#14: Öndvegi

Today's word is one that, at first glance, may not seem all that useful to know. It's öndvegi, and it means "seat of honor." Sure, you may use it at an awards banquet or a big celebratory dinner, but how often do you go to those? And how often do you go to those in Iceland? It seems like öndvegi might be one of those dusty words that hardly ever gets taken off the shelf, but it turns out that that's not true at all. That's because the genitive form of the word-- öndvegis-- is actually a very handy and adaptable prefix in compound words.

When öndvegis- is added to the beginning of another noun, it means "first-class" or "excellent." Do you know someone who's just outstanding? You could call him an öndvegismaður, or an öndvegiskona if she's a first-class lady. Is this the best book you've ever read? Then it's probably an öndvegisbók, likely written by an öndvegishöfundur (excellent author). And the best chocolate bar that you've ever eaten could rightly be called an öndvegissúkkalaðistykki, although I suggest that you don't try to say that while eating it-- it's a mouthful all by itself.

This is the best chocolate bar, in case you were curious.

The possibilities are endless, which is one of the things that makes Icelandic so great. The ability to easily form compound words like this make it possible to express just about anything you can think of. It makes Icelandic a real öndvegismál!

WORD SUMMARY:

öndvegi, -s, -- (n): seat of honor; (in compounds) excellent, first-class

Posted in: Compound Words, Nouns, Prefixes