verða+að+manni

(verð; varð, urðum; orðinn, vorðinn), v.

1) to happen, come to pass;

ætluðu allir, at þeir myndi tala um mál sitt, en þat varð ekki, but it came not to pass, it was not so;

þá varð óp mikit at lögbergi, then there arose a great shout at the Lawhill;

2) verða e-m, to happen to, befall one (slikt verðr opt ungum mönnum);

þat varð Skarphéðni, at stökk í sundr skóþvengr hans, it happened to S. that his shoe-string snapped asunder;

sjaldan verðr víti vörum, the wary man will seldom make a slip;

e-m verðr þörf e-s, one comes to be in need of;

3) to happen to be, occur;

í lœk þann, er þar verðr, in the brook that happens to be there;

varð fyrir þeim fjörðr, they came on a fjord;

verða á leið e-s, to be on one’s path, happen to one;

4) verða brottu, to leave, absent oneself (þeir sá þann sinn kost líkastan at verða á brottu);

verða úti, to go away (verð úti ok drag ongan spott at oss);

to perish in a storm from cold (sumir urðu úti);

þeim þótti honum seint heim verða, they thought that he was long in coming home;

5) with acc. to lose;

kváðust okkr hafa orðit bæði, said that they had lost us both;

6) followed by a noun, a., pp., adv., as predicate, to become;

þá verðr þat þinn bani, it will be thy death;

verða glaðr, hryggr, reiðr, to become glad, sad, angry;

verða dauðr to die (áðr Haraldr inn hárfagri yrði dauðr) with participles;

ok varð ekki eptir honum gengit, he was not pursued;

verða þeir ekki fundnir, they could not be found;

blóð hans varð ekki stöðvat, the blood could not be staunched;

þeim varð litit til hafs, they happened to look seaward;

impers., e-m verðr bilt, one is amazed;

Kolbeini varð ekki fyrir, K. lost his head, was paralysed;

with adverbs; hann varð vel við skaða sinn, he bore his loss well, like a man;

jarl varð illa við þetta, the earl was vexed by this;

7) with infin., denoting necessity, one must, needs, is forced, obliged to do;

þat verðr hverr at vinna, er ætlat er, every one must do the work that is set before him;

þar er bera verðr til grjót, where stones have to be carried;

verð ek nú flýja, now I must flee;

8) with preps., verða af e-u, to come to pass (var um rœtt, at hann skyldi leita fara, en eigi varð af);

varð ekki af ferðinni, the journey came to nought was given up;

verðr þetta af, at hann tekr við sveinunum, the end was that at last he took the boys;

starf ok kostnaðr varð af þessu, trouble and expenses arose from this;

livat verðr af e-u, what becomes of;

hvat varð af húnum mínum, what has become of my cubs?;

verða at e-u, to become (verða at undri, undrsjónum);

veiztu, hvat þér mun verða at bana, knowest thou what will be the cause of thy death?;

verða at engu, to come to nothing;

verða á, to come on, happen;

þvat sem á yrði síðan, whatever might happen later on;

e-m verðr á, one makes a blunder, mistake (þótti þér ekki á verða fyrir honum, er hann náði eigi fénu?);

verða eptir, to be left (honum varð þar eptir geit ok hafr);

verða fyrir e-u, to meet with (verða fyrir goða reiði);

to forebode (verða fyrir stórfundum);

verða fyrir e-m, to be in one’s way, as a hindrance (því meira sem oss verðr fyrir, því harðara skulu þér niðr koma);

verða í, to happen (tókust nú upp leikar sem ekki hefði í orðit);

verða til e-s, to come forth to do a thing, be ready to;

en sá er nefndr Hermóðr, er til þeirar farar varð, who undertook this journey;

verða við e-m, to respond to (bið ek þik, at þú verðir við mér, þó at engi sé verðleiki til).

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pres. verð, verðr, verð; pret. varð, vart (mod. varðst), varð; pl. urðu; subj. yrði: imperat. verð; part. orðinn; pl. orðnir, spelt phonetically ornir, Niðrst. 6: in later vellums occur freq. the forms vurðu, vyrði, vorðinn, see Introd.; but the old poets use it for alliteration as if it began with a vowel: with neg. suff. verðr-at, Fm. 6; varð-at, Vþm. 38; urðu-a it, Gh. 3; urðu-t. Lex. Poët.: [Ulf. wairþan = γίγνεσθαι, ἔσεσθαι; A. S. weorðan; Old Engl. worth, as in the phrase ‘woe worth the day!’ Germ. werden; Dan. vorde; Swed. varda.]

A. To become, happen, come to pass; sá atburðr varð, at …, Ó. H. 196; varð hitt at lyktum, at …, 191; ef svá verðr, at …, Al. 20; ef svá verðr ( if it so happen), at ek deyja, Eg. 34; fundr þeirra varð á Rogalandi, 32; mörg dæmi hafa orðit í forneskju, Ó. H. 73; varð þar hin snarpasta orrosta. Eg. 297; at því sem nú er orðit, Blas. 46; þá varð ( arose) hlátr mikill, id.; varð óp mikit, Nj.; þat varð um síðir, and so they did at last, 240; er þetta allvel orðit, well done, well happened, 187; þau tíðendi eru hér vorðin, Fms. iv. 309 (orðin, Ó. H. 139, l. c.); þat varð ekki, but it came not to pass, Nj.

2. adding dat. to happen, to befall one; þat varð mér, it befell me, Ísl. ii. (in a verse); varð þeim af in mesta deila, Nj. 189; Eyjólfi varð orðfall, speechlessness befell E., he faltered, 225; þat varð Skarphéðni at stökk í sundr skóþvengr hans, 145; urðu þeim þegar in sömu undr, 21.

3. to blunder, make a slip; þat varð þinni konu, at hón átti mög við mér, Ls. 40; sjaldan verðr viti vörum, Hm. 6; þat verðr mörgum manni at um myrkvan staf villisk, Eg. (in a verse); skalat honum þat verða optarr enn um sinn … ef eigi verðr þeim optarr enn um sinn, Grág. (Kb.) i. 55; e-m verðr Þorf e-s, to come in need of, Hm. 149; ef þeim verðr nökkut er honum hefir fylgt, if anything should befall them, Hom. 65; annat man þér verða (another fate, death, will be thine), enn þú sprongir, Sturl. iii. 225; cp. verða úti, to perish in a storm from cold, Fms. vii. 122; sumir urðu úti, Bs. i. 71; verða til, to perish.

4. to happen to be, to occur, or the like; í læk þann er þar verðr, in the brook that happens to be there, Eg. 163; holt þat er þar verðr, 746; varð þá enn brátt á er þvers varð fyrir þeim, þá kölluðu þeir þverá, 132; varð fyrir þeim fjörðr, they came on a fiord, 130; verða á leið e-s, to be in one’s path, happen to one, Ó. H. 181; taka þat sem á leið hans verðr, Grág. ii. 346; verða á fætr, to fall on one’s, feet, Fb. iii. 301; verða ek á fitjum, Vkv. 27; þeim þótti honum seint heim verða, Fbr. 8 new Ed.: verða brottu, to leave, absent oneself; þeir sá þann sinn kost líkastan at verða á brottu, Fms. vii. 204; verð í brottu í stað, begone, Fs. 64: verða úti, id., Nj. 16.

II. followed by a noun, adjective, participle, adverb, as predicate; þá verðr þat þinn bani, Nj. 94; hann varð tveggja manna bani, he became the bane of, i. e. slew, two men, 97; hann mun verða engi jafnaðar-maðr, Ld. 24; ef hann vyrði konungr, Fms. i. 20; verða biskup, prestr …, Bs. i. passim; ok verðr eigi gjöf, ef …, it becomes not a gift, if …, Grág. (Kb.) i. 130; verða þær málalyktir, at …, the end was that …, Nj. 88: verða alls hálft annat hundrat, the whole amount becomes, Rb. 88; honum varð vísa á munni, Fms. xi. 144; varð henni þá ljóð á munni, Fb. i. 525; þat varð henni á munni er hón sá þetta, Sd. 139: hví henni yrði þat at munni, Fms. xi. 149; þá er í meðal verðr, when there is an interval, leisure, Skálda (Thorodd): cp. the mod. phrase, þegar í milli veiðr fyrir honum, of the empty hour; varð Skarpheðinn þar í millum ok gaflhlaðsins, S. was jammed in between, Nj. 203; prob. ellipt. = verða fastr.

2. with adjectives, to become so and so:

α. verða glaðr, feginn, hryggr, to become glad, fain, sad, Fms. i. 21, viii. 19, passim; verða langlífr, to be long-lived, Bs. i. 640; verða gamall, to become old, Nj. 85; verða sjúkr, veykr, to become sick; verða sjónlauss, blindr, to become blind, Eg. 759; verða ungr í annat sinn, Fms. i. 20; verða varr, to become aware (see varr); verða víss, Nj. 268; verða sekr, to become outlawed; verða vátr, to become wet, 15; verða missáttr við e-n, Landn. 150 (and so in endless instances): in the phrase, verða dauðr, to die; dauðr varð inn Húnski, Am. 98; áðr Haraldr inn Hárfagri yrði dauðr, Íb. 6; síðan Njáll var(ð) dauðr, Nj. 238, and a few more instances, very freq. on Runic stones, but now obsolete.

β. with participles; verða búinn, to be ready, Fms. vii. 121; verða þeir ekki fundnir, they could not be found, Gísl. 56; verða staddr við e-t, to be present, Eg. 744; in mod. usage with a notion of futurity, e. g. eg verð búinn á morgun, I shall be ready to-morrow; eg verð farinn um það. I shall be gone then: with neut, part., járn er nýtekit verðr ór afli, just taken out of the furnace, Sks. 209 B; varð ekki eptir honum gengit, he was not pursued, Nj. 270; þeim varð litið til hafs, they happened to look, 125; honum varð litið upp til hlíðarinnar, 112; blóð varð eigi stöðvat, the blood could not be stopped, Fms. i. 46, Nj. 210.

γ. phrases, e-m verðr bilt, to be amazed, Edda 29, Korm. 40, Nj. 169; verða felmt, 105; verða íllt við, hverft við, id.; Kolbeini varð ekki fyrir, K. lost his head, was paralysed, as if stunned, Sturl. iii. 285.

3. with adverbs or adverbial phrases; ef þat bíðr at verða vet, Hm.; ma þetta verða vel þótt hitt yrði ílla, Nj.; verða verr enn til er stýrt, Róm. 321; hann varð vel við skaða sinn, bore it well, like a man, Eg. 76, Nj. 75; faðir hans varð ílla við þetta ( disliked it), ok kvað hann taka stein um megn sér, Fær. 58; jarl varð ílla við þetta, was much vexed by it, Fms. ix. 341; varð hann údrengiliga við sitt líflát, Ld. 234; hvernig varð hann við þá er þér rudduð skipið, Ó. H. 116; hversu Gunnarr varð við, how G. bore it, Nj. 82; verra verðr mér við, enn ek ætla at gott muni af leiða, 109; mér hefir orðit vel við þik í vetr, I have been pleased with thee this winter, Fms. vii. 112; eigi vildi ek svá við verða blóðlátið, fiskbleikr sem þú ert—Ek ætla, segir hinn, at þá myndir verr við verða ok ódrengiligar, 269; þar varð ílla með þeim, things went ill with them, they became enemies, Nj. 39: to behave, varð engum jafnvel til mín sem þessum, Fms. vii. 158; hann lætr sér verða á alla vega sem bezt til Áka, xi. 76; hann lét henni hafa orðit stórmannliga, Hkr. iii. 372.

III. with prepp., verða af; hvat er orðit af e-u, what is come of it? where is it? of a thing lost; segðu mér þat, hvat varð af húnum mínum, Vkv. 30; hvat af motrinum er orðit, Ld. 208; nú hverfr Óspakr á brott svá at eigi vitu menn hvat af honum verðr, Band. 5; varð ekki af atlögu búanda, Ó. H. 184; ekki mun af sættum verða, Fb. i. 126: to come to pass, varð ekki af eptir-för, it came to naught; varð því ekki af ferðinni, Ísl. ii. 247; Símon kvað þá ekki mundu af því verða, S. said that could not be, Fms. vii. 250; ok verðr þetta af, at hann tekr við sveinunum, the end was that at last he took the boys, Fær. 36; eigi mun þér þann veg af verða, Karl. 197:—verða at e-u, to come to; hvat þér mun verða at bana, what will be the cause of thy death, Nj. 85; verða at flugu, Fas. i. 353 (see ‘at’ C. I. α); verða at undri, skömm, honum varð ekki at því kaupi, the bargain came to naught for him, Al. 7; cp. the mod. honum varð ekki að því, it failed for him:—e-m verðr á (cp. á-virðing), to make a blunder, mistake; kölluðu þat mjök hafa vorðit á fyrir föður sínum, at hann tók hann til sín, Fs. 35; þótti þér ekki á verða fyrir honum er hann náði eigi fénu, Nj. 33; Þorkell settisk þá niðr, ok hafði hvárki orðit á fyrir honum áðr né síðan, 185; aldri varð á um höfðingskap hans, 33:—verða eptir, to be left, Rb. 126, Stj. 124, 595; honum varð þar eptir geit ok hafr, Hrafn. 1:—verða fyrir e-u, to be hit, be the object of; fyrir víginu hefir orðit Svartr, S. is the person killed, Nj. 53; verða fyrir öfund, görningum, to be the victim of, Lex. Poët.: e-m verðr lítið fyrir e-u, it costs one small effort (see fyrir):—verða til e-s, to come forth to do a thing, volunteer, or the like; en sá er nefndr Hermóðr er til þeirrar farar varð, Edda 37; til þess hefir engi orðit fyrr en þú, at skora mér á hólm, Ísl. ii. 225; en engi varð til þess, no one volunteered, Nj. 86; einn maðr varð til at spyrja, 82; þá verðr til ok svarar máli konungs sá maðr, er …, Odd. 12; hverr sem til verðr um síðir at koma þeim á réttan veg, Fb. i. 273: fengu þeir ekki samit, því at þeim varð mart til, many things happened, i. e. so as to bring discord, Sturl. ii. 17 C; mundi okkr Einari eigi annat smátt til orðit, Hrafn. 9; eigi varð verri maðr til, there was no worse man, Stj. 482:—verða við, to respond to; bið ek þik at þú verðir við mér þó at engi sé verðleiki til, Barl. 59; at hann beiddi Snorra ásjá, en ef hann yrði eigi við bað hann Gretti fara vestr, Grett. 112 new Ed.; verða við bæn e-s, to grant one’s request, passim.

IV. with infin., denoting necessity, one must, needs, one is forced, obliged to do; þat verðr hverr at vinna er ætlað er, Nj. 10; varð ek þá at selja Hrafni sjálfdæmi, Ísl. ii. 245; eða yrði þeir út at hafa þann ómaga, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 21; þat munu þér þá reyna verða, you must try, Fbr. 23 new Ed.; þar er bera verðr til grjót, where stones have to be carried, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 90; lágu hestarnir í kafi svá at draga varð upp, Eg. 546; en vita verð ek ( I must know) hvar til þetta heyrir, Fms. ii. 146; munu þér því verða annars-staðar á leita, Nj. 223; at hann man verða sækja á ókunn lönd, Fms. viii. 19; ok verðr af því líða yfir þat, it must be passed by, Post.; maðr verðr eptir mann lifa, a saying, Fas. ii. 552; verð ek nú flýja, Ó. H. 188; urðu þeir at taka við Kristni, 105; vér höfum orðit til at hætta lífi ok sálu, hefir margr saklauss orðit at láta, sumir féit ok sumir fjörit, 31, 32; vér munum verða lifa við öðrum veiði-mat, Hým. 16; verða at skiljask við e-n, Skv. 1. 24: the same verb twice, þá varð ek verða hapta, then came I to become a prisoner, Gkv. 1. 9; eg verð að verða eptir, I must stay behind.

B. Peculiar isolated phrases, in some of which ‘verða’ is probably a different word, viz. = varða (q. v.), having been confounded with verða; thus, verða, verðr (= varða, varðar), to be liable, are frequent occurrences as a law phrase in the Grág.; svá fremi verðr beitin, ii. 226; þeim manni verðr fjörbaugs-garðr, er …, 212.

