increasing, though the use, ancient and modern, is in the main still the same. II. himinn: the contraction in dat. sing. and plur. is to be noted, and the assimilation in the nom.; hereto belong all masc. with inflex. -inn, -unn, -arr, -urr, -ill, -ull: 1. -nn, aptan-n, arin-n, dróttin-n, himin-n, Óðin-n, morgin-n. 2. -arr, hamar-r, kamar-r, humar-r, jaðar-r, nafar-r, etc.: pr. names in -arr (the -ar in these is etymologically different) are not contracted, e.g. Einar-r, dat. Einar-i. 3. -urr, fjötur-r, tötur-r, jöfur-r; but not so in the pr. names, e.g. Gizur-r, dat. Gizur-i. 4. -ll, bagal-l, kaðal-l, vaðal-l, biðil-l, ketil-l (q.v.), lykil-l, jökul-l, röðul-l, stöðul-l, söðul-l, möndul-l, öngul-l, þöngul-l, etc.: even the pr. names are contracted, e.g. Egil-l, dat. Agli; Ketil-l, dat. Katli. III. læknir: hereto belong only a score of common words used in prose writing, bætir, ein-ir, elr-ir, end-ir, eyr-ir, fell-ir, hell-ir, hers-ir, hirð-ir, kæs-ir, kyll-ir, létt-ir, lækn-ir, miss-ir, mæl-ir, mœn-ir, nenn-ir, reyn-ir, skelm-ir, steyp-ir, verm-ir, víð-ir, vís-ir, þerr-ir: pr. names as, Grett-ir, Brest-ir, Bein-ir, Styrm-ir, Sverr-ir, Þór-ir, Æg-ir: local names, Geys-ir, Keil-ir. 2. a great many (more than a hundred) poët. and obsolete words. ☞ In mod. usage the declension of these words is altered and the r is kept throughout, whereby nom. dat. acc. sing. becomes alike, hell-ir, gen. helli-rs, dat. acc. hell-ir, pl. hell-rar, hell-re, hell-rum, or lækn-irar, lækn-ira, lækn-irum:—the words with an inflex. -ari were originally, as shewn by Gothic bôcar-eis, of this declension, but now they are all weak masc., and the sole instances left on record of the old inflexion are the gen. mútar-is by Sighvat, and vartar-is, Landn. 197 (v. l. 18) in a verse of the 10th century.
Remarks on the 2nd Declension: the words belonging hereto are far less in number than those of the 1st, perhaps seven score of simple nouns or thereabout, but they are often irregular, we shall therefore try to give a list of them; their marks, besides the plur. -ir, are the freq. dropping of the dat. sing. -i, the acc. plur. -u, and the characteristic i: I. fundr: skrið-r, stuld-r, sull-r, sult-r, veg-r, frið-r, kvið-r (a womb), feld-r, verð-r, brest-r, gest-r, rétt-r, kost-r, burð-r, skurð-r, þurð-r, fund-r, mund-r, grís-s, ná-r:—inflex. -aðr, -uðr, búnað-r, fögnuð-r, hagnað-r, jöfnuð-r, getnað-r, söknuð-r, dugnað-r, þrifnað-r, skilnað-r, etc.:—stað-r, brag-r, mat-r, sal-r, ham-r, svan-r, val-r, sauð-r, óð-r, snúð-r, þrótt-r, bol-r, dug-r, hug-r, bug-r, grun-r, mun-r, hlut-r, skut-r, vin-r, grip-r, glœp-r, lýð-r,—in these words the dat. -i is dropped, as also in compd nouns in -skap-r, gleðskap-r, fíflskap-r, etc.:—pr. names in -rðr, -ndr, -kon have also -ar in gen., Bárð-r, Þórð-r, Sigurð-r, Þránd-r, Eyvind-r, Geirröð-r, Sigröð-r, Há-kon, etc.:—in pl., pr. names of some people (countries or counties), Danir, Frísir, Valir, Indir, Vindir, Lappir, Grikkir, Tyrkir, Kyrjalir, Kvenir, Serkir, Vanir (the gods): Egðir, Eynir, Háleygir, Mœrir, Synir, Þilir, Þrœndir (in Norway): -dœlir, Lax-dœlir, Vatns-dœlir, etc. ☞ Irregularities; some of the words above have -s in gen. sing. like those of the 1st declension, e.g. hal-r, val-r, ham-r, svan-r, bol-r, dug-r, grun-r, brest-r, gest-r, grís-s, glœp-r, lýð-r, ná-r:—dal-r, hval-r, staf-r, mar-r, hver-r, ref-r, sel-r, mel-r, have now usually -ir in pl. but in olden times they had -ar, and belonged to the 1st declension; they also drop the -i in dat. sing. II. bekkr: with characteristic j, which appears before a vowel in a score and a half of words; beð-r, vef-r, bekk-r, hrekk-r, stekk-r, flekk-r, leyg-r, eyk-r, reyk-r, legg-r, vegg-r, belg-r, elg-r, merg-r, streng-r, þveng-r, hrygg-r, drykk-r, hlykk-r, byl-r, hyl-r, ryf-r, byr-r, hyr-r, styr-r, lœk-r, bœ-r. 2. dreng-r, segg-r, stegg-r, etc. have -s in gen. sing. ☞ Almost all those above (with characteristic j) also drop. the dat. -i in sing. III. köttr: with an old acc. pl. in -u, prob. caused by a characteristic u (cp. the Goth. airus, qviþus, tigus, vabstus, valus), three score words: 1. with a plain root vowel; kvið-r (dictum), kvist-r, kvitt-r, lið-r, lim-r, lit-r, sið-r, smið-r, stig-r, tig-r, við-r, réttr (a fold), bur-r: most of these words drop the -i in dat. (lið, lim. lit. sið, smið, stig). 2. with a change in the root vowel,—ö, a, e, lög-r, mög-r, völ-r, völl-r, vönd-r, vörð-r, mörð-r, svörð-r, böll-r, börk-r, knörr, gröpt-r, örn, flöt-r, hött-r, knött-r, kött-r, vött-r, köst-r, vöxt-r, löst-r, mökk-r, Höð-r, Hörð-r, Snört-r, spöl-r (vide bring-spelir):—jö, ja, i, björn, fjörð-r, hjört-r, kjöl-r, mjöð-r, skjöld-r, Njörð-r (the god):—ó, æ, bóg-r:—o, y, son-r: the acc. pl. -u has been changed into -i, first, in árr, áss, making áru, ásu, which changed to æri, æsi, a change which took place very early, and later in other words, which have now all got a regular acc. in -i (limi, firðo, ketti, hetti, syni, etc.); syni for sonu occurs even in old MSS. ☞ To björn (p. 66) add that when used as a pr. name it has in mod. usage a gen., Björn-s, not Bjarnar (e.g. Sigurðr Björnsson).
Remarks on the 3rd Declension: I. ordinary substantives, 1. gen. -ar, mánað-r, pl. -r, mod. -ir; fót-r, q.v.; vetr, fingr, q.v. 2. gen. -s, mað-r, gen. mann-s, pl. menn (með-r); nagl, gen. nagl-s, pl. negl. II. eigendr: the plur. of participles, when used as subst. as grátend-r, fagnend-r, gefend-r: hereto belong the plur. of bóndi, frændi, fjándi, q.v. III. the plur. of faðir, bróðir may also be reckoned in this declension.
☞ The Icel. is the only of of all Teutonic languages, except Gothic, that has preserved (up to the present day) the masc. inflexive -r (Goth. -s); even in the earliest Anglo-Saxon it is dropped, and the nom. sing. represents the naked root in the masculines as well as in the feminines and neuters.
Feminine.
Remarks on the 1st Declension: I. tíð: almost in every column or page of the Dictionary, and simply marked ‘f.’ II. höfn: about four score words, with a in the root vowel changed into ö, caused by a hidden characteristic u, which appears in dat. sing. of a few of them: 1. fönn, önn, bönn, högld, hrönn, hvönn, spönn, ögn, lögn, sögn, þögn, dröfn, höfn, körf, mörk (sylva), örk, þökk, Hlökk, vömb, þömb, skömm, vömm, klöpp, löpp, ösp, vöst, öxl, mjölt, björg, björk, tjörn, Gjöll (mythol.), löð, tröð, sög, kör, kröm, möl; and in mod. usage, dögg, lögg, öx, kvörn (kvern), q.v. 2. with -u in dat. sing.; rödd, rönd, strönd, önd (anima), jörð, hjörð, höll, þöll, mjöll, mörk (sylva), stöng, töng, röst. 3. -r in nom. pl.; önd (a duck), mörk (marca), hönd (dat. hendi), röng, tönn. 4. the following had in olden times -ar in plur. and thus belonged to the 2nd declension, but changed into -ir at an early date, so that this is the usual form in Editions of Sagas and the sole form in mod. usage,— α. with a single final, röð, döf, gröf, gjöf, nöf, töf, fjöðr, spjör, sök, vök, dvöl, fjöl, kvöl, löm, grön, mön, þön, för, skör, kös, nös, hvöt. β. with double final, vörr, þörd, gjörð, görn. ☞ It is likely that at earlier times many more of these words had the plur. -ar and dat. -u; the -ar remained longest in those with a single