setja

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse setja, from Proto-Germanic *satjaną.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsɛːtja/
    Rhymes: -ɛːtja
  • (colloquial) IPA(key): /ˈsɛːta/

Verb

setja (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative setti, supine sett)

  1. to put, to place [with accusative ‘something’, along with adverb or prepositional phrase ‘somewhere’]
    Synonym: láta
    Nennirðu að setja forritunarbókina mína á borðið?
    Could you put my programming book on the table?
    Guð er eins og draumafangari sem maður setur í gluggann.
    God is like a dreamcatcher that you put in the window.
  2. to decide, to determine, to resolve [with dative ‘for someone, often reflexive’ (optionally) and accusative ‘something’ and að (+ infinitive) ‘to do something’]
    Synonym: fastsetja
    Hann setti sér það markmið að grennast.
    He was determined to lose weight.
    Við settum okkur að leysa öll dæmin fyrir prófið.
    We decided to solve all the problems before the examination.
  3. (formal) to formally open [with accusative]
    Synonym: opna formlega
    Að setja fund.
    To open a meeting.
  4. to suppose
    Synonym: gera ráð fyrir
  5. to typeset [with accusative]
    Synonym: prentsetja
  6. (impersonal) used in set phrases
    Eigum við ekki að sjá hvað setur?
    How about we see what happens?
    Mig setti hljóða eftir símtalið.
    I couldn't speak after the phone call.
    Það sótti að mér kulda.
    I felt cold.
    Þegar hann minntist látinnar konu sinnar setti að honum ákafan grát.
    He began crying immensely upon remembering his deceased wife.

Conjugation

This verb needs an inflection-table template.

setja – active voice (germynd)
infinitive nafnháttur að setja
supine sagnbót sett
present participle
lýsingarháttur nútíðar
 setjandi
indicative
framsöguháttur
 subjunctive
viðtengingarháttur
present
nútíð
 past
þátíð
 present
nútíð
 past
þátíð
singular ég set setti setji setti
þú setur settir setjir settir
hann, hún, það setur setti setji setti
plural við setjum settum setjum settum
þið setjið settuð setjið settuð
þeir, þær, þau setja settu setji settu
imperative boðháttur
singular þú set (þú), settu
plural þið setjið (þið), setjiði1
1 Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.
setjast – mediopassive voice (miðmynd)
infinitive nafnháttur að setjast
supine sagnbót sest
present participle
lýsingarháttur nútíðar
 setjandist (rare; see appendix)
indicative
framsöguháttur
 subjunctive
viðtengingarháttur
present
nútíð
 past
þátíð
 present
nútíð
 past
þátíð
singular ég sest settist setjist settist
þú setst settist setjist settist
hann, hún, það setst settist setjist settist
plural við setjumst settumst setjumst settumst
þið setjist settust setjist settust
þeir, þær, þau setjast settust setjist settust
imperative boðháttur
singular þú set (þú), setu
plural þið setjist (þið), setjisti1
1 Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.
settur — past participle (lýsingarháttur þátíðar)
strong declension
(sterk beyging) 		singular (eintala) plural (fleirtala)
masculine
(karlkyn) 		feminine
(kvenkyn) 		neuter
(hvorugkyn) 		masculine
(karlkyn) 		feminine
(kvenkyn) 		neuter
(hvorugkyn)
nominative
(nefnifall) 		settur sett sett settir settar sett
accusative
(þolfall) 		settan setta sett setta settar sett
dative
(þágufall) 		settum settri settu settum settum settum
genitive
(eignarfall) 		setts settrar setts settra settra settra
weak declension
(veik beyging) 		singular (eintala) plural (fleirtala)
masculine
(karlkyn) 		feminine
(kvenkyn) 		neuter
(hvorugkyn) 		masculine
(karlkyn) 		feminine
(kvenkyn) 		neuter
(hvorugkyn)
nominative
(nefnifall) 		setti setta setta settu settu settu
accusative
(þolfall) 		setta settu setta settu settu settu
dative
(þágufall) 		setta settu setta settu settu settu
genitive
(eignarfall) 		setta settu setta settu settu settu

