einn

Icelandic

Icelandic numbers ^(edit)

		10
	←  0	1	2  →	10  →
Cardinal: einn     Ordinal: fyrsti     Ordinal abbreviation: 1.     Multiplier: einfaldur

Etymology

From Old Norse einn, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos. Cognates include Norwegian Bokmål en, Faroese ein and Danish en.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /eitn/, [eitn̥]
• Rhymes: -eitn

Numeral

einn (feminine ein, neuter eitt)

1. one

Declension

Positive forms of einn (strong-only)

strong declension (indefinite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	einn	ein	eitt
	accusative	einn	eina
	dative	einum	einni	einu
	genitive	eins	einnar	eins
	plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	einir	einar	ein
	accusative	eina
	dative	einum
	genitive	einna

Pronoun

einn

1. one

   Synonyms: einhver, maður

   ein elsta steinkirkja hérlendis ― one of the oldest stone churches in the country

   Það hlýtur að vera mjög ruglandi fyrir börn þegar eitt er sagt hjá dagmömmu en annað heima.

   It must be very confusing for children when one thing is said at nursery and another at home.

   Ég veit um eina sem var tekið af snuðið of snemma og það endaði með að hún saug á sér þumalfingurinn.

   I know of one [girl] who was weaned off the dummy too early and she ended up sucking her thumb.

Derived terms

• hver og einn (“each and every”)
• einn og einn (“the odd, the occasional, or two”, adjective)

Adjective

einn (comparative einni, no superlative)

1. alone

   Synonyms: aleinn, einsamall

   • 1894, Sigfús B. Blöndal, “Skapbrigði (sex kvæði frá ýmsum tímum)”, in Sunnanfari; mánaðarblað með myndum, volume IV, number 3, page 20:

     Ég er einn, svo óttalega einn.

     I am alone, so terribly alone.

Declension

• Note the difference in declension between einn in the meaning "one", with accusative masculine singular einn, and "alone", with accusative masculine singular einan.

Positive forms of einn

strong declension (indefinite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	einn	ein	eitt
	accusative	einan	eina
	dative	einum	einni	einu
	genitive	eins	einnar	eins
	plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	einir	einar	ein
	accusative	eina
	dative	einum
	genitive	einna
weak declension (definite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	eini	eina	eina
	acc/dat/gen	eina	einu
	plural (all-case)	einu

Comparative forms of einn

weak declension (definite)		masculine	feminine	neuter
	singular (all-case)	einni	einni	einna
	plural (all-case)	einni

Derived terms

• áttatíu og einn
• einn af átján
• einu sinni
• einu sinni var
• fimmtíu og einn
• fjörutíu og einn
• níutíu og einn
• sextíu og einn
• sjaldan er ein báran stök
• sjötíu og einn
• tuttugu og einn
• vera ekki við eina fjölina felldur
• þrjátíu og einn

See also

• ás (noun)

References

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), “einn”, in Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN, page 148 (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)

Anagrams

• enni

Old Norse

Old Norse numbers ^(edit)

		10
		1	2  →	10  →
Cardinal: einn     Ordinal: fyrstr     Multiplier: einfaldr     Distributive: einfaldliga     Fractional: heill

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *ainaz, from Proto-Indo-European *óynos. Compare Old Saxon en, Old English an, Old Frisian en, Old High German ein, Gothic 𐌰𐌹𐌽𐍃 (ains).

Numeral

einn

1. (cardinal number) one

Pronoun

einn

1. one
2. (in the plural) some, a few

Adjective

einn

1. alone, single

Declension

Strong declension of einn

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	einn	ein	eitt
accusative	einn	eina	eitt
dative	einum	einni	einu
genitive	eins	einnar	eins
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	einir	einar	ein
accusative	eina	einar	ein
dative	einum	einum	einum
genitive	einna	einna	einna

Weak declension of einn

singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	eini	eina	eina
accusative	eina	einu	eina
dative	eina	einu	eina
genitive	eina	einu	eina
plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	einu	einu	einu
accusative	einu	einu	einu
dative	einum	einum	einum
genitive	einu	einu	einu

Descendants

• Icelandic: einn
• Faroese: ein
• Norn: en
• Norwegian Nynorsk: ein
• Dalecarlian: jenn
  • Elfdalian: ᛁᛆᚿ (ien)
• Old Swedish: ēn
  • Swedish: en
• Old Danish: en, æn
  • Danish: en
    • Norwegian Bokmål: en
  • Scanian: æn, én
• Gutnish: en, ann, h'en

Further reading

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910), “einn”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press, page 108; also available at the Internet Archive