Vilja

Old Norse Dictionary - vilja

Meaning of Old Norse word "vilja" in English.

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

vilja Old Norse word can mean:

vilja: :—the FORMS of this verb,

vilja: α. the 1st pers. pres. indic, was originally dissyllabic, like the pres. subj., both in Goth. and Icel.; the only form used in the Saga-times (10th century) being prob. vilja; vilja’k hljóð, Eyvind (Edda i. 248; the v. l. ‘vilra’ and ‘vilka’ shew that the scribes did not know the old form); eiga vilja heldr, Alm. 7 (but ek vil in the following verse); segðú mér þat ek vilja vita, Skm. 3; vilja ek sofna, Vkv. 31; né ek þik vilja níta, 37; ek vilja’k, Hým. 9; vilja ek þat líta, Am, 58: in prose, enn þó vilja ek heldr einn staf ríta, Skálda (Thorodd): in law formulas, at ek vilja skilja við félaga minn, = Gr. ὄτι βούλομαι; þat villag, FmS. vi. 205, v. l.: the monosyll. form is later, vil’k eigi ek, I will not, Gkv. 2. 27; accordingly the ‘ek vil’ in Alm. 8 should be restored to ‘allt þatz ek vilja’k vita,’ as is required by the preceding verse; so also in Vsp. 1 the true reading may be ‘vilja ek’ valfoður (see foot-note 5 in Bugge, l. c.)

vilja: β. 2nd pers. pres. is monosyll. vill and vilt; þú vill, Vþm. 11, Hbl. 55, Gkv. 2. 8, 33; vill þú, LS. 28: the older vellums have vill, the later vilt, ef þú vilt, Hm. 130, Ísl. ii. 214 (thrice), Nj. 41, 77, and so in mod. usage (ek vil, þú vilt, hann vili).

vilja: γ. 3rd pers. vill, Skv. 1. 4, Hm. 63.

vilja: δ. pret. vilda; part. viljat; pret. infin. vildu, Nj. 259, Ld. 216, Mork. 168.

vilja: ε. forms with suffix; with pers. pron., 2nd pers. vil-du [Chaucer willow], wilt thou, Post. 134, 135, 231; but in mod. usage, viltu, and so Fb. i. 222, l. 36: with neg. suff., vilka ek, Am. 13; vilkat ek, I will not, Skv. i. 26; þú vill-at, thou willest not, Hm. 114; vildigak, I would not, Gkv. 2. 40; er ek vildigak, Helr. 13 (all the references to Bugge’s edition). [Ulf. wiljan = θέλειν, βούλεσθαι; A. S. willan; Engl. will; Dan. ville; Swed. vilja; Lat. velle; Gr. βούλεσθαι.]

vilja: B. USAGES.—To will, wish:

vilja: I. with infin., sá maðr hefir viljat villa leitina fyrir oss, FmS. i. 72; Guðrún kvaðsk vildu (pret. infin.) vita hvat þeir vildu at hafask, Ld. 216; hverjum vilt þú heldr gipta dóttur þína … ef þú vilt eigi … hverju þú vilt svara, Ísl. ii. 214; spurði ef hann vildi ríða, Gunnlaugr kvaðsk þat vilja, … hví býðr þú mýr eigi þat er ek vil þiggja, 212, 213; Austmaðr kvezk vildu (said he would) fyrir hafa land, Nj. 259; hann létzk eigi þat vildu, Mork. 168; nú vil ek spyrja yðr, Nj. 35; hví vildo ljúga, Clem. 134; enda vildu trúa þá mundu miskunn fá, 135; hér vil ek bjóða fyrir góð boð, Nj. 77; sumir vilja skilja, 673. 51; Þorgeirr játaði því sem Kári vildi beitt hafa, Nj. 257.

vilja: β. denoting futurity; maðr er andask vill, a person about to die, Hom. 155 (in a Norse vellum); in mod. Danish this usage has prevailed, but is hardly known in the old language, for in Icel. vilja always implies a notion of volition; hvárn þú vill (vilt, v. l.) hafa valit, Post. (Unger) 20.

vilja: 2. with subj., þat vilda ek bróðir, at þú, Nj. 2; vildir þú at ek stæða upp, … þá vildi (= vilda) ek, FmS. vi. 205; viltu at ek fara til eyjanna, Fb. i. 222.

