Gagn

Old Norse Dictionary - gagn

Meaning of Old Norse word "gagn" in English.

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

gagn Old Norse word can mean:

gagn: n. [a Scandin. word, neither found in Saxon nor Germ.; only Ulf. has the root verb gageigan = κερδαίνειν; Swed. gagn; Dan. gavn; Engl. gain is prob. borrowed from the Scandin.]:

gagn: 1. sing. gain, advantage, use, avail; hluti þá er ek veit at honum má gagn at verða, things that can be of use to him, Nj. 258; er oss varð at mestu gagni, Ísl. ii. 175; er eigi mun vera gagn í, that will be of no use, Fms. iii. 175; það er að litlu gagni, of little avail, etc., passim.

gagn: 2. gain, victory; sigr ok gagn, Orkn. 38; hafa gagn, to gain the day, Rb. 398, Hom. 131, Fms. vii. 261; fá gagn, id., Fas. i. 294, freq. in poetry; gagni feginn, triumphant, Fm. 25; gagni lítt feginn, i. e. worsted, Hbl. 29.

gagn: 3. produce, revenue, chiefly of land; jarðir at byggja ok vinna ok allra gagna af at neyta, Eg. 352; hence the law phrase, to sell an estate ‘með öllum gögnum ok gæðum.’

gagn: 4. goods, such as luggage, utensils, or the like; síðan fór hann norðr á Strandir með gagn sitt, Sturl. i. 10; ker ok svá annat gagn sitt, Grág. ii. 339; bæta garð aptr ok öll gögn ok spellvirki, Gþl. 421; þeir héldu öllum farmi ok öllu gagni (luggage), því er á skipinu var, Bs. i. 326.

gagn: β. in mod. usage almost always in pl. gögn = household implements, esp. tubs, pots, etc.; bú-gögn, heimilis-gögn, household jars; far-g., farar-g., q. v.

gagn: 5. in pl. a law term, proofs, evidence produced in court; at eigi dveli það gögn fyrir mönnum, Grág. i. 25; nefna vátta at öllum gögnum þeim er fram vóru komin, Nj. 87; eptir gögnum ok vitnum skal hvert mál dæma, a law phrase, upon evidence and witnesses shall every case be tried, Gþl. 475; öll gögn þau er þeir skulu hafa at dómi, Grág. ii. 270; þeir menn allir er í dómi sitja eðr í gögnum eru fastir, i. 105, 488, and passim; gagna-gögn, vide below.

gagn: COMPDS: gagnahöld, gagnauðgan, gagnauðigr, gagnligr, gagnsamligr, gagnsamr, gagn-semd, gagnslauss, gagnslítill, gagnsmikill, gagnsmunir.

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

Abbreviations used:

Dan.: Danish.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

l.: line.

m.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

prob.: probably.

Scandin.: Scandinavia, Scandinavian.

Swed.: Swedish.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

etc.: et cetera.

sing.: singular.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

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

i. e.: id est.

esp.: especially.

mod.: modern.

pl.: plural.

q. v.: quod vide.

v.: vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Fm.: Fafnis-mál. (A. II.)

Hbl.: Harbarðs-ljóð. (A. I.)

Hom.: Homiliu-bók. (F. II.)

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

Rb.: Rímbegla. (H. III.)

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

Bs.: Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Gþl.: Gulaþings-lög. (B. II.)

Sturl.: Sturlunga Saga. (D. 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.