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Source: Bosworth/Toller, page b0652, entry 21 View original page image as: [TIFF] [PNG] [View previous entry] [View next entry]

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Original m, generally speaking, is preserved in Anglo-Saxon, and is found corresponding to m in the Gothic and other cognate dialects, e.g. mé, manna, dóm; Goth. mik, manna, dóms. When, however, m is not initial, the correspondence is not always maintained; thus, A. S. fíf, but Goth. fimf; A. S. sófte, O. H. Ger. samfto. Also for earlier fn is found mn, as in emn along with efn, Goth. ibn; stemn and stefn, Goth. stibna. In some inflexions m is no longer found; so in the 1st pers. sing. pres. indic. eom is the only instance in which the old person-ending has maintained itself; though beón, dón, and gán offer occasional instances of its retention in the Northern Gospels; while the m which is found in the plural of the Gothic and O. H. Ger. conjugations has left no trace. In declensions n in the later times began to take the place of m in the dative, so ðan for ðam.

Source: Bosworth/Toller, page b0840, entry 6 View original page image as: [TIFF] [PNG] [View previous entry] [View next entry]

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scottettan (?) to move about quickly (? cf. sceotan, III, IV; scotian, II). to dance, leap:--Sceottet (or = (?) sceóteþ: t for þ occurs in verb inflexions in the same glossary, e. g. geþwrat, 397, 439) saltat, Germ. 394, 222.

Source: Bosworth/Toller, page b1023, entry 7 View original page image as: [TIFF] [PNG] [View previous entry] [View next entry]

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twéntig, twégentig; num. Twenty. I. used adjectivally, with the inflexions of the plural adjective in gen. and dat., but also with singular gen. (1) alone:--Ðis synd ðara twéntiges hída landgemra, Cod. Dip. Kmbl. iii. 429, 25. Mid twéntigum (twoegentigum, Rush.: tuoentigum, Lind.) þúsendum, Lk. Skt. 14, 31. On twéntigum fótmlum, Elen. Kmbl. 1657; El. 830. Næs tó ánum dæge, ne tó twám . . . ne tó twéntigum, Num. 11, 19. Intó ðýs twéntigum híd?m, Cod. Dip. Kmbl. v. 331, 1. (2) with other numbers, the inflection may be omitted if the noun does not immediately follow twébrig:--Nánne ðara twá and twéntigra monna, Ors. 6, 2; Swt. 256, 2. Ðæt mæsten is gemne tó ðám án and twéntigum hídum, Cod. Dip. Kmbl. v. 319, 29. Ymb twéntig . . . and fíf nihtum, Menol. Fox 371; Men. 187. II. used substantively, (1) alone:--Gif ðr beóþ twéntig rihtwísra, Gen. 18, 31. Án twéntig is ðara bóca ðe Adeluuold gesealde of the books that Athelwold gave there is a score, Chart. Th. 244, 21. Wæs ic mid ðé twéntig wintra, Gen. 31, 38. Næfde hé má ðonne twéntig sceápa and twéntig swýnas, Ors. 1, 1; Swt. 19, 14. Hé hæfde twm læs ðe twéntig wintra, Blickl. Homl. 215, 34. Twéntig (fífe and twoegentig, Rush.: tuéntig, Lind.) furlanga, Jn. Skt. 6, 19. (2) with other numbers:--Hundteóntig geára and seofon and twéntig geára, Gen. 23, 1. Seó menigu wæs án hund manna and twéntig, Homl. Th. i. 296, 18. Onbíd hér seofon and twéntig nihta, Blickl. Homl. 231, 5. (3) distributively:--Týnum and twéntigum on ánum inne ætgædere restan, R. Ben. 47, 7. [Goth. twai-tigjus: O. Sax. twéntig: O. Frs. twintege: O. H. Ger. zweinzug: Icel. tuttugu.]

Source: Cleasby/Vigfusson, page b0001, entry 1 View original page image as: [TIFF] [PNG] [View previous entry] [View next entry]

