New Words From Old Roots
Tölvan mín er biluð. (My computer is broken.) tölva was made in the 1960s from tala (number) and völva (prophetess).
How It Works
An old word with a new job.
- sími (telephone) was an old word for thread or cord, like the telephone wire.
- þyrla (helicopter) comes from the verb þyrla (to whirl).
- þota (jet) comes from þjóta (to rush).
Old roots joined in a new way.
- tölva (computer): tala (number) + völva (prophetess), coined in 1965 by Sigurður Nordal.
- sjónvarp (television): sjón (sight) + varp (a throw), like útvarp (radio).
- rafmagn (electricity): raf (amber) + magn (power).
- tölvupóstur (email): tölva + póstur (mail), a compound.
Loanwords. Some foreign words are used as well, but they are fitted into Icelandic spelling and endings: bíll (car), djass (jazz), pítsa (pizza), banani (banana). Experts collect new terms, and many are listed in the term bank of the Árni Magnússon Institute.
They decline like any noun. tölva goes like saga (tölvu, tölvur), sími like tími (síma, símann), and sjónvarp is a strong neuter noun (í sjónvarpinu).
Examples (6)
- Tölvan mín er biluð.
My computer is broken.
Word by Word: The-computer my is broken.
- Hvað er í sjónvarpinu í kvöld?
What's on TV tonight?
Word by Word: What is in the-television in evening?
- Þyrlan lenti við sjúkrahúsið.
The helicopter landed by the hospital.
Word by Word: The-helicopter landed by the-hospital.
- Ég sendi þér tölvupóst í gær.
I sent you an email yesterday.
Word by Word: I sent you computer-mail in yesterday.
- Síminn hringdi um miðja nótt.
The phone rang in the middle of the night.
Word by Word: The-phone rang about middle night.
- Bíllinn minn er í viðgerð.
My car is being repaired.
Word by Word: The-car my is in repair.
bíll is a loanword, but it declines like an Icelandic noun: bíll, bíl, bíl, bíls.
Common Mistakes
Giving tölva the wrong plural.
Ég á tvær tölvar.Ég á tvær tölvur.tölva is a weak feminine noun like saga, so the plural ends in -ur: tölvur.
Forgetting the case after í.
Hvað er í sjónvarpið í kvöld?Hvað er í sjónvarpinu í kvöld?New words take cases like any noun. í for where something is takes the dative: í sjónvarpinu.
How It Connects
Learn This First
New words build on compounds.
Related Patterns
- Feminine Nouns in -a
tölva and þyrla decline like saga.
Level 2 - Masculine Nouns in -i
sími declines like tími.
Level 2 - Particle Verbs and Their Nouns
Another way to build nouns from words that already exist: útgáfa, upptaka.
Level 5 - Formal and Everyday Registers
Careful writing prefers the native word even when a loanword is heard in speech.
Level 5
Words in This Pattern
Practice New Words From Old Roots in Bubblegum
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