bíða

From Old Norse bíða, from Proto-Germanic *bīdaną, from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ-.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpʊija/

  Rhymes: -ʊija

bíða (third person singular past indicative bíðaði, third person plural past indicative bíðað, supine bíðað)

1. to wait

From Old Norse bíða, from Proto-Germanic *bīdaną.

• IPA^(key): /ˈpiːða/

  Rhymes: -iːða

bíða (strong verb, third-person singular past indicative beið, third-person plural past indicative biðu, supine beðið)

1. wait
   1. (intransitive) to wait [with eftir (+ dative) ‘for whom’]

      Bíddu eftir mér! ― Wait for me!

      Bíddu! ― Wait!

   2. (formal, less common) to wait for, await [with genitive ‘for whom’]

      Bíddu mín. ― Wait for me.

2. (intransitive) to wait, pile up, be on the docket

   Verkefnin bíða í hrönnum.

   The tasks are piling up.

3. (transitive) to await, wait for; to be on someone's to-do list [with genitive ‘for what/whom’]

   Stjórnarinnar bíða mörg verkefnin.

   The government has many tasks to get to.

   Mörg verkefni bíða úrlausnar.

   Many projects await a resolution.

4. [with accusative or genitive, along with fyrir (+ dative) ‘against whom’ (optional)]
   1. receive

      Synonyms: hljóta, fá, öðlast

      bíða e-s aldrei bætur ― never be the same after smth

   2. to abide, undergo, suffer (some fate, usually something bad)

      bíða tjón ― receive an injury

      Karþagómenn biðu ósigur fyrir Rómverjum.

      The Carthaginians suffered defeat at the hands of the Romans.

• bið
• beiða

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989) Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “bíða”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• Mörður Árnason (2019) Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
• “bíða” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

From Proto-Germanic *bīdaną. Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *bʰeydʰ- (“to trust”).

bíða (singular past indicative beið, plural past indicative biðu, past participle biðinn)

1. to abide, wait for [with genitive]

   bíð þú mín hér

   wait for me here

2. to suffer, undergo, sustain [with accusative]
3. to be in store for, await [with genitive]

   fagnaðu, vin minn, því at þín bíðr eilífr fagnaðr

   rejoyce, my friend, for eternal joy awaits you (sg.)

4. (impersonal) (there) to be, to be to be had [with accusative]

   hvárki bíðr þar báru né vinds blæ

   there is felt neither wave nor breath of air

• bíðandi f (“biding, waiting, delay”)
• bíðendr m pl (“those who wait”)

• Icelandic: bíða
• Faroese: bíða
• Norwegian Bokmål: bie, bissens
• Norwegian Nynorsk: bie bia, bide, bida
• Elfdalian: baiða
• Old Swedish: bīþa
  • Swedish: bida
• Old Danish: bīthæ
  • Danish: bie
  • Scanian: bíða
• Gutnish: bide

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “bíða”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 53; also available at the Internet Archive