Lifa

Old Norse Dictionary - lifa

Meaning of Old Norse word "lifa" in English.

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

lifa Old Norse word can mean:

lifa: pres. lifi; pret. lifði; imperat. lif, lifðú, an older form lifi, 655 iv. 1, Stj. 445; neut. part. lifat, masc. lifðr, Hm. 69: there was a strong verb lifa, leif, lifu, lifinn, of which leifa is the causal, but of this word nothing now remains except the part. acc. lifna (vivos), Hkv. 2. 27, and dat. lifnum (vivo), 45: [Ulf. lifan = ζην; A. S. lifan; Engl. live; O. H. G. leban; Germ. leben; Swed. lefva; Dan. leve; a word common to all Teut. languages, the original sense of which was to be left, and so akin to leifa, = Lat. superstes esse, which sense still remains in some Icel. phrases; cp. also lifna.]

lifa: A. To be left; þóat einn hleifr lifi eptir, although one loaf ‘lives’ behind, i. e. is left, n. G. l. i. 349; skal þat atkvæði þeirra vera í hverju máli sem þá lifir nafnsins eptir, er ór er tekinn raddar-stafr ór nafninu, Skálda (Thorodd); þá er þat atkvæði hans í hverju máli sem eptir lifir nafnsins, er ór er tekinn raddar-stafr ór nafni hans, id.

lifa: 2. of the day, night, or season; þá er þriðjungr lifir dags, when a third of the day is left, n. G. l. i. 9; þá er ellefu nætr lifðu eptir Aprilis mánaðar, 655 iii. 3; laugar-daginn áðr lifa átta vikur sumars, Grág. i. 122, K. Þ. K. 70; er mánuðr lifir vetrar, Grág. (Kb.) ii. 186; fóru þeir brott er mikit lifði nætr, FmS. i. 99; en er þriðjungr lifir nætr, mun hringt at Bura-kirkju, Fb. i. 204; en er þriðjungr lifði nætr, vakti Þorsteinn upp gesti sína, FmS. i. 70.

lifa: 3. in old sayings this sense is still perceptible, to remain, endure; atkvæði lifa lengst, Ísl. ii. (in a verse); lifa orð lengst eptir hvern, FmS. viii. 16: as also in old poems, hvat lifir manna (what of men will be left?), er hinn mæra fimbul-vetr líðr? Vþm. 44; meðan öld lifir, while the world stands, Vsp. 16; lifit einir ér, ye alone are left to me, Hðm. 4; otherwise this sense has become obsolete.

lifa: B. To live; this sense has almost entirely superseded the old. The primitive word denoting life or to live in the Teut. languages was from the root of kvikr (q. v.), of which the verbal form has been replaced by lifa; meðan lifir, whilst he lives, Hm. 9, 53; meðan hann lifði, while he lived, Nj. 45; hann hélt vel trú meðan hann lifði, FmS. xi. 418; meðan þeir lifði (subj.) báðir, vi. 27; ek hefi lifat ok verit kallaðr bóndi nokkurra konunga æfi, 192; at sér lifanda, Lat. se vivo, Íb. 18, Grág. i. 202; lifa langan aldr, Nj. 62; the saying, þeir lifa langan aldr (mod. lengst) sem með orðum eru vegnir, = Engl. words break no bones, 252: lifi konungr, long live the king! (cp. Lat. vivat rex), Stj. 445; lifi heill þú, konungr! 655 iv. 1.

lifa: 2. lifa við, to live on, feed on; lifa við vín, Gm. 19; þat eina er vér megim lifa við, Al. 133; ok lifðu nú viðr reka, smádýri ok íkorna, FS. 177: mod., lifa á e-u, to feed on, live on.

lifa: 3. in a moral sense, to live, conduct one’s life; hafði hann ok lifat svá hreinliga sem þeir Kristnir menn er bezt eru siðaðir, Landn. 38; lifa dýrligu lifi, Hom. 147; lifa vel, ílla, to live a good, bad life, passim: lifa eptir e-m, to indulge a person, 656 C. 37, 42.

lifa: 4. also used of fire, to live, be quick; svá at þar mátti lifa eldr, FaS. ii. 517, freq. in mod. usage, the Icel. say, eldrinn lifir, ljósið lifir; (cp. also, drepa ljósit, to kill, quench a fire, a light; eldrinn er dauðr, ljósit er dautt, the fire, the light is dead; eldrinn lifnar, is kindled;) for this interesting usage cp. also kvikr and kveykja, denoting life and fire.

lifa: II. part. lifandi and lifandis, indecl. living; lifandis maðr, Mar.; lifandis sálar, Stj. 31; lifandis manna, 39; lifandis skepnu, 57; lifandis hlut, 75; but better, lifandi, pl. lifendr, alive, as also the living; í lifanda lifi, in one’s living life, opp. to a deyjanda degi (on one’s dying day) at vér sém dauðir heimi en lifendr Guði, Hom. 79; lifendra (mod. gen. pl.) og dauðra, the living and the dead; dæma lifendr og dauða (‘the quick and the dead,’ in the Creed).

lifa: 2. part. lifðr; betra er lifðum en sé úlifðum, better to be living than lifeless, i. e. while there is life there is hope, Hm. 69; úlifðan, deceased, Hkv. 2.

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

Abbreviations used:

acc.: accusative.

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

cp.: compare.

Dan.: Danish.

dat.: dative.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

Germ.: German.

gl.: glossary.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

imperat.: imperative.

l.: line.

Lat.: Latin.

m.: masculine.

masc.: masculine.

n.: neuter.

neut.: neuter.

O. H. G.: Old High German.

part.: participle.

pres.: present.

pret.: preterite.

S.: Saga.

Swed.: Swedish.

Teut.: Teutonic.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

v.: vide.

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

i. e.: id est.

L.: Linnæus.

mod.: modern.

q. v.: quod vide.

subj.: subjunctive.

freq.: frequent, frequently.

decl.: declined.

gen.: genitive.

indecl.: indeclinable.

opp.: opposed.

pl.: plural.

Works & Authors cited:

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

Hm.: Hává-mál. (A. I.)

Stj.: Stjórn. (F. I.)

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

Skálda: Skálda. (H. I.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Kb.: Konungs-bók. (B. I, C. I, etc.)

K. Þ. K.: Kristinn-réttr Þorláks ok Ketils = Kristinna-laga-þáttr. (B. I.)

Hðm.: Hamðis-mál. (A. II.)

Vsp.: Völuspá. (A. I.)

Vþm.: Vafþrúðnis-mál. (A. I.)

Íb.: Íslendinga-bók. (D. I.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Al.: Alexanders Saga. (G. I.)

Fs.: Forn-sögur. (D. II.)

Gm.: Grímnis-mál. (A. I.)

Hom.: Homiliu-bók. (F. II.)

Landn.: Landnáma. (D. I.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Mar.: Maríu Saga. (F. III.)

➞ 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.