leið

From Old Norse leið, from Proto-Germanic *laidō, from Proto-Indo-European *leyt- (“to go, go forth, die”), from Proto-Indo-European *ley- (“to be slippery, glide, streak”).

• IPA^(key): /laiːj/

leið f (genitive singular leiðar, plural leiðir)

1. way, road, course, track
2. route (of a bus, ferry, etc.)

• (course): vegur, farleið, kós

From Old Norse leið, from Proto-Germanic *laidō.

• IPA^(key): /leiːð/
• Rhymes: -eiːð

leið f (genitive singular leiðar, nominative plural leiðir)

1. route, way, course

   Synonyms: vegur, braut, slóð

   • Á Sprengisandi (“On Sprengisandur”) by Grímur Thomsen

     Ríðum, ríðum, rekum yfir sandinn,

     rökkrið er að síða á Herðubreið,

     álfadrottning er að beizla gandinn,

     ekki er gott að verða á hennar leið;

     vænsta klárinn vildi eg gefa til

     að vera kominn ofan í Kiðagil.

     Ride, ride, ride hard across the sands,

     darkness settles over Herðubreið.

     The Queen of the elves bridles her steed -

     be careful not to cross her path.

     My best horse I'd sacrifice

     to be safely back in Kiðagil.

2. method, means

   Synonyms: aðferð, (archaic) meðal

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

leið

1. first/third-person singular past indicative active of líða

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

From Proto-Germanic *laidō.

leið f

1. a way
2. a way, a road
3. (nautical) a course
4. (military) a levy
5. a local assembly (in the Icelandic Commonwealth)

• Icelandic: leið
• Faroese: leið
• Norwegian Nynorsk: leid, lei
• Norwegian Bokmål: lei
• Old Swedish: lēþ
  • Swedish: led
• Danish: led
  • Norwegian Bokmål: led

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “leið”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 265; also available at the Internet Archive