bíða átekta

Icelandic

Etymology

Literally, “to await further actions”. From bíða (“to wait”) + genitive plural of átekt (from á (“on”) + tekt (“taking, tearing down, confirmation”)). Compare the phrasal verb taka á (“to take hold of, take on”).

Verb

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

  1. (intransitive) to await further developments, to wait and see
    Synonym: bíða færis
    Lækninum telur að réttara sé að gefa blóðþynnandi lyf og bíða átekta.
    The docter considers it more correct to give an anticoagulant and wait and see.

Further reading

  • “átektir” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)
  • Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “átekt”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
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