Icelandic

Verb

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

1. (transitive, governs the accusative) 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. (ditransitive, governs the dative and accusative) to give somebody something

Conjugation

Derived terms

Old Norse

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈgevɑ/

Verb

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

1. to give

Conjugation

Descendants

References

• gefa in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press