niður

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse niðr, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Indo-European *niter. Cognates include Danish and Swedish ned, English nether, Dutch neder, German nieder.

Adverb

niður (not comparable)

1. down

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈnɪːðʏr/
• Rhymes: -ɪːðʏr

Etymology 1

From Old Norse niðr, from Proto-Germanic *niþer, from Proto-Indo-European *niter. Cognates include Danish and Swedish ned, English nether, Dutch neder, German nieder.

Adverb

niður (not comparable)

1. down, downwards

   Hlauptu upp og niður stigann hundrað sinnum!

   Run up and down the stair a hundred times!

Derived terms

• fara niður í bæ (“to go downtown”)
• hlaða niður
• líta niður
• líta niður á
• með allt niður um sig
• niður með ánni (“downstream”)

Etymology 2

Inherited from Old Norse niðr.

Alternative forms

• niðji (more common)

Noun

niður m (genitive singular niðs or niðjar, nominative plural niðjar)

1. descendant

Declension

Declension of niður (masculine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	niður	niðurinn	niðjar	niðjarnir
accusative	nið	niðinn	niðja	niðjana
dative	nið, niði	niðinum	niðjum	niðjunum
genitive	niðs, niðjar	niðsins, niðjarins	niðja	niðjanna

References

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989), Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “niður”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• Mörður Árnason (2019), Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
• “niður” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)

Etymology 3

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

niður m (genitive singular niðar, no plural)

1. murmuring, hubbub

   Synonym: kliður

2. burbling, gurlging (the sound of running water)

Declension

Declension of niður (sg-only masculine)

	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	niður	niðurinn
accusative	nið	niðinn
dative	nið, niði	niðnum, niðinum
genitive	niðar	niðarins