SUBSTANTIVES

A. STRONG NOUNS, i.e. the more complex kind of Declension in which the gen. sing. ends in a Consonant.

B. WEAK NOUNS, i.e. the simpler kind of Declension in which the gen. sing. ends in a Vowel.

Strong Nouns—Masculine

Remarks on the 1st Declension:

I. heimr: words of this form are found almost in every column of the Dictionary, and are therefore usually only marked ‘m.’

2. about half a score of masculines have a characteristic v, which appears before a vowel, hör-r, hjör-r, bör-r (poët.), söng-r, má-r, sæ-r, snjá-r (sjó-r, snjó-r), sör-var (poët., pl.); in dat. sing. hör-vi,... söng-vi, má-vi, sæ-vi, snjá-vi; in pl. hör-var, söng-var, snjó-var. The dat. in -vi is now obsolete, but the pl. is still used.

3. remarks on the inflexion,

α. the nominative:

• -r assimilates with the final radicals l, n, s: in words with long root vowel, ál-l, gál-l, hvál-l, hól-l, kjól-l, stól-l, fíl-l, hæl-l, þræl-l, flein-n, stein-n, svein-n, brún-n, dún-n, hún-n, ás-s, bás-s, lás-s, haus-s, hnaus-s, meis-s, ís-s, ós-s, etc. In mod. usage the inflex. -s in ás-s... ós-s is dropped, as is the -r after a radical r, in ár-r, aur-r, hver-r, her-r, geir-r, leir-r, hör-r, mör-r, þór-r, hamar-r, and thus the nom. becomes like the acc., ás, bás,... ár, hver, hamar, etc.:

• the r is dropped, in words like afl, gafl, skafl, nagl, vagl, fugl, karl, jarl, jaxl, lax, hrafn, stafn, ofn, stofn, þorn, vagn, svefn, þegn, geisl, gísl, háls, fress, sess, foss, koss, kross, þurs, dans, fans, angr, klungr, hungr, akr, hafr, sigr, otr, lúðr, hrúðr, naðr, nykr, veðr (weather), vikr, gróðr, aldr, Baldr, galdr, öldr, meldr, arðr, hlátr, bólstr, austr, lestr, bakstr, mokstr, apaldr.

β. the genitive: graut-r, skóg-r, höfund-r have -ar in gen. as the 2nd declension.

γ. the dative: some words of this declension drop the -i, but it is difficult to draw an exact line, as this use is rather a licence than a law:

• all the words in -leik-r, kær-leik (charitati) fríðleik (venustati), sann-leik (veritati);

• as also leik-r, fíl-l, kíl-l, skríl-l, (dat. fíl. kíl, skríl), hrepp-r, lepp-r:

• words with long root vowel and a final p or f, hóf-r, hóp-r, sóp-r:

• words with ei as root vowel, dat. hleif, Hm. 51 (but hleif-i, 140); sveip, meis, sveig, dverg (but dvergi, Ýt. 2),

• strák, snáp, skáp, bát and bát-i (scaphae);

• Þór, kór, nór, bor, hor, from þór-r, etc.;

• daun (odori), dún, Brún, hún, múl, múr, dúr, etc., for dún-i... dúr-i, which are obsolete;

• so also búk and búk-i, dúk and dúk-i, múg and múg-i, reit and reit-i:

• those with a long vowel as final, e.g. jó, skó, ná, Frey, þey, from jó-r... þey-r:

• in masculines with a characteristic v the old dat. form is -vi, whereas the mod. drops both letters, thus dat. mör, hör, má, snjó, for the old mör-vi, hör-vi, má-vi, snjó-vi.

• Nouns with the inflexive endings -ingr, -ungr seldom drop the i, konung-i, buning-i:

• words with a radical r never, e.g. galdr-i, aldr-i, not aldr, galdr:

• the proper names of this declension very seldom drop it, e.g. Þorleif-i, Þorlák-i, Þorleik-i:

• dag-r, dat. deg-i, but as pr. name Dag.

• In old writers many of these apocopate forms begin to appear, e.g. Þór-i (the god) is only found in a single instance used by a poet of the 8th century; yet the decay of the dat. inflexion is a little increasing, though the use, ancient and modern, is in the main still the same.

II. himinn: the contraction in dat. sing. and plur. is to be noted, and the assimilation in nom.; hereto belong all masc. with inflex. -inn, -unn, -arr, -urr, -ill, -ull:

1. -nn, aptan-n, arin-n, dróttin-n, himin-n, Óðin-n, morgin-n.

2. -arr, hamar-r, kamar-r, humar-r, jaðar-r, nafar-r, etc.: pr. names in -arr (the -ar in these is etymologically different) are not contracted, e.g. Einar-r, dat. Einar-i.

3. -urr, fjötur-r, tötur-r, jöfur-r; but not so the pr. names, e.g. Gizur-r, dat. Gizur-i.

4. -ll, bagal-l, kaðal-l, vaðal-l, biðil-l, ketil-l (q.v.), lykil-l, jökul-l, röðul-l, stöðul-l, söðul-l, möndul-l, öngul-l, þöngul-l, etc.: even the pr. names are contracted, e.g. Egil-l, dat. Agli; Ketil-l, dat. Katli.

III. lœknir: hereto belong only a score of common words used in prose writing, bæt-ir, ein-ir, elr-ir, end-ir, eyr-ir, fell-ir, hell-ir, hers-ir, hirð-ir, kæs-ir, kyll-ir, létt-ir, lækn-ir, miss-ir, mæl-ir, mœn-ir, nenn-ir, reyn-ir, skelm-ir, steyp-ir, verm-ir, víð-ir, vís-ir, þerr-ir: pr. names as, Grett-ir, Brest-ir, Bein-ir, Styrm-ir, Sverr-ir, Þórir, Æg-ir: local names, Geys-ir, Keil-ir.

2. a great many (more than a hundred) poët, and obsolete words.

☞ In mod. usage the declension of these words is altered and the r is kept throughout, whereby nom. dat. acc. sing. become alike, hell-ir, gen. helli-rs, dat. acc. hell-ir, pl. hell-rar, hell-ra, hell-rum, or laekn-irar, lækn-ira, lækn-irum:

—the words with an inflex. -ari were originally, as shewn by Gothic bôcar-eis, of this declension, but now they are all weak masc., and the sole instances left on record of the old inflexion are the gen. mútar-is by Sighvat, and vartar-is, Landn. 197 (v.l. 18) in a verse of the 10th century.

Remarks on the 2nd Declension: the words belonging hereto are far less in number than those of the 1st, perhaps seven score of simple nouns or thereabout, but they are often irregular, we shall therefore try to give a list of them; their marks, besides the plur. -ir, are the freq. dropping of the dat. sing. -i, the acc. plur. -u, and the characteristic i:

I. fundr: skrið-r, stuld-r, sull-r, sult-r, veg-r, frið-r, kvið-r (a womb), feld-r, verð-r, brest-r, gest-r, rétt-r, kost-r, burð-r, skurð-r, þurð-r, fund-r, mund-r, grís-s, ná-r:

• inflex.-aðr, -uðr, búnað-r, fögnuð-r, hagnað-r, jöfnuð-r, getnað-r, söknuð-r, dugnað-r, þrifnað-r, skilnað-r, etc.:

• stað-r, brag-r, mat-r, sal-r, ham-r, svan-r, val-r, sauð-r, óð-r, snúð-r, þrótt-r, bol-r, dug-r, hug-r, bug-r, grun-r, mun-r, hlut-r, skut-r, vin-r, grip-r, glœp-r, lýð-r,—in these words the dat. -i is dropped, as also in compd nouns in -skap-r, gleðskap-r, fíflskap-r, etc.:

• pr. names in -rðr, -ndr, -kon have also -ar in gen., Bárð-r, Þórð-r, Sigurð-r, Þránd-r, Eyvind-r, Geirröð-r, Sigröð-r, Há-kon, etc.:

• in pl., pr. names of some people (countries or counties), Danir, Frísir, Valir, Indir, Vindir, Lappir, Grikkir, Tyrkir, Kyrjalir, Kvenir, Serkir, Vanir (the gods): Egðir, Eynir, Háleygir, Mœrir, Sygnir, Þilir, Þrœndir (in Norway): -dœlir, Lax-dœlir, Vatns-dœlir, etc.

☞ Irregularities:

• some of the words above have -s in gen. sing. like those of the 1st declension, e.g. hal-r, val-r, ham-r, svan-r, bol-r, dug-r, grun-r, brest-r, gest-r, grís-s, glœp-r, lýð-r, ná-r:

• dal-r, hval-r, staf-r, mar-r, hver-r, ref-r, sel-r, mel-r have now usually -ir in pl., but in olden times they had -ar, and belonged to the 1st declension; they also drop the -i in dat. sing.

II. bekkr: with characteristic j, which appears before a vowel in a score and a half of words; beð-r, vef-r, bekk-r, hrekk-r, stekk-r, flekk-r, leyg-r, eyk-r, reyk-r, legg-r, vegg-r, belg-r, elg-r, merg-r, streng-r, þveng-r, hrygg-r, drykk-r, hlykk-r, byl-r, hyl-r, ryf-r, byr-r, hyr-r, styr-r, lœk-r, bœ-r.

2. dreng-r, segg-r, stegg-r, etc. have -s in gen. sing.

☞ Almost all those above (with characteristic j) also drop, the dat. -i in sing.

3. with characteristic v; sjó-r, gen. sjó-var, pl. sjó-ir.

III. köttr: with an old acc. pl. in -u, prob. caused by a characteristic u (cp. the Goth, airus, qviþus, tigus, vahstus, valus), three score words:

1. with a plain root vowel; kvið-r (dictum), kvist-r, kvitt-r, lið-r, lim-r, lit-r, sið-r, smið-r, stig-r, tig-r, við-r, réttr (a fold), bur-r: most of these words drop the -i in dat. (lið, lim, lit, sið, smið, stig).

2. with a change in the root vowel,

• ö, a, e, lög-r, mög-r, völ-r, völl-r, vönd-r, vörð-r, mörð-r, svörð-r, böll-r, börk-r, knörr, gröpt-r, örn, flöt-r, hött-r, knött-r, kött-r, vött-r, köst-r, vöxt-r, löst-r, mökk-r, Höð-r, Hörð-r, Snört-r, spöl-r (vide bring-spelir):

• jö, ja, i, björn, fjörð-r, hjört-r, kjöl-r, mjöð-r, skjöld-r, Njörð-r (the god):

• á, æ, ár-r, ás-s, drátt-r, hátt-r, mátt-r, slátt-r, þráð-r, spán-n, bálk-r:

• ó, œ, bóg-r:

• o, y, son-r:

• the acc. pl. -u has been changed into -i, first, in árr, áss, making áru, ásu, which changed to æri, æsi, a change which took place very early, and later in other words, which have now all got a regular acc. in -i (limi, firði, ketti, hetti, syni, etc.); syni for sonu occurs even in old MSS.

☞ To björn (p. 66) add that when used as a pr. name it has in mod. usage a gen., Björn-s, not Bjarnar (e.g. Sigurðr Björnsson).

Remarks on the 3rd Declension:

I. ordinary substantives,

1. gen. -ar, mánað-r, pl. -r, mod. -ir; fót-r, q.v.; vetr, fingr, q.v.

2. gen. -s, mað-r, gen. mann-s, pl. menn (með-r); nagl, gen. nagl-s, pl. negl.

II. eigendr: the plur. of participles, when used as subst, as grátend-r, fagnend-r, gefend-r; hereto belong the plur. of bóndi, frændi, fjándi, q.v.

III. the plur. of faðir, bróðir may also be reckoned in this declension.

☞ The Icel. is the only one of all Teutonic languages, except Gothic, that has preserved (up to the present day) the masc. inflexive -r (Goth, -s); even in the earliest Anglo-Saxon it is dropped, and the nom. sing. represents the naked root in the masculines as well as in the feminines and neuters.

Strong Nouns—Feminine

Remarks on the 1st Declension:

I. tíð: almost in every column or page of the Dictionary, and simply marked ‘f.’

II. höfn: about four score words, with a in the root vowel changed into ö, caused by a hidden characteristic u, which appears in dat. sing. of a few of them:

1. fönn, önn, bönn, högld, hrönn, hvönn, spönn, ögn, lögn, sögn, þögn, dröfn, höfn, körf, mörk (sylva), örk, þökk, Hlökk, vömb, þömb, skömm, vömm, klöpp, löpp, ösp, vöst, öxl, mjölt, björg, björk, tjörn, Gjöll (mythol.), löð, tröð, sög, kör, kröm, möl; and in mod. usage, dögg, lögg, öx, kvörn (kvern), q.v.

2. with -u in dat. sing.; rödd, rönd, strönd, önd (anima), jörð, hjörð, höll, þöll, mjöll, mörk (sylva), stöng, töng, röst.

3. -r in nom. pl.; önd (a duck), mörk (marca), hönd (dat. hendi), röng, tönn.

4. the following had in olden times -ar in plur. and thus belonged to the 2nd declension, but changed into -ir at an early date, so that this is the usual form in Editions of Sagas and the sole form in mod. usage,—

α. with a single final, röð, döf, gröf, gjöf, nöf, töf, fjöðr, spjör, sök, vök, dvöl, fjöl, kvöl, löm, grön, mön, þön, för, skör, kös, nös, hvöt.

β. with double final, vörr, þörf, gjörð, görn.

☞ It is likely that at earlier times many more of these words had the plur. -ar and dat. -u; the -ar remained longest in those with a single final, and the dat. -u in those having dd, nd, ll, ng as final; dat. sak-u (culpae) occurs on Runic stones, and gjaf-u, dval-u, etc. may also be supposed.

III. sol: with a characteristic u, which appears sometimes in dat. sing. alone, sometimes in both dat. and acc.:

1. only in dat. in sál, ván, sól, braut, laut, þraut, fold, mold, þjóð, grund, lund, mund, stund, und, ull, hurð, urð, dögg (irreg.), rödd, etc. (above); nótt, night, in plur. naet-r (3rd declension); ey dat. ey-ju, and egg dat. egg-ju belong to the 2nd declension: mæ-r, dat. mey-ju; even röddu (vocem), Pass. 19. 9, but that is a poët, licence.

