This is page 236 of An Icelandic-English Dictionary by Cleasby/Vigfusson (1874)

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236 HAMARKLIF -- HAMR.

m. a crag (isolated), Fms. ii. 92, Nj. 264, v.l. hamar-klif, n. a craggy cliff, Gísl. 137. hamar-rifa, u, f. a rift in a crag, Fb. iii. 447. hamar-skarð and hamra-skarð, n. a scaur, cleft or ravine, Grett. 132, Gísl. 51, Grág. i. 17. hamar-skúti, a, m. a jutting crag, Nj. 264; gjá-h., q.v.: esp. freq. in local names in Icel. and Norway, Hamarr, Hamrar, Hamra-endar, Hamars-á: in compds, Smá-hamrar, Ein-hamarr, a single crag, Gísl., etc., vide Landn., Fms. xii, Fb. iii. 2. a kind of mark on sheeps' ears, prob. of heathen origin, denoting the holy mark of the hammer of Thor: cutting the top of the ear thus UNCERTAIN is called hamar, whence hamar-skora, u, f. a cleft hamar UNCERTAIN; cp. the ditty of Stef. Ól., Hamarinn mér í greipar gékk | það gæfu-markið fína, and hamar-skoru og gloppu-gat | görðu í hægra eyra. 3. a kind of fish, Edda (Gl.): prop. a false reading for humarr (q.v.), a lobster.

hamask, að, dep. to rage, to be taken by a fit of fury in a fight, synonymous to ganga berserks-gang (see p. 6l): the word is derived from hamr, prob. owing to a belief that such persons were possessed by a strange spirit or demon; cp. hamr, hamstoli, hamramr, all of them words referring to a change of shape :-- svá er sagt, at þá hamaðisk hann, ok fleiri vóru þeir föru-nautar hans er þá hömuðusk, Eg. 122; hamask þú nú, Skallagrímr, at syni þínum, 192; Þórir hljóp þá af baki, ok er svá sagt, at hann hamaðisk þá it fyrsta sinn, Gullþ. 30, Fas. iii. 343, Landn. 119; Fránmarr jarl hafði hamask í arnar líki, Sæm. 95: the word is still used, to work as hard as a giant.

ham-farir, f. pl. a mythical word, the 'faring' or travelling in the assumed shape of an animal, fowl or deer, fish or serpent, with magical speed over land and sea, the wizard's own body meantime lying lifeless and motionless; graphically depicted in Yngl. S. ch. 7, Vd. ch. 12, Hkr. (O. T.) ch. 37; hann sendi Finna tvá í hamförum til Íslands, Landn. 174; Haraldr konungr bauð kunngum manni at fara í hamförum til Íslands, sá fór í hvals-líki, etc., Hkr. i. 228.

ham-frær, f. pl., from hamfrú (?), witches, an GREEK; leirblót gört í manns-líki af leiri eðr deigi, eðr hamfrær, N. G. L. i. 383, v.l.

ham-föng, n. pl. frenzy, fury, Sturl. ii. 137.

ham-hleypa, u, f. a 'ham-leaper,' a witch that travels in hamfarir, Eg. 421, Fas. ii. 80, 390, Gullþ. 64: in mod. usage Icel. say, hann er mesta hamhleypa, he is a great h., works like a giant, of one who does great work in little time; hann er hamhleypa að skrifa, hamhleypa að vinna, etc.

