greiða

From Old Norse greiða (“to arrange; fit out; comb”), from Proto-Germanic *garaidijaną.

greiða (third person singular past indicative greiddi, third person plural past indicative greiddu, supine greitt)

1. to straighten out, to order, to arrange, to unknot
2. to comb
3. to answer, to resolve
4. to prepare
5. to commit, to deliver, to give over
6. greiða frá: to tell, to report, to recount, to explain

   Hann dugir væl at greiða frá.

   He can explain things well.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkreiːða/

  Rhymes: -eiːða

Nominalization of the verbal sense in Etymology 2.

greiða f (genitive singular greiðu, nominative plural greiður)

1. comb

   Synonym: kambur

From Old Norse greiða (“to arrange; fit out; comb”), from Proto-Germanic *garaidijaną.

greiða (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative greiddi, supine greitt)

1. to comb

   Synonym: kemba

   Þú ættir að greiða hárið á þér. Það er orðið svo úfið.

   You should comb your hair. It’s become really ruffled.

2. to pay, to discharge (a debt)

   Synonym: borga

   Ég greiddi 1206 krónur fyrir matinn.

   I paid 1206 krónur for the food.

• endurgreiða
• greiðsla

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989) “greiða”, in Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)

From Proto-Germanic *garaidijaną (“to arrange, set in order”).

greiða (singular past indicative greiddi, plural past indicative greiddu, past participle greiddr)

1. to unravel, disentangle, arrange
2. (with hár) to comb or dress the hair
3. to make or get ready

   Greiða til vað ― To get ready a fishing line

   Greiða til um vápn ― To get the weapons ready

4. to speed, to further
   1. (reflexive) to be successful, get on

      Greiddist honum vel ― He got on well (literally, “It sped well with him”)

5. to pay
   1. (with fram) to pay out
6. to discharge, perform
   1. (with skírsl) to perform the ordeal
   2. (with vörður) to keep watch
   3. (with róðr) to pull at the oars
   4. (with atróðr, atlaga) to attack (in a sea-fight)
   5. (with mál) to settle a case

• Icelandic: greiða
• Faroese: greiða
• Norwegian: (dialectal) greia, greide
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: greia, greida
  • Norwegian Bokmål: greie
  • → Danish: greje
  • → Swedish: greja
• Swedish: gre, greda
• Danish: grede
  • Norwegian Bokmål: gre
• → Middle English: graithen, greithen
  • English: graith
  • Scots: graith
• → Old French: greer, greier
  • French: gréer

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