waters

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(gen. vatris or vatz), n.

1) water, fresh water (spratt þar vatn upp); sól gengr at vatni, the sun sets in the sea;

2) fears (vatnit for niðr eptir kjálkanum á honum); halda vatni, to forbear weeping;

3) lake (Mjörs er svá mikit vatn, at líkara er sjó);

4) pl., vötn, large rivers (hnigu heilög vötn af Himin-fjöllum).

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n., pl. vötn; vant occurs in N. G. L. i. 363: the gen. sing. is, agreeably with the pronunciation, in old vellums invariably spelt vatz or vaz, vazt, Clem. 148, l. 32; the mod. sound is vass; in the Editions, however, the etymological form vatns has mostly been restored; all the South Teut. languages use a form with an r. The form vatr only occurs in two instances, perhaps used only for the rhyme’s sake, in hvatr vátri, a poem of the beginning of the 12th century; and hélt und vatr enn vitri, Sighvat; but vatn vitni in another verse cf the same poet: [A. S. wæter; Engl. and Dutch water; Hel. watar; O. H. G. wazar; Germ. wasser; cp. Gr. υδατ-ος; Lat. udus: on the other hand, Icel. vatn; Swed. vatten; Dan. vand, qs. vadn.]

A. Water, fresh water; jörð, vatn, lopt, eldr, Eluc. 19; spratt þar vatn upp, Edda (pref.); blóð ok vatn, Rb. 334; grafa til vatz, Edda (pref.); taka vatn upp at sínum hluta, Vm. 168; þá er vötnin vóru sköpuð, 655. 1; drepa í vatn eða hella á vatni, K. Þ. K.; ef vatn er svá mikit at þar má barn í hylja, N. G. L. i. 363.

2. phrases; ausa vatni, to besprinkle infants with water, see ausa I. 2. β; to which add, þar stendr þú, Özorr, kvað Helgi, ok mun ek ekki við þér sjá, þvíat þú jóst mik vatni, Dropl. 25; mærin var vatni ausin ok þetta nafn gefit, Nj. 25: ganga til vatns, to go to the water, to go to the ‘trapiza,’ q. v., of washing before meals, Ld. 296: þá er sól gengr at vatni. when the sun goes into the water, sets in the sea, K. Þ. K. 96; sér ekki högg á vatni, a blow in the water is not seen, of a useless effort: á vatni, afloat, Fas. ii. 532; svá skjótt, at ekki tók á vatni, Fms. vii. 344.

3. of tears; halda ekki vatni, could not forbear weeping, Fms. vi. 236 (in a verse), viii. 232.

II. a lake; [cp. North. E. Derwent-water, etc.]; uppí vatnið Væni, Fms. vi. 333; lét flytja sik út í vatn eitt, ok leyndisk þar í hólma nökkurum, i. 66; er í norðanverðum flóanum vatn þat er nes liggr í, Ísl. ii. 345; til vatz þess er Á en Helga fellr ór, Ó. H. 163; sjór eða vatn, a sea or lake, Edda.

III. streams, waters, esp. in plur. of large streams; hnigu heilög vötn af Himin-fjöllum, Hkv. 1. 1; þaðan eigu vötn öll vega, Gm.; þar er djúpt vatn ( deep water) er umhverfis, Grág. ii. 131; geysask vötn at þeim með forsfalli … vötnin flutu um völluna alla, Ó. H. 164; brúar um ár eða vötn, Grág. i. 149; vötn þau er ór jöklum höfðu fallit, Eg. 133; fjörðr sá er flóir allr af vötnum, Fs. 26; en nú falla vötn öll til Dýrafjarðar, Gísl. 20; fóru þar til er vötn hnigu til vestr-ættar af fjöllum, Orkn. 4.

IV. in local names, Vatn, Vatna-hverfi, Vatns-lausa, Vatns-á, Vatns-dalr, Vatns-endi, Vatns-fell, Vatns-fjörðr, Vatns-nes, Vatns-horn, Vatns-skarð, etc., Landn.; Vatns-dælir, Vatns-firðingar, the men from Vatnsfjörðr, Vatnsdalr, id., Sturl.: of lakes, Gríms-vötn, Fiski-vötn, Elliða-vatn, Mý-vatn, Ólvus-vatn, Landn., map of Icel.; more seldom of rivers, as Héraðsvötn in north of Icel.: Vatns-dælskr, adj. from Vatnsdalr, Finnb. 334, Ísl. ii. 335; Vatnsfirðinga-kyn, -búð, Nj. 248, Ld. 120 (see búð).

B. COMPDS, with gen. vatna-, vatns-, in vellums vatz-, vaz-: vatns-agi, a, m. dampness. vatns-bakki, a, m. a bank, shore of a water or lake, Grág. ii. 355, Jb. 315, Fms. viii. 32, Fas. i. 360. vatns-beri, a, m. the water-bearer, Aquarius in the zodiac, Rb. vatns-blandaðr, part. mixed with water. vatns-bolli, a, m. a water-jug, Am. 35. vatns-borinn, part. mixed with water. vatns-botn, m. the foot of a lake, Hrafn, 11, Fms. ix. 367. vatns-ból, n. a watering-place, well, where drinking-water is drawn. vatns-bóla, u, f. a water-bubble, vatns-bragð, n. a taste of water. vatns-burðr, m. carrying water, Bs. i. vatns-dauði, a, m. water-death, death by drowning in fresh water. vatna-djúp, n. a water-deep, abyss, Skálda 209. vatns-dropi, a, m. a drop of water, Stj. 154. vatns-drykkr, m. a drink of water, Stj. 150, 581, Edda 24. vatns-dæld, f. a watery hollow. vatns-endi, a, m. the end of a lake, Fms. ix. 406. vatns-fall, n. a stream, river; lítið vatnsfall, a small river, Eg. 134, v. l.: of rain, vindr ok vatnsfall, Art. 85. vatns-farvegr, m. a ‘water’s fairway,’ the bed of a river, Grág. ii. 291. vatns-fata, u, f. a water-pail, Fb. i. 258, O. H. L. ch. 96. vatna-flaumr, m. [Norse vand-flom], a water-flood, swell of water, D. N. vi. 148. vatns-flóð, n. water-flood. vatna-gangr, m. a flood, Stj. 59, Grág. i. 219, Landn. 251: a fall of rain, = vatnfall, veðrátta ok v., Grett. 24 new Ed. vatns-heldr, adj. water-tight. vatns-hestr, m. = nykr, q. v., Landn. 93, v. l.; but vatna-hestr, m. a good horse to cross rivers. vatna-hlaup, n. floods, a rushing forth of waters, Landn. 250. vatns-horn, n. a water-horn, a vessel for holy water in church, Pm. 6: the end or angle of a lake, and as a local name, Ld., Landn. vatns-hríð, f. a storm, Ann. 1336 C. vatns-íss, m. ice on a lake, Stj. 510, Fms. viii. 398, ix. 367. vatns-kanna, u, f. a water-can, Vm. 86. vatns-karl, m. a water-can shaped like a man; vatnskarl til vígðs vatns, Vm. 21; vatnskarl ok munnlaug, Fb. i. 359, D. N. iv. 457. vatns-ker, n. a water-jug, Stj. vatns-kerald, n. = vatnsker, Fms. i. 127, Vm. 21, Jb. 409, vatns-ketill, m. a water-kettle, Vm. 21, 114, B. K. 83. vatns-kottr, m. a water-insect, in foul pools. vatns-lauss, adj. waterless, without water, Barl. 196. vatns-leysi, n. lack of water. vatns-litr, m. water-colour, Rb. 336. vatns-megin, n. fulness of water. vatns-mikill, adj. swelling with water, of a river. vatns-minni, n. the inlet of a lake, Fms. ix. 394. vatns-munnlaug, f. a water hand-basin, Pm. 60. vatns-ósa, adj. soaked with water. vatns-óss, m. the mouth of a lake connected with the sea, Landn. 207. vatns-rás, f. a trench, water-course, Bs. i. 148, Stj. 593. vatns-sár, m. a font, Vm. 110, N. G. L. i. 327. vatns-skál, f. a water-jug, D. N. vatns-skírn, f. baptism in water, Barl. 116, 144 (vatnz-skírn). vatns-skortr, m. lack of water, Barl. 196. vatns-sótt, f water-sickness, dropsy, medic., Post. vatns-steinn, m. a font of stone, Vm. 110. vatns-strönd, f. the bank of a lake, Fms. viii. 32, MS. 623. 33, Vkv. (prose, vaz-strouds). vatns-stökkull, m. a watering-pot, a vessel or brush for sprinkling water, Bs. i. 464. vatns-tjörn, f. a ‘water-tarn,’ pool, Sks. 682. vatna-tunna, u, f. a water-tub. vatns-uppspretta, u, f. a jet of water, Stj. 646. vatns-veita, u, f. a drain, trench, aqueduct, Grág. ii. 289. vatns-veiting, f. a draining. vatns-vetr, m. a winter of floods, Ann. 1191 C. vatns-vígsla, u, f. consecration of water, Bs. i. 97. vatns-vík, f. a creek in a lake, Fms. viii. 67. vatna-vöxtr, m. ‘water-growth,’ a flood, Bs. i. 138, Grett. 133 A, D. N. ii. 35, passim. vatna-þytr, m. the thud, sound of falling waters, Skálda. vatns-æðr, f. a vein of water, Stj. 29, 205.