2. the phrase, eigi verðr (= varðar) einn eiðr alla, see eiðr; also ymsar verðr sá er margar ferr, in many warfares there will be some defeats, Eg. 182.

3. to forfeit, lose, prop. of paying a fine or penalty; heit ek á þann félaga er mik lætr eigi slíkt verða, Vápn. 11; æti þik ormar, yrða ek þik, kykvan, that snakes ate thee alive, and that I lost thee, Am. 22; fullhuginu sá er varð dróttinn, the brave man bereft of his master, Sighvat (Ó. H. 236); ek hefi orðinn þann guðföður, er …, I have lost a godfather who …, Hallfred (Js. 210); hér skaltú lífit verða, here shall thou forfeit life, i. e. die, Sturl. iii. (in a verse).

4. the law phrase, verða síns, to suffer a loss; leiglendingr bæti honum allt þat er hann verðr síns fyrir lands-drottni (i. e. verðr missa), whatever he has to lose, whatever damage, Gþl. 362; þræll skal ekki verða síns um, N. G. L. i. 85; allt þat er hann verðr síns í, þá skal hinn bæta honum, Jb. 207 A; hann kvað þá ekki skyldu síns í verða (varða Ed.) um þetta mál, they should lose nothing, Rd. 253: vildi hann (viz. Herode) eigi verða heit sitt (= fyrir verða?), he would not forfeit, break his vow, Hom. 106.

C. Reflex.; at þær ræður skyldi eigi með tjónum verðask, to be lost, forgotten, Sks. 561 B.

2. recipr.; bræðr munu berjask ok at bönum verðask, Vsp. (Hb.); þá er bræðr tveir at bönum urðusk, Ýt. 11.

3. part.; eptir orðna þrimu geira, Ód.; hluti orðna ok úorðna, past and future, MS. 623. 13; kvenna fegrst ok bezt at sér orðin, Nj. 268; þeir vóru svó vorðnir sik (so shapen, Germ. beschaffen), at þeir höfðu …, Stj. 7; þeir eru svá vorðnir sik, at þeir hafa eitt auga í miðju enninu, 68.

(gen. verðar), m. meal (fá árliga verðar); cf. dagverðr, náttverðr.

1) worth, with gen. (meira þykki mér verð vinátta þin); svá þótti honum mikils um vert, he took it so much to heart; mikils verðr, much worth;

2) worthy, deserving; v. e-s, worthy of (þótti þér hann ekki drápunnar verðr?).

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m., gen. verðar; older form virðr, Grág. ii. 92, Hm. 31: [cp. Ulf. wairdus = ξένος; Germ. wirth; the word remains in Dan. nadver, Swed. natt-värd, = the Lord’s Supper]:—a meal, prop. a portion of food, Hým. 16; fá árliga verðar, Hm. 32; sá er um verði ( during a meal) glissir, 30; enn vari gestr er til verðar kemr, 4, 7; hrósa árligum verðinum, Hbl. 4; hverr bóandi er skyldr at gefa þriggja nátta verð hjóna sinna, K. Þ. K.; gefa einn karlmanns-verð fátækum manni, Dipl. ii. 14; þann inn helga verð, the holy meal, 625. 196; ef deildr er verðrinn, Bjarn. 27; ef hann er vís-vitandi at verði eðr at virði við hann, Grág. ii. 92; en at virði vrekask, Hm. 31; nátt-verðr, dag-verðr (dögurðr), máls-verðr, búðar-vörðr (qs. búðar-verðr); úlfs verðr, hrafns verðr, wolf’s, raven’s meal, i. e. prey, Lex. Poët.; sleipnis verðr, ‘horse’s meal,’ i. e. hay, Ýt.; verð-gjafi hrafns, or verð-bjóðr, the raven’s meal-giver, i. e. a warrior, Lex. Poët.

adj. [Ulf. wairþs = ἱκανός; A. S. weorð; Engl. worth; Germ. werth; Dan. værd]:—worth, with gen., Grág. i. 362; meira þykki mér verð vinátta þín, Nj. 74; hitt þykki mér meira vert, er hann tók Dyflinnar-ferð á sik, Fms. vi. 98; smá-sveini, sem yðr mun þvkkja lítils verðr hjá yðr, vii. 158; mikils verðr, much worth, Ld. 18; svá þótti honum mikils um vert, he took it so much to heart, Orkn. 286; mikils verðr, lítils verðr, einskis verðr, etc., passim; ú-verðr, unworthy.

2. worthy; þá þykkja þeir Guði ljúfir ok verðir. loved of God, and worthy, Hom. 159: deserving, þú værir þess verðust kvenna, Skv. 3. 32; ek em ekki at þér gjafa verðr, Bjarn. 55; launa þér sem þú ert verðr, Eg. 239; minni verða launin en vert væri, Nj. 10; sem vert er, Fms. i. 85; þess væri vert, at …, it would be right, Nj. 73; verðr til e-s, worthy of, Stj. 496.

(acc. myrkan, -van, -jan), a.

1) dark, murky (um kveldit, er myrkt var); myrkt var af nótt, the night was dark; gørði-myrkt, it grew dark;

2) dark, obscure in meaning, hard to understand (myrkt þykki mér þat mælt at kalla skáldskap með þessum heitum).

n. darkness (m. var mikit).

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adj., myrk, myrkt, or myrt, Ó. H. 216; with a characteristic v before a vowel, myrkvan, myrkva, myrkvir; compar. myrkvari; superl. myrkvastr; later, as also in mod. usage, the v was dropped, which form occurs in later vellums of the 14th century, thus myrkar, Stj. 30; myrkari, Fms. vi. 229 (Hulda): j for v, myrkjar, Róm. 373: [A. S. myrc; Hel. mirki; Old Engl. and Scot. mirk; Engl. murky; Dan.-Swed. mörk]:—mirk, murky, dark; myrkvar grímr, Fas. i. 519 (in a verse); myrkvan veg, Rm. 34; inn myrkvan við, through the mirk-wood, Og. 25; myrkvan vafurloga, Skm. 8, 9; myrkt er úti, ’tis dark outside, Skm. 10; um kveldit er myrkt var orðit, Bs. i. 544; þeir biðu nætr, en er myrkt var, Eg. 80; myrkt var í stofunni, 215; görði myrt, Ó. H. 216; myrkt, 218; um kveldit er myrkt var, Hkr. i. 61; aldri varð svá myrkt af nótt, at eigi væri ærit ljóst þar er hann fór, Edda 70, Þiðr. 326; þá var sem myrkvast nætr, Fb. iii. 410, Fms. ix. 484; görði stundinn daginn svá myrkjan sem nótt væri, Róm. 373; of aptan er myrkt var, Ó. H. 139; í myrkri stofu, Bs. i. 508; myrk augu, dim eyes, Pr. 473: neut., gengu þeir þann dag allan til myrks, Edda 28: of colour, var vant kvígu þrévetrar myrkrar, hón hét Mús (but perh. read mýskrar or the like), Ísl. ii. 401.

II. metaph. dark, obscure, hard to read; myrkvar kenningar, Gd. 78; myrk orð, dark sayings, riddles; myrkr stafr, þat verðr mörgum manni at um myrkvan staf villisk, of spell Runes with hidden powers, Eg. (in a verse); þá mælti Ægir, myrkt þykki mér þat mælt, at kalla skáldskap þessum heitum, Edda 48; hér hefr upp ok segir frá því er flestum er myrkt, N. G. L. i. 184; bækr myrkvar ok úskiljanligar, Stj. 30; þat mun ek sýna jafnan at ek em eigi myrkr í skapi, Nj. 179; myrkari ok kaldari ráð, Fms. vi. 229.

III. local names, Myrk-á, Landn.; Myrk-viðr, Fms. xii, Gl.

* * *

1) error, falsehood;

2) heresy;

3) delusion.

(-ta, -tr), v.

1) to lead astray (nótt hefir mik villt); ok er svá villt fyrir mér, at, I am so bewildered that;

2) to falsify, counterfeit (v. heimildir á. fé); villtar rúnar, dark, obscure runes; rísta (rúnar) villt, to mis-write, write wrong; v. leitina fyrir e-m, to confound the search, put one on a wrong scent;

3) refl., villast, to go astray, lose one’s way (hafði hann villzt ok snúizt frá guði); with gen., nú villtust þeir vegar, now they lost the road; villtust hundarnir farsins, the hounds lost the track; þeim öllum villtist sýn, at engi þeira mátti finna hann, they were all so bewildered that none of them could find him.

* * *

t, to bewilder; ok er svá villt fyrir mér ( there is such bewilderment before me) at ek veit eigi frá mér, Háv. 56.

2. to falsify, forge, counterfeit, as a law term; um fé þat er hann hafði markat, ok villt á heimildir, Lv. 48; hinn skal segja heimili sitt, en ef hann villir heimili sitt, N. G. L. i. 223; er þeim lítið fyrir at villa járnburð þenna, Ó. H. 140; sá maðr hefir viljat villa leitina fyrir oss (cp. Dan. ‘bringe en paa vildspor’), Fms. i. 72; hvárt sem þeir villa ( give a false account of) faðerni eðr móðerni eða bæði, Grág. i. 357; ef hann leynir fé eðr villir heimildir, gives a false title, Jb. 336; hvar þess er aðrir taka arf enn erfingi réttr fyrir því at kyn var villt, Grág. i. 191; villir hann vísdóm allan, to belie, Fms. vii. (in a verse); draumar villa oss, ef …, do our dreams belie us, if …, Gísl. (in a verse); villtar rúnir, falsified. Am. 9; rísta villt, to write falsely, mis-write, 12; allr lands-lýðr syrgði hann villtan, Hkr. i. 102 (Fms. x. 379).

II. reflex. to go astray, miss the way; kenndi þá hvárr öðrum þat er þeir höfðu villzk, Bs. i. 288; hafði hann villzk ok snúisk frá guði, Fb. ii. 392; nú villask þeir þaðan á braut, Grág. ii. 312; þá er frá honum villtisk, 192: with gen., nú villtusk þeir vegar, lost the road, Fms. ii. 77; villisk er nú vegarins, Valla L. 217; villtusk hundarnir farsins, the hounds lost the track, Hom. 120.

2. metaph., þat verðr mörgum manni, at um myrkvan staf villisk, Eg. (in a verse); ef þeim villask váttar, Grág. ii. 209; villtusk allir spådómar, Rb. 381; ok er svá villt fyrir mér ( I am so bewildered) at ek veit eigi frá mér, Háv. 56; þeim öllum villtisk sýn, at engi þeirra mátti finna hann, Fb. ii. 385; villtisk hann mér ok mátti ek eigi finna hann, Karl. 309; hón villtisk öll frá mér ( she forsook me quite) ok lagði hón íllt fyrir sik, Clem. 137.

(gen. manns, pl. menn, with the art. menninir), m.

1) man (irrespective of sex), human being (guð skapaði síðarst menn tvá, er ættir eru frá komnar);

sýndi maðr manni, one showed it to another, it went from from hand to hand;

fjöldi manns, a great number of people;

múgr manns, crowd of people;

2) degree in kinship;

vera at þriðja, fjórða, fimta manni, to be related in the third, fourth, fifth degree;

hann var manni firr en systrungr Bárðar, he was the son of a cousin of B.;

3) man, opp. to kona( síðan fór hann til manna sinna).

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m., qs. mann-r, which form also occurs in old poets, engi mannr und ranni, Vellekla, (for the change of nn before r into ð see the introduction to letter N); gen. manns, dat. manni, acc. mann, plur. menn, qs. menn-r; with the article, menninir, so always in old writers, but in mod. mennirnir erroneously, as if from mennir: the plur. meðr, answering to the sing. maðr, occurs in old poets—meðr vituð öðling æðra, Fms. vii. 87 (in a verse); Norð-meðr róa naðri, vi. 309 (in a verse); meðr fengu mikit veðr, Edda 102; hirð-meðr, veðja, Rekst., all verses of the 11th and 12th centuries; er meðr Myrkvið kalla, Akv. 5: meðr hlutu sár, Fbr. 75 new Ed. (in a verse): gen. pl. manna, dat. mönnum, acc. menn. In Ballads and Rímur after the 15th century, and hence in eccl. writers of later times, a nom. mann is now and then used, esp. in compds influenced by Germ. and Engl., e. g. hreysti-mann, Skíða R. 58; or for the sake of rhyme, ætla þú ekki, aumr mann | af komast muni strafflaust hann, Pass. 14. 17: [Ulf. manna = ἄνθρωπος; in other Teut. languages spelt man, or better mann.]

B. A man = Lat. homo, Gr. ἄνθρωπος, also people; eigi vil ek segja frá manninum þvíat mér er maðrinn skyldr, þat er frá manni at segja, at maðr er vel auðigr at fé, Nj. 51; mennskr maðr, a manlike man, a human being, opp. to giants or beings of superhuman strength, Gm. 31; menn eru hér komnir ef menn skal kalla, en líkari eru þeir þursum at vexti ok sýn en mennskum mönnum, Eg. 110; flýjum nú! ekki er við menn um at eiga, Nj. 97; þat hafa gamlir menn mælt, at þess manns mundi hefnt verða ef hann félli á grúfu, Eg. 107; þeir ungu menn ( the young people) elskask sín í millum, Mar.; þótt nökkut væri þústr á með enum yngrum mönnum, Ld. 200; fjöldi manns, múgr manns, Fms. ii. 45, 234, xi. 245; þykkir mönnum nökkur várkunn til þess, 192; var þat margra manna mál, at …, Eg. 537, Fms. i. 45; er þat íllt manni? Eg. 604; sá maðr, that person, K. Þ. K. 4; manna beztr, fríðastr …, the best, fairest … of men, passim; allra manna bezt, beyond all men, best of all men, Bs. i. 67; kona var enn þriði maðr, Hkr. iii. 184; hvárr þeirra manna, each of the wedded fair, Grág. i. 476; góðir menn, good men! in addressing, passim: allit., Guði ok góðum mönnum, to God and all good men, Bs. i. 68: sayings, maðr skal eptir mann lifa, man shall live after man (as a consolation), Eg. 322: maðr er manns gaman, man is man’s comfort, Hm. 46; whence huggun er manni mönnum at, Pass. 2. 10: maðr eptir mann, man after man, in succession; or, maðr af manni, man after man, in turn: sýndi maðr manni, man shewed it to man, it went round from hand to hand, Fms. vi. 216; nú segir maðr manni þessi fagnaðar-tíðendi, Bs. i. 181, Þiðr. 142; kunni þat maðr manni at segja at Bróðir felldi Brján, Nj. 275.

2. phrases, þat veit menn (the verb in sing., the noun in plur.), every one knows that! to be sure! Art. 31, 62, Karl. 48; meðr of veit, Sighvat: mod. viti menn! with a notion of irony; thus also menn segja, men say, (in old poët. usage elliptically, kveða = Lat. dicunt, Vþm. 24, 26, 28, 30, Gm. 13, Hdl. 42, Hm. 11; kváðu, people said, Vm. 33): the sing. maðr = Fr. on, mod. Dan. man (in Dan. man siger), is not vernacular.

3. in compds. kvenn-maðr, a woman; karl-maðr, a man: of families, Mýra-menn, Síðu-menn, Landn.: inhabitants, people, Norð-menn, Norsemen; Noregs-menn, the men of Norway; Athenu-menn, Athenians; Korintu-menn, Corinthians; of condition of life, leik-menn, laymen; kenni-menn, clergymen; búand-menn, peasants; valds-menn, rulers; kaup-menn, merchants; sjó-menn, seamen; vinnu-menn, labourers.

4. degree in a lineage: at þriðja, fjórða, fimta … manni, in the third, fourth, fifth … degree, Grág. i. 321; manni firnari en systrungr …, one degree remoter than …, used of odd degrees (e. g. four on one side and three on the other), ii. 172; hann var manni firr en systrungr Bárðar, he was an odd second cousin of B., Bárð. 165; hence tví-menningar, þrí-menningar, fjór-menningar …, a second, third, fourth … cousin, passim.

