abbast

• abbazt (obsolete)

From Old Norse abbast, of unknown origin. De Vries (1977) and Magnússon (1989) propose the following theories:^[1]

• 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);^[2][3]
• Related to Old Norse afr/aðr (“strong”, adjective),^{[note 1]} which Vennemann gen. Nierfeld (2012) and Cohen (1975) argue derives from Proto-Germanic *abr-, borrowed from Hebrew אַבִּיר (“strong”, adjective);^[4][5] if so, from Hebrew אֵבָר (“to be strong”, verb) and related to Akkadian 𒀀𒁀𒊒 (abāru, “strength”);^[6][7]
• 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”).^{[8][note 2]}
• Related to Icelandic afsi m (“fury; unruly person/animal”, noun), Icelandic afsa- (“very”, prefix), both of unknown origin;^[9]
• 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.^[10][11]

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afsaligr, afsast, ebbi, efla, efna, efni, and œfa ultimately derive from Proto-Germanic *op-, but his work has since been retracted.^[12][13]

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

Sense 1.1 and sense 1.2 have never been attested without upp á (first attested c. 1150),^[14] við (first attested c. 1280),^[15] út í (first attested c. 1960), or í or til (both first attested c. 2000).

• IPA^(key): /ˈapːast/
• Hyphenation: abb‧ast
• Rhymes: -apːast

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

1. to harass:
   2. to mess with, diss, put down, belittle (to insult via the use of insulting or dismissive language or behaviour) [with í (+ dative) or til (+ genitive) or (almost always) upp á/uppá (+ accusative) or út í (+ accusative) or við (+ accusative)] [attested since c. 1150^[14]]

      Ekki abbast upp á mig. ― Don't mess with me.

      Synonyms: blanda sér í, dissa, hneyksla, hrakyrða, misbjóða, misvirða, móðga, smána, stuða, styggja, vanvirða

      Antonyms: hrósa, hæla, lofa, lofsyngja, prísa, skjalla, upphefja

      • For citations of abbast upp á and abbast út í, see their corrosponding pages; otherwise:
      • infinitive:
        • 1932, Isaac Emmanuilovich Babel, “Brjefið”, in Lögrjetta [Court of Legislature]‎^[10], number 27, page 276:

          Og ef einhver nágranninn reynir eitthvað að abbast við þjer — þá hefur Simbi Timofeitch rjett til þess að taka í hnakkadrambið á honum.

          And if any of the neighbours tries to mess with you — then Simbi Timofeitch has the right to grab him by the back of the neck.

        • 2020 March 11, Fannar Freyr Gíslason, “Ætlar að einbeita sér að þjálfun [Plans to Focus on Coaching]”, in Feykir‎^[11]:

          Það voru nú ekki margir að abbast í mér en man að Gísli Sveins pissaði á okkur nýliðana, sem herti okkur heldur betur upp.

          There weren't many people winding me up, but I remember Gísli Sveins pissing on us new lads, which really toughened us up.

        • 2022 November 26, Jóhann Þór Hólmgrímsson, “Queiroz brjálaður yfir gagnrýni Klinsmann - Hvetur hann til að segja af sér”, in Fótbolti.net‎^[12]:

          „Þetta er engin tilviljun. Þetta er hluti af þeirra kúltúr og hvernig þeir spila, þeir espa dómarann upp fullkomlega. Bekkurinn var alltaf að stökkva upp og abbast í aðstoðardómaranum og fjórða dómaranum. Alltaf í andlitinu á þér.“

          “This is no coincidence. It's part of their culture and how they play; they completely wind the referee up. The bench was always jumping up and heckling the assistant referee and the fourth official. Always in your face.”