hamingja, u, f. luck, fortune; prop. in a personal sense, a guardian spirit, answering to the guardian angel of Christians; derived from hamr, for the guardian spirits of men -- and every man had his hamingja -- were believed to take the shape sometimes of animals, sometimes and more commonly of human beings, esp. that of women; but they were themselves supernatural beings; that the hamingjur were giant-females proceeding from the great Norns -- who were the hamingjur of the world -- is borne out by the passage in Vþm. 48, 49. Hamingja and fylgja or fylgju-kona (Hallfred S. ch. 11) seem to be nearly synonymous, as also gæfa, gipta, auðna, heill; but hamingja is the most personal word, and was almost symbolical of family relationship. At the hour of death the hamingja left the dying person and passed into a dear son, daughter, or beloved kinsman; cp. Hallfr. S. ch. 11, and esp. the charming tale in Glúm. ch. 9. One might also impart one's own good luck to another, hence the phrase leggja sína hamingju með e-m, almost answering to the Christian, 'to give one's blessing to another.' Examples: sögðusk mundu leggja til með honum hamingju sína, Ld. 74; h. ok gæfa, Fms. vi. 165; þú en ústöðuga h., Al. 23; h. konungsins, 22; ok mun kona sjá hans h. vera er fjöllum hærra gékk, Glúm. 345; etja hamingju við e-n, Fb. ii. 65; ok reyna hvat hamingjan vill unna þér, Fs. 4; vilnask (hope) at h. mun fylgja, 23; vera má at þat sé til h. várrar ættar, 11; langæligar nytjar munu menn hafa hans hamingju, Bs. i. 229; forlög ekki forðumst ill | fram kemr það hamingjan vill, Úlf. 3. 69; meiri í hreysti en hamingju, Gullþ. 21; sigri eðr hamingju manns þessa, Fs. 10. It is still used in Icel. almost as Heaven, Providence; það má Hamingjan vita, God knows; eg vildi Hamingjan gæfi, would to Heaven! Guð og Hamingjan, God and Good Luck; treysta Guði og Hamingjunni; eiga undir Hamingjunni, to run the risk; and in similar phrases. COMPDS: hamingju-drjúgr, adj. lucky, Fs. 34. hamingju-hjól, n. the wheel of fortune, Fas. iii. 470. hamingju-hlutr, m. a lucky chance, Fms. x. 180. hamingju-lauss, adj. luckless, hapless, Stj. 464, Fms. viii. 93. hamingju-leysi, n. want of luck, Fms. i. 286. hamingju-maðr, m. a lucky man, Fms. xi. 205, Fs. 21. hamingju-mikill, adj. mighty lucky, Fms. ii. 31, Ld. 170, Eg. 46: compar. hamingju-meiri, Fb. i. 301. hamingju-mót, n. lucky appearance; h. er á pér, Fs. 11. hamingju-raun, f. a trial of fortune, Fms. xi. 244, Ó. H. 195. hamingju-samligr, adj. (-liga, adv.), lucky-looking, Fms. i. 96. hamingju-skipti, n. a shift or turn of fortune, Sturl. iii. 73. hamingju-skortr, m. lack of luck, Fms. xi. 260. hamingju-tjón, n. bad luck, Al. 56.

HAMLA, u, f. an oar-loop made of a strap or withe fastened to the thole-pin (hár), into which the oar was put, the oarsman pulling the oar against the thole, as is still done in the fjords of Norway; hence is called láta síga á hömlu, to pull slowly towards the hamla, i.e. stern foremost, Fms. i. 172, vii. 213; láta skip síga á hömlum, Hkr. iii. 336; á hömlo, Mork. l.c.; lét hann leggja fimm skipum fram í sundit svá at mátti þegar síga á hömlu, Grett. 83 A; hömlur slitnuðu, háir brotnuðu, the h. were torn, the tholes broken, Am. 35; leggja árar í hömlur, they put the oars in the loops, Fms. iii. 57. In Norway the levy or conscription was counted by the hömlur, cp. Ó. H. 227, where one hamla (i.e. man) was to be levied from every seven males over five years old, and so 'til hömlu' means naut. = per man, per oar, Gþl. 99, N. G. L. i. 98; thus, gera mat í hömlu, to contribute provisions by the head, 201, cp. D. N. passim and Fritzner's remarks s.v.: the metaph. phrase, ganga e-m í hömlu um e-t, to go into one's hamla, take one's place, to be one's match; sem Sigvalda myni fæst til skorta, at ganga mér í hömlu um ráða-gerðir ok dæma hér um mál manna, bæði fyrir vizku sakir ok ráðspeki, Fms. xi. 98. COMPDS: hömlu-band, n. an oar strap (= hamla), Eg. 390, Fbr. 181. hömlu-barði, a, m. a dub. GREEK; má þat ríki kalla hömlu-barða eða auðnar óðal, Sks. 333: the word is prob. taken from a ship defeated in a fight and pulling or drifting stern foremost. hömlu-fall, n. an illegal breaking up of a ship, a Norse law term, no king's ship might be demolished unless the keel had been laid for a new ship; hömlufall was liable to a fine of three marks for every hamla, N. G. L. i. 101. hömlu-maðr, m. a Norse term answering to Icel. há-seti, an oarsman, sailor, N. G. L. i. 99. II. mod. a short oar with which the boatman paddles, leaning the body forwards and with his face towards the stem, using the oar partly instead of a rudder; hence stýris-hamla, a 'rudder-oar.'