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A. is the first letter in all the alphabets of Phenician extraction. The Runic alphabet, being confused and arbitrary, makes the sole exception to this rule. A. PRONUNCIATION: it is either simple (a) or diphthongal (á). The simple a is pronounced long or short; when long it is sounded like the long Italian a as in padre, or as in Engl. father; when short, like the short Italian a as in cambio, or as in Engl. marry. The á -- though in grammars commonly called a long vowel -- is phonetically diphthongal (a + u), and sounds like Engl. ou or ow: Engl. thou and Icel. þá, now and ná, have almost the same sound. Again a and á have, like all other vowels, diph- thongs or simple, a deep, full chest-sound if followed by a single consonant, or by more than one weak consonant (a liquid followed by a media). They sound short if followed by two or more strong consonants (a double mute or liquid): thus the a and á sound long in tál, sermo; sát, sedebat; mán, mancipium; tál, dolus; ár, remits; sát, sessio, hátr, odium; hárðr, durus; káldr, frigidus; vándr, difficilis; támdr, domitus, etc. But short in hátt, pileum; hátt, modum; mánn, bominem; bánn, interdictum; háll, lubricus; kált, frigidum; rámt, acidum; hárt, durum; vánt, assuetum, etc.; the consonants shortening the sound of the preceding vowel. The a is also short in all endings, verbal or nominal, tala, talar, talaða, dixi; talast, dicitur; vaka, vigilia; fagran, pulchrum, etc. Etymologically a distinction must be made between the primitive á, as in sátu (sedebant), átu (edebant), gátu (poterant), and the á produced by suppressing consonants; either nasals, as in á, ást, áss, báss, gás, = an, anst, ans, bans, gans; or gutturals, h, g, k, as in á (aqua), sá (videbat), lá (jacebat), má (debet), nátt (nox), dráttr (tractus), and a great many others; or labials, v, f, as in á = af, áir = afr, hár but háfan; or dentals, as in nál (acus) [Goth. nepla, Engl. needle], vál (ambitus, mendicitas) [A. S. vädl], etc. In very early times there was no doubt an audible distinction between these two kinds of á, which however is not observed even by the earliest poets, those of the 10th century. The marking of the diphthongal vowels with an acute accent is due to the Icelandic philologist Thorodd (circa 1080-1140), and was probably an imitation of Anglo-Saxon. The circumflex, applied by Jacob Grimm, is unknown to Icel. authors of whatever age. Thorodd, in his treatise on the vowels (Skálda, pp. 160 sqq.), distinguishes between three kinds of vowels, viz. short, long (i. e. diphthongal), and nasal. The long ones he proposes to mark with an acute (); the nasals by a dot above the line (•). The vowels of his alphabet are thirty-six in number. According to his rule we should have to write, af (ex), át (esus), ä (in). No doubt the a was also nasal in the verbs and the weak nouns, komå (= koman), augä (gen.); and also when followed by an n, e. g. vänr (assuefactus). The distinctive marking of the nasals never came into practice, and their proper sound also disappeared; neither is this distinction observed by the poets in their rhymes. The marking of the diphthongal vowels -- either the primitive vowels or those formed by agglutination -- by an acute accent, according to the rule of Thorodd, is indeed used in a very few old Icel. parchment fragments of the 12th century. The only MS. of any considerable length which strictly observes this distinction is the Ann. Reg. Ísl. 2087. 4b. Royal Libr. Copenhagen, written in Icel. at the end of the 13th century. In the great bulk of MSS. both kinds of vowels are treated alike, as in Latin. About the middle of the 14th century the doubling of vowels, especially that of aa () = á, came into use, and was employed through more than three centuries, until about 1770 the Icelanders resumed the spelling of Thorodd, marking diphthongal vowels by an acute accent, but following the rules of modern pronunciation. The diphthong au -- in Norse freq. spelt ou -- has at present in Icel. a peculiar sound, answering to äu or eu in German, and nearly to Engl. oi. The Norse pronunciation is different and perhaps more genuine. B. CHANGES. I. a changes into æ, á into Æ: this change -- a part of a more general transformation, by Grimm termed umlaut, 'vowel-change' -- is common to all the Teutonic idioms, except the Gothic (v. letter E and Æ). II. a changes into ö (), á into : this transformation is peculiar to the Scandinavian branch, esp. the Icelandic idiom, where it is carried on to the fullest extent -- in old Swedish and