2. fem. pr. names ending in -björg, -laug, -rún, -ný, -ey, -leif, Ingi-björg, Guð-björg, Þor-björg, Vil-borg, Ás-laug, Guð-laug, Guð-rún, Sig-rún, Sig-ný, Ás-ný (gen. -nýjar), Þór-ey, Guð-leif, Ingi-leif;

• in names of foreign origin, Kristin, Katrin, Elín;

• in all the pr. names the -u fixedly remains (in the appellatives it is often dropped), and this not only in dat. but as a common case for dat. and acc.

3. feminines with the inflexive -ing, fœð-ing, eld-ing, drottn-ing, kerl-ing, kenn-ing, þekk-ing, virð-ing, send-ing, bygg-ing, uppstign-ing, sæ-ing, etc., so many that it would be in vain to try to record them all;

• they have -ar in plur. and thus belong to the 2nd declension:

• in mod. usage many of them have the -u in common for dat. and acc., thus drottning-u = reginae and reginam, kenning-u = doctrinae and doctrinam, fœðing-u = nativitatem and nativitati, but this is very rare in old writers, yet drottningu reginam (acc.), Mar. 232, 304.

β. in -ung, djörf-ung, hörm-ung, laun-ung, etc., but only in dat.; they have also -ar in plur.

Remarks on the 2nd Declension:

I. nál:

1. the feminines in -ing, -ung, vide above.

2. over two score simple nouns, ár, ál, nál, skál, tág, flaug, laug, rauf, dreif, kleif, veig, geil, seil, hlein, rein, vél, heið, rim, sin, hlíf, smíð, flík, kví, for, brú (q.v.), rún, lend, kvern, öx (the old form), alin:

• with radical r, gymbr, lifr, vinstr, vigr:

• only in plur., leif-ar, hrœr-ar, gerð-ar, herð-ar, öfg-ar, æs-ar, hreys-ar, slíðr-ar, gjölln-ar, meiðm-ar (poët.):

• heterogene are, lim-ar, tál-ar (lim, tál in sing. are neut.):

• heteroclyte are, lyg-ar, görsim-ar (sing. indecl. weak fem.)

3. add the words röð, döf, etc. above recorded (1st declension II. 4).

II. fit:

1. over a score of words, with characteristic j, which appears before a vowel, hel, skel, ben, eng, egg, dregg, ey, des, fles, il, vin (only in local names, e.g. Björg-vin), fit, klyf, lyf, nyt, dys, nauðsyn, Frigg (the goddess), fiski (q.v.), mæ-r (q.v.), pl. mey-jar:

• only in plur., ref-jar, sif-jar, skef-jar, men-jar, skyn-jar, hreð-jar.

2. with characteristic v, ör, gen. sing. nom. plur. ör-var, stöð, böð, dögg, gen. stöð-var, böð-var, dögg-var; only in plur., göt-var (obsolete).

☞ Heterogene are the local names in Norway; in fem. plur., Holt-ar, Hús-ar, Hrís-ar, Torg-ar, Tún-ar, Þorp-ar, Nes-jar (holt, hús, hrís, torg, tún, þorp, nes are all neut. appellatives), Ló-ar, Les-jar, Vág-ar, Vin-jar, Kvild-ar, etc., see Munch’s pref. (p. x) to Norge’s Beskriv.

III. heiðr: feminines with an inflex. -r in nom. and characteristic i, which has caused a vowel change in most of them, and which appears in dat. acc. sing.:

1. about a score of appellatives;

• heið-r, veið-r, Hleið-r, erm-r, helg-r (a holiday), eyr-r, mer-r, reyð-r, brúð-r, byrð-r, fyll-r, flœð-r, æð-r (an eider-duck), æð-r (vena), mýr-r, vætt-r, öx (qs. öx-r); ký-r, æ-r, sý-r (q.v.), all three contr. in dat. and plur.; the obsolete þý-r, rýg-r, gýg-r (pl. þý-jar, rýg-jar, gýg-jar):

• in mod. usage the -r has changed into -i, in heið-i, veið-i, erm-i, eyr-i, mer-i, byrð-i, fyll-i, flœð-i, öx-i;

• otherwise they retain the full declension and must not be confounded with the indeclinable weak feminines gleð-i, ell-i, etc.

• In the west of Icel. the -r is still in use in flœð-r, veið-r, reyð-r (steypi-reyð-r), and all over Icel. in ký-r, æ-r; as also in brúð-r, only here the -r is kept through all cases, so that the word has an indeclinable sing., cp. the use of this word in Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 340, 341 (omitted s.v.p. 84).

2. a great many fem. pr. names:

• simple, Auð-r, Fríð-r, Gerð-r, Hild-r, Þrúð-r, Unn-r, Urð-r (mythol.):

• compds, Sigríð-r, Ástríð-r, Guðríð-r, Þuríð-r, Ragnheið-r, Álfheið-r, Hallgerð-r, Ingigerð-r, Valgerð-r, Þorgerð-r, Gunnhild-r, Ragnhild-r, Ingveld-r, Þórhild-r, Hólmfríð-r, etc.:

• those in -uðr, qs. -unnr, Steinun-n, Ingun-n, Iðun-n, Þórun-n:

• in -dis, Ás-dís, Her-dís, Vig-dís, Þór-dís, Álf-dís, dat. acc. dísi (omitted s.v.p. 100), and by way of analogy the foreign abbadís (abbess), as if compounded with dís;

• foreign pr. names, Margrét, Elizabet, etc.:

• in pr. names the inflexive -r is in full use over Icel., so that Baugeið, Randíð, etc. in old MSS. are only Norwegianisms.

☞ The Icel. feminines in -r answer to Gothic -is, and are different from the Gothic feminines in -s, such as anst-s, alþ-s; of these latter the Icel. nauð-r (need, decl. as tíð) is the sole remnant. It is worth noticing that the Icel. feminine proper names have preserved and represent the oldest and fullest declension of feminines.

Remarks on the 3rd Declension, which contains about two score words:

1. eik, steik, geit, greip, grind, gnit, kinn, kind (in mod. usage), flík, spík, tík, vík, rít, mjólk, kverk (but in mod. usage kverk-ar).

2. with changed vowel, bók, brók, glóð, not, rót, gát, nátt, tönn, hönd, önd (anas), mörk, fló, kló, ló, ró, tá, gás, lús, mús, brún, stoð, hnot; plur. bœk-r, glœð-r, gæt-r, næt-r, tenn-r, hend-r, end-r, flœ-r, tæ-r, gæs-s, mýs-s, brýn-n, steð-r, hnet-r (but in present use, stoð-ir, hnot-ir).

☞ A very few of these words have also -r in nom.* gen. sing., viz. mjólk, mörk, nátt, vík; bœk-r from bók also occurs, though seldom; rist-r from rist, Pass. 33. 4, is poët.

3. to this class we may refer the plur. dyr-r (q.v.), gen. dura; the latter r is inflexive, and the form analogous to ký-r from kú; the plur. ký-r, æ-r (q.v.)

4. to this declension may also be referred the plur. of dóttir, systir, móðir, although the r is here radical.

☞ The monosyllabic feminines with a final long vowel are contracted,

• á, brá, gjá, gná, ljá, lá, krá, rá, slá, skrá, spá, þrá; as to the declension of these words vide á, p. 48, and brá, p. 77;

• ló, Ey-gló, sló, stó, þró, dat. ló-m...;

• ásjá (q.v.) has no r in gen., nor trú, frú (q.v.)

• The root vowel of these words is not changed, and accordingly they are classed with the 1st declension of feminines, but in a contracted form.

Strong Nouns—Neuter

Remarks on the 1st Declension:

I. skip: forms like this are regular, and occur throughout the book, simply marked ‘n.’

II. barn: to this belong neuters with a as root vowel, which in plur. becomes ö; a change due to a lost characteristic vowel in neut. plur., answering to -a in Goth., -u in A. S. (cp. Lat. cornu): as a radical a is the only vowel which is affected by an inflexive u, the remains of this inflexion are only found in the words with that root vowel; these words are many:

1. single words,

• bað, blað, vað, haf, vaf, flag, drag, bak, flak, rak, tak, þak, skjal, far, skar, svar, glas, fat, gat, afl, tafl, fall, fjall, kall, band, grand, barð, skarð, bjarg, bragð, flagð, nafn, safn, gagl, hagl, tagl, agn, gagn, hald, vald, magn, lamb, mark, rann, happ, hapt, skapt, hlass, gjald, spjall, spjald, tjald, hvarf, starf, barn, kast, ax, fax, sax, vatn:

• only in plur., lög, glöp, sköp, rök:

• many have no plur.

2. with an inflexive -að, -al, etc., changed into u,

• hér-að, hundr-að, for-að, óð-al, plur. hér-uð, hundr-uð, óð-ul:

• sum-ar (prop, a masc.), plur. sum-ur:

• gaman, dat. contr. gamni: höfuð, dat. höfði.

III. nes: to this belong more than a score of words, with characteristic j, geð, veð, nef, stef, egg, hregg, skegg, él, sel, ben, fen, gren, men, ber, sker, nes, flet, net, fley, grey, hey, kið, rif. gil, þil, fyl, kyn, ný.

IV. högg: to this belong a score of words, with characteristic v, högg, skrök. kjöt, böl, öl, föl, mjöl, fjör, smjör, bygg, glygg, lyng, fræ, læ, hræ, hey: only plur. söl.

☞ The dat. högg-vi, kjöt-vi, böl-vi, smjör-vi, bygg-vi, fræ-vi, hey-vi, etc. began to be uncommon even in old writers and are in mod. usage sounded högg-i, skrök-i, kjöt-i, etc., whereas in plur. the v still remains, e.g. sölva-fjara. For fé, kné, tré, see these words.

Remarks on the 2nd Declension, containing bisyllabic derivative words with characteristic i. Most of these words are derivative and with a changed vowel wherever possible. A great number are declined like klæð-i, so that it is difficult to give a complete list of them, e.g. frelsi (by misprint called fem., p. 172); in the Dictionary they are simply marked ‘n.’

II. ríki: to this belong those with a final g, k, which have j (the characteristic i) in gen. and dat. plur., e.g. fylki, ríki, síki, vígi, lægi, and many others.

Weak Nouns—Masculine

The original characteristic of weak nouns in Teutonic languages is the inflexive -n, of which in Icel. the sole remnant is the gen. plur. of the feminines and neuters.

Remarks on this Declension:

I. tími: forms like this occur almost in every page of the Dictionary, and are simply marked ‘a, m.’

II. steði: to this belong only a few primitive words with characteristic j, as aðil-i, bryt-i, steð-i, vil-i, nið-i;

• the poët, and obsolete *skyt-i, tygg-i; poët. pr. names, Bel-i, Ið-i, Skyl-i, Þrið-i, Víg-i;

• compds in -skegg-i, eyjar-skeggjar;

• names of people in -ver-jar, Gaulver-jar, Oddaver-jar, and in mod. usage, þjóðver-jar, Spánver-jar, etc., cp. -varii in old Teutonic names in Latin writers:

• compds in -ingi, höfðing-i, heiðing-i, kunning-i, fœðing-i, banding-i, leysing-i, auming-i, ræning-i, Væring-i, Skræling-i, etc., pl.höfðing-jar, etc.:

• in -yrki or -virki, ein-virki, spell-virki, etc., pl. einvirk-jar, Tyrki (a Turk, mod.), etc.:

• for lé, gen. ljá (léa), and klé, gen. kléa, see these words.

• There is a curious inflexive -n left in pl. of the obsolete poët, words, brag-nar, gum-nar, got-nar, from bragi, goti, gumi.

☞ Some masculines have a double declension, both strong and weak,

• hug-r and hug-i, hlut-r and hlut-i, hólm-r and hólm-i, stall-r and stall-i, munn-r and munn-i, garð-r and garð-i, odd-r and odd-i, nið-r and nið-i, drang-r and drang-i, linn-r and linn-i, líkam-r and líkam-i, glugg-r and glugg-i, -ingr and -ingi;

• all derivative words in -leikr have both forms, -leik-r and -leik-i;

• cp. also pr. names as Örn and Árn-i, Björn and Bjarn-i, Finn-r and Finn-i, Odd-r and Odd-i, Gísl and Gísl-i, Geir-r and Geir-i, etc.

Weak Nouns—Feminine

Remarks on the 1st Declension:

I. tunga: this form, marked ‘u. f.’ in the Dictionary, contains many hundreds of appellatives, and several pr. names, Halla, Ása, Þóra, Hall-dóra, etc.:

• frú (q.v.) is contracted; so also trú-a, gen. trú; the pr. names Gró-a, Gó-a, gen. Gró, Go.

II. alda: to this belong all the feminines with a as root vowel, cp. introduction to letter A: völv-a, a sibyl, gen. völ-u, pl. völ-ur.

☞ Only a few of the words of this declension (little more than a score, or about two or three per cent, of the whole) form a gen. plur.; these are esp. the following,

• vaka, vika, klukka, ekkja, rekkja, kirkja (gen. ekk-na... kirk-na), stúlka, tala, vala, sála (sálna, Mar. passim), kúla, súla, gata, gáta, sáta, varta, dúfa, þúfa, rjúpa, ríma, vísa, hosa, messa, kelda, skylda;

• kona has kven-na; the nom. of stjarna (a star) and skepna (a creature) may also serve for gen. plur., skaparinn stjarna, creator stellarum, in a hymn:

• in some few cases the gen. plur. is formed by adding the article to the nom. sing., thus gyðja-nna (dearum), gryfja-nna (fovearum):

• in many cases the gen. sing. is used collectively, thus Icel. say, öldu-gangr, impetus undarum,

• the words denoting wave, alda, bára, bylgja, are all of this declension, and none of them have a proper gen. plur.; bylg-na is found (bylgna-gangr, Mar. 269), but ald-na, bar-na are impossible forms, one might perhaps say alda-nna, bylgja-nna;

• sögubók, liber historiarum; the gen. sagn-a, historiarum (sagna-ritari), is rarely used and is borrowed from sögn.

• Sometimes this deficiency may become puzzling, chiefly in translating Latin into Icel.; in original writers it is not felt. In olden times the number of those words that allowed of a gen. was still more limited.

