æði

See also: aedi and Appendix:Variations of "adi"

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /aiːðɪ/
• Rhymes: -aiːðɪ

Etymology 1

From Old Norse ǿði f, from Proto-Germanic *wōdį̄; compare Faroese øði f. By surface analysis, óður (“furious, crazy”) +‎ -i n (abstract noun). The shift in gender from feminine to neuter is presumably due to the influence of ǿði n (“mind, disposition”), for which see Etymology 3 below.

Noun

æði n (genitive singular æðis, no plural)

1. frenzy, rage, madness

   Synonyms: klikkun, ofsi, skapofsi

Declension

Declension of æði (sg-only neuter)

	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	æði	æðið
accusative	æði	æðið
dative	æði	æðinu
genitive	æðis	æðisins

Derived terms

types of frenzy

• brjálæði (“insanity”)
• gullæði (“goldrush”)
• kaupæði (“buying spree”)
• málæði (“loquacity”)
• morðæði (“killing frenzy”)
• ölæði (“drunkenness”)

other

• æðibunugangur m (“stress, hurry”)
• æðigangur m (“rage”)
• æðikollur m (“hothead”)
• æðisgenginn (“raging; terrific”)
• æðiskast n (“fit of rage”)
• æðislegur (“great, terrific”)

Related terms

• óður (“furious, crazy”)
• æða (“to rush”)
• Óðinn m (Norse god)

Etymology 2

Clipping of æðislegur.

Adjective

æði (indeclinable)

1. (colloquial) great, excellent, wonderful

   Synonyms: frábær, æðislegur, magnaður

   Það væri auðvitað algjört æði. ― That would of course be great.

   Ég kem í heimsókn á eftir. – Æði! ― I'll come over for a visit later today. – Great!

Derived terms

• æðipæði

Etymology 3

Maybe derived from the noun sense “frenzy, rage” above.

Adverb

æði

1. (dated) very, rather, quite

   Synonym: mjög

Usage notes

Primarily used in written language.

Alternative forms

• æði-

Derived terms

• æðilangur (“very long”)
• æðimargur (“very many”)
• æðimikill (“very great”)
• æðimunur (“major difference”)
• æðioft (“very often”)
• æðistór (“very big”)

Etymology 4

Inherited from Old Norse ǿði n (“mind, disposition”), from Proto-Germanic *wōþiją.

Noun

æði n (genitive singular æðis, no plural)

1. (archaic) nature, disposition

   Synonyms: hugarfar n, innræti n, þel n

Declension

Declension of æði (sg-only neuter)

	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	æði	æðið
accusative	æði	æðið
dative	æði	æðinu
genitive	æðis	æðisins

Further reading

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