Hliða

Hliða is an Icelandic verb meaning to slide, slip, or tilt. It covers both physical movement—where an object moves laterally across a surface—and metaphorical movement, such as shifting focus, changing position, or sidestepping an issue. In physical contexts it can describe something sliding aside on a slope or being moved to create space. In figurative use, it can convey a change of direction in a plan, argument, or attention.

The verb is used in various contexts and can appear in a range of tenses and moods like other Icelandic motion verbs. It can form phrases that indicate movement toward the side or a change in position, and it is commonly found in everyday language as well as more formal writing.

Etymology and cognates: hliða is of native Icelandic origin, tied to concepts of movement and spatial change. Related Nordic languages have verbs with similar meanings for sliding or shifting, reflecting a shared semantic field across the region.

Usage notes: Hliða is generally understood across standard Icelandic and is found in dictionaries and language resources describing motion verbs and figurative language. Its usage is straightforward for speakers familiar with spatial verbs, though, as with many motion words, context determines whether the sense is physical or figurative.