Remarks on the Indeclinable Feminine:—with perhaps the sole exception of ævi (life) and elli (age) all the words of this declension are derivatives from adjectives and formed by a change of vowel, whenever the root vowel of the adjective is changeable; almost all these words are abstract (denoting quality), and so have no plural; forms like gleði-r (ludi) or æfi-r (vitae) are quite exceptional and ungrammatical:

1. single nouns, about two score of words; gleði, helgi (holiness), ergi, leti, gremi, helti, speki, hugrekki, frœði, mœði, œði (fury), hæsi, kæti, reiði, feiti, bleyði, hreysti, veyki, háreysti, fylli, hylli, fýsi, sýki, birti, snilli, girni, teiti, hvíti, örvi, mildi, blindi, atgörvi, hnöggvi, myki: lygi and görsimi in sing., but heteroclite in plur.

2. derivatives:

• -semi from adj. -samr, skyn-semi (very many):

• compds in -fræði, -speki, but if prefixed as a double compd they take s, thus e.g. frœði-bók, but guðfrœðis-bók; skynsemi (rationis), but skynsemis-trú (fides rationis, i.e. rationalismus):

• -ni from adjectives in -inn, e.g. heið-ni, Krist-ni, hlýð-ni, and many others: -skygni, -sýni, e.g. glám-skygni, við-sýni:

• -gi from adj. -igr, e.g. græð-gi, kyn-gi; -ýðgi, harð-ýðgi, etc.:

• -gli from adj. -gull, sann-sögli (veracitas) from sann-sögull (verax):

• in -andi only a few, kveð-andi, hyggjandi, afr-endi, Verð-andi (the Norn):

• in local names, Skáni, Erri, Ylfi (islands): Skaði (the goddess) is declined as masc.

Weak Nouns—Neuter

Remarks on this Declension: it contains,

1. six words denoting parts of the body, auga, eyra, hjarta, lunga, nýra, eista.

2. a few appellatives, almost obsolete, none of which form a gen. plur., bjúga, ökla, sima, leika, hnoða, viðbeina, vetta (in ekki vetta, no wight; hvat-vetna, every wight).

ADJECTIVES

A. STRONG DECLENSION, as in Substantives, used of Adjectives, both positive and superlative, when indefinite.

B. WEAK DECLENSION, used of Adjectives, both posit, and superl., when indef.; and general in compar. and part. act. sing.

C. INDECLINABLE ADJECTIVES in -a and -i, see remarks below.

D. THE ARTICLE SUFFIXED TO NOUNS

Remarks on the Adjectives:

I. the nom, masc.:

• the nom. -r is dropped in fagr (qs. fagr-r), magr, dapr, apr, vakr, digr, vitr, bitr, itr, lipr, snotr, forn, sýkn, frœkn, gjarn, frjáls, þurr, hvass, hress:

• it is assimilated in bein-n, ein-n, hrein-n, sein-n, grœn-n, kœn-n, rœn-n, væn-n, brýn-n, frýn-n, sýn-n, hál-l, heil-l, veil-l, sæl-l, fúl-l, hás-s, fús-s, læs-s, laus-s, ljós-s, vís-s, etc.; inflexive, lítil-l, mikil-l, gamal-l, vesal-l, förul-l, atal-l, spurul-l, þögul-l, heimil-l, etc.

2. the nom. fem. sing. represents the root of the adjective (ung, ný, há):

• adjectives with a as root vowel change into ö in fem. sing. and neut. plur., e.g. all-r, öll, all-t; marg-r, mörg, marg-t; harð-r, hörð, har-t; hag-r, hög, hag-t; fagr, fögr, fagr-t; stak-r, stök, stak-t; van-r, vön, van-t; hvass, hvöss, hvas-t; varm-r, vörm, varm-t; sam-r, söm, sam-t; tam-r, töm, tam-t:

• in the inflexive -aðr, a is changed into u, aldrað-r, fem. öldruð; gamlað-r, fem. gömluð; gamal-l, fem. gömul; talað-r, fem. töluð, etc., see introduction to letter A, p. 1:

• this change is all that remains of an obsolete characteristic u, answering to the inflexive -u in Anglo-Saxon.

3. the nom. neut. sing. is formed by adding -t to the root:

• after a long root vowel -tt, e.g. há-tt, mjó-tt, ný-tt, grá-tt, hrá-tt, smá-tt, etc.:

• the t assimilates with a final ð, e.g. mið-r, breið-r, blíð-r, stríð-r, fróð-r, góð-r, óð-r, stríð-r; in neut., mit-t, breit-t, blít-t, strít-t, frót-t, got-t, ót-t, etc.:

• in long syllables with d or ð as final, the ð is dropped, as in harð-r, stirð-r, lynd-r, dœmd-r, reynd-r; in neut., har-t, stir-t, lyn-t, dœm-t, reyn-t, qs. harð-t, etc.:

• the t is dropped in such words as reist-r, bratt-r; in neut., reist, bratt, etc.; cp. the participles of the second weak conjugation:

• in the participles and adjectives in -aðr, the ð is dropped, e.g. elskað-r (amatus), elska-t (amatum), but in mod. usage elska-ð;

• and only the change of vowel marks the distinction between fem. and neut., e.g. töluð (dicta), but talað (dictum):

• in adjectives in -inn, the root n is dropped before the neutral t, hi-t, heiði-t, komi-t, Kristi-t, qs. hin-t, heidin-t, etc.

4. as to the cases, the inflexive -r

• in gen. and dat. sing. fem. and gen. pl. is assimilated into n in the words in -inn, and monosyllables in -nn with a long root vowel, thus, komin-na (q.v.), vaen-na (venustorum), væn-ni (venustae, dat.), væn-nar (venustae, gen.). etc.:

• into l in similar words, e.g. sæl-l, heil-l, gamal-l, sæl-lar, gamal-lar (sæll-rar, gamall-rar, etc. are faulty forms); mikil-li, magnae; lítil-li, parvae, etc.:

• it is dropped in those with radical r, vitra, sapientium; fagri and fagrar, pulchrae:

• into s in words such as viss, e.g. vissa, certorum; but in mod. usage viss-ra and viss-ri, certae; (fag-urri, fag-urrar are not right, although now and then used in mod. writers):

• the r is doubled after a long vowel, há-rri altae, mjó-rra tenerarum, at least in mod. usage; old writers seem to have spelt and sounded mjó-ra, mjó-ri, etc.:

• the -ar and -um are contracted after a long vowel, thus, blá-r caeruleas, blá-m caerulaeo.

5. contraction takes place,

α. in a few words in -igr, -ugr, auð-igr, blóð-igr, úð-igr, göfigr, öf-ugr, höf-igr, öfl-ugr, saur-igr, nauð-igr, móð-ugr, mál-ugr, úr-igr (poët.), mátt-igr; they are contracted before an inflexive vowel, auðgan, auðg-ir, auðg-um, göfg-ir, úðg-ir, blóðg-ir, öfg-ir, höfg-ir... máttk-ir, etc.;

• in mod. usage the root is dissyllabic and not contracted, thus, auðugir, blóðugir, höfugir... máttugir, etc.:

• even in old writers other adjectives in -igr were not contracted, e.g. hróðigr, kröptugr, skyldugr, syndugr, siðugr, ráðigr,—hróðigan, e.g. ráðigan (not ráðgan), etc., both in old and mod. usage.

β. in a few words in -ll, gamall, vesall, lítill, mikill, hugall, þögull, etc.

II. hár: to this belong over twenty words, with characteristic v, dygg-r, hrygg-r, stygg-r, glögg-r, hnögg-r, snögg-r, þröng-r, öng-r, dökk-r, þjökk-r (þykk-r), kvik-r, myrk-r, -yrk-r, rösk-r, lösk-r, öl-r, föl-r, ör-r, gör-r, hös-s (obsolete), há-r, mjó-r, sljó-r (slœ-r);

• the v is freq. spelt with f in the words há-r, mjó-r, sljó-r, but not in the rest, see introduction to letter F.

• In mod. usage and pronunciation this v or f has been mostly lost; Icel. say há-an, mjó-an, föl-an, but it still lingers in the words ending in gg, ng, kk, rk, sk, as glöggvan, öng-van, þykk-van, rösk-van, etc. are current forms.

III. nýr: to this belong adjectives with characteristic j:

• only a few words remain with g, k as final, fræg-r, hœg-r, læg-r, slœg-r, þæg-r, eyg-r, fleyg-r, ýg-r, sek-r, rík-r, þekk-r, ræk-r, tœk-r;

• in very old MSS.the forms frægjan, ýg-jan, sek-jan, rík-jan, þekk-jan, etc. are almost universal, but even in olden times the j was dropped in these words, and fræg-an, sek-an, rík-an, etc. are now the sole forms.

• This declension therefore is now only represented by mið-r (medius) and by the words ending in a vowel, nýr, hlý-r, -sæ-r; but that in pre-historical times this declension was far more extensive is shewn by the many adjectives with a changed root vowel (prob. caused by a lost j), as dýr-r, hýr-r, lynd-r, streym-r, væn-n, sæl-l, sœt-r, skœð-r, næm-r, hœf-r, mær-r, kær-r, ber-r, þver-r.

IV. kominn: to this belong all participles of the strong verbs, and a great many adjectives; with the exception of the contraction it conforms to the article. For participles of weak verbs of the 3rd conjugation see remarks on the verbs below.

Remarks on the formation of the Degrees of Comparison:

I. the compar. and superl. are, -ari, -astr, or -ri, -str, thus,

• kaldr, compar. kald-ari, superl. kald-astr, fem. and neut. plur. köld-ust;

• harðr, harð-ari, harð-astr, fem. and neut. plur. hörð-ust;

• frjáls, frjáls-ari, frjáls-astr (frjáls-ust):

in adjectives with characteristic j or v these letters reappear,

• glöggr, glögg-vari, glögg-vastr; örr, ör-vari, ör-vastr;

• nýr, ný-jari, ný-jastr;

• or it is contracted, mjór, mjórri, mjó-str, but older are the forms mjó-vari, mjó-vastr.

II. the compar. is assimilated in adjectives in -nn, -ll,

• væn-n, væn-ni, vaen-str;

• grœn-n, grœn-ni, grœn-str;

• heil-l, heil-li, heil-str or heil-astr;

• sæl-l, sæl-li, sæl-str;

• svipal-l, svipul-li.

III. some few adjectives form compar. and superl. by vowel change,

• há-r, hæ-ri, hæ-str;

• fá-r, fæ-ri, fæ-str;

• lág-r, læg-ri, læg-str;

• lang-r, leng-ri, leng-str;

• (fram), frem-ri, frem-str;

• fagr, fegr-i, fegr-str;

• skamm-r, skem-ri, skem-str;

• grann-r, grenn-ri, grenn-str;

• stor-r, stœr-ri, stœr-str;

• smá-r, smæ-ri, smæ-str;

• ung-r, yng-ri, yng-str;

• þung-r, þyng-ri, þyng-str;

• grunn-r, grynn-ri, grynn-str:

in mod. usage also,

• full-r, fyll-ri, fyll-str;

• stutt-r, stytt-ri, stytt-str;

• þunn-r, þynn-ri, þynn-str;

• mjúk-r, mýk-ri, mýk-str;

• djúp-r, dýp-ri, dýp-str;

• þröng-r, þreyng-ri, þreyng-str, but also þröngvari, þröng-vastr (older and better);

• svang-r, sveng-ri, sveng-str;

• magr, megr-i, megr-str, etc.;

but in old writers we often find fullari, full-astr, etc.

IV. heterogene, as in other languages, are

• góð-r, bet-ri, bez-tr;

• íll-r, ver-ri, ver-str;

• marg-r, flei-ri, fle-str;

• lítil-l, min-ni, min-str;

• mikil-l, mei-ri, me-str;

• gamal-l, ell-ri, ell-str.

V. forming compar. and superl. from adverbs:

1. from local adverbs denoting direction, austr, norðr, suðr, vestr, fram, aptr, út, inn, of, niðr, fjarr, ná; in compar. and superl., eyst-ri (aust-ari), aust-astr; nyrð-ri, nyrð-str; synn-ri, synn-str; vest-ri, vest-astr; frem-ri, frem-str; ept-ri, ept-str, or apt-ari, apt-astr; yt-ri, yt-str (yztr); inn-ri (ið-ri), inn-str; ef-ri (øf-ri), ef-str (øf-str); neð-ri, neð-str; fir-ri, fir-str; næ-ri, næ-str.

2. temp. adverbs, síð, fyrir; síð-ari, síð-astr; fyr-ri, fyrstr.

3. other adverbs, from heldr, sjaldan; in compar. and superl., held-ri, hell-str; sjaldn-ari, sjaldn-astr; hind-ri, hinn-str; œð-ri, œð-str; ská-ri, ská-str: only in compar., hœg-ri, the right; vin-stri, the left.

Remarks on the Weak Declension:

I. the positive and the superlative have both strong and weak declension, according as they are indefinite or definite in sense, whereas the comparative has in either case only a weak declension.

2. the part. act. in -andi is declined as the comparative.

II. the numerals þriði, fjórði, fimti, sexti, etc., the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, etc.; have (old and mod.) only the weak declension; þriði with a characteristic j, þrið-ja, plur. þrið-ju, fjórð-u, fimt-u.

III. changes in mod. usage,

1. the dat. plur. -um, which is almost always used in good old MSS., is now lost, and dat. is like nom.: thus Icel. say, hinum beztu mönnum, betri mönnum, ungu mönnum; in old usage, beztum, betrum, yngrum, (Jón Þorkelsson, Hauks-bók, 1865, p. 14, note 4.) The sole remnant in mod. usage of the old -um is the compar. fleir-um (pluribus), which is still so pronounced, and often used in Icel. writings.

2. the sing. has become indeclinable; the gen. dat. acc. masc. sing. -a in the compar. is now obsolete; Icel. say yngri manns (junioris hominis) for the old yngra, dat. yngra manni, mod. yngri manni; yngra mann, mod. yngri mann.

3. the part. act. sing.; here also the gen. masc. sing. is altered; vaxanda vinds (vindi, vind), crescentis venti, into vaxandi vinds: the neut. -a is also usually changed into -i, e.g. fall-anda forað into fall-andi forað (a stumbling-block).

Remarks on the Indeclinable Adjectives.

• They were originally regular adjectives, which, though both definite and indefinite, had only the weak declension; and—perhaps in order to distinguish them from other adjectives in definite forms—they have lost all inflexion, and have no comparative or superlative; they vary between the forms -i and -a, andvan-i and andvan-a, originally expressing the distinction between masc., fem., and neut., but are, in fact, used without regard to gender, one MS. has -a, another -i, even in the same passage, e.g. Mar. 378; in mod. usage, -a is the current form.

