Gleypa

Gleypa is an Icelandic verb meaning to swallow or gulp. It covers the literal act of swallowing food or drink and is also used metaphorically to describe absorbing something fully, such as information, a story, or an emotion. The verb can take a direct object referring to the thing swallowed, or be used with a clause to indicate absorption of information.

The word comes from Old Norse gleypa and is part of the North Germanic language family. In modern Icelandic it is a regular verb in common use, with standard conjugation patterns that appear in dictionaries and language references.

In literature and everyday speech, gleypa appears in contexts that emphasize immediacy or intensity—such as how a person swallows the news or a challenge. It can also be used in more figurative expressions about appetite, curiosity, or emotional impact, conveying the sense of taking something in as one would a physical swallow.

Usage notes include its transitive sense, where a thing being swallowed is specified, and its figurative senses, where abstract content is said to be swallowed or absorbed. While the primary meaning remains physical, its metaphorical applications are common in contemporary Icelandic prose, journalism, and daily conversation.

See also: swallow (in English); gulp; Icelandic verbs.