dag-verðr

and dög-urðr, m., gen. ar, pl. ir, [Dan. davre], ‘day-meal,’ the chief meal of the old Scandinavians, taken in the forenoon at the time of dagmál, opp. to nátturðr or náttverðr (mod. Dan. nadver), supper; corresponding as to time with the mod. Engl. breakfast, as to the nature of the meal with the Engl. dinner. The old Scandinavians used to take a hearty meal before going to their work; cp. Tac. Germ. 22. An early and a hearty meal were synonymous words (vide árlegr); the old Hávamál advises men to go to the meeting ‘washed and with full stomach’ (þveginn ok mettr), but never to mind how bad their dress, shoes, or horse may be; and repeats the advice to take ‘an early meal’ even before visiting a friend, 32, cp. Hbl. 3. Several places in Icel. took their name from the settlers taking their first ‘day-meal,’ e. g. Dögurðar-nes, Dögurðar-á, Landn. 110, 111, cp. also Gísl. 12. The Gr. δειπνον is rendered by dagverðr, Greg. 43. Matth. xxii. 4; but in the Icel. N. T. of 1540 sq. δειπνον is constantly rendered by kveld-máltíð; eta dögurð, Landn. l. c., Nj. 175, Gísl. l. c.; sitja yfir dagverði, Eg. 564, 577, Ísl. ii. 336, Fms. iv. 337, ix. 30; dögurðar borð, a day-meal table, in the phrase, sitja at dögurðar borði, to sit at table, Fms. i. 40, vi. 411, Hkr. i. 153, iii. 157; dögurðar-mál and dögurðarmál-skeið, the day-meal time, time of the day-meal, Fms. viii. 330, v. l.; um morguninn at dagverðar máli, 443, Eg. 564, Edda 24, Hom. 91 (in pl.), O. H. L. 19.

COMPD: dagverðardrykkja.