Vita

Old Icelandic Dictionary - vita

Meaning of Old Icelandic word "vita" in English.

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

vita Old Icelandic word can mean:

vita: (veit, vissa, vitaðr), v.

vita: 1) to have sense, be conscious (hann var enn eigi ørendr, en vissi þó ekki);

vita: with gen., gráðugr halr, nema geðs viti, unless he has his senses about him;

vita: 2) to know;

vita: engi vissi skapara sinn, no one knew his maker;

vita: þeir er vel mart vitu, those who know many things;

vita: ~ sik saklausan, to know oneself to be innocent;

vita: veizt þú, hvat þér man verða at bana, dost thou know what will be the cause of thy death?;

vita: ~ skyn á e-m, to know one;

vita: Flosi kvaðst eigi ~ skyn á, hverir lögmenn væri beztir, F. said that he knew nothing about who were the best lawyers;

vita: ~ ván or vánir e-s, to expect, look for (G. vissi slíks matar þar ekki ván);

vita: ~ fram, to be prescient, know the future;

vita: veit þat trúa min, upon my faith!;

vita: 3) to see, try to find out (bað þá ~, hvat af Gretti yrði);

vita: vittu, ef þú hjálpir, see if thou canst help;

vita: vit, at þá náir sverði því, try to get that sword;

vita: 4) to look, be turned towards;

vita: ~ upp, fram, aptr, to look (be turned) upwards, forwards, backwards;

vita: ~ móti sólu, at sjánum, to face the sun, the sea;

vita: ~ til norðrættar, to look north;

vita: ormahöfuð öll vitu inn í húsit, all the heads of the serpents look into the hall;

vita: with gen., þeir fundu vínvið allt þar sem holta vissi, they found the vine wherever there was woodland;

vita: 5) to come under a certain head;

vita: sökin veit til lands-laga, en ekki til Bjarkeyjar-réttar, the case comes under the country-law, and not under the town-law;

vita: 6) to bode, betoken, with gen. (ekki ~ slík orð lítils);

vita: þat mun eigi øngra tíðinda ~, this betokens no small tidings;

vita: 7) to mean, have such and such bearing;

vita: hvat veit óp þetta, what means this shouting?;

vita: eigi veit þannig við, that is not the case;

vita: seg mér hit sanna, hversu við veit, how things stand;

vita: ok rœddu um þat, at nú mundi vel ~, that things were likely to take a good turn;

vita: 8) with preps.:

vita: ~ af e-u, to know of (ekki vissi á. af kaupi þeira);

vita: ~ e-t at sér, to know oneself to be guilty of;

vita: ~ e-t eptir sér = ~ e-t at sér (~ eptir sér slíkan glœp);

vita: ~ e-t frá sér, to be conscious (sensible) of (ek var svá syfjaðr, at ek vissa fátt frá mér);

vita: ~ e-t fyrir, to know beforehand (ørlög sín viti engi maðr fyrir);

vita: ~ til e-s, ~ til um e-t, to know of (ekki vissu landsmenn til um ferð Þórólfs);

vita: ~ ekki til sín, ~ ekki til manna, to have lost consciousness, one’s senses;

vita: recipr. to know of an another (þeir vissust jafnan til í hafinu);

vita: ~ um e-t, to make inquiries about (fara at ~ um e-t);

vita: to know about (eigi veit ek um gaman þetta);

vita: ~ e-t við e-n, to get to know a thing, from one (mun ek ~ við skipverja mina, hvat þeim sýnist ráð).

Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚢᛁᛏᛅ

Abbreviations used:

gen.: genitive.

n.: neuter.

e-m: einhverjum.

e-s: einhvers.

e-u: einhverju.

e-t: eitthvat.

Also available in related dictionaries:

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

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