fjórir

Icelandic

Icelandic numbers ^(edit)

	40
←  3	4	5  →
Cardinal: fjórir     Ordinal: fjórði     Ordinal abbreviation: 4.     Multiplier: fjögurfaldur     Fractional: fjórði, fjórðungur

Etymology

From Old Norse fjórir, from Proto-Germanic *fedwōr. Cognates include Faroese fýra and Danish fire.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfjouːrɪr/

Numeral

fjórir (plural only, feminine fjórar, neuter fjögur)

1. four

   Þar sátu fjórir menn. ― Four men were sitting there.

   Hún er fjögurra. ― She is four years old.

Usage notes

• When counting out loud, the contraction fjór is frequently used.

  Einn, tveir, þrír, fjór. ― One, two, three, four.

Declension

Positive forms of fjórir (pl-only strong-only)

plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fjórir	fjórar	fjögur
accusative	fjóra
dative	fjórum
genitive	fjögurra, fjögra1

¹Rare in writing.

The genitive fjögra is common in speech, but fjögurra is preferred in writing. A recent alternative genitive form, fjagra, is very widespread in spoken language, but is only occasionally used in writing.

Derived terms

• fjarki
• undir fjögur augu
• á fjórum fótum

Old Norse

Old Norse numbers ^(edit)

	40[a], [b]
←  3	4	5  →
Cardinal: fjórir     Ordinal: fjórði     Multiplier: ferfaldr, fjórfaldr     Distributive: fern

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *fedwōr, from *kʷetwṓr, the neuter form of Proto-Indo-European *kʷetwóres. The elder form with -ð- is still visible in the name of Fjaðryndaland (Old Swedish Fiæþrundaland). Proto-Germanic intervocalic d was pronounced ð.

Numeral

fjórir

1. (cardinal number) four

   fjögurra vegna — to the four cardinal points

Declension

Declension of fjórir

plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
nominative	fjórir	fjórar	fjǫgur
accusative	fjóra	fjórar	fjǫgur
dative	fjórum, fjǫgurum	fjórum, fjǫgurum	fjórum, fjǫgurum
genitive	fjǫgurra	fjǫgurra	fjǫgurra

Descendants

• Icelandic: fjórir
• Faroese: fýra
• Norn: fyre
• Norwegian Nynorsk: fjore (archaic, Høgnorsk)
• Elfdalian: fyra
• Old Swedish: fiūrir, fiūri, fȳrir, fȳri
  • Swedish: fyra
• Old Danish: fiūræ, fiūghræ, fȳræ, firæ
  • Danish: fire
    • Norwegian Bokmål: fire
      • → Norwegian Nynorsk: fire

Further reading

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