Bíta

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

bíta Old Norse word can mean:

bíta

beit, bitu, bitið; pres. bít; imperat. bít, 2nd pers. bittú; poët. forms with the negative, beitat, Eg. (in a verse); subj. bítia, Hkv. 2. 31, [Ulf. beitan; Engl. bite; Germ. beizen]:—to bite, Lat. mordere:

bíta

I. properly,

bíta

1. with the teeth, Eg. 508, n. G. l. i. 351; b. menn (of a dog), Grág. ii. 119; b. skarð ór, Eg. 605: of a horse, n. G. l. i. 392: foxes killing sheep, BS. ii. 138, n. G. l. ii. 34 (wolf):—to sting, of wasps, gnats, Landn. 146.

bíta

2. of grazing animals; b. gras, lauf, skóg, Grág. ii. 229, (hence beit, pasture); hvar hestar þínir bitu gras, FS. 57: absol. to graze, Karl. 71.

bíta

3. of sharp instruments, weapons (vápnbitinn); engir vóru ósárir nema þeir er eigi bitu járn, except those whom iron could not bite, Eg. 33; sverðit beit ekki, did not cut, Nj. 45, Edda 7; ljárnir bíta, 48; fótrinn brotnaði en eigi beit, the sword did not cut but broke the leg, Bjarn. 66.

bíta

β. e-m bítr, one’s weapon (scythe) cuts well, bites; allt bitu honum annan veg vápnin, Eg. 93.

bíta

4. of a ship, to cruise; hér er skip … er vér köllum bíta (bite the wind) allra skipa bezt, the best sailer, FS. 27: impers., beit þeim eigi fyrir Reykjanes, they could not clear cape R., Landn. 30.

bíta

5. in fishing, to bite, take the bait; bítr vel á um daginn, the fishes did bite, Ld. 40; bíta mætti beitfiskr, q. v.

bíta

6. bíta á vörrinni, to bite the lip as a token of pain or emotion, Nj. 68; hann hafði bitið á kampinum, had bitten the beard, 209.

bíta

II. metaph.:

bíta

α. of frost, cold, sickness, and the like.

bíta

β. to bite, sting, hurt; hvat mun oss heldr b. orð hans, why should his speech sting us any more? Grett. 95 A; eigi veit ek prestr, nema orðin þín hafi bitið, thy words have bit, FmS. vii. 39.

bíta

γ. as a law term; sekt, sök bítr, the guilt strikes the convict, when brought home to him, hence sakbitinn, guilty; pá menn er hvártveggja hafa bitið, lög, réttindi ok svá dómar, convicted in the face of law and justice, SkS. 655 B; um þau mál sem sekt bítr, i. e. unlawful cases, liable to punishment, K. Á. 148; um þat er sekt bítr, Grett. 133 A (new Ed. 1853), SkS. 655.

bíta

δ. b. á e-n, to cut deep, affect, make an impression upon; the phrase, láta ekki á sig b., to stand proof against all; þetta lét Kjartan á sik b., K. felt pain from it, Ld. 204; láttu þetta ekki á þik b., do not mind it, id.; rennr þat öðrum opt mjök í brjóst, er á suma bítr ekki (of the conscience), 655 xi.

bíta

ε. e-t bítr fyrir, something ‘bites off,’ i. e. is decisive, makes a thing impossible or out of question; þat annat (the other reason) er þó bítr skjótara, which is still more decided against it, FmS. ii. 266; þeir kváðust þenna kost eigi vilja, ok kváðu þat tvennt til vera er fyrir beit, two decided obstacles, reasons against it, Sturl. iii. 47; þú ert miklu œri maðr at aldri, en svá at vér hafim her lögtekna í Jómsborg, ok bítr þat fyrir, that puts it out of question, makes it impossible, FmS. x. 93; Þorgilsi þykir nú þetta ráð mega fyrir bíta, Th. thought this would be quite sufficient,—fyrir hlíta would here be better,—Ld. 264; þeir höfðu jafnan minna hlut ór málum, þó þetta bití nú fyrir, they always got the worst of it, though this was a thorough beating, FaS. i. 144; (þat er) lögmanni ok lögréttumönnum þykir fyrir b., seems a decisive proof, cuts the case off at once, n. G. l. ii. 21; b. e-m at fullu, to prove fatal to, tell fully upon; hafa mik nú at fullu bitið hans ráð, FS. 8; Njáls bíta ráðin, a proverb quoted by Arngrim in Brevis Comment., written A. D. 1593, denoting the sagacity of Njal’s schemes; beit þetta ráð, it was effective, FS. 153; e-m bítr við at horfa, Band. 7 C, is no doubt a false reading, = býðr, which is the reading l. c. of the vellum MS. 2845, vide bjóða.

bíta

III. recipR. of horse fight, Rd. 298.

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