• These indeclinable words (in the Dictionary simply marked ‘adj.’ or ‘adj. indecl.’) are very many, chiefly compound words, e.g. in al-, ein-, hálf-, full-, frum-, sam-, and for the latter part, -vana, -geðja, -laga, -stola, etc., e.g. af-laga, sjálf-krafa (-bjarga, -ráða), ein-hama, ein-mana, ein-staka, ein-skipa, ein-huga, sam-huga, sam-ráða, ör-vasa, full-tíða, mið-aldra, gjaf-vaxta, frum-vaxta, ham-stola, vit-stola, óð-fluga, frum-ósa, al-verkja, al-bata, al-dauða, al-eyða, á-skynja, eið-rofa, far-flótta, óða-mála, sundr-orða, tví-saga, hungr-morða, strá-dauða, afl-vana, mátt-vana, and-vana, hálf-vita, harð-brjósta, hand-lama, fót-lama, gagn-drepa, hall-oka, las-burða: single words are few, hlessa, hissa, klumsa, reisa, hugsi, játsi, heitsi, etc.

• In some cases it is difficult to say whether the word is to be taken for a substantive or indeclinable adjective, e.g. eið-rofi or eiðrofa, harm-dauði, full-tíði, þing-logi, næsta-bræðra.

Remarks on the Suffixed Article. This is characteristic of the Scandinavian languages, and still remains in modern Danish and Swedish. It forms a double declension, with substantive and adjective forms in the same word; or rather it gives to a substantive the form of an adjective. The inflexive -ar, -ir represent different genders for substantive and for adjective, thus, all-ir dag-ar, omnes dies, masc., but all-ar stund-ir, omnes horae, fem. The same rule applies to the suffixed article, draumar-nir, but tíðir-nar. The nouns of the 2nd strong declension are so few that they scarcely affect this rule. In very early times we may suppose that the Scandinavian language had no suffixed article; in the oldest poems it is rarely used; in old prose more rare than in modern prose; and at the present time the article is less used in Icel. than in any other living European language, and is dispensed with in endless cases, where others must use it; in solemn style it is used less than in conversational.

II. the declension of the suffixed article:

1. the h is dropped throughout (inn, in, it).

2. the root vowel of the article is dropped, if the substantive ends with a vowel, and the final n + the inflexion is suffixed, e.g. sólu-nni, tungu-nni, for the vowel of the noun has always the preference,

β. so also after the plur. -ar, -ir, -r, e.g. tíðir-nar, draumar-nir, vetr-nir, fœtr-nir; but not so after -ar, -r in gen. sing., e.g. tíðar-innar, fótar-ins, hafnar-innar, bókar-innar and bœkr-innar, τοῦβΐβλου, whereby a distinction is kept between gen. sing. and nom. plur., e.g. tíðar-innar temporis, but tíðir-nar tempora. Icel. say, móður-inni matri, systur-inni sorori, dóttur-inni filiae, as also móður-innar matris, systur-innar sororis, dóttur-innar filiae; but contracted in föður-num patri, bróður-num fratri,—föður-inum, bróður-inum may occur in old writers, Mar., but is seldom used.

γ. the masc. dat. -i is often dropped before the article, but kept if without the article, e.g. draum’-num, saum’-num, but draumi, saumi: it is difficult here to give a rule.

δ. the acc. sing. fem. is in old writers contracted in such words as, sök-na (causam), ál-na (funem), etc., mod. sök-ina, ál-ina, etc.

ε. the vowel of the article is also dropped in the dat. of strong masc., as bekkr of the 2nd declension (without -i), thus, reyk-num, bekk-num, not reyk-inum, bekk-inum.

3. in dat. plur. the final m of the noun is dropped, tíðu-num, —an older form tíðum-inum, temporibus, occurs in early Swedish; this -unum is always in mod. usage sounded -onum (mönn-onum), as also in earlier rhyme, Pass. 9. 7.

PRONOUNS

Other Pronouns:

I. the demonstrative hinn, hin, hitt (the other one) is declined like the article, only the neut. sing. with -tt.

II. the possessive pronouns are,

1. minn, mín, mitt (meus); þinn, þín, þitt (tuus): the reflex, sinn, sín, sitt (suus).

2. in dual sense; okkar-r, okkur, okkat (noster); ykkar-r, ykkur, ykkat (vester).

3. in plur. sense; vár-r, vár, vár-t (noster); yðvar-r, yður, yðar-t (vester); declined as nökkurr, but contracted, e.g. yðrir. In mod. usage these possessives in plur. and dual sense are rare, and instead of them the gen. of the personal okkar, ykkar, yðar is used as indeclinable.

III. for the pronouns

• sami (weak) idem,

• sjálfr ipse, neinn (né einn) nullus,

• einhverr every one,

• sumr some,

• engi no one,

• annarr-hvárr one of the two, alteruter,

• hvargi or hvárigr neither of the two, neuter,

• hvárr-tveggja or hvárr-tveggi each, uterque (the former part following the strong declension, the latter the weak),

• þvílíkr and slíkr such, talis,

• hvílíkr as, qualis:

see the Dictionary.

IV. as relatives the old language has only the particles er and sem, see the Dictionary, pp. 131, 132.

Remarks:

1. personal and demonstrative;

• in the mod. language ek etc. have become eg, mig, þig, sig, við, þið, vor; and hón or hon has become hún:

• in the neut. þau is sounded þaug, but seldom spelt so:

• old writers often use sjá, as a common nom. for masc. and fem., sjá maðr, that man, and sjá kona, that woman:

• dat. fem. þessi = þessari is used in old writers:

• dat. sing. masc. þeim-a = þeim, and dat. sing. neut. því-sa occur in old prose and poems; in Runes, þansi = þenna.

2. interrogative and indefinite;

• remains of an older declension are, hvat, what (still in full use); dat. hveim (poët, and obsolete); hví, why; hve, how, mod. also hversu; the mod. hvaða is curious, being indeclinable throughout:

• old form nekkverr or nakkverr (necquerr, naquarr in the MSS.): in mod. usage nökkurr, but contracted before a vowel, e.g. nökkr-ir, nökkr-urn, etc.

Remarks on the Numerals:

I. the cardinals;

• the first four are declined, einn, tveir, etc.:

• the rest indeclinable, fimm, sex, sjau (mod. sjö), átta, níu, tíu, ellifu, tólf, þrettán, fjórtán, fimmtán, sextán, sjautján (mod. sautján), átján, nítján, tuttugu (twenty), tuttugu ok einn, etc.,

• —the decades first and then the smaller numbers: but with the even decades, from twenty onwards, the reverse is common in Icel.,—einn og tuttugu (one and twenty),... tíu og tuttugu (‘ten and twenty’),... nítján og tuttugu (‘nineteen and twenty’), fjörutíu (forty), einn og fjörutíu (one and forty), and so on to sixty, then from sixty to eighty, from eighty to ‘tenty’ (tíu-tíu = hundred), from ‘tenty’ to a hundred (i.e. the gross hundred, 120). Icel. children in play, shepherds in counting their flocks, and fishermen in counting their catch are sure to reckon in this way.

• From forty and upwards the Danes say, tre-sinds-tyve (= three times twenty = three score) for 60, fir-sinds-tyve (= four score) for 80, and halv treds (= three score minus a half score) for 50, halv fjerds (= four score minus a half score) for 70, halv fems (= half the fifth score, i.e. five score minus a half) for 90; but not so in Sweden and Norway.

• The decades are in old writers treated as independent words, and declined, þrír tigir, dat. þremr tigum, acc. þrjá tigi, with a following genitive, e.g. fjóra tigi manna (quadraginta ‘hominum’), etc.; in mod. usage indeclinable, þrjá-tíu, fjöru-tíu, fimm-tíu, sex-tíu, sjö-tíu, átta-tíu, níu-tíu, tíu-tíu (‘ten ten’ i.e. one hundred), but usually hundrað;

• both hundrað (hundred) and þúsund (thousand) are in old writers (and freq. in mod.) declined and followed by a genitive, e.g. þúsund manna, tveim hundruðum skipa.

II. the ordinals;

• fyrstr (q.v.), annarr (q.v.):

• the rest only in the weak declension, þriði, gen. dat. acc. þriðja, plur. þriðju indecl.; fjór-ði, fimm-ti, sét-ti, sjaun-di (mod. sjöun-di), át-ti (mod. áttun-di), níundi, tíun-di, ellef-ti, tólf-ti, þrettán-di, fjórtán-di,... tuttug-asti (twentieth), þrítug-asti, fertug-asti,... nítug-asti, hun-drað-asti,... þúsundasti.

III. distributives

• from 1 to 4; ein-ir (singuli), tvennir (bini), þrenn-ir (trini), fern-ir (quaterni), all as regular adjectives.

IV. multiplicatives,

• either tve-nnr (duplex), þre-nnr (triplex), fer-n (quadruplex);

• or with -faldr, ein-faldr, tvau-faldr (twofold), þrí-faldr, fer-faldr,... átt-faldr, ní-faldr, tí-faldr,... tvítug-faldr, þrítug-faldr,... hundrað-faldr, þúsund-faldr,

• all regular adjectives.

V. the adjectives in -tugr and -rœðr, denoting aged, measuring, for the decades, from twenty and upwards:

α. -tugr, for the decades, from 20 to 70, tví-tugr, þrí-tugr, fer-tugr, fimm-tugr, sex-tugr, sjau-tugr.

β. -rœdr, for the decades, from 80 to 120, átt-rœðr, ní-rœðr, tí-rœðr (centenarius), tólf-rœðr (numbering 120), hence tólf-rœtt hundrað = 120, and tí-rœtt hundrað = 100.

VI. numeral adverbs,

• tvisvar = bis, þrysvar = tris:

• the rest formed by sinni or sinnum, times; fjórum-sinnum, four times = quater, etc.

VERBS

A. WEAK VERBS, i.e. Verbs in which the Preterite is formed by adding a Termination: characterised by the final vowel of the pres. sing.

B. STRONG VERBS, i.e. Verbs in which the Preterite is formed by changing the Root Vowel (as found in the Infin.)

C. IRREGULAR VERBS.

D. VERBS WITH THE REFLEXIVE OR RECIPROCAL SUFFIX -sk, -z, -st (-mk)

E. VERBS WITH THE NEGATIVE SUFFIX

Weak Verbs

Remarks on the 1st Conjugation. To this belong four or five hundred simple verbs, which in the Dictionary are marked ‘að,’ i.e. pret. -aði; they are,

I. verbs with a primitive root vowel, a, á, au, o, ó, u, ú (except a few which are placed in the 4th conjugation), e.g. tala, baga, haga, skaða, baka, stama, bana, svara, rasa, tapa, hvata, rata, hata, glata, launa, fagna, banna, safna, anda, varna, starfa, stoða, loga, loka, losa, rota, hóta, róma, hljóða, sópa:

• verbs with i as root vowel, esp. if before a single consonant,friða, skrifa, kvika, lima, lina, skipa, hita, kvista;

• some with í, ei, leita, reika, eisa, geisa, smíða, líka, etc.

II. derivatives,

1. in -na, inchoative verbs, daf-na, kaf-na, harð-na, vak-na, blá-na, grá-na, fit-na, hvít-na, vis-na, los-na, roð-na, brot-na, bólg-na, föl-na, fú-na, dök-na, ves-na, tré-na, (a hundred words or more.)

2. in -ga, from adj. -igr, chiefly in a causal sense, to make so and so, about a score of words, auð-ga, blóð-ga, móð-ga, göf-ga, hel-ga, líf-ga, nauð-ga, saur-ga, fjöl-ga, frjóv-ga, vin-gast, hold-gast, synd-ga, kván-gask, hýr-ga, þýf-ga:

• in -ka, denoting to become or make so and so, hæ-kka, læ-kka, smæ-kka, fæ-kka, grœn-ka, væn-kast, dýp-ka, rým-ka, mjó-kka, breið-ka, sein-ka, við-ka, mín-ka, blíð-ka, þur-ka, ið-ka, tíð-ka, þræl-ka, which follow the 1st conjugation without regard to root vowel.

3. in -sa, iteratives, glep-sa, hrif-sa, taf-sa, hram-sa, kjam-sa, ryg-sa, king-sa, ving-sa, flak-sa, flang-sa, vind-sa, kal-sa; with these may be reckoned hug-sa (cogitare), hrein-sa: (these words also are few.)

4. in -ja, a few words (perhaps thirty), veð-ja, steð-ja, stef-ja, egg-ja, gnegg-ja, hrekk-ja, bel-ja, em-ja, gren-ja, her-ja, ið-ja, kvið-ja, rif-ja, gil-ja, fit-ja, vit-ja, klyf-ja, syf-ja, lyf-ja, byr-ja, bryn-ja, skyn-ja, syn-ja, dys-ja, flys-ja, bryt-ja, á-ný-ja.

5. in -va, böl-va, möl-va, göt-va, ör-va, etc., (a few words.)

6. in -la, a kind of diminutive, but rare, ding-la (to dangle), hönd-la (captare), hvarf-la, söng-la (to sing between the teeth), skját-la, væt-la (to drip, ooze), sving-la, trít-la, skurt-la (to make a slight cut), fip-la, rup-la, hnup-la, grip-la, jap-la (to clip, mumble with the teeth), tönn-last, gut-la, brut-la, œx-la, etc.

7. in -ra, klif-ra, halt-ra, hlið-ra, (a few words, some of which are conversational.)

Remarks on the 2nd Conjugation. To this belong several hundred words, which in the Dictionary are marked variously ‘d, ð, dd, t, tt,’ according to the final root consonant;

• in words like fœða, reiða, the pret. are fœd-di, reid-di; so beita, bœta, pret. beit-ti, bœt-ti:

• the d becomes ð after a soft root consonant or a vowel, e.g. rœg-ja, rœg-ði; svœf-a, svœf-ði, etc.:

• it becomes t after hard consonants, or s, reis-a, reis-ti; leys-a, leys-ti,

• cp. introduction to letter D, p. 93 (C. III):

• it is dropped and cannot be sounded in words like skept-a, hept-a, frétt-a, geld-a, send-a, lend-a, ert-a, pret. skept-i, frétt-i, send-i, lend-i, ert-i:

• in mod. usage a root d may even be changed into t; Icel. often say, hert-i, ent-i, lent-i, synt-i, from herð-a, end-a, lend-a, synd-a:

• in words with a double final consonant it is common to drop one, thus kyss-a, kys-ti; þerr-a, þer-ði; but ll and nn are more often (and properly) retained, as fell-di, fell-t, kenn-di, kenn-t, from fell-a, kenn-a, better than fel-di, fel-t, ken-di, ken-t.