II. a man. Lat. vir; vér höfum þrjú skip ok hundruð manna á hverju, Fas. ii. 521; síðan fór hann til manna sinna, Fms. v. 514; greiða eyri gulls hverjum manni, 178; hann fór með of manns yfir landit, iv. 146; and so in countless instances: Sigurðar-menn, the followers of S.; Tuma-menn, konungs-menn, Krist-menn, kross-menn, vii. 293, 299, Ó. H. 216.

2. a husband; Guð er Kristinnar andar maðr er honum giptisk í trú, Greg. 31: freq. in mod. usage, maðrinn minn, my husband! dóttur-maðr, a son-in-law.

3. metaph., vera maðr fyrir e-u, to be man enough for it, able to do it; eg er ekki maðr fyrir því, maðr til þess, id.; hann sýndisk eigi maðr til at setjask í svá háleitt sæti, Bs. i. 743; mikill, lítill, maðr fyrir sér, to be a great, strong, weak man, and the like.

III. the Rune m, see introduction.

C. COMPDS, manns- and manna-: manns-aldr, m. a man’s life, generation, 623. 10, Fms. viii. 240, Fas. i. 406. manns-bani, a, m. ‘man’s bane,’ a man-slayer, Js. 49, Ni. 119. manns-barn, n. a ‘man’s bairn;’ in the phrase, hvert m., every child of man, Sturl. i. 47. manna-bein, n. pl. human bones, Fms. i. 230. manns-blóð, n. human blood, Nj. 59, Fms. iii. 125. manna-búkar, m. pl. corpses of slain, Fms. iii. 7, xi. 355. manna-bygð, f. human abodes, opp. to the wilderness, Fms. i. 215. manna-bær, m. dwelling-houses, Ann. 1390. manns-bætr, f. pl. weregild, Eg. 259. manns-efni, n. a man to be; gott-m. (see efni), Eg. 368, Fms. i. 174, Fær. 231. manna-farvegr, m. a foot-path, Gþl. 539. manns-fingr, m. a human finger. manna-forráð, n. ‘man-sway,’ rule, dominion; the godord or priesthood is often in the Laws and Sagas so called, Hrafn. 21, Nj. 149, Grág., Ísl. ii. 402, Fms. x. 45. manna-forræði, n. = mannaforráð, Nj. 231, Ld. 310. manns-fótr, m. a human foot, Hkr. ii. 114. manna-fundr, m. a meeting of men, Grág. i. 420. manns-fylgja, u, f., or manna-fylgjur, f. pl. fetches of men, Lv. 69, Fs. 68; see fylgja. manna-för, n. pl. men’s footprints, Eg. 578. manna-grein, f. distinction of men, Fms. viii. 21. manns-hauss, m. a human skull, Þorf. Karl. 242. manns-hár, n. human hair, Edda 4, Fas. iii. 266. manns-hold, n. human flesh, Fms. xi. 235. manna-hugir, m. pl., see hugr III. 2, Háv. 55, Þórð. 17 new Ed. manna-hús, n. pl. men’s houses, Fbr. 77: human abodes. manns-höfuð, manna-höfuð, m. (he human head, K. Á. 1, Fms. x. 280, Nj. 275. manns-hönd, f. a human hand, Fas. i. 66. manns-kona, u, f. a man’s wife, married woman, Grág. i. 335, 337, 341, 344, 380, Bs. i. 777, Sks. 340. manna-lát, n. the loss of men, loss of life, death, Nj. 248, Eg. 585, Orkn. 296. manns-lát, n. a person’s death, decease; heyra mannslát, to hear of a person’s death. manns-líf, n. man’s life, Hom. 6. manns-líki, n. human shape, Edda 9. manna-lof, n. praise of men, Hom. 83. manna-mál, n. human voices, human speech, Nj. 154; or manns-mál, id., in the phrase, það heyrist ekki mannsmál, no man’s voice can be heard, of a great noise. manna-missir, m. the loss of men, Sturl. iii. 7, Fas. ii. 552. manns-morð, n. murder, N. G. L. i. 256. manna-mót, n. = mannfundr, Grág. i. 343. manns-mót, n. manly mien, ‘manfulness,’ Fms. i. 149, xi. 86; þat er mannsmót að honum, he looks like a true man. manna-munr, m. distinction, difference of men, Bs. i. 855. manna-múgr, m. a crowd of people, Fær. 12. manns-mynd, f. the human shape, Stj. 147. manna-reið, f. (a body of) horsemen, Nj. 206. manna-samnaðr, m. = mannsafnaðr, Ísl. ii. 83. manna-seta, u, f. men staying in a place, Ld. 42. manna-skipan, f. the placing of people, as at a banquet, in battle, Korm. 62, Sturl. i. 20, ii. 237. manna-skipti, n. pl. exchange of men, Germ. auswechselung, Hkr. i. 8. manna-slóð, f. ‘man’s sleuth,’ a track of men, Sturl. i. 83. manna-spor, n. pl. men’s footprints. Sturl. ii. 90, Eg. 578, Landn. 191. manna-styrkr, m. help, Þórð. 74. manna-sættir, m. a daysman, peacemaker, Fms. x. 51, Eb. manna-taka, u, f. a reception of men, strangers, Fb. ii. 194. manna-tal, n. = manntal, Hkr. ii. 340. manns-váði, a, m. danger of life, Fms. viii. 224. manna-vegr, m. a road where men pass, opp. to a wilderness, Grett. 115 A, Ld. 328. manna-verk, n. pl. = mannvirki, man’s work, work by human hands, Fb. i. 541. manns-verk, n. work to be done by a person, N. G. L. i., 38, Gþl. 114. manna-vist, f. a human abode. Fms. i. 226, Jb. 9, Orkn. 434. manns-vit, n. ‘man’s wit,’ human understanding, reason, Nj. 106. manna-völd, n. pl.; in the phrase, e-t er af manna-völdum, it is due to human causes, not by natural causes, e. g. of a fire, the disappearance of a thing, or the like, Nj. 76, Fms. ii. 146, iii. 98. manns-vöxtr, m. a man’s stature, Fas. ii. 508, Hom. 112. manna-þengill, m. king of men, the name of Njörð, Gm. 16, Edda 104. manns-æði, n. human bearing, behaviour. manns-æfi, f. man’s lifetime; mart kann skipask á mannsæfinni, a saying, Fms. vii. 156; mart verðr á mannsætinni, útítt var þat þá er vér vórum ungir, Fær. 195.

1) with subj. (a standing phrase in the law connecting the latter clause of a conditional premiss) if, and if, and in case that, and supposing that;

nú hefir maðr sveinbarn fram fœrt í œsku, enda verði sá maðr veginn síðan, þá …, if a man has brought a boy up in his youth, and it so happens that he (the boy) be slain, then …;

2) even if, allhough, with subj. (seg mér, hvat til berr, at þú veizt fyrir úorðna hluti, enda sér þú eigi spámaðr);

3) even;

þá skal hann segja búum sínum til, enda á, þingi, even in parliment;

4) if only with subj. (fyrir engan mun þori ek at vekja konunginn en segja má ek honum tíðindin, ef þú vill, enda vekir þú hann);

5) and indeed, and of course, and also, and besides;

enda skulum vér þá leysa þik, and then of course we shall loose thee;

sýnist þat jafnan, at ek em fégjarn, enda man svá enn, and so it will be also in this case;

6) and yet;

eigi nenni ek at hafa þat saman, at veita Högna, enda drepa bróður hans, I cannot bear to do both, help H. and yet kill his brother;

7) ellipt. without a preceding premiss;

enda tak þú nú øxi þína, and now take thy axe.

(að, or enda, ent), v.

1) to end, coming to an end (í því sama klaustri endi hann sína æfi);

impers., endar þar sögu frá honum, the tale of him ends there;

2) to fulfil, perform (enda heit sitt);

3) to mark the end of, to bound (af suðri endir hana [i. e. Asia] úthafit);

4) refl., endast, to end, come to an end (reiði mannsins endist á einu augabragði);

to last, hold out (berjast meðan dagrinn endist);

meðan mér endast föng til, as long as my provisions last;

ef honum endist aldr til, if he lives so long;

meðan mér endast lífdagar, meðan ek endumst, as long as I live;

to turn out, to end (well or ill), to do (enda mun þat fám bóndum vel endast at synja mér mægðar).

* * *

a copul. conj. with a slight notion of cause or even disjunction: [the use of this copulative is commonly regarded as a test word to distinguish the Scandin. and the Saxon-Germ.; the A. S. ende, Engl. and, Hel. end, Germ. und being represented by Scandin. auk, ok, or og: whereas the disjunctive particle is in Scandin. en, enn, or even enda, answering to the Engl., A. S., and Germ. aber, but; the Gothic is neutral, unless jab, by which Ulf. renders καί, be = auk, ok:—this difference, however, is more apparent than real; for the Icel. ‘enda’ is probably identical with the Germ. and Saxon und, and: in most passages it has a distinct copulative sense, but with something more than this]:—and, etc.

I. with subj., a standing phrase in the law, connecting the latter clause of a conditional premiss, if so and so, and if …, and again if …; or it may be rendered, and in case that, and supposing that, or the like. The following references will make it plainer; ef goðinn er um sóttr, enda hafi hann öðrum manni í hönd selt …, þá skal hann ok sekja …, if a suit lies against the priest, ‘and’ he has named a proxy, then the suit lies also against him (viz. the proxy), Grág. i. 95; ef skip hverfr ok sé eigi til spurt á þrim vetrum, enda sé spurt ef þeim löndum öllum er vár tunga er á, þá …, if a ship disappears without being heard of for three years, ‘and’ inquiry has been made from all the countries where ‘our tongue’ is spoken, then …, 218; ef goðinn gerr eigi nemna féránsdóm, enda sé hann at lögum beiddr …, þá varðar goðanum fjörbaugsgarð, if the priest name not the court of férán, ‘and’ has been lawfully requested thereto, then he is liable to the lesser outlawry, 94; nú hefir maðr sveinbarn fram fært í æsku, enda verði sá maðr veginn síðan, þá …, if a man has brought a boy up in his youth, ‘and in case that’ he (the boy) be slain, then …, 281; ef maðr færir meybarn fram …, enda beri svá at…, ok ( then) skal sá maðr …, id.; ef menn selja ómaga sinn af landi héðan, ok eigi við verði, enda verði þeir ómagar færðir út hingat síðan, þá …, 274; hvervetna þess er vegnar sakir standa úbættar á milli manna, enda vili menn sættask á þau mál …, þá …, ii. 20; ef sá maðr var veginn er á ( who has) vist með konu, enda sé þar þingheyandi nokkurr …, þá …, 74; þat vóru lög, ef þrælar væri drepnir fyrir manni, enda ( and in case that) væri eigi færð þrælsgjöldin fyrir hina þriðju sól, þá …, Eg. 723, cp. Eb. 222; þótt maðr færi fram ellri mann, karl eðr konu, í barnæsku, enda ( and in case that) berisk réttarfar síðan um þá menn, þá skal …, 281; ef þú þorir, enda sér þú nokkut at manni, if thou darest, ‘and supposing that’ thou art something of a man, Fb. i. 170, segja má ek honum tíðendin ef þú vilt, enda vekir þú hann, ‘and supposing that’ thou wilt awake him, Fms. iv. 170; en þeir eru skilnaðarmenn réttir er með hvárigum fóru heiman vísir vitendr, enda ( and even) vildi þeir svá skilja þá, Grág. ii. 114; enda fylgi þeir hvárigum í braut ( supposing they), id.; hvat til berr er þú veizt úorðna hluti, enda sér þú eigi spámaðr, supposing that thou art a prophet, Fms. i. 333.

2. rarely with indic.; ef kona elr börn með óheimilum manni, enda gelzt þó fé um, hón á eigi…, Eb. 225.

II. even, even if, usually with indic.; kona á sakir þær allar ef hún vill reiðask við, enda komi ( even if) eigi fram loforðit, Grág. i. 338: in single sentences, þá skal hann segja búum sínum til, enda á þingi, even in parliament, ii. 351: the phrase, e. svá ( even so), eigi þau handsöl hennar at haldask, enda svá þau er, i. 334; enda er þó rétt virðing þeirra, ef …, and their taxation is even (also) lawful, if …, 209: in mod. usage very freq. in this sense (= even).

III. denoting that a thing follows from the premiss, and consequently, and of course, and then, or the like, and forsooth, freq. in prose with indic.; man ek eigi optar heimta þetta fé, enda verða þér aldri at liði síðan, I shall not call for this debt any more, ‘and also’ lend thee help never more, Vápn. 18; ef þeir eru eigi fleiri en fimm, enda eigi færi, if they are not more than five, and also not less, Grág. i. 38; enda eigu menn þá at taka annan lögsögumann ef vilja, and they shall then elect another speaker if they choose, 4; enda skulum vér þá leysa þik, and then of course we shall loose thee, Edda 20; varðar honum skóggang, enda verðr hann þar óheilagr, and of course or and even, and to boot, Grág. ii. 114; skal hann segja til þess á mannamótum, enda varðar honum þá eigi við lög, i. 343; á sá sök er hross á, enda verðr sá jamt sekr um nautnina sem aðrir menn, 432; þá á sök þá hvárr er vill, enda skal lögsögumaðr …, 10; enda á hann kost at segja lögleigor á féit, ef hann vill þat heldr, 217; trúi ek honum miklu betr en ( than) öðrum, enda skal ek þessu ráða, and besides I will settle this myself, Eg. 731; sýnisk þat jafnan at ek em fégjarn, enda man svá enn, it is well known that I am a money-loving man, and so it will be too in this case, Nj. 102; beið ek af því þinna atkvæða, enda num öllum þat bezt gegna, I waited for thy decision, and (as) that will be the best for all of us, 78; er þat ok líkast at þér sækit með kappi, enda munu þeir svá verja, and so will they do in their turn, 227; Hallgerðr var fengsöm ok storlynd, enda ( and on the other hand) kallaði hón til alls þess er aðrir áttu í nánd, 18; mikit má konungs gæfa um slíka hluti, enda mun mikill frami fásk í ferðinni ef vel tekst, Fms. iv. í 29; Ölver var málsnjallr ok máldjarfr, e. var hann vitr maðr, 235; ekki mun ek halda til þess at þú brjótir lög þín, enda eru þau eigi brotin, ef …, neither are they broken, if …, Fb. i. 173, Mork. 81.

2. with a notion of disjunction, and yet; eigi nenni ek at hafa þat saman, at veita Högna, enda drepa bróður hans, I cannot bear to do both, help Hogni and yet kill his brother, Nj. 145; er þér töldut Grænland vera veðrgott land, enda er þat þó fullt af jöklum ok frosti, that you call Greenland a mild climate, and yet it is full of frost and ice, Sks. 209 B.

3. ellipt. in an abrupt sentence, without a preceding premiss; enda tak nú öxi þína, and now take thy axe (implying that I can no longer prevent thee), Nj. 58; enda þarf hér mikils við, 94; maðrinn segir, enda fauk höfuðit af bolnum, the man continued,—nay, the head flew off the body, Ld. 290: even in some passages one MS. uses ‘enda,’ another ‘ok,’ e. g. skorti nú ekki, enda var drengilega eptir sótt (ok var drengilega eptir sótt, v. l.), Fms. viii. 357; cp. Fb. iii. 258, 1. 16, and Mork. 7, 1. 15: the law sometimes uses ‘ok’ exactly in the sense of enda, ef maðr selr ómaga sinn af landi brott, ‘ok’ verði hinn aptrreki er við tók, þá …, Grág. i. 275.

d, (enda, að, Fs. 8, Ld. 50, Bs. i. 865; mod. usage distinguishes between enda að, to end, finish, and enda t, to fulfil):—to end, bring to an end; ok endi þar líf sitt, Fms. i. 297; af ráðinn ok endaðr, Fs. l. c.; endaðir sínu valdi, Bs. i. 865.

