{"id":3959,"date":"2013-09-09T00:26:33","date_gmt":"2013-09-09T00:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/islenzka.net\/?p=3959"},"modified":"2013-09-09T00:27:58","modified_gmt":"2013-09-09T00:27:58","slug":"lucky-numbers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/lucky-numbers\/","title":{"rendered":"Lucky Numbers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"numbers\"<\/p>\n

Saturday was a special day in Iceland – the date formed the string of numbers 7.9.13, which are considered lucky numbers. This article from V\u00edsir draws on material from V\u00edsindavefurinn<\/a>, and looks at the history of some of these numbers, which are considered lucky or unlucky depending on the culture.<\/p>\n

For anyone who might be confused, dates in Iceland and much of the world are in day-month-year format, rather than month-day-year as is common in the U.S. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

\u00cd dag er sj\u00f6, n\u00edu, \u00ferett\u00e1n<\/strong><\/a>
\nToday is 7.9.13<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00cd dag er 7. september sem er kannski neitt s\u00e9rstaklega merkilegt nema fyrir \u00fe\u00e6r sakir a\u00f0 \u00e1ri\u00f0 er 2013. \u00dea\u00f0 gerir dagsetninguna: 7.9.13 sem af m\u00f6rgum eru taldar happat\u00f6lur.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Today is September 7th, which is perhaps nothing especially remarkable except for the fact that the year is 2013. That makes the date: 7.9.13, which among many are considered lucky numbers.<\/em><\/p>\n

The word s\u00f6k<\/strong> has several different uses. It is perhaps more often encountered in its meaning of accusation<\/em> or criminal charge<\/em>, when assigning fault or blame. Here its other meaning is seen, having to do with reasons<\/em> or circumstances<\/em> (sakir \u00feess a\u00f0 …<\/strong> because …<\/em>).<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
s\u00f6k (f) – reason<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/th>\nsingular<\/th>\nplural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
nom<\/th>\ns\u00f6k<\/td>\nsakir<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
acc<\/th>\ns\u00f6k<\/td>\nsakir<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
dat<\/th>\ns\u00f6k<\/td>\ns\u00f6kum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gen<\/th>\nsakar<\/td>\nsaka<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n  <\/td>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
a\u00f0 telja – to think, believe; count<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/th>\npresent<\/th>\npast<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00e9g<\/th>\ntel<\/td>\ntaldi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fe\u00fa<\/th>\ntelur<\/td>\ntaldir<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fea\u00f0<\/th>\ntelur<\/td>\ntaldi<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
vi\u00f0<\/th>\nteljum<\/td>\nt\u00f6ldum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fei\u00f0<\/th>\ntelji\u00f0<\/td>\nt\u00f6ldu\u00f0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00feau<\/th>\ntelja<\/td>\nt\u00f6ldu<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

En hva\u00f0 er svona merkilegt vi\u00f0 \u00feessar t\u00f6lur? Og afhverju telur f\u00f3lk \u00fe\u00e6r upp \u00feegar banka\u00f0 er \u00ed vi\u00f0? \u00c1 V\u00edsindavef H\u00e1sk\u00f3la \u00cdslands segir a\u00f0 tilheyri \u00fej\u00f3\u00f0tr\u00fanni. \u00cd rauninni s\u00e9 talan \u00fer\u00edr einhver mesta happatala sem s\u00f6gur fara af og \u00fev\u00ed \u00e6tti h\u00fan vel heima \u00ed talna\u00feulunni. En t\u00f6lurnar eru \u00ferj\u00e1r og \u00ferisvar sinnum \u00fer\u00edr eru n\u00edu svo a\u00f0 s\u00fa tala \u00feykir enn magna\u00f0ari en talan \u00fer\u00edr eins og s\u00e9r.<\/strong><\/p>\n

But what is so special about these numbers? And why do some people say them when they knock on wood? At the Icelandic Web of Science it is said to be part of folk belief. In fact, the number 3 is considered the luckiest number and thus would well at home in the list of numbers. But there are three numbers, and three times three is nine, so that number is considered more powerful than three by itself.<\/em><\/p>\n

