Orðið féskylft

• The article deals with the word féskylft. The form, which is formally the nom./acc. neuter of the adjective féskylf(u)r, is used here as the unmarked one due to its use in the language. The meaning of féskylft is rather lacking despite the clear understanding of fé as ‘sheep/livestock; money’. As a compound word, féskylft always refers to expenses, spending or lack of money. In the article, it is argued that skylf- has its origin in a root with fl as correspondent verbs in Swedish demonstrate. Originally, the root vowel was a long one, ý, which later became short, y. Thus féskýflt became féskylft. Furthermore, variants as skylmt or skýlt will briefly be discussed. The word féskylft is mostly used as a predicate with the copula verb verða ‘become’; the verbs vera ‘be’ and gerast ‘become’ can have the same function. The experiencer subject with féskylft is in the dative. In the construction hafa féskylft the subject is in the nominative. The word féskylft is not familiar to most people. However, examples are not only found in the old language and dictionaries and glossaries from the eighteenth and the nineteenth centuries, but also in written texts and formal speeches up to the modern time. Furthermore, there is an example (maybe two) of a young word ending in -skylft. However, it could not be said that skylft is productive in any sense.

Subject headings

HUMANIORA  -- Språk och litteratur -- Studier av enskilda språk (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Languages and Literature -- Specific Languages (hsv//eng)

Keyword

Icelandic

etymology

lexicon

Scandinavian Languages

Nordiska språk

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

kap (subject category)