Danish its use was scanty and limited. It takes place, 1. in monosyllabic nouns with a for their radical vowel, . feminines, öld, periodus; önd, anima; örk, arca; för, iter; höll, aula; hönd, manus; sök, causa, etc. . adjectives in fem. sing, and in neut. pl., öll, tota; fögr, pulchra; hörð, dura; hölt, clauda; sönn, vera; from allr, etc. . in plur. neut., bönd, vincula; börn, GREEK; lönd, terrae; from band, etc. . in singular masculines with a suppressed u in the root, hjörtr, cervus; fjörðr, sinus; björn, ursus; örn, aquila, etc. 2. in dissyllables a radical a, when followed by a final u (-u, -ur, -um, etc.), in Icel. constantly changes into ö, -- öllum, cunctis; mönnum, hominibus; köllum, vocamus; vökum, vigiliis and vigilamus; vökur, vigiliae, etc. Danes and Swedes here retained the a; so did a great part of Norway. The change only prevailed in the west of Norway and the whole of Iceland. Some Norse MSS. therefore con- stantly keep a in those cases, e. g. Cd. Ups. De la Gard. 8 (Ed. C. R. Unger, 1849), which spells allum, cunctis; hafuð, caput; jafur, rex; andverðr, adversus; afund, invidia, etc. (v. Pref. viii.) Other Norse MSS. spell a and ö promiscuously; allum or öllum, kallum or köllum. In Icel. this change prevailed about the year 1000. Even at the end of the loth century we still frequently meet with rhymes such as barð -- jarðu, þang -- langu, etc. 3. a in inflexions, in penultimate syllables, if followed by u, changes into u (or ö); thus keisurum, caesaribus; vitrurum, sapienti- oribus; hörðurum, durioribus; hörðustum, durissimis: pret. pl., sköpuðu, creabant; töluðu, dicebant; orrustu, pugnam. In part. pass. fem. sing, and neut. pl., sköpuð, creata; töluð, dicta; töpuð, perdi/ a. Neut. pl. in words, as sumur, aestates; heruð, pagi. This change is peculiar to Iceland, and is altogether strange to Norse MSS., where we constantly find such forms as ætlaðu, putabant; gnagaðu, mordebant; aukaðu, augebant; skapað, creata; kallað, dicta; skaparum, tapaðum, ágætastum, harðarum, skín- andum; kunnastu, artem, etc. This difference, as it frequently oc- curred at early times, soon gave the Icel. idiom a peculiar and strange sound, -- amarunt would, in Icelandic, be ömurunt. Norse phrases -- as með bænum ok fastu (fostu) hafðu (höfðu) með sér vaxljós, ok dýrkaðu (dýrkuðu) þa hælgu hátíð með fastu (föstu) ok vaktu (vöktu) þar um nóttina með margum (mörgum) aðrum (öðrum) vanfærum mannum (monnum), O. H. L. 87 -- sound uncouth and strange to Icel. ears; and so no doubt did the Icel. vowel transformations to Norse ears. 4. endings in -an, -all, e. g. feminines in -an, as hugsan, ætlan, iðran, frequently change into -un, -- hugsun, ætlun, iðrun, and are now always used so: gamall, vetus, f. gömul; einsamall, solus, f. ein- sömul. In modern Norse, gomol, eismol (Ivar Aasen); atall, atrox; ötull, strenuus; svikall, perfidus, and svikull; þrifnaðr, mundities, and þrifnuðr, etc. 5. in the cases correlative to II. 1, 2, the á in its turn changes into a vowel, by Thorodd marked ; this vowel change seems to have been settled about the beginning of the 11th century, and prevailed in Iceland during the 12th, being constantly employed in MSS. of that time; about the end of that century, however, and the beginning of the next, it fell off, and at last became extinct. Its phonetical value, therefore, cannot now be precisely stated: it no doubt had an interme- diate sound between á and ó, such as ö (oo) has between a and o. Thorodd proposed to mark the short 'umlaut' ö by ; and the vowel change of á by (in the MSS. however commonly written ). INSTANCES: fcm., , amnis; st, amor; l, funis; r, remits; lg, lignum; skr, libel- lus; stt, pax; sl, anima; nl, acus; vn, spes: masc., httr, modus; þrðr, fîlum; þttr, funis; mttr, vis; ss, deus; rr, nuntius: neut. pl., sr, vulnera; tr, GREEK; ml, dicta; rð, consilia; vr, vera: adj. fem, and neut., koát, læta; f, pauca; sm, parva; h, alta; fm, paucis; hm, altis: verbs, s, videbant (but sá, videbat); gtu, capie- bant; tu, edebant (but at, edebat), etc.: v. Frump. 26-28: e. g. sár (vulnus) veitti maðr mer eitt (unum), sr mörg (multa vulnera) veitta ek hánum, Skálda (Thorodd), 162; l (= öl, cerevisia) er drykkr, l er band (vinculum), id. 163; tungan er málinu vn (= vön, assuefacta), en at tönnunum er bitsins vn (morsils exspectatio), id.: frequently in the Grágás, lýsa sár sitt (vulnus) eðr sr (vulnera) ef fleiri eru, Kb. i. 151; sr en minni (vulnera leviora), 170; en meire sr (graviora), 174; síðan es sr eða ben voru lýst, 175; engi sr (nulla vulnera), sr, and rð, 176, 177; ml, ii. 51; vr, 158,