hamla, að, to pull backwards, stern foremost ( = láta síga á hömlu); Hákon jarl lét ok h. at landi, Fms. i. 93; höfðu menn hans þá undan hamlat, 174; gátu þeir eigi svá skjótt vikit þó at þeir hamlaði á annat borð en reri á annat, viii. 386; hömluðu þeir skipunum at Norðnesi, Fagrsk. 254; vér skulum sýna þeim sem mestan undanróðr, en vér skulum þó raunar hamla, O. H. L. 69, cp. Þiðr. 61: in mod. usage to paddle with a short oar, turning the face towards the stem. 2. metaph. to stop, hinder one, with dat.; nú búask þeir bræðr í burt ok stoðar ekki at h. þeim, Fas. i. 42; hamlaði þat mjök afla Þorgríms, at frændr hans kómu eigi, Eb. 48. II. [A. S. hamelan, cp. Engl. to hamstring, O. H. G. hamal-stat = locus supplicii, and Germ. hammel = vervex], to maim, mutilate: with dat. and acc., sumir vóru hamlaðir at höndum eða fótum, Eg. 14; sá er manni hamlaði á hendi eðr á fæti eðr veitti önnur meiðsl, Fms. xi. 226, 298; hann drap suma, suma lét hann hamla, Hkr. i. 258; lét hann suma drepa, suma hamla, en suma rak hann ór landi, Ó. H. 105.

ham-leðr, n. the shank leather of a hide; cp. höm.

hamn-, vide hafn, from höfn, a haven.

hampa, að, to toss one in the arms, with dat.

HAMPR, m. [this word, like all words in mp (np), is of for. origin; cp. Gr. GREEK, whence Lat. cannabis; Germ. hanf; Engl. hemp; Dan. hamp: it scarcely occurs before the middle of the 13th century; hörr, q.v., is the genuine northern word] :-- hemp, Sks. 287, H. E. i. 395, N. G. L. ii. 355.

HAMR, m., pl. hamir, dat. hami, Vsp. 36, but ham, Höfuðl. (where ham, gram, and fram form a rhyme), as also Haustl. 2, Hkr. i. 228, all of them poems of the 10th century; [A. S. hama, homa; Hel. hamo; O. H. G. hemedi, whence mod. Germ. hemd; Dan. ham; akin to hamr is Ital. camisa, Fr. chemise, with a final s answering to hams below] :-- a skin, esp. the skin of birds flayed off with feathers and wings; álptar-hamr, a swan's skin; fugls-hamr, a bird's skin; arnar-hamr, an eagle's skin; gásar-hamr, a goose's skin, etc.; hams, q.v., of snakes: ham bera svanir hvítfjaðraðan (of a swan's skin), Fas. i. 471 (in a verse); hleypa hömum (of snakes), to cast the slough, Konr. 34; hlátra hamr, poët. laughter's cover, the breast, Höfuðl. 19. II. shape, esp. in a mythol. sense, connected with the phrase, skipta hömum, to change the shape, described in Yngl. S. ch. 7, Völs. S. ch. 7, 8, and passim; cp. also the deriv. ein-hamr, ham-farir, ham-ramr, ham-stola, hamingja, hamask, etc., -- an old and widespread superstition found in the popular lore and fairy tales of almost every country; -- Óðinn skipti hömum, lá þá búkrinn sem sofinn eðr dauðr, en hann var þá fugl eða dýr, fiskr eða ormr, ok fór á einni svipstund á fjarlæg lönd, Yngl. S. l.c., Fas. i. 128 (Völs. S. l.c.); it is described in Völs. S. ch. 8, -- þeir hafa orðit fyrir úsköpum, því at úlfa-hamir (wolf-coats) héngu yfir þeim; it tíunda hvert dægr máttu þeir komask ór hömunum, etc.; þeir fundu konur þrjár ok spunnu lín, þar vóru hjá þeim álptar-hamir þeirra, Sæm. 88 (prose to Vkv.); fjölkyngis-kona var þar komin í álptar-ham, Fas. i. 373, cp. Helr. 6; víxla hömum, to change skins, assume one another's shape, Skv. 1. 42; Úlf-hamr, Wolf-skin, the nickname of a mythol. king, Hervar. S., prob. from being hamramr; manns-hamr, the human skin, Str. 31; hugða ek at væri hamr Atla, methought it was the form or ghost of Atli, Am. 19; jötunn í arnar-ham, a giant in an eagle's skin, Vþm. 37, Edda; í gemlis-ham, id., Haustl.; fjaðr-hamr, Þkv.; í faxa-ham, in a horse's skin, Hkr. i. (in a verse); í trölls-hami, in an ogre's skin, Vsp. 36; vals-hamr, a falcon's skin, Edda (of the goddess Freyja): it remains in mod. usage in metaph. phrases, að vera í góðum, íllum, vondum, ham, to be in a good, bad, dismal