It was kind of funny seeing the phrase hva\u00f0 er svona merkilegt vi\u00f0<\/strong>, since I just heard it in an El\u00edn Ey song last week \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n

I was actually confused for a bit until I figured out banka \u00ed vi\u00f0<\/strong> was knock on wood<\/em>. You also see a\u00f0 banka<\/strong> used for knocking on doors (banka \u00e1 dyr<\/strong>).<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
a\u00f0 banka – to knock, bang<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/th>\npresent<\/th>\npast<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00e9g<\/th>\nbanka<\/td>\nbanka\u00f0i<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fe\u00fa<\/th>\nbankar<\/td>\nbanka\u00f0ir<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fea\u00f0<\/th>\nbankar<\/td>\nbanka\u00f0i<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
vi\u00f0<\/th>\nb\u00f6nkum<\/td>\nb\u00f6nku\u00f0um<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00fei\u00f0<\/th>\nbanki\u00f0<\/td>\nb\u00f6nku\u00f0u\u00f0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00feau<\/th>\nbanka<\/td>\nb\u00f6nku\u00f0u<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n  <\/td>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
vi\u00f0ur (m) – wood<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/th>\nsingular<\/th>\nplural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
nom<\/th>\nvi\u00f0ur<\/td>\nvi\u00f0ir<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
acc<\/th>\nvi\u00f0<\/td>\nvi\u00f0i<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
dat<\/th>\nvi\u00f0<\/td>\nvi\u00f0um<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gen<\/th>\nvi\u00f0ar<\/td>\nvi\u00f0a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

Talan sj\u00f6 hefur einnig lengi veri\u00f0 talin s\u00e9rst\u00f6k heillatala. H\u00fan er samansett \u00far t\u00f6lunni \u00fer\u00edr annars vegar, sem er tala heilagrar \u00ferenningar, t\u00e1kni himinsins og t\u00f6lunni fj\u00f3rum, s\u00fa tala myndar ferninginn sem er t\u00e1kn jar\u00f0arinnar. Saman mynda \u00fe\u00e6r t\u00f6lu alheimsins, himins og jar\u00f0ar, t\u00f6luna sj\u00f6.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The number 7 has also long been considered a special number. It is composed of the number 3 on the one hand, which is the number of the holy trinity, symbol of the heavens, and of the number 4, which forms the square, symbol of the earth. Together they form the number of the universe, of heaven and earth, the number 7.<\/em><\/p>\n

The article uses happatala<\/strong> to mean lucky number<\/em>, but here I think is another word for it, heillatala<\/strong>. I believe it comes from heill<\/strong> (luck, happiness<\/em>).<\/p>\n

When I was looking at samansett<\/strong> I kept thinking there was a corresponding verb, but then I realized that while the adjective (or past participle) form comes from the verb, when the verb uses a preposition it often gets prepended to the adjective form. So a\u00f0 setja saman<\/strong> means to put together, assemble<\/em>, but the adjective to describe such a thing becomes samansettur<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Talan n\u00edu er almennt \u00e1litin heilltala og kemur v\u00ed\u00f0 vi\u00f0 \u00ed s\u00f6gu \u00ed \u00fej\u00f3\u00f0tr\u00fa. Einnig er veigamiki\u00f0 atri\u00f0i a\u00f0 me\u00f0g\u00f6ngut\u00edmi barna er n\u00edu m\u00e1nu\u00f0ir. Auk \u00feess hefur talan n\u00edu st\u00e6r\u00f0fr\u00e6\u00f0ilega s\u00e9rst\u00f6\u00f0u, \u00fea\u00f0 er sama me\u00f0 hva\u00f0a t\u00f6lu h\u00fan er margf\u00f6ldu\u00f0, \u00feversumma \u00fatkomunnar e\u00f0a \u00feversumman af \u00feversummunni, ver\u00f0ur alltaf n\u00edu.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The number 9 is commonly regarded as a lucky number and found often in folk stories. It is also a significant point that the gestation period for a child is nine months. In addition the number 9 has a special mathematical status in that whatever number it is multiplied by, the sum of the resulting digits, or the sum of that sum is always nine.<\/em><\/p>\n