II. to this conjugation belong chiefly derivative verbs with a changed vowel in the root, e, ey, ý, æ, œ, e.g. brenna (to make burn), kenna (to teach), gleyma, dreyma, bœta, græta, grœða, hýsa, lýsa, (several hundred words.)

• In earlier times (in Gothic) these words had a characteristic j and a primitive vowel, e.g. Goth, dôm-jan, haus-jan, = Icel. dœm-a, heyr-a; this j has in Icel. been preserved in verbs with a short root vowel and a single final consonant (see the 3rd conjugation);

• but in verbs with a diphthong or long vowel only if the final be g or k, or if they end in a vowel, e.g. blekk-ja, drekk-ja, sekk-ja, rekk-ja, þekk-ja, telg-ja, velg-ja, eng-ja, deng-ja, leng-ja, feyk-ja, teyg-ja, heygja, beyg-ja, sleik-ja, steik-ja, rík-ja, berg-ja, þresk-ja, bæg-ja, hœg-ja, læg-ja, væg-ja, stygg-ja, drýg-ja, byrg-ja, syrg-ja, rýja, etc., (about a hundred words, see the Dictionary): fylgja is a specimen of these verbs.

• A few verbs which now have -ja had in olden times -va, e.g. bygg-va, styrk-va, stygg-va, hrygg-va are older forms than bygg-ja, styrk-ja, hrygg-ja.

• Many verbs with í, ei as root vowel belong to this conjugation, not only derivatives, as leiða, reisa, beita, from the strong verbs líða, rísa, bíta; but also other words, as beina, greina, deila, glíma, tína, níta:

• also verbs with i before a double consonant, as spilla, villa, dimma, inna, ginna, sinna, dirfa, firra, missa, hitta, flimta, skipta, gista, hrista, and many others.

• Monosyllables as má, brá, spá, strá, fá (pingere), gljá, kljá, þjá, hrjá, tjá, etc. are contracted, but, in spite of the root vowel, belong to this conjugation.

Remarks on the 3rd Conjugation. To this belong about ninety words:

1. about fifty verbs with e (a) for the root vowel, gleð-ja, kveð-ja, bleð-ja, seð-ja, skeð-ja (obsolete), teð-ja, kef-ja, kref-ja, svef-ja, tef-ja, vef-ja, seg-ja, þeg-ja, hrek-ja, klek-ja, rek-ja, vek-ja, þek-ja, dvel-ja, kvel-ja, sel-ja, tel-ja, vel-ja, frem-ja, grem-ja, hem-ja, krem-ja, lem-ja, sem-ja, tem-ja, spen-ja, þen-ja, ven-ja, glep-ja, lep-ja, skep-ja, ber-ja, er-ja, fer-ja, mer-ja, ver-ja (defendere), ver-ja (induere), et-ja, flet-ja, hvet-ja, let-ja, met-ja, set-ja, legg-ja, pret. bag-ði (obsolete, vide bæg-ja), skil-ja, þil-ja, vil-ja.

2. about thirty verbs with y (u) for the root vowel, bryð-ja, gnyð-ja, ryð-ja, snyð-ja (obsolete), styð-ja, hygg-ja, ygg-ja, tygg-ja (mod., but old usage strong), kryf-ja, lyk-ja, byl-ja, dyl-ja, hyl-ja, myl-ja, þyl-ja, glym-ja, rym-ja, ym-ja, þrym-ja (obsolete), dyn-ja, dryn-ja, hryn-ja, styn-ja, smyr-ja, spyr-ja, þyr-ja (obsolete), fyr-va, pret. bus-ti (obsolete), pret. þus-ti, flyt-ja.

3. a few verbs with long root vowel, hey-ja, þrey-ja, dý-ja, flý-ja, gný-ja, knýja, hlý-ja, lý-ja, tý-ja, which have monosyllabic pres. indic, hey-r, dý-r, flý-r, and change even the vowel in pret., há-ði (gessit), dú-ði, knú-ði; and in mod. usage also flú-ði, hlú-ði, lú-ði, but flý-ði, etc. in old writers:

• sel-ja and set-ja have unchanged pret. sel-di, set-ti; skil-ja has skil-di; vil-ja, vil-di, part, vil-jat; seg-ja and þeg-ja a bisyllabic pres. seg-i, þeg-i.

II. special remarks:

1. the characteristic marks are,

α. the vowel change in pret. indic. (glad-di, spur-ði).

β. the vowel in pret. subj. (gled-di, spyr-ði).

γ. the monosyllabic pres. indic. sing. (gleð, spyrj).

δ. the j as characteristic; only fyrva, an obsolete word, has v.

2. a participle passive in -iðr is used in some of these verbs by old writers, especially poets, viz. a bisyllabic form, as kraf-iðr. vaf-iðr, vak-iðr, tal-iðr, bar-iðr, hul-iðr, val-iðr, var-iðr, tam-iðr, lag-iðr, skil-iðr, þil-iðr, fem. bar-ið... lag-ið, neut. barit... lag-it (see Lex. Poët.):

• this -iðr was in later times changed into -inn in imitation of the strong verbs, which however is only used in about thirty-four verbs (a third of the whole number), viz. kraf-inn, kaf-inn, taf-inn, vaf-inn, hrak-inn, klak-inn, rak-inn, vak-inn, þak-inn, dval-inn, kval-inn, tal-inn, val-inn, fram-inn, ham-inn, kram-inn, laminn, sam-inn, tam-inn, þan-inn, van-inn, bar-inn, mar-inn, var-inn, skil-inn, kruf-inn, dul-inn, hul-inn, mul-inn, þul-inn, hrun-inn, knú-inn, flú-inn, lú-inn (in old writers, kný-iðr, flý-iðr),—almost the same words in which the ancients had -iðr: these forms begin to occur in MSS. of the 13th or 14th century, e.g. dulin, Fb. i. 12, Fs. 97 (Arna-Magn. 132); þilinn, Fbr. 44 new Ed.; barin, Ld. 152, (both from Arna-Magn. 132); as a provincialism it is still older, and frequently occurs in an old vellum MS. of Mar. S. (Arna-Magn. 655), Unger’s Edit.; framinn, Mar. 449; laginn, 465, 484, 491; valin, 440; skilinn, 326; laminn, 637; samin, 491; vaninn, 398; barinn, 619; lagin, 633.

☞ This -inn must not be confounded with the participles of the strong conjugation; for,

α. in this weak -inn the n disappears in the adjectival inflexion, e.g. plur. taldir. never talnir, whereas fallinn makes fallnir.

β. the weak nom. remains beside that in -inn, e.g. hul-inn and hul-dr, þak-inn and þak-tr, vak-inn and vak-tr, flú-inn and flú-ðr.

γ. the inflexive -inn can never be used in the other words of this conjugation, e.g. glad-dr, never glað-inn; spur-ðr, never spur-inn; skap-tr, never skap-inn. Some have no participle, as bleðja, metja, bylja, glymja, etc.

Remarks on the 4th Conjugation. To this belong only a few verbs (thirty or upwards), but some of them are among the chief verbs of the language, hafa, lafa, vaka, gana, gapa, mara, spara, stara, hjara, blaka, flaka, blasa, brasa, kúra, stúra, lifa, loða, þola, skolla, tolla, þora, brosa, duga, luma, una, trúa, grúfa, ugga:

• in -ja, þegja, segja, æja (áði), vilja (see above); under this also come sœkja, pret. sótti; yrk-ja, pret. orti; þykkja, pret. þótti; a pret. þátti from þekkja is obsolete and poët.:

• and to these may be added the weak preterites of the verbs with strong preterite in present sense, vissi, átti, mátti, knátti, kunni, mundi, undi, skyldi; as also verbs such as göra, old pres. gör-r, mod. göri; ljá (to lend), old pres. lé-r, mod. ljæ-r; ná, pres. nái, mod. næ, gá, q.v.

II. special remarks:

1. the characteristic marks are,

α. the root vowel, according to which we should expect them to follow the 1st conjugation, whereas they all have the characteristic i of the second.

β. in about twenty words the pret. subj. is formed by vowel change from pret. indic., viz. hefði, vekti, sperði, þyldi, þyrði, dygði, tylldi, myndi, yndi, tryði, næði, gæði, segði, þegði, from pret. indic. höfðu, dugðu,... trúðu, náðu, gáðu; as also ætti, mætti, knætti, þyrfti, kynni, from pret. indic. áttu, máttu, knáttu, þurftu, kunnu; þœtti, sœkti, yrkti, from þóttu, sóttu, orktu;

• keypti from kaupa (emere) is pret. subj. with the sense of pret. indic.

γ. some have part. pass. in -at (-að) like the 1st conjugation, vak-at, spar-at (in old writers also spart), blak-at, blas-at, loð-at, lif-at, toll-at, bros-at, dug-at, un-at, trú-at, þag-at (from þegja), sag-at (from segja, instead of sagt) occurs in Merl. Spá; haf-at = haft, Vsp. 16; þol-at, þor-at are now the only forms, but þolt, þort also occur in old writers; vilj-at from vilja, but vilt seems older, cp. also mun-at, vit-að, kunn-at.

2. the sole remains of a bisyllabic imperat. in -i (answering to the 1st conjugation in -a) are the old imperatives vak-i! gap-i! dug-i! lum-i! ugg-i! un-i! see these words; in mod. usage the sole instance left is þeg-i (tace) or þegi-ðu! Many of the rest might, but for the primitive root vowel, well be counted as regular verbs of the 2nd conjugation. This conjugation seems to answer most nearly to the 3rd Gothic conjugation of Grimm.

Strong Verbs

A List of the Strong Verbs:

I. to the 1st class belong about fifty words, finna (fann, fundu, fundit), spinna, spirna, svimma (obsolete), vinna (vann, unnu, unnit), binda (batt, bundu), hrinda (hratt, hrundu), vinda (vatt, undu), springa (sprakk, sprungu), stinga (stakk, stungu), brenna, renna, drekka, bregða (brá, brugðu), bresta, bella, gnella, smella, skreppa, sleppa, serða, snerta, gnesta, detta, spretta, svella, vella, svelta, velta, hverfa, sverfa, þverra, verpa, verða:

• with the root vowel e resolved into ja, gjalda (galt, guldu), gjalla, skjalla, bjarga, skjálfa, hjálpa (halp, hulpu, hólpinn):

• with characteristic j or v, hrökkva (hrökk, hrukku), klökkva, stökkva, sökkva, slöngva, þröngva, svelgja, tyggja, hnöggva (defect.), syngja.

☞ All those with n, g, k for final have

• u in part. pass., fundit, bundit, stungit, brunnit, drukkit, brugðit, þrungit, tuggit, sungit;

• they have also i for root vowel in infin., finna, etc.,

• which is weakened into e in bregða, drekka, brenna, renna,—brigða, drikka, brinna, rinna are the older forms, which even occur in old poets:

• the rest have o in part., oltinn, sloppinn, snortinn, brostinn, dottinn, goldinn, hólpinn,... hrokkinn, stokkinn, sokkinn, sólginn:

• those with initial v drop it before u, o, y, svella, sullu, sylli, sollinn;... verða, urðu, yrði, orðinn; vinna, unnu, ynni, unninn.

II. to the 2nd class belong about forty words, bíða, kvíða, líða (pati), líða (labi), ríða (eqititare), ríða (ungere), ríða (qs. vríða, nectere), síða, skríða, sníða, svíða, drífa, hrífa, klífa, rífa, svífa, þrífa, dvína (defect.), gína, hrína, hvína, skína, grípa, svípa (defect.), físa, rísa, bíta, dríta, hníta (defect.), líta, ríta, rísta, skíta, slíta, hníga, míga, síga, stíga:

• with characteristic j, blík-ja, svík-ja, vík-ja.

☞Those with final g have also é in pret., e.g. hneig and hné; steig and sté; also vék and veik from víkja, but these forms are later.

III. to the 3rd class belong about thirty-six words, bjóða, hnjóða, hrjóða (desolare), rjóða, sjóða, frjósa, gjósa, hnjósa (defect.), hrjósa (defect.), kjósa, ljósta, brjóta, fljóta, gjóta, hljóta, hrjóta (cadere), hrjóta (stertere), njóta, skjóta, þjóta, þrjóta:

• those with final f, p, g, k, have jú in infin., which seems older, kljúfa, krjúfa, rjúfa, drjúpa, krjúpa, fljúga, ljúga, sjúga, smjúga, fjúka, rjúka, strjúka:

• with eliminated j, súpa, lúka (and ljúka), lúta, hnúfa, amputare (defect.)

☞ Those with final g have also an obsolete pret. in ó (fló, ló, smó, só), but usually and in mod. usage regular, flaug, etc.:

• frjósa and kjósa have a double pret., a regular fraus, hnaus, and irregular fröri, köri.

IV. to the 4th class belong twentysix words, hlaða, vaða (óð, vaðit), vaxa (óx, vaxit), standa (stóð, staðit), grafa, skafa, ala, gala, kala, mala, skapa, fara, draga, gnaga (defect.), aka, skaka, taka:

• contracted in infin., flá, slá, þvá (qs. flaga, slaga):

• infin. with characteristic j, dey-ja, gey-ja, hef-ja, hlæ-ja (hló, hlógu), kleg-ja (defect.), sver-ja (sór, svarit).

☞ The verbs with final g and k, either contracted or not, have e in part. pass., dreg-it, ek-it, skek-it, fleg-it, sleg-it, þveg-it, hleg-it; deyja has dá-it.

V. the 5th class falls into two divisions:

1. twenty words, kveða, vega (vá, vágu), fregna (frá, frágu, fregit), gefa, leka, reka (persequi), reka (qs. vreka, ulcisci), drepa, vera (vesa), lesa, eta, feta, freta, geta, meta:

• infin. with characteristic j, bið-ja, ligg-ja (lá, lágu, legit), þigg-ja (þá, þágu, þegit), sit-ja, sjá (sá, séð).

2. nine irregular words, all having o in part, pass.,

• vefa (óf, ófu, ofit),

• fela (fal, fálu, fólgit),

• stela (stal, stálu, stolit),

• nema (nam, námu, numit),

• bera (bar, báru, borit),

• skera (skar, skáru, skorit),

• troða (trað, tráðu, troðit),

• sofa (svaf, sváfu, sofit),

• koma (kom, kómu or kvámu, komit).

In placing these words here we follow the preterite; according to the participle they might be put in the 1st class. Grimm makes a separate class of them; but for that they are too few in number and too similar in inflexion to the 1st and 5th class.

VI. the 6th class, originally reduplicated verbs, many of which are still such in Gothic:

1. with é in pret., falda, halda, falla, blanda, ganga (gékk, gengu. gengit), hanga (hékk, hengu, hangit), fá (fékk, fengu, fengit), ráða, blása, gráta, láta, heita (hét, heitinn), leika (lék, leikinn), blóta (q.v.)

2. the verbs auka, ausa, hlaupa, búa (q.v.), höggva (hjó, hjoggu, höggit), spý-ja (spjó, spúit); defect. bauta (p. 54).

Irregular Verbs

The Verb Substantive properly belongs to the 5th class of strong verbs;

• older forms are, pres. es, pret. vas, vas-t, vas, infin. vesa, imperat. vesi, ves-tu, which forms are used in old poets and in the very oldest MSS. (cp. Engl. was);

• er, var, vera, etc. are the mod. forms;

• er (sum) is mod. instead of em, which latter however is still used in the N.T. and often in sacred writings, hymns, etc.; mod. Dan. and Swed. also have er, so that the Engl. alone have preserved the true old form (am): the Engl. plur. are is not Saxon but Scandin.-Engl., and is not used even by Chaucer.

Verbs with Present in Preterite Form:

• the first three belong, although irregularly, to the 5th strong class, the next six (skal,... ann) to the 1st class, and veit to the 2nd.

• The plur. 2nd pers. munit, unnit, and 3rd pers. muna, unna, which are used in old writings, shew that at early times this verb began to confuse the preterite with the present forms; in mod. usage this is carried farther, and Icel. say, eigit and eiga, megið and mega, kunnið and kunna, þurfið and þurfa, vitið and vita; but the -u is still preserved in skuluð and skulu, munuð and munu.

• Icel. distinguish between munu (μέλλουσι) and muna (meminerunt).

II. the infinitives skulu, munu are properly preterite infinitive forms; whereas in the rest of these verbs the -u changed into -a, eiga, vita, etc.: another preterite infinitive (weak) is preserved in skyl-du and myn-du, which are the sole preterite infinitive forms that have been preserved in prose.

☞ In old poetry there are about twenty instances of an obsolete pret. infinitive, which conforms to 3rd pers. plur. pret. indic., just as the pres. infin. to the 3rd pers. plur. pres. indic.; especially in acc. with infin., hygg þá stóðu (credo illos stetisse), fóru (ivisse), kómu (venisse), flýðu (fugisse), etc., vide Lex. Poët., all of them obsolete and seldom used in prose, e.g. vildo (voluisse), Mork. 168, l. 20; only skyldu, myndu are frequent in the Sagas and are used even to the present day.

III. the preterites are formed by inflexion and are weak; exceptional however are kunna, unna, vissa, being without d or t; in mod. usage Icel. say, unnti (amavit), making a regular weak preterite of it, which form occurs even in Fb. iii. 469; but we cannot say kunn-ti instead of kun-ni.

The Verbs with the Preterite in -ra: these verbs are properly strong verbs, and are so in kindred languages (A.S., O.H.G., Goth.) The pret. form is difficult to explain; a reduplication might explain the verbs having initial r or s before the root vowel, róa, gróa, frjósa, and sá (sö-ri being qs. sö-si); and would even do for slá, snúa: but gnúa, kjósa remain unexplained, unless we admit that they have been formed by analogy with the others, as also valda (olli, qs. vo-voli).

☞ Kjósa, frjósa usually follow the 3rd strong class (pret. kaus, fraus), and slá the 4th: sleri only occurs a few times in old writers; sá has in mod. sense become a regular weak verb (sá, sá-ða, sá-ð).

General Remarks on the Strong and the Irregular Verbs:

I. These verbs all together amount to about two hundred and twenty, but in the course of time some of them have become weak, and even in old writers are so used:

α. changed into the 1st weak conjugation, bjarga, hjálpa, feta, freta, fregna, rita (from ríta), blika (from blíkja), dvína, klifa (from klífa), svipa (from svípa), gala, mala, aka, skapa, falda, blanda, blóta, klægja.

β. into the 2nd weak conjugation, snerta, slöngva, þröngva, rista, svelgja, sá (serere).

γ. into the 3rd weak conjugation, fela, tyggja, þvá,

—in all about twenty-six verbs. If we add half a score of words which are obsolete and defective, or were so even in olden times, there remain not quite two hundred strong verbs in full use. We may add fragmentary verbs, of which only the part. pass, remains; and to this class we may assign the participial adjectives, bólginn (inflatus), toginn (ductus, Germ. gezogen), dofinn, boginn, hroðinn (pictus), snoðinn, rotinn, hokinn, fúinn, lúinn, auðinn, snivinn (νιφόμενος obsolete and poët.), belonging chiefly to the 1st and 2nd class, and perhaps many besides. Grimm reckons that in all the Teutonic languages together there are about four hundred and fifty strong verbs, whole or fragmentary; but no single dialect has much more than half of that number. These verbs belong to the earliest formation of words; they are decreasing, as no new strong verbs are ever spontaneously formed, whereas the old die out or gradually take the weak forms. So also wrecks of strong verbs are found here and there, and even modern languages have by chance preserved words lost elsewhere, thus vrungu (torserunt) is an ἅπ. λεγ. in one of the oldest Icel. poets; but in this case the English supplies the loss, as wring, wrung (whence wrong, prop. = wry, opp. to right) are common enough. Most of the important words of the language belong to the strong conjugation, and many of them are treated at great length in the Dictionary; whereas only a few of the great verbs, such as göra, hafa, belong to the weak conjugation, so that the strong conjugation has an importance far beyond the number of its verbs.

II. the formation of tenses in the strong verbs is plain enough,

α. the chief tenses, the pret. in sing. and plur., the infin. and part. pass., are formed by way of ablaut (see p. xxix), from which

β. the secondary tenses are formed by way of umlaut (see p. xxix), viz. the pres. sing. indic. from infin., e.g.

• býð (jubeo) from bjóða (jubere);

• stend (sto) from standa (stare);

• el (alo) from ala (alere);

• græt (fleo) from gráta (flere), etc.:

in plur. the unchanged root vowel returns,

• bjóðum (jubemus);

• stöndum (stamus);

• ölum (alimus);

• grátum (flemus).

γ. in the same way the pret. subj. is formed from pret. plur. indic., e.g.

• byða (juberem) from buðu (jusserunt);

• œla (alerem) from ólu (aluerunt);

• brynna (urerem* arderem) from brunnu (usserunt);

• bæra (ferrem) from báru (tulerunt), etc.

☞ The characteristic j and v reappear in pres. indic. plur.; thus,

• from sitja (sedere), pres. sing. sit (sedeo), but sitja (sedent);

• from höggva (caedere), högg (caedo), but höggva (caedunt):

in pres. subj. the j and v are kept through the sing., as

• sitja (sedeam),

• höggva (caedam), etc.

III. the weak verbs are formed upon a later and quite different principle, viz. by suffixing the auxiliary verb to do, in a (reduplicated?) form ded or did, whence the mod. Engl. deed, Germ. that, Icel. dáð; thus heyr-ð-a = I hear-d or hear did I. This is precisely analogous to the suffixing of the article, only that the verbal suffixed preterite is much older (centuries older than Ulfilas), and is common to all Teutonic languages, ancient and modern; whereas the suffixed article is of later date and is limited to the Scandinavian branch. There probably was a time when the preterite of weak verbs was expressed by a detached auxiliary did, as was common in the English of former days and still remains to a certain extent. The other tenses, future and pluperfect, are still expressed by auxiliaries (mun, skal, vil, hafa); ek mun ganga, ibo; ek hefi gengit, ivi; ek hafða gengit, iveram. In mod. Icel. pres. indic. is used in future sense (as in Gothic and to some extent in Engl.); as, hann kemr aldrei, he will never come; hann kemr á morgun, be comes (i.e. will come) to-morrow. The auxiliary verb mun is chiefly used in writing; in conversation it sounds stiff and affected: again, skal denotes necessity or obligation, e.g. in a reply, eg skal gera það.

Modern Changes: generally these are very few, for special cases see above and the single verbs in the Dictionary. There are two things chiefly to be noted:

1. the 1st pers. -a, in pret. indic. as well as in pres. and pret. subj., is changed into -i, boðaði = boðaða (nuntiavi), hefði = hefða (baberem), hafi = hafa (babeam). These mod. forms began to appear in MSS. even of the 13th century; but the old form still remains in some words in southern Icel., see the Dictionary, p. 2, introduction to letter A (signif. C).

2. the plur. forms of the subj. -im, -it, -i are in most cases changed into -um, -ut, -u, and conform to the indic., thus töluðum (loqueremur) instead of talaðim; tölum (loquamur) instead of talim; but wherever the subj. is formed by vowel change it remains, thus hefðum (haberemus) instead of the old hefðim; værum (essemus) instead of værim (in indic. höfðum, várum); as also hafði (habui), but hefði (haberem.), so that in this case distinction is kept up between indic. and subj. But the old subj. inflexion -i is still sounded in the 2nd and 3rd pers. in many dissyllabic words, e.g. værið (essetis), væri (essent) are quite as freq. as væruð, væru, whereas in the 1st pers. plur, Icel. say værum (essemus), never værim.

3. in 2nd pers. sing. pret. indic. of strong verbs, s has been inserted throughout, thus, brann-st (ussisti), fann-st (invenisti), kom-st (venisti), hljóp-st (cucurristi), var-st (fuisti), bjó-st (paravisti), etc., whereas the ancients said brann-t, hljóp-t, etc. But even the ancients inserted s with verbs having t as characteristic; indeed it is doubtful whether braut-t (fregisti), grét-t (flevisti) ever occur in old writers; in these words we meet with the s in rhymes, even in verses of the middle of the 11th century, e.g. brauztu við bragning nýztan, Ó.H. 219; brauztu rhymes on mestan, Fms. vi. 139; and so also the MSS., e.g. veizt (nosti) not veit-t; lézt (fecisti) not lét-t, etc.

4. in 2nd pers. pres. indic. of strong verbs ð is inserted in about a score of verbs, viz. in strong verbs and in weak of the 3rd conjugation if they have a final vowel or a final r, fer-ð (is), fæ-rð (capis), dey-rð (moreris), hlæ-rð (rides), slæ-rð (feris), þvæ-rð (lavas), sé-rð (vides), bý-rð (paras), sve-rð (juras), ræ-rð (remigas), gný-rð (fricas), sný-rð (vertis); weak, ber-ð (feris), mer-ð (contundis), ver-ð (defendis), smyr-ð (ungis), spyr-ð (quaeris), ljær-ð (commodas), flý-rð (fugis), lý-rð (fatigas), tæ-rð (carpis lanam), instead of fer-r, dey-r,... lý-r, tæ-r; but this is conversational and little used in writing:

• t is added in vil-t (vis, Engl. wilt), for the old vil-l; both forms occur in very old MSS., e.g. villt, Mork. 57. l. 15, 168. l. 19, but vill 62. l. 3:

• er-t (es, Engl. thou art) is common for old and mod.

5. for the weak participle in -inn see p. xxiv.

☞ Some MSS. (e.g. the Mar. S.) confound the 1st pers. with the 3rd pers. pres. indic., and say, ek segir, heyrir, tekr, elskar, as in mod. Swed. and Dan.; Dan. jeg siger, hörer, tager, elsker, Swed. säger, hörer, taker; cp. in vulgar Engl. I says, I hears, I takes, I loves: this use has never prevailed in Icel., either in speech or writing; and in MSS. it is simply a kind of Norwegianism.

Verbs with Suffix

The Reflexive: these verbs are used in a reflexive or reciprocal sense, but seldom as passive, and then in most cases only by way of Latinism, the passive being usually expressed by the auxiliary verb verða or vera; thus

• elska (amare), but þau elskask, they love one another;

• anda, to breathe, but andask, to breathe ‘oneself,’ to die, expirare:

the reflexive often gives a new turn to a verb, and makes it, so to say, individual and personal; see the Dictionary passim.

II. as to the form,

1. the inflexive -r (of the active voice) is dropped, thus, boða-sk, qs. boðar-sk (nuntiaris).

2. the inflexive -t assimilates to the reflexive -s, and becomes -z, e.g. in the 2nd pers. plur., elskizk (amamini), eggizk (hortamini); þeim hafði boðazk (qs. boðat-sk), as part. pass. neut. illis nuntiatum fuit, but boða-sk (nuntiantur).

3. -sk, qs. sik (se), is the old form, and kept in the oldest MSS.; even sometimes -zþ, but usually -z, -zt or -zst (often in MSS. of the 14th century), thus boða-z or boða-zt, the former of which is common in MSS.;

• the mod. is -st (boða-st), which form is adopted in most Editions and is also found in some old MSS., e.g. in one of the handwritings of Hb. (see Antiqq. Americ. facsim. iv). It is likely that the sound of -zþ, -z, -zt, and -st was much the same, and that they differed only in the spelling.

III. originally there were two suffixes, viz. -sk (i.e. sik, se) for the 2nd and 3rd pers., but -mk (i.e. mik, me) for the 1st pers. plur.; this -mk is used in many good old MSS. (and has generally been adopted in this Dictionary), but was, from some confusion with -sk, changed into -mz or -mst; the -mk may be called the personal reflexive, i.e. the reflexive reflecting the speaker himself. It is worthy of notice that the ancients seldom used ek (I) along with -sk; therefore—instead of saying ek þykki-sk (videor), þotti-sk (videbar), ek andask, lætsk, efask, óttask—they said, ek þykkju-mk (videor mihi), ek þóttu-mk (videbar mihi), ek öndu-mk (morior), ek látu-mk, ek efu-mk (dubito), ek óttu-mk (timeo), etc.; and ek þykjumst, ek þóttumst are still in use. This usage is quite correct, and the later common ek þykki-sk is in fact nonsense, being literally ego ‘sibi’ videor; it no doubt arose from the fact that the sense of the suffix was no longer perceived.

