HÆLL

heel

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I)

(-s, -ar), m. heel;

hlaupa (fara, ganga) á hæla e-m, to follow at one’s heels;

hurð felir (lýkst) á hæla e-m, the door shuts (closes) upon one’s heels;

fara aptr á hæli, to return immediately;

hopa (fara) á hæl fyrir e-m, to retreat, recede before one.

II)

(-s, -ar), m.

1) peg, pin;

2) handle in a scythe-shaft (orf-hæll).

III)

m. a widow whose husband has been slain in battle.

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m. [Engl. heel, cp. Lat. calx: this is a Scandin. word, for the A. S. term is hóh, the Goth. fairzna,, the Germ. fersen]:—the heel, Bs. i. 423, Hým. 34, N. G. L. i. 339, Stj. 37, passim.

2. in phrases, hlaupa á hæla e-m, to follow at one’s heels, Nj. 202; falla á hæla e-m, to shut upon one’s heels, of a door; fara, ganga á hæla e-m, Edda 2, Fms. v. 316, viii. 36; fara aptr á hæli, to return immediately, like the Gr. κατα ποδας, Gísl. 272; mod. um hæl, adverb., in return, e. g. skrifa um hæl aptr, to write by return of post; hopa, fara (undan) á hæli, or á hæl, to recede, draw back, Eg. 296, 506, Fms. vii. 70, 298, viii. 134, x. 139, xi. 95, Bret. 46, Nj. 258, Karl. 375; milli hæls ok hnakka, between heel and neck: brjótask um á hæl ok hnakka, to struggle heel and neck, of one restless in sleep:—proverb. phrases, hann stígr aldrei þangat tánum sem hinn hafði hælana, he will never reach with his toes where the other had his heels, i. e. he is far inferior to his predecessor; það er undir hælinn lagt, it is laid under one’s heel, i. e. ‘tis very uncertain.

II. metaph., kjalar-hæll, ‘keel’s heel,’ the hindmost part of the keel; stýris-hæll, ‘rudder’s heel,’ the hindmost point of the rudder.

COMPDS: hælbein, hælbítr, hældrepa, hældrepa, hælkrókr, hælsíðr, hælstaðr.

B. A peg fastened in the earth, either for mooring a vessel (festar-h.) or by which a tent-rope is fastened (tjald-h.); jarðfastr hæll, Stj. 417, Korm. 86, Fms. vi. 334, Hkr. iii. 365, Blas, 48: the handle in a scythe shaft (orf-hæll), Fb. i. 522; hurðar-hælar, door pegs, N. G. L. i. 397, v. l.: belonging to a ship, Edda (Gl.)

C. Prob. a different word, a widow whose husband has been slain in battle, Edda 108, cp. the pun in Eg. 763 (in a verse).