ber er hver að baki, nema sér bróður eigi
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Icelandic
[edit]Alternative forms
[edit]Etymology
[edit]From Brennu-Njáls saga, a phrase uttered by Kári Sölmundarson. Consists of ber (“bare”) + er (“is”), from vera (“to be”) + hver (“each, everyone”) + að (“concerning, to”) + baki the dative singular form of bak (“back”) + nema (“unless”) + sér, dative form of sig (“oneself, one”) + bróður, the accusative form of bróðir (“brother”) + eigi, form of eiga (“to own”).
Literally meaning that the "back of each man is bare, unless he has a brother to him".
Proverb
[edit]ber er hver að baki, nema sér bróður eigi
- he who doesn't have a companion (brother) in battle is unprotected