gefa

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse gefa, from Proto-Germanic *gebaną, from Proto-Indo-European *gʰab(ʰ)-. Compare Old English giefan (“give”) (whence English give).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈcɛːva/

  Rhymes: -ɛːva

Verb

gefa (strong verb, third-person singular past indicative gaf, third-person plural past indicative gáfu, supine gefið)

1. to give something [with accusative]
   • Á Sprengisandi (“On Sprengisandur”) by Grímur Thomsen

     Ríðum, ríðum, rekum yfir sandinn,

     rökkrið er að síga á Herðubreið,

     álfadrottning er að beizla gandinn,

     ekki er gott að verða á hennar leið;

     vænsta klárinn vildi eg gefa til

     að vera kominn ofan í Kiðagil.

     Ride, ride, ride hard across the sands,

     darkness settles over Herðubreið.

     The Queen of the elves bridles her steed -

     be careful not to cross her path.

     My best horse I'd give

     to be safely back in Kiðagil.

2. to give [with dative ‘someone’ and accusative ‘something’]

Conjugation

gefa – active voice (germynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að gefa
supine sagnbót		gefið
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		gefandi
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	gef	gaf		gefi	gæfi
	þú	gefur	gafst		gefir	gæfir
	hann, hún, það	gefur	gaf		gefi	gæfi
plural	við	gefum	gáfum		gefum	gæfum
	þið	gefið	gáfuð		gefið	gæfuð
	þeir, þær, þau	gefa	gáfu		gefi	gæfu
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	gef (þú), gefðu
plural	þið	gefið (þið), gefiði1

¹ Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

gefast – mediopassive voice (miðmynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að gefast
supine sagnbót		gefist
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		gefandist (rare; see appendix)
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	gefst	gafst		gefist	gæfist
	þú	gefst	gafst		gefist	gæfist
	hann, hún, það	gefst	gafst		gefist	gæfist
plural	við	gefumst	gáfumst		gefumst	gæfumst
	þið	gefist	gáfust		gefist	gæfust
	þeir, þær, þau	gefast	gáfust		gefist	gæfust
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	gefst (þú), gefstu
plural	þið	gefist (þið), gefisti1

¹ Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

gefinn — past participle (lýsingarháttur þátíðar)

strong declension (sterk beyging)	singular (eintala)			plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	gefinn	gefin	gefið	gefnir	gefnar	gefin
accusative (þolfall)	gefinn	gefna	gefið	gefna	gefnar	gefin
dative (þágufall)	gefnum	gefinni	gefnu	gefnum	gefnum	gefnum
genitive (eignarfall)	gefins	gefinnar	gefins	gefinna	gefinna	gefinna
weak declension (veik beyging)	singular (eintala)			plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	gefni	gefna	gefna	gefnu	gefnu	gefnu
accusative (þolfall)	gefna	gefnu	gefna	gefnu	gefnu	gefnu
dative (þágufall)	gefna	gefnu	gefna	gefnu	gefnu	gefnu
genitive (eignarfall)	gefna	gefnu	gefna	gefnu	gefnu	gefnu

Derived terms

• gefa af sér
• gefa eftir
• gefa ekkert eftir
• gefa hjón saman
• gefa inn
• gefa í
• gefa sig
• gefa sig fram
• gefa skepnum
• gefa spil
• gefa til baka
• gefa til kynna, gefa í skyn
• gefa undir fótinn
• gefa upp
• gefa upp á bátinn
• gefa út
• gefa við
• gefandi
• gefast
• gefast upp (“give up, surrender”)
• gemmér
• morgunstund gefur gull í mund

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *gebaną (“to give”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʰab(ʰ)-. Cognate with Old English ġiefan (English give), Old Frisian jeva, Old Saxon gevan, Old Dutch gevan, Old High German geban, Gothic 𐌲𐌹𐌱𐌰𐌽 (giban).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡevɑ/

Verb

gefa (singular past indicative gaf, plural past indicative gáfu, past participle gefinn)

1. (transitive) to give something
2. (ditransitive) to give someone something
3. gefa stað/staðar + dative: stop, cause to cease

Conjugation

Conjugation of gefa — active (strong class 5)

infinitive	gefa
present participle	gefandi
past participle	gefinn
	indicative			subjunctive
	present	past		present	past
1st person singular	gef	gaf		gefa	gæfa
2nd person singular	gefr	gaft		gefir	gæfir
3rd person singular	gefr	gaf		gefi	gæfi
1st person plural	gefum	gáfum		gefim	gæfim
2nd person plural	gefið	gáfuð		gefið	gæfið
3rd person plural	gefa	gáfu		gefi	gæfi
imperative	present
2nd person singular	gef
1st person plural	gefum
2nd person plural	gefið

Conjugation of gefa — mediopassive (strong class 5)

infinitive	gefask
present participle	gefandisk
past participle	gefizk
	indicative			subjunctive
	present	past		present	past
1st person singular	gefumk	gáfumk		gefumk	gæfumk
2nd person singular	gefsk	gafzk		gefisk	gæfisk
3rd person singular	gefsk	gafsk		gefisk	gæfisk
1st person plural	gefumsk	gáfumsk		gefimsk	gæfimsk
2nd person plural	gefizk	gáfuzk		gefizk	gæfizk
3rd person plural	gefask	gáfusk		gefisk	gæfisk
imperative	present
2nd person singular	gefsk
1st person plural	gefumsk
2nd person plural	gefizk

Alternative forms

• ᚴᛅᚠ (kaf) — first/third singular past indicative, Runic form
• ᚴᛅᚠᚢ (kafu) — third plural past indicative, Runic form

Descendants

• Icelandic: gefa
• Faroese: geva
• Norwegian Nynorsk: gjeva, gjeve, gje; (dialectal) giva, gjåvå
• Elfdalian: djävå
• Old Swedish: giva, gæva, giffua, giffwa
  • Swedish: giva
• Danish: give
  • Norwegian Bokmål: gi; (obsolete) give
    • → Norwegian Nynorsk: gi
• Scanian: gi
  • Hallandian: ge
• Gutnish: giva, gi
• → Middle English: given (influenced by native Old English ġiefan)
  • Scots: gie, geve, gewe, gif, gyf, gefe
  • English: give

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “gefa”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive