Gi
Old Norse Dictionary - giMeaning of Old Norse word "gi" in English.
As defined by the Cleasby & Vigfusson Old Norse to English dictionary:
gi Old Norse word can mean:
- gi
- (or -ki after t or s), a particle suffixed to nouns and adverbS.
- gi
- A. In a positive sense [Lat. -que], ever, Lat. -que, -cunque:
- gi
- 1. with the pronoun hverr (quis) through all cases, answering to the Lat. quis-que: out of the Laws we can nearly make a full paradigm:—nom. hverr-gi or hver-gi, Lat. quis-que, qui-cunque, Grág. Kb. i. 14, 31, 45, 85, 171 (twice), 183, 195, 221, ii. 7, 23, 82, 101: nom. and acc. neut. hvat-ki (quod-que). i. 34, 155, 162, 183, 244, ii. 77, 140, 154, Jómsv. 15, Íb. 3; also hvárt-ki, id., Grág. Kb. i. 61 (twice): gen. hvers-kis (cujus-que), 238: dat. hverjun-gi (cui-que), 31, 156: acc. masc. hvern-gi (quem-que), 147, 155, 221, 225, 245, ii. 47, 66: abl. hve-gi or hví-gi, however, i. 147, 195, ii. 64, 101, 128, 151, Jómsv. 14:—plur. acc. neut. hver-gi (quae-que): dual dat. sing. hvárun-gi megin, on both sides (of a river), Grág. Kb. ii. 93:—even in historical prose, því at hit næsta sumar gat hvergi ber á Íslandi, the following summer every man gathered berries in Iceland (to make some kind of wine), BS. i. 135, (or are we to read hvar-gi, everywhere?).
- gi
- 2. with adverbs; hvert-ki (quocun-que modo), Grág. ii. 50; nær-gi, whenever (ubi-cunque), i. 191; hvar-gi, wherever, 25, 166, 240, ii. 128, 212.
- gi
- B. In a negative sense, with a few pronouns, adjectives, adverbs, and rarely in old poems with substantives:
- gi
- 1. with nouns, in the pr. name Lopt-ki, an απ. λεγ., LS. 19: with appellatives, þörf-gi, no need, an απ. λεγ., Hkv. Hjörv. 39; freq. in mann-gi, no man, cp. Lat. nēmo, Íb., which is even used in mod. writers and poets; væt-ki, naught; vettu-gi (dat.) and vetter-gis (gen.), Vsp.: with adjectives, ein-gi (q. v.), none, a common word; otherwise rare, sjálf-gi, ‘self-not,’ i. e. not oneself, LS. 29, an απ. λεγ.: with a dat. case of langr, þá löngu-gi, then not for a long time, Konr. (MS.): with pronouns, in the dual, hvárr-gi, neither, Lat. neuter, Grág. Kb. i. 46, ii. 93, 151; gen. hvárs-kis (neutrius), freq.; dat. hvárun-gi (neutri), i. 215; hvárum-gi, ii. 63: neut. hváru-gi, 216; hitt-ki, ne illud quidem, Hm. 21, 23; þat-ki, Hbl. 6; þat-ki at ek fá (not even that I get) mála minn falslausan, Mork. 83.
- gi
- 2. with adverbs, only in poetry or laws or very old prose; svá-gi, not so, Grág. Kb. ii. 99, Mork. 83; þá-gi, then not; þey-gi, though not, qS. þó-gi; æva-gi, never: again, hver-gi (q. v.), nowhere; ei-gi (q. v.), not; aldri-gi (q. v.), never; hvár-ki (q. v.), neither, are common words in prose and in speech. The negative -gi can never be suffixed to verbs (vide ‘-at,’ p. 2); therefore býð-gi, non jubeo (in Íslands-vaka 61, a poem of the last century, Fél. i. 236), is a spurious imitation of the old idiom; neither can -at be put to nouns; ráð-at hann kunni, Jónas 105, ought therefore to be ráð hann kunni-t, issue be knew not.
- gi
- C. In an indefinite sense; in a few instances -gi seems to be used almost like Latin quidem with a preceding negative: eigi miklo-gi minna, ne multo quidem minus, Heiðar. S., Ísl. ii. 360; eigi stóru-gi meiri, ne multo quidem majora, 386; engi miklo-gi görr …, nemo multo quidem plus …, Grág. i. 209; cp. also the adverbs öllun-gis or öldun-gis, quite, altogether (allr, -gi); einun-gis, only, solely (einn, -gi). both formed from dat. sing.: the obsolete vil-gi (qS. vel-gi) is ambiguous, being used both in a neg. sense = not well, and posit. = well, bene quidem, cp. BS. i. 393, note; Hm. 66, málun-gi, is doubtful;—prob. þyrftig-at málun-gi mat should be read, -at being taken not as a prep. but as a negative verbal suffix, and -gi as a positive suffix; Icel. now say, hann á ekki málungi matar, he does not know where to look for his next meal.
- gi
- ☞ The negative -gi is peculiar to Scandin., and no traces of it are found in any Saxon nor German idioms; whereas, as a positive suffix, it is common to all Teutonic tongues, and remains in the Engl. many and any; ‘many’ being qS. man-y = man-ever, ‘homo-cunque,’ Goth. manags, and ‘any’ qS. ane-y = every-one; so also is the g in Icel. margr and hvárigr, which are remnants—the former of the positive, the latter of the negative -gi.
Possible runic inscription in Younger Futhark:ᚴᛁ
Younger Futhark runes were used from 8th to 12th centuries in Scandinavia and their overseas settlements
Abbreviations used:
- Lat.
- Latin.
- acc.
- accusative.
- dat.
- dative.
- gen.
- genitive.
- id.
- idem, referring to the passage quoted or to the translation
- l.
- line.
- m.
- masculine.
- masc.
- masculine.
- n.
- neuter.
- neut.
- neuter.
- nom.
- nominative.
- plur.
- plural.
- sing.
- singular.
- v.
- vide.
- απ. λεγ.
- απαξ. λεγόμενον.
- cp.
- compare.
- freq.
- frequent, frequently.
- i. e.
- id est.
- mod.
- modern.
- pr.
- proper, properly.
- q. v.
- quod vide.
- S.
- Saga.
- ch.
- chapter.
- qs.
- quasi.
- Icel.
- Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.
- neg.
- negative.
- posit.
- positive.
- prob.
- probably.
- Engl.
- English.
- gl.
- glossary.
- Goth.
- Gothic.
- Scandin.
- Scandinavia, Scandinavian.
Works & Authors cited:
- Bs.
- Biskupa Sögur. (D. III.)
- Grág.
- Grágás. (B. I.)
- Íb.
- Íslendinga-bók. (D. I.)
- Kb.
- Konungs-bók. (B. I, C. I, etc.)
- Hbl.
- Harbarðs-ljóð. (A. I.)
- Hkv.
- Helga-kviða Hundingsbana. (A. II.)
- Hkv. Hjörv.
- Helga-kviða Hjörvarðssonar. (A. II.)
- Hm.
- Hává-mál. (A. I.)
- Konr.
- Konráðs Saga. (G. III.)
- Ls.
- Loka-senna. (A. I.)
- Mork.
- Morkinskinna. (E. I.)
- Vsp.
- Völuspá. (A. I.)
- Fél.
- Félags-rit.
- Jónas
- Jónas Hallgrímsson.