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'þvat' simply the A. S. þvât, secuit? The Icelanders still, however, keep
the tenuis in compounds before a vowel, or before h, v, or the liquids l, r,
thus -- atyrða, atorka, athöfn, athugi, athvarf, athlægi; atvinna, atvik;
atlaga, ILLEGIBLE (slope), atriði, atreið, atróðr: but aðdjúpr, aðfinsla
(critic), aðferð, aðkoma, aðsókn, aðsúgr (crowding), aðgæzla. In some
words the pronunciation is irregular, e. g. atkvæði not aðkv-; atburðr,
but aðbúnaðr; aðhjúkran not athjúkran; atgörvi not aðgörfi. At, to,
towards; into; against; along, by; in regard to; after.
Mostly with dat.; rarely with acc.; and sometimes ellipt. -- by dropping
the words 'home,' 'house,' or the like -- with gen.
WITH DAT.
A. LOG. I. WITH MOTION; gener. the motion to the borders,
limits of an object, and thus opp. to frá: 1. towards, against, with
or without the notion of arrival, esp. connected with verbs denoting
motion (verba movendi et eundi), e. g. fara, ganga, koma, lúta, snúa,
rétta at...; Otkell laut at Skamkatli, O. louted (i. e. bowed down) towards
S., Nj. 77, Fms. xi. 102; sendimaðrinn sneri (turned) hjöltum sverðsins
at konungi, towards the king, i. 15; hann sneri egginni at Ásgrími,
turned the edge towards A., Nj. 220; rétta e-t at e-m, to reach, hand over,
Ld. 132; ganga at, to step towards, Ísl. ii. 259. 2. denoting proximity,
close up to, up to; Brynjólfr gengr ... allt at honum, B. goes quite up to
him, Nj. 58; Gunnarr kom þangat at þeim örunum, G. reached them even
there with his arrows, 115; þeir kómust aldri at honum, they could never
get near him, to close quarters, id.; reið maðr at þeim (up to them), 274;
þeir höfðu rakit sporin allt at (right up to) gammanum, Fms. i. 9; komu
þeir at sjó fram, came down to the sea, Bárð. 180. 3. without refer-
ence to the space traversed, to or at; koma at landi, to land, Ld. 38, Fms.
viii. 358; ríða at dyrurn, Boll. 344; hlaupa at e-m, to run up to, run at,
Fms. vii. 218, viii. 358; af sjáfarganginum er hann gekk at landinu, of
the surf dashing against the shore, xi. 6; vísa ólmum hundi at manni, to
set a fierce hound at a man, Grág. ii. 118; leggja e-n at velli, to lay low,
Eg. 426, Nj. 117; hníga at jörðu, at grasi, at moldu, to bite the dust, to
die, Njarð. 378; ganga at dómi, a law term, to go into court, of a plaintiff,
defendant, or bystander, Nj. 87 (freq.) 4. denoting a motion along,
into, upon; ganga at stræti, to walk along the street, Korm. 228, Fms.
vii. 39; at ísi, on the ice, Skálda 198, Fms. vii. 19, 246, viii. 168, Eb. 112
new Ed. (á is perh. wrong); máttu menn ganga bar yfir at skipum einum,
of ships alone used as a bridge, Fas. i. 378; at höfðum, at nám, to trample
on the slain on the battle-field, Lex. Poët.; at ám, along the rivers; at
merkiósum, at the river's mouth, Grág. ii. 355; at endilöngu baki, all
along its back, Sks. 100. 5. denoting hostility, to rush at, assault;
renna at, hlaupa at, ganga, fara, ríða, sækja, at e-m, (v. those words),
whence the nouns atrenna, athlaup, atgangr, atför, atreið, atsókn, etc. β.
metaph., kom at þeim svefnhöfgi, deep sleep fell on them, Nj. 104. Esp.
of weather, in the impers. phrase, hríð, veðr, vind, storm görir at e-m,
to be overtaken by a snow storm, gale, or the like; görði þá at þeim
þoku mikla, they were overtaken by a thick fog, Bárð. 171. 6. denot-
ing around, of clothing or the like; bregða skikkju at höfði sér, to wrap
his cloak over his head, Ld. 62; vefja motri at höfði sér, to wrap a snood
round her head, 188; sauma at, to stick, cling close, as though sewn on;
sauma at höndum sér, of tight gloves, Bs. i. 453; kyrtill svá þröngr sem
saumaðr væri at honum, as though it were stitched to him, Nj. 214; vafit
at vándum dreglum, tight laced with sorry tags, id.; hosa strengd fast at
beini, of tight hose, Eg. 602; hann sveipar at sér iðrunum ok skyrtunni,
he gathers up the entrails close to him and the skirt too, Gísl. 71; laz at
síðu, a lace on the side, to keep the clothes tight, Eg. 602. p. of burying;
bera grjót at einum, to heap stones upon the body, Eg. 719; var gör at
þeim dys or grjóti, Ld. 152; gora kistu at líki, to make a coffin for a body,
Eb. 264, Landn. 56, Ld. 142. γ of summoning troops or followers;
stefna at sér mönnum, to summon men to him, Nj. 104; stefna at sér liði,
Eg. 270; kippa mönnum at sér, to gather men in haste, Ld. 64. 7.