C. REAL COMPDS, with the root word vatn- prefixed: vatn-bátr, m. a lake-boat, Jb. 410 B. vatn-beri, a, m. = vatnsberi, Rb. (1812) 65, 66. vatn-dauðr, adj. drowned in fresh water, Grág. i. 223. vatn-dragari, a, m. a drawer of water, Stj. 358. vatn-dragi, a, m. id., Fas. iii. 21 (in a verse). vatn-dýr, n. water-animals, Al. 167. vatn-fall, n. a waterfall, stream; vatnföll deilir: a torrent, stream, í bráða-þeyjum var þar vatnfall mikit, a great torrent, Eg. 766; lítið v., 134; var v. þat fullt af fiskum, Fms. i. 253; svá mikit v. sem áin Níð er, v. 182; deilir norðr vatnföllum til héraða, Ísl. ii. 345; er vatnföll deila til sjóvar, Eg. 131, Grág. i. 440; með öllum vatnföllum, Nj. 265: of rain, fyrir vatnfalli ok regni, Gullþ. 8; vatnfall fylgði hér svá mikit ór lopti, torrents of rain, Gísl. 105, Fms. x. 250. vatn-fátt, n. adj. short of water, Landn. 34, Fms. ix. 45. vatn-fiskr, m. a fresh-water fish, Fs. 165. vatn-gangr, m. a swelling of water, Vápn. 24. vatn-horn, n. a water-horn, as church inventory, Vm. 110. vatn-kakki, a, m. = trapiza, q. v.; gékk hann til vatnkakka ok þó sér, Korm. 24. vatn-karl, m. a jug, Stj. 153, D. I. i. 597, Dipl. v. 18; vatnkarlar fjórir, könnur sextán, iii. 4, Rb. (of the zodiacal Aquarius). vatn-kálfr, m. dropsy; þá sótt er heitir idropicus, þat köllu vér vatnkálf, Hom. 25, 150; hann er góðr við vatnkálfi, Hb. 544. 39. vatn-ker, vatn-kerald, vatn-ketill, n. a water-jug …, Grág. ii. 397, Stj. 311, Nj. 134, Ísl. ii. 410, Fms. xi. 34, Ám. 29, Vm. 35. vatn-lauss, adj. = vatnslauss, Al. 172, Stj. 194. vatn-legill, m. a water-jug, Stj. 128. vatn-leysi, n. lack of water, Al. 173. vatn-ormr, m. a water-serpent, Al. 168; Hercules sigraði v. (the Hydra), MS. 732. 17: a pr. name, Mork. vatn-rás, f. = vatnsrás, Stj. 58, 642. Ísl. ii. 92. vatn-skjóla, u, f. a water-skeel, pail, D. I. i. 225. vatn-staðr, m. a water-place, 655 xxviii. 2. vatn-torf, n. soaked turf, Ísl. ii. 412. vatn-trumba, u, f. a water-pipe, Hom. 131. vatn-veita, u, f. = vatnsveita, a drain, water-trench, Grág. ii. 289, Stj. 498. vatn-viðri, n. = vátviðri, Bs. i. 245. vatn-vígsla, u, f. the consecrating streams and wells, of bishop Gudmund, Bs. i. vatn-ærinn, adj. plentiful as water, abundant; vatnærin hef ek vitni, Sighvat.

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(hleyp; hljóp, hljópum; hlaupinn), v.

1) to leap, jump (hann hljóp meirr en hæð sina);

hljópu þeir á hesta sína, they sprang upon their horses;

hlaupa fyrir borð, útbyrðis, to leap overboard;

hlaupa á sund, to leap into the water;

hlaupa upp, to spring to one’s feet, start up (þá hljópu varðmerm upp);

2) = renna, to run (þeir hlaupa eptir, en hann kemst á skóg undan);

refl., hlaupast á brott, to run away;

3) of a river, to flood;

hjlópu vötn fram ok leysti árnar, the waters rose in flood and the ice was broken;

of ice, mikit svell var hlaupit upp ( there was a great sloping sheet of ice) öðru megin fljótsins;

4) with preps.:

hlaupa at e-m, hlaupa á e-n, to attack one;

hlaupa á, to come suddenly on, spring up, of a gale (þá hljóp á útsynningr steinóði);

hlaupa saman, of a wound, to heal over;

hlaupa í sundr, to open up again (sárit var hlaupit í sundr).

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pres. hleyp, pl. hlaupum; pret. hljóp, hljópt, hljóp, pl. hljópum, mod. hlupum; pret. subj. hlypi, hlœpi, Fms. x. 364, hljópisk, Ó. H. 246; part. pass. hlaupinn; subj. hlæpi, Ó. H. 118; læpizk, O. H. L. 82; but hlypi, Hom. 158, Ó. T. 68, l. 24: [Ulf. hlaupan = ἀναπηδαν, Mark x. 50; A. S. hleâpan, pret. hleop; Scot. loup, part. loppen; Engl. leap; Hel. hlôpan; O. H. G. hlaufan; Germ. laufen; Swed. löpa; Dan. löbe]:—to leap, jump, which, as in Engl., is the proper meaning of the word, and hence of any sudden motion, to leap or start up; hann hljóp meir en hæð sína ok eigi skemra aptr en fram fyrir sik, Nj. 29; hann hleypr ór loptinu ofan ok á straetið ok kemr standandi niðr, Fms. xi. 117; hljóp hann þá út af múrinum, i. 104; hlaupa yfir háfar stengr, viii. 207; hljópu þeir þá á hesta sína, they leaped on their horses, Nj. 263; Atli hleypr upp á skip at Rúti, 9; ef fé hleypr löggarð, if cattle leap over a fence, Grág. ii. 262; Kári hljóp upp við lagit ok brá í sundr við fótunum, Nj. 253; h. fyrir borð útbyrðis, to leap overboard, Eg. 124, Fms. x. 363, 364; Egill hljóp yfir díkit, Eg. 530; þat segja menn at á sitt borð hlœpi hvárr þeirra Ólafs konungs, Fms. x. 364; Hrungnir varð reiðr ok hleypr upp á hest sinn, Edda 57; hljópu þeir til vápna sinna, Eg. 121; Kjartan hljóp á sund ( leaped into the water) ok lagðisk at manninum, Bs. i. 18; Kári hljóp á spjótskaptið ok braut í sundr, Nj. 253; en þriði hljóp ( leaped) á skipit út, Eg. 220; var þar at hlaupa ( to climb) upp á bakka nokkurn, id.; hann hljóp at baki Kára, Nj. 253; hann kastar verkfarunum ok hleypr á skeið, and took to his heels, Njarð. 370; hann hljóp báðum fótum í gögnum skipit, Edda 36: of a weapon, bryntröllit hljóp út um bringuna, Ld. 150; hljóp þá sverðit ( it bounded) Kára á síðuna Móðólfi, Nj. 262.

β. with prepp.; h. upp, to spring to ones feet, start up; þá hlupu varðmenn upp, Eg. 121; þá hljóp Kjartan upp ok afklæddisk, Bs. i. 18; ok eptir örvar-boði hljóp upp múgr manns, Fms. i. 210; h. yfir, to jump over, metaph. to skip, Alg. 262; hlaupa yfir eða gleyma, H. E. i. 486; h. frá e-m, to run away from, desert one, Grág. i. 297; h. af, to be left, remain, Rb. 234, 494 (afhlaup).

2. special usages; a law term, to assault; hlaupa til manns lögmætu frumhlaupi, Grág. ii. 7: of fury, sickness, pain, to burst out, í hvert sinn er æði eðr reiði hljóp á hann, Fms. i. 15; en er hann var búinn hljóp fæli-sótt at honum, iv. 284: of pain, hljóp blástr í búkinn, Grett. 137 new Ed.: of fire, sagði at jarðeldr var upp kominn, ok mundi hann h. á bæ Þórodds goða, Bs. i. 22: of a river, to flood, áðr Almanna-fljót leypi (i. e. hleypi, hlypi) var þat kallat Rapta-lækr, Landn. 266; þessa sömu nótt kom þeyr mikill ok hlupu vötn fram ok leysti árnar, the waters rose in flood and the ice was broken, Sturl. iii. 45: of ice, mikit svell var hlaupit upp öðru megin fljótsins ok hált sem gler, a great hummock of ice rose up, Nj. 144; hljóp upp kúla, a wheal sprung up from a blow, Il. ii. 267; h. saman, sundr, of a wound; var skeinan saman hlaupin svá náliga þótti gróin, Grett. 152; sárið var hlaupit í sundr, the wound had broken out again, id.: of a gale, þá hljóp á útsynningr steinóði, Eg. 600:—of milk, blood, to curdle, coagulate, (cp. North. E. loppert = coagulated; so, leper-blode = clotted blood in the Old Engl. poem Pricke of Conscience, l. 459.)

II. to run, but rarely in old writers, [Dan. löbe; Germ. laufen]; eigi hljóp hann at seinna, Ásbjörn hljóp heim, id. (but from a paper MS.); þeir hlaupa eptir en hann kemsk á skóg undan, Nj. 130; jarl eggjar menn at h. eptir honum, 132: freq. in mod. usage.

III. reflex. to take oneself off, to run away; ef þræll leypsk, N. G. L. i. 34; þá vildi Uni hlaupask á braut með sína menn, Landn. 246; við þann mann er hleypsk frá ómaga, Grág. i. 297; ef maðr hleypsk á brott af landi er sekr er orðinn, 96; þat var á einhverri nátt at Steinn hljópsk á braut ór bænum, Fms. iv. 317; þar er menn hlaupask til ( came to blows) eða verða vegnir, Grág. ii. 83; nú er þat várt ráð at vér hlaupimk með yðr ok sömnum liði, Fms. ix. 248; var hann í fjötri, at hann hljópisk (lypist, Hom. 158, l. c.) eigi frá honum, Ó. H. 246; hlaupask braut, id.: part., hlaupandi menn, h. sveinar, ‘landloupers,’ Finnb. 344, Mag. 6; cp. hlaupingi.

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.

* * *

a negative suffix to verbs, not;

era útmakligt, at it is not unmeet that.

* * *

á, prep., often used elliptically, or even adverbially, [Goth. ana; Engl. on; Germ. an. In the Scandinavian idioms the liquid n is absorbed. In English the same has been supposed to happen in adverbial phrases, e. g. ‘along, away, abroad, afoot, again, agate, ahead, aloft, alone, askew, aside, astray, awry,’ etc. It is indeed true that the Ormulum in its northern dialect freq. uses o, even in common phrases, such as ‘o boke, o land, o life, o slæpe, o strande, o write, o naht, o loft,’ etc., v. the glossary; and we may compare on foot and afoot, on sleep (Engl. Vers. of Bible) and asleep; A. S. a-butan and on-butan (about); agen and ongean (again, against); on bæc, aback; on life, alive; on middan, amid. But it is more than likely that in the expressions quoted above, as well as in numberless others, as well in old as in modern English, the English a- as well as the o- of the Ormulum and the modern Scottish and north of England o- are in reality remains of this very á pronounced au or ow, which was brought by the Scandinavian settlers into the north of England. In the struggle for supremacy between the English dialects after the Conquest, the Scandinavian form á or a won the day in many cases to the exclusion of the Anglo-Saxon on. Some of these adverbs have representatives only in the Scandinavian tongues, not in Anglo-Saxon; see below, with dat. B. II, C. VII; with acc. C. I. and VI. The prep. á denotes the surface or outside; í and ór the inside; at, til, and frá, nearness measured to or from an object: á thus answers to the Gr. επί; the Lat. in includes á and i together.]

With dat. and acc.: in the first case with the notion of remaining on a place, answering to Lat. in with abl.; in the last with the notion of motion to the place, = Lat. in with acc.

WITH DAT.