2. we may note also the old poët, usage of joining the reflexive -mk to the 2nd and 3rd pers., but in a personal reflexive sense, as göngumk firr funi, flame! begone from me, Gm. 1; jötna vegir stóðu-mk yfir ok undir, the ways of giants stood over and under me, i.e. there were precipices above and below, see the Dictionary, article ek, B.

☞ It scarcely needs remark that the m in this case belongs to the pronoun, not to the verbal inflexion, and we are to write þykkju-mk, not þykkjum-k; the inflexive -m is dropped before -mk, just as -r before -sk.

The Negative: it is obsolete and only used in poetry, in laws, old sayings, and the like; from the poets about two hundred instances have been collected—perhaps a hundred more might be gleaned—in Lex. Poët. p. 2, and from prose in this Dictionary, pp. 2, 3. In Unger’s Edition of Morkinskinna (lately published), we read mun-k-at, 50; mun-a, 37; er-a, 36, 52, 129, 186; vere-a (non esset), 37:

I. this suffix is chiefly used,

1. in the verb substantive and in the irregular verbs with pret. pres., esp. á, mun, skal, which four verbs include nearly half the instances: in regular strong verbs and some few verbs of the 3rd and 4th weak conjugation, hafa, lifa, göra, etc.: very seldom in the 1st or 2nd weak conjugation, e.g. kallar-a (non vocas), Akv. 37; subj. stöðvi-g-a (non sistem), Hm. 151; and once or twice in trisyllabic tenses.

2. as to moods, it is freq. in indic. and imperat., but seldom in subj., where scarcely a score of instances are on record, e.g. verir-a, væri-a. kveðir-a, megi-t, verði-t, standi-t, renni-a, bíti-a, sé-t (non sit), etc.; and never in infin.

3. as to number and person, freq. in sing. through all persons; in plur. freq. in 3rd pers., but very rare in 1st and 2nd; forms such as vitum-a, munum-a, várum-a (non fuimus), ættim-a (non haberemus), or segit-a (ne dicatis), farit-a (ne eatis), each probably occurs only once.

4. as to voice, it is rarely used with a reflexive; þóttisk-a (non videbatur), komsk-a (non pervenit), kömsk-at, forðumk-a (non evitamus), each occurs about once or twice; erumk-a (non est mibi), Stor. 17, Eg. 459 (in a verse).

II. as to form, -at and -a both occur, as skal-a and skal-at, mon-a and mon-at; -a is preferred when the next word begins with a consonant, -at when it begins with a vowel; but they are often used indiscriminately.

2. after a vowel inflexion the vowel of the suffix is dropped, and -t (-ð, -þ) remains, as áttu-ð, vitu-ð (nescitis), eigu-t (non habent), standa-t (non stant); yet in a few instances -a is used, but the hiatus sounds ill, e.g. biti-a, renni-a, skríði-a, all from Hkv. 2. 30, 31; væri-a, Mork. 37, Bkv. 8; kœmi-a (non venial), Gs. 10; urðu-a (non fiebant), Gh. 3:

• in verbs with characteristic j it appears, thus þegj-at-tu (ne taceas), segj-at-tu (ne dicas), eggi-a (ne horteris), Sdm. 32; teygj-at, id.; kvelj-at (kill not), Völ. 31; leti-at (ne retineat), Skv. 3. 44:

• in verbs ending in a long vowel the a is not dropped, e.g. kná-at (cannot), á-at (ought not), sá-at (saw not).

3. in 1st pers. sing. the personal pronoun (-k=ek) is inserted between the verb and suffix, á-k-at, em-k-at, etc.: if the verb ends in gg an assimilation takes place, hykk-at, qs. hygg-k-at (I think not); likk-at, qs. ligg-k-at (non jaceo): after a long vowel the k is even doubled, e.g. sé-kk-at (non video), má-kk-at (non debeo): the pronoun is even repeated, e.g. má-k-at ek, sá-k-at ek, etc.:

• in weak dissyllabic forms the inserted k becomes g, stöðvi-g-a, or iterated stöðvigak, bjargi-g-a, Hm. 151, 153; (note also that the inflex. -a of the 1st pers. is here turned into -i, bjargi-g-a, not bjarga-g-a.)

4. in 2nd pers. sing. the personal pronoun þú is also iterated, the latter being assimilated, er-t-at-tu for ert-at-þú; mon-t-a-ttu, but also mon-at-tu.

The Personal:

1. for -k in the 1st pers., see s.v. ek (B), p. 124.

2. the 2nd pers. þú, thou, is suffixed, as -ðu, -du, -tu, or -u, according to the final of the verb,

α. imperat. boða-ðu, dœm-du, gled-du, spyr-ðu, vak-tu, dug-ðu; brenn-du, rís-tu, bjód-du, far-ðu, gef-ðu, ber-ðu, grát-tu, hlaup-tu; ver-tu, eig-ðu, mun-tu, mun-du, unn-tu, vit-tu, ró-ðu, gró-ðu, sá-ðu, snú-ðu, gnú-ðu, kjós-tu, slá-ðu; as also haf-ðu, gör-ðu, kom-du (kon-du) come thou! vil-tu, statt-u stand thou! bitt-u bind thou!

• pres. boðar-ðu, brennr-ðu, rís-tu, býðr-ðu,... er-tu, átt-u, kannt-u, munt-u, veizt-u, etc.:

• pret. boðaðir-ðu,... dugðir-ðu, brannt-u, bautt-u (bauðst-u), reist-u, grétst-u, hljópt-u, hljópst-u, etc.:

• subj. boðaðir-ðu,... gleddir-ðu, etc.:

• this usage is freq. in old prose, and already occurs in even the oldest poems, but it has gained ground in mod. usage, and esp. in speech it has quite superseded the detached þú; the vowel is ambiguous, being sometimes pronounced long (viltú), but usually short (viltu), in which latter case it has become a full suffix.

Adverbs

With Degrees of Comparison:

I. the neut. sing. is freq. used as positive, e.g. þung-t, heavily; skjót-t, suddenly; fljót-t, brát-t, ót-t, ör-t, stór-t, har-t, mjúk-t, ljót-t, fagr-t, etc.

2. from adjectives in -ligr is formed an adverb in -liga, skjót-liga, ná-liga, etc.: in a few cases, especially in poetry, they are contracted -la, thus skjótla, óð-la, brál-la, etc.; in prose in var-la, hardly, Lat. vix, but var-liga, warily; harð-la or har-la, very, but harð-liga, harshly; ár-la, early; but from var-la, har-la, ár-la no degrees of comparison are formed.

3. a few end in -a, víð-a, far and wide; snemm-a, early; ill-a, ill, badly; görva, quite.

4. special forms, leng-i, Lat. diu, but lang-t, locally; fjar-, far; vel, well; sjaldan, seldom; síð, late; opt, often; mjök, much; lítt, little; inn, in; út, out; fram, onwards; aptr, backwards; niðr, down; upp, up; heim, home: of the quarters, austr, norðr, suðr, vestr.

II. the formation of degrees of comparison is like that of the adjectives, only that the inflexive -i, -a, -r is dropped; as skjót-t, compar. skjót-ar, superl. skjót-ast; fljót-t, fljót-ar, fljót-ast; fagr-t, fegr, fegr-st; skjótlig-a, skjótlig-ar, skjótlig-ast; víð-a, víð-ar, víð-ast; leng-i, leng-r, leng-st; skamm-t, skem-r, skem-st; (fjar), fir-r, fir-st; vel, bet-r (melius), bezt; íll-a, ver-r, ver-st; görva, gör-r (more fully), gör-st; sjald-an, sjaldn-ar, sjaldn-ast; snemm-a, snem-r, snem-st; síð-r (less), sízt (least), but síð-ar (later), síð-ast (latest); opt, optar, opt-ast; mjök, mei-r. me-st; lít-t, mið-r or minn-r (less, Lat. minus), minn-st; inn, inn-ar, inn-st; út, út-ar, út-ast or yzt; upp, of-ar, ef-st; niðr, neð-ar (farther down), neð-st; aptr, apt-ar (farther behind), aptast or ept-st; austr, aust-ar, aust-ast; norðr, norð-ar, norð-ast or nyrðst; suðr, sunn-ar, sunn-ast, synn-st or syð-st; vestr, vest-ar, vest-ast: without positive are, ská-r (better), ská-st; hand-ar (ulterius), hand-ast; held-r (rather), helzt; fyr-r (prius), fyr-st; hand-ar (ulterius), handast; superl. hinn-st (hindermost).

☞ Old writers usually spell -arr, thus opt-arr, síð-arr, víð-arr, etc., as also fyr-r, gǫr-r, in mod. usage opt-ar, víð-ar, fyr, gör.

2. the full adjectival comparative is frequently made to serve as adverbial comparative, e.g. hæ-ra, higher; læg-ra, lower; leng-ra in local sense, but leng-r in temp. sense; skem-ra (local), but skem-r (temp.):

• or both forms are used indiscriminately, as víð-ar and víð-ara, skjót-ar and skjót-ara, harð-ar and harð-ara.

3. if following after the article the superlative conforms to the neut. sing. of the weak declension, e.g. ríða hit harðasta, to ride one’s hardest; hit skjótasta, fyrsta, síðasta, etc.

Without Degrees of Comparison:

I. adverbs with inflexions,

1. formed as genitive in -s, or -is, or -ar; öllungis, quite; einungis, only; lok-s, at last, or loks-ins, id.; all-s, in all: formed from nouns, as leið, dagr; heim-leiðis, homewards; sömu-leiðis, likewise; á-leiðis, onwards; rak-leiðis, straight; ár-degis, early in the day; framveg-is, furthermore; útbyrð-is, overboard; innbyrð-is, inwardly; ókeyp-is, gratis; erlend-is, abroad; margsinn-is, optsinn-is, many a time; umhverv-is or umberg-is, all around; jafn-fœtis, on equal footing; and-sœlis, against the sun; for-streymis, for-brekkis, for-viðris; tví-vegis, twice, etc.:

• in -ar, from staðr, allstað-ar, everywhere; sumstað-ar, somewhere; annars-stað-ar, elsewhere; einhvers-stað-ar, anywhere; nokkurs-stað-ar, id.; marg-stað-ar, in many places: from konar (generis), kind; eins-konar, annars-konar, of another kind; nokkurs-konar, of any kind; alls-konar, hvers-konar, margs-konar: alls-kostar = alls-konar: so, many other words, innan-húss, in-doors; utan-húss, out-doors; utan-lands, abroad; and inn-fjarða, innan-lands, etc.

2. the acc. sing. masc. is often used adverbially, as harð-an, swiftly; bráð-an, suddenly; ríða mikinn, to ride fast; this is properly an elliptical use, a noun being understood.

3. in -um, properly a dative form, eink-um, especially; fyrr-um, formerly; löng-um, all along; tíð-um, often; stund-um, sometimes; forð-um, of yore; fíkj-um, eagerly; óð-um, rapidly; bráð-um, bye and bye; endrum og sinnum, now and then; höppum og glöppum, by haps and gaps; smám saman, by little and little: also from nouns, hrönnum and unnvörp-um (Lat. undatim).

4. in -eg, from vegr, a way; thus þann-ig, þann-og, thus and thither; hinn-ig, the other way, hither; hvern-ig, how; einn-ig, also: the ancients often spell þann-og, etc.; in mod. usage þann-inn, hvern-inn, einn-iun; hins-eg-inn (the other way), qs. þann-iginn or þann-veginn, etc., from the noun along with the article: the adverbs, báðum-egin, on both sides; hvárum-egin, on what side; hinum-eginn, on the other side; öllum-eginn, on all sides; hérna-megin, on this side; formed from dat. plur. and vegr, the oldest form is probably báðu-megum, both forms being in dat.: öðru-vísi, otherwise.

5. in -an, denoting motion from a place; héð-an, hence; það-an, thence; hvað-an, whence; síð-an, since; und-an, before; fram-an, q.v.; hand-an, from beyond; neð-an, from beneath; of-an, from above; heim-an, from home; inn-an, from the inner part; út-an, from outwards; norð-an, from the north; aust-an, sunn-an, vest-an, etc.: without the notion of motion, áð-an, shortly, a little while ago; jafn-an, ‘evenly,’ frequently; sam-an, together.

β. in -at, denoting motion to the place, hing-at or heg-at, hither; þang-at, thither; hver-t, whither.

γ. terminations denoting rest in the place, hér, here; þar, there; hvar, where; hvar-gi, nowhere; heim-a, at home: old poët héðra, here; þaðra, there.

δ. mod. forms suffixing a demonstrative particle -na, hér-na, þar-na, tar-na, this here (qs. þat þar-na): in -i, framm-i (q.v.), upp-i, niðr-i.

6. numeral adverbs, tvisvar, twice; þrysvar, thrice, (spelt with y in good old MSS.)

II. special adverbs,

• ár, early;

• ár-la, id.;

• þegar, at once, Lat. jam;

• svá, so, thus, and svo-na, id.;

• gær, yesterday;

• þá, then;

• nú, now, and nu-na, just now;

• nær, when;

• hve-nær, id.;

• enn, still;

• senn, soon;

• ella, else;

• unz, until;

• já, yes;

• nei, no;

• aldrigi, never;

• æ, ever;

• ætíð, id.;

• ei and ey, id.;

• sí, Lat. semper, only in compounds and in the phrase, sí og æ, for ever and ever;

• hví, why;

• hve, how;

• hversu, id.;

• allténd (mod.), always;

• ávalt, id.;

• alla-jafna, id.;

• einatt, repeatedly;

• of, too;

• van, too little,used singly only in the phrase, of ok van;

• samt, together;

• sundr, asunder;

• á mis, amiss;

• ymist, indiscriminately;

• iðula, repeatedly,

• etc.

Adverbial Prefixes:

1. in positive and intensive sense, especially with adjectives,

• al-, quite, al-, see Dictionary, p. 11 sqq.;

• all-, very;

• auð-, easy;

• afar-, greatly;

• fjöl-, frequently;

• of-, too (very freq.);

• ofr-, very, greatly:

temp.

• sí-, semper:

• ið-, often, again;

• ey- or ei-, ever-;

• einka-, especially;

• endr-, again;

• frum-, originally.

2. in special sense,

• dá-, very;

• full-, quite;

• hálf-, half;

• jafn-, equally, in many words,

etc.:

only as prefixes,

• sam-, together, Lat. con-, in many words;

• er-, qs. el- (cp. Lat. ali-us), in er-lendr and compds;

• and-, against;

• gagn-, id.;

• gör-, quite, altogether.