denoting a business, engagement; ríða at hrossum, at sauðum, to go looking after
after horses, watching sheep, Glúm. 362, Nj. 75; fara at fé, to go to seek
for sheep, Ld. 240; fara at heyi, to go a-haymaking, Dropl. 10; at veiðum,
a-hunting; at fuglum, a-fowling; at dýrum, a-sbooting; at fiski, a-fishing;
at veiðiskap, Landn. 154, Orkn. 416 (in a verse), Nj. 25; fara at landskuldum,
to go a-collecling rents, Eg. 516; at Finnkaupum, a-marketing
with Finns, 41; at féföngum, a-plundering, Fms. vii. 78; ganga at beina,
to wait on guests, Nj. 50; starfa at matseld, to serve at table, Eb. 266;
hitta e-n at nauðsynjum, on matters of business; at máli, to speak with
one, etc., Fms. xi. 101; rekast at e-m, to pursue one, ix. 404; ganga
at liði sér, to go suing for help, Grág. ii. 384. p. of festivals; snúa, fá
at blóti, veizlu, brullaupi, to prepare for a sacrificial banquet, wedding, or
the like, hence at-fangadagr, Eb. 6, Ld. 70; koma at hendi, to happen,
befall; ganga at sínu, to come by one's own, to take it, Ld. 208; Egill
drakk hvert full er at honum kom, drained every horn that came to
him, Eg. 210; komast at keyptu, to purchase dearly, Húv. 46. 8.
denoting imaginary motion, esp. of places, cp. Lat. spectare, vergere ad...,
to look or lie towards; horfði botninn at höfðanum, the bight of the bay
looked toward the headland, Fms. i. 340, Landn. 35; also, skeiðgata liggr
at læknum, leads to the brook, Ísl. ii. 339; á þann arminn er vissi at sjánum,
on that wing which looked toward the sea, Fms. viii. 115; sár
þau er horft höfðu at Knúti konungi, xi. 309. β. even connected with
verbs denoting motion; Gilsáreyrr gengr austan at Fljótinu, G. extends,
projects to F. from the east, Hrafh. 25; hjá sundi því, er at gengr þingstöðinni,
Fms. xi. 85.
II. WITHOUT MOTION; denoting presence at,
near, by, at the side of, in, upon; connected with verbs like sitja, standa,
vera...; at kirkju, at church, Fms. vii. 251, K. f). K. 16, Ld. 328, Ísl. ii.
270, Sks. 36; vera at skála, at húsi, to be in, at home, Landn. 154; at
landi, Fms. i. 82; at skipi, on shipboard, Grág. i. 209, 215; at oldri, at
a banquet, inter pocula; at áti, at dinner, at a feast, inter edendum, ii.
169, 170; at samförum ok samvistum, at public meetings, id.; at dómi,
in a court; standa (to takeone's stand) norðan, sunnan, austan, vestan at
dómi, freq. in the proceedings at trials in lawsuits, Nj.; at þingi, present
at the parliament, Grág. i. 142; at lögbergi, o n the hill of laws, 17, Nj.;
at baki e-m, at the back of. 2. denoting presence, partaking in;
sitja at mat, to sit at meat, Fms. i. 241; vera at veizlu, brullaupi, to be at a
banquet, nuptials, Nj. 51, Ld. 70: a law term, vera at vígi, to be an acces-
sory in manslaying, Nj. 89, 100; vera at e-u simply means to be about, be
busy in, Fms. iv. 237; standa at máli, to stand by one in a case, Grág. ii.
165, Nj. 214; vera at fóstri, to be fostered, Fms. i. 2; sitja at hégóma,
to listen to nonsense, Ld. 322; vera at smíð, to be at one's work,
Þórð. 62: now absol., vera at, to go on with, be busy at. 3. the
law term vinna eið at e-u has a double meaning: a. vinna eið at bók,
at baugi, to make an oath upon the book by laying the band upon it, Landn.
258, Grág., Nj.; cp. Vkv. 31, Gkv. 3. 3, Hkv. 2. 29, etc.: 'við' is
now used in this sense. β. to confirm a fact (or the like) by an oath, to swear to,
Grág. i. 9, 327. γ. the law phrase, nefna vátta at e-u, of
summoning witnesses to a deed, fact, or the like; nefna vátta at benjum,
to produce evidence, witnesses as to the wounds, Nj., Grág.; at görð, Eg.
