm. 160; k. önga mannraun, to have no experience of men, Fms. vi. 53; ek kann skap þitt at því, at …, Sturl. i. 30.

II. metaph. usages; kunna e-m þökk, to be thankful, obliged to one, Fms. xi. 29, 32; at hann kynni þess mikla þökk ok aufusu, Eg. 521; veizla er yðr búin, kann ek yðr mikla þökk at þér þiggit, Fms. vi. 277; k. e-m úþökk fyrir e-t, v. 14; k. sér þörf til e-s, to feel the want of a thing; ef bóndi kann þess þörf, if he knows the need of it, Grág. i. 152; at hann leggi fram vöruna svá sem þú kannt þér þörf til, Ld. 70.

2. kunna sik, to know oneself; sá er svinnr er sik kann, he is a wise man who knows himself, a saying, Hrafn. 10: to behave, Grímr kveðsk mundu meiða hann ef hann kynni sik eigi, Eg. 189; ok vita ef þeir kunni sik þá görr meir, Stj. 264; k. sik ílla, to be naughty, Bjarn.

3. kunna sér, kunna munda ek mér þat ( I should know how to do that) ef ek hefða víg vegit, Gísl. 143; gá þess, ok kunn þér (take heed, learn!) at varask annars vígkæni, Sks. 383; er Þorólfr svá viti borinn, at hann mundi k. sér ( have sense enough) at vera eigi fyrir liði yðru, Eg. 134; kunni hann sér þann hagnað at girnask ekki Svía-konungs veldi, Ó. H. 57; en kunnit yðr engi forráð eðr fyrirhyggju þegar er ér komit í nokkurn vanda, 67.

III. denoting feeling, to feel angry or pleased; kunna e-n e-s, to be angry with a person for a thing; þá bað Þórir konung, at hann skyldi eigi fyrirkunna hann þess at hann hafði Egil með sér um vetrinn, Eg. ch. 48; eigi vil ek fyrirkunna þik þessa orða, þvíat þú veizt eigi hvat varask skal, Ó. H. 57; eigi hugða ek at hann mætti mik þessa k., þvíat eigi drap ek son hans, Hrafn. 16; kveðr þeir eigi sik einskis at k., Ísl. ii. 314; kunnit mik eigi þess er ek mun mæla, Fbr. 116; spurði hvers hón kynni arfa-sátuna, Nj. 194, v. l.

2. with prep.; kunna e-n um e-t, id.; eigi er hann um þat at kunna, Fs. 38; eigi munu þér kunna mik um þetta, Fms. i. 175; ekki áttú hann um þat at kunna, vi. 223; ef hertogi vill þik nokkut um þetta kunna, xi. 323; hón kunni hana mjök um áleitni þá, er …, Bs. i. 340.

IV. with dat. to know; þeir er menn kunnu eigi hér máli eða tungu við, Grág. i. 224; ef lögsögumaðr kann þar eigi mönnum fyrir í þá sveit, i. 10 B; kunni hann náliga manns máli, Fas. ii. 443; hann kann eigi lítilmensku várri, Bjarn. 54; kann þjóð kerski minni, Ó. H. (in a verse); ek kann skapi Gunnhildar, I know Gunhilda’s temper, Nj. 5; kann ek glensyrðum yðrum Gautanna, Fas. iii. 80; ek kann ráðum Gunnhildar en kappi Egils, Eg. 257; ek kann skapi Hrafnkels, at hann mun ekki göra oss, ef hann náir þér eigi, Hrafn. 27: eigi kanntú góðgirnd (dat.) föður várs, ef hann hefir honum eigi undan skotið, Fs. 38.

2. to be pleased with a thing or not; munda ek kunna því, at vér hefðim manna-lát mikit, ef …, Eg. 585; Eyjúlfr lézk því nafni mundu vel kunna, E. said be should be well pleased with that name, Glúm. 328; verðr hváru-tveggju at kunna, one must take one or other of the two, Ó. H. 52; vit munum því ílla k. ef þú veitir okkr eigi þat er vit beiðum, Eb. 114; hann kunni því stórílla ok hljóp í brott, Hkr. i. 36; munu synir Njáls ílla k. víginu, Nj. 64; Njáll kunni ílla láti Gunnars, 117; Ingi konungr kunni þessu svá ílla at hann grét sem barn, Fms. vii. 273; andaðisk hann, Guðríðr kona hans kunni því lítt, Fb. i. 543; til þess at hón kunni því betr andláti mínu, id.; ílla munu þeir k. höggum er heiman hafa hlaupit frá kirnu-askinum, Fms. viii. 350.

