ván

Merkingar

(vón, von), f., old nom. v́n with umlaut, Skálda (Thorodd); old dat. vánu, with compar., see below; ónu, Ls. 36; tungan er málinu vn en at tönnunum er bitsins v́n, Thorodd: vón, spónum make a rhyme, Gísl.; ón, Am. 67, Hom. 60: dat. ónu, Ls. 36: [Ulf. wêns = ἐλπίς; A. S. wên, cp. Engl. ween; Germ. wahn; the Dan. haab, Swed. hopp are mod. and borrowed from the Germ.]:—a hope, expectation; er mikil ván, at …, Fms. xi. 13; mér er ván, at …, I expect, apprehend, that …, Eg. 353; sem hann hafði áðr sagt á ván um, given to understand, Fms. xi. 87; eiga ván til e-s, 623. 17; allar þjóðir munu hafa ón mikla (a high hope) til namns hans, Hom. 60; slíks var ván, Nj. 5; engi ván er til þess, Eg. 157: sem ván var at, as was to be expected. Glúm. 337; vita sér engis ótta vánir, to apprehend no danger, Fms. xi. 46, Orkn. 414, Eg. 74; konungs var þangat ván, the king was expected, Fms. x. 323; þar var ván féfangs mikils, Eg. 265; ván er borin, past hope, Ld. 258; ván er þrotin, Eg. 719; ván rekin, id., Ld. 216; e-t stendr til vánar, bids fair, Eg. 173; e-t er at vánum, it is what could be expected, Nj. 255; but, eptir vonum, as good as could be expected, very good indeed; eiga e-t í vuniim, to have a thing expected; eiga barn í vánum, Grág.

1. 2.

   spec. usages; ef hann görir aðrar vánir yfir land annars manns, Gþl. 449; þá er allar vánir vóru rannsakaðar, all places where it could be expected to be found, Fms. v. 216; cp. leita af sér vonina, to seek until one is satisfied it cannot be found.

2. 3.

   dat. vánu, with compar.; vánu bráðara, sooner than expected, i. e. quickly, at once, Fms. ix. 408, xi. 112; vánu skjótara, x. 408; ónu verr, worse than might be expected, quite bad, bad indeed, Ls. 36; yrkja kann ek vánu verr, Mkv.; vánu betr, well indeed; vita e-t vánu nær, to know quite, Sks. 183 B.

3. II.

   eccl. hope, N. T., Pass., Vídal. passim.

4. III.

   in a few instances, esp. in a few compds (vánar-völr, see below), ván seems to denote despair, cp. also the name of the myth. river Ván, despair, agony: Ván and Víl were the rivers produced by the slaver from the mouth of the fettered wolf Fenrir, who is hence called Vánar-gandr, the monster of the water W., Edda.