höfrungur

Icelandic

Etymology

Earliest attested in 16th century. No cognates in related languages, Faroese has already adopted dolfin. Asgeir Blöndal Magnusson estimates correlation with -hafur (Old English hæfer, Latin caper) comparing the leaps of the dolphin to those of the goat. Doubtful. Perhaps simply from haf ("sea") and ungur, that is, Hefring, a Norwegian mountain butting into the sea; and Hefring, daughter of Ægir the sea spirit.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈhœvruŋkʏr/

Noun

höfrungur m (genitive singular höfrungs, nominative plural höfrungar)

  1. dolphin; specifically the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis)
    Synonym: léttir

Declension

Declension of höfrungur (masculine)
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative höfrungur höfrungurinn höfrungar höfrungarnir
accusative höfrung höfrunginn höfrunga höfrungana
dative höfrungi höfrungnum höfrungum höfrungunum
genitive höfrungs höfrungsins höfrunga höfrunganna

Further reading

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