m. [A. S. gong; Scot. gang = a walk, journey; Dan. gang; Swed. gång; cp. Germ. gehen]:—a going, walking, Sks. 370; vera á gangi, to be walking to and fro, Grett. 153: metaph., röng eru mál á gangi, bad reports are going about, Bs. i. (in a verse); vápn á gangi, weapons clashing (vide II. 2. below), Grág. ii. 8; þá var hvert járn á gangi, Fb. i. 212:—gefit mér gang, give me way, passage, let me go, Fms. xi. 275, 347:—pace, a horseman’s term, engan (hest) hafa þeir slíkan séð bæði sakir gangs ok vaxtar, Róm. 422: Icel. say, það er enginn g. í honum, he has no pacing or ambling in him; or gang-lauss, adj. not pacing:—grazing, úti-g., útigangs-hestr, opp. to a stall-fed horse:—course, of the sun, stars, moon, gangr himin-tungla, Edda (pref.), hence sólar-g., the course of the sun above the horizon = day; stuttr, lítill, langr sólar-g., a short, long day:—course, of money.

II. metaph.,

1. a going onward, prevailing, being in vogue; hafa mikinn gang, to be much in vogue, Al. 87; heldr er vaxandi g. at þeim, they were rather on the increase, Gísl. 66; þótti þeim hann hafa ofmikinn gang (favour) af konungi, Fms. ii. 54; með-g., good luck; mót-g., adversity; upp-g., thrift; á-gangr, inroad; yfir-g., tyranny.

2. rapid or furious going; þá var svá mikill gangr at um aptr-göngur Þórólfs, at …, the huntings of Th. (a ghost) went so far, that …, Eb. 314; ok nú görisk svá mikill g. at, Gísl. 151; svá görðisk mikill g. at þessu, Eb. 174; svá mikill g. var orðinn at eldinum, the fire had got to such a height, Bs. i. 445; elds-g., fire; vápna-g., a clash of weapons; vatna-g., a rush, flood of water; öldu-g., sjáfar-g., high waves; brim-g., furious surf; skriðu-g., desolation from earth-slips; berserks-g., berserker fury:—trampling, horns g. ok hófs, Grág. ii. 122.

3. law term, a process; laga-g., Skálda 201, rare in old writers, but freq. in mod., Dan. rettergang.

4. medic. a discharge, esp. from the stomach; vall-gangr, excrement; þarfa-g., urine; þeir vóru sumir er drukku gang sinn, Al. 168; niðr-g., diarrhoea; upp-g., expectoration:—a privy, ganga til gangs, Grág. ii. 119; þeir skyldu hafa búðar-tópt Skútu fyrir gang, Rd. 305; nú er hundr bundinn í gangi, Grág. l. c.

III. collective, a gang, as in Engl.; drauga-g., a gang of ghosts; músa-g., a gang of mice; gaura-g., a gang of roughs; trolla-g., a gang of trolls (giants); þjófa-g., a gang of thieves.—Vide göng, n. pl. a lobby.