A. Loc.

I. generally on, upon; á gólfi, on the floor, Nj. 2; á hendi, on the hand (of a ring), 48, 225; á palli, 50; á steini, 108; á vegg, 115; á sjá ok á landi, on sea and land. In some instances the distinction between d and i is loose and wavering, but in most cases common sense and usage decide; thus ‘á bók’ merely denotes the letters, the penmanship, ‘í’ the contents of a book; mod. usage, however, prefers ‘í,’ lesa í bók, but stafr á bók. Old writers on the other hand; á bókum Enskum, in English books, Landn. 24, but í Aldafars bók, 23 (in the book De Mensurâ Temporum, by Bede), cp. Grág. i. 76, where á is a false reading instead of at; á bréfi, the contents of a letter: of clothing or arms, mítr á höfði, sverð á hlið, mitre on head, sword on side, Fms. i. 266, viii. 404; hafa lykil á sér, on one’s person, 655 xxvii. 22; möttull á tyglum, a mantle hanging on (i. e. fastened by) laces, Fms. vii. 201: á þingi means to be present at a meeting; í þingi, to abide within a jurisdiction; á himni, á jörðu, on (Engl. in) heaven and earth, e. g. in the Lord’s Prayer, but í helviti, in hell; á Gimli, Edda (of a heavenly abode); á báti, á skipi denote crew and cargo, ‘í’ the timber or materials of which a ship is built, Eg. 385; vera í stafni á skipi, 177: á skógi, to be abroad in a wood (of a hunter, robber, deer); but to be situated (a house), at work (to fell timber), í skógi, 573, Fs. 5, Fms. iii. 122, viii. 31, xi. 1, Glúm. 330, Landn. 173; á mörkinni, Fms. i. 8, but í mörk, of a farm; á firðinum means lying in a firth, of ships or islands (on the surface of the water), þær eyjar liggja á Breiðafirði, Ld. 36; but í firði, living in a district named Firth; á landi, Nj. 98, Fms. xi. 386.

II. á is commonly used in connection with the pr. names or countries terminating in ‘land,’ Engl. in, á Englandi, Írlandi, Skotlandi, Bretlandi, Saxlandi, Vindlandi, Vínlandi, Grænalandi, Íslandi, Hálogalandi, Rogalandi, Jótlandi, Frakklandi, Hjaltlandi, Jamtalandi, Hvítramannalandi, Norðrlöndum, etc., vide Landn. and the index to Fms. xii. In old writers í is here very rare, in modern authors more frequent; taste and the context in many instances decide. An Icelander would now say, speaking of the queen or king, ‘á Englandi,’ ruling over, but to live ‘í Englandi,’ or ‘á Englandi;’ the rule in the last case not being quite fixed.

2. in connection with other names of countries: á Mæri, Vörs, Ögðum, Fjölum, all districts of Norway, v. Landn.; á Mýrum (in Icel.), á Finnmörk, Landn., á Fjóni (a Danish island); but í Danmörk, Svíþjóð (á Svíþjóðu is poët., Gs. 13).

3. before Icel. farms denoting open and elevated slopes and spaces (not too high, because then ‘at’ must be used), such as ‘staðr, völlr, ból, hjalli, bakki, heimr, eyri,’ etc.; á Veggjum, Landn. 69; á Hólmlátri, id.: those ending in ‘-staðr,’ á Geirmundarstöðum, Þórisstöðum, Jarðlangsstöðum…, Landn.: ‘-völlr,’ á Möðruvöllum: á Fitjum (the farm) í Storð (the island), í Fenhring (the island) á Aski (the farm), Landn., Eg.: ‘-nes’ sometimes takes á, sometimes í (in mod. usage always ‘í’), á Nesi, Eb. 14, or í Krossnesi, 30; in the last case the notion of island, νησος, prevails: so also, ‘fjörðr,’ as, þeir börðust á Vigrafirði (of a fight o n the ice), Landn. 101, but orusta í Hafrsfirði, 122: with ‘-bær,’ á is used in the sense of a farm or estate, hón sa á e-m bæ mikit hús ok fagrt, Edda 22; ‘í bæ’ means within doors, of the buildings: with ‘Bær’ as pr. name Landn. uses ‘í,’ 71, 160, 257, 309, 332.

4. denoting on or just above; of the sun, when the time is fixed by regarding the sun in connection with points in the horizon, a standing phrase in Icel.; sól á gjáhamri, when the sun is on the crag of the Rift, Grág. i. 26, cp. Glúm. 387; so, brú á á, a bridge on a river, Fms. viii. 179, Hrafn. 20; taka hús á e-m, to surprise one, to take the house over his head, Fms. i. 11.

III. á is sometimes used in old writers where we should now expect an acc., esp. in the phrase, leggja sverði (or the like) á e-m, or á e-m miðjum, to stab, Eg. 216, Gísl. 106, Band. 14; þá stakk Starkaðr sprotanum á konungi, then Starkad stabbed the king with the wand, Fas. iii. 34; bíta á kampi (vör), to bite the lips, as a token of pain or emotion, Nj. 209, 68; taka á e-u, to touch a thing, lay hold of it, v. taka; fá á e-u, id. (poët.); leggja hendr á (better at) síðum, in wrestling, Fms. x. 331; koma á úvart á e-m, to come on one unawares, ix. 407 (rare).

B. TEMP. of a particular point or period of time, at, on, in:

I. gener. denoting during, in the course of; á nótt, degi, nætrþeli …, Bs. i. 139; or spec. adding a pron. or an adject., á næsta sumri, the next summer; á því ári, þingi, misseri, hausti, vári, sumri …, during, in that year …, Bs. i. 679, etc.; á þrem sumrum, in the course of three summers, Grág. i. 218; á þrem várum, Fms. ii. 114; á hálfs mánaðar fresti, within half a month’s delay, Nj. 99; á tvítugs, sextugs … aldri, á barns, gamals aldri, etc., at the age of …, v. aldr: á dögum e-s, in the days of, in his reign or time, Landn. 24, Hrafn. 3, Fms. ix. 229.

II. used of a fixed recurrent period or season; á várum, sumrum, haustum, vetrum, á kveldum, every spring, summer …, in the evenings, Eg. 711, Fms. i. 23, 25, vi. 394, Landn. 292: with the numeral adverbs, cp. Lat. ter in anno, um sinn á mánuði, ári, once a month, once a year, where the Engl. a is not the article but the preposition, Grág. i. 89.

III. of duration; á degi, during a whole day, Fms. v. 48; á sjau nóttum, Bárð. 166; á því meli, during that time, in the meantime, Grág. i. 259.

IV. connected with the seasons (á vetri, sumri, vári, hausti), ‘á’ denotes the next preceding season, the last winter, summer, autumn, Eb. 40, 238, Ld. 206: in such instances ‘á’ denotes the past, ‘at’ the future, ‘í’ the present; thus í vetri in old writers means this winter; á vetri, last winter; at vetri, next winter, Eb. 68 (in a verse), etc.

C. In various other relations, more or less metaphorically, on, upon, in, to, with, towards, against:

I. denoting object, in respect of, against, almost periphrastically; dvelja á náðum e-s, under one’s protection, Fms. i. 74; hafa metnað á e-u, to be proud of, to take pride in a thing, 127.

2. denoting a personal relation, in; bæta e-t á e-m, to make amends, i. e. to one personally; misgöra e-t á e-m, to inflict wrong on one; hafa elsku (hatr) á e-m, to bear love ( hatred) to one, Fms. ix. 242; hefna sín á e-m, to take revenge on one’s person, on anyone; rjúfa sætt á e-m, to break truce on the person of any one, to offend against his person, Nj. 103; hafa sár á sér, 101; sjá á e-m, to read on or in one’s face; sér hann á hverjum manni hvárt til þín er vel eðr illa, 106; var þat brátt auðséð á hennar högum, at …, it could soon be seen in all her doings, that …, Ld. 22.

3. also generally to shew signs of a thing; sýna fáleika á sér, to shew marks of displeasure, Nj. 14, Fs. 14; taka vel, illa, lítt, á e-u, to take a thing well, ill, or indifferently, id.; finna á sér, to feel in oneself; fann lítt á honum, hvárt …, it could hardly be seen in his face, whether …, Eb. 42; líkindi eru á, it is likely, Ld. 172; göra kost á e-u, to give a choice, chance of it, 178; eiga vald á e-u, to have power over …, Nj. 10.

II. denoting encumbrance, duty, liability; er fimtardómsmál á þeim, to be subject to …, Nj. 231; the phrase, hafa e-t á hendi, or vera á hendi e-m, on one’s hands, of work or duty to be done; eindagi á fé, term, pay day, Grág. i. 140; ómagi (skylda, afvinna) á fé, of a burden or encumbrance, D. I. and Grág. in several passages.

III. with a personal pronoun, sér, mér, honum …, denoting personal appearance, temper, character, look, or the like; vera þungr, léttr … á sér, to be heavy or light, either bodily or mentally; þungr á sér, corpulent, Sturl. i. 112; kátr ok léttr á sér, of a gay and light temper, Fms. x. 152; þat bragð hafði hann á sér, he looked as if, … the expression of his face was as though …, Ld., cp. the mod. phrase, hafa á sér svip, bragð, æði, sið, of one’s manner or personal appearance, to bear oneself as, or the like; skjótr (seinn) á fæti, speedy ( slow) of foot, Nj. 258.

IV. as a periphrasis of the possessive pronoun connected with the limbs or parts of the body. In common Icel. such phrases as my hands, eyes, head … are hardly ever used, but höfuð, eyru, hár, nef, munnr, hendr, fætr … á mér; so ‘í’ is used of the internal parts, e. g. hjarta, bein … í mér; the eyes are regarded as inside the body, augun í honum: also without the possessive pronoun, or as a periphrasis for a genitive, brjóstið á e-m, one’s breast, Nj. 95, Edda 15; súrnar í augum, it smarts in my eyes, my eyes smart, Nj. 202; kviðinn á sér, its belly, 655 xxx. 5, Fms. vi. 350; hendr á henni, her hands, Gísl. (in a verse); í vörunum á honum, on his lips, Band. 14; ristin á honum, his step, Fms. viii. 141; harðr í tungu, sharp of tongue, Hallfred (Fs. 114); kalt (heitt) á fingrum, höndum, fótum …, cold ( warm) in the fingers, hands, feet …, i. e. with cold fingers, etc.; cp. also the phrase, verða vísa (orð) á munni, of extemporising verses or speeches, freq. in the Sagas; fastr á fótum, fast by the leg, of a bondsman, Nj. 27: of the whole body, díla fundu þeir á honum, 209. The pers. pron. is used only in solemn style (poetry, hymns, the Bible), and perhaps only when influenced by foreign languages, e. g. mitt hjarta hví svo hryggist þú, as a translation of ‘warumb betrübst du dich mein Herz?’ the famous hymn by Hans Sachs; instead of the popular hjartað í mér, Sl. 43, 44: hjartað mitt is only used as a term of endearment, as by a husband to his wife, parents to their child, or the like, in a metaphorical sense; the heart proper is ‘í mér,’ not ‘mitt.’

2. of other things, and as a periphrasis of a genitive, of a part belonging to the whole, e. g. dyrr á husi = húsdyrr, at the house-doors; turn á kirkju = kirkju turn; stafn, skutr, segl, árar … á skipi, the stem, stern, sail … of a ship, Fms. ix. 135; blöð á lauk, á tré …, leaves of a leek, of a tree …, Fas. i. 469; egg á sverði = sverðs egg; stafr á bók; kjölr á bók, and in endless other instances.