3. in negative sense,

• ú- or ó-, = Lat. in-, Engl. un-, in a great many words; the mod. form is ó-, e.g. ó-fagr, unfair, ugly; un- is the etymologically true form, which is preserved in German and English, as well as in mod. Danish, Swedish, and Norse; but that the Icel., even in the 12th century, had already changed ú- into ó- is shewn by the spelling of the earliest MSS., and from the statement in Skálda by the second grammarian, who says that ‘ó- or ú- changes the sense of a word, as in satt (sooth), or ó-satt (untrue),’ Skálda 171; but in the bulk of MSS. of a later date, after the union with Norway, the ú- prevailed, and was henceforth adopted in the Editions, although the Icel. people all along pronounced ó-, which also is the spelling in all modern books, and might well be adopted in Editions too:

• mis- (cp. Engl. amiss), differently, and also badly, in many compds:

• var-, scarcely, insufficiently:

• sví-, cp. svei, p. xxviii:

• van-, deficiency, ‘wane:’

• tor-, = Gr. δυs-, with difficulty, opp. to auð-:

• ör-, = Lat. ex-, thus ör-skipta = expers, ör-endr = exanimis, etc.:

• for-, in a few words, cp. p. 182.

☞ Words denoting wonder, awe are often used as adverbial prefixes in an intensive sense, as geysi-, æði-, undra-, fjarska-, furðu-, óskapa-, awfully, wonderfully; see Dictionary.

Prepositions

1.With dat. and acc.,

• at, Lat. ad, only exceptionally with acc.;

• á, Lat. in, Engl. on;

• fyrir, for, before;

• eptir, after;

• í, in;

• undir, under, beneath;

• yfir, over, above;

• við, with, = Lat. cum;

• með, id.

2. with dat.,

• af, off, of;

• frá, from;

• ór, mod. úr, Lat. ex, out of:

• hjá, Lat. juxta. = besides;

• mót, against;

• gegn, id.

3. with acc.,

• gegnum, through;

• fram, on, onwards;

• upp, up;

• niðr, down;

• ofan, id.;

• um, Lat. de, per, old form of.

4. with gen.,

• til, till, to;

• án, without;

• milli or meðal, between.

☞ The prepositions á and í are in the MSS. usually joined to the following word, thus alandi = á landi, iriki = í ríki.

• As to the syntactic use of prepositions, elliptically and adverbially, see Dictionary.

• In poetry, even in plain popular songs, hymns, epics, etc., a preposition can be put after its case, e.g. birtust snjóhvítum búning í, blessaðir englar líka, Pass. 21 10; himnum á = á himnum, in the heavens; but scarcely, unless before a pause at the end of a line.

Conjunctions

The chief of these are,

• ok, mod. og, and, also;

• né, nor, Lat. neque;

• eða or eðr, or, Lat. aut;

• ellegar, id.;

• en, but, Lat. sed, autem, vero;

• en (an), than, Lat. quam;

• enda, and even, and then;

• ef, if, Lat. si;

• nema, unless, but, Lat. nisi;

• heldr, but, Lat. sed;

• sem, as, Lat. ut, sicut;

• þó, though, although, yet;

• alls, because;

• hvárt, whether, Lat. an;

• því, therefore:

• we may here add the enclitical particle of or um (different from the prep. um), which is very much used in old poetry, and now and then in laws and very old prose, e.g. hann of sá, he saw; er sér of getr, who gets for himself, see Lex. Poët.

Compounds of adverbs, prepositions, and conjunctions are much used:

1. prepositions and adverbs or double prepositions;

• á meðan, whilst, meanwhile;

• á undan, ahead;

• á eptir, behind;

• á milli and á meðal, among, between;

• á ofan, to boot;

• á samt, together;

• á móti, against;

• á fram, on, along;

• á-lengdar, afar;

• á síðan, since;

• á við, alike:

• auk-heldr, still more;

• í frá, from, cp. Swed. ifrån;

• í sundr, asunder;

• í gegn, against;

• í hjá, aside;

• í senn, in one;

• í kring, around;

• undir eins, at once;

• at auk, to boot;

• at ofan, from above;

• upp aptr, over again;

• kringum (qs. kring um), all around;

• gegn-um, all through;

• yfir um (proncd. ufrum), across;

• fyrrum, formerly;

• framan af, in the beginning;

• héðan af, henceforth;

• þaðan af, thenceforth;

• allt af, for ever;

• hingað til, hitherto;

• þangað til, until;

• eptir á, after,

• (so ávalt, for of allt);

• ofan á, insuper;

• framan á, in front;

• neðan á, beneath on;

• aptan á, behind on:

• as also, ofan í, down;

• neðan í, underneath, at the bottom;

• framan í, in the face;

• aptan i, in the rear;

• framan til, until;

• austan til, norðan til, sunnan til, vestan til, etc.;

• að aptan, and aptan til, behind;

• fyrir fram, beforehand;

• fyrir útan, except,

• etc., see e.g. fyrir (Acc. A. I. 4. and Acc. C. XI) and fram:

with nouns,

• á vixl, alternately;

• á laun, secretly;

• á vit, towards;

• á mis, amiss;

• á braut, abroad, away;

• á ská, askance;

• á víð ok dreif, scattered abroad.

2. with a conjunction;

• þó at or þó-tt, although;

• svá at (svá-t), so that, Lat. ut;

• því at, for that, because;

• hvárt að, whether;

• ef að, if;

• fyrr en, Lat. priusquam;

• áðr en, id.;

• at eigi, that not, lest;

• eins og, as;

• að eins, only, barely;

• þegar er, Lat. simul ac;

• síðan er, Lat. postquam;

• meðan er, Lat. dum;

• hvárt er, Lat. utrum;

• hvar’s, wheresoever;

• hvegi er, whosoever:

• in mod, usage, þegar að, síðan að, meðan að, hvárt að, and many others.

3. adverbial phrases, e.g.

• að vörmu spori (tepido vestigio), at once;

• um hæl, ‘turning the heel,’ in return;

• af bragði, af stundu, instantly;

• aptr á bak, backwards;

• um leið, by the way;

• eptir að hyggja, apropos,

• and many others.

Interjections and Exclamations

1. To denote consent, já já or jú jú, yea yea! ó já, O yes! jaur or jur, hear! O.H.L. 10, 45, 69, Mirm. (jur); in mod. usage, jir jór or jur jór, sounded almost like the Engl. hear hear! (it is doubtful whether this Engl. exclamation has any connection with hear = audire):

• half consent, jæja, yea yea!

• denial, nei nei, ó nei, ó ekkí, ekkí, O no!

• bitti nú, wait a bit!

• loathing, bja, fussum, fý, fie! vei, Lat. vae, Engl. woe, whence the compd svei or svei þér (qs. sé vei, woe be to thee!), (a shepherd’s shout, e.g. to a dog worrying the sheep), or Lat. apage! putt (Dan. pyt, Swed. pytt), pish, pshaw! Mork. 138: þey þey, tush!

• hushing to sleep, etc., dillindó, korriró, bíum bíum, bí bí (as in the rhyme, Bí, bí og blaka!)

• hó hó, ho, hoa! a shepherd’s cry in gathering his flock so as to make the fells resound, hence the verb hóa; trutt trutt, hott hott, hæ hæ! the shout in driving or leading horses; tu tu tu tu, kus kus, bás bás! in milking or driving cows into the byre; kis kis, puss puss (to a cat); sep sep or hép hép (to a dog); rhrhrh! in driving horses or cattle out of a field, imitating the sound of a rattle, called að siga:

• amazement, uss, sussu (qs. svá svá), sei sei, á, eh!

• a cry of pain, ai ai! which form occurs in Sæm. 118 and Þorf. Karl. 390, v. l., whence the mod. œ (proncd. like Engl. long i); this Icel. use is curious, as mod. Swedes, Danes, and Norsemen, as well as Germans, all say au (proncd. ow); from æ comes the verb æja, to cry; æ œ, æi, heigh-oh! aví, = Germ. oh weh, is foreign;

• exultation, hœ hœ, á á, aha!

• wonder, delight, ó ó!

• enquiry, há, what?

• chattering of the teeth from cold, atatata, hutututu, Orkn. 326.

2. interjections imitating the voice of birds or beasts, e.g.

• dirrindí (of the lark); there is a pretty legend about this in Ísl. Þjóðs. ii. 2;

• krunk krunk (of the raven);

• mjá mjá (of the cat);

• gagg gagg (of the fox);

• kví kví kví, cp. kywitt kywitt in the bird’s song in Der Machandelboom in Grimm’s Märchen;

• tí tí tí, úh úh! Bb. 2. 12; ví ví (of birds and ducks);

• gagga-gagg (of a gull).

The Suffixed Particles

These are suffixed to nouns and verbs, but never used separately:

I. the nominal suffix -gi, originally a copula, akin to Lat. -que, and used so in some words, but chiefly used in a negative sense, see Dictionary, p. 199.

II. the verbal negative suffix -a, -at, see p. xxvi.

• The true explanation of this particle is found in the Gothic, which makes frequent use of a suffixed particle -uh (esp. in verbs and also in pronouns), to which the particle þan is freq. added in an indefinite enclytical sense, almost as the Gr. δέ, thus

⁃ vas-uh-þan, or assimilated vas-uþ-þan = Gr. ἦν δέ

⁃ skal-uþ-þan = δεῖ γάρ;

⁃ stóþ-uþ-þan = εἱστήκει δέ;

⁃ nam-uh-þan = ἔλαβε δέ;

⁃ qvaþ-uþ-þan = ἔλεγε δέ;

⁃ vésun-uh-þan = ἦσαν δέ;

⁃ qvíþun-uh-þan = ἔλεγον οὖν;

⁃ vitum-uh-þan = οἴδαμεν δέ;

⁃ vitaidedun-uh-þan = παρετήρουν δέ;

⁃ bidjandans-uþ-þan = προσευχόμενοι δέ;

⁃ and even in passages where the Gr. text has no particle, qviþid-uh = είπατε (Mark xvi. 7).

• There can be little doubt of the identity, by way of assimilation, of the Goth, -uh or -uþ-þan and the Scandin. -a or -aþ (-at).

• As to the sense, the difference is that whereas in Gothic this suffix is used indefinitely or is almost an affirmative copula, the Icel. is only used in a decidedly negative sense. But the freedom in the use of the particles is greater than in any other part of speech; and the negative and affirmative frequently take the place of one another in different dialects, e.g. -gi, see above;

⁃ so eyvit etymologically = ought, but in fact used = naught (the etymological notice p. 136 is scarcely correct);

⁃ or, on the other hand, neinn or ne-einn, qs. none (n’one), but actually used = Lat. ullus;

⁃ nokkurr, prop. from ne and hverr, = ne-quis, but in fact used = aliquis;

⁃ ein-gi, ein-igr are both used negatively = none, and positively = any;

⁃ Icel. mann-gi, Lat. nemo, is etymologically identical to Engl. many;

⁃ ei-manni, nobody, Vþm., is etymologically = Germ. je-mand = everybody; the particle ei- is used both in a positive and negative sense;

⁃ vætr, a wight, is positive, but is used negatively = naught.

• As to the form, the Icel. -a answers to Goth, -uh, the Icel. t or þ to Goth. þ, whereas the -an is dropped. The double Goth, form -uh and -uh-þan (-uþ-þan) also explains the puzzling Icel. double form -a and -aþ (-at); the -a represents the -uh singly, the -aþ the compd -uh-þan or -uþ-þan.

• A further proof is that neither the Goth, nor the Icel. suffix was used with nouns.

• In the 9th and 10th centuries the negative suffixed verb appears to have still been in full use among Icelanders (at that time there were no books), else it could not have survived in laws and old saws; there are about four or five hundred instances, three-fourths in poetry; it lingered on into the 11th or even 12th century, and then became obsolete; in Norway, Sweden, and Denmark it seems to have disappeared much sooner, and has left no traces. From Ulf. we see that in his days the Goths used the -uh freely, though in a different sense.

• As a pronominal suffix the Gothic -uh seems to remain in the Icel. word þeim-a, Goth. paim-uh = illi; perhaps also in hvat-ta, what! Mork. 129 (exclam. indignantis); cp. also the mod. hvad-a, who? perhaps also in end-a = ήδέ; and lastly, the demonstrative pronoun þetta = Goth. þat-uh = Gr. τοῠτο, but in these cases the particle has not taken the negative sense (see Grimm’s Gr. iii. 24, 25; the explanation of the negative -at, as suggested in iii. 718, from vætr, is not admissible).

☞ A different kind of negative is the particle ne before a verb, only in old poets, e.g. Vsp., sól þat ne vissi (thrice within a single stanza);

• in A.S. and Early Engl. often prefixed to the verb, as nolde = n’wolde, nadde = n’hadde, cp. Lat. nolo, nemo; in Icel. it remained in the adj. neinn and nökkurr (see above), cp. also neita or níta, negare.

• In mod. usage eigi or ekki has replaced almost all other negative particles. To make it emphatic, nouns are added, ekki grand, not a grain; ekki vitund, not a whit; ekki hot, qs. ekki hvat, naught; ekki ögn, not a mite; ekki augna-blik, not the twinkling of an eye; ekki fet, not a step: and borrowed from French, ekki par, ne pas. Phrases of this kind are of modern growth and were scarcely used by the ancients;—ekki lyf, Skv. 2, is dubious, if not corrupt.

• In sense the Icel. enclitical particle of or um answers to the Goth, -uh, but is detached and placed before the verb or noun: this particle, although a favourite with the old poets (like the Homeric δ’ᾰρα), is obsolete, and in prose is only found now and then in the oldest writers, in laws and the like.

III. the demonstrative suffix -na, in nú-na, þar-na, hér-na, svá-na;

• this -na is akin to Lat. en, ecce (qs. en-ce), and is found in A.S. eno and O.H.G. ino; cp. the Icel. exclamation ha-na, hana-nú!

• It probably explains the Icel. and Scandin. demonstrative pronoun hann (he), hon (she), compared with Engl. he; hann, hon being qs. ha-n, hó-n, he there, she there, en ille, en illa!

• cp. also gær-na = gær, q.v.; þér-na, tibimet, Mork. 120.

IV. a pronominal suffix -su, -sa occurs in hver-su, how; því-sa, dat. neut, of þat; þeim-sa, dat. masc, from sá.