2. metaph. to bring to an end, fulfil, perform a promise or the like; þá sýslu er hann endi eigi, work which he did not perform, Grág. ii. 267; þótti Heinreki biskupi Gizurr eigi enda við konung þat sem hann hafði heitið, Fms. x. 51; enda þeir þat er Páll postuli mælti, Hom. 135; hefir þú komit ok ent þat er þú lofaðir, Niðrst. 8.

II. reflex, to end, come to an end; reiði mannsins endisk á einu augabragði, 656 A. ii. 17; er svá hefjask upp at eigi endask, 656 B. 3; þá endisk sá enn mikli höfðingskapr Dana konunga, Fms. xi. 205; þær endask ok byrjask jafnfram ávalt, Rb. 232.

2. to last out; ok endisk þá, allt á sumar fram, Nj. 18; meðan mér endask föng til, Eg. 66; en honum endisk eigi til þess líf, Bs. i. 77; en er veizlor endusk eigi fyrir fjölmennis sakir, Hkr. ii. 92; ok endisk því þetta hóti lengst, Gísl. 50; meðan ek endumk til, as long as I last, i. e. live, Fms. iv. 292.

3. to end well, do; enda mun þat fám bóndum vel endask at synja mér mægðar, Ísl. ii. 215; ek veit, at þat má honum eigi endask, ef …, Rd. 311; ok öngum skyldi öðrum hans kappa enzk hafa betta nema þér, Fas. i. 104; segir honum eigi ella endask mundu, Fms. iv. 143.

III. impers. in the phrase, sögu endar, endar þar sögu frá honum, it ends the tale, i. e. the tale is ended, Ld. 50: in mod. usage Icel. can say, saga endar, sögu endar, and saga endast, here the story ends.

* * *

(held; hélt, héldum; haldinn), v.

I. with dat.

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

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

2) to withhold (héldu bœndrgjaldinu);

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

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

halda vöku sinni, to keep oneself awake;

4) to hold, keep one’s stock;

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

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

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

halda hendi yfir e-m, to protect one;

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

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

halda heim, to steer homewards;

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

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

II. with acc.

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

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

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

to observe (halda guðs lög ok landsins);

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

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

halda sik ríkmannliga, to fare sumptuously;

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

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

7) to hold, keep up;

halda varnir, to keep up a defence;

halda vörð, to keep watch;

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

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

III. with preps.:

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

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

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

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

halda eptir e-m, to pursue one;

halda e-u eptir, to keep back;

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

halda e-u fram, to uphold, support;

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

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

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

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

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

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

hélt til þess (conduced to it) góðgirni hans;

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

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

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

halda barni undir skírn, to hold at baptism;

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

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

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

to keep going (halda upp bardaga);

to discharge (halda upp kostnaði, bótum);

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

halda e-u við, to maintain a thing;

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

impers. to be on the point of;

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

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

IV. refl., haldast.

* * *

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

A. WITH DAT. to hold to:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

VI. impers.,

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

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

B. WITH ACC. to hold:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. REFLEX.:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

β. kept, observed, Fms. xi. 99.

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

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

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

I) prep.

A. with dative.

I. Of motion;

1) towards, against;

Otkell laut at Skamkatli, bowed down to S.;

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

2) close atup to;

Brynjólfr gengr alit at honum, quite up to him;

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

3) to, at;

koma at landi, to come to land;

ganga at dómi, to go into court;

4) along (= eptir);

ganga at stræti, to walk along the street;

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

refr dró hörpu at ísi, on the ice;

5) denoting hostility;

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

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

6) around;

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

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

7) denoting business, engagement;

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

fara at landskuldum, to go collecting rents.

II. Of position, &c.;

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

at kirkju, at church;

at dómi, in court;

at lögbergi, at the hill of laws;

2) denoting participation in;

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

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

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

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

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

4) with proper names of places (farms);

konungr at Danmörku ok Noregi, king of;

biskup at Hólum, bishop of Holar;

at Helgafelli, at Bergþórshváli;

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

at hans (at his house) gisti fjölmenni mikit;

at Marðar, at Mara’s home;

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

at Ránar, at Ran’s (abode).

III. Of time;

1) at, in;

at upphafi, at first, in the beginning;

at skilnaði, at parting, when they parted;

at páskum, at Easter;

at kveldi, at eventide;

at þinglausnum, at the close of the Assembly;

at fjöru, at the ebb;

at flœðum, at the floodtide;

2) adding ‘komanda’ or ‘er kemr’;

at ári komanda, next year;

at vári, er kemr, next spring;

generally with ‘komanda’ understood;

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

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

at sér lifanda, duing his lifetime;

at öllum ásjándum, in the sight of all;

at áheyranda höfðingjanum, in the hearing of the chief;

at upprennandi sólu, at sunrise;

at liðnum sex vikum, after six weeks are past;

at honum önduðum, after his death;

4) denoting uninterrupted succession, after;

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

skildu menn at þessu, thereupon, after this;

at því (thereafter) kómu aðrar meyjar.

IV. fig. and in various uses;

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

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

verða at ormi, to become a snake;

2) for, as;

gefa e-t at gjöf, as a present;

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

3) by;

taka sverð at hjöltum, by the hilt;

draga út björninn at hlustunum, by the ears;

kjósa at afli, álitum, by strength, appearrance;

4) as regards as to;

auðigr at fé, wealthy in goods;

vænn (fagr) at áliti, fair of face;

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

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

6) as a paraphrase of a genitive;

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

aðili at sök = aðili sakar;

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

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

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

tvítugr at aldri, twenty years of age;

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

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

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

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

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

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

at ráði allra vitrustu manna, by the advice of;

at landslögum, by the law of the land;

at vánum, as was to be expected;

at leyfi e-s, by one’s leave;

10) in adverbial phrases;

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

bíta af allt gras at snøggu, quite bare;

at fullu, fully;

at vísu, surely;

at frjálsu, freely;

at eilífu, for ever and ever;

at röngu, at réttu, wrongly, rightly;

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

at Hrungni dauðan, upon the death of Hrungnir.

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

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

2) in an objective sense;

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

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

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

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

hón grét at meir, she wept the more;

þykkir oss at líkara, all the more likely;

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

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

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

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

conj., that;

1) introducing a subjective or objective clause;

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

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

2) relative to svá, denoting proportion, degree;

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

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

4) since, because, as (= því at);

5) connected with þó, því, svá;

þó at (with subj.), though, although;

því at, because, for;

svá at, so that;

6) temp., þá at (= þá er), when;

þegar at (= þegar er), as soon as;

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

áðr at (= á. en), before;

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

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

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

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

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

odda at, Yggs at, battle.

* * *

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

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

WITH DAT.

A. LOC.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

B. TEMP.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

C. METAPH. and in various cases:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

V. denoting the source of a thing:

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

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

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

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

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

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

IX. following many words:

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

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

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

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

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

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

WITH ACC.

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

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

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

I. it is used either,

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

II. it is used,

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

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

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

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

III. used in connection with conjunctions,

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

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

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

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

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

IV. as a relat. conj.:

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

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

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

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

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

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

the negative verbal suffix, v. -a.

(býð; bauð, buðum; boðinn), v.

1) to offer;

þeir höfðu boðit honum laun, they had offered him rewards;

Þ. bauð at gefa (offered to give) Gunnlaugi hestinn;

bjóða grið, to offer pardon;

bjóða e-t til lífs sér, as a ransom for one’s life;

bjóða e-t fram, to proffer, produce (bjóða fram vitni);

bjóða e-t upp, af hendi, to give up, leave off;

þá býðr hann upp hornit, gives up the horn, will not drink more;

bjóða e-t undan e-m, to offer to take a thing off one’s hands (er þá kostr at bjóða undan þeim manni varðveizluna fjárins);

bjóða e-t við, to make a bid;

bjóða við tvenn verð, to bid double;

refl., bjóðast, to offer oneself, volunteer one’s service;

Þóroddr bauzt (offered himself) til þeirrar farar;

2) to do a thing to one, in a bad sense;

bjóða e-m ógn, to wage war against one;

bjóða e-m ójöfnuð, ofriki, to treat unfairly, oppress;

bjóða e-m ógn, to affright, terrify;

bjóða e-m rangt, to treat one unjustly;

3) to bid, invite (bjóða e-m til sín or heim);

bjóða mönnum til boðs, to bid guests to a banquet, wedding;

4) to bid, order;

sem lög buðu, as the law prescribed;

bjóða e-m erendi, to commit a thing to one’s charge;

bjóða e-m varnað á e-u, to forbid;

bjóða e-m af landi, to order one out of the land;

bjóða e-m af embætti, to depose one;

bjóða út liði, skipum, to levy, troops, ships;

bjóða e-m um, to delegate to one, to commit to one’s charge (þeim manni er biskup hefir um boðit at nefna vátta);

5) to proclaim, announce;

bjóða trú (kristni), to proclaim, preach a religion (the Christitian faith);

bjóða messudag, to proclaim a holy day;

6) of a mental state, to have presentiment of;

e-m býðr e-t í hug (skap), one has a fore boding, presentiment of;

mér býðr e-t fyrir, I forebode;

mér býðr hugr við e-u, I abhor, dislike;

impers., mér býðr ávallt hita (acc.), er ek kem í þeirra flokk, I feel uneasy whenever …;

mér bauð ótta, I felt a fear;

bauð þeim mikla þekt (they felt much pleasure), er þeir sá líkit;

ef yðr býðr svá við at horfa, when you are in such a frame of mind;

7) býðr e-m, it beseems, becomes one;

sem konungsbarni býðr, as befits a princess;

eptir þat fór vígsla fram eptir því sem býðr, as it is due, or proper.

* * *

bauð, buðu, boðit; pres. byð; pret. subj. byða; pret. sing. with the suffixed negative, bauðat, Edda 90 (in a verse); the obsolete middle form buðumk, mibi obtulit, nobis obtulerunt, occurs in Egil Höfuðl. 2; [Ulf. biudan; A. S. biodan; Engl. bid; Germ. bieten; Swed. biuda; Dan. byde]:—Lat. offerre, proferre, with dat. of the person, acc. of the thing:

I. to bid, offer; þeir höfðu boðit honum laun, they had offered him rewards, Fms. i. 12; Þorsteinn bauð at gefa Gunnlaugi hestinn, Ísl. ii. 213; b. grið, to offer pardon, Fms. i. 181; þeir buðu at gefa upp borgina, ix. 41; bauð hann þeim, at göra alla bændr óðalborna, i. 20; býðr, at hann muni görast hans maðr, xi. 232; en ek býð þér þó, at synir mínir ríði með þér, Nj. 93; Írar buðu sik undir hans vald, Fms. x. 131.

2. reflex, to offer oneself, volunteer one’s service; buðusk honum þar menn til fylgðar, Fms. ix. 4; mun ek nú til þess bjóðask í sumar á þingi, Ld. 104, Sks. 510; þeim er þá býðsk, Grág. i. 284; Þóroddr bauðsk til þeirrar farar, Hkr. ii. 247; ef þú býðsk í því, Fms. xi. 121.

3. metaph., b. ófrið, ójöfnuð, rangindi, liðsmun, of ill usage, Ld. 148, Rb. 418; b. e-m rangt, to treat one unjustly, Hom. 155: with an adverb, b. e-m sæmiliga, to treat one in seemly sort, Ld. 66; b. á boð e-s, to outbid one, N. G. L. iii. no. 49.

II. to bid, invite, cp. boð, a banquet; prob. ellipt., hospitality or the like being understood; Özurr bauð þeim inn í búðina at drekka, Nj. 4; heim vil ek b. þér í sumar, 93; honum var boðit til boðs, 50; hann bauð þá þegar þar at vera Gizuri Hallssyni, Bs. i. 128; gékk Bárðr móti honum ok fagnaði honum, ok bauð honum þar at vera, Eg. 23; b. mönnum til boðs, to bid guests to a banquet, wedding, or the like, Ld. 104.

III. to bid, order, Lat. imperare, cp. boð, bidding; sem lög buðu, as the law prescribed, Fms. i. 81; svá bauð oss Guð, Post. 645. 88; b. af landi, to order one out of the land, make him an outlaw, Fms. vii. 20; b. af embætti, to depose, Sturl. ii. 119; b. út, a Norse milit. term, to call out, levy, cp. útboð, a levy; b. út leiðangri, b. út liði, skipum, to levy troops, ships, Fms. i. 12, 61, vi. 219, 251, 400, x. 118, Eg. 31, cp. N. G. L. i. ii; b. e-m crendi, to commit a thing to one’s charge, Fms. vii. 103; b. varnað á e-u, or b. til varnanar, to forbid, xi. 94, Edda 59: with prepp., b. e-m um (cp. umboð, charge), to delegate to one, commit to one’s charge; þeim manni er biskup hefir um boðit, at nefna vátta, K. Þ. K. 64; þess manns er biskup bauð um at taka við fé því, K. Á. 96, Sks. 460 B; hann keypti til handa Þorkatli þá hluti er hann hafði um boðit, the things that he had given charge about, Grett. 102 A; Hermundr bauð nú um Vermundi, at vera fyrir sína hönd, Rd. 251.

2. eccl. to proclaim, announce, esp. as rendering of mid. Lat. praedicare; b. sið, trú, Kristni, to proclaim, preach a new religion, Nj. 156, 158, Fms. i. 32; b. messudag, sunnudag, to proclaim a holy day, N. G. L. i. 348.

IV. of a mental state, to bode, forebode; e-m býðr hugr (cp. hugboð, foreboding), one’s heart bodes, Fms. v. 38, 24, Eg. 21; mér býðr þat eitt í skap ( my heart bodes), at þú verðir meira stýrandi en nú ertu, Bs. i. 468; mér byðr þat fyrir, which makes me forbode, Fms. ii. 193; e-m býðr hugr við (whence viðbjóðr, dislike), to abhor, dislike; er honum hafði lengi hugr við boðit, Bs. i. 128.

2. impers., mér býðr ávallt hita (acc.) er ek kem í þeirra flokk, a boding comes over me, i. e. I feel uneasy, whenever …, Fms. iii. 189; mér bauð ótta (acc.), I felt a thrilling, Bs. i. 410; b. úþekt, to loathe, Grett. 111 A; b. þekt, to feel pleasure; bauð þeim mikla þekt er þeir sá líkit, Bs. i. 208: the phrase, e-m býðr við at horfa, of a frame of mind, to be so and so minded; miklir eru þér frændr borði, ef yðr býðr svá við at horfa, Band. 7 (MS. 2845).

β. the phrase, þat býðr, it beseems, becomes; eptir þat fer veizla fram, eptir því sem býðr, as is due, Fms. x. 15, Fb. l. c. has byrjaði; sem býðr um svá ágætan höfðingja, Fms. x. 149.

V. with prepp.; b. fram, Lat. proferre, to produce; b. fram vitni, to produce a witness, Eg. 472; með fram boðnum fégjöfum, Sturl. iii. 232; b. upp, b. af hendi, to give up, leave off; þá býðr hann upp hornit, gives up the horn, will not drink more, Edda 32; b. undan, a law term, to lay claim to; er þá kostr at b. undan þeim manni varðveizluna fjárins, Grág. i. 196; eigi skal undan manni b., áðr undir mann kemr féit, id.; cp. the following chapter, which treats ‘um undan-boð fjár;’ nú eru þeir menn svá þrír, at eigi býðr undan fjárvarðveizluna, viz. who are privileged guardians of the property of a minor, viz. father, brother, mother, and who cannot be outbidden, 192; b. við, a trade term, to make a bid; b. við tvenn verð, to bid double, Ld. 146; ek býð þér jafnmörg stóðhross við, id.; at þú byðir Rúti bróður þínum sæmiliga, 66; kaupa svá jörð sem aðrir menn b. við, N. G. L. i. 95: b. fyrir is now more usual.

VI. part. pass. boðinn used as an adj., esp. in the alliterative phrase, vera boðinn ok búinn til e-s, to be ready and willing to do a thing, to be at one’s service; skulu vér bræðr vera búnir ok boðnir til þess sem þér vilit okkr til nýta, Eg. 50; til þess skal ek boðinn ok búinn at ganga at þeim málum fyrir þina hönd, Ld. 792.