3. with prep.; kann ek ekki við því at yðr þykki sumt ofjarl en sumt ekki at manni, I do not care for what you call …, Fms. vi. 53; kannka ek mart við veifanar-orði manna, I take no notice of idle rumours, Hallfred; hence the mod. phrase, kunna við e-ð, to be pleased with; eg kann ekki við það, I do not like it; kunna vel, ílla við sik, to feel happy, unhappy in a place or condition; eg kann vel við mig þar, I like the place.

B. To be able, Lat. posse, (in Engl., can, pret. could, has ceased to be used except in the finite moods), with infin.; the senses often run one into the other, but the use of the infinitive shews that the sense can is at least partly implied; þá mælti konungr, ertu skáldit?—Hann sagði, kann ek yrkja, I know I can make verses, Hkr. i. 288; hann kunni görr veðr at sjá en aðrir inenn, Eb. 150; þá hluti er þeir kunna honum til at segja, 112; freista hvat hann kynni segja honum, Hkr. i. 228: hón sagði hann eigi k. at þiggja sóma sinn, Fs. 131; hugsit um hvar þann mann kann fá, where that man can be had, Stj. 460; svá hygginn at hann kunni fyrir sökum ráða, Grág. ii. 75; hvárt kanntú mér höll smíða? 656 B. 8; þeir er mildlega kunnu stýra Guðs hjörð, Hom. 37; kanntú nökkut yrkja? Fms. vi. 361; kunna eigi at mæla, he could not speak, Ld. 30; mikil tíðendi kannþú (= kannt þú) at segja af himnum, Edda 12; þú skalt eigi kunna frá tíðindum at segja, thou shalt not be able to tell the tidings, shall not escape with life, Nj. 8; um þá hluti er ek kann görr at sjá en þér, Ld. 186; ekki kann biskup görr at sjá mann á velli en ek, Fms. ii. 173.

II. to chance, happen; ef Björn faðir þeirra kann fyrr andask, if B. should happen to die first, Dipl. v. 3; hvar sem þik kann at bera, wheresoever thou may happen to arrive, Fms. iv. 176; ef nokkut kann þat til at bera á þinni æfi, Gísl. 25; ef hann kann lengr at dveljask í brottu, D. N. v. 43; ok hón kann af þessum heimi brott at fara, iii. 137.

C. Recipr. to know one another; þeir kunnusk, Mork. 106.

2. part. kunnandi, cunning, knowing, learned, with gen.; veit ek at þú ert margs kunnandi, 655 xix. 3; hón var margs kunnandi, Fs. 73; Gyða var marg-kunnandi á fyrnsku ok fróðleik, 131.

* * *

1) stratum, layer;

2) due place, right position;

leggja stýri í lag, to ship the rudder;

ganga ór lagi, to go wrong;

fóru nú brýnn hans í lag, his brows became smooth and straight;

koma lagi á e-t, to put to rights, get a thing into order;

komast vel í lag, to fall into good order;

3) companionship, fellowship;

leggja (binda) saman lag sitt, to enter into fellowship;

4) living together (hann réðst til lags við Beru);

5) cohabitation;

eiga lag við konu, to cohabit;

6) market price, tax;

leggja lag á varning manna, to set or regulate the market price;

7) thrust, stab (with a knife, sword, or spear);

8) air, tune;

9) adverbial phrases:

í tvennu lagi, in two parts, double;

í öllu lagi, in every respect, quite;

í sumu (mörgu) lagi, in same (many) respects;

with compar. or superl., denoting degree;

í meira lagi, considerably, rather;

í fyrra lagi, rather early, among the earliest;

í verra lagi, among the worst;

í hljóðara lagi, rather silent;

í nærra lagi, rather close;

þann dag svaf Unnr í lengra lagi, U. slept that day longer than she was wont;

Helias var í fyrsta lagi spámanna, H. was one of the first of prophets;

í elzta lagi sona hans, among the oldest of his sons;

minnsta lag, the least share.

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n. [leggja], a stratum, layer; vóru þá Varbelgir at taka af þau lög sem eptir vóru brúarinnar, Fms. ix. 512: freq. in mod. usage, e. g. lag í vegg, a layer or course of masonry.

