FÓRN

ancient

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a.

1) old (f. vinátta, f. mjóðr);

2) ancient; fornir menn, the men of old; f. siðr, the old (heathen) custom, religion; f. átrúnaðr, the old creed, heathenism; f. í skapi, inclined to old, or heathen, ways; hann var f. mjök, he was a great wizard; at fornu, til, forna, formerly, in times fast.

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(fórur, f. pl., Ver. 6), f. offering, [prob. a word of Lat. and eccl. origin, derived from Lat. offerre; after the introduction of Christianity the old heathen word blót (q. v.) became odious, as denoting heathen sacrifice, and is consequently never used in connection with Christian worship; its place being taken by the word fórn]:—a sacrifice in the Jewish sense, and in the Christian sense an offering to God; but it is scarcely ever used in a heathen sense—the passage Fær. 103 is quite peculiar: the phrase, færa fórn, to bring an offering, Stj. passim; Gúð mun sér sjá fórn til handa, 131, passim; brenni-fórn, a burnt offering; dreypi-fórn, a drink offering; synda-fórn, a sin offering, Bible, Vídal. passim: fórnar-blöð, n, the sacrificial blood, Stj. 305, 318; fórnar-brauð, n. and fórnar-hleifr, m. the shew-bread, Stj. 474, 565 (panis propositionis, Vulg.); fórnar-kvikindi, n. a victim, Stj. 430; fórnar-skrín, n. a shrine in which the wafer is kept, Vm. 55; fórnar-söngr, m. the offertory in the Roman Catholic service, 625. 190.

2. metaph. chiefly in pl. offerings, presents; in this sense it occurs in Am. 5 (a poem not too old for such a word), Fms. ix. 416; ríkar ok fagrar fórnir, Str. 34; fórnar-lauss, adj. not bringing an offering, Al. 172: sing., aldri ætla ek óþarfari fórn færða Sveini konungi, en þetta it vánda höfuð, Mork. 87.