This is page 369 of An Icelandic-English Dictionary by Cleasby/Vigfusson (1874)

This online edition was created by the Germanic Lexicon Project. Click here to go to the main page about Cleasby/Vigfusson. (You can download the entire dictionary from that page.) Click here to volunteer to correct a page of this dictionary. Click here to search the dictionary. This page was generated on 30 Mar 2019. The individual pages are regenerated once a week to reflect the previous week's worth of corrections, which are performed and uploaded by volunteers. The copyright on this dictionary is expired. You are welcome to copy the data below, post it on other web sites, create derived works, or use the data in any other way you please. As a courtesy, please credit the Germanic Lexicon Project.

L -- LAG. 369

L

L (ell) is the eleventh letter of the alphabet, and the first of the liquids. In the Runic alphabet on the Golden horn, as well as in the later Runes, it was represented by RUNE, called lögr, q.v. (lögr er það er fellr ór fjalli, Runic poem; A. S. lagu), and was, as the form shews, evidently drawn from the Greek or Latin alphabet. In old MSS. a digraph RUNE is often used for ll, see Bs. i. 333 sqq.

B. The l is in Icel. sounded as in other Teut. languages; but ll, after a vowel and not combined with another consonant, had a peculiar sound, almost dlh, thus, gull, fall, hella, kalla, = gudlh, fadlh, hedlha, kadlha. This pronunciation is still observed in Icel. as well as in some provincial dialects of western Norway, Vorse-vangen, Sogn, Hardanger; in some other parts of Norway it is sounded as dd. There are no means of ascertaining with certainty whether the ancients sounded ll exactly as the Icel. at present do, or whether it was not more aspirate than dental (as llh). 2. the peculiar aspirate sound of l before a radical dental is mentioned Gramm. p. xxxvi. (II): thus holt, allt, gult, íllt, hallt, etc. were sounded (and are still sounded) as holht, alht, gulht, ílht, halht; as also in old writers before d, hold, kald, = holhd, kalhd, although in mod. pronunciation the aspirate sound is less perceived before a media than before a tenuis.

C. In some Icel. words the ll is due to assimilation, and answers to Goth. lþ, Saxon and Germ. ld, e.g. Icel. gull = Goth. gulþ, Engl. and Germ. gold; it is however likely that originally these words were distinct in sound from those which had a radical ll, and it may be that the present peculiar sound of ll was due to this cause -- that the sound of the assimilated ll prevailed and became universal, whilst the original radical ll sound was lost; though even in the earliest rhymes no distinction is to be perceived. 2. in much later times ðl assimilated into ll in a few words, brálla = bráðla; as also lr into ll in inflexions, hóll = hólr, stell = stelr, Gramm. p. xvi. (I. 3. α): in still later times rl changed into ll, jarl, karl, varla, etc., which in mod. pronunciation is sounded as jall, kall, valla, etc.; but this is not observed in writing, although it is so in early print, as also in MSS. of the 15th century.

UNCERTAIN All words having a radical initial h (hl) are to be sought for under H; see the introduction to that letter.

labba, að, to slouch; labbaðu veginn, Blesi, a ditty.

LAÐA, að, [Ulf. laþon = GREEK; A. S. laðjan; Hel. lathjan; O. H. G. ladon; Germ. laden] :-- to bid, invite a guest; Geirríðr sparði ekki mat við menn, ok lét göra skála sinn um þjóðbraut þvera, hón sat á stóli ok laðaði úti gesti, en borð stóð inni jafnan, ok matr á, Landn. 100; ok munu menn mæla, at sá laði er ráðin á, Bjarn. 53; Broddhelgi bauð þeim þar at vera ... Þorsteinn spurði hví hann laðaði gesti, Þorst. hv. 44; laða hirð í höll, Edda (Ht.); ef hann er kurteisliga laðaðr, Fms. x. 234: metaph., laða menn til sín, to draw one to oneself, Skálda (in a verse), Harms. 65, Líkn. 28; laða menn til eilífrar sælu, Fb. i. 517; ok laðar til hugskota várra Drottinn sjálfan ok Engla hans, Hom. 149: reflex., laðask, to be drawn; ok laðask allir til Broddhelga, Vápn. 19, but perhaps better hlaðask, see hlaða (fine).

laðaðr, m. an invitation. laðaðs-maðr, m. = laðmaðr; ok beið hann af því sem l. hans jarteina, Bs. i. 303.

laðan or löðun, f. an invitation.

lað-orð, n. an invitation, bidding; þiggja laðorð at e-m, Bjarn. 53, and perhaps in the corrupt passage Bs. i. 142 instead of leitorð or letorð.

laðrunn or latrún, m. [from Lat. latro, -nis], a robber, Al. 68, Stj. 91.

laf, n. a lap; kjól-laf, hempu-laf.