V. denoting instrumentality, by, on, or a-, by means of; afla fjár á hólmgöngum, to make money a-duelling, by means of duels, Eg. 498; á verkum sínum, to subsist on one’s own work, Njarð. 366: as a law term, sekjast á e-ju, to be convicted upon …, Grág. i. 123; sekst maðr þar á sínu eigini ( a man is guilty in re sua), ef hann tekr af þeim manni er heimild ( possessio) hefir til, ii. 191; falla á verkum sínum, to be killed flagranti delicto, v. above; fella e-n á bragði, by a sleight in wrestling; komast undan á flótta, to escape by flight, Eg. 11; á hlaupi, by one’s feet, by speed, Hkr. ii. 168; lifa á e-u, to feed on; bergja á e-u, to taste of a thing; svala sér á e-u, to quench the thirst on.

VI. with subst. numerals; á þriðja tigi manna, up to thirty, i. e. from about twenty to thirty, Ld. 194; á öðru hundraði skipa, from one to two hundred sail strong, Fms. x. 126; á níunda tigi, between eighty and ninety years of age, Eg. 764, v. above: used as prep., á hendi, on one’s hand, i. e. bound to do it, v. hönd.

VII. in more or less adverbial phrases it may often be translated in Engl. by a participle and a- prefixed; á lopti, aloft; á floti, afloat; á lífi, alive; á verðgangi, a-begging; á brautu, away; á baki, a-back, behind, past; á milli, a-tween; á laun, alone, secretly; á launungu, id.; á móti, against; á enda, at an end, gone; á huldu, hidden; fara á hæli, to go a-heel, i. e. backwards, Fms. vii. 70;—but in many cases these phrases are transl. by the Engl. partic. with a, which is then perh. a mere prefix, not a prep., á flugi, a-flying in the air, Nj. 79; vera á gangi, a-going; á ferli, to be about; á leiki, a-playing, Fms. i. 78; á sundi, a-swimming, ii. 27; á verði, a-watching, x. 201; á hrakningi, a-wandering; á reiki, a-wavering; á skjálfi, a-shivering; á-hleri, a-listening; á tali, a-talking, Ísl. ii. 200; á hlaupi, a-running, Hkr. ii. 268; á verki, a-working; á veiðum, a-hunting; á fiski, a-fishing; á beit, grazing: and as a law term it even means in flagranti, N. G. L. i. 348.

VIII. used absolutely without a case in reference to the air or the weather, where ‘á’ is almost redundant; þoka var á mikil, a thick fog came on, Nj. 267; niðamyrkr var á, pitch darkness came on, Eg. 210; allhvast á norðan, a very strong breeze from the north, Fms. ix. 20; þá var á norðrænt, a north wind came on, 42, Ld. 56; hvaðan sem á er, from whatever point the wind is; var á hríð veðrs, a snow storm came on, Nj. 282; görði á regn, rain came on, Fms. vi. 394, xi. 35, Ld. 156.

WITH ACC.

A. Loc.

I. denoting simple direction towards, esp. connected with verbs of motion, going, or the like; hann gékk á bergsnös, Eg. 389; á hamar, Fas. ii. 517.

2. in phrases denoting direction; liggja á útborða, lying on the outside of the ship, Eg. 354; á annat borð skipinu, Fms. vii. 260; á bæði borð, on both sides of the ship, Nj. 124, Ld. 56; á tvær hliðar, on both sides, Fms. v. 73. Ísl. ii. 159; á hlið, sidewards; út á hlið, Nj. 262, Edda 44; á aðra hönd henni, Nj. 50, Ld. 46; höggva á tvær hendr, to hew or strike right and left, Ísl. ii. 368, Fas. i. 384, Fms. viii. 363, x. 383.

3. upp á, upon; hann tók augu Þjaza ok kastaði upp á himin, Edda 47: with verbs denoting to look, see, horfa, sjá, líta, etc.; hann rak skygnur á land, he cast glances towards the land, Ld. 154.

II. denoting direction with or without the idea of arriving:

1. with verbs denoting to aim at; of a blow or thrust, stefna á fótinn, Nj. 84; spjótið stefnir á hann miðjan, 205: of the wind, gékk veðrit á vestr, the wind veered to west, Fms. ix. 28; sigla á haf, to stand out to sea, Hkr. i. 146, Fms. i. 39: with ‘út’ added, Eg. 390, Fms. x. 349.

2. conveying the notion of arriving, or the intervening space being traversed; spjótið kom á miðjan skjöldinn, Eg. 379, Nj. 96, 97; langt upp á land, far up inland, Hkr. i. 146: to reach, taka ofan á belti, of the long locks of a woman, to reach down to the belt, Nj. 2; ofan á bringu, 48; á þa ofan, 91.

III. without reference to the space traversed, connected with verbs denoting to go, turn, come, ride, sail, throw, or the like, motion of every kind; hann kastar honum á völlinn, he flings him down, Nj. 91; hlaupa á skip sitt, to leap on board his ship, 43; á hest, to mount quickly, Edda 75; á lend hestinum, Nj. 91; hann gengr á sáðland sitt, he walks on to his fields, 82: on, upon, komast á fætr, to get upon one’s legs, 92; ganga á land, to go a-shore, Fms. i. 40; ganga á þing, vii. 242, Grág. (often); á skóg, á merkr ok skóga, into a wood, Fb. i. 134, 257, Fms. xi. 118, Eg. 577, Nj. 130; fara á Finnmörk, to go travelling in Finmark, Fms. i. 8; koma, fara á bæ, to arrive at the farm-house; koma á veginn, Eg. 578; stíga á bát, skip, to go on board, 158; hann gékk upp á borg, he went up to the burg (castle), 717; en er þeir komu á loptriðið, 236; hrinda skipum á vatn, to float the ships down into the water, Fms. i. 58; reka austr á haf, to drift eastwards on the sea, x. 145; ríða ofan á, to ride down or over, Nj. 82.

IV. in some cases the acc. is used where the dat. would be used, esp. with verbs denoting to see or hear, in such phrases as, þeir sá boða mikinn inn á fjörðinn, they saw great breakers away up in the bight of the firth, the acc. being due perhaps to a motion or direction of the eye or ear towards the object, Nj. 124; sá þeir fólkit á land, they saw the people in the direction of land, Fas. ii. 517: in phrases denoting to be placed, to sit, to be seated, the seat or bench is freq. in the acc. where the dat. would now be used; konungr var þar á land upp, the king was then up the country, the spectator or narrator is conceived as looking from the shore or sea-side, Nj. 46; sitja á miðjan bekk, to be seated on the middle bench, 50; skyldi konungs sæti vera á þann bekk … annat öndvegi var á hinn úæðra pall; hann setti konungs hásæti á miðjan þverpall, Fms. vi. 439, 440, cp. Fagrsk. l. c., Sturl. iii. 182; eru víða fjallbygðir upp á mörkina, in the mark or forest, Eg. 58; var þar mörk mikil á land upp, 229; mannsafnaðr er á land upp (viewed from the sea), Ld. 76; stóll var settr á mótið, Fas. i. 58; beiða fars á skip, to beg a passage, Grág. i. 90.

V. denoting parts of the body; bíta e-n á barka, to bite one in the throat, Ísl. ii. 447; skera á háls, to cut the throat of any one, Nj. 156; brjóta e-n á háls, to break any one’s neck; brjóta e-n á bak, to break any one’s back, Fms. vii. 119; kalinn á kné, frozen to the knees with cold, Hm. 3.

VI. denoting round; láta reipi á háls hesti, round his horse’s neck, 623. 33; leggja söðul á hest, Nj. 83; and ellipt., leggja á, to saddle; breiða feld á hofuð sér, to wrap a cloak over his head, 164; reyta á sik mosa, to gather moss to cover oneself with, 267; spenna hring á hönd, á fingr, Eg. 300.

VII. denoting a burden; stela mat á tvá hesta, hey á fimtán hesta, i. e. a two, a fifteen horse load, Nj. 74: metaph., kjósa feigð á menn, to choose death upon them, i. e. doom them to death, Edda 22.

B. TEMP.

I. of a period of time, at, to; á morgun, to-morrow (í morgun now means the past morning, the morning of to-day), Ísl. ii. 333.

II. if connected with the word day, ‘á’ is now used before a fixed or marked day, a day of the week, a feast day, or the like; á Laugardag, á Sunnudag …, on Saturday, Sunday, the Old Engl. a-Sunday, a-Monday, etc.; á Jóladaginn, Páskadaginn, on Yule and Easter-day; but in old writers more often used ellipt. Sunnudaginn, Jóladaginn …, by dropping the prep. ‘á,’ Fms. viii. 397, Grág. i. 18.

III. connected with ‘dagr’ with the definite article suffixed, ‘á’ denotes a fixed, recurring period or season, in; á daginn, during the day-time, every day in turn, Grett. 91 A.

IV. connected with ‘evening, morning, the seasons,’ with the article; á kveldit, every evening, Ld. 14; á sumarit, every summer, Vd. 128, where the new Ed. Fs. 51 reads sumrum; á haust, every autumn, Eg. 741 (perh. a misprint instead of á haustin or á haustum); á vetrinn, in the winter time, 710; á várit, every spring, Gþl. 347; the sing., however, is very rare in such cases, the old as well as mod. usage prefers the plur.; á nætrnar, by night, Nj. 210; á várin, Eg. 710; á sumrin, haustin, á morgnana, in the morning (á morgin, sing., means to-morrow); á kveldin, in the evening, only ‘dagr’ is used in sing., v. above (á daginn, not á dagana); but elliptically and by dropping the article, Icelanders say, kveld og morgna, nótt og dag, vetr sumar vor og haust, in the same sense as those above mentioned.

V. denoting duration, the article is dropped in the negative phrase, aldri á sinn dag, never during one’s life; aldri á mína daga, never in my life, Bjarn. 8, where a possess. pron. is put between noun and prep., but this phrase is very rare. Such phrases as, á þann dag, that day, and á þenna dag, Stj. 12, 655 xxx. 2. 20, are unclassical.

VI. á dag without article can only be used in a distributive sense, e. g. tvisvar á dag, twice a-day; this use is at present freq. in Icel., yet instances from old writers are not on record.

VII. denoting a movement onward in time, such as, liðið á nótt, dag, kveld, morgun, sumar, vetr, vár, haust (or nóttina, daginn …), jól, páska, föstu, or the like, far on in the night, day …, Edda 33; er á leið vetrinn, when the winter was well on, as the winter wore on, Nj. 126; cp. áliðinn: also in the phrase, hniginn á inn efra aldr, well stricken in years, Ld. 68.

C. Metaph. and in various relations:

I. somewhat metaphorically, denoting an act only (not the place); fara á fund, á vit e-s, to call for one, Eg. 140; koma á ræðu við e-n, to come to a parley with, to speak, 173; ganga á tal, Nj. 103; skora á hólm, to challenge to a duel on an island; koma á grið, to enter into a service, to be domiciled, Grág. i. 151; fara á veiðar, to go a-hunting, Fms. i. 8.