Source: Cleasby/Vigfusson, page b0046, entry 5 View original page image as: [TIFF] [PNG] [View previous entry] [View next entry]

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ÁSS, m. [that the word existed in Goth, may be inferred from the words of Jornandes--Gothi proceres suos quasi qui fortunâ vincebant non pares homines sed semideos, id est Anses, vocavere. The word appears in the Engl. names Osborn, Oswald, etc. In old German pr. names with n, e. g. Ansgâr, A. S. Oscar: Grimm suggests a kinship between áss, pole, and áss, deus; but this is uncertain. In Icel. at least no such notion exists, and the inflexions of the two words differ. The old gen. asar is always used in the poems of the 10th century, Korm. 22 (in a verse), etc.; dat. æsi, in the oath of Glum (388), later ás; nom. pl. æsir; acc. pl. ásu (in old poetry), æsi (in prose). The old declension is analogous to árr; perhaps the Goth, form was sounded ansus; it certainly was sounded different from ans, GREEK]:--the Ases, gods, either the old heathen gods in general, or esp. the older branch, opp. to the new one, the dî ascripti, the Vanir, q. v., Edda 13 sqq. . the sing, is used particularly of the different gods, e. g. of Odin; ölverk Ásar, the brewing of the As (viz. Odin), i. e. poetry, Korm. 208 (in a verse); of Loki, Bragi, etc.; but GREEK it is used of Thor, e. g. in the heathen oaths, segi ek þat Æsi (where it does not mean Odin), Glúm. 388; Freyr ok Njörðr ok hinn almátki Áss, Landn. (Hb.) 258: in Swed. åska means lightning, thunder, qs. ás-ekja, the driving of the As, viz. Thor: áss as a prefix to pr. names also seems to refer to Thor, not Odin, e. g. Ásbjörn = Þorbjörn, Asmóðr = Þormóðr (Landri. 307 in a verse). In Scandinavian pr. names áss before the liquid r assumes a t, and becomes ást (Ástríðr, not Ásríðr; Ástráðr = Ásráðr); and sometimes even before an l, Ástlákr -- Áslákr, Fb. i. 190; Ástleifr -- Ásleifr, Fms. xi. (Knytl. S.) COMPDS: ása-gisling, f. hostage of the Ases, Edda 15. ása-heiti, n. a name of the Ases, Edda (Gl.) Ása-Þorr, m. Thor the As 'par excellence,' Edda 14, Hbl. 52. ása-ætt, f. the race of Ases, Edda 7.

Source: Cleasby/Vigfusson, page b0048, entry 28 View original page image as: [TIFF] [PNG] [View previous entry] [View next entry]

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B. PRONUNCIATION. -- The b is in Icel. sounded exactly as in English: I. as initial it is an agreeable sound in all the branches of the Teutonic, especially in the combinations br and bl, as in 'bread, brother, bride, bloom, blithe, blood, bless,' etc. etc. The Greek and Roman, on the other hand, disliked the initial b sound; but the difference seerns to be addressed to the eye rather than the ear, as the in modern Greek is sounded exactly as Icel. b, whilst is sounded as Icel. v; thus the Greek GREEK in Icel. rendered phonetically by vísundr, but GREEK (biskup, bishop) is in all Teutonic dialects rendered by b, not p, probably because the Greek had exactly this sound. II. but although agreeable as the initial to a syllable, yet as a middle or final letter b in Icel. sounds uncouth and common, and is sparingly used: 1. after a vowel, or between two vowels, b is never sounded in Icel. as in modern German geben, haben, laub, leben, leib, lieb; in all those cases the Icel. spells with an f, sounded as a v. Ulfilas frequently uses b, e.g. graban, haban, saban, ïba, gabei, etc.; yet in many cases he vacillates, e.g. giban, graban, gêban, grôbun, tvalib, but gaf and grôf, etc. So gahalaiban on the Gothic-Runic stone in Tune, but hlaifs, Ulf., Luke vi. 48. The Greek and Latin abound in the use of the b (bh) in the middle of syllables and inflexions (-bus, -bills, -bo): in Icel. only a double b may be tolerated, but only in onomatopoëtic or uncouth words, as babbi (pa of a baby), bobbi (a scrape), stubbi (Germ. stumpf), lubbi (Germ. lump), nabbi (a knob), krabbi (a crab), gabb, babbl, babbla, etc.; cp. similar words in English. 2. joined to a consonant; . in old Swedish b is inserted between m and r or m and l (as in mod. Greek and are sounded and , e.g. Swed. domber, komber, warmber, hambri, gamblar = Icel. dómr, komr (venit), varmr, hamri, gamlar: Swed. kumbl and kubl (Icel. kuml, monumentum) are used indifferently. Even in old Icel. poems we find sumbl = suml, symposium, simbli = simli, Edda i.

