dofinn

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse dofinn (“of a limb, to be dead”). Cognate with Faroese dovin (“lazy; stale”), Danish doven (“lazy”), Swedish duven (“stale, tasteless”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈtɔːvɪn(ː)/

Adjective

dofinn (comparative dofnari, superlative dofnastur)

1. numb, benumbed

Declension

positive forms of dofinn

strong declension (indefinite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	dofinn	dofin	dofið
	accusative	dofinn	dofna
	dative	dofnum	dofinni	dofnu
	genitive	dofins	dofinnar	dofins
	plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	dofnir	dofnar	dofin
	accusative	dofna
	dative	dofnum
	genitive	dofinna
weak declension (definite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	dofni	dofna	dofna
	acc/dat/gen	dofna	dofnu
	plural (all-case)	dofnu

comparative forms of dofinn

weak declension (definite)		masculine	feminine	neuter
	singular (all-case)	dofnari	dofnari	dofnara
	plural (all-case)	dofnari

superlative forms of dofinn

strong declension (indefinite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	dofnastur	dofnust	dofnast
	accusative	dofnastan	dofnasta
	dative	dofnustum	dofnastri	dofnustu
	genitive	dofnasts	dofnastrar	dofnasts
	plural	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	dofnastir	dofnastar	dofnust
	accusative	dofnasta
	dative	dofnustum
	genitive	dofnastra
weak declension (definite)	singular	masculine	feminine	neuter
	nominative	dofnasti	dofnasta	dofnasta
	acc/dat/gen	dofnasta	dofnustu
	plural (all-case)	dofnustu

Related terms

• dofi (“numbness”)
• dofna (“to go numb”)

Old Norse

Etymology

Related to Proto-Germanic *daubaz (“deaf”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰewbʰ- (“smoke, mist; daze, stupefaction”).

Adjective

dofinn

1. (of a limb) dead

   Dofinn er mér fótr minn.

   My leg is dead.

2. (in a metaphorical sense) drowsy

Descendants

• Icelandic: dofinn
• Faroese: dovin
• Norwegian Nynorsk: doven; (dialectal) døven
• Swedish: duven
• Danish: doven
  • Norwegian Bokmål: doven

Further reading

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