* * *

(vinn; vann, unnum, unninn), v.

1) to work, labour, do work (Ásmundr vildi lítit vinna);

vinna á akri ok plœgja, to work in the field and plough;

2) to work, till, cultivate (vinna akr, jörðina);

3) to work, perform, do;

vinna verk sin, to do one’s work;

þat verðr hverr at vinna, er ætlat er, every one must do the work that is set before him;

þér hafið mikit stórvirki unnit, ye have done a great deed;

vinna eið, sœri, to take an oath;

vinna bœtr á e-u, to redress;

vinna e-m beinleika, beina, to show hospitality to one;

vinna e-m geig, bana, to work harm, death, to one;

vinna e-m úsœmd, to bring shame, disgrace on one;

vinna e-m bót (illt), to do one good (harm);

vinna e-m hefnd, to take revenge on;

4) vinna e-m, to wait upon, attend to, tend (Höskuldr bað hana vinna þeim hjónum);

5) to win, gain;

vinna orrustu, sigr, to gain a battle, victory;

vinna sigr á e-m, to obtain a victory over, defeat, one;

6) to win, conquer (vinna land, borgir, skip);

vinna e-t aptr, to recover by conquest, reconquer (vinna aptr þat ríki, er látit er);

7) to overcome, master, get the better of (þeir ætla, at þeim muni illa sœkjast at vinna oss);

8) to avail (veit ek eigi, hvat þat vinnr);

e-t vinnr e-m þörf, it suffices, is sufficient for one (þörf vinnr hverjum presti at segja eina messu);

vinna e-m at fullu, to be quite sufficient for one, do away with, kill (tók hann sótt þá, er honum vann at fullu);

9) to withstand, with dat., = vinna við e-u;

sköpum viðr (= vinnr) manngi, no man can withstand his fate;

10) followed by an a. or pp., to make (vinna e-n sáran, reiðan, barðan, felldan);

vann hann yfirkominn Harald, he succeeded in vanquishing H.;

vinna hefnt, to take revenge;

vinna annat, to prove;

11) to reach (smíðuðu einn stöpul, þann er þeir ætluðu at vinna skyldi til himins);

12) with preps., vinna at e-u, to be busy with (vinna at heyi);

vinna at svínum, sauðfé, to tend swine, sheep;

fá ekki at unnit, to effect nothing (ekki munu þér fá at unnit svá búit);

vinna at e-m, to do away with, kill (þat var markat á tjaldinu, at Sigurðr vann at Fáfni);

vinna e-t á, to do, effect (höfum vér mikit á unnit í várri ferð);

vinna á e-m, to do one bodily injury, = vinna áverka á e-m (með þann hug at vinna á Gunnari);

vinna e-t til e-s, to do one thing in order to obtain or effect another (vildi hann vinna þat til sættar með þeim brœðrum);

þat vil ek til vinna, that I am ready to do;

vinna til e-s, to make oneself worthy of, deserve (vinna til dauða);

vinna til fjár ok frægðar, to act so as to gain money and fame;

vinna við e-u, to withstand (mátti hann ok eigi við sköpum vinna né sínu aldrlagi);

vinna e-n yfir, to overcome;

13) refl., vinnast, to last, suffice;

meðan dagrinn vannst, as long as the day lasted;

Illugi elti hann meðan eyin vannst, to the end of the island;

festrin vannst eigi til jarðar, the rope was not long enough to touch the ground;

þar sátu konur úti frá sem vannst, as there was room;

ek vinnst eigi til þér at launa, I am unable to reward thee;

ekki unnust þau mjök fyrir, they did little to support themselves;

recipr., vinnast á, to wound one another.

f. work, labour;

vera at vinnu, to be at work.

* * *

pres. vinn, vinnr, older viðr, Gkv. 2. 30, Fms. vii. 239 (in a verse), Edda i. 492, Am. 45, Ad. 21, etc.; pret. vann, vannt (mod. vanst), vann; pl. unnu; subj. ynni; imperat. vinn; part. unninn (vunnu, vynni, vunninn): with suffixed pers. pron. vinn’k, Hm. 158; vann’k, Bkv. 2. 26: pres. reflex. vinnz, Grág. (Kb.) i. 3, 85, 86: pret. vannz, Stj. 131, and passim: with suffixed neg. vant-attu, thou workedest not, Hkv. 2. 20; plur. vinna-t, 2. 21; [Ulf. winnan = πάσχειν, ὀδυνασθαι; A. S., O. H. G., and Hel. winnan; Engl. win; Dan. vinde; Swed. vinna.]

A. To work, labour, of any household work, as also in a wider sense; fasta ok vinna til nóns, Dipl. ii. 14; hann var félauss ok vann til matar sér, worked for his food, 656 C. 24; þessi er svá röskliga vann, worked so well, Nj. 270; þat verðr hverr at vinna sem ætlað er, 10; vinna hvárt er vill, to do whichever he will, Grág. (Kb.) i. 99; eiga sem mest at vinna, to be very busy, Nj. 97; Ásmuudr vildi lítið vinna, would not work, Grett. 90; þrællinn vann allt þat er hann vildi … at honum þætti þrællinn lítið vinna, Nj. 73; hvat er þér hentast at vinna (?), 54; vinna verk sín, to do one’s work, Eg. 759; vinna e-m beinleika, beina, reiðu, to do one service, attend on him as a guest, Fs. 52, MS. 623. 52, 54: ellipt., vinna e-m, to wait upon, tend; bað hana vinna þeim hjónum, Ld. 34.

2. to work, till, cultivate; þeim manni er jörðina vinnr ok erviðar, Stj. 30; vinnit hana (the earth) ok plægit, 187.

II. to work, perform; nú hefir þú þat unnit er þú munt eigi með feðr mínum lengr vera, Nj. 129; vinna e-m geig, bana, to work harm, death to, 253, Fbr. (in a verse), Korm. 116; v. e-m úsæmd, Fs. 32; vinna e-m bót, to do good; er mörgum manni vann bót þeim er aðrar mein-vættir görðu mein, Landn. 211, Hkr. iii. 69; vinna bætr á e-u, to redress. Eg. 519; vinna e-m hefnd, to take revenge on: of feats, prowess, deeds, hvat vanntú meðan (?), Hbl.; keisari vann þar mikinn hernað, Fms. xi. 301; herja ok vinna margs kyns frægðar-verk, … af stórverkjum þeim er hann vann, x. 231, 232.

2. to win, gain; vann hann aptr borgir ok kastala, Fms. x. 231; vita ef ek mega aptr vinna þat ríki er látið er, id.; hann viðr sér frama, Fas. ii. 472; vinna mikla sæmd, Fms. i. 96; vinna land, kastala = expugnare, i. 23, vii. 79, x. 414; vinna undir sik allan Noreg, i. 4, 87; vinna orrostu, to gain a battle, vii. 123; vinna sigr, to gain a victory, i. 85, x. 231, passim; er vunninn var Ormrinn langi, iii. 29.

3. to conquer, vanquish; er hann vann konung svá ágætan, Fas. i. 34; vinnr Sigmundr hann skjótt, Fær. 82; at Egill ynni flesta menn í leikum, Eg. 191.

4. to avail; veit ek eigi hvat þat vinnr, Fms. vii. 160; margir lögðu gott til ok vann þat ekki, Sturl. iii. 261; vinna e-m þörf, to suffice, be sufficient, do, Grág. i. 457, Orkn. 138; þörf vinnr hverjum presti at segja eina messu, H. E. i. 473; nægisk mér ok þörf vinnr, ef son minn Joseph lifir, Stj. 221; mætti þörf vinna lengi at ærnu lítið mjöl. Blas. 43; þá tók hann sótt þá er honum vann at fullu, Fms. xi. 2; galdrinn vann honum at fullu, i. 100.

5. special usages; vinna eið, særi …, to take an oath, Grág., Nj., passim; þeir unnu honum land ok trúnað, swore homage to him, Fms. x. 401.

6. to make, followed by an adjective or participle; hann vann væltan hann, Post. 645. 68; hrútr, er hann mátti eigi heimtan vinna, Grág. i. 419; með sínum vælræðum vann hann yfir kominn Harald, Fms. x. 257; ef goðinn viðr eigi dóm fullan áðr sól komi á þingvöll þá er hann útlagr, Grág. (Kb.) i. 50; ef hann viðr dóminn fullan, 80; ef hann viðr eigi heimilt, ii. 142: esp. in poët. phrases, vinna e-n felldan, barðan, sáran, reiðan, hræddan, to make fallen, i. e. to fell, etc.; as also, vinna brotið = to break; vinna hefnt, to take revenge; vinna svarat e-u, to respond to, Lex. Poët.; Paulus vann þat sannat, at …, Post. (Unger) 231.

III. with dat. to withstand (ellipt. for vinna við …?); sköpum viðr manngi, Am. 45; vinnat skjöldungar sköpum, Hkv. 2. 21; ek vætr honum vinna kunna’k, Vkv. 39; munat sköpum vinna, Skv. 1. 53; Korm. 104 (in a verse).

IV. to suffer, undergo; according to the Gothic this would be the original sense, but it only remains in such phrases as, vinna víl, vinna vás, Lex. Poët.; vinna eld, to suffer fire, Fms. viii. 9.

V. with prepp.; vinna at, to ‘win to’ a thing, effect; þeir fá ekki at unnit, Fms. vii. 270; drekinn vinnr síðan at honum, does away with him, Stj.; vinna at sauðfé, svínum, to tend sheep, swine, Dropl. 16, Rm. 12; vinna at segli, to manage, attend to the sail, Grett. 94 B:—vinna á, to make, effect; höfum vér mikit á unnit, Fms. xi. 264; þú munt mikit á vinna um þetta mál, Fas. i. 459: to do one bodily harm, kill, ef griðungr viðr á manni, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 188; ef fé viðr á fé, i. 192; maðr vinnr á manni, Nj. 100, Lv. 29; á-unnin verk, bodily injuries, Kb. i. 145; maðr á sín at hefna, ef vill, sá er á verðr unnit, 147:—vinna fyrir, ok var ekki fyrir unnit um sumarit, Þorf. Karl. 414; vinna fyrir sér; vinna fyrir mat sínum, to win one’s food; hann vinnr ekki fyrir mat sínum, he wins not his bread (mat-vinnungr):—þat vinn ek til eingis at svíkja þá er mér trúa, Band. 31 new Ed.; vildi hann vinna þat til sættar með þeim bræðrum, Fms. iv. 17; hann hirti ekki hvat hann vann til ef hann fengi þat, x. 7; þat vil ek til vinna, Nj. 170; mun ek heldr þat til vinna at giptask Þorbirni, Ld. 70; vilja gjarna nökkut við hann til vinna, Fær. 25; það er ekki til vinnandi, it is not worth the trouble; fé því er ek vann til, earned, Eg. 519:—vinna við e-u, to withstand; sköpum viðr manngi, mátti hann eigi við sköpum vinna né sínu aldrlagi, Fas. i. 199:—vinna e-n yfir (Dan. overvinde), to overcome, Fms. iii. 156, Finnb. 266.

B. Reflex., ekki unnusk þau mjök fyrir, they did little to support themselves, Ld. 146; láta fyrir vinnask, to forbear, desist from; þó skal enn eigi láta fyrir vinnask, Fms. vii. 116; Þorgeirr lét eigi fyrir vinnask um þetta mál, Rd. 296; lét prestrinn fyrir vinnask of umbræðuna þaðan frá, Bs. i. 341.

2. to last, suffice; alla þessa þrjá daga vannsk (vannz Ed.) þeirra vegr, Stj. 131; ríki Assyriorum vannsk ( lasted) um þúsund ára, 140; Illugi elti hann meðan eyin vannsk, to the end of the island, Grett. 172 new Ed.; meðan dagrinn vannsk, as long as the day lasted, till evening, Fas. iii. 4; festrin vannsk eigi til jarðar, the rope was not long enough to touch the ground, Fms. ix. 3: to reach, smíðuðu stöpul þann er vinna(sk) skyldi til himins, Edda (pref.); þar sátu konur úti frá sem vannsk, as there was room, Fms. x. 16; skyldi drekka saman karlmaðr ok kona svá sem til ynnisk, Eg. 247; meðan Jólin ynnisk, Hkr. i. 138 (vynnisk, Fms. 1. 32, l. c.); Ketill bað Eyvind svá vítt nema land at þeim ynnisk báðum til vel, Rd. 231; ef eigi vinnsk til (fé) til hvárs-tveggja, Grág. i. 288; fé þat skulu þeir hafa sem vinnsk, … ef fé vinnsk (vinnz Ed.) betr (Dan. slaae til), Grág. (Kb.) i. 85, 86; fé svá at vinnask mætti at ærnu þúsund manna, 623. 21; þess viðar er vinnask megi mál ok misseri, Hm. 59; ef hánum vinnsk (vinnz) eigi fróðleikr til þess, Grág. (Kb.) i. 209; vér trúum orku, afli ok sigr-sæli, ok vinnsk oss þat at gnógn, Ó. H. 202 (cp. ‘vinna þörf’ above); ek vinnumk eigi til þér at launa, I am unable to reward thee, Finnb. 238; ek vinnumk eigi at dýrka þitt nafn, Barl. 181.

II. recipr., vinnask á, to wound one another; þar er menn vinnask á, Grág.; þau vinnask á þann áverka, er …, Kb. ii. 40; vinnask á enum meirum sárum, K. Þ. K. 116.

* * *

1) except, save, but;

þoriga ek segja nema þér einum, I dare not tell any one save thee alone;

engi … nema, no … but, no (not any) other than (Grani vildi undir øngum manni ganga nema Sigurði);

2) with subj. unless;

engir þóttu lögligir dómar dœmdir, nema hann væri við, unless he had a hand in them;

3) save that;

nema ek hálsaða herjans stilli einu sinni, save that I once fell on the king’s neck;

4) veit ek eigi nema, hverr veit nema, I don’t know, (who knows) but that;

may be, perhaps (hverr veit nema ek verða víða frægr um síðir);

5) því at eins, nema, only in the case, if;

ráðit þér því at eins á þá nema þér séð allir sem øruggastir, do not attack them unless you are all most steadfast and dauntless;

6) nema heldr, but rather (eigi má þat menn kalla, nema heldr hunda);

7) nor, = né, hvárki sverð nema øxi, neither sword nor axe.

(nem; nam, námum; numinn), v.

1) to take, take in use, take possession of (ef þú nemr þér jörð á Íslandi);

nema land, to take possession of land, as a settler (hann nam Eyjafjörð allan);

nema konu, to carry off, abduct a woman;

nema stað or staðar, stop, halt (hér munum vér stað or staðar nema);

nema yndi, to find rest in a place (hvárki nam hann yndi á Íslandi né í Noregi);

2) nema e-n e-u, to bereave one of a thing (nema e-n höfði, aldri, fjörvi);

3) to reach, touch (pilzit var svá sítt, at nam hæl);

hvárt nam þik eða eigi, did it touch thee or not? þótt þik nótt um nemi, though the night overtake thee;

4) to amount to, be equivalent to (honum þótti landauðn nema);

5) as an auxiliary verb, with infin.;

hann nam at vaxa ok vel dafna, he grew apace and throve well;

inn nam at ganga, he stepped in;

6) to percieve, catch, hear, of sound;

varð þá svá mikit úhljóð, at engi nam annars mál, that no one could hear the other’s voice;

eigi skulu vér þat mál svá nema, we shall not understand it so;

7) to learn (nema lög, fjölkyngi);

to learn by heart (vísur þessar námu margir);

nema e-t at (or af) e-m, to learn, get information, about a thing from one (Glúmr hafði numit þenna atburð at þeim manni, er hét Arnór);

8) with preps. and advs.:

nema e-t af, to abolish (var sú heiðni af numin sem önnur);

nema brott konu, to carry off a woman;

nema eptir e-u, to imitate;

nema e-t frá, to except (nema konur eða þeir menn, er hann næmi frá);

nema e-t upp, to pick up (nam ek upp rúnar);

nema við, to resist, make a stand (hann vill enn við nema, þótt liðsmunr væri mikill);

to stop, halt (þar námu þeir Hrafn við í nesinu);

nema við e-u, to touch (gaddhjaltit nam við borðinu);

to be a hindrance to (ef þat nemr við förinni, at þú þykkist hafa fé of lítit);

impers., nemr við e-u, there is an obstacle, or stop (en er þeir kómu at kirkjudurum, þá nam þar við);

9) refl., nemast e-t, to refuse, withhold from doing;

nemast förina, to refuse to go;

nemast orðsendingar hans, to disregard his messages;

also with infin. (hann bað hann eigi nemast með öllu at gøra sem bœndr vildu).

