BÆTA
sagnorð
tt, [bót; Ulf. bôtjan = ωφελειν; Hel. bôtian; A. S. bêtan; O. H. G. bôzau; Germ. büssen]:—to better, improve, amend, also t o restore, repair, Nj. 163, Gþl. 411; b. aptr, to restore, Grág. ii. 336; b. upp, to restore, atone for, Fms. ix. 43; b. at e-u, to repair, 367; bæta ráð sitt, to better one’s condition, to marry, Nj. 2: theol. to better one’s life: Guð bætti honum af þessi sótt, God restored him to health, Fms. ix. 391; with gen. of the sickness, O. H. L. 84.
β. to mend, put a patch on a garment.
2. reflex., e-m bætisk, one gets better, is restored to health; at föður hans bættisk helstríð, Landn. 146: absol., bættisk honum þegar, he got better at once, Bs. i. 318, 319, 325: with gen., bættisk Búa augna-verkjarins, Ísl. ii. 428 (rare); cp. heilsu-bót, recovery of health.
II. a law term, to pay weregild, the person slain in acc., the money in dat.; Hrafnkell bætti engan mann fé, i. e. H. paid no weregild whomsoever he slew, Hrafn. 4; ek vil engan mann fé b., 9; Styrr vá mörg víg, en bætti engin (viz. víg), S. slew many men, but paid for none, Eb. 54; bæta þá menn alla er þar létusk eðr fyrir sárum urðu, 98; b. sakir (acc.) fé (dat.), Grág. ii. 169: the allit. law term, b. baugum, to pay weregild, 174: the amount of money in acc. to pay out, bæt heldr fé þat er þú ert sakaðr við hann, Fms. iii. 22; ok á hann eigi þat at b., he has not to pay that, Grág. ii. 168; b. öfandar bót, Gþl. 358: part. bættr, Eb. 98, 246.
2. metaph. to redress, adjust; b. við e-n, or b. yfir við e-n, to give one redress, make good a wrong inflicted; hefir þú yfir bætt við mik um þetta bráðræði, Fms. ii. 25, xi. 434: also used in a religious sense, skaltu b. við Guð, er þú hefir svá mjök gengit af trú þinni, ii. 213 (yfír-bót, repentance); b. sál, or b. fyrir sál sinni, to do for the health of the soul, iv. 63, Fb. i. 345 Bs. i. 642 (in a verse); b. um e-t, to make a thing better (um-bot, bettering, improvement), Orkn. 442: reflex., ekki bætisk um, matters grow worse, Fms. ii. 53; b. við, to add to (við-bót, addition), Húv. 45.
3. part. pass, used as adj. in compar.; ok er eigi at bættra, þótt …, things are no better, though …, Fms. vii. 36; þykir mér Ólafr ekki at bættari, þótt…, i. e. it is no redress for Olave’s death, though …, Fas. ii. 410; er mér ekki sour minn at bættari þótt Bolli sé drepinn, my son’s death is none the more atoned for though B. is slain, Ld. 226.
4. part. act. as noun; bætandi, pl. -endr, a law term, one who has to pay weregild, Grág. ii. 174, etc.