gefa

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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

Verb

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

  1. to give something
    • 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

Conjugation

gefa — active voice (germynd)
infinitive
(nafnháttur) 		að gefa
supine
(sagnbót) 		gefið
present participle
(lýsingarháttur nútíðar) 		gefandi
indicative
(framsöguháttur) 		subjunctive
(viðtengingarháttur)
present
(nútíð) 		ég gef við gefum present
(nútíð) 		ég gefi við gefum
þú gefur þið gefið þú gefir þið gefið
hann, hún, það gefur þeir, þær, þau gefa hann, hún, það gefi þeir, þær, þau gefi
past
(þátíð) 		ég gaf við gáfum past
(þátíð) 		ég gæfi við gæfum
þú gafst þið gáfuð þú gæfir þið gæfuð
hann, hún, það gaf þeir, þær, þau gáfu hann, hún, það gæfi þeir, þær, þau gæfu
imperative
(boðháttur) 		gef (þú) gefið (þið)
Forms with appended personal pronoun
gefðu gefiði *
* 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 **
** the mediopassive present participle is extremely rare and normally not used; it is never used attributively or predicatively, only for explicatory subclauses
indicative
(framsöguháttur) 		subjunctive
(viðtengingarháttur)
present
(nútíð) 		ég gefst við gefumst present
(nútíð) 		ég gefist við gefumst
þú gefst þið gefist þú gefist þið gefist
hann, hún, það gefst þeir, þær, þau gefast hann, hún, það gefist þeir, þær, þau gefist
past
(þátíð) 		ég gafst við gáfumst past
(þátíð) 		ég gæfist við gæfumst
þú gafst þið gáfust þú gæfist þið gæfust
hann, hún, það gafst þeir, þær, þau gáfust hann, hún, það gæfist þeir, þær, þau gæfust
imperative
(boðháttur) 		gefst (þú) gefist (þið)
Forms with appended personal pronoun
gefstu gefisti *
* 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

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

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 present past
1st-person singular gef gaf
2nd-person singular gefr gaft
3rd-person singular gefr gaf
1st-person plural gefum gáfum
2nd-person plural gefið gáfuð
3rd-person plural gefa gáfu
subjunctive present past
1st-person singular gefa gæfa
2nd-person singular gefir gæfir
3rd-person singular gefi gæfi
1st-person plural gefim gæfim
2nd-person plural gefið gæfið
3rd-person plural 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 present past
1st-person singular gefumk gáfumk
2nd-person singular gefsk gafzk
3rd-person singular gefsk gafsk
1st-person plural gefumsk gáfumsk
2nd-person plural gefizk gáfuzk
3rd-person plural gefask gáfusk
subjunctive present past
1st-person singular gefumk gæfumk
2nd-person singular gefisk gæfisk
3rd-person singular gefisk gæfisk
1st-person plural gefimsk gæfimsk
2nd-person plural gefizk gæfizk
3rd-person plural 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

Further reading

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