Source: Cleasby/Vigfusson, page b0114, entry 1 View original page image as: [TIFF] [PNG] [View previous entry] [View next entry]

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i s, and em, are; em, lam; þessi, thi s; þetta, that; sex, s i x: sek, mek, þek, sometimes instead of sik, mik, þik: nouns, elgr, an elk; sef, s ib; brekka, brink; veðr, weather; nevi, a kinsman (Lat. nepos); nevi, a neave, fist; segl, a sail (cp. segla); vetr, a wight; selr, a se a l; net, a net; nes, a ne ss; el, a gale; messa, a mass (Lat. missa); hestr, a horse; prtstr, a priest; þegn (O. H. L. 47); vegr, a way, honour; sel and setr, shielings; verold, the world; vesold, misery: verbs, gera, to ' gar, ' to do; drepa, to kill; bera, to bear; bresta, to burst; gefa, to give; geta, to get; meta, to measure; kveða, to say; drekka, to drink; stela, to steal; vera, to be; mega, must; nema, to take; eta, to e a t; vega, to weigh; reka, t o drive; skera, to cut: participles and supines from þiggja, liggja, biðja, sitja, þegit, legit, beðit, setið: preterites as, hengu, gengu, fengu (Germ. gingen, fingen); greru, reru, srxeru (from gróa, róa, snúa): e if sounded as é, e. g. hot, blés, let, réttr, léttr; even in the words, her, here; mér, scr, þér, mihi, sibi, tibi; neðan (niðr), hegat ( -- hue); héðan, hence: adjectives, mestr, flestr, þrennr, etc.: inflexions, -legr, - ly; -lega, - ly; -neskja, -neskr (cp. Germ, - i sc h); in the articles or the verbal inflexions, -en, -et, -er, -esk, etc. The e is often used against the etymology, as dreki, dragon; menu, men (from maðr). In some other Norse MSS. the two sounds are marked, but so inaccurately that they are almost useless, e. g. the chief MS. of the Bad. S.; but in other MSS. there is hardly an attempt at distinction. The list above is mainly but not strictly in accordance with the etymology, as phonetical peculiarities come in; yet the etymology is the groundwork, modified by the final consonants: both old spelling and modern pronunciation are of value in finding a word's etymology, e. g. the spelling drsengr indicates that it comes from drangr; hærað and haer, troops (but her, here), shew that hærað (hérað) is to be derived from hærr (herr), exercitus, and not from her (her), etc. The Icel. idiom soon lost the short e sound in radical syllables, and the long e sound (like the Italian e) prevailed throughout; there was then no more need for two signs, and e, prevailed, without regard to ety- mology. Some few MSS., however, are curious for using æ almost throughout in radical syllables, and thus distinguish between the e in roots and the e in inflexions (vide B below); as an example see the Arna- Magn. no. 748, containing an abridgement of the Edda and Skálda and poems published in the edition of 1852, vol. ii. pp. 397-494; cp. also Vegtamskviða, published by Mubius in Sæm. Edda, pp. 255, 256, from the same MS.; this MS. uses æ in radical syllables, but e or i in inflexions. It is clear that when this MS. was written (at the latter part of the i^th century) the Icel. pronunciation was already the same as at present. In some other MSS. e and ce, and e and g now and then appear mixed up, till at last the thing was settled in accordance with the living tongue, so that the spelling and sound went on together, and CE (or g) was only used to mark the diphthong; vide introduction to Æ. B. SPELLING of e and i in inflexions. -- The Germans, Swedes, Danes, English, and Dutch all express the i sound in inflexional syllables by e, not i, as in Engl. y a í her, mother, brother, taken, bidden, hidden, heaven, kettle; or in Germ., e. g. hatte, möchte, sollte, lange, bruder, mutter, soltesf, himmel, etc.: in the earliest times of Icel. literature also it is almost certain that e was used throughout: Ari probably signed his name Are (en ek heitcr Are, tb. fine): Thorodd, too, seems to have followed the same rule, as we may infer from several things in his treatise, e. g. the words framer and frá mér, which would be unintelligible unless we suppose him to have written framer, not framir: even the name of Snorri is twice spelt Snorre in the Reykholts-máldagi, probably written by one of his clerks. Some old vellum fragments may be found with the e only; but even in the oldest extant, i is used now and then. The reason is clear, viz. that the Icel. never admits the long e in inflexive syllables, and in roots it never admits the short e, consequently the same sign would not do both for roots and inflexions; hende, velle, gefe have each two vowel sounds; therefore the short i was admitted in inflexions; yet in most MSS. both e and i are used indiscriminately, a. g. faðir and faðer, tími and time, manni and manne, kominn and komenn, komið and komet, hihidin and hundcn, fjallit and fjallet; even those that use i admit e if following ð or d, é. g. viðe, bæðe, liðe, lande, but fjalli, vatni. As the spelling was partly influenced from abroad, the e even gained ground, and at the time of the Reformation, when printing became common, it was rcassmned throughout, and remained so for nearly 230 years, when (about A. D. 1770-1/80) i was reinstated and e expelled in all inflexions, as being inconsistent with the spelling and ambiguous; but the sound has undoubtedly remained unchanged from the time of Ari up to the present time: the English father, mother, German vater, mutter, and lcd. fadir are, as to the inflexion, sounded exactly alike. C. INTERCHANGE of e and i. -- The adjectival syllable -ligr, -liga, is in MSS. spelt either -ligr or -legr; in modern pronunciation and spelling always -legr, -lega (Engl. -ly). |3. in a few root words e has taken the place of i, as in verðr, qs. virðr (food); brenna, qs. brinna; þremr and þrimr; tvenna and tvinna; ef, efa, efi, = if, ifa, ifi; einbirni and einberni (horn): e has taken the place of a in such words as hnetr (nuts) from hnot, older form hnøtr: so also in eðli and öðli; efri efstr from öfri öfstr: e and the derived ja make different words, as berg and bjarg, fell and fjall, bergr and bjargar, etc. D. DIPHTHONGS: I. ei answers to Goth, ai, A. S. â, Germ. ei, Engl. a (oa or the like); in Danish frequently expressed by ee; in Swedish and Northern English the diphthong is turned into a plain e and a, which, however, represent the same sound: Goth, stains, A. S. stan, Swed. sten, North. E. s to ne. The o sound is English-Saxon; the a sound English- Scandinavian; thus the forms, home, bone, oak, oath, broad, one, own, more, none, no, may be called English-Saxon, from A. S. ham, ban, etc.; the North. E. and Scottish harne, bane, aik, ai/h, braid, ain, mair, /tain, may be called English-Scandinavian: cp. Swed. hem, ben, ek, ed. bred, en; Icel. heimr, bein, eik, eidr, breidr, einn, meir, neinn, nei; cp. also Icel. bleikr, Swed. blek, North. E. blake, etc. The Runic stones mark the ei with a + i or i simply, e. g. sti w or s tain. Old Norse and Icel. MSS. frequently for ei give Æ i. II. ey is in modern usage sounded as ei, and only distinguished in writing; in old times a distinction was made in sound between ei and ey. Norse MSS. almost always spell 'ôy, and in Norway it is to the present time sounded accordingly, e. g. iiyra, -- Icel. eyra, sounded nearly as in English toil: the ey is properly a vowel change of au: ey frequently answers to an English e (ea) sound, as heyra, to hear; eyra, e ar; dreyma, to dream; leysa, to lease. In very old MSS., e. g. Ib. (ai in the Ed. is a wrong reading from aj in the MS.), au and ey are even spelt alike (aj or a;^), though sounded differently. In some MSS. ey is also used where it is not etymological, viz. instead of ø or o, in such words as hreyqva, seyqva, stcyqva, deyqvan, greyri, geyra, seyni, etc., = hrökva, sökva, ... greri or grori, syni, e. g. the Cod. Reg. of S;em. Edda, the Rafns S. Bs. i. 639 E. é is sounded almost as English y e (or y a); it is produced, 1. by an absorption of consonants, in words as réttr, léttr, þéttr, sétti, flétta, n'-tta, cp. Germ, recht, Engl. right; Germ. Icicht, Engl. light: or in fo, kno, tré, hit:, sc (Icel. fe = Engl. / ee, Goth. / aih w, Lat. pe cws), etc. 2. by a lost reduplication in the preterites, fell, grot, réð, h-t, blús, hot, gékk, hékk, Ick, fékk, from falla, grata, etc.; in some old MSS. this é is replaced by ie, e. g. in the Hulda Arna-Magn. no. 66 fol. we read fiell, liet, hiet, griet, gieck, liek, cp. mod. Geim. fíel. hiess, Hess, etc.; perhaps in these cases e was sounded a little differently, almost as a bisyllable. 3. in such words as the pronouns vt'-r, þér or ér (you), niér, sér, þér (tibi): the particles her (here), héðan (hence), hérað, vi'-l, el. 4. t' is also sounded after g and k, and often spelt ie in MSS., gieta, giefa, kier, kierti; this sound is, however, better attributed to g and k being aspirate. In Thorodd and the earliest MSS. é is marked with ' just like the other long or diphthongal vowels; but the accent was subsequently removed, and e and é are undistinguished in most MSS.: again, in the 15th century transcribers began to write ie or ee (mier or meer). In printed books up to about 1770 the ie- prevailed, then e, and lastly (about 1786) (; (cp. the 5th and 6th vols. of Eél.): ë is an innovation of Rask, and is used by many, but máttr, dráttr, and rettr, sléttr, etc. are etymologically iden- tical, though the sound of K is somewhat peculiar: the spelling~/e is also a novelty, and being etymologically wrong (except in 2 above) is not to be recommended.

