þinna

þinna is a historical inflected form found in Icelandic and Old Norse records, described in linguistics as the genitive plural form of the second-person possessive determiner meaning “your.” It is used to indicate possession by the addressee when the referent is possessed by more than one person.

In its traditional analysis, þinna derives from the same Germanic roots as other second-person possessives. It appears in medieval texts and older language stages as a grammatical variant of the modern possessive constructions. Because Icelandic grammar has undergone significant standardization since the Middle Ages, þinna is primarily encountered in historical sources and in discussions of older stages of the language; in contemporary standard Icelandic it is generally considered archaic or dialectal.

The form is studied within the broader topics of possessive pronouns and determiner agreement in North Germanic languages. Scholarly descriptions note how second-person possessives historically alternated with other forms and how case, number, and gender influenced the surrounding noun phrases. As a result, þinna serves as a useful data point for understanding how possessive systems evolved in Icelandic and related languages.

See also: Icelandic grammar, Old Norse, Proto-Germanic, possessive pronouns, historical linguistics.