A

á, prep., A. with dat. I. of place; (1) on, upon, in ; á gólfi, on the floor; á hendi, on the hand (of a ring) ; á sjá ok landi, on sea and land; á bókum enskum, in English books; á hinni, in heaven ; á jörðu, on earth ; hafa lykil á sér,... on one's person; vera á þingi, to be present at a meeting ; vera í skógi, to be out in a forest (of a hunter, robber, deer) ; þær eyjar liggja á Breiðafirði,... in Broad firth (2) in connexion with proper names of countries, esp those ending in '-land', in; á Englandi, Írlandi, Skotlandi, Bretlandi, Groenlandi, Islandi, &c., á. Mœri, Ögðum, Fjölum; á Mýrum (in Iceland); á Finnmörk, á Fjóni (a Danish island), but í Danmörk, Svipjóð ; also before names of Icel. farms denoting open spaces ; á þórisstöðum, á Möðruvöllum, á Fitjum. II. of time; (1) during, in the course of; á nótt, by night; á degi, by day; á því ári, vári, sumri, in that year, spring, summer; á þrem sumrum, in the course of three summers; var hann á fám dögum heill, within few days; á dögum e-s, in the days of, in his reign or time; (2) used of a, fixed recurrent period or season ; á várum, sumrum, haustum, vetrum, every spring, summer, &c. ; á kveldum, in the evening; þrisvar á ári, manuði, three times a year, a month. III. fig. and in various relations ; (1) denoting personal relation, in, to, towards; bœta e-t á e-m, to make amends to one (personally); sjá á e-m, to read one or in one's face ; hafa elsku (hatr) á e-m, to bear love (hatred) to one; rjúfa sætt á e-m, to break a truce on one; (2) with a reflexive pron., denoting personal appearance, temper, look ; vera þungr, léttr á sér, to be heavy or light (either bodily or mentally) kátr ok léttr á sér, of a gay and light disposition; þat bragð hafði hann á sér, he looked as if; sýna fáleika á sér, to show displeasure; (3) as periphrasis of the possessive pron. or a genitive ; hann rétti á sér fingrna, he stretched his fingers; fótrinn á honum, his foot; í vörunum á honum, in his lips ; stafn, skutr, árar, segl á skipi, the stem, stern, oars, sail of a ship; blöð á tré, leaves of a tree; egg á sverði = sverðsegg; (4) denoting instrumentality, by, by means of; afla fjár á hólmgöngum, to make money by duelling; fella e-n á bragði,... by a trick (in wrestling); komast undan á flótta, to escape by flight; (5) with numerals ; á þriðja tigi manna, between twenty and thirty; á níunda tigi, between eighty and ninety years of age; á öðru hundraði skipa, with above a hundred sail; (6) in many adverbial phrases á lífi, alive; á brautu, away; á floti, afloat; á milli, between; á laun, secretly; á móti, against; á enda, at an end; á flugi, a-flying, in the air; á gangi, walking; á skjálfi, a-shivering; á hleri, a-listening; á veiðum, a-hunting; á beit, a-grazing; (7) used absol. in reference to the air or the weather; þoka var á mikil, a thick fog was on; allhvast á norðan, very strong breeze from the north; gørði á regn, rain came on. B. with acc. I. of place; (1) indicating direction with or without motion, towards, to, on, upon ; ganga á land, to go ashore; ganga á skóg, into the wood; stíga á skip, to go on board; á, bæði borð, on both sides (of the ship) ; á hlið, sidewise; höggva á tvær hendr, to hew or strike right and left ; stefna á, fótinn, to aim at the foot ; gekk véðrit á vestr, the wind veered to the west; hárit tók ofan á belti, reached down to the belt ; reka austr á haf, to drift eastwards on the sea ; (2) in some cases the acc. is used instead of the dat., esp. with verbs denoting to hear or to see; þeir sá boða mikinn inn á fjörðinn, they saw great breakers away in the firth ; with phrases denoting to be placed, seated, to sit, the seat is freq. in

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