Berja

Old Norse Dictionary - berja

Meaning of Old Norse word "berja" in English.

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

berja Old Norse word can mean:

berja: barði, pres. berr; sup. bart, barzt, O. H. l. 24, Bret. 48, 64, Fms. v.ii. 214, 215, xi. 16, and later barit, barizt; part. fem. barið, Am. 84; barðr, fem. börð, Sturl. iii. 154; mod. barinn; either form may now be used: [Lat. ferio. The word is not found in Ulf., and seems to be unknown in Germ. and Engl.; it is lost in mod. Dan.]

berja: I. act. to strike, beat, smite, with acc., Fms. v.i. 227, Eg. 582: as a punishment, b. húð af e-m, to scourge one, n. G. l. i. 85: to thrash to death, 341; b. grjóti, to stone, of witches, Am. 84, Ld. 152, Eb. 98, Gísl. 34: to castigate, b. til batnaðar, Hkr. ii. 178; cp. the sayings, einginn verðr óbarinn biskup, and, vera barðr til bækr, Bs. i. 410; b. steinum í andlit e-m, to throw stones in one’s face, 623. 31; b. e-u saman vápnum, sverðum, skjöldum, knefum, to dash weapons … against each other, Fms. v.i. 204; b. gull, to beat gold, x. 206; sem barit gull, like beaten gold, Ísl. ii. 206; b. korn, to thresh corn, Magn. 520: metaph. to chide, scold, b. e-n illyrðum, ávítum, Nj. 64, Hom. 35:—with ‘á’, ‘at’, to knock, rap, strike, b. á hurð, á dyrr (or at dyrum), to rap, knock at a door, Th. 6; b. sér á brjóst, to smite on one’s breast, in repentance, Fms. v. 122; b. at hurðu, Sturl. iii. 153; b. til e-s, á e-m, to give one a thrashing, Dropl. 23; er þú á konum barðir, Hbl. 38; hjartað barði undir síðunni, to beat, of the heart, Str. 6 (but hjartsláttr, throbbing of the heart), in mod. use reflex., hjartað berst, hjartað barðist í brjósti heitt, Pass. 2. 12: in the phrase, b. í brestina, to cry off a bargain, the metaphor is taken from hammering the fissure of a ring or the like, in order to hide the fault, Nj. 32.

berja: II. reflex., berjask, [cp. Fr. se battre; Germ. sich schlagen], to fight, Lat. pugnare, Boll. 360, Rd. 296, Fms. x. 86, Ísl. ii. 267, Fas. i. 255, Íb. 11: of a duel, ok þat með, at vit berimk her á þinginu, Eg. 351; b. við e-n, to fight with, Fms. xi. 86; b. á e-t, Lat. oppugnare, á borgina, i. 103, vii. 93, Stj. (freq.), seems to be a Latinism; b. til e-s, to fight for a thing; at b. til Englands, to invade England, Ísl. ii. 241, v. l.; b. orrostu, Lat. pugnam pugnare, Fms. v.i. 79: of the fighting of eagles, Ísl. ii. 195.

berja: III. impers., with dat., it dashes against; skýja grjóti barði í augu þeim, the hailstones dashed in their eyes, Jd. 31; honum barði við ráfit kirkjunnar, he dashed against the roof, Bs. i. 804; þeim barði saman, they dashed against each other, id.

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

Abbreviations used:

Dan.: Danish.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

fem.: feminine.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

Lat.: Latin.

m.: masculine.

mod.: modern.

n.: neuter.

part.: participle.

pres.: present.

sup.: supine.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

acc.: accusative.

act.: active.

cp.: compare.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

pl.: plural.

reflex.: retlexive.

s. v.: sub voce.

v.: vide.

Fr.: French in etymologies.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

v. l.: varia lectio.

dat.: dative.

id.: idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation

impers.: impersonal.

pers.: person.

Works & Authors cited:

Am.: Atla-mál. (A. II.)

Bret.: Breta Sögur. (G. I.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

O. H. L.: Ólafs Saga Helga Legendaria. (E. I.)

Sturl.: Sturlunga Saga. (D. I.)

Bs.: Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)

Dropl.: Droplaugar-sona Saga. (D. II.)

Eb.: Eyrbyggja Saga. (D. II.)

Eg.: Egils Saga. (D. II.)

Gísl.: Gísla Saga. (D. II.)

Hbl.: Harbarðs-ljóð. (A. I.)

Hkr.: Heimskringla. (E. I.)

Hom.: Homiliu-bók. (F. II.)

Ld.: Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)

Magn.: Magnús Saga jarls. (E. II.)

N. G. L.: Norges Gamle Love. (B. II.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Pass.: Passiu-Sálmar.

Str.: Strengleikar. (G. II.)

Th.: Theophilus. (F. III.)

Boll.: Bolla-þáttr. (D. V.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Fr.: Fritzner’s Dictionary, 1867.

Íb.: Íslendinga-bók. (D. I.)

Rd.: Reykdæla Saga. (D. II.)

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. I.)

Jd.: Jómsvíkinga-drápa. (A. III.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

Also available in related dictionaries:

This headword also appears in dictionaries of other languages descending from Old Norse.