fjölskylda

Icelandic

Etymology

From fjöl- (“many, multi-”) +‎ skylda (“duty”), equivalent to English fele + shild.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfjœl.scɪlta/

Noun

fjölskylda f (genitive singular fjölskyldu, nominative plural fjölskyldur)

1. a family

Declension

declension of fjölskylda

f-w1	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	fjölskylda	fjölskyldan	fjölskyldur	fjölskyldurnar
accusative	fjölskyldu	fjölskylduna	fjölskyldur	fjölskyldurnar
dative	fjölskyldu	fjölskyldunni	fjölskyldum	fjölskyldunum
genitive	fjölskyldu	fjölskyldunnar	fjölskyldna	fjölskyldnanna

Usage notes

• The term fjölskylda was well known in older language referring to many duties or much business with a notion of arduousness rather than the contemporary meaning of “family”. One word used to describe a household or a family unit at the time was hyski (once spelled hýski).

Derived terms

• fjölskyldufaðir
• kjarnafjölskylda
• stórfjölskylda

See also

• hyski

Further reading

• A deliberation on the word "hyski" on the Stofnun Árna Magnússonar í íslenskum fræðum ("Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies")