hnakki

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈn̥ahcɪ/

  Rhymes: -ahcɪ

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hnakki, from Proto-Germanic *hnakkô.

Origin of the slang sense is uncertain. May be derived from the meat sense, in connection with skinka (“ham”), which is also used in a similar slang sense, or it may refer to the associated hairstyle (popular between 2005 and 2010) in which the only the hair of the back of the head points outwards.

Noun

hnakki m (genitive singular hnakka, nominative plural hnakkar)

1. nape of the neck, back of the head
2. shoulder (meat behind an animals head, e.g. on a pig or fish)
3. (slang, derogatory) a stereotypical grouping of superficial juveniles associated with sport, fitness and tanning, that often bleach their hair and dress fashionably, somewhat similar to a jock. Used primarily between 2005 and 2010.

See also

• emó, ímó (an emo)
• gothari, goþþari, gottari (a goth)
• nörd, nördi (a nerd, a geek)
• pönkari (a punk)
• skinka

Etymology 2

See hnakkur.

Noun

hnakki m

1. indefinite dative singular of hnakkur

Old Norse

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *hnakkô. Compare Old English hnecca ( > Modern English neck), Dutch nek, German Nacken.

Noun

hnakki m

1. nape of the neck

Descendants

• Icelandic: hnakki
• Faroese: nakki
• Norwegian: nakke
• Old Swedish: nakke
  • Swedish: nacke
• Old Danish: nakkæ
  • Danish: nakke

References

• “hnakki”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press