þarfa

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *þarbōną. Related to þǫrf (“need, necessity”) and þurfa (“to need”).

Verb

þarfa

1. (impersonal) to cause to need [with dative ‘someone’ and accusative ‘something’] (idiomatically translated as "need" with the dative object as the subject)

   fekk svá mikinn fjárhlut sem honum þótti sér þarfa

   he received as much money as he thought he needed

Conjugation

Conjugation of þarfa — impersonal, active (weak class 2)

infinitive	þarfa
past participle	þarfaðr
indicative	present	past
3rd-person singular	þarfar	þarfaði
subjunctive	present	past
3rd-person singular	þarfi	þarfaði

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “þarfa”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 508; also available at the [https://archive.org/stream/concisedictionar001857

1. page/508 Internet Archive]