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conj. [compounded of the negative particle ne, and the adverb if or ef (q. v.) in an older dissyllabic form ifa; for the change of f into m see the introduction; cp. Ulf. nibai; A. S. nemne, nimne; O. H. G. nibu, nibi, nubi; Hel. nebu; early Swed. num; cp. Lat. ni-si, see Grimm’s Gramm. iii. 724.]

B. Except, save, but; manngi, nema einn Agnarr, Gm. 2; nema þér einum, Vkv. 24; allra nema einna, 26, Ls. 11; nema við þat lík at lifa, Hm. 96; nema sá einn Áss, Ls. 11; hvar kómu feðr várir þess, … hvar nema alls hvergi? Ísl. ii. 236; öngu nema lífinu, Nj. 7; öllu gózi nema búinu, Fms. ix. 470; engi nema þú einn, Barl. 207; engi nema Bergþórr, Fms. vii. 141; kom viðrinn á kirkju-sand, nema tvau tré kómu á Raufarnes, save that two trees came to R., Landn. 51, v. l.; Ólafr hafði mörg sár ok flest smá, nema tvau vóru nökkvi mest, Fb. i. 501; nema ek hélt, Óg. 23; þeir blandask eyvitar við aðra ísa nema sér einum heldr hann, Sks. 176 B; vætki of sýti’k nema hræðumk helvíti, Hallfred; lét Koðran skíra sik ok hjú hans öll, nema Ormr vildi eigi við trú taka, Bs. i. 5.

II. with subj. unless; aldrei, nema okkr væri báðum borit, Ls 9; nema þú hánum vísir … eða mey nemir, Hkv. 1. 19; nema ek dauðr sjá’k, 20; nema geðs viti, Hm. 19; nema hann mæli til mart, 26; nema haldendr eigi, 28; nema til kynnis komi, 32; nema reisi niðr at nið, 71; nema einir viti, 97; nema ek þik hafa, Hkv. Hjörv. 7; nema sjálfr ali, Stor. 16; nema þeir felldi hann, Edda 36; öngir þóttu lögligir dómar nema hann væri í, Nj. 1; nema maðr verði sjúkr eða sárr, Grág. i. 141; nema lands-fólkit kristnaðisk, Hkr. i. 248; nema mér banni hel, Fb. ii. 59; hann heyrði eigi nema æpt væri at honum, Fms. iv. 204, and in countless instances in old and mod. usage.

2. in phrases such as ‘veit ek eigi nema …,’ like Lat. nescio an, implying an affirmation; þú veizt eigi nema sá verði fégjarn, Sks. 28; nú veit ek eigi nema nökkurr verði virðing af at hafa þessu máli, Band. 34 new Ed.; hverr veit nema ek verða víða frægr um síðir, who can tell but that I shall be a widely known man some day? Fms. vi. (in a verse); nú veit ek eigi nema yðr þykki minna vega mín reiði en Sigurðar konungs, now know I not if, vii. 141; eigi veit ek nema þetta væri ráðligt, en eigi má ek þat vita …, viii. 95:—with indic., kveðkat ek dul nema hún hefir, there is no doubt but that she has, Ýt. 7; hver sé if nema rögn stýra, who can doubt that? Vellekla.

III. irreg. usages; ef nokkurr maðr ferr á jörðu, nema (in the case that, supposing that) sá vili á búa, sem fé á í jörðu, þá rænir sá hann, Gþl. 357: því at eins, nema, only in that case, if ( but not else); ráðit þér því at eins á þá nema pér sét allir sem öruggastir, only in the case if, i. e. do not attack them unless, Nj. 228; því at eins mun hann sættask vilja, nema hann gjaldi ekki, 254; skal hann því at eins í braut hafa þann hval, nema hann láti bera vitni, Jb. 326: þat man því at eins, nema ek nái ráða-hag við Melkorku, Ld. 70; því at eins ferjanda, nema fjörbaugr komi fram, Nj. 240; oss þykkir þú því at eins veita skylda þjónustu konungi, nema þú leggir af tignar-klæðin, Fms. ix. 432.

2. nema heldr, but rather; eigi má þat menn kalla, nema heldr hunda, not men, but rather dogs, Bær. 9; sver ek eigi at eins fyrir mik, nema heldr fyrir allra þeirra sálir, Gþl. 69; hón hafði eigi hreinlífi at eins, nema heldr ok alla gæzku, Hom. 128; nema enn, but on the contrary; at glæpask eigi lengr í félags-skap við Philistim, nema enn skulu þér …, Stj. 412, 428, 442: eigi at eins óttaðisk hann um sjálfs síns líf, nema jamvel um alla aðra sína frændr, but also, Barl. 73: fyrr nema = fyrr enn, fyrr skal dólga dynr, nema ek dauðr sják (= fyrr en ek sé dauðr), Hkv. 1. 20:—hefi ek vist sét þat gull, at öngum mun er verra, nema betra sé, which is not worse, if it is not even better, Fb. i. 348.

pres. nem; pret. nam, namt, nam, pl. námu; subj. næmi; part. numinn, older nominn, N. G. L. i. 200, Hom. 100; with neg., suff. nam-a, Hkv. 2. 15; a pret. numdi in mod. usage, formed from the part. numinn, as if from a verb nymja; örvaðist geð á allan hátt er eg numdi sjónum föður-landið heldr hátt hafít upp úr sjónum, Eggert: [Ulf. niman = λαμβάνειν; A. S. neman; Germ. nehmen; freq. in Early Engl.; in mod. Engl., where it is superseded by the Scandin. taka, it survives in nimble and numb = A. S. be-numen = lcel. numinn.]

A. To take; the use of the word in this, its proper sense, is limited, for taka (q. v.) is the general word, whereas nema remains in special usages; nema upp, to pick up, Hm. 140; nema e-n ór nauðum, Fsm.; þar er gull numit upp í söndum, Rb. 350; at hann nemr hann ór kviðnum, ok kveða á hvert hann nemr hann ór sínu órnámi, eða annars manns, Grág. i. 51; reifa mál þeirra er ór dóminum eru numnir, 79; hann á kost at nema þá upp alla senn, 51:—nema af, to abolish; þessi heiðni var af numin á fára vetra fresti, Nj. 165, Íb. 4:—nema frá, to except; nema konur eða þeir menn er hann næmi frá, 5; á þeim tíðum er uú eru frá numnar, Grág. i. 325:—upp numinn, taken up into heaven; Enoch var upp numinn, Stj. 41.

2. to take by force, seize upon; þá menn er konu hafa numit ( carried off), Grág. i. 354; hann nam sér konu af Grikklandi, Rb. 404; Jupiter þá er hann nam Europam, 732. 17; Björn nam Þóru á brott, Eg. 155; ek nam konu þessa er hér er hjá mér, Nj. 131; hann segir hann hafa numit sik í burt af Grænlandi undan Sólar-fjöllum, Bárð. 32 new Ed.: nema nes-nám, Danir ok Svíar herjuðu mjök í Vestr-víking ok kómu þá opt í Eyjarnar er þeir fóru vestr eða vestan, ok námu þar nesnám, Fms. iv. 229, (see nesnám, landnám):—in a lawful sense, nema land, to take possession of a land, as a settler (landnám II); hann nam Eyjafjörð allan.

3. nema e-n e-u, to bereave one of a thing; nema e-n höfði, aldri, fjörvi, Gkv. 2. 31, 42; verða ek á fitjum þeim er mik Niðaðar námu rekkar, Vkv.; hví namtú hann sigri þá? Em. 6; sigri numnir, Fms. xi. 306 (in a verse); numinn máli, bereft of speech, Geisli 34; fjörvi numna, life-bereft, Eb. (in a verse); hann lá þar lami ok öllu megni numinn, Hom. 116; þar til er lands-menn námu þá ráðum, used force, coerced them, Bs. i. 24; ríkir menn verða þá ráðum nomnir, Hom. 100; ef hann vill eigi nema trúa því, if he will not believe it, N. G. L. i. 88.

4. to reach, touch, hit; í hvítu pilzi, þat var svá sítt at þat nam hæl, Fas. ii. 343; nema hjöltin við neðra gómi, Edda 20; allir þeir sem oddrinn nam, Skíða R. 183; hvárt nam þik eðr eigi! Nj. 97; ok nema hann þar nauðsynjar, at hann má eigi lík færa, and if he is held back by necessity, N. G. L. i. 14, K. Á. 70; þótt þik nótt um nemi, if the night overtake thee, Sdm. 26: hence the saying, láta þar nótt sem nemr, to leave it to the night as it takes one = to take no care of the morrow:—nema stað, to take up one’s position, halt, Nj. 133, 197, Fms. i. 167, vii. 68, Eg. 237.

5. spec. phrases; Kolskeggr nam þar eigi yndi, Nj. 121; ef hann vildi þar staðfestask ok nema yndi, Fms. i. 103:—nema staðar = nema stað, Nj. 54, 205, 265, Ld. 104, Stj. 486, Fms. i. 206: of a weapon, hefi ek þat sverð er hvergi nemr í höggi stað, I have so keen a sword that it never stops in its stroke, i. e. it cuts clean through anything, Fas. ii. 535; oddrinn nam í brynjunni staðar, Al. 76; svá at staðar nam (naf Cod. Reg.) höndin við sporðinn, Edda 40; nema hvíld, to take rest, Alm. 1; nema veiðar, to take the prey, to hunt, Hým. 1.

6. to amount to, be equivalent to; ef eigi nemr kúgildi, Grág. ii. 233; honum þótti landauðn nema, Íb. 4; það nemr öngu, litlu, miklu, it is of no, of small, of great importance; bríkr þær er greyping hefir numit, Gþl. 345.

7. nema við, to strike against so as to stop, come no further; nam þar við ok gékk eigi lengra, Fms. xi. 278; en gadd-hjaltið nam við borðinu, Eb. 36.

8. metaph. to stop, halt; hér munu vér við nema, Finnb. 236; þar námu þeir Hrafn við í nesinu, Ísl. ii. 266; hann býsk við, ok vill enn við nema, þótt liðs-munr væri mikill, Bjarn. 54; konungr verðr glaðr við er hann skal fyrir hafa funnit þá menn er eigi spara viðr at nema, Al. 46; en ef þat nemr við förinni, at þú þykisk hafa fé oflítið, þá …, Ld. 70; er þat úvizka at bera eigi slíkt, ok mun þat eigi við nema, Glúm. 327; at konungr mundi fátt láta við nema, at sættir tækisk, i. e. that he would do anything for the sake of peace, Eg. 210.

II. as an auxiliary verb, emphatic, like Engl. do, did, with infin.; Höðr nam skjóta (H. did shoot) … sá nam einnættr vega, Vsp. 37; þá nam at vaxa, Hkv. 1. 9; hann nam at vaxa (he ‘took to growing’) ok vel dafna, Rm. 19; inn nam at ganga, 2; lind nam at skelfa, 9, 35; nam hón sér Högna heita at rúnum, Skv. 3. 14; róa námu ríki, they did row mightily, Am. 35; nam hann vittugri valgaldr kveða, Vtkv. 4; nama Högna mær of hug mæla, Hkv. 2. 15; þat nam at mæla, Og. 9: seldom in prose, ek nam eigi trúa á þat er hann sagði, Post.; Falka hestr Þiðreks nemr þetta at sjá, Þiðr. 117.

B. Metaph. to take in a mental sense or by the senses, to perceive, like Lat. apprehendere, comprehendere, freq. in old and mod. usage:

I. to perceive, catch, hear, of sound; en svá mikill ákafi var at hvassleik veðrsins þá er konungr tók at mæla, at varla námu þeir er næstir vóru, Fms. viii. 55; sem þeir vóru langt brottu komnir, svá at þó mátti nema kail milli þeirra ok manna Saul, Stj. 486; þeir skulu svá nær sitjask, at hvárirtveggju nemi orð annarra, Grág. i. 69; engi nam mál annars, Nj. 164; mál nam í milli þeirra, Fms. v. 31; eigi skulu vér þat mál svá nema, we shall not understand it so, Hom. 156.

II. to learn; klök nam fugla, Rm.; hann hafði numit svá lög, at hann var enn þriðr mestr laga-maðr á Íslandi, Nj. 164; inir hæstu turnar hafa numit honum at hníga, Al. 90; nú var Þórir þar ok nam þar fjölkyngi, Fb. iii. 245; Óðinn var göfgastr, ok at honum námu þeir allir íþróttirnar, Hkr. i; nema nám, to take in, acquire learning, Bs. i. 92, 127; see nám:—to ‘catch,’ learn by heart, þær kváðu vísur þessar en hann nam, Nj. 275; vísur þessar námu menn þegar, Ó. H. 207; en hinn nemi, er heyrir á, Darrl.; Þórdís nam þegar vísuna, Gísl. 33:—to learn from, þvar namtu þessi hnæfilegu orð? nam ek at mönnum …, Hbl.; nema ráð, Hm.; menn nemi mál mín ! Ó. H. (in a verse):—nema e-t at e-m, to learn something, derive information from one, ek hefi hér verit at nema kunnustu at Finnum, Fms. i. 8; hann nam lögspeki at Þorsteini, Ísl. ii. 205; hann nam kunnáttu at Geirríði, Eb. 44; Glúmr hafði numit þenna atburð at þeim manni er hét Arnórr, Fms. i. 266; en Oddr nam at Þorgeiri afráðs-koll …, Ari nam ok marga fræði at Þuríði Snorra dóttur Goða … hann hafði numit af gömlum mönnum ok vitrum, … eptir því sem vér höfum numit af fróðum mönnum, … þótt hverr maðr hafi síðan numit at öðrum, … ok hafa menn síðan at þeim numit, Ó. H. (pref.); nemi þér af mér, Fms. viii. 55.

C. Reflex., prop. to take, seize for oneself:

1. to take by force; ef maðr nemsk konu, ok samþykkjask þau síðan, þá …, H. E. i. 247.

β. to stop; ok hafða ek þat sverð, sem aldri hefir í höggi stað numisk (= numit), Fas. ii. 208; friðr namsk, ceased.

γ. to refuse, withhold from doing; hann bað hann eigi nemask með öllu at göra sem bændr vildu, Hkr. i. 142; hverr bóndi er þat nemsk ( who makes default), gjaldi …, K. Á. 40; þar var kominn fjöldi liðs ór Austr-löndum til móts við hann, ok námusk förina ( refused to go) ef hann kæmi eigi, Fb. ii. 71; en ef maðr nemsk leiðangrs-görð, eðr leiðangrs-ferð, þá hafi ármaðr sótt þat fyrr en skip komi á hlunn, … at hann hafi leiðangr görvan ok eigi fyrir nomisk, N. G. L. i. 200; en þó vil ek eigi fyrir minn dauða at nemask ( disregard) hans orðsendingar, O. H. L. 29.

2. to learn; láttú nemask þat, learn, take heed that, Skv. 1, passim; eptir þetta nemask af aptrgöngur hans, Ld. 54.

II. part. numinn, as adj. numb, seized, palsied; hann var allr numinn öðrum megin, ok mátti eigi mæla hálfum munni, Ann.; þá varð ek sem ek væra numinn, Mar.; vera frá sér numinn, to be beside oneself, from joy, astonishment, or the like, cp. the references above (A. 3).

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prep. w. dat.