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A. PRONUNCIATION AND SPELLING. -- H is sounded as in English hard, house: the aspirate is still sounded in hl, hr, hn much as in the Welsh ll, rh: the hv is in the west and north of Icel. sounded as kv; but in the south and east the distinction is kept between hv and kv (hver a kettle and kver a quire, hvölum whales and kvölum torments), as also in writing; and hv is sounded like wh in Northern English; in a small part of eastern Icel. it is sounded like Greek (hvalr as alr, hvað as að), and this is probably the oldest and truest representation of the hv sound. II. the h is dropped, 1. in the article inn, in, it, for hinn, hin, hit, which is often spelt so in old MSS. . in the personal pronoun hann, hún if following after another word, e.g. ef 'ann (ef hann), ef 'ún (ef hún), þó 'onum (þó honum), látt' 'ann vera (láttu hann vera), segð' 'enn' að koma (segðu henni að koma); this is the constant pronunciation of the present time, but in writing the h is kept: whereas, at the beginning of a sentence the h is sounded, e.g. hann (hón) kom, he (she) came, but kom 'ann ? (if asking the question). . in a few words such as álfa and hálfa, óst and host (cp. hósta), ökulbrækr and hökulbraekr. 2. in the latter part of such compounds as have nearly become inflexions, as ein-arðr for ein-harðr: in -úð, -ýðgi, -ygð (Gramm. p. xxxiii, col. 1); elsk-ogi, var-ugi, öl-ogi, from hugr; örv-endr, tröll-endr, gram-endr, from hendr; litar-apt = litar-hapt: in -ald = hald, handar-ald, haf-ald; lík-amr = lík-hamr, hár-amr = hár-hamr; skauf-ali, rang-ali, from hali; at-æfi = at-hæfi, and perhaps in auð-œfi, ör-œfi, from hóf or hœfi; and-œfa = and-hœfa, to respond; hnapp-elda = hnapp-helda: in pr. names in -arr, -alli, -eiðr, -ildr, for -harr = herr, -halli, -heiðr, -hildr, (Ein-arr, Þór-alli, Ragn-eiðr, Yngv-ildr, etc.) In a few words, as hjúpr, and derivatives from júpr, hilmr and ilmr, hopa and opa, h seems to have been added. In some of the cases above cited both forms are still heard, but the apocopate are more usual. III. h is neither written nor sounded as final or medial, and has in all such cases been absorbed by the preceding vowel or simply dropped (see Gramm. p. xxx, col. 1). IV. some MSS., especially Norse, use a double form gh and th to mark a soft or aspirate sound, e.g. sagha and saga, thing and þing; especially in inflexive syllables, -ith = -it, etc. V. a curious instance of spelling (as in Welsh) rh for hr is found occasionally in Runes, e.g. Rhruulfr for Hrúlfr, Thorsen 335; to this corresponds the English spelling wh for hw, in white, wheat, whale, where, whence, why, whelp, whine, whet, whirl, wharf, wheel, while, whim, = Icel. hvítr, hveiti, hvalr, hvar, hvaðan, hvé, hválpr, hvína, hvetja, hvirfill, hvarf, hvel, hvíld, hvima, etc.

