- NENNA
- (-ta, -t), v. to be minded or inclined, be willing, feel disposed, with dat. or infin. (hann nennti eigi starfi því ok áhyggju); mun ek eigi nenna öðru en fara í móti þeim, I can no longer forbear going against them; Hrafn nennti eigi at starfa, H. did not care to work, was lazy; with subj., ek nenni eigi, at, I cannot bear that (nenni ek eigi, at þat sé mælt, at); nenna e-m, to attend on one, to grant one’s love to one.* * *t, [Ulf. nanþjan = τολμαν; A. S. nêþan; O. H. G. nendian, whence the Germ. pr. name Ferdi-nand = the doughty, striving]:—to strive, with dat. or infin., but only used in peculiar phrases; nenna e-u or n. at göra e-t, to have a heart, mind for a thing; hann nennti eigi starfi því ok áhyggju, Bs. i. 450; sem synir mínir nenni eigi (cannot bear) þessari kyrrsetu lengr, Ld. 262; mun ek eigi n. öðru (I cannot longer forbear to) en fara í móti þeim, Fb. ii. 41; hann kvaðsk eigi lengr nenna at þola háð ok spott, Ísl. ii. 269; ek nennta at vísu at neyta vápna, 366; þeir nenntu eigi at verja sik, Orkn. 78; ólíkr er Gísli at þolinmæði, þvíat þessu mundu engir nenna at ljá nú gripina, þannig sem hann er áðr beiddr, Gísl. 112; eigi nenni ek (I have no mind) at hafa þat saman at veita Högna enda drepa bróður hans, Nj. 145; slíkar eptir-görðir sem hverr nennti (was minded) framast at göra eptir sinn vin eða náung, Fms. viii. 103; ef nokkorir eru þeir er nenna (who wish) at hverfa aptr til bæjarins, 320; nú nenni ek eigi at vér farim svá halloki, Fær. 228; eigi nenni ek því (I cannot forbear) at marka hann eigi, Fms. ii. 61; Gyrgir nennti eigi (could not bear) brott at fara við lítið fé eðr ekki, 152; Hrafn nennti eigi at starfa, H. would not work, was lazy, vi. 102; whence the mod. eg nenni því ekki, I will not, I am too lazy to do it; þú nennir öngu, thou art good for nothing! hann er svo latr … hann nennir ekki neitt að gera, Grönd.II. spec. usage, to travel, only in poets; nenna víða, to travel wide, Hallfred; nenna e-m á þingi, to go to meet one, join one, Skm.; glaðir nennum vér sunnan, glad we journey from the south, Edda (in a verse); nenna norðr, to journey northwards; nenna þinnig, to fare thither, Lex. Poët.
An Icelandic-English dictionary. Richard Cleasby and Gudbrand Vigfusson. 1874.