svipur

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse svipr (“quick movement; expression; moment; loss”). Cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk and Danish svip (“appearance”), Swedish svep (“moment”). Possibly from Proto-Germanic *swipaz (with change of inflection) and cognate with English (dialectal) swip (“exact image”), and Middle High German swif (“quick movement”).[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /ˈsvɪːpʏr/
  • Rhymes: -ɪːpʏr

Noun

svipur m (genitive singular svips, nominative plural svipir)

  1. expression, facial expression
    Synonyms: svipbrigði n pl, andlitssvipur
    þungur á svip ― with a serious face
    Börnin mín eiga það til að horfa á mig, glottandi á svip, og gera einmitt það sem þau vita að þau mega ekki.
    My children tend to look at me, grinning at me, and do the very thing they know they can't do.
  2. appearance, look
    Synonyms: útlit n, svipmót n
    Þegar Alþingi kemur saman á ný ber það annan svip en áður.
    When Parliament meets again, it will look different than before.
    • 2014 November 4, Finnur Thorlacius, “Fjölnotabíll með mögnuð akstursgæði”, in Vísir‎[2], archived from the original on 31 December 2025:
      Að aftan sést berlega hve hár hann er en lítil afturrúðan ljær honum sportlegan svip en skerðir þó útsýnið úr baksýnisspegli.
      From the back, you can clearly see how tall it is, but the small rear window gives it a sporty look, but it does cut the view from the rearview mirror.
  3. slight resemblance, similarity or similitude
    Synonym: líking f
    Hyponym: hjónasvipur (“when a couple look alike”)
    það er svipur með þeim ― they look a bit like each other
  4. spectre, apparition
    Synonym: vofa f
    ekki nema svipur hjá sjón ― a shadow of one's former self (literally, “only a spectre at sight”)
  5. (in fixed expressions) moment
    Synonyms: svipstund f, svipan f (“moment”)
    í svipinn ― at the moment
    í svip ― for a moment

Declension

Declension of svipur (masculine)
singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative svipur svipurinn svipir svipirnir
accusative svip svipinn svipi svipina
dative svip svipnum svipum svipunum
genitive svips svipsins svipa svipanna

Derived terms

  • augnsvipur (“gaze, stare”)
  • baksvipur (“expression as seen from the back”)
  • fýlusvipur (“grumpy face”)
  • heildarsvipur (“overall impression”)
  • hjónasvipur (“when a couple look alike”)
  • munnsvipur (“expression of the mouth”)
  • prakkarasvipur (“look of a prankster”)
  • setja svip á (“to leave one's mark on”)
  • skelfingarsvipur (“expression of terror”)
  • svipbrigði n pl, andlitssvipur (“facial expression”)
  • svipgerð f (“phenotype”)
  • sviphreinn (“with an open facial expression”)
  • sviplaus, sviplítill (“monotonous, inexpressive”)
  • sviplegur (“sudden”)
  • svipmikill (“striking”)
  • svipmót n (“appearance”)
  • svipmynd f (“snapshot”)
  • svipsterkur<t:having a strong facial expression
  • svipstund f (“moment”)
  • undrunarsvipur (“look of surprise”)

References

  1. ^ Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), “svipur”, in Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN, page 1004f. (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
  2. ^ Jan de Vries (1977) [1957–1960], “svipr”, in Altnordisches etymologisches Wörterbuch [Old Norse Etymological Dictionary] (in German), 3rd edition, Leiden: E[vert] J[an] Brill, →OCLC, page 571.
  3. ^ Vladimir Orel (2003), “*swipaz”, in A Handbook of Germanic Etymology‎[1], Leiden, Boston: Brill, →ISBN, page 396

Further reading

  • Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2026), “svipur”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
  • “svipur” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

svìpur f

  1. indefinite plural of svìpu
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