þegja þunnu hljóði

Icelandic

Etymology

From þegja (“to be quiet, to be silent, to say nothing”) + þunnu (“with thin”) the tækisþágufall (“dative of instrument”) of þunnur (“thin”) + hljóði (“archaic meaning; with hearing”) the tækisþágufall (“dative of instrument”) of hljóð (“archaic meaning; hearing”). Literally meaning "to be silent with a thin hearing" meaning "to be silent with an ear so thin that one can listen well".

The proverb is a reference to (quotation of) the seventh verse of the Hávamál, one of the books of the Poetic Edda.[1]

the 7th verse of the Hávamál
  • Hávamál verse 7 in updated (Icelandic) spelling[2][1]
    Inn vari gestur,
    er til verðar kemur,
    þunnu hljóði þegir,
    eyrum hlýðir,
    en augum skoðar;
    svo nýsist fróðra hver fyrir.
  • English[2]
    Let the wary stranger who seeks refreshment
    keep silent with sharpened hearing;
    with his ears let him listen, and look with his eyes;
    thus each wise man spies out the way.
  • English[2]
    A guest should be courteous
    When he comes to the table
    And sit in wary silence,
    His ears attentive, his eyes alert:
    So he protects himself.
  • English[3]
    The knowing guest
    who goes to the feast,
    In silent attention sits;
    With his ears he hears,
    with his eyes he watches,
    Thus wary are wise men all.

Verb

þegja þunnu hljóði

  1. to hold one’s tongue, to say nothing even though one is divided or not happy about something; to be silent even though one is unreconciled, but be still unreconciled; to keep a watchful silence; to listen in breathless stillness (confer the English open one’s big mouth and bend the truth)

See also

References
  1. Icelandic Web of Science: Hvað þýðir að þegja þunnu hljóði og hvaðan er þetta orðatiltæki komið? (“What does þegja þunnu hljóði mean and whence does it originate?”)
  2. Hávamál
  3. HOVAMOL- The Ballad of the High One an English translation of Hávamál

Further reading
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