II. metaph. shape, Lat. forma:

1. a laying in order, due place, right position; leggja stýri í lag, to ship the rudder in its place, hook it on, Fms. vii. 47; leggja stýri ór lagi, to unship the rudder, Al. 67; ganga ór lagi, to be displaced, get wrong, Fms. viii. 291; fóru nú brýnn hans í lag, his brows became smooth and straight, of a man frowning, Eg. 306; koma lagi á e-t, to make a thing right, get a thing into order, Fms. xi. 28; hann kvaðsk eigi lagi mundu á koma fyrir næstu vetrnætr, 67; fylkingar hans komask vel í lag, his ranks fell into good order, Al. 142; brugðit er nú lagi ór því sem vant er, i. e. matters go wrong, not as they were wont to go, Grett. 183 new Ed.; nærri lagi, pretty well.

2. companionship, fellowship, in an enterprise of peace or war; leggja saman lag sitt, to enter into fellowship, Orkn. 88; þeir áttu mikit lag við Þveræinga, Lv. 73; bundu þeir jarl lag sitt saman, Fms. i. 20; kom til lags við Sigurð jarl sá maðr er hét Rauðr, 194; þá réðsk til lags með honum Einarr þambarskelfir, v. 4; taka e-n til lags ok félagsskapar, x. 202; hann fór til lags með Sörkvi Karli ok herjaði, Nj. 183: of living together, hann réðsk til lags við Beru, Gullþ. 13; fé-lag, q. v.: cohabitation, eiga lag við konu, to cohabit, Karl. 47, Þiðr. 247, Ver. 27, H. E. i. 247, Fms. vi. 122; taka konu til lags, Bs. i. 852; fylgja e-m at lagi (i. e. not in wedlock), Sturl. i. 94, 97; fá lag konu, Þiðr. 299.

3. market price, tax, as e. g. in Icel. the godi of a district had to ‘lay,’ i. e. set or regulate the market price, Hænsaþ. S. ch. 2; gjalda allt at því lagi sem þar gengr, Grág. i. 213; leggja lag á mjöl, ii. 404; leggja lag á varning manna, Ísl. ii. 126; sagði þann vanda at hann legði lag á varning manna, id.; hundraðs-lag, B. K. 53; fjár-lag, tax, Grág. i. 500.

4. a thrust, stab, Nj. 97, 253, Eg. 231, 379, Orkn. 450, Fms. ii. 94, and passim; see leggja.

5. regular time; árar-lag (q. v.), a boating term, time, stroke; hafðu lagið, keep time! hafa seint, fljótt lagið, kunna ekki árarlagið: so in the saying, allt vill lagið hafa, all things require time and tact, or require to be done in a due manner; ó-lag, disorder; það er allt í ólagi, það er ólag á því:—naut., lag is the lull between the breakers, the nick of time for landing; but ólag, the wrong time, when the breakers are dashing against the shore; one of these waves is called dauða-lag, see the interesting passage in Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 660.

6. [Engl. lay], an air, tune; hétu þeir er bundnir vóru á hinn heilaga Thorlák biskup, at þeir skyldi lausir verða, lögum nokkrum (söngum, v. l.), Sturl. ii. 33: freq. in mod. usage, esp. of hymns, hymna-lag, a hymn-tune, of the Ambrosian hymns; sálma-lag, a psalm-tune; vísna-lag, a song-tune; rímna-lag, a ballad-air: also used of metres, in old metric, Haðar-lag, Edda (Ht.) 140; Togdrápu-lag, 137; tog-lag, 138; Fornyrða-lag, 142; Bálkar-lag, id.; Galdra-lag, 143; Flagða-lag, 245; it is possible that songs composed in these metres were a kind of ‘airs’ accompanied by singing.

II. adverb. in layers; í tvennu lagi, in two layers, double, Fms. i. 156; í öllu lagi, in every respect, in everything, quite, Band. 6 new Ed.; í mörgu lagi, in many respects, Fms. vi. 133, Fs. 123; í sumu lagi, in some respects, Fms. vi. 207.

2. with compar. or superl., denoting degree; í meira lagi, considerably, rather, Þiðr. 80; í fyrra lagi, rather early, among the earlier, Ísl. ii. 126; minnsta lag, the least share, Sturl. iii. 238; í verra lagi, among the worst, Hrafn. 9; í hljóðara lagi, rather silent, Sks. 370; í fastara lagi, Str. 9; í lengra lagi, þann dag svaf Unnr í lengra lagi, U. slept that day longer than she was wont, Ld. 14; í lægra lagi, Stj. 107; í hærra lagi, í fremra, síðara lagi, passim; í mesta lagi, very greatly; sá er í mesta lagi strauma þeirra er á Breiðafirði eru, Ld. 56, Stj. 156; í heldra lagi, Fms. ii. 72, Al. 92; Helias var í fyrsta lagi spámanna, H. was one of the first of prophets, Ver. 29; í elzta lagi sona hans, among the oldest of his sons, Fagrsk. 12; í nærra lagi, rather close, Konr. 3; í flesta lagi, very numerous, Gísl. 26:—sér í lagi, laid by itself, apart, D. N. ii. 93; meðallagi (q. v.), average.

