Fornöfnum

Fornöfnum is a term used in Icelandic linguistics to refer to historical or archaic pronouns. The word is related to fornöfn, the Icelandic term for pronouns, and fornöfnum denotes the older or traditional forms that appear in earlier stages of the language or in philological description. In linguistic descriptions, fornöfnum is used to distinguish pronoun forms found in historical texts from those in contemporary Icelandic.

In practical grammar, fornöfnum encompasses the range of personal, demonstrative, possessive, and sometimes reflexive pronouns that were attested in older periods and in Old Norse, as well as the changes they underwent as Icelandic evolved. Scholars study fornöfnum to understand how pronouns inflect for case and number, how they function in sentences, and how their forms shift in writing from medieval sources to modern usage. The concept helps explain irregularities, historical spellings, and the relationship between pronouns and surrounding nouns or verbs in older texts.

The study of fornöfnum contributes to the broader field of historic linguistics and philology in Icelandic. It provides a framework for comparing ancient and modern pronominal systems, tracing sound changes, and documenting the trajectory of pronoun forms over time. Texts in Old Icelandic and related Norse languages often illustrate fornöfnum through glosses and grammatical treatises, which preserve the forms and their contextual usage for scholarly analysis.

See also: fornafnið (the pronoun), málfræði (grammar), Old Norse, historic Icelandic.

References are found in standard Icelandic grammars and historical language guides that treat pronouns and their historical forms.