EIK

oak

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(gen. eikar and eikr, pl. eikr), f. oak, also a tree in general.

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gen. eikar, pl. eikr, [O. H. G. eik; Germ. eiche; A. S. âc; Engl. oak; North. E. aik; Swed. ek; Dan. eg]:—an oak, Skálda 151.

2. used in Icel. (where are no trees) in the general sense of tree, Lat. arbor; and wherever found it is a sure test of Icel. authorship; brotna eikrnar fyrir því, Fb. i. 133; í skóg við eik eina, Fs. 69; hann reist á honum kviðinn ok leiddi hann um eik, Nj. 275, Fms. xi. 9, 12 (Jómsv. S.), (an ‘oak’ with apples); átu hverjar aðrar því eikrnar með skyndi, Núm. 2. 98; ‘saepius ventis agitatur ingens pinus’ (of Horace) is by Stefan Olafsson rendered, opt vindar ‘eik’ þjá ef að hún er mjög há, Snót 87: but in the oldest proverbs the sense is probably that of oak, e. g. þat hefir eik er af annari skefr, cp. one man’s meat, another man’s poison, Hbl. 22, Grett. 53 new Ed.; or, þá verðr eik at fága sem undir skal búa, Eg. 520;—this last proverb seems to refer to an old custom of building houses under an old oak as a holy tree.