gefa í botn
step on the gas (UK) accelerate
Sverrir Hólmarsson; Sanders, Christopher; Tucker, John / Íslensk-ensk orðabók (1989)
II. DEFINITIONS
The primary spelling and usage of the definitions represent standard North American English. Spelling and usage variants in British English are also given, preceded by the marker (UK). These variants are to be regarded purely as the preferred British form, and it is not necessarily implied that they cannot be used in American English. /(UK) introduces a British variant within a phrase.
erfið/a v (-aði)
work hard, toil, labor (UK) labourþað er orðið ~it has gotten light/(UK) got light
There is a deliberate bias toward everyday speech in the English renderings; thus contracted forms such as ‘couldn't' (rather than ‘could not') are frequently found.
4. Types of definition
4.1 The basic form
The basic form of definition is used for an Icelandic word for which a single meaning is registered and for which one or more English equivalents are provided. [p. 27]
háðung f (-ar)
shame, disgrace, ignominy
4.2 Collocations / illustrative phrases
The English equivalents of the Icelandic headword may be supplemented by collocations or illustrative phrases. They are printed in bold type and followed by a translation. Collocations (‘fixed phrases') often demonstrate idiomatic usage;
illustrative phrases, on the other hand, demonstrate how an Icelandic word is used in one or more of its senses, and the translation shows how the phrase in which it appears can be conveniently rendered into English:fanta·brögð n pl
dirty tricksbeita ~umhit below the belt
fern adj
four (of a type)~ar buxurfour pairs of pants/(UK) trousers
4.2.1
Especially in the representation of phrases there is a tendency in this as in any dictionary of Icelandic to use masculine grammatical forms as illustrative material. This is done to avoid introducing variations to the headwords which, where applicable, in accordance with tradition are given in the masculine form. Grammatical gender is arbitrary (its roots are too deeply embedded in the history of language for us to be able to see any logic in it) and it has no sexist connotations.
hugsa um e-ncare for sby, care to sby's needs
4.2.2
Use of the tilde (~). In the Icelandic phrases incorporated in the definitions the sign ~ (single tilde) and ~~ (double tilde) are used as abbreviations for all or part of the headword.
~ is used to represent the whole of a headword that is not broken up by slash.
iðinn adj
diligent, industrious~ við kolann (= iðinn við kolann)perseveringí·grip n pl
gera e-ð í ~um (= gera e-ð í ígripum)do sth on the side
~ is also used to represent the part of the headword that precedes the slash. [p. 28]
ímugust/ur m
hafa ~ á e-m (= hafa ímugust á e-m)dislike sby
~~ is used where the headword is broken up by a vertical slash but both parts (the whole of the divided headword) are to be inserted in the example.
kynn/ast v refl (-tist, -st)
~~ e-mget acquainted with sby, get to know sby
4.3 Collocations on their own
When use of a headword outside a particular collocation or phrase is not registered in this dictionary, only the collocation itself (introduced by a colon) and its translation are given.
þrándur m
vera e-m ~ í götube an obstacle to sby
4.4 Complex entries for words with multiple meanings
4.4.1
Many of the Icelandic headwords in the dictionary have more than one meaning. Where this is the case the different senses are numbered separately, and as a rule the numbered definitions are distinguished from each other for the Icelandic user by means of a semantic indicator written in Icelandic and italicized in parenthesis.
ná·kvæmur adj
1. (áreiðanlegur) exact, precise2. (gaumgæfilegur) thorough, thoroughgoing3. (vandlegur) careful
4.4.2
A phrase may also be placed in an individually numbered section.
reynd f (-ar, -ir)
1. (reynsla) experience2. (veruleiki) reality3.í ~in practice
4.4.3
Where the headword is registered in many phrases, they are grouped [p. 29] together in a separate numbered section marked phrases. Within this numbered section, the instances are arranged in roughly alphabetical order, usually according to the prepositions or adverbs incorporated in the phrases.
kast/a v (dat) (-aði)
1. (varpa) throw, fling, hurl2. (ala afkvæmi) foal3. phrases~~ eign sinni á e-ðclaim sth as one's own~~ kveðju á e-ngreet sby briefly~~ rýrð á e-ðbelittle sth~~ af sér vatnimake water, take a leak~~ afturreflect~~ e-u framthrow out a remark~~ fram vísumake up a quatrain on the spot~~ mæðinnitake a breather~~ uppvomit, throw up
4.5 Entries for complex verbs
4.5.1
Numbered divisions in verb entries may be introduced by grammatical markers, such as impers for impersonal, refl for reflexive, pp for past participle, prp for present participle, where meanings or groups of usages are associated with these grammatical forms.
dett/a v (datt, duttu, dottið)
1. (hrapa) fall, drop2. (missa fótanna) fall, stumble and fall3. impersmér ~ur e-ð í hugsth occurs to meþað datt yfir migI was amazed…
Reflexive or middle-voice usages of verbs are often presented in this manner.
leita…
2. refl~~st viðtry
4.5.2
Where a verb changes its meaning in accordance with which grammatical case it governs, the entry is divided accordingly.
ausa v (dat/acc) (eys ; jós, jusu, ausið)
A. (dat) (taka með ausu) scoop, ladle~ skömmum yfir e-npour abuse on sbyB. (acc)1. (~ bát) bail2.~ barn vatnibaptize a child…
4.5.3
The introduction of the division into parts A. and B. may give rise to further grammatical divisions in a manner similar to that described in 4.5.1 above (in the following example C. impers and D. refl).
hen/da v (dat/acc) (-ti, -t)
A. (dat)1. (kasta) throw2. (fleygja) throw away, discardB. (acc)1. (grípa) catch~~ e-ð á lofticatch sth in midair2. phrases~~ reiður á e-ugrasp (the significance of) sth~~ gaman að e-mmake fun of sbyC. impersþað ~ti migit happened to meD. refl dash, rush
4.6 Entries for prepositions
Prepositions in Icelandic usually also function as adverbs. The entries for these words are divided up in a manner similar to that described above for verbs. Thus the structure for the entry for the preposition í is as follows:
í prep /adv
A. prep (acc)1., etc.B. prep (dat)1., etc.C. adv
5. Restrictive markers
It is the deliberate policy of this dictionary to keep the number of markers and labellings concerning usage to a minimum. English speakers will come to the dictionary with questions occasioned by encountering a given word in a particular context. We expect that this context will supply the information necessary to determine the word's specific application and stylistic level.
5.1 Usage
Some explanation, often concerning sphere of usage, is occasionally given in brackets after the English equivalent.
reit/ur …
3. (~~ á taflborði) square (in chess, etc)
5.2 Figurative meanings
Figurative meanings (as opposed to literal) are not usually given a separate marker. A clearly differentiated figurative usage will sometimes be apparent either by the introduction of a new numbered section with its corresponding Icelandic semantic indicator and translation:
or by the inclusion of a phrase demonstrating the figurative sense:yfir·bragð n (-s)
1. (útlit) appearance2. (yfirskin) pretext, excuse
tugg/a f (-u, -ur)
chewed mouthfulgömul ~~cliché
5.3 Colloquialisms
5.3.1
Colloquial words and phrases in Icelandic are rendered as far as possible by English equivalents which are equally colloquial. No special marking is given.
Top of Page