LAFA, pres. lafi, pret. lafði, pass. pret. neut. lafað :-- to hang, dangle, as a flap; loddi köggullinn á sinunum -- þá mælti Oddi, lát lafa, muna þeir mein er þiggja, Lv. 86; kom á fótinn við öklat, ok tók af svá at lafði við, Sturl. ii. 70; þat it litla ok vesalliga (höfuð) sem lafir á þínum hálsi, Bjarn. 68: metaph. to dangle, ok þykki mér sem ekki torfæri sé á leið minni þóttú lafir á stigum, Fs. 32; lengi hefi ek lifat í haugi mínum ok lafat á fé, Fas. ii. 271.

lafði, f. [from Early Engl. lefdye; Engl. lady; A. S. hlæfdige; but borrowed at a time when the initial aspirate had already been lost in the Engl.] :-- a lady, Sks. 455, 457, MS. 4. 7, and now and then in mod. poetry, but the word never took root.

laf-hræddr, adj. quivering, quaking from fear, Gísl. 60, Hem.

Lafranz, m. a pr. name = Lawrence, Bs.: Lafranz-dagr, m., -messa, u, f., -vaka, u, f. the day, mass, vigil of St. Lawrence, Bs., Fms.

laf-skeggr, m. 'wag-beard,' a nickname, Landn.

laft, n., Ivar Aasen laft = the coin or joint in a wooden building, D. N. passim; cp. lopt. laft-steinn, m. a laft stone, D. N.

LAG, n. [leggja], a stratum, layer; vóru þá Varbelgir at taka af þau lög sem eptir vóru brúarinnar, Fms. ix. 512: freq. in mod. usage, e.g. lag í vegg, a layer or course of masonry. II. metaph. shape, Lat. forma: 1. a laying in order, due place, right position; leggja stýri í lag, to ship the rudder in its place, hook it on, Fms. vii. 47; leggja stýri ór lagi, to unship the rudder, Al. 67; ganga ór lagi, to be displaced, get wrong, Fms. viii. 291; fóru nú brýnn hans í lag, his brows became smooth and straight, of a man frowning, Eg. 306; koma lagi á e-t, to make a thing right, get a thing into order, Fms. xi. 28; hann kvaðsk eigi lagi mundu á koma fyrir næstu vetrnætr, 67; fylkingar hans komask vel í lag, his ranks fell into good order, Al. 142; brugðit er nú lagi ór því sem vant er, i.e. matters go wrong, not as they were wont to go, Grett. 183 new Ed.; nærri lagi, pretty well. 2. companionship, fellowship, in an enterprise of peace or war; leggja saman lag sitt, to enter into fellowship, Orkn. 88; þeir áttu mikit lag við Þveræinga, Lv. 73; bundu þeir jarl lag sitt saman, Fms. i. 20; kom til lags við Sigurð jarl sá maðr er hét Rauðr, 194; þá réðsk til lags með honum Einarr þambarskelfir, v. 4; taka e-n til lags ok félagsskapar, x. 202; hann fór til lags með Sörkvi Karli ok herjaði, Nj. 183: of living together, hann réðsk til lags við Beru, Gullþ. 13; fé-lag, q.v.: cohabitation, eiga lag við konu, to cohabit, Karl. 47, Þiðr. 247, Ver. 27, H. E. i. 247, Fms. vi. 122; taka konu til lags, Bs. i. 852; fylgja e-m at lagi (i.e. not in wedlock), Sturl. i. 94, 97; fá lag konu, Þiðr. 299. 3. market price, tax, as e.g. in Icel. the godi of a district had to 'lay,' i.e. set or regulate the market price, Hænsaþ. S. ch. 2; gjalda allt at því lagi sem þar gengr, Grág. i. 213; leggja lag á mjöl, ii. 404; leggja lag á varning manna, Ísl. ii. 126; sagði þann vanda at hann legði lag á varning manna, id.; hundraðs-lag, B. K. 53; fjár-lag, tax, Grág. i. 500. 4. a thrust, stab, Nj. 97, 253, Eg. 231, 379, Orkn. 450, Fms. ii. 94, and passim; see leggja. 5. regular time; árar-lag (q.v.), a boating term, time, stroke; hafðu lagið, keep time! hafa seint, fljótt lagið, kunna ekki árarlagið: so in the saying, allt vill lagið hafa, all things require time and tact, or require to be done in a due manner; ó-lag, disorder; það er allt í ólagi, það er ólag á því :-- naut., lag is the lull between the breakers, the nick of time for landing; but ólag, the wrong time, when the breakers are dashing against the shore; one of these waves is called dauða-lag, see the interesting passage in Ísl. Þjóðs. i. 660. 6. [Engl. lay], an air, tune; hétu þeir er bundnir vóru á hinn heilaga Thorlák biskup, at þeir skyldi lausir verða, lögum nokkrum (söngum, v.l.), Sturl. ii. 33: freq. in mod. usage, esp. of hymns, hymna-lag, a hymn-tune, of the Ambrosian hymns; sálma-lag, a psalm-tune; vísna-lag, a song-tune; rímna-lag, a ballad-air: also used of metres, in old metric, Haðar-lag, Edda (Ht.) 140; Togdrápu-lag, 137; tog-lag, 138; Fornyrða-lag, 142; Bálkar-lag, id.; Galdra-lag, 143; Flagða-lag, 245; it is possible that songs composed in these metres were a kind of 'airs' accompanied by singing. II. adverb. in layers; í tvennu lagi, in two layers, double, Fms. i. 156; í öllu lagi, in every respect, in everything, quite, Band. 6 new Ed.; í mörgu lagi, in many respects, Fms. vi. 133, Fs. 123; í sumu lagi, in some respects, Fms. vi. 207. 2. with compar. or superl., denoting degree; í meira lagi, considerably, rather, Þiðr. 80; í fyrra lagi, rather early, among the earlier, Ísl. ii. 126; minnsta lag, the least share, Sturl. iii. 238; í verra lagi, among the worst, Hrafn. 9; í hljóðara lagi, rather silent, Sks. 370; í fastara lagi, Str. 9; í lengra lagi, þann dag svaf Unnr í lengra lagi, U. slept that day longer than she was wont, Ld. 14; í lægra lagi, Stj. 107; í hærra lagi, í fremra, síðara lagi, passim; í mesta lagi, very greatly; sá er í mesta lagi strauma þeirra er á Breiðafirði eru, Ld. 56, Stj. 156; í heldra lagi, Fms. ii. 72, Al. 92; Helias var í fyrsta lagi spámanna, H. was one of the first of prophets, Ver. 29; í elzta lagi sona hans, among the oldest of his sons, Fagrsk. 12; í nærra lagi, rather close, Konr. 3; í flesta lagi, very numerous, Gísl. 26 :-- sér í lagi, laid by itself, apart, D. N. ii. 93; meðallagi (q.v.), average. COMPDS: lags-kona, u, f. a concubine, Bs. i. 802. lags-maðr, m. a companion, Grág. ii. 10, Fbr. 195, Karl. 513, Fms. ii. 87, iv. 277, vii. 250, passim.

