Efni

Old Norse Dictionary - efni

Meaning of Old Norse word "efni" in English.

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

efni Old Norse word can mean:

efni: n. [Swed. ämne = stuff, materia, and Dan. ævne = achievement]:—a stuff, originally like Lat. materia, timber; and so the stuff or material out of which a thing is wrought; auðskæf mærðar e., Ad. 16; at allir hlutir væri smíðaðir af nokkru efni, that all things were wrought (created) of some stuff, Edda 147 (pref.); skapa af engu efni, to create from nothing (of God), FmS. i. 304; efni (materials) til garðbóta, Grág. ii. 263, SkS. 287 (of a cloth); ek em görr af ústyrku efni, I am made of frail stuff, 543, Barl. 140, Stj. 17, 67; smíðar-efni, materials; efni-tré, a block, tree; efni í ljá, orf, etc., or of any piece fitted as materials.

efni: β. in a personal sense; manns-efni, a promising young man: karls-efni, a thorough man, a nickname, Landn.: the proverb, engi veit hvar sæls manns efni sitr, of youths of whom no one can tell what may be hidden in them; þegns e. = manns-efni, Stor. 11: gott manns-e., gott bónda-e., promising to be an able man; and on the other hand, ónýtt, illt manns-e., in whom there is nothing.

efni: γ. merely in temp. sense, applied to persons designate or elect; konungs-e., a crown prince; biskups-e., a bishop-elect; brúðar-e., a bride-elect; konu-e., one’s future wife.

efni: δ. a subject, of a story, book, or the like, Lat. argumentum, plot; yrkis e., Íd. 11; e. kvæða, a plot, subject for poetry; sögu-e., a subject for tales or history; in old writers it rarely occurs exactly in this sense: the contents of a written thing, bréfs-e., efni í bók; hence efnis-laust, adj. void, empty writing; efnis-leysa, u, f. emptiness in writing; Björn hafði ort flim um Þórð, en þau vóru þar efni í, at …, but that was the subject of the poem, that …, Bjarn. 42; þótti mönnum þar mikit um, hversu mikil efni þar vóru til seld, i. e. people thought the tale interesting, Ld. 200; eigi með sönnu efni, falsely, with untrue statements, Sturl. iii. 305: hvárt efni þeir höfðu í um rógit, how they had made (mixed) their lies up, Eg. 59; meir en efni sé til seld, i. e. (related) more than what was true, the tale was overdone, BS. i. 137; talar af sama efni (subject) sem fyrrum, FmS. ix. 252.

efni: 2. metaph. a matter, affair; til sanninda um sagt e., Dipl. i. 8; segir konungi frá öllu þessu e., Sturl. i. 3; er þat merkjanda í þessu e., Rb. 250; fátt er betr látið enn efni eru til (a proverb), few things are reported better than they really are, Band. 2; fyrir hvert efni, for this reason.

efni: β. a cause, reason; látask báðir af því e., both died from this cause, Ísl. ii. 197; með hverju e. Sturla hefði þessa för gört, what was the reason of S.’s doing so? Sturl. ii. 132; gleði e., sorgar e., matter of joy, sorrow, etc.: the proverb, en hvert mál, er maðr skal dæma, verðr at líta á tilgörð með efnum (causes), Eg. 417; fyrir þat efni (for that reason) keypti hann landit, Hrafn. 22, H. E. i. 471; en þetta efni (cause) fundu þeir til, SkS. 311.

efni: γ. a state, condition, affair; Rútr sagði allt e. sitt, Nj. 4; í úvænt efni, a hopeless state, Band. (MS.) 13, Ísl. ii. 225; ek veit eigi görla efni Gunnlaugs, I know not how Gunlaug’s matters stand, 240; Helgi kvað eigi þat efni í, at láta lausan þjóf fjölkunnigan, H. said that it would never do, to let a thief and wizard go, Sturl. i. 62; ef þess eru efni, if that be so, Grág. i. 76; sér, hvers efni í eru, he saw how matters stood, Band. (MS.) 11; sagði hver efni í voru, said how matters stood, Nj. 99; mér þykir sem málum várum sé komið í únýtt efni, ef …, 150; munu ill efni í, some mischief may have happened, FS. 144; gott, þungt e., Karl. 402, BS. i. 815; e-t gengr, kemr svá til efnis, happens so and so, Mar. (Fr.); skipta sitt líf í betra e., to repent, id.; bera til efnis, to happen, Pr. 410.

efni: 3. plur. means, ability; minni nytjamenn af meirum efnum en hann, Sturl. i. 126; eptir sínum efnum, to the best of their ability, Hom. 123; ok bjoggusk um eptir þeim efnum sem þeir höfðu til, Orkn. 360; sjái þér nökkuð ráð (possibility) eðr efni vár (means), 358; grunar mik, at Þórólfr muni eigi görr kunna at sjá efni sín, i. e. I fear that Th. will overrate his own means, power, Eg. 76; þá væri þat efni nú í vóru máli, it would be a chance for us, FmS. ix. 239; þar vóru engi efni önnur, there was no other chance, xi. 144; nú eru þess eigi efni, if that be impossible, Grág. ii. 140; hér eru engin efni til þess at ek muna svíkja hann, i. e. I will by no means deceive him, it is out of the question that I should do so, Eg. 60.

efni: β. in mod. usage, means, property, riches.

efni: COMPDS: efnafæð, efnalauss, efnaleysi, efnalítill, efnaskortr.

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

Abbreviations used:

Dan.: Danish.

etc.: et cetera.

f.: feminine.

l.: line.

Lat.: Latin.

n.: neuter.

pref.: preface.

Swed.: Swedish.

temp.: temporal.

adj.: adjective.

i. e.: id est.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

pl.: plural.

S.: Saga.

Fr.: French in etymologies.

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

m.: masculine.

plur.: plural.

mod.: modern.

Works & Authors cited:

Ad.: Arinbjarnar-drápa. (A. III.)

Barl.: Barlaams Saga. (F. III.)

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Sks.: Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. I.)

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. I.)

Stor.: Sona-torrek. (A. III.)

Bjarn.: Bjarnar Saga. (D. II.)

Björn: Biörn Halldórsson.

Bs.: Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)

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

Íd.: Íslendinga-drápa. (A. III.)

Ld.: Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)

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

Band.: Banda-manna Saga. (D. II.)

Dipl.: Diplomatarium. (J. I.)

Rb.: Rímbegla. (H. III.)

H. E.: Historia Ecclesiastica Islandiae. (J. I.)

Hrafn.: Hrafnkels Saga. (D. II.)

Fr.: Fritzner’s Dictionary, 1867.

Fs.: Forn-sögur. (D. II.)

Karl.: Karla-magnús Saga. (G. I.)

Mar.: Maríu Saga. (F. III.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Hom.: Homiliu-bók. (F. II.)

Orkn.: Orkneyinga Saga. (E. II.)

Th.: Theophilus. (F. III.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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