I. Of place:

1) off, from;

G. hljóp af hesti sínum, G. jumped off his horse;

ganga af mótinu, to go away from the meeting;

Flosi kastaði af sér skikkjunni, threw off his cloak;

Gizzur gekk af útsuðri at gerðinu, from the south-west;

hann hafði leyst af sér skúa sína, he had taken off his shoes;

Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér, throw him off;

tók Gísli þá af sér vápnin, took off his arms;

bréf af Magnúsi konungi, a letter from king Magnus;

land af landi, from one land to the other;

hverr af öðrum, one after another, in succession;

vil ek þú vinnir af þér skuldina, work off the debt;

muntu enga sætt af mér fá, no peace at my hand;

rísa af dauða, to rise from the dead;

vakna af draumi, to awaken from a dream;

lúka upp af hrossi, to open a gate from off a horse;

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

2) out of;

verða tekinn af heimi, to be taken out of the world;

gruflar hón af læknum, she scrambles out of the brook;

Otradalr var mjök af vegi, far out of the way.

Connected with út; föstudaginn fór út herrinn af borginni, marched out of the town.

II. Of time; past, beyond:

af ómagaaldri, able to support oneself, of age;

ek em nú af léttasta skeiði, no longer in the prime of life;

þá er sjau vikur eru af sumri, when seven weeks of summer are past;

var mikit af nótt, much of the night was past.

III. In various other relations:

1) þiggja lið af e-m, to receive help from one;

hafa umboð af e-m, to be another’s deputy;

vera góðs (ills) maklegr af e-m, to deserve good (bad) of one;

féll þar lið mart af Eyvindi, many of Eyvind’s men fell there;

þá eru þeir útlagir ok af goðorði sínu, have forfeited their goðorð;

þá skalt þú af allri fjárheimtunni, forfeit all the claim;

ek skal stefna þér af konunni, summon thee to give up;

2) off, of;

höggva fót, hönd, af e-m, to cut off one’s foot, hand;

vil ek, at þú takir slíkt sem þér líkar af varningi, whatever you like of the stores;

þar lá forkr einn ok brotit af endanum, with the point broken off;

absol., beit hann höndina af, bit the hand off;

fauk af höfuðit, the head flew off;

3) of, among;

hinn efniligasti maðr af ungum mönnum, the most promising of the young men;

4) with;

hláða, (ferma) skip af e-u, to load (freight) a ship with;

fylla heiminn af sínu kyni, to fill the world with his offspring;

5) of (= ór which is more frequent);

húsit var gert af timbr stokkum, was built of trunks of trees;

6) fig., eigi vita menn hvat af honum er orðit, what has become of him;

hvat hefir þú gert af Gunnari, what hast thou done with Gunnar?;

7) denoting parentage, descent, origin;

ok eru af þeim komnir Gilsbekkingar, are descended from them;

kominn af Trójumönnum, descended from the Trojans;

8) by, of (after passive);

ek em sendr hingat af Starkaði, sent hither by;

ástsæll af landsmónnum, beloved of;

9) on account of, by reason of, by;

úbygðr at frosti ok kulda, because of frost and cold;

ómáli af áverkum, speechless from wounds;

af ástæld hans, by his popularity;

af því, therefore;

af hví, wherefor why;

af því at, because;

10) by means of, by;

framfœra e-n af verkum sínum, by means of his own labour;

af sínu fé, by one’s own means;

absol., hann fekk af hina mestu sœmd, derived great honour from it;

11) with adjectives, in regard to;

mildr af fé, liberal of money;

góðr af griðum, merciful;

fastr af drykk, close (stingy) in regard to drink;

12) used absol. with a verb, off away;

hann bað hann þá róa af fjörðinn, to row the firth off;

ok er þeir höfðu af fjörðung, when they had covered one forth of the way;

sofa af nóttina, to sleep the night away.

* * *

prep. often used elliptically by dropping the case, or even merely adverbially, [Ulf. af; A. S. and Engl. of, off; Hel. ab; Germ. ab; Gr. άπό; Lat. a, ab.] With dat. denoting a motion a loco; one of the three prepp. af, ór, frá, corresponding to those in loco—á, í, við, and ad locum—á, í, at. It in general corresponds to the prepp. in loco—á, or in locum— til, whilst ór answers more to í; but it also frequently corresponds to yfir, um or í. It ranges between ór and frá, generally denoting the idea from the surface of, while ór means from the inner part, and frá from the outer part or border. The motion from a hill, plain, open place is thus denoted by af; by ór that from an enclosed space, depth, cavity, thus af fjalli, but ór of a valley, dale; af Englandi, but ór Danmörk, as mörk implies the notion of a deep wood, forest. The wind blows af landi, but a ship sets sail frá landi; frá landi also means a distance from: af hendi, of a glove, ring; ór hendi, of whatever has been kept in the hand (correl. to á hendi and í hendi). On the other hand af is more general, whilst frá and ór are of a more special character; frá denoting a departure, ór an impulse or force; a member goes home af þingi, whereas ór may denote an inmate of a district, or convey the notion of secession or exclusion from, Eb. 105 new Ed.; the traveller goes af landi, the exile ór landi: taka e-t af e-m is to take a thing out of one’s hand, that of taka frá e-m to remove out of one’s sight, etc. In general af answers to Engl. of, off, ór to out of, and frá to from: the Lat. prepp. ab, de, and ex do not exactly correspond to the Icelandic, yet as a rule ór may answer to ex, af sometimes to ab, sometimes to de. Of, off, from among; with, by; on account of by means of, because of concerning, in respect of.

A. Loc.

I. With motion, off, from:

1. prop. corresp. to á,

α. konungr dró gullhring af hendi sér (but á hendi), Ld. 32; Höskuldr lætr bera farm af skipi, unload the ship (but bera farm á skip), id.; var tekit af hestum þeirra, they were unsaddled, Nj. 4; Gunnarr hafði farit heiman af bæ sínum, he was away from home, 82; Gunnarr hljóp af hesti sínum, jumped off his horse (but hl. á hest), 83; hlaupa, stökkva af baki, id., 112, 264 ; Gunnarr skýtr til hans af boganum, from the bow, where af has a slight notion of instrumentality, 96; flýja af fundinum, to fly from off the battle-field, 102; ríða af Þríhyrningshálsum, 206; út af Langaholti, Eg. 744 ; sunnan ór Danmörk ok af Saxlandi, 560; ganga af mótinu, to go from the meeting, Fms. vii. 130; af þeirra fundi reis María upp ok fór, 625. 85 ; Flosi kastaði af ser skikkjunni, threw his cloak off him (but kasta á sik),Nj. 176; taka Hrungnis fót af honum, of a load, burden, Edda 58; land þat er hann fiskði af, from which he set off to fish, Grág. i. 151, is irregular, frá would suit better; slíta af baki e-s, from off one’s back, ii. 9 ; bera af borði, to clear the table, Nj. 75.

β. where it more nearly answers to í; þeir koma af hafi, of sailors coming in (but leggja í haf), Nj. 128 ; fara til Noregs af Orkneyjum (but í or til O.), 131; þeim Agli fórst vel ok komu af hafi i Borgarfjörð, Eg. 392 ; hann var útlagi ( outlawed) af Noregi, where ór would be more regular, 344; af Islandi, of a traveller, Fms. x. 3; búa her af báðum ríkjunum, to take a levy from, 51; hinir beztu bændr ór Norðlendingafjórðungi ok af Sunnlendingafjórðungi, the most eminent Southerners and Northerners, 113; Gizzurr gékk af útsuðri at gerðinu, from south-west, Sturl. ii. 219; prestar af hvárutveggja biskupsdæmi, from either diocess, Dipl. ii. 11; verða tekinn af heimi, to be taken out of the world, 623. 21; gruflar hon af læknum, scrambles out of the brook, Ísl. ii. 340; Egill kneyfði af horninu í einum drykk, drained off the horn at one draught, literally squeezed every drop out of it, Eg. 557; brottuaf herbúðunurn, Fms. x. 343.

γ. of things more or less surrounding the subject, corresp. to yfir or um; láta þeir þegar af sér tjöldin, break off, take down the tents in preparing for battle, Eg. 261; kyrtillinn rifnaði af honum, his coat burst, caused by the swollen body, 602; hann hafði leyst af sér skúa sína, he untied his shoes (but binda á sik), 716; Steinarr vildi slíta hann af sér, throw him off, of one clinging to one’s body, 747; tók Gísli þá af sér vápnin, took off his arms, Fms. vii. 39. Of putting off clothes; fara af kápu, Nj. 143; far þú eigi af brynjunni, Bs. i. 541; þá ætlaði Sigurðr at fara af brynjunni, id.; þá var Skarphéðinn flettr af klæðunum, Nj. 209: now more usually fara or klæðum, fötum, exuere, to undress.

δ. connected with út; föstudaginn for út herrinn af borginni, marched out of the town, Nj. 274; ganga út af kirkjunni, to go out of the church, now út úr, Fms. vii. 107: drekki hann af þeirri jörðunni, of something impregnated with the earth, Laekn. 402.

ε. more closely corresponding to frá, being in such cases a Latinism (now frá); bréf af páfa, a pope’s bull, Fms. x. 6; rit af hánum, letter from him, 623. 52; bréf af Magnúsi konungi, a letter from king Magnus, Bs. i. 712; farið þér á brautu af mér í eilífan eld, Hom. 143; brott af drottins augliti, Stj. 43.

ζ. denoting an uninterrupted continuity, in such phrases as land aflandi, from land to land, Eg. 343, Fas. ii. 539; skip af skipl. from ship to ship, Fms. v. 10; brann hvat af öðru, one after another, of an increasing fire, destroying everything, i. 128; brandr af brandi brenn, funi kveykist af funa, one from another, Hm. 56; hverr af öðrum, one after another, in succession, also hverr at öðrum, Eb. 272, 280 (where at in both passages).

2. metaph., at ganga af e-m dauðum, to go from, leave one dead on the spot, of two combatants; en hann segiz bani hins ef hann gekk af dauðum manni, Grág. ii. 88, Hkr. 1. 327; undr þykir mér er bróðir þinn vildi eigi taka af þér starf þetta, would not take this toil from thee, Nj. 77; þegnar hans glöddust af honum, were fain of him, Fms. x. 380; at koma þeim manni af sér er settr var á fé hans, to get rid of, Ld. 52; vil ek þú vinriir af þér skuldina, work off the debt, Njarð. 366; reka af sér, to repel, Sturl. ii. 219; hann á þá sonu er aldri munu af oss ganga, who will never leave us, whom we shall never get rid of, Fas. i. 280; leysa e-n af e-u, to relieve, 64; taka e-n af lífi, to kill, Eg. 48, 416, Nj. 126; af lífdögum, Fms. vii. 204; ek mun ná lögum af því máli, get the benefit of the law in this case, Eg. 468; muntu enga sætt af mér fá, no peace at my hand, 414; rísa af dauða, to rise from death, Fms. ii. 142; guð bætti honum þó af þessi sótt, healed him of this sickness, ix. 390; vakna af sýn, draumi, svefni, to awaken from a vision, dream, sleep, 655 xxxii. I, Gísl. 24, Eb. 192, Fas. i. 41. Rather with the notion out of, in the phrase af sér etc., e. g. sýna e-t af scr, to shew, exhibit a disposition for or against, Ld. 18; gera mikit af sér, to shew great prowess, Ísl. ii. 368; éf þú gerir eigi meira af þér um aðra leika, unless you make more of thyself, Edda 32; Svipdagr hafði mikit af sér gert, fought bravely, Fas. i. 41; góðr (illr) af sér, good ( bad) of oneself, by nature; mikill af sjálfum sér, proud, bold, stout, Nj. 15; ágætastr maðr af sjálfum sér, the greatest hero, Bret.: góðr af ser, excellent, Hrafn. 7; but, on the contrary, af sér kominn, ruinous, in decay; this phrase is used of old houses or buildings, as in Bs. i. 488 = Sturl. l. c.; af sér kominn af mæði can also be said of a man fallen off from what he used to be; kominn af fotum fram, off his legs from age, Sturl. i. 223, Korm. 154 (in a verse).

II. WITHOUT MOTION:

1. denoting direction from, but at the same time continuous connection with an object from which an act or thing proceeds, from; tengja skip hvárt fram af stafni annars, to tie the ships in a line, stem to stern, Fms. i. 157, xi. 111; svá at þeir tóku út af borðum, jutted out of the boards, of rafters or poles, iv. 49; stjarna ok af sem skaft, of a comet, ix. 482; lúka upp af hrossi, to open a gate from off a horse, Grág. ii. 264; hon svarar af sínu sæti sem álpt af baru, Fás. i. 186; þar er sjá mátti utau af firði, af þjóðleið, that might be seen from the fareway on the sea when sailing in the firth, Hkr. ii. 64; þá mun hringt af (better at) Burakirkju, of bells rung at the church, Fms. xi. 160; gengr þar af Meðalfellsströnd, projects from, juts out, of a promontory, Ld. 10.

2. denoting direction alone; upp af víkinni stóð borg mikil, a burg inland from the inlet, Eg. 161; lokrekkja innar af seti, a shut bed inward from the benches in the hall, Ísl. ii. 262; kapella upp af konungs herbergjum, upwards from, Fms. x. 153; vindr stóð af landi, the wind stood off the land, Bárð. 166.

β. metaph., stauda af e-u, vide VI. 4.

γ. ellipt., hallaði af norðr, of the channel, north of a spot, Boll. 348; also, austr af, suðr af, vestr af, etc.

3. denoting absence; þingheyendr skulu eigi vera um nótt af þingi ( away from the meeting), eðr lengr, þá eru þeir af þingi ( away from (be meeting) ef þeir eru or ( out of) þingmarki, Grág. i. 25; vera um nótt af várþingi, 115; meðan hann er af landi héðan, abroad, 150.

β. metaph., gud hvíldi af öllum verkum sínum á sjaunda degi, rested from his labours, Ver. 3.

4. denoting distance; þat er komit af þjóðleið, out of the high road, remote, Eg. 369; af þjóðbraut, Grág. ii. 264, i. 15; Otradalr (a farm) var mjök af vegi, far out of the way, Háv. 53.

B. TEMP, past, from, out of, beyond:

1. of a person’s age, in the sense of having past a period of life; af ómaga aldri, of age, able to support oneself, Grág. i. 243; af aeskualdri, stricken in years, having past the prime of life, Eg. 202; lítið af barnsaldri, still a child, Ld. 74; ek em nú af léttasia skeiði, no longer in the prime of life, Háv. 40.

2. of a part or period of time, past; eigi síðar en nótt er af þingi, a night of the session past, Grág. i. 101; þá er sjau vikur eru af sumri, seven weeks past of the summer, 182; tíu vikur af sumri, Íb. 10; var mikit af nótt, much of the night was past, Háv. 41; mikið af vetri, much of the winter was past, Fas. ii. 186; þriðjungr af nótt, a third of the night past, Fms. x. 160; stund af degi, etc.; tveir mánoðr af sumri, Gþl. 103.

3. in adverbial phrases such as, af stundu, soon; af bragði, at once; af tómi, at leisure, at ease; af nýju, again; af skyndingu, speedily; af bráðungu, in a hurry, etc.

C. In various other relations:

I. denoting the passage or transition of an object, concrete or abstract, of, from.

1. where a thing is received, derived from, conferred by a person or object; þiggja lið af e-m, to derive help from, Edda 26; taka traust af e-m, to receive support, comfort from, Fms. xi. 243; taka mála af e-m, to be in one’s pay, of a soldier, Eg. 266; halda land af e-m, to hold land of any one, 282; verða viss af e-m, to get information from, 57, Nj. 130; taka við sök af manni (a law term), to undertake a case, suit, Grág. i. 142; hafa umboð af e-m, to be another’s deputy, ii. 374; vera góðs (ills) maklegr af e-m, to deserve good (bad) of, Vd. 88 (old Ed., the new reads frá), Fs. 45; afla matar af eyjum, to derive supplies from, Eb. 12.

2. where an object is taken by force:

α. prop. out of a person’s hand; þú skalt hnykkja smíðit af honum, wrest it out of his hand, Nj. 32; cp. taka, þrífa, svipta e-u (e-t) af e-m, to wrest from.