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HÁR, adj., fem. há, neut. hátt, vide Gramm. p. xix; compar. hæri or hærri, superl. hæstr; hæðstr and hærstr, which are found in old printed books, are bad forms; for the inflexions, (which vary much, sometimes inserting f or v, sometimes not,) see the references below; in mod. usage the v is usually dropped, but the cases are bisyllabic, e.g. háir, háar, háa, háum, instead of the old hávir, hávar, háva, háfum or hám; the definite form in old writers is hávi or háfi, in mod. hái: [Ulf. hauhs = GREEK; A. S. heah; Engl. high; O. H. G. hoh; Hel. hoh; Germ. hoch; old Frank, hag or hach; Swed. hög; Dan. höj; all of them with a final guttural, which in mod. Dan. has been changed into j; the final labial f or v, which in olden times was so freq. before a vowel, may be compared to laugh, rough, etc. in mod. Engl.; the g remains in the cognate word haugr] :-- high; stiga sex álna háfan, Vm. 129; í hám fjalla-tindum, Edda 144 (pref.); á háfum fjöllum, Skálda 181; há fjöll, Getsp.; á hám gálga, Fsm. 45; á bekk hám, Akv. 2; hár bylgjur, Edda (Ht.); á borg inni há, Am. 18; á há fjalli, Gm. 17, Bs. i. 26 (in a verse); enar hæstu fjalla hæðir, Stj. 59; hár turn, Hkr. iii. 63; skaptið var eigi hæra, en ..., Eg. 285 (of a spear); hátt hlaup, a high leap, i.e. from a high place, Fms. i. 166; hæri en grön er vex á hæsta fjalli, Hom. 152; hávar bárur, Gh. 13: hávar unnir, Skv. 2. 16; háfan garð, Fms. vi. (in a verse); hávu grasi, Hm. 120; but há grasi. Gm. 17; upp-háfa skúa, high boots, Fms. vii. 321: phrases, bera hæra skjöld, hlut, to carry the highest shield, lot, Fas. i. 383, Ld. 322. 2. tall; hárr maðr vexti (tall of stature), manna hæstr, very tall, Fms. i. 155; hárr maðr ok harðvaxinn, vii. 321. 3. a metrical term; syllables in rhyme having the same consonants and quantity of vowels are jafn-háfar, in the same strain; kvattú svá? 'gröm skömm' eigi eru þær hendingar jafn háfar; 'hrömm skömm' þat væri jafnhátt, Fms. vi. 386. II. metaph. high, sublime, glorious; hærri tign, Fms. i. 214; enir hæstu Guðs postular, 625. 82; í hærra haldi, Fms. vii. 112; margar ræður þvílíkar eða enn hæri, or still sublimer, Sks. 635; hljóta háfan sigr, a glorious victory, Merl. 2. 69; háfan ávöxt, Mar. kv. 17; hæstu daga, hæstu hátíðir, the highest days or feasts (hátíð), Fms. x. 22. 2. at the highest pitch; meðan hæstir eru stormar um vetrinn, Sks. 46; at hann væri kyrr meðan hæst væri vetrar, in the depth of winter, Fms. ix. 480; meðan hæst væri sumars, in the height of summer, Lv. 43; hátt vetrar megin, Sks.; cp. há-degi, há-vetr, há-sumar

