fjölskylda

Icelandic

Etymology

From fjöl- (“many, multi-”) +‎ skylda (“duty”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfjœl.scɪlta/

Noun

fjölskylda f (genitive singular fjölskyldu, nominative plural fjölskyldur)

1. family

Usage notes

• The term fjölskylda was well known in an 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).

Declension

Declension of fjölskylda (feminine, based on skylda)

	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

Derived terms

• fjölskyldufaðir
• kjarnafjölskylda
• stórfjölskylda

See also

• hyski
• ætt

Further reading

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