Svífa

As defined by A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic (Geir Zoëga):

svífa Old Icelandic word can mean:

svífa

(svíf; sveif, svifum; svifinn), v.

svífa

1) to rove, ramble; sumir svifu at nautum, some went roving after cattle; sveinn sýsliga sveif til skógar, the lad turned briskly to the wood; s. upp á grunn, to run ashore, of a ship; lata samþykki sitt s. til e-s, to sway one’s consent towards, to agree to;

svífa

2) impers. with dat. to swerve, drift (sveif skipinu frá landi); svífr skipinu fyrir straumi ok veðri, the ship drifts before wind and stream; hann hélt svá, at hvergi sveif, so that the boat swerved not; e-u svífr e-m í hug, í skap, it occurs to one’s mind (Gestr svarar: þessu sveif mér í skap); segir Þórðr, at svífi yfir hann, that he was taken suddenly ill;

svífa

3) refl., ~st um, to bustle about, be active; s. e-s, to shrink from; s. einskis, to shrink from nothing; þeir munu einskis (engis) ills s., they will stick at no ill.

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᛋᚢᛁᚠᛅ

Also available in related dictionaries:

This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages closely related to Old Icelandic.

• Old Norse - Cleasby & Vigfusson Dictionary
• Old Norwegian - Johan Fritzner's Dictionary