β. generally denoting on, upon, in, to; bjóða vöxtu á féit, to offer interest on the money, Grág. i. 198; ganga á berhögg, to come to blows, v. berhögg; fá á e-n, to make an impression upon one, Nj. 79; ganga á vápn e-s, to throw oneself on an enemy’s weapon, meet him face to face, Rd. 310; ganga á lagið, to press on up the spear-shaft after it has passed through one so as to get near one’s foe, i. e. to avail oneself of the last chance; bera fé á e-n, to bribe, Nj. 62; bera öl á e-n, to make drunk, Fas. i. 13; snúinn á e-t, inclined to, Fms. x. 142; sammælast á e-t, to agree upon, Nj. 86; sættast, verða sáttr á e-t, in the same sense, to come to an agreement, settlement, or atonement, 78, Edda 15, Eb. 288, Ld. 50, Fms. i. 279; ganga á mála, to serve for pay as a soldier, Nj. 121; ganga á vald e-s, to put oneself in his power, 267; ganga á sætt, to break an agreement; vega á veittar trygðir, to break truce, Grág. ii. 169.

II. denoting in regard to, in respect to:

1. of colour, complexion, the hue of the hair, or the like; hvítr, jarpr, dökkr … á hár, having white, brown, or dark … hair, Ísl. ii. 190, Nj. 39; svartr á brún ok brá, dark of brow and eyebrow; dökkr á hörund, id., etc.

2. denoting skill, dexterity; hagr á tré, a good carpenter; hagr á járn, málm, smíðar …, an expert worker in iron, metals …, Eg. 4; fimr á boga, good at the bow: also used of mastership in science or arts, meistari á hörpuslátt, a master in striking the harp, Fas. iii. 220; fræðimaðr á kvæði, knowing many poems by heart, Fms. vi. 391; fræðimaðr á landnámssögur ok forna fræði, a learned scholar in histories and antiquities (of Are Frode), Ísl. ii. 189; mikill á íþrótt, skilful in an art, Edda (pref.) 148; but dat. in the phrase, kunna (vel) á skíðum, to be a cunning skater, Fms. i. 9, vii. 120.

3. denoting dimensions; á hæð, lengd, breidd, dýpt …, in the heighth, length, breadth, depth …, Eg. 277; á hvern veg, on each side, Edda 41 (square miles); á annan veg, on the one side, Grág. i. 89.

β. the phrase, á sik, in regard to oneself, vel (illa) á sik kominn, of a fine ( ugly) appearance, Ld. 100, Fas. iii. 74.

III. denoting instrumentality; bjargast á sínar hendr, to live on the work of one’s own hands, (á sínar spýtur is a mod. phrase in the same sense); (vega) á skálir, pundara, to weigh in scales, Grág. ii. 370; at hann hefði tvá pundara, ok hefði á hinn meira keypt en á hinn minna selt, of a man using two scales, a big one for buying and a little one for selling, Sturl. i. 91; á sinn kostnað, at one’s own expense; nefna e-n á nafn, by name, Grág. i. 17, etc. The Icel. also say, spinna á rokk, snældu, to spin on or with a rock or distaff; mala á kvern, to grind in a ‘querne,’ where Edda 73 uses dat.; esp. of musical instruments, syngja, leika á hljóðfæri, hörpu, gígju …; in the old usage, leika hörpu …, Stj. 458.

IV. denoting the manner or way of doing:

1. á þessa lund, in this wise, Grág. ii. 22; á marga vega, á alla, ymsa vega, in many, all, respects, Fms. i. 114; á sitt hóf, in its turn, respectively, Ld. 136, where the context shews that the expression answers to the Lat. mutatis mutandis; á Þýðersku, after German fashion, Sks. 288.

2. esp. of language; mæla, rita á e-a tungu, to speak, write in a tongue; á Írsku, in Irish, Ld. 76; Norrænu, in Norse, Eb. 330, Vm. 35; a Danska tungu, in Danish, i. e. Scandinavian, Norse, or Icelandic, Grág. i. 18; á Vára tungu, i. e. in Icelandic, 181; rita á Norræna tungu, to write in Norse, Hkr. (pref.), Bs. i. 59:—at present, dat. is sometimes used.

3. in some phrases the acc. is used instead of the dat.; hann sýndi á sik mikit gaman, Fms. x. 329; hann lét ekki á sik finna, he shewed no sign of motion, Nj. 111; skaltú önga fáleika á þik gera (Cod. Kalf.), 14.

V. used in a distributive sense; skal mörk kaupa gæzlu á kú, eðr oxa fim vetra gamlan, a mark for every cow, Grág. i. 147; alin á hvert hross, 442; á mann, per man (now freq.): cp. also á dag above, lit. B.

VI. connected with nouns,

1. prepositional; á hendr (with dat.), against; á hæla, at heel, close behind; á bak, at back, i. e. past, after; á vit (with gen.), towards.

2. adverbially; á braut, away, abroad; á víxl, in turns; á mis, amiss; á víð ok dreif, a-wide and a-drift, i. e. dispersedly.

3. used almost redundantly before the following prep.; á eptir, after, behind; á undan, in front of; á meðal, á milli, among; á mót, against; á við, about, alike; á frá (cp. Swed. ifrån), from (rare); á fyrir = fyrir, Haustl. 1; á hjá, beside (rare); á fram, a-head, forwards; á samt, together; ávalt = of allt, always: following a prep., upp á, upon; niðr á, down upon; ofan á, eptir á, post eventum, (temp.) á eptir is loc., id., etc.

VII. connected with many transitive verbs, answering to the Lat. ad- or in-, in composition, in many cases periphrastically for an objective case. The prep. generally follows after the verb, instead of being prefixed to it as in Lat., and answers to the Engl. on, to; heita kalla, hrópa á, to call on; heyra, hlusta, hlyða á, to hearken to, listen to; hyggja, hugsa á, to think on; minna á, to remind; sjá, líta, horfa, stara, mæna, glápa, koma auga … á, to look on; girnast á, to wish for; trúa á, to believe on; skora á, to call on any one to come out, challenge; kæra á, to accuse; heilsa á, to greet; herja, ganga, ríða, hlaupa, ráða … á, to fall on, attack, cp. ágangr, áreið, áhlaup; ljúga á, to tell lies of, to slander; telja á, to carp at; ausa, tala, hella, kasta, verpa … á, to pour, throw on; ríða, bera, dreifa á, to sprinkle on; vanta, skorta á, to fall short of; ala á, to plead, beg; leggja á, to throw a spell on, lay a saddle on; hætta á, to venture on; gizka á, to guess at; kveða á, to fix on, etc.: in a reciprocal sense, haldast á, of mutual strife; sendast á, to exchange presents; skrifast á, to correspond (mod.); kallast á, to shout mutually; standast á, to coincide, so as to be just opposite one another, etc.

f. [Lat. aqua; Goth. ahva; Hel. aha; A. S. eâ; O. H. G. aha, owa; cp. Germ. ach and aue; Fr. eau, eaux; Engl. Ax-, Ex-, etc., in names of places; Swed.-Dan. å; the Scandinavians absorb the hu, so that only a single vowel or diphthong remains of the whole word]:—a river. The old form in nom. dat. acc. sing. is , v. the introduction to A, page 1, Bs. i. 333 sq., where ́n, ́ (acc.), and ́na; so also Greg. 677; the old fragm. of Grág. ii. 222, 223, new Ed. In the Kb. of the Edda the old form occurs twice, viz. page 75, ́na (acc.), (but two lines below, ána), í ́nni (dat.) The old form also repeatedly occurs in the Kb. and Sb. of the Grág., e. g. ii. 266, 267: gen. sing. ár; nom. pl. ár, gen. á contracted, dat. ám, obsolete form ́m; Edda 43, Eg. 80, 99, 133, 185: proverbs, at ósi skal á stemma, answering to the Lat. principiis obsta, Edda 60; hér kemr á til sæfar, here the river runs into the sea, metaph. = this is the very end, seems to have been a favourite ending of old poems; it is recorded in the Húsdrápa and the Norðsetadrápa, v. Edda 96, Skálda 198; cp. the common saying, oil vötn renna til sævar, ‘all waters run into the sea.’ Rivers with glacier water are in Icel. called Hvítá, White river, or Jökulsá: Hitá, Hot river, from a hot spring, opp. to Kaldá, v. Landn.: others take a name from the fish in them, as Laxá, Lax or Salmon river (freq.); Örriða á, etc.: a tributary river is þverá, etc.: ár in the Njála often means the great rivers Ölfusá and Þjórsá in the south of Iceland. Áin helga, a river in Sweden, Hkr. ii: á is also suffixed to the names of foreign rivers, Tempsá = Thames; Dóná, Danube (Germ. Don-au), (mod.), etc. Vide Edda (Gl.) 116, 117, containing the names of over a hundred North-English and Scottish rivers.

COMPDS: áráll, árbakki, árbrot, ardjúp, árfarvegr, árfors, árgljúfr, árhlutr, ármegin, árminni, ármót, áróss, árreki, árstraumr, árströnd, árvað, árvegr, árvöxtr.

and á-mót, n. a ‘waters-meet,’ Lat. cottfluentia, H. E. i. 129.

* * *

(-da, -dr), v.

1) to divide into parts;

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

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

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

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

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

2) to deal out, apportion, allot;

deildr hlutr, a share allotted to one;

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

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

3) to distinguish, discern, = greina;

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

deila liti, to discern colours;

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

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

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

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

þótt hringbrotar heiptir deili, though men hate one another;

deila kníf ok kjötstykki, to share knife and meat;

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

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

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

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

deila á e-n, to contend against one;

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

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

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

ef í deilir með þeim, if they disagree;

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

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

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

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

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

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

f. disagreement, contest;

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

* * *

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1) deep water, deep place;

2) the deep sea, deep (kastaði hann øxinni fyrir borð á djúpi);

3) pit (djúp helvítis).

* * *

n. the deep; í djúpum vatna, in the depths of the waters, Sks. 628; mikit djúp (a great gulf) á milli vor staðfest, Luke xvi. 26; at eigi svelgi oss djúpit, 655 xxxii; djúp árinnar, the channel in a river, Fas. i. 151.

β. the deep sea off the shore is called djúp; kastaði hann öxinni fyrir borð á djúpi, Eg. 196; síðan býr Agnarr sik til ok kafar í djúpit, Fas. i. 27: the fishers distinguish between grunn-mið and djúp-mið, vide mið; Icel. also say, hundrað, sextigi… faðma djúp: a large bay may be called djúp, e. g. Ísafjarðar-djúp, Landn. 147; sjávar-djúp, hafs-djúp, the main; hann lét grafa út d. (a ‘deep,’ i. e. channel) við Skeljastein, Fms. x. 153.

γ. metaph., eilift d., 656 B. 9: eccl. used of God, d. miskunnar, gæzku, depth of mercy, grace, etc.; cp. dýpt, dýpi.

m. pl. (thus pronounced on the spot, not Mann-heimar, as it is often spelt), the name of a farm in western Icel.; the local legend attributes the name to English captives kept there by lady Olöf, for having slain her husband, during the English trade (1467). But at that time the word man had become quite obsolete, and so the name must be older, prob. dating from the time of the first settler Geirmund, who had been a freebooter in the British waters before he came to Icel.; he may have had his household of bondmen at this farm, see Safn i. 353 (foot-note).

