Kveður

Kveður is a form of the Icelandic verb kveða, meaning to utter, to speak, or to compose verses. In modern Icelandic, kveður is the third-person singular present indicative form, used when stating that someone or something utteres or recites something, typically a verse or poem. For example, Hann kveður vísu would translate roughly as He recites a verse.

Etymology and related forms: The verb kveða belongs to a word family tied to speaking and verse. The related noun kvæði means a poem, while kveðskapur denotes poetry as a literary activity. The root kveð- appears in Old Norse and has carried into contemporary Icelandic with retained associations to speech, utterance, and verse. Other forms derived from the same root include kveðja, which relates to greeting or salutation, illustrating the broad semantic link between speech and social acts.

Usage: In contemporary Icelandic, kveða is most commonly encountered in literary, historical, or poetic contexts. Its present-tense form kveður appears in written texts, poetry, and quotations that preserve older or stylistically elevated language. In everyday speech, speakers more often use verbs like segja (to say) or skrifa (to write) for plain utterance, while kveða remains a familiar term within the vocabulary of poetry and traditional expression.

See also: kvæði, kveðskapur, kveðja.