spýja

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse spýja (compare Faroese spýggja, Norwegian, Swedish and Danish spy), from Proto-Germanic *spīwaną, whence also Dutch spuwen, German speien, English spew, Gothic 𐍃𐍀𐌴𐌹𐍅𐌰𐌽 (speiwan). Ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ptyēw- (“to spit, vomit”). Non-Germanic cognates include Old Armenian թուք (tʻukʻ), Persian تف (“spittle”), Ossetian ту (tu, “spittle”), Ancient Greek πτύω (ptúō, “I spit out”), Latin spuo, Old Church Slavonic пльвати (plĭvati) (Russian плевать (plevatʹ)) and Sanskrit ष्ठीवति (ṣṭhīvati, “to spit”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈspiːja/

  Rhymes: -iːja

Verb

spýja (strong verb, third-person singular past indicative spjó, third-person plural past indicative spjóu, supine spúið) or spýja (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative spúði, supine spúið)

1. to vomit
2. to spit out, make gush forth

Conjugation

Strong or (increasingly commonly) weak. May also be mixed, with the strong forms being retained mostly in the singular past indicative forms.

Noun

spýja f (genitive singular spýju, nominative plural spýjur)

1. vomit
2. a thick shower of rain in windy conditions
3. a small avalanche

Old Norse

Alternative forms

• *spía

Etymology

From Proto-Germanic *spīwaną.

Verb

spýja (singular past indicative spjó, plural past indicative spjó, past participle spúinn)

1. (transitive, with dative) to spew, to vomit

   hon spjó bloði

   she threw up blood

Conjugation

Conjugation of spýja — active (strong class 2)

infinitive	spýja
present participle	spýjandi
past participle	spúinn
indicative	present	past
1st-person singular	spý	spjó
2nd-person singular	spýr	spjótt
3rd-person singular	spýr	spjó
1st-person plural	spýjum	spjóm
2nd-person plural	spýið	spjóð
3rd-person plural	spýja	spjó
subjunctive	present	past
1st-person singular	spýja	spýa
2nd-person singular	spýir	spýir
3rd-person singular	spýi	spýi
1st-person plural	spýim	spýim
2nd-person plural	spýið	spýið
3rd-person plural	spýi	spýi
imperative	present
2nd-person singular	spý
1st-person plural	spýjum
2nd-person plural	spýið

Descendants

• Icelandic: spýja
• Faroese: spýggja
• Norwegian: spy
• Old Swedish: spȳia
  • Swedish: spy
• Old Danish: spȳ, spī
  • Danish: spy, spi
• Elfdalian: spaja
• Gutnish: spöi
• Scanian: spý, spí

Noun

spýja f (genitive spýju)

1. (uncountable) vomit

Declension

  Declension of spýja (weak jōn-stem, singular only)

feminine	singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	spýja	spýjan
accusative	spýju	spýjuna
dative	spýju	spýjunni
genitive	spýju	spýjunnar

References

• spýja in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, G. T. Zoëga, Clarendon Press, 1910, at Internet Archive.