COMPDS: lagskona, lagsmaðr.

B. Lög, only in plur., [prop. what is ‘laid,’ cp. Germ. gesetz, Gr. θεσμός; the Engl. law seems to be a Scandin. word, for Germ. and Saxon use other words; Dan. lov; Swed. lag]:—law; proverbs, með lögum skal land byggja en með ólögum eyða, Nj. 106; svo eru lög sem hafa tog, Kveldv. i. 45: various law phrases, segja lög, to say the law, tell what is law, esp. technically used of the law-speaker who had to read the law in public, and who, in cases of dispute, had to say what was the law; svá er mælt at sá maðr skal vera nokkorr ávallt á landi óru er skyldr sé til þess at segja lög mönnum, ok heitir sá lögsögu-maðr, Grág. i. 1; biskup skal lög segja en eigi leikmenn, Bs. i. 720; hlýðir þat hvergi at hafa eigi lög í landi, Nj. 149; sem ek veit sannast ok réttast ok helzt at lögum, in the oath formula, 232; leiða í lög, to introduce a law; eptir þat leiddi Skapti Þóroddsson í lög fimmtardóm ok allt þat er upp var talit, 151; þú hefir þó mest at gört, segir Gestr, þótt öðrum verði auðit í lög at leiða, 163; taka e-t í lög, id., Bs. i. 158; leggja lög á e-t, id.; dæma e-m lög, Eg. ch. 57; mæla lög, Fms. vii. 142; ræna e-n lögum, Ld. 102; bjóða, festa lög fyrir sik, N. G. L. passim; setja lög, Fms. xi. 75, Fb. ii. 48; halda vel log sín, 76.

II. law community, communion, as also a law-district; þyki mér sem málum várum sé komit í únýtt efni, ef eigi hafa ein lög allir, en ef sundr-skipt er lögunum þá mun sundr-skipt friðinum, Nj. 164; í hverri þessi deild landsins er sitt lögþing ok sín lög, yfir hverjum lögum er lögmaðr, Ó. H. 65; þrælar mínir eru ekki í lögum eðr landsrétt við aðra menn, id.; kaupeyri mun ek fá þér svá mikinn at þú megir ganga í hraustra manna lög, Ld. 254; þóat menn vildi þangat ráðask er eigi vóru í þessum lögum, Fms. xi. 76; sögðusk hvárir ór lögum við aðra, Nj. 164; leiða e-n í lög, to introduce a person as a lawful citizen, naturalise, Grág. i. 357; eru þeir nú leiddir í lög með þeim Jómsvíkingum, Fms. xi. 80; lendum mönnum ok sýslumönnum í hverjum lögum ( law community) sem þeir sjá at bezt ber ok hæfir, Gþl. 56; innan laga várra, N. G. L. i. 7; ef maðr kemr ór lögum várum í fylki annat með bú sitt, 98; en þat görðisk þar, at annarr maðr at öðrum nefndi sér vátta ok sögðusk hvárir ór lögum við aðra enir Kristnu menn ok enir heiðnu, Bs. i. 22: in a geographical sense, almost as a local name, Gulaþings-lög, Eiðsævis-lög, Þrænda-lög, passim:—in nicknames of great lawyers, Laga-Eiðr, Bárð. new Ed.; Laga-Ulfljótr, Þórð. (1860) 94.

COMPDS: lagaafbrigði, lagabeiðsla, lagaboð, lagaboðorð, lagabók, lagabrjótr, lagabrot, Lagabætir, lagadeilur, lagadómr, lagaeiðr, lagaflækjur, lagafrestr, lagafrétt, lagagipt, lagagrein, lagagæzla, lagahald, lagahellur, lagahlýðni, lagakaup, lagakefli, lagakvánfang, lagalauss, lagaleiga, lagalyriti, lagalöstr, lagamaðr, lagamál, lagaorð, lagapróf, lagarefsing, lagarétting, lagaréttr, lagaripting, lagasetning, lagaskilnaðr, lagaskilorð, lagaskipan, lagaskipti, lagasnápr, lagasókn, lagastefna, lagatak, Lagatíð, lagaundanfærsla, lagaúrskurðr, lagavápn, lagavegr.