The adjective veiga\u00b7mikill<\/strong> (and its opposite veiga\u00b7l\u00edtill<\/strong>) come from veigur<\/strong>, which has a meaning similar to strength<\/em> or power<\/em>. So it is emphasizing (or deemphasizing) the amount of whatever you are talking about, here atri\u00f0i<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The words sta\u00f0a<\/strong> and sta\u00f0ur<\/strong> look similar, don’t confuse them:<\/p>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
sta\u00f0a (f) situation, position<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/th>\nsingular<\/th>\nplural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
nom<\/th>\nsta\u00f0a<\/td>\nst\u00f6\u00f0ur<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
acc<\/th>\nst\u00f6\u00f0u<\/td>\nst\u00f6\u00f0ur<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
dat<\/th>\nst\u00f6\u00f0u<\/td>\nst\u00f6\u00f0um<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gen<\/th>\nst\u00f6\u00f0u<\/td>\nsta\u00f0na<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n  <\/td>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
sta\u00f0ur (m) – place<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
<\/th>\nsingular<\/th>\nplural<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
nom<\/th>\nsta\u00f0ur<\/td>\nsta\u00f0ir<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
acc<\/th>\nsta\u00f0<\/td>\nsta\u00f0i<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
dat<\/th>\nsta\u00f0<\/td>\nst\u00f6\u00f0um<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
gen<\/th>\nsta\u00f0ar<\/td>\nsta\u00f0a<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

T\u00f6luna \u00ferett\u00e1n \u00feekkja flestir sem \u00f3heillat\u00f6lu. S\u00fa tr\u00fa a\u00f0 \u00feessi tala s\u00e9 s\u00e9rst\u00f6k, anna\u00f0 hvort h\u00e6ttuleg e\u00f0a heil\u00f6g, er talin mj\u00f6g g\u00f6mul. Hugsanlega m\u00e1 rekja \u00f3tr\u00fana \u00e1 t\u00f6luna \u00ferett\u00e1n allt aftur til S\u00famera. \u00deeir b\u00e6ttu vi\u00f0 \u00ferett\u00e1nda m\u00e1nu\u00f0inum sj\u00f6tta hvert \u00e1r. Talan var s\u00e9rst\u00f6k aukatala til a\u00f0 lei\u00f0r\u00e9tta \u00fe\u00e1 skekkju sem var\u00f0 \u00feegar gengi\u00f0 var \u00fat fr\u00e1 grunneiningum \u00ed sextugakerfinu.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most know the number 13 as being unlucky. The belief that this number is special, either dangerous or sacred, is thought to be very old. One could conceivably trace the distrust of the number thirteen all the way back to Sumeria. They added a 13th month every seven years. The number was a special increment to correct the deviation that occurred from using a base sixty system.<\/em><\/p>\n

\r\ns\u00f6k f                 reason\r\nvi\u00f0ur m               wood, lumber\r\nheill f               luck, happiness, success\r\nheilagur adj          holy, sacred\r\nferningur m           square\r\nveiga\u00b7mikill adj      weighty, important, significant\r\natri\u00f0i n              point, item\r\nme\u00f0g\u00f6ngu\u00b7t\u00edmi m       gestation period\r\ns\u00e9rsta\u00f0a f            special status, unique position\r\n\u00fever\u00b7summa f          sum of digits that make up a number\r\n\u00fat\u00b7koma f             result, outcome; sum\r\n\u00f3\u00b7tr\u00fa f               distrust\r\nskekkja f             deviation; mistake, error\r\ngrunnur m             foundation, base\r\neining f              unit\r\n<\/pre>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Saturday was a special day in Iceland – the date formed the string of numbers 7.9.13, which are considered lucky…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[11,12],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3959"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3959"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3959\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3977,"href":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3959\/revisions\/3977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/islenzka.net\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}