faðir

From Old Norse faðir, from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. Cognate with English father, German Vater, German Low German Vader, Voder, Vadder, Icelandic faðir, Norwegian Bokmål far, fader, Norwegian Nynorsk far, fader, Danish far, fader, Swedish far, fader.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɛaːjɪɹ/
• Rhymes: -ɛaːjɪɹ

faðir m (genitive singular faðirs or føður, plural fedrar)

1. father

The oblique singular form føður is very rare and limited to poetry.

• farið, friða

From Old Norse faðir (“father”), from Proto-Germanic *fadēr, from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr. Cognate with English father, German Vater, German Low German Vader, Voder, Vadder, Faroese faðir, Norwegian Bokmål far, fader, Norwegian Nynorsk far, fader, Danish far, fader, Swedish far, fader.

• IPA^(key): /ˈfaːðɪr/
• Rhymes: -aːðɪr

faðir m (genitive singular föður or (proscribed) föðurs, nominative plural feður) or
(proscribed) feður f pl (plural only, genitive plural (proscribed) feðra)

1. (higher register) father

   Synonyms: (informal) pabbi; (old-fashioned) pápi; (child's term, rare) babbi

   • Judges 2:19

     En er dómarinn andaðist, breyttu þeir að nýju verr en feður þeirra, með því að elta aðra guði til þess að þjóna þeim og falla fram fyrir þeim. Þeir létu eigi af gjörðum sínum né þrjóskubreytni sinni.

     But when the judge died, the people returned to ways even more corrupt than those of their ancestors, following other gods and serving and worshiping them. They refused to give up their evil practices and stubborn ways.

   Ég lít upp til föður míns.

   I look up to my father.

   Hvað heitir faðir þinn aftur?

   What's your father's name again?

• The nonstandard indefinite genitive singular föðurs(ins) is sometimes used but is proscribed.
• For the proscribed feminine inflection, compare regional fjörður, also vetur, fingur, fótur, bróðir and to a lesser extent to nouns ending in -andi or -jandi.

• 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), “faðir”, 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
• “faðir” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)
• “faðir”, in Ritmálssafn Orðabókar Háskólans [The Written Collection of the Lexicological Institute] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, (Can we date this quote?)

• farði, friða

• ᚠᛅᚦᛁᛦ (faþiʀ)

From Proto-Germanic *fadēr (“father”), from Proto-Indo-European *ph₂tḗr (“father”). Cognate with Old English fæder, Old Frisian feder, Old Saxon fadar, Old High German fater, Gothic 𐍆𐌰𐌳𐌰𐍂 (fadar).

• (12th century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /ˈfɑðɪr/

faðir m (genitive fǫður, plural feðr)

1. father
   • c. 1230, Snorri Sturluson, “Haraldz saga ins hárfagra [Saga of Harald Fairhair]”, in Finnur Jónsson, editor, Heimskringla, Copenhagen: G. E. C. Gads forlag, published 1911 (1925):

     Haraldr tók konungdom eptir fǫður sinn.

     Harald took the kingdom after his father.

   • 10th c. inscription on the Runestone of Harald Bluetooth, one of the Jelling stones.

     ᚼᛅᚱᛅᛚᛏᚱ ᛬ ᚴᚢᚾᚢᚴᛦ ᛬ ᛒᛅᚦ ᛬ ᚴᛅᚢᚱᚢᛅ / ᚴᚢᛒᛚ ᛬ ᚦᛅᚢᛋᛁ ᛬ ᛅᚠᛏ ᛬ ᚴᚢᚱᛘ ᚠᛅᚦᚢᚱ ᛋᛁᚾ

     haraltr : kunukR : baþ : kaurua / kubl : þausi : aft : kurm faþur sin

     King Haraldr ordered this monument made in memory of Gormr, his father.

• Icelandic: faðir
• Faroese: faðir
• Norn:

  Orkney: fa

  Shetland: fy

• Norwegian Nynorsk: far, fader; (dialectal) fade, fair, fai
  • → Kven: faari
• Elfdalian: faðer
• Old Swedish: faþir, fadher, fadhir, ᚠᛆᚦᛁᚱ
  • Swedish: fader, far
• Old Danish: faþir, fathær
  • Danish: fader, far
    • Norwegian Bokmål: far, fader
  • Scanian: faðer
• Gutnish: far, fadar, fadur