f.

I. [A. S. byrst, Germ. borste; Swed. bösta], a bristle, Hb. (1865) 22; but also of a hog’s back and bristles, Edda 70; cp. Gullin-bursti, Gold-bristle, the mythical hog of the god Frey; Fas. i. 532 (of the sónargöltr, the sacred hog); Fms. v. 165: the phrase, draga bust ór nefi e-m, to draw a bristle out of one’s nose, to cheat, gull one, Ölk. 36, does not occur anywhere else that we know of; the Engl. say, ‘to lead one by the nose,’ in much the same sense.

II. metaph. the gable of a house (hús-burst), Hkr. iii. 14 (of a shrine), Mar. 106, Konr. 57; og gogginn á bustinni brýnir (of a raven sitting on the top of a house and whetting his bill), Sig. Breiðfjörð.

COMPDS: burstakollr, burstarhár.