* * *

1) meeting;

mæla mót með sér, to fix a meeting;

2) town-meeting (var blásit til móts í bœnum ok sagt, at konungr vildi tala við bœjarmenn);

3) joint, juncture (cf. ‘liðamót’);

4) in prepositional and adverbial phrases;

á mót, í mót e-m, to meet a person (ganga, ríða á or í mót e-m);

against (mæla, standa á or í mót e-u);

í mót, in return, in exchange;

á móti, í móti, at móti (e-m) = í mót;

snúa í móti e-m, to turn against one;

rísa í móti e-u, to rise against, withstand;

mikit er þat í móti erfðinni minni, that is much when set against what I shall leave behind me;

til móts við e-n, to meet one;

halda til móts við e-n, to march against one;

vera til móts, to be on the opposite side;

miklir kappar eru til móts, there are great champions to contend with;

eiga e-t til móts við e-n, to own a thing in common with another (= til jafns við e-n);

gøra e-t til móts við e-n, to equal one in a thing (engan vissa ek þann, er þat léki til móts við mik).

prep. with dat. to meet, towards, etc. = í mót ( see mót 4).

1) image, stamp (mót á peningi);

2) model (skaltu smíða hús eptir því móti, sem ek mun sýna þér);

3) mark, sign (máttu sjá mót á, er hón hlær við hvert orð) cf. ambáttarmót, mannsmót, ættarmót, œskumót;

4) manner, way;

með kynligu (undarligu) móti, in a strange manner;

mikill fjöldi dýra með öllu móti, of every shape and manner;

með því móti, in that way;

með því móti, at, in such a way that;

með litlu (minna) móti, in a small (less) degree;

með engu móti, by no means;

frá móti, abnormal.

* * *

n. [A. S. gemot; Old Engl. mote or moot, in ward-mote, the Moot-ball at Newcastle; Dan. möde; Swed. mot and möte]:—a meeting; mæla mót með sér, to fix a meeting Eg. 564; þeir mæltu mót með sér ok hittusk í Elfinni, 444; manna-mót, a meeting; vinamót, a meeting of friends.

2. as a Norse law term; in Norway a mót was a town meeting, and is opp. to þing, a county meeting; á þingi en eigi á móti, þvíat sökin veit til lands-laga en eigi til Bjarkeyjar-réttar, Hkr. iii. 257, N. G. L. ii. 190; á þingum ok á móti, Fagrsk. 145; var blásit til móts í bænum, Fms. vi. 202, 238, 270; á móti í kaupangi, vii. 130; móts-fjalir, a meeting-shed, N. G. L. i. 224.

II. a joint, juncture; mót á hring, cp. mótlauss; ár-mót, a meeting of waters, also a local name, cp. Lat. Confluentia, Coblenlz; liða-mót, q. v.: of time, in pl., alda-mót, the end and beginning of two centuries; mánaða-mót, missera-mót, eykta-mót, and so on.

B. As adverb, both in dat. móti, against, on the opposite side, with dat. as also with a prep., á móti, í móti; or in gen. móts or móts við, against, with acc. used as prep. and ellipt. or even as adverb:

I. gen. móts; til móts við e-n, towards, against; fara til móts við e-n, to go to meet one, encounter, visit. Eg. 9; fara á móts við, Fas. i. 450; halda til móts við, to march against, Fms. ii. 217; snúa til móts við, Nj. 125; ganga til móts við e-n (= ganga til fundar við e-n), to go to meet a person, 100; koma til móts við, Eg. 63; eiga e-t til móts við e-n, to own in common with another, 101, Gþl. 506, Fms. ii. 91; vera til móts, to be on the opposite side, opposed, Nj. 274; miklir kappar eru til móts, there are mighty men to meet or contend with, 228; en þar allt er lögin skilr á, þá skulu öll hallask til móts við Uppsala-lög, they shall all lean towards the law of Upsala, i. e. in a controverted case the law of U. is to rule, Ó. H. 65.

II. dat. móti, á móti, í móti, and more rarely at móti e-m (all these forms are used indiscriminately), as also an apocopated mót, qs. móti (á mót, í mót):—against, on the opposite side, towards, and the like; fara móti e-m, Fms. vi. 29; móti sólu, 439; snúa í móti e-m, Nj. 3, 43, 74, 118, 127, 177, Fms. i. 169, iii. 189, v. 181, vi. 3, ix. 348, 511, xi. 121, 126, Eg. 283, 284, 572, Landn. 317, Ld. 214; hann sagði at í móti vóru þeir Grjótgarðr, Nj. 125; rísa í móti, to rise against, withstand, Lv. 79, and so in countless instances:—denoting reception, göra veizlu móti e-m, Eg. 43, Nj. 162, passim:—towards, konungr leit móti honum, looked towards him, Fms. i. 41.

III. metaph. in return, in exchange for; fór með honum sonr Guðbrands í gisling en konungr fékk þeim annan mann í móti, Ó. H. 108; Gunnarr bauð þá at móti Geiri goða at hlýða til eiðspjalls síns, in his turn, Nj. 87; ok mæla jamíllt at móti at ósekju, Grág. ii. 145; skolu trygðir koma hvervetna móti sakbótum, 187; þá kvað hann aðra vísu í móti, Fms. i. 48; hann hló mjök mót atfangi manna, vi. 203; hann gaf drottningu sæmiligar gjafir ok svá drottningin honum á móti, x. 95; sendi hann konungi vingjafir ok góð orð mót vináttu hans, i. 53; mikit er þat í mót (against, as compared with) erfðinni minni, Nj. 4; sagði at hann mundi eigi þiggja nema annat fé kæmi í mót, 133; hvat hefir þú í móti því er hann deildi kappi við Þorgrim goða, what hast thou to set against that as an equivalent? Ísl. ii. 215; engar skulu gagnsakir metask á mót þeim málum, Grág. i. 294.

2. against, contrary to; móti Guðs lögum, Fms. x. 21:—with verbs, göra e-t móti e-m, to act against, Ld. 18; mæla móti, to contradict; standa mót, to withstand; ganga mót, to go against, as also to confess and the like.

3. bera at móti, to happen, Fms. ii. 59 (see bera C. II. 2): whence

4. temp. towards a time; mót Jólum, Páskum, passim; í mót vetri, towards the setting in of winter, Hkr. i. 13; móti sumri, towards the coming in of summer; móti degi, towards day, Fms. i. 71; hann sofnáði móti deginum, vi. 62; móti þingi, towards the opening of parliament, Rb. 530.

n. [cp. Ulf. môta = τελωνιον; O. H. G. mûta]:—a stamp, mark; spurði hann hvers mót eðr mark var á þeim penningi, Th. 50; mót á silfri, 623. 6l; skaltú smíða hús eptir því móti sem nú mun ek sýna þér, Fb. i. 439.

II. metaph. a mark; máttú sjá mót á er hón hlær við hvert orð, Nj. 18; æsku-mót, Fms. xi. 422; ættar-mót, a family likeness; manns-mót, the stamp, mark of a true man, Fb. i. 150; alla þá menn er nokkut manns mót var at, Hkr. i. 13; það er ekkert manns mót að honum, he is a small man, a mannikin; er eigi ambóttar mót á henni, she does not look like a bondwoman, Fas. i. 147.

III. manner way, which may, with Dan. maade, Swed. måte, be borrowed from Lat. modus; með kynligu móti, in a strange manner, Fms. ix. 9; með undarligu móti, Nj. 62; mikill fjöldi dýra með öllu móti, of every shape and manner, Þorf. Karl. 420; með því móti, in that way, Fms. i. 48, Fær. 2; með litlu móti, in a small degree, Finnb. 328; með minna móti, in a less degree, Sturl. i. 214; með því móti at ( in such a way that) þeir sóru eiða, cp. Lat. hoc modo, Fms. vi. 27; með öngu móti, by no means, Lat. nullo modo, i. 9; frá móti, abnormally, Grett. 92 A.

n. pl. ‘net-layings’, i. e. the right of laying nets in certain waters; hann skyldi rýma netlögin fyrir þeim, Fs. 35; kirkja á selveiði við Eiðsker ok tvau netlög, Vm. 57; menn eigu at veiða fyrir útan netlög at úsekju, Grág. ii. 358.

* * *

(-ða, -ðr), v.

1) to make to shake, brandish (skelfa sverð, lind, ask);

2) to make to tremble with fear, frighten; s. e-n af e-u, to deter;

3) refl., skelfast, to fear (s. e-t or við e-t).

* * *

ð, a causal to skjálfa, q. v.:—to make to shake, give one a shaking; skeifa lind, Rm. 34; s. aska, 39; hann rétti gullrekit spjót at Armóði ok skelfði við, Orkn. 328; Bengeirr skelfði sverðit, Fms. viii. 317; skelfðan græði, the troubled waters, Fms. vi. (in a verse); hann fær eigi steinvegginn sundr skelfdan, Sks. 410; þat er skelfi þína hamingju, Fms. x. 223.

II. to make tremble, frighten; eigi skal einn þeirra skeifa mik, Fas. i. 73; lát þik þat ekki s., Al. 5; okkr skelfa eigi brögð þeirra, 655 xiii. B. 1; s. e-n af e-u, to deter, Al. 15: skelfdr, frightened, Bs. i. 786; ó-skelfdr, dauntless.

(stœri or stœrri, stœrstr), a.

1) big, great, of size (stórr fiskr, stórt dýr);

stór veðr, rough weather, great gales;

stór sær, high sea;

gørði þá stórt á firðinum, the sea rose high;

2) great, potent (at hann skyldi varast at gøra Ólaf eigi of stóran);

3) great, important (tillagagóðr hinna stœrri mála);

4) proud (fann hann þat brátt á Sigríði, at hón var heldr stór).

* * *

adj., compar. stæri or stærri, superl. stærstr, i. e. stœri, stœrstr; [a word peculiar to the Northern languages, from which it has entered into the Finnish; A. S. stôr; Engl. sturdy; North. E. stordy]:—the original sense seems to be ‘stirred,’ ‘disturbed’ (cp. III), but it is only used in the sense big, great, of size; ein stærst, Fms. iii. 123; bein miklu stærri, Eg. 769; stórir járnrekendr, Sks. 457; stórir askar, Eg. 204; stór héruð, 275; stór veðr, [cp. Shetl. stoor], rough weather, great gales, Ld. 50; stórr sær, a high sea, Sks.; stór, stæri sár, Nj. 153; stærst hof hér á landi, Landn. 335 (Mantissa); í stórum töskum, Hkr. iii. 244.

II. metaph. great, potent; við alla ena stærri menn, Ld. 124; mæltu at hann skyldi göra Ólaf eigi of stóran, Fms. i. 99; at hann görisk eigi of stórr, Eg. 50; gör þik eigi stærra enn þú átt kyn til, Fms. xi. 236; hve marga (aura) ok hve stóra, Grág. i. 136.

