biðja

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse biðja, from Proto-Germanic *bidjaną. Cognate with German bitten, Icelandic biðja, Danish bede, Swedish bedja, English bede, bead.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpiːja/

  Rhymes: -iːja

Verb

biðja (third person singular past indicative bað, third person plural past indicative bóðu, supine biðið)

1. to ask, to request, to beg
2. to wish (e.g. góðan dag - good day)
3. to pray to God (Gud)

   biðja Faðir vár ― say the Lord's prayer

Conjugation

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse biðja, from Proto-Germanic *bidjaną. Cognate with German bitten, Faroese biðja, Danish bede, Swedish bedja, English bid.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈpɪðja/

  Rhymes: -ɪðja

Verb

biðja (strong verb, third-person singular past indicative bað, third-person plural past indicative báðu, supine beðið)

1. (transitive, intransitive, governs the accusative, optionally ditransitive with genitive) to ask, request some action of someone

   Ég bað þig nú bara um greiða.

   I just asked you a favor.

2. (intransitive) to pray

   Ég bið til Guðs.

   I pray to God.

Conjugation

Synonyms

• (ask): beiðast

Derived terms

Old Norse

Alternative forms

Runic

• ᛒᛁᚦᛁᛅ (biþia) — infinitive
• ᛒᛅᚦ (baþ) — first/third singular past indicative

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *bidjaną (“to ask for, request”). Cognate with Old English biddan, Old Frisian bidda, Old Saxon biddian, Old High German bitten, Gothic 𐌱𐌹𐌳𐌾𐌰𐌽 (bidjan). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *gʷʰedʰ- (“to request, pray, ask for”).

Pronunciation

• (12th century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /ˈbiðjɑ/

Verb

biðja (singular past indicative bað, plural past indicative báðu, past participle beðinn)

1. to ask, beg, request
   • Vǫluspá, verse 1, lines 1-2, in 1860, T. Möbius, Edda Sæmundar hins fróða: mit einem Anhang zum Theil bisher ungedruckter Gedichte. Leipzig, page 1:

     Hljóðs bið ek allar / helgar kindir,

     For silence I ask / all holy kindreds

2. to pray
   • Saga Ólafs konúngs Tryggvasonar 279, in 1827, S. Egilsson, Þ. Guðmundsson, Fornmanna sögur, Volume III. Copenhagen, page 48:

     hann vakti laungum um nóttum ok bað til guðs góðgjarnliga fur vinum.

     many times he rose in the night and prayed to the merciful God for friends.

Conjugation

Derived terms

• beðinn (“asked, requested”)
• biðja konu (“to ask in marriage”)
• biðjask fyrir (“to say one's prayers”)
• biðjask undan (“to excuse oneself”)

Descendants

• Icelandic: biðja
• Faroese: biðja
• Norwegian Nynorsk: bidja, beda, be
• Old Swedish: biþia, bedhia
  • Swedish: bedja, be
• Danish: bede
  • Norwegian Bokmål: bede, be

References

• biðja in An Icelandic-English Dictionary, R. Cleasby and G. Vigfússon, Clarendon Press, 1874, at Internet Archive.
• biðja in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.