vilja: 3. with acc., vita skyldir þú hvat þú vildir, Ísl. ii. 214; eigi vil ek þessa, 215; þú vilt eigi þessa kosti, Nj. 77; hvat vilt þú hánum, what do you want him for? 41; hvað viltú mér? vilja hverjum manni gott, to will (wish) good to everybody, FmS. i. 21.

vilja: 4. ellipt. an infin. being left out or understood; vildi Aðalráðr hann ekki þar, A. wished him not [to be] there, FmS. xi. 419; ek vilda ekki vistir hans hér í landi, Eg. 523; hón vildi hann feigan, wished him dead, Nj. 269; ok skýra þat hvat hverr þeirra vill lög um þat mál, what he thinks to be the law, Grág. (Kb.) i. 214; ek vil á fund Ólvis, I wish to go, Nj. 41; ef hann vildi upp ór gröfinni, Eg. 234; hvárt sem heldr vildi (viz. göra), Nj. 251; vildi alþýðan hann til konungs, FmS. ix. 8; út vilja vegar þínir til Íslands, Fb. i. 222.

vilja: 5. impers., var siglt inn eptir firðinum svá sem vera vildi, as it would be, at random, FmS. ix. 22; sjaldan fór svá þá er vel vildi, seldom went it thus when the luck was fair, x. 408, Ld. 290 (of a bad omen); svá kann ok stundum at verða ef eigi vill vel, when matters go wrong, SkS. 323.

vilja: 6. vilja e-m, to favour one; þat er ván at þér mundi sæmðin vilja, Karl. 230.

vilja: 7. with prepp., vilja til, to happen; ef þat á til at vilja, FaS. i. 11.

vilja: II. reflex., viljask e-t, to with for, Fr.

vilja: 2. to bear good will to one;(þeir) viljask eigi við oss, they bear no good will towards us, FaS. ii. 337 (but rare).

vilja: 3. part. viljandi, willing; göra e-t viljandi, GrEg. 41, and passim.

vilja: 4. past pret. neut. vilt, q. v.

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

Abbreviations used:

Goth.: Gothic.

Gr.: Greek.

Icel.: Iceland, Icelander, Icelanders, Icelandic.

l.: line.

l. c.: loco citato.

m.: masculine.

pers.: person.

pres.: present.

prob.: probably.

subj.: subjunctive.

v.: vide.

v. l.: varia lectio.

mod.: modern.

infin.: infinitive.

n.: neuter.

part.: participle.

pret.: preterite.

A. S.: Anglo-Saxon.

Dan.: Danish.

Engl.: English.

f.: feminine.

gl.: glossary.

Lat.: Latin.

neg.: negative.

pron.: pronoun.

S.: Saga.

uff.: suffix.

Swed.: Swedish.

Ulf.: Ulfilas.

acc.: accusative.

ellipt.: elliptical, elliptically.

viz.: namely.

impers.: impersonal.

Fr.: French in etymologies.

reflex.: retlexive.

neut.: neuter.

q. v.: quod vide.

Works & Authors cited:

Alm.: Alvís-mál. (A. I.)

Edda: Edda. (C. I.)

Fms.: Fornmanna Sögur. (E. I.)

Gkv.: Guðrúnar-kviða. (A. II.)

Hým.: Hýmis-kviða. (A. I.)

Skálda: Skálda. (H. I.)

Skm.: Skírnis-mál. (A. I.)

Vkv.: Völundar-kviða. (A. II.)

Vsp.: Völuspá. (A. I.)

Hbl.: Harbarðs-ljóð. (A. I.)

Hm.: Hává-mál. (A. I.)

Ls.: Loka-senna. (A. I.)

Nj.: Njála. (D. II.)

Vþm.: Vafþrúðnis-mál. (A. I.)

Skv.: Sigurðar-kviða. (A. II.)

Ld.: Laxdæla Saga. (D. II.)

Mork.: Morkinskinna. (E. I.)

Am.: Atla-mál. (A. II.)

Fb.: Flateyjar-bók (E. I.)

Helr.: Helreið Brynhildar. (A. II.)

Post.: Postula Sögur. (F. III.)

Clem.: Clements Saga. (F. III.)

Hom.: Homiliu-bók. (F. II.)

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

Grág.: Grágás. (B. I.)

Kb.: Konungs-bók. (B. I, C. I, etc.)

Sks.: Konungs Skugg-sjá. (H. II.)

Karl.: Karla-magnús Saga. (G. I.)

Fas.: Fornaldar Sögur. (C. II.)

Fr.: Fritzner’s Dictionary, 1867.

Greg.: Gregory. (F. II.)

➞ See all works cited in the dictionary

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