      • (Can we add an example for this sense?) supine:
      • (Can we add an example for this sense?) first-person singular present indicative:
      • (Can we add an example for this sense?) second-person singular present indicative:
      • (Can we add an example for this sense?) third-person singular present indicative:
      • third-person plural present indicative:
        • 1872 February 20, “Bragð af fornum fræðum [A Taste of Ancient Learning]”, in Norðanfari [Northern Traveller]‎^[13], number 11, Akureyri, page 10:

          En niðurstaðan, sem jeg komst að, verður sú: að þegar Finnar eða Slafar eiga í höggi við arískar þjóðir, þegar steinn og járn rekast saman, þegar tröll abbast við mennska, þegar Útgarða-Loki leikur á Ása-Þórr, þegar Kvillanus-Blesi þreytir og við Ørvar-Odd, eða þegar Loki og Heimdallur berjast að Singasteini, þá er það Benedikt sem er að glettast við Gröndal, eða Benedikt Gröndal, sem er að glíma við skuggann sinn.

          But the conclusion I reached is this: that when Finns or Slavs are at odds with Aryan nations, when stone and iron clash, when trolls provoke humans, when Útgarða-Loki outwits Thor of the Aesir, when Kvillanus-Blesi contends with Ørvar-Oddur, or when Loki and Heimdallur fight at Singasteinn—then it is Benedikt who is teasing Gröndal, or Benedikt Gröndal who is wrestling with his own shadow.

      • (Can we add an example for this sense?) singular imparative:
   4. to pester, bother, annoy, irritate, have a go at (to unconsensually interact in a way which provokes impatience, anger, or displeasure) [with í (+ dative) or til (+ genitive) or upp á/uppá (+ accusative) or út í (+ accusative) or við (+ accusative)] [attested since c. 1270^[15]]

      Synonyms: áreita, kvabba, mjálma, nauða, nudda, plaga, rella, rexa, suða, tuða

      • For citations of abbast upp á and abbast út í, see their corrosponding pages; otherwise:
      • infinitive:
        • 2003, andri44, “Gústi Ljón fyrsta saga [Gústi the Lion: The First Story]”, in Hugi.is‎^[14]:

          Krimminn fell í jörðina og lá argandi á jörðinni, Gústi sagði honum að hann ætti ekki að abbast við lítil börn eða Gústa Ljón.

          The little one fell to the ground and lay there, raging. Gusti told him he shouldn't mess with little children or with Gusti the Lion.

        • 2003 October 10, ICM, “Windows Media 9 Series”, in vaktin.is‎^[15]:

          Lifið í friði og hættið að abbast í linux/windows mönnum nema þið viljið heyra fólk segja ykkur hvað þið eigið að horfa á í sjónvarpi.

          Live in peace and stop messing with the Linux/Windows people unless you want to hear people telling you what to watch on TV.

        • 2010 September 17, Paweł Bartoszek, “… og hugsa smátt [… And Think Smally]”, in Deiglan [The Crucible]‎^[16]:

          Hið útþvælda bankahrun hefur ómeðvitað kennt landsmönnum þá röngu lexíu að þeir ættu nú ekkert að abbast mikið til útlanda með hugmyndir sínar.

          The clichéd banking collapse has unconsciously taught the nation the wrong lesson: that they shouldn't really be pestering foreign countries with their ideas anymore.

      • (Can we add an example for this sense?) supine:
      • (Can we add an example for this sense?) first-person singular present indicative:
      • (Can we add an example for this sense?) second-person singular present indicative:
      • third-person singular present indicative:
        • 2005 November 26, Jónas Kristjánsson, “Abbast upp á fólk [Pestering people]”, in Jónas.is‎^[17]:

          REYKJAVÍKURLISTINN abbast í andarslitrunum í auknum mæli upp á borgarana.

          REYKJAVÍKURLISTINN is increasingly annoying the citizens in its dying breaths.

      • (Can we add an example for this sense?) third-person plural present indicative:
      • (Can we add an example for this sense?) singular imparative:
3. (intransitive, dated) to be angry, quarrel [(optionally) with við]

   Synonym: illskast

   • (Can we add an example for this sense?) infinitive:
   • (Can we add an example for this sense?) supine:
   • (Can we add an example for this sense?) first-person singular present indicative:
   • (Can we add an example for this sense?) 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]‎^[18], 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.

   • (Can we add an example for this sense?) singular imparative:

• “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)‎^[19], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN