ETJA

(et, atta, attr), v.

1) to incite, egg (goad) on to fight, with dat.; etja hestum, to make horses fight; with acc., etja e-n til þolinmœði, to exhort one to patience;

2) etja hamingju, afli, við e-n, to match one’s luck, strength, with anolher’s; etja kappi við e-n, to contend in rivalry, vie with one; etja ráðum, hvárt …, to consider, if …; etja saman manndrápum, to incite two parties to manslaughter;

3) etja við e-t, to contend against; etja við aflsmun (liðsmun), to fight against odds;

4) to put forth; hann etr fram skallanum, he exposes his bare skull (to the blows);

5) to cause to be eaten; etja heyvi, heyjum, to feed cattle upon hay;

6) refl., etjast við e-n, to contend with one; ef menn etjast vitnum á, if men contend (plead) with witnesses.

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atti; pres. et; part. att; but etjað, Andr. 625. 73; [it means probably ‘to make bite,’ a causal of eta]:—to make fight, with dat., esp. etja hestum, of horse fights, a favourite sport of the ancients; for a graphic description of this fight see Bs. i. 633. Arons S. ch. 18, Glúm. ch. 18, Rd. ch. 12, Nj. ch. 58, 59, Vígl. ch. 7, N. G. L. ii. 126; vide hesta-þing, hesta-at, víg-hestr, etc.

2. gener. to goad on to fight; atta ek jöfrum en aldri sætta’k, Hbl. 24.

β. etja hamingju við e-n, to match one’s luck with another, Fms. iv. 147; e. kappi við e-n, to match one’s force against one, Ld. 64, Eg. 82; e. vandræðum við e-n, 458; e. saman manndrápum, to incite two parties to manslaughter, Anecd. 14: in a good sense, to exhort, ok etjað þá þolinmæði, Andr. l. c. (rare).

γ. ellipt., etja við e-t, to contend against; e. við aflamun, to fight against odds, Al. 110; e. við liðsmun, id., Fms. i. 42, ix. 39, Fs. 122; e. við ofrefli, id., Fms. iii. 9; e. við reiði e-s, Fb. i. 240.

3. to stretch forth, put forth; hann etr fram berum skallanum, he put forth his bare skull to meet the blows, Fms. xi. 132; (Icel. now use ota, að, in this sense.)

II. reflex., lét eigi sama at etjask við kennimenn gamla, said it was unseemly to hoot old clergymen, Sturl. i. 104; er ofstopi etsk í gegn ofstopa, if violence is put against violence, 655 xxi. 3.

2. recipr. to contend mutually; ef menn etjask vitnum á, if men contend (plead) with witnesses, N. G. L. i. 247; ok ef þeir vilja andvitnum á etjask, Gþl. 298.

III. the phrase, ettja heyvi (spelt with tt), to fodder (cattle) upon hay, Grág. ii. 278, 340; ettja andvirki, to fodder upon a hayrick, Gþl. 357.