vetur

Faroese

Etymology

From Old Norse vetr (“winter, year”), from Proto-Germanic *wintruz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈveːʰtʊr/

Noun

vetur m (genitive singular vetrar, plural vetrar)

1. winter

Declension

Declension of vetur (m23)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	vetur	veturin	vetrar	vetrarnir
accusative	vetur	veturin	vetrar	vetrarnar
dative	vetri	vetrinum	vetrum	vetrunum
genitive	vetrar	vetrarins	vetra	vetranna

Related terms

• vetra

See also

• seasons: árstíðar: vár · summar · heyst · vetur ^[edit]

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse vetr (“winter, year”), from Proto-Germanic *wintruz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈvɛːtʏr/

  Rhymes: -ɛːtʏr

Noun

vetur m (genitive singular vetrar or (proscribed) vetur, nominative plural vetur or (proscribed) vetrar) or
(regional) vetur n (genitive singular (regional) veturs, nominative plural (regional) vetur) or
(proscribed) vetur f pl (plural only, genitive plural (proscribed) vetra)

1. winter, wintertime

   Veturinn er loksins kominn!

   Winter has finally arrived!

   Vetur er í nánd

   Winter is close.

2. year (counting age)

   Barnið er fimm vetra gamalt.

   The child is five years old.

Usage notes

• The potential inflection of vetur varies widely:
  • Regionally, the neuter is used. Compare the neuter sumrin.
  • There are multiple proscribed forms of the masculine inflection, including a null-ending genitive singular and nominative/accusative plural forms ending in -a(r); forms with stem contraction in the definite are also proscribed.
  • There is also a proscribed plural-only feminine declension, owing to the null-ending of the plural. This phenomenon also takes place among other similar masculines, especially with fótur, regionally with fjörður, with fingur, faðir, bróðir and to a lesser extent to nouns ending in -andi or -jandi.

Declension

Declension of vetur (masculine)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	vetur	veturinn	vetur, vetrar1	veturnir, vetrarnir1
accusative	vetur	veturinn, vetrinn1	vetur, vetra1	veturna, vetrana1
dative	vetri	vetrinum	vetrum	vetrunum
genitive	vetrar, vetur1	vetrarins, vetrins1, veturins1	vetra	vetranna

¹Proscribed.

Declension of vetur (neuter)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	vetur1	vetrið1	vetur1	vetrin1
accusative	vetur1	vetrið1	vetur1	vetrin1
dative	vetri1	vetrinu1	vetrum1	vetrunum1
genitive	veturs1	vetursins1	vetra1	vetranna1

¹Regional.

Declension of vetur (pl-only feminine)

	plural
	indefinite	definite
nominative	vetur1	veturnar1
accusative	vetur1	veturnar1
dative	vetrum1	vetrunum1
genitive	vetra1	vetranna1

¹Proscribed.

Derived terms

• á veturna, á vetrin (“in winter, in the winter”)
• fimbulvetur
• í vetur (“this winter”)
• í vetur sem leið (“last winter”)
• vetrarbraut (“winter road, Milky Way, Galaxy”)

See also

Seasons in Icelandic · árstíðir (layout · text) · category
vor (“spring”)	sumar (“summer”)	haust (“autumn”)	vetur (“winter”)

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), “vetur”, 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
• “vetur” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)
• “vetur”, in Ritmálssafn Orðabókar Háskólans [The Written Collection of the Lexicological Institute] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, (Can we date this quote?)