Líkum

Líkum is the dative plural form of the Icelandic noun lík, which means body or corpse. In Icelandic, nouns decline for case and number, and lík takes the dative plural form líkum. This form is used when the body or bodies are the indirect object of a sentence or governed by a preposition that requires a dative, for example in contexts describing location, handling, or movement involving multiple bodies.

The base word lík refers to the physical body of a person or animal and is used in a range of contexts from anatomy and medicine to law, crime reporting, and folklore. In everyday language, lík can denote a living body or a corpse, with nuances depending on context and associated verbs or adjectives. The plural dative form líkum therefore appears most often in formal or written Icelandic when multiple bodies are involved and a dative case is required.

Etymology and related forms: lík comes from Old Norse lík, which has cognates in other Norse languages. Over time, Icelandic developed a full system of case endings, including the dative plural form líkum, to express grammatical relationships in sentences. Other inflected forms of lík cover nominative, accusative, and genitive cases in both singular and plural, though the exact plural forms vary by case.

In summary, lík refers to a body or corpse, and líkum is the grammatical form used for multiple bodies in the Icelandic dative, reflecting the language’s case-based noun inflection.