final, and the dat. -u in those having dd, nd, ll, ng as final; dat. sak-u (culpae) occurs on Runic stones, and gjaf-u, dval-u, etc. may also be supposed. III. sól: with a characteristic u, which appears sometimes in dat. sing. alone, sometimes in both dat. and acc.: 1. only in dat. in sál, ván, sól, braut, laut, þraut, fold, mold, þjóð, grund, lund, mund, stund, und, ull, hurð, urð, dögg (irreg.), rödd, etc. (above); nótt, night, in plur. næt-r (3rd declension); ey dat. ey-ju, and egg dat. egg-ju belong to the 2nd declension: mæ-r, dat. mey-ju; even röddu (vocem), Pass. 19. 9, but that is a poët. license. 2. fem. pr. names ending in björg, -laug, -rún, -ný, -ey, -leif, Ingi-björg, Guð-björg, Þor-björg, Vil-borg, Ás-laug, Guð-laug, Guð-rún, Sig-ný, As-ný (gen. -nýjar), Þór-ey, Guð-leif, Ingi-leif; in names of foreign origin, Kristín, Katrín, Elín; in all the pr. names the -u fixedly remains (in the appellatives it is often dropped), and this not inly in dat. but as a common case for dat. and acc. 3. feminines with the inflexive -ing, fœð-ing, eld-ing, drottn-ing, kerl-ing, kenn-ing, þekk-ing, virð-ing, send-ing, bygg-ing, uppstign-ing, sæ-ing, etc., so many that it would be in vain to try and record them all; they have -ar in plur. and thus belong to the 2nd declension: in mod. usage many of them have the -u in common for dat. and acc., thus drottning-u = reginae and reginam, kenning-u = doctrinae and doctrinam, fœðing-u = nativitatem and nativitati, but this is very rare in old writers, yet drottningu reginam (acc.), Mr. 232, 304. β. in -ung, djörf-ung, hörm-ung, laun-ung, etc. but only in dat.; they have also -ar in plur.
Remarks on the 2nd Delension: I. nál: 1. the feminines in ing, -ung, vide above. 2. over two score simple nouns, ár, ál, nál, skál, tág, flaug, laugh, rauf, dreif, kleif, veig, geil, seil, hlein, rein, vél, heið, rim, sin, hlíf, smíð, flík, kví, for, brú (q.v.), rún, lend, kvern, öx (the old form), alin:—with radical r, gymbr, lifr, vinstr, vigr:—only in plur., leif-ar, hrœr-ar (poët.): heterogene are, lim-ar, tál-ar, (lim, tál in sing. are neut.): heteroclyte are, lyg-ar, görsim-ar (sing. indecl. weak fem.) 3. add the words röð, döf, etc. above recorded (1st devlension II. 4). II. fit: over a score of words, with characteristic j, which appears before a vowel, hel, skel, ben, eng, egg, dregg, ey, des, fles, il, vin (only in local names, e.g. Björg-vin), fit, klyf, lyf, nyt, dys, nauðsyn, Frigg (the goddess), fiski (q.v.), mæ-r (q.v.), pl. mey-jar:—only in plur., ref-jar, sif-jar, skef-jar, men-jar, skyn-jar, hreð-jar. 2. with characteristic v, ör, gen. sing. nom. plur. ör-var, stöð, böð, dögg, gen. stöð-var, böð-var, dögg-var; only in plur. göt-var (obsolete). ☞ Heterogene are the local names in Norway; in fem. plur., Holt-ar, Hús-ar, Hrís-ar, Torg-ar, Tún-ar, Þorp-ar, Nes-jar (holt, hús, hrís, torg, tún, þorp, nes are all neut. appellatives), Ló-ar, Les-jar, Vág-ar, Vin-jar, Kvild-ar, etc., see Munch’s pref. (p. x) to Norge’s Beskriv. III. heiðr: feminines with an inflex. -r in nom. and characteristic i, which has caused a vowel change in most of them, and which appears in dat. acc. sing.: 1. about a score of appellatives; heið-r, veið-r, Hleið-r, erm-r, helg-r, (a holiday), eyr-r, mer,-r, reyð-r, brúð-r, byrð-r, fyll-r, flœð-r, æð-r (an eider-duck), æð-r (vena) mýr-r, vætt-r, öx (qs. öx-r); ký-r, æ-r, sý-r (q.v.), all three contr. in dat. and plur.; the obsolete þý-r, rýg-r, gýg-r (pl. þý-jar, rýg-jar, gýg-jar):—in mod. usage the -r has changed into -i, in heið-i, veið-i, erm-i, eyr-i, mer-i, byrð-i, fyll-i,