2. great, important; enna stærri mála, Nj. 2.

3. proud; bændr vóru þar því stærri enn annarsstaðar, at engi vildi til koma, Fms. iv. 112: Sigríð kona hans var heldr stór, v. 30 (skap-stórr, Ó. H. l. c.)

III. neut., görði þá stórt á firðinum, the sea rose high, Eg. 60; tíðendi þau er honum lægi svá stórt við, Fms. xi. 102; höggva stórt, to strike hard, Nj. 53.

IV. adverbial phrases, stórum, very greatly, much; svá at ek finna stórum, Ísl. ii. 343; stórum stauplar nú yfir, Fs. 153; þat berr stórum, it amounts to much, Fms. ii. 37; ætla ek stærum bera hin laga-brotin, vii. 305; stórum ríkr, very mighty, Hkr. iii. 244; stórum vinsæll, Fms. vii. 102; stórum feginn, Eg. 567; stórum sköruligt, Ld. 106. 2. stærrum, more, in a greater degree; skjótara ok stærum, Sks. 71; gefit hefir þú mér stærum, Fms. vii. 56; eigi stærum né smærum, neither more nor less, Grág. i. 241. 3. stórs, adv.; ekki stórs of ökla upp, Bs. i. 349. 4. stóru-gi, adv. much, greatly, Ísl. ii. 384; see -gi.

B. In COMPDS, and with nouns, stór-, like smár-, is chiefly prefixed to nouns in plur. or in a collective sense: stór-auðigr, adj. very wealthy, Landn. 68, Eg. 2, 23, Fms. xi. 293, Hdl. 39. stór-ár, f. pl. great waters, Stj. 87, Rb. 350. stór-beinóttr, adj. bony, coarse-faced, Eb. 30, Fas. i. 173. stór-blót, n. pl. great sacrifices, Fms. v. 164. stór-bokkar, m. pl. ‘big bucks,’ lordlings, mighty and overbearing men, Eb. 334, Fms. viii. 238 (spelt bukkar), xi. 260, Bs. i. 621. stór-borgir, f. pl. big towns, Róm. 264. stór-borinn, part. high-born, Hkr. i. 243, Bær. 14. stór-brögðóttr, adj. very sly, Hðm. 13. stór-burðigr, adj. = stórborinn, Fas. ii. 474, v. l. stór-bú, n. pl. great estates, Eg. 170, Fms. i. 13. stór-bygðir, f. pl. large counties, settlements, Ó. H. 174. stór-byssur, f. pl. big catapults, Fas. iii. 428, v. l.: big guns. stór-bæir, m. pl. great estates, Hkr. i. 20. stór-bændr, m. pl. great freeholders, Fms. ii. 40, Orkn. 136, Sturl. i. 37. stór-deildir, f. pl. great differences, quarrels, Sturl. i. 140, iii. 7. stór-deilur, f. pl. id., Sturl. i. 140 C. stór-draumar, m. pl. portentous dreams, Sturl. ii. 204 C. stór-efli, n., in stór-eflis-menn, m. pl. mighty men, Fms. xi. 7, 13, Gísl. 55, Háv. 50, Glúm. 37. stór-efni, n. pl. important cases, N. G. L. stór-eignir, f. pl. great landed estates, Hkr. iii. 19; stóreigna maðr, a great landowner, Ísl. ii. 202. stór-erviði, n. severe toil, hard work, Sturl. iii. 65. stór-eyjar, f. pl. great islands, Fms. vii. 85. stór-fé, n. great wealth, Nj. 178, Eg. 75, Fms. ix. 320; stórfjár ok dýrgripa, vii. 186. stór-feginn, adj. very fain or glad, Ver. 19, Bret. 46, Fms. xi. 29. stór-fengr, adj. gross, huge; hann var s. ok auðigr, Sturl. i. 8; föður átta ek heldr stórfengan, Brand. 62; stórfeng kýr, a good milch cow, Bs. i. 194. stór-fetaðr, part. long-striding, taking great steps, Fas. ii. 348; s. hestr, Edda 57. stór-fetr, adj. id., Greg. 17. stór-firðir, m. pl. big firths, Fb. iii. 446. stór-fiskar, m. pl. big fishes (whales). Fas. ii. 113. stór-fjaðrar, f. pl. big feathers, Sks. 114. stór-fjarri, adv. very far, Lex. Poët. stór-fjöllóttr, adj. with great fells, Eb. 8. stór-flokkar, m. pl. great ‘flocks,’ large detachments, Ó. H. 208. stór-frörar, m. pl. ice-fields, Grett. (in a verse). stór-fuglar, m. pl. big birds, El. 2. stór-fundir, m. pl. great meetings, great battles, Nj. 107. stór-föt, n. pl. big clothes, Glúm. 390. stór-geðr (- geðjaðr), adj. great-minded. Lex. Poët.: = stórgætr (?), Bs. i. 606. stór-gjafar, f. pl. great, lordly, rich gifts, Nj. 151, Fms. vii. 2. stór-gjöfull, adj. munificent, Hkr. i. 291, Fms. viii. 238, Bs. i. 81, Magn. 464. stór-gjöld, n. pl. heavy fines, Fms. i. 66. stór-glæpir, m. pl. great crimes, Fms. vii. 261, Stat. 260, Sks. 773. stórglæpa-maðr, m. a great criminal, Stj. 40. stór-glæpligr, adj. highly criminal, Sks. 773. stór-gnípur, f. pl. huge peaks, mountains, Fas. ii. 76. stór-góz, n. a great property, Bs. i. 853. stór-grýti, n. pl. big stones, rocks, Mag. stór-grýttr, adj. rocky, stony, Fms. xi. 239. stór-gættingar, m. pl. magnates, 623. 32, Al. 16. stór-görr, part. of great size, Lex. Poët. stór-hagr, adj. very skilled, handy, Fas. ii. 347. stór-heimsligr, adj. ‘big-foolish,’ grossly foolish, 625. 73. stór-heit, n. pl. great vows, Bs. i. 421, Fms. ix. 387. stór-héruð, n. pl. great districts, Stj. 83, MS. 655 xvi. A. 3, Ó. H. 125. stór-hlutir, m. pl. great things, Fms. vii. 136: in an evil sense, great sins, MS. 671. 16, N. G. L. i. 459. stór-hræddr, adj. much afraid, Fbr. 149. stór-huga, adj. aiming high, aspiring. stór-hugaðr, adj. high-minded, proud, Am. 72, Stj. stór-hvalir, m. pl. big whales, Sks. 122. stór-hveli, n. id., Fas. ii. 78. stór-höfðingjar, m. pl. great magnates, Fms. vii. 206, 209, Hkr. ii. 140, Barl. 127, Sks. 6. stór-höggr, adj. dealing heavy blows, Fms. xi. 131, Landn. 69, Fb. ii. 128. stór-ílla, adv. very badly, Grett. 120, Fms. i. 12, Fb. i. 411. stór-íllr, adj. very bad, Fms. ix. 393, Lv. 68. stór-jarteinir, f. pl. great wonders, Stj. 289. stór-kappar, m. pl. great champions, Fas. ii. 481. stór-katlar, m. pl. big kettles, Fms. x. 29. stór-kaup, n. pl. wholesale buying. stórkaup-maðr, m. a wholesale dealer, Fb. ii. 75. stór-keralda, að, in a pun, Krók. 63, 64. stór-kerti, n. pl. geat tapers, Flóv. 35. stór-keröld, n. pl. large vats, Dipl. v. 18. stór-klæki, n. pl. great wickedness, Band. 38 new Ed., Ó. H. 217. stór-kostliga, adv. in grand style, Bs. i. 645. stór-kostligr, adj. grand; bær s., Ó. H. 66; s. gjafir, Sturl. i. 48: colossal, Fb. i. 522. stór-kvikendi, n. pl. great beasts, Stj. 70. stór-kvæði, n. pl. great poems, Skálda 205. stór-langr, adj. very long, Eb. 24. stór-látr, adj. proud, haughty, Fms. i. 2: munificent, Fs. 51, Al. 70: not content with a little (opp. to smá-látr), Eg. 17, Fms. vi. 368. stór-leiði, n. a long way, Bs. i. 458. stór-leikr, m. presumption, pride, Fms. iv. 206, Ölk. 34, Stj. 537. stór-leitr, adj. big-faced, Sturl. ii. 99. stór-lendur, f. pl. great lands, Bs. i. 226. stór-liga, adv. greatly, very, Bret. 24, Eg. 57: proudly, Edda. 30; svara s., Fms. i. 3; mæla s., vi. 246, x. 194. stór-ligana, adv. = stórliga, Stj., MS. 227, passim. stór-ligr, adj. great, Eg. 46. stór-ljótr, adj. very ugly, Glúm. 387. stór-lokkar, m. pl. long locks, Fas. i. 173. stór-lyndi, f. magnanimity, Fms. vii. 198, Hkr. iii. 245; sína s., Fms. vii. 96. stór-lyndr, adj. magnanimous, Fms. vii. 98; high-spirited, Nj. 18, Fs. 129, Grett. 158. stór-læti, n. liberality, Ld. 30, Fms. x. 235: pride, v. 71, Ölk. 34. stór-lönd, n. pl. great counties, Fms. iv. 140. stór-mannliga, adv. (-ligr, adj.), like a grand man, munificently, Fs. 15, Ísl. ii. 337, Eg. 62, Fms. xi. 244. stór-mannligr, adj. magnificent, Fs. 11, 30, Fms. ii. 133, vi. 13, xi. 321. stór-margr, adj. very many, Eg. 219. stór-mál, n. pl. great suits; standa í stórmálum, Nj. 227, Fs. 29, Vápn. 22. stór-mein, n. pl. great evils, Fs. 44. stór-meizl, n. pl. great injuries, Sturl. ii. 49. stór-menni, n. great men, men of rank, Eg. 30, Fs. 11, Fms. i. 31, vi. 19, Ó. H. 71: great folk, Bárð. 172; frá Birni bunu er komit nær allt s. á Íslandi, Landn. 39: a liberal man, Sturl. i. 4, 9, Eg. 38, 198: a big man, giant, Edda 33. stór-mennska, u, f. greatness, munificence, Fms. xi. 19, 293, Fs. 15, passim; meir af stór-mennsku enu forsjá, Bs. i. 83. stórmennsku-fullr, adj. munificent. stór-merki, n. pl. wonderful things, great wonders; Guðs s., Edda (pref.), Fms. i. 133, Magn. 534, Symb. 29; hvat er fleira stórmerkja frá askinum, Edda. stór-merkiliga, adv. wonderfully, Mar. stór-merkiligr, adj. wonderful, Mar. stór-mikill, adj. huge, immense, Lv. 68, Eg. 59, Fms. i. 63, vii. 79, 278. stór-mjök, adv. very much, immensely, Fms. vii. 110, Fb. 1. 411, Bret. 54. stór-mæli, n. pl. great affairs; standa í stórmælum, Nj. 224: grave affairs, þau s. er ek hefi mót yðrum vilja brotið, Orkn. 118; eccl. the greater excommunication, hafði biskup í stórmælum ( in ban) tvá höfðingja, Sturl. ii. 2; lýsa stórmælum yfir, to excommunicate, iii. 201; biskup vildi ekki með hann tala, þvíat hann var í stórmælum, Bs. i. 286, 490, Stat. 260, Anecd. 8, 26. stór-nauðsynjar, f. pl. hard necessity, Gþl. 27, 352. stór-nær, adv. very nigh, Bs. i. 21. stór-orðr, adj. using big words, Fms. i. 75, xi. 94; stórort kvæði ok úfagrt, a big-worded, high-sounding poem, Ísl. ii. 237. stór-ráð, n. pl. great undertakings, Fms. i. 83. stór-ráða-samr, adj. daring, venturesome, Grett. 158. stór-ráðr, adj. ambitious; stórráð ok ráðgjörn, Fms. x. 220; s. ok ágjarn, vii. 28, Orkn. 144; a nickname, Sigríðr stórráða, cp. Lat. superbus. stór-ref-singar, f. pl. severe punishment. Fms. vii. 36. stór-regn, n. pl. heavy rains. Fms. viii. 202. stór-reki, m. ‘big-wreck’ big pieces of jetsum; allan stórreka, opp. to smáreki, Vm. 129. stór-riðinn, part. with big meshes, of a net. stór-ritaðr, part. written in large letters, Pm. 125. stór-ríki, n. pl. great empires, Bs. ii. 43. stór-ríkr, adj. very powerful, Ísl. ii. 202, v. l. stór-ræði, n. pl. daring, dangerous, great undertakings, Gþl. (pref. vi), Nj. 66, Fms. i. 83, vi. 10, 37, viii. 120, Sks. 746. stórræða-maðr, m. a man of great aims. Fms. ix. 283. stór-rök, n. pl. mighty events, Hom. 55. stór-sakar, f. pl. great offences. Fms. ii. 4, 33, Ld. 172. stór-samligr, adj. severe, Sks. 49. stór-sár, n. pl. grievous wounds, Fms. iii. 118. stór-skaðar, m. pl. great damage, Bs. i. 144. stór-skip, n. pl. great ships. Fms. vii. 259. stór-skorinn, part. huge, gaunt, Fb. i. 566; mikill vexti ok s., Bárð. 175; s. í andliti, Fb. i. 258; s. sem Goliath, Stj. 464; stórskorit höfuð, Grett. 83 new Ed. stór-skriptir, f. pl. heavy penances, K. Á. 192, H. E. i. 509; stórskripta-maðr, ii. 78. stór-skuldir, f. pl. great debts, Grág. i. 500. stór-slög, n. pl. great visitations, plagues, Stj. 268. stór-smiðr, m. a notable workman, Eg. 4. stór-smíði, n. pl. a huge, bulky work, Edda 19. stór-staðir, m. pl. great towns, Stj. 68; in Icel. or Norway of great church-prebends, Fms. vi. 157. stór-stígr, adj. long-striding. stór-straumr, m. a spring tide. stór-streymt, n. adj. = stórstraumr. stór-sveitir, f. pl. a large detachment., Fms. ix. 429. stór-syndir, f. pl. great sins, H. E. i. 521. stór-sæmdir, f. pl. great honours, Nj. 134, Fms. xi. 331. stór-sæti, n. pl. large ricks, Eb. 150, 224, Brandkr. 30. stór-tákn, n. pl. great wonders. Fms. i. 29, Stj. 261; sing., Bs. i. 42. stór-tignir, f. pl. high dignity, 625. 98. stór-tíðindi, n. pl. great tidings, great events, Fms. iii. 15, vi. 230, Nj. 195, Rb. 394, Sturl. i. 107 C; wonders, Edda 14, Fms. xi. 38. stór-tré, n. pl. huge beams, Karl. 448, Fms. x. 358, Krók. stóru-gi, see stórr (A. IV. 4). stór-úðigr, adj. high-minded, Hbl. 15, Valla L. stór-vandi, a, m. a great difficulty, Sturl. ii. 79. stór-vandræði, n. pl. id., Fms. vii. 25. stór-vegir, m. pl. broad roads, highways, Barl. 190. stór-vegligr, adj. very honourable, Hkr. ii. 100. stór-veizlur, f. pl. great banquets, Fms. i. 291. stór-vel, adv. right well, Eg. 60, 423, Ísl. ii. 382. stór-verk, n. pl. great deeds, Fms. v. 345. stór-viðaðr, adj. large timbered, Fms. ii. 218. stór-viðir, m. pl. great timbers, big beams, Fms. ii. 328, x. 361. Nj. 201, Bs. i. 81. stór-viðri, n. a great tempest, Fms. vii. 310, Grett. 153. stór-virki, n. pl. great feats, Fms. i. 287, ii. 109, vi. 55, Nj. 193, Ld. 40, Eg. 686, Korm. 242, Al. 160. stór-virkr, adj. working mightily; sterkr ok s., working like a giant, Bárð. 163; stórvirkr, opp. to góðvirkr, Nj. 55: as the name of a giant, Edda (Gl.), Fas. i. (Hervar. S. begin.) stór-vitr, adj. very wise, Nj. 22, Fms. i. 31, vi. 10, xi. 13, 205. stór-víða, adv. very widely, Fbr. 41. stór-yrði, n. pl. big words, Eg. 258, Nj. 261, Fms. ix. 419, x. 71, xi. 256, Al. 18. stór-ýðigr, adj. = stórúðigr, Valla L. 208. stór-þing, n. a ‘storthing,’ great council (oecumenical), Karl. 548, Pr. 104, Rb. stór-þorp, n. pl. great villages, Fagrsk. ch. 193. stór-þungt, n. adj. very heavy, Eb. 284. stór-þurftir, f. pl. great need, Bs. i. 525. stór-ættaðr, adj. high-born, Eg. 16, Nj. 178, Fms. i. 186, vi. 246. stór-ættir, f. pl. great families.