B. Lög, only in plur., [prop. what is 'laid,' cp. Germ. gesetz, Gr. GREEK; the Engl. law seems to be a Scandin. word, for Germ. and Saxon use other words; Dan. lov; Swed. lag] :-- law; proverbs, með lögum skal land byggja en með ólögum eyða, Nj. 106; svo eru lög sem hafa tog, Kveldv. i. 45: various law phrases, segja lög, to say the law, tell what is law, esp. technically used of the law-speaker who had to read the law in public, and who, in cases of dispute, had to say what was the law; svá er mælt at sá maðr skal vera nokkorr ávallt á landi óru er skyldr sé til þess at segja lög mönnum, ok heitir sá lögsögu-maðr, Grág. i. 1; biskup skal lög segja en eigi leikmenn, Bs. i. 720; hlýðir þat hvergi at hafa eigi lög í landi, Nj. 149; sem ek veit sannast ok réttast ok helzt at lögum, in the oath formula, 232; leiða í lög, to introduce a law; eptir þat leiddi Skapti Þóroddsson í lög fimmtardóm ok allt þat er upp var talit, 151; þú hefir þó mest at gört, segir Gestr, þótt öðrum verði auðit í lög at leiða, 163; taka e-t í lög, id., Bs. i. 158; leggja lög á e-t, id.; dæma e-m lög, Eg. ch. 57; mæla lög, Fms. vii. 142; ræna e-n lögum, Ld. 102; bjóða, festa lög fyrir sik, N. G. L. passim; setja lög, Fms. xi. 75, Fb. ii. 48; halda vel log sín, 76. II. law community, communion, as also a law-district; þyki mér sem málum várum sé komit í únýtt efni, ef eigi hafa ein lög allir, en ef sundr-skipt er lögunum þá mun sundr-skipt friðinum, Nj. 164; í hverri þessi deild landsins er sitt lögþing ok sín lög, yfir hverjum lögum er lögmaðr, Ó. H. 65; þrælar mínir eru ekki í lögum eðr landsrétt við aðra menn, id.; kaupeyri mun ek fá þér svá mikinn at þú megir ganga í hraustra manna lög, Ld. 254; þóat menn vildi þangat