Erfiði

Old Norse Dictionary - erfiði

Meaning of Old Norse word "erfiði" in English.

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

erfiði Old Norse word can mean:

erfiði: or erviði (ærfaði, n. G. l. i. 391; ærfuð, id. I. 10), n. [Ulf. arbaiþs = κόπος; A. S. earfoð; O. H. G. arapeit; mod. Germ. arbeit, which shews that mod. Dan. arbeide and Swed. arbete are borrowed from the Germ.; lost in Engl. The etymology of this word is uncertain; the Icel. notion is to derive it from er- priv. and viða = vinna, to work, but it is scarcely right; Grimm, S. v. arbeit, suggests it to be akin to Lat. labor; Max Müller refers it to the root AR, to plough, Science of Language, p. 258, 3rd Ed.; but arfiði (Björn, p. 41) instead of erviði is a fictitious form, and the statement that in old Norse or Icel. it means ploughing rests only on a fancy of old Björn (Dict. l. c.), to which he was probably led by the similarity between Lat. arvum to Germ. and mod. Dan. arbeit, arbeide: in fact the Icel., ancient or modern, conveys no such notion; even in the old heathen poems the word is used exactly in the present sense, which again is the same as in Ulf.]:—toil, labour, and metaph. toil, trouble; in the allit. phrase, e. en eigi eyrendi, toil but no errand, i. e. lost labour, Þkv. 10, 11, Hkv. Hjörv. 5; víl ok e., toil and trouble (of travelling), Hbl. 58, Skálda 163; kváðusk hafa haft mikit e. ok öngu á leið komið, FmS. v. 21, Post. 645. 58, SkS. 235, v. l., n. G. l. l. c.

erfiði: 2. metaph. distress, suffering; drýgja e., to ‘dree’ distress, Gm. 35 (heathen poem),—in n. G. l. i. 391 this phrase is used of a priest officiating; hungr, þorsti, e., Hom. 160: in pl., meðr mörgum erfiðum er á hana leggjask, Stj. 51: an old poet (Arnor) calls the heaven the erfiði of the dwarfs, vide dvergr. In the Icel. n. T. erfiði is often used in the very same passages as in Ulf., thus—yðvart e. er eigi ónýtt í Drottni, 1 Cor. xv. 58; í erfiði, í vökum, í föstu, 2 Cor. vi. 5; og hrósum oss eigi tram yfir mælingu í annarlegu erfiði, x. 15; og vort e. yrði til ónýtis, 1 ThesS. iii. 5, cp. Ulf. l. c.

erfiði: β. medic. asthma, difficulty in breathing; brjóst-erfiði, heavy breathing.

erfiði: COMPDS: erfiðisdauði, erfiðislaun, erfiðisléttir, erfiðismunir, erfiðisnauð, erfiðissamr, erfiðissemi, erviðisverk.

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

Abbreviations used:

allit.: alliteration, alliterative.

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

Dan.: Danish.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

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

i. e.: id est.

l.: line.

L.: Linnæus.

Lat.: Latin.

l. c.: loco citato.

lit.: literally.

m.: masculine.

metaph.: metaphorical, metaphorically.

mod.: modern.

n.: neuter.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

priv.: privative.

S.: Saga.

s. v.: sub voce.

Swed.: Swedish.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

v.: vide.

v. l.: varia lectio.

cp.: compare.

pl.: plural.

medic.: medicine, medically.

Works & Authors cited:

Björn: Biörn Halldórsson.

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Hbl.: Harbarðs-ljóð. (A. I.)

Hkv.: Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)

Hkv. Hjörv.: Helga-kviða Hjörvarðssonar. (A. II.)

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

Post.: Postula Sögur. (F. III.)

Skálda: Skálda. (H. I.)

Sks.: Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)

Þkv.: Þryms-kviða. (A. I.)

Gm.: Grímnis-mál. (A. I.)

Hom.: Homiliu-bók. (F. II.)

N. T.: New Testament.

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. I.)

➞ 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.