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A. PRONUNCIATION, SPELLING. -- I is either a vowel (i), or consonant (j), called joð: these are here treated separately: 1. the vowel i is sounded either short (i) or long (í), the short (i) like Engl. hill, prolonged with a breath; but it is almost certain that in olden times it was sounded short, as in Engl. wit. 2. the long (í) is sounded as Engl. e or ee in evil, feet. 3. the j is sounded as Engl. y before a vowel, jata, jarð, jól, as yata, yard, yole. The oldest writers bear witness to the use of j as a consonant; thus Thorodd says, -- i þá er hann verðr fyrir samhljóðanda settr, Skálda 164; and the second grammarian, -- en ef hljóðstafr (vowel) er næstr eptir hann, þá skiptisk hann í málstaf (consonant), svo sem já, jörð eða jór, 170; and Olave Hvítaskáld, -- i ok u hafa því fleiri greinir, at þeir eru stundum samhljóðendr, sem í þessum orðum, iarl and uitr, 176; but in syllables beginning with j (ja, jo, ju) in old alliterative poetry it always stands for the vowel, from the earliest poems down to the 15th century, e.g. jörð or ægi -- iðja-græna, Vsp. 58; viltú nokkut jötuninn eiga | ýtum görir hann kosti seiga, Þrymlur 2. 2; Ölmóðr hafði annan dag | járnið þetta at sýna, Skíða R. 64, which, as now pronounced, would sound harsh, since in modern poetry syllables beginning with j cannot be used alliteratively with any other letter, cp. Pass. 37. 1, 10, 40. 8, 46. 3, 11, etc.; only in such words as eg (jeg), eta (jeta) can i serve both as a vowel and consonant, see Pass. 6. 2; but jeg in 5. 5, 10, (the verse 6 of the same hymn is a poetical licence); so also the name Jesús is now and then used alliteratively with a vowel, 47. 18, 21; the hymns of the Reformation follow the same usage. The pronunciation of j seems therefore to have changed: in early times it was probably similar to Engl. e in ear, tear, hear; an additional proof of this is, that the oldest spelling was, as in Anglo-Saxon, ea, eo ...; and Thorodd himself probably wrote ea, e.g. eafn, eárn, earl, for jafn, járn, jarl, see his words: in old poets ea sometimes makes two syllables, e.g. in the verse cited in Skálda 164 (of A.D. 1018); as also in the name Njáll (Niel), which is dissyllabic in the verses, Nj. ch. 136, 146. At a still earlier time j was probably sounded purely as a vowel. II. in ancient MSS. i serves for both i and j; in MSS., esp. of the 15th century, j is used ornamentally for initial i, e.g. jnn = inn, as also in the double ij = í, e.g. tijd = tíð, mijtt = mítt, the j was introduced into print only in the last year of the eighteenth century. 2. an i is often inserted in MSS., esp. after g, k, so as to mark the aspirate sound, e.g. gieta = geta, giæta = gæta, kiær = kær, etc.: in inflexions it is also more correct to write eyjar, bæjar, than eyar, bæar :-- ji is not written, but pronounced, e.g. vili ( = vilji), but vilja.

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