β. metaph. of a person’s deprival of anything in general; hann tók af þér konuna, carried thy wife off, Nj. 33; tók Gunnarr af þér sáðland þitt, robbed thee of seedland, 103; taka af honum tignina, to depose, degrade him, Eg. 271; vinna e-t af e-m, to carry off by force of arms, conquer, Fms. iii. 29; drepa menn af e-m, for one, slay one’s man, Eg. 417; fell þar lið mart af Eyvindi, many of Eyvind’s people fell there, 261.

γ. in such phrases as, hyggja af e-u (v. afhuga), hugsa af e-u, to forget; hyggja af harmi; sjá af e-u, to lose, miss; var svá ástúðigt með þeim, at livargi þóttist mega af öðrum sjá, neither of them could take his eyes off the other, Sturl. i. 194; svá er mörg við ver sinn vær, at varla um sér hon af hoiuun nær, Skálda 163.

3. denoting forfeiture; þá eru þeir útlagir, ok af goðorði sínu, have forfeited their priesthood, Grág. i. 24; telja hann af ráðunum fjár síns alls, to oust one, on account of idiocy or madness, 176; verða af kaupi, to be off the bargain, Edda 26; þá skalt þú af allri fjárheimtunni, forfeit all the claim, Nj. 15; ek skal stefna þér af konunni, summon thee to forfeit, a case of divorce, id.; ella er hann af rettarfari um hana, has forfeited the suit, Grág. i. 381.

β. ellipt., af ferr eindagi ef, is forfeited, Grág. i. 140.

II. denoting relation of a part to a whole, off, of, Lat. de; höggva hönd, höfuð, fót af e-um, to cut one’s hand, head, foot off, Nj. 97, 92, Bs. i. 674; höggva spjót af skapti, to sever the blade from the shaft, 264; hann lét þá ekki hafa af föðurarfi sínum, nothing of their patrimony, Eg. 25; vil ek at þú takir slíkt sem þér líkar af varningi, take what you like of the stores, Nj. 4; at þú eignist slíkt af fé okkru sem þú vili, 94.

β. ellipt., en nú höfum vér kjörit, en þat er af krossinum, a slice of, Fms. vii. 89; Þórðr gaf Skólm frænda sínum af landnámi sínu, a part of, Landn. 211; hafði hann þat af hans eigu er hann vildi, Sturl. ii. 169; þar lá forkr einn ok brotið af endanum, the point broken off, Háv. 24, Sturl. i. 169.

γ. absol. off; beit hann höndina af, þar sem nú heitir úlfliðr, bit the hand off, Edda 17; fauk af höfuðit, the head flew off, Nj. 97; jafnt er sem þér synist, af er fótrinn, the foot is off, id.; af bæði eyru, both ears off, Vm. 29.

2. with the notion of—among; mestr skörungr af konum á Norðrlöndum, the greatest heroine in the North, Fms. i. 116; hinn efniligasti maðr af ungum mönnum í Austfjörðum, the most hopeful of youths in the Eastfirths, Njarð. 364; af ( among) öllurn hirðmönnuni virði konungr mest skáld sín, Eg. 27; ef hann vildi nokkura kaupa af þessum konum, Ld. 30; ör liggr þar útiá vegginum, ok er sú af þeirra örum, one of their own arrows, Nj. 115.

β. from, among, belonging to; guð kaus hana af ollum konum sér til móður, of the Virgin Mary, Mar. A. i. 27.

γ. metaph., kunna mikit (lítið) af e-u, to know much, little of, Bragi kann mest af skáldskap, is more cunning of poetry than any one else, Edda 17.

δ. absol. out of, before, in preference to all others; Gunnarr bauð þér góð boð, en þú vildir eingi af taka, you would choose none of them, Nj. 77; ráða e-t af, to decide; þó mun faðir minn mestu af ráða, all depends upon him, Ld. 22; konungr kveðst því mundu heldr af trúa, preferred believing that of the two, Eg. 55; var honum ekki vildara af ván, he could expect nothing better, 364.

3. with the additional sense of instrumentality, with; ferma skip af e-u, to freight a ship with, Eg. 364; hlaða mörg skip af korni, load many ships with corn, Fms. xi. 8; klyfja tvá hesta af mat, Nj. 74; var vágrinn skipaðr af herskipum, the bay was covered with war ships, 124; fylla ker af glóðum, fill it with embers, Stj. 319; fylla heiminn af sínu kyni, to fill the world with his offspring, Ver. 3.

III. denoting the substance of which a thing is made, of; used indifferently with ór, though ór be more frequent; þeir gerðu af honum jörðina, af blóði hans sæinn ok vötnin, of the creation of the world from the corpse of the giant Ymir; the poem Gm. 40, 41, constantly uses ór in this sense, just as in modern Icelandic, Edda 5; svá skildu þeir, at allir hlutir væri smíðaðir af nokkru efni, 147 (pref.); húsit var gert af timbrstokkum, built of trunks of timber, Eg. 233; hjöhin vóru af gulli, of gold, golden, Fms. i. 17; af osti, of cheese, but in the verse 1. c. ór osti, Fms. vi. 253; línklæði af lérepti, linen, Sks. 287.

2. metaph. in the phrases, göra e-t af e-n ( to dispose of), verða af ( become of), hvat hefir þú gört af Gunnari, what hast thou done with Gunnar? Njarð. 376; hvat af motrinuni er orðit, what has become of it? of a lost thing, Ld. 208; hverfr Óspakr á burt, svá eigi vita menn hvat af honum er orðit, what has become of him? Band. 5.

IV. denoting parentage, descent, origin, domicile, abode:

1. parentage, of, from, used indifferently with frá; ok eru af þeim komnir Gilsbekkingar, descend from them, but a little below—frá honum eru konmir Sturlungar, Eb. 338, cp. afkvæmi; af ætt Hörðakára, Fms. i. 287; kominn af Trojumönnum, xi. 416; af Ása-ætt (Kb. wrongly at), Edda I.

β. metaph., vera af Guði (theol.), of God, = righteous, 686 B. 9; illr ávöxtr af íllri rót, Fms. ii. 48; Asia er kölluð af nafni nokkurar konu, derives her name from, Stj. 67; af honum er bragr kallaðr skáldskapr, called after his name, Edda 17.

2. of domicile; af danskri tungu, of Danish or Scandinavian origin, speaking the Danish tongue, Grág. ii. 73; hvaðan af löndum, whence, native of what country? Ísl.

β. especially denoting a man’s abode, and answering to á and í, the name of the farm (or country) being added to proper names, (as in Scotland,) to distinguish persons of the same name; Hallr af Síðu, Nj. 189; Erlingr af Straumey, 273; Ástríðr af Djúpárbakka, 39; Gunnarr af Hlíðarenda (more usual frá); þorir haklangr konungr af Ögðum, king of Agdir, Eg. 35, etc.; cp. ór and frá.

V. denoting a person with whom an act, feeling, etc. originates, for the most part with a periphrastic passive:

1. by, the Old Engl. of; as, ek em sendr hingað af Starkaði ok sonum hans, sent hither by, Nj. 94; inna e-t af hendi, to perform, 257; þó at alþýða væri skírð af kennimönnum, baptized of, Fms. ii. 158; meira virðr af mönnum, higher esteemed, Ld. 158; ástsæll af landsmönnum, beloved, íb. 16; vinsæll af mönnum, Nj. 102; í allgóðu yfirlæti af þeim feðgum, hospitably treated by them, Eg. 170; var þá nokkut drukkið af alþjóð, there was somewhat hard drinking of the people, Sturl. iii. 229; mun þat ekki upp tekið af þeim sükudólgum mínum, they will not clutch at that, Nj. 257; ef svá væri í hendr þér búit af mér, if í had so made everything ready to thy hands, Ld. 130; þá varð fárætt um af föður hans, his father said little about it, Fms. ii. 154.

2. it is now also sometimes used as a periphrase of a nom., e. g. ritað, þýtt af e-m, written, translated, edited by, but such phrases scarcely occur in old writers.

VI. denoting cause, ground, reason:

1. originating from, on account of, by reason of; af frændsemis sökum, for kinship’s sake, Grág. ii. 72; ómáli af áverkum, speechless from wounds, 27; af manna völdum, by violence, not by natural accident, of a crime, Nj. 76; af fortölum Halls, through his pleading, 255; af ástsæld hans ok af tölum þeirra Sæmundar, by his popularity and the eloquence of S., Íb. 16; af ráðum Haralds konungs, by his contriving, Landn. 157; úbygðr af frosti ok kulda, because of frost and cold, Hkr. i. 5.

β. adverbially, af því, therefore, Nj. 78; af hví, why? 686 B. 9; þá verðr bóndi heiðinn af barni sínu, viz. if he does not cause his child to be christened, K. Þ. K. 20.

2. denoting instrumentality, by means of; af sinu fé, by one’s own means, Grág. i. 293; framfæra e-n af verkum sinum, by means of one’s own labour, K. Þ. K. 142; draga saman auð af sökum, ok vælum ok kaupum, make money by, 623. I; af sínum kostnaði, at hi s own expense, Hkr. i. 217.

β. absol., hún fellir á mik dropa svá heita at ek brenn af öll, Ld. 328; hann fékk af hina mestu sæmd, derived great honotur from it, Nj. 88; elli sótti á hendr honum svá at hann lagðist í rekkju af, he grew bedridden from age, Ld. 54; komast undan af hlaupi, escape by running, Fms. viii. 58; spinna garn af rokki, spin off a wheel (now, spinna á rokk), from a notion of instrumentality, or because of the thread being spun out (?), Eb. 92.

3. denoting proceeding, originating from; lýsti af höndum hennar, her hands spread beams of light, Edda 22; allir heimar lýstust ( were illuminated) af henni, id.; en er lýsti af degi, when the day broke forth, Fms. ii. 16; lítt var lýst af degi, the day was just beginning to break, Ld. 46; þá tók at myrkja af nótt, the ‘mirk-time’ of night began to set in, Eg. 230; tók þá brátt at myrkva af nótt, the night grew dark, Hkr. ii. 230.

4. metaph., standa, leiða, hljótast af, to be caused by, result from; opt hlýtst íllt af kvenna hjali, great mischief is wrought by women’s gossip (a proverb), Gísl. 15, 98; at af þeim mundi mikit mein ok úhapp standa, be caused by, Edda 18; kenna kulda af ráðum e-s, to feel sore from, Eb. 42; þó mun her hljótast af margs manns bani, Nj, 90.

5. in adverbial phrases, denoting state of mind; af mikilli æði, in fury, Nj. 116; af móð, in great emotion, Fms. xi. 221; af áhyggju, with concern, i. 186; af létta, frankly, iii. 91; af viti, collectedly, Grág. ii. 27; af heilu, sincerely, Eg. 46; áf fári, in rage; af æðru, timidly, Nj. (in a verse); af setning, composedly, in tune, Fms. iii. 187; af mikilli frægð, gallantly, Fas. i. 261; af öllu afli, with all might, Grág. ii. 41; af riki, violently, Fbr. (in a verse); af trúnaði, confidently, Grág. i. 400.

VII. denoting regard to, of, concerning, in respect of, as regards:

1. with verbs, denoting to tell of, be informed, inquire about, Lat. de; Dioscorides segir af grasi því, speaks of, 655 xxx. 5; er menn spurðu af landinu, inquired about it, Landn. 30; halda njósn af e-u, Nj. 104; er þat skjótast þar af at segja, Eg. 546, Band. 8.

β. absol., hann mun spyrja, hvárt þér sé nokkut af kunnigt hversu for með okkr, whether you know anything about, how, Nj. 33; halda skóla af, to hold a school in a science, 656 A. i. 19 (sounds like a Latinism); en ek gerða þik sera mestan mann af öllu, in respect of all, that you should get all the honour of it, Nj. 78.

2. with adjectives such as mildr, illr, góðrafe-u, denoting disposition or character in respect to; alira manna mildastr af fo, very liberal, often-banded, Fms. vii. 197; mildr af gulli, i. 33; góðr af griðum, merciful, Al. 33; íllr af mat en mildr af gulli, Fms. i. 53; fastr af drykk, close, stingy in regard to, Sturl. ii. 125; gat þess Hildigunnr at þú mundir góðr af hestinum, that you would be good about the horse, Nj. 90, cp. auðigr at, v. at, which corresponds to the above phrases; cp. also the phrase af sér above, p. 4, col. I, ll. 50 sqq.

VIII. periphrasis of a genitive (rare); provincialis af öllum Predikaraklaustrum, Fms. x. 76; vera af hinum mesta fjandskap, to breathe deep hatred to, be on bad terms with, ix. 220; af hendi, af hálfu e-s, on one’s behalf, v. those words.

IX. in adverbial phrases; as, af launungu, secretly; af hljóði, silently; v. those words.

β. also used absolutely with a verb, almost adverbially, nearly in the signification off, away; hann bað þá róa af fjörðinn, pass the firth swiftly by rowing, row the firth off, Fms. ix. 502; var pá af farit þat seni skerjóttast var, was past, sailed past, Ld. 142; ok er þeir höfðu af fjórðung, past one fourth of the way, Dropl. 10: skína af, to clear up, of the skv, Eb. 152; hence in common language, skína af sér, when the sun breaks forth: sofa af nóttina, to sleep it away, Fms. ii. 98; leið af nóttin, the night past away, Nj. 53; dvelja af stundir, to kill the time, Band. 8; drepa af, to kill; láta af, to slaughter, kill off;

γ. in exclamations; af tjöldin, off with the awnings, Bs. i. 420, Fins, ix. 49.

δ. in the phrases, þar af, thence; hér af, hence, Fms. ii. 102; af fram, straight on, Nj. 144; now, á fram, on, advance.

X. it often refers to a whole sentence or to an adverb, not only like other prepp. to hér, hvar, þar, but also redundantly to hvaðan, héðan, þaðan, whence, hence, thence.

2. the preposition may sometimes be repeated, once elliptically or adverbially, and once properly, e. g. en er af var borit at borðinu, the cloth was taken off from the table, Nj. 176; Guð þerrir af (off, away) hvert tár af ( from) augum heilagra manna, God wipes off every tear from the eyes of his saints, 655 xx. vii. 17; skal þó fyrst bætr af lúka af fé vegaiula, pay off, from, Gþl. 160, the last af may be omitted—var þá af borið borðinu—and the prep. thus be separated from its case, or it may refer to some of the indecl. relatives er or sem, the prep. hvar, hér, þar being placed behind them without a case, and referring to the preceding relative, e. g. oss er þar mikit af sagt auð þeim, we have been told much about these riches, Band. 24; er þat skjótast þar af at segja, in short, shortly. Eg. 546; þaðan af veit ek, thence í infer, know, Fms. i. 97.

XI. it is moreover connected with a great many verbs besides those mentioned above, e. g. bera af, to excel, whence afbragð, afbrigði; draga af, to detract, deduct, hence afdráttr; veita ekki af, to be hard with; ganga at, to be left, hence afgangr; standast af um e-t, to stand, how matters stand; sem af tekr, at a furious rate; vita af, to be conscious, know about (vide VII).

D. As a prefix to compounds distinction is to be made between:

I. af privativum, denoting diminution, want, deduction, loss, separation, negation of, etc., answering indifferently to Lat. ab-, de-, ex-, dis-, and rarely to re- and se-, v. the following COMPDS, such as segja, dicere, but afsegja, negare; rækja, colere, but afrækja, negligere; aflaga, contra legem; skapligr, normalis, afskapligr, deformis; afvik, recessus; afhús, afhellir, afdalr, etc.

II. af intensivum, etymologically different, and akin to of, afr-, e. g. afdrykkja = ofdrykkja, inebrietas; afbrýði, jealously; afbendi, tenesmus; afglapi, vir fatuus, etc. etc. Both the privative and the intensive af may be contracted into á, esp. before a labial f, m, v, e. g. á fram = af fram; ábrýði = afbrýði; ávöxtr = afvöxtr; áburðr = afburðr; ávíta = afvíta (?). In some cases dubious. With extenuated and changed vowel; auvirðiligr or övirðiligr, depreciated, = afv- etc., v. those words.

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(stend; stóð, stóðum; staðinn), v.

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

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

skal mik niðr setja standanda, in a standing position;