abbast

Icelandic

Barnið abbast á veröndinni.

Alternative forms

• abbazt (obsolete)

Etymology

From Old Norse abbast, of unknown origin. De Vries (1977) and Magnússon (1989) propose the following theories:

• Related to Old Norse apr (“evil; concerned”, adjective; whence Icelandic apur (“hard; cold, bitter”, adjective)), from Proto-Germanic *ampraz (“sour”, adjective), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eh₃mós (“raw; sour”, adjective);
• Related to Old Norse afr/aðr (“strong”, adjective), which Vennemann gen. Nierfeld (2012) and Cohen (1975) argue derives from Proto-Germanic *abr-, borrowed from Hebrew אַבִּיר (“strong”, adjective); if so, from Hebrew אֵבָר (“to be strong”, verb) and related to Akkadian 𒀀𒁀𒊒 (abāru, “strength”);
• Related to Old Norse afl m (“physical strength; force; majority; virtue”, noun) (whence Icelandic afl (“might; energy; force”, noun)), from Proto-Germanic *aflą n (“strength”, noun), from Proto-Indo-European *h₃ep- (“to work; ability”).
• Related to Icelandic afsi m (“fury; unruly person/animal”, noun), Icelandic afsa- (“very”, prefix), both of unknown origin;
• Related to Old Norse æfr (“fierce”, adjective; whence Icelandic æfur (“fierce”, adjective)), from Proto-Germanic *aibraz (“harsh”, adjective), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eybʰros (“harsh”); possibly inlfuenced by Proto-Germanic *abraz (“fierce”, adjective), from Pre-Germanic *h₃(e)prós, equivalent to the lost strong verb *afaną +‎ *-raz.

Jóhannesson (1932, 1965) claims that abbast, all previously mentioned theorised related terms excluding apr, and afrnagandi, afryrði, afsaligr, afsast, ebbi, efla, efna, efni, and œfa ultimately derive from Proto-Germanic *op-, but his work has since been retracted.

Equivalent to *abba + -st. It is unclear whether there was ever use in the active voice (i.e. standalone *abba).

Not attested on its own (i.e. outside of abbast í, abbast til, abbast upp á, abbast út í, abbast við) until 1896.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈap(ː)ast]
• Hyphenation: abb‧ast
• Rhymes: -apːast

Verb

abbast (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative abbaðist, supine abbast)

1. (intransitive, dated) to be angry, quarrel [(optionally) with við] [attested since 1896]

   Synonym: illskast

   • (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) infinitive:
   • (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) supine:
   • (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) first-person singular present indicative:
   • (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) second-person singular present indicative:
   • third-person singular present indicative:
     • 1896, George Gordon Byron, “Mazeppa”, in Steingrímur Thorsteinsson, transl., Tímarit hins íslenzka bókmenntafjelags [The Magazine of the Icelandic Literary Society]‎^[8], number 17, Reykjavík, pages 218–219:

       Ei blindhríð rokið bráðar fær,
       Er blónda tyrmir húsum nær,
       Svo hvergi þröskuld hittir sinn,
       Þar hann kemst aldrei framar inn,
       Í sjónum ær, — enn fjörvi fyltur
       Um firna skógar þreyttist slóð
       Óþreyttur jórinn, taumlaus, tryltur,
       Sem eptirlætis abbast jóð
       Er eitt sinn verður móti látið,
       Eða sem skapstórt ærist fljóð,
       Er ekki lengur þoldi mátið.

       No blinding blizzard or sudden gale,
       Nor the swirling snow-mist choking the houses,
       Could stop him; though he never finds his threshold again,
       Nor ever again steps through his door.
       Mad in his senses—yet filled with life,
       Through the vast forest’s path he toiled,
       That tireless steed, reinless and wild,
       Like a spoiled, fretting child
       Who is defied for the very first time,
       Or like a high-spirited woman driven to fury
       Who could no longer endure restraint.

   • third-person plural present indicative:
     • 2002 December 7, Henrik Thorlacius, “Baðstofuhjal [Kitchen Chat]”, in Tíminn [The Time], number 36, Reykjavík, page 279:

       Þetta skilja Danir vel á sínu máli og hvorki abbast við, hártoga né misskilja.

       Danes understand this well in their own language and neither fuss, nitpick, nor misunderstand.

   • (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:) singular imparative:

Conjugation

abbast – mediopassive voice (miðmynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að abbast
supine sagnbót		abbast
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		abbandist (rare; see appendix)
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	abbast	abbaðist		abbist	abbaðist
	þú	abbast	abbaðist		abbist	abbaðist
	hann, hún, það	abbast	abbaðist		abbist	abbaðist
plural	við	öbbumst	öbbuðumst		öbbumst	öbbuðumst
	þið	abbist	öbbuðust		abbist	öbbuðust
	þeir, þær, þau	abbast	öbbuðust		abbist	öbbuðust
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	abbast (þú), abbastu
plural	þið	abbist (þið), abbisti1

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

Derived terms

• abbast í
• abbast til
• abbast upp á, abbast uppá
• abbast út í
• abbast við

Sources

• “abbast” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)
• abbast in Hólmarsson et al.: Íslensk-ensk orðabók. 1989.
• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), “abbast”, in Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kroonen, Guus (2013), Etymological Dictionary of Proto-Germanic (Leiden Indo-European Etymological Dictionary Series; 11)‎^[9], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN