hákarl

English

Etymology

From Icelandic hákarl (“shark”).

Noun

hákarl (uncountable)

1. An Icelandic food, cured fermented shark with a strong ammonia smell.

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse hákarl (“a shark”), hár (“shark/dogfish”) +‎ karl (“a man”). Related to háfur (“a dogfish”) and hár (“dogfish”). Compare the Faroese hákallur and Russian аку́ла (akúla).

Pronunciation

• (archaic) IPA^(key): /haːkar(t)l/
• (modern) IPA^(key): /hauː.kartl/

Noun

hákarl m (genitive singular hákarls, nominative plural hákarlar)

1. a Greenland shark, Somniosus microcephalus
2. any shark (scaleless cartilaginous fish)

Usage notes

• The dated term hákerling (see kerling (“woman”)) was once used to refer to sharks as well.

Declension

Declension of hákarl (masculine, based on karl)

	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	hákarl	hákarlinn	hákarlar	hákarlarnir
accusative	hákarl	hákarlinn	hákarla	hákarlana
dative	hákarli	hákarlinum	hákörlum	hákörlunum
genitive	hákarls	hákarlsins	hákarla	hákarlanna

Derived terms

• beinhákarl
• háki
• háksi
• kæstur hákarl

Related terms

• háskerðingur

See also

• hapanhai

Old Norse

Etymology

From hár (“shark”) +‎ karl (“a man”).

Pronunciation

• (12th Century Icelandic) IPA^(key): /hɑ̃ːˌkarl/

Noun

hákarl m (genitive hákarls, plural hákarlar)

1. a shark

Declension

Declension of hákarl (strong a-stem)

masculine	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	hákarl	hákarlinn	hákarlar	hákarlarnir
accusative	hákarl	hákarlinn	hákarla	hákarlana
dative	hákarli	hákarlinum	hákurlum	hákurlunum
genitive	hákarls	hákarlsins	hákarla	hákarlanna

Descendants

• Icelandic: hákarl m (“Greenland shark”)
• Faroese: hákallur m (“basking shark”)
• Norn: håkilling m (“large shark”)
• Norwegian Nynorsk: håkall m (“Greenland shark”), ⇒ håkjerring (< hákerling)
• → Northern Sami: áhkạlakkis
• → Kildin Sami: а̄һклэӈӈк (āhkleŋŋk), а̄һклиӈӈк (āhkliŋŋk)
• → Skolt Sami: akkli
• → Middle Russian:
  • Russian: аку́ла f (akúla)
    • → Adyghe: акул (akʷul)
    • → Azerbaijani: akula
    • → Bashkir: акула (akula)
    • → Belarusian: аку́ла f (akúla)
    • → Bulgarian: аку́ла f (akúla)
    • → Bezhta: акула (akula)
    • → Kazakh: акула (akula)
    • → Kyrgyz: акула (akula)
    • → Macedonian: ајкула f (ajkula)
      • Serbo-Croatian:

        → Cyrillic script: а̏јкула f, а̏јкула f

        → Latin script: ȁjkula f

    • → Tatar: акула (aqula)
    • → Turkmen: akula
    • → Ukrainian: аку́ла f (akúla)
    • → Uyghur: ئاكۇلا (akula)
    • → Uzbek: akula