Biðja

Old Norse Dictionary - biðja

Meaning of Old Norse word "biðja"

As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:

Old Norse word biðja can mean:biðja

biðja
bað, báðu, beðit; pres. bið; imperat. bið and biddu; poët. forms with suff. neg. 1st pers. pres. biðkat ek, Gísl. (in a verse): [Ulf. bidian = αιτειν, ερωταν; A. S. biddian; Old Engl. bid, bede (in bedes-man), and ‘to bid one’s beads;Germ. bitten, beten; cp. Lat. petere]:—to beg; with gen. of the thing, dat. of the person; or in old writers with infin. without the particle ‘at;’ or ‘at’ with a subj.:
biðja
α. with infin., Jarl bað þá drepa hann, … bað hann gefa Hallfreði grið, FmS. iii. 25; hann bað alla bíða, Nj. 196; bað þá heila hittast, Eg. 22, FmS. vii. 351; Skapti bað Gizur (acc.) sitja, Nj. 226; Flosi bað alla menn koma, Nj. 196, Hdl. 2; inn bið þú hann ganga, Skm. 16, LS. 16; b. e-n vera heilan, valere jubere, Gm. 3, Hkv. 1, 2: still so in the Ór. 65 (biðr ek Ólaf bjarga mér) of the end of the 14th century; mod. usage prefers to add the ‘at,’ yet Hallgrímr uses both, e. g. hann bað Pétr með hryggri lund, hjá sér vaka um eina stund, PasS. 4. 6; but, Guð bið eg nú að gefa mér náð, id.
biðja
β. with ‘at’ and a subj., b. viljum vér þik, at þú sér, Nj. 226, Jb. 17: without ‘at,’ PasS. 6. 13, 3. 12.
biðja
γ. with gen., b. matar, Grág. i. 261; er þér þess ekki biðjanda. Eg. 423; b. liðs, liðveizlu, föruneytis, brautargengis, Nj. 226, 223, Ísl. ii. 322; bænar, FmS. iv. 12; b. e-m lífs, griða, góðs, böls, to beg for the life … of one,v. 39, FmS. iii. 25, Edda 38, Hm. 127; b. fyrir e-m, to beg, pray for one, Nj. 55; b. e-n til e-s, to request one to do a thing, Grág. i. 450, FmS. v. 34: spec. to court (a lady), propose, with gen. as object of the thing and person here coincide, b. konu, b. sér konu, Eg. 5, Nj. 2, Rm. 37.
biðja
2. to pray (to God), absol., hann bað á þessa lund, BlaS. 41; b. til Guðs, SkS. 308, FmS. iii. 48; b. bæn sinni (dat.), to pray one’s prayer, 655 xvi, Hom. 114; b. bæn sína, id., BlaS. 50.
biðja
β. reflex., biðjask fyrir, to say one’s prayers, Nj. 196; er svá baðst fyrir at krossi, Landn. 45, 623. 34, Orkn. 51; biðjast undan, to excuse oneself, beg pardon, FmS. vii. 351: the reflex. may resume the infin. sign ‘at,’ and even an active may do so, if used as a substitute for a reflex., e. g. biðr Þórólfr at fara norðr á Hálogaland, Th. asked for furlough to go to H., Eg. 35.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛒᛁᚦᛁᛅ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements

Abbreviations used:

A. S.
Anglo-Saxon.
cp.
compare.
dat.
dative.
Engl.
English.
f.
feminine.
gen.
genitive.
Germ.
German.
gl.
glossary.
imperat.
imperative.
infin.
infinitive.
l.
line.
Lat.
Latin.
m.
masculine.
n.
neuter.
neg.
negative.
pers.
person.
poët.
poetically.
pres.
present.
S.
Saga.
subj.
subjunctive.
uff.
suffix.
Ulf.
Ulfilas.
acc.
accusative.
e. g.
exempli gratia.
id.
idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation
mod.
modern.
v.
vide.
spec.
specially.
s. v.
sub voce.
absol.
absolute, absolutely.
reflex.
retlexive.

Works & Authors cited:

Gísl.
Gísla Saga. (D. II.)
Eg.
Egils Saga. (D. II.)
Fms.
Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)
Gm.
Grímnis-mál. (A. I.)
Hdl.
Hyndlu-ljóð. (A. II.)
Hkv.
Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)
Ls.
Loka-senna. (A. I.)
Nj.
Njála. (D. II.)
Ór.
Ólafs-ríma. (A. III)
Pass.
Passiu-Sálmar.
Skm.
Skírnis-mál. (A. I.)
Jb.
Jóns-bók. (B. III.)
Edda
Edda. (C. I.)
Grág.
Grágás. (B. I.)
Háv.
Hávarðar Saga. (D. II.)
Hm.
Hává-mál. (A. I.)
Rm.
Rígsmál. (A. II.)
Blas.
Blasius Saga. (F. III.)
Hom.
Homiliu-bók. (F. II.)
Sks.
Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)
Landn.
Landnáma. (D. I.)
Orkn.
Orkneyinga Saga. (E. II.)
Th.
Theophilus. (F. III.)
➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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