f.

1) ‘toft’, homestead;

Skaði byggvir fornar toptir föður, S. dwells in her father’s old home;

2) a place marked out for a house or building (skyldi þar vera kaupstaðr; hann gaf mönnum toptir til at gera sér þar hús);

3) the mere walls or foundations of a (former) building (út með firðinum eru víða toptir).

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tomt, tupt, toft, tuft; the vowel is short, and toft makes a rhyme to opt (Sighvat), Hr optr, lopt, Skáld H. 6. 8: in mod. pronunc. tótt, cp. Dr. Egilsson’s Poems, p. 95; [the forms in early Swed. and Norse also vary much, tompt, top, toft, Schlyter; the word is identical with Engl. tuft.]

B. A green tuft or knoll, green, grassy place, then generally like mid. Lat. toftum, Engl. toft, a piece of ground, messuage, homestead; en nú Skaði byggir fornar toptir föður, Gm. 11; atgeirs-toptir, poët. ‘halberds-homestead,’ i. e. the hands holding the halberd, Ad.; óðal-toptir, an allodial piece of ground, Fms. vi. (in a verse); ef maðr færir hús frá óðals-tuft, þá skal hann bera einu sinni með vátta tvá á óðals-tuftir, if a man removes a house from its ancient (allodial) ground, N. G. L. i. 379 (v. l. 14, 15); toptar nökkvi, the ‘toft-ship,’ i. e. a house, Ýt.; Hropts sig-toptir, Odin’s homestead of victory, i. e. Walhalla, Vsp.

2. a place marked out for a house or building, a toft; en ef sú kirkja brotnar ok falla hornstafir, þá eigu vér timbri á tuft at koma fyrir tólf mánuðr, bring the timber to the toft within twelve months, N. G. L. i. 7, 8; göra kirkju ok hvergi tuft eyða, build a church, and not lay waste the toft, 8; en ef hón er eigi til, þá skal kaupa tuft þar sem menn vilja svá sem menn meta, purchase a toft where to launch the ship, 100; kirkja á skóg hálfan með tupt ok vexti, Vm. 114; mylnu-hús, tuppt ok grundvöll, D. N. iv. 537, B. K. 55, 57; skyldi þar vera kaupstaðr, hann gaf mönnum toptir til at göra sér þar hús, Hkr. i. 274; hann markaði toptir til garða, ok gaf búondum eðr kaupmönnum, Ó. H. 42; verk Dróttins várs marka topt fyrir verkum órum, Greg. 56.

3. a square piece of ground with walls but without roof (cp. tjalda), this is the special later Icel. sense; Hjörleifr lét göra skála tvá, ok er önnur toptin átján faðma enn önnur nítján, Landn. 35; skógr umb skála-tofst, D.I. i. 475; sér þar tuptina sem hann lét göra hrófit, Ld. 34; en er hús vóru ofan tekin, þá var þar síðan kallat Hrafn-toptir, Eg. 100; út með firðinum eru víða toptir ok vítt land þat er engi maðr á, þar vil ek at vit reisim okkr bústað, Háv. 41; rétt er at kveðja búa at toptum ef búar eru brott farnir, Grág. ii. 124; búðar-tópt, the square walls of a hut without a roof, Rd. 274; toptin var full af torfi ok grjóti, id.; hann lét grafa hann hjá toptum nokkurum, Fs. 141; hús-topt, skála-t., kirkju-t., skemmu-t., fjós-t., fjárhús-t., bæjar-t., nausta-t., the bare walls, ruins of a house, skáli, church …; augna-tópt, eye-socket; svá stóð toptin eptir í varr-símanum at þar var logn, the water in the wake was like a lane, with a wall of waters on both hands, Hkr. i. 283.

n. part. roughened, edged; only in the phrase, það er svó úfað, eg veit hvernig það er úfað, I know all its rough edges, all its difficulties, of matters troublesome or of fishing in troubled waters.

(-ta, -t), v. to lift up, raise;

yppa hurðum, to open the doors;

yppa hans lofi, to extol him.

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t and ð, [upp], ‘to up,’ lift up; with dat. to ‘up with’ a thing, út gékk hón síðin, ypðit lítt hurðum, Am. 47 (see remarks s. hníga III. 2. β); hann ypti merki sínu, Karl. 296; áðr Börs synir bjóðum of ypðu, lifted the earth above the waters (in the creation), Vsp. 4; yppa svipum, to ‘up with one’s face,’ look up, Gm. 45; meðan Gillings gjöldum yppik, i. e. whilst I utter my song, Eyvind.

II. metaph. to hold up, exalt, extol; yppa ráðum yðru kappi, Arnór; yppa hans lofi, Fms. x. 372, Al. 71; engi vegr er at yppa hér fyrir alþýðu úgæfu frænda várra, Ölk. 37; mann yptan ok sæmdan, a man lifted up and praised, Barl. 170.

f. pl. large waters.

n. floods, rushing forth of waters.

m. swelling of waters.

m. sound of falling waters.