738; at svörum, Grág. i. 19: this summoning of witnesses served in old
lawsuits the same purpose as modern pleadings and depositions; every
step in a suit to be lawful must be followed by such a summoning or
declaration. 4. used ellipt., vera at, to be about, to be busy at; kvalararnir
er at vóru at pína hann, who were tormenting him; þar varstu
at, you were there present, Skálda 162; at várum þar, Gísl. (in a verse):
as a law term ' vera at' means to be guilty, Glúm. 388; vartattu at þar,
Eg. (in a verse); hence the ambiguity of Glum's oath, vask at þar, 7 was
there present: var þar at kona nokkur (was there busy) at binda sár
manna, Fms. v. 91; hann var at ok smíðaði skot, Rd. 313; voru Varbelgir
at (about) at taka af, þau lög ..., Fms. ix. 512; ek var at ok vafk, /
was about weaving, xi. 49; þeir höfðu verit at þrjú sumur, they had been
busy at it for three summers, x. 186 (now very freq.); koma at, come in, to
arrive unexpectedly; Gunnarr kom at í því, G. came in at that moment;
hvaðan komtú nú at, whence did you come? Nj. 68, Fms. iii. 200. 5.
denoting the kingdom or residence of a king or princely person; konungr
at Danmörk ok Noregi, king of..., Fms. i. 119, xi. 281; konungr, jarl,
at öllum Noregi, king, earl, over all N., íb. 3, 13, Landn. 25; konungr
at Dyflinni, king of Dublin, 25; but í or yfir England!, Eg. 263: cp. the
phrase, sitja at landi, to reside, of a king when at home, Hkr. i. 34; at
Joini, Fms. xi. 74: used of a bishop; biskup at Hólum, bishop of Hólar, Íb.
18, 19; but biskup í Skálaholti, 19: at Rómi, at Rome, Fbr. 198. 6.
in denoting a man's abode (vide p. 5, col. I, I. 27), the prep, 'at' is used
where the local name implies the notion of by the side of, and is therefore
esp. applied to words denoting a river, brook, rock, mountain, grove,
or the like, and in some other instances, by, at, e. g. at Hofi (a temple),
Landn. 198; at Borg (a castle), 57; at Helgafelli (a mountain), Eb. con-
stantly so; at Mosfelli, Landn. 190; at Hálsi (a hill), Fms. xi. 22; at
Bjargi, Grett. 9O; Hálsum, Landn. 143; at Á (river), 296, 268; at Bægisá,
212; Giljá, 332; Myrká, 211; Vatnsá, id.; þverá, Glúm. 323; at Fossi
(a 'force' or waterfall), Landn. 73; at Lækjamoti (waters-meeting), 332;
at Hlíðarenda (end of the lithe or hill), at Bergþórshváli, Nj.; at Lundi
(a grove), at Melum (sandhill), Landn. 70: the prep. ' á' is now used
in most of these cases, e. g. á Á, á Hofi, Helgafelli, Felli, Hálsi, etc. β.
particularly, and without any regard to etymology, used of the abode
of kings or princes, to reside at; at Uppsölum, at Haugi, Alreksstöðum,
at Hlöðum, Landn., Fms. γ. konungr lét kalla at stofudyrum, the king
made a call at the hall door, Eg. 88; þeir kölluðu at herberginu, they
called at the inn, Fms. ix. 475. 7. used ellipt. with a gen., esp. if
connected with such words as gista, to be a guest, lodge, dine, sup (of
festivals or the like) at one's home; at Marðar, Nj. 4; at hans, 74; þing-
festi at þess bóanda, Grág. i. 152; at sín, at one's own home, Eg. 371,
K. Jj. K. 62; hafa náttstað at Freyju, at the abode of goddess Freyja, Eg.
603; at Ránar, at Ran's, i. e. at Ran's house, of drowned men who belong
to the queen of the sea, Ran, Eb. 274; at hins heilaga Ólafs konungs, at
St. Olave's church, Fms. vi. 63: cp. ad Veneris, GREEK GREEK
B. TEMP. I. at, denoting a point or period of time; at
upphafi, at first, in the beginning, Ld. 104; at lyktum, at síðustu, at
lokum, at last; at lesti, at last, Lex. Poët., more freq. á lesti; at skilnaði,
at parting, at last, Band. 3; at fornu, in times of yore, formerly, Eg. 267,
0. 1. 1. 635; at sinni, as yet, at present; at nýju, anew, of present time; at
eilífu, for ever and ever; at skömmu, soon, shortly, Ísl. ii. 272, v. l. H-