þrátt fyrir

Icelandic

Etymology

Uncertain. Can either be interpreted as the neuter of þrár + fyrir, literally, “stubborn for”, or as the Old Norse past participle of largely synonymous þrá and þreyja (“to long for”) + fyrir, literally, “(having) longed for”. Either way, contamination of Old Norse í þrá (“despite”) and fyrir (“despite”) clearly also played a role.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˌθrauhtˈfɪːrɪr/

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Preposition

þrátt fyrir

despite, in spite of [with accusative]
þrátt fyrir allt ― in spite of everything

þrátt fyrir það ― nevertheless
- 1985, Elín Pálmadóttir, Gerður. Ævisaga myndhöggvara, Almenna bókafélagið:
  Hún vann að höggmyndum sínum á hverju sem gekk og þrátt fyrir peningaleysi og alls konar erfiðleika.
  She worked on her sculptures in whatever way she could, despite lack of money and all kinds of difficulties.

Derived terms