veifa

Forms

veifa^[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Proto-Germanic *waibijaną (“to wind around; to swing”),^[1] a causative verb also continued in Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌹𐌱𐌾𐌰𐌽 (biwaibjan, “to wrap around, surround”), Old English wǣfan (“to wrap, clothe”) and Old High German ziweiben (“to scatter”).^[2][3][4] Wiktionary derives the Germanic verb from Proto-Indo-European *woypéyeti, the causative of Proto-Indo-European *weyp- (“to shake, swing”).^[1] Orel compares Lithuanian vaipýtis (“to grimace, wince”) and the Sanskrit causative “to make tremble”; Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon and Hellquist compare the Sanskrit verb “to tremble”.^[2][3][5]

Hellquist sets it in ablaut with the verb seen in the phrase ⟨koma vífandi⟩, and Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon refers to víf (“woman”) and vifta under the same root.^[5][3] Torp explains that noun as “the wrapped one”, which he gives only as a possibility.^[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Menota first dates the verb in Holm perg 4 fol, of 1275–1300, with the present ueivir.^[7] Njáls saga in AM 132 fol (1320–1350) has veifði,^[8] and Fritzner quotes from that saga tók hann upp slœðurnar ok veifði “he took up the cloak and waved it”.^[9] In Hymiskviða the giant veifði rœði “pulled at the oar”, and Þórr veifði Mjǫllni morðgjǫrnum fram “swung the murderous Mjǫllnir forward”.^[4][10]

Semantic evolution

The verb takes its object in the dative: one waves a sword, a whip, a cloth, the head or the wings.^[11][12] In sorcery a woman waves a hood or a cloth to raise a storm or a landslide.^[9] Sticks were waved sunwise from skin boats.^[9][12] Figuratively, Egilsson reads veifa as “to spread abroad” words or poems,^[13] and Hægstad and Torp give the same use, “to recite”.^[14] The reflexive veifask um lausum hala “to wag a loose tail” meant to do as one pleases.^[10]

The verb lives on as Icelandic veifa “to wave”, and the noun veifa came to mean a signal flag on the Icelandic coast.^[15][11] Swedish veva keeps the older sense “to wrap, wind”.^[5]

Timeline

• 1275–1300 – the present ueivir in Holm perg 4 fol.^[7]
• 1320–1350 – veifði in Njáls saga, AM 132 fol.^[8]

Meanings

Verb

1. to wave, swing or brandish something (with the dative).^[10][12][16]
2. veifa rœði: to pull at an oar.^[10][4]
3. (poetic) to spread abroad, recite (words, a verse).^[13][14]
4. veifask um lausum hala: to do as one pleases, literally to wag a loose tail.^[10][11]

Word family

• veif

Descendants

• Icelandic veifa^[1]
• Norwegian Nynorsk veiva^[3]
• Swedish veva^[1]

References

1. ^ a b c d e Wiktionary, the free dictionary, https://en.wiktionary.org
2. ^ a b Orel, Vladimir (2003), A Handbook of Germanic Etymology, Leiden / Boston: Brill, p. 440
3. ^ a b c d Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Orðabók Háskólans, ordsifjabok.arnastofnun.is, p. s.v. veifa
4. ^ a b c Gering, Hugo (1903), Vollständiges Wörterbuch zu den Liedern der Edda, Halle: Waisenhaus, p. col. 1088
5. ^ a b c Hellquist, Elof (1922), Svensk etymologisk ordbok, Lund, p. s.v. veva
6. ^ Torp, Alf (1909), Wortschatz der germanischen Spracheinheit (Fick, Vergleichendes Wörterbuch der indogermanischen Sprachen, 4th ed., vol. 3), Göttingen, p. 412
7. ^ a b Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. Holm perg 4 fol
8. ^ a b Menota: Medieval Nordic Text Archive, menota.org (texts by shelfmark; CC BY-SA 4.0), p. AM 132 fol
9. ^ a b c Fritzner, Johan (1886–1896), Ordbog over det gamle norske Sprog, 2nd ed., Kristiania, p. s.v. veifa
10. ^ a b c d e Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. s.v. veifa
11. ^ a b c Cleasby, Richard; Vigfússon, Guðbrandur (1874), An Icelandic-English Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press, p. 690
12. ^ a b c Faulkes, Anthony (2011), A New Introduction to Old Norse III: Glossary and Index of Names, 4th ed., London: Viking Society for Northern Research, p. s.v. veifa
13. ^ a b Sveinbjörn Egilsson (1860), Lexicon poeticum antiquæ linguæ septentrionalis, Hafniæ: Societas regia antiquariorum septentrionalium, p. 860
14. ^ a b Hægstad, Marius; Torp, Alf (1909), Gamalnorsk ordbok med nynorsk tyding, Kristiania: Det norske samlaget, p. 521
15. ^ Sigfús Blöndal (1920–1924), Islandsk-dansk ordbog, Reykjavík, p. 921
16. ^ Baetke, Walter (1965–1968), Wörterbuch zur altnordischen Prosaliteratur, Berlin (digital ed. Greifswald 2006), p. 709