Derived terms

Terms derived from the verb setja
  • bólusetja (“to vaccinate”)
  • illa settur (“badly off”)
  • sestur (“to have sitten down, to have pulled up a chair”, past participle of middle voice)
  • setja að einhverjum (“someone feels chilly”)
  • setja að einhverjum grát (“someone starts crying”)
  • setja að veði (to stake something; confer leggja að veði)
  • setja af (“to dismiss”)
  • setja á höfuðið (“to go bankrupt”)
  • setja á laggirnar (“to start off”)
  • setja á sig (“to memorize”)
  • setja á stofn (“to found, to establish”)
  • setja einhverjum fyrir eitthvað (“to assign something to someone, to assign a task to someone”)
  • setja einhverjum stólinn fyrir dyrnar (“to put an obstacle in someone's path”)
  • setja einhverjum úrslitakosti (“to give someone an ultimatum”)
  • setja einhvern inn (“to put someone in jail, to imprison”)
  • setja einhvern yfir eitthvað (“to put someone in charge of something”)
  • setja eitthvað á sig (“to put something on oneself”)
  • setja eitthvað fyrir sig (“to view something as an obstacle, to have scruples about something”)
  • setja fram bát (“to launch a boat”)
  • setja fund (“to open a meeting”)
  • setja hjá (“to pass over”)
  • setja hlið við hlið (“to juxtapose, to place side by side”)
  • setja inn (“to insert”)
  • setja í embætti (“to appoint temporarily to a post”)
  • setja í fisk (“to get a fish on the hook”)
  • setja lög (“to pass laws, to pass a law”)
  • setja saman (“to put together, to assemble”)
  • setja saman bók (“to write a book”)
  • setja sig úr færi, setja sig úr færi með eitthvað (“to lose an opportunity”)
  • setja sig út til að gera eitthvað (“to seize every opportunity to do something”)
  • setja upp hátíðarsvip (“to look self-important, to put on airs”)
  • setja upp hundshaus
  • setja upp húfu (“to put on a cap”)
  • setja upp leikrit (“to put on a play, to produce a play”)
  • setja upp verð (“to demand a price”)
  • setja upp þóknun (“to charge a fee”)
  • setja út á (“to find fault with, to critcize”)
  • setjast (“to sit down”)
  • setjast að einhvers staðar (“to settle down somewhere”)
  • setjast upp (“to sit up”)
  • setjast upp hjá einhverjum (“to install oneself in someone's house”)
  • settur (past participle)
  • vel settur (“well off”)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

Etymology

From Old Norse setja, from Proto-Germanic *satjaną. Akin to English set.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /²sɛːça/, /²sɛçːa/

Verb

setja (present tense set, past tense sette, past participle sett, passive infinitive setjast, present participle setjande, imperative set)

  1. (transitive) causative of sitja: to set; to put
    Eg set stolen her. ― I’ll put the chair here.

Derived terms

References

Old Norse

Etymology

Causative of sitja. From Proto-Norse ᛊᚨᛏᛁᛞᛟ (satido) (1st singular past indicative), Proto-Germanic *satjaną, from Proto-Indo-European *sodéyeti.

Verb

setja

  1. (transitive) to seat, set, place, put
  2. to drive [with accusative]
    hann setti øxina í hǫfuð honum
    he drove the axe into his (not his own) skull
  3. to make, establish [with accusative]
    Þeir vildu setja grið í milli konungs ok bonda
    they wanted to make peace between the king and the peasants
  4. to order, prescribe [with dative]
  5. to settle [with dative]
  6. (intransitive) to set off

Conjugation

Note that sett- in the past indicative is a specifically West Norse (Icelandic, Norwegian Nynorsk and Faroese) innovation; East Norse (Swedish, Danish and Norwegian Bokmål) retains original satt-.

Conjugation of setja — active (weak class 1)
infinitive setja
present participle setjandi
past participle settr
indicative subjunctive
present past present past
1st person singular set setta setja setta
2nd person singular setr settir setir settir
3rd person singular setr setti seti setti
1st person plural setjum settum setim settim
2nd person plural setið settuð setið settið
3rd person plural setja settu seti setti
imperative present
2nd person singular set
1st person plural setjum
2nd person plural setið
Conjugation of setja — mediopassive (weak class 1)
infinitive setjask
present participle setjandisk
past participle sezk
indicative subjunctive
present past present past
1st person singular setjumk settumk setjumk settumk
2nd person singular sezk settisk setisk settisk
3rd person singular sezk settisk setisk settisk
1st person plural setjumsk settumsk setimsk settimsk
2nd person plural setizk settuzk setizk settizk
3rd person plural setjask settusk setisk settisk
imperative present
2nd person singular sezk
1st person plural setjumsk
2nd person plural setizk

Descendants

  • Icelandic: setja
  • Faroese: seta
  • Norn: seta
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: setja, setta
  • Elfdalian: settja, setta
  • Old Swedish: sætia, sættia
  • Old Danish: sætiæ, sættæ
  • Gutnish: sätte

Further reading

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