þrátt fyrir

Icelandic

Etymology

Uncertain. Can either be interpreted as the neuter of þrár + fyrir, literally, “stubborn for”, or as the Old Norse past participle of largely synonymous þrá and þreyja (“to long for”) + fyrir, literally, “(having) longed for”. Either way, contamination of Old Norse í þrá (“despite”) and fyrir (“despite”) clearly also played a role.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˌθrauhtˈfɪːrɪr/

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Preposition

þrátt fyrir

despite, in spite of [with accusative]
þrátt fyrir allt ― in spite of everything

þrátt fyrir það ― nevertheless
- 1985, Elín Pálmadóttir, Gerður. Ævisaga myndhöggvara, Almenna bókafélagið:
  Hún vann að höggmyndum sínum á hverju sem gekk og þrátt fyrir peningaleysi og alls konar erfiðleika.
  She worked on her sculptures in whatever way she could, despite lack of money and all kinds of difficulties.