Nýyrði

nýyrði is a term used in Icelandic linguistics to describe words that have been introduced to the Icelandic lexicon after the language’s standard codification, including wholly new lexemes as well as newly assigned meanings for existing words. The category covers native coinages as well as adapted or borrowed terms.

nýyrði can arise in several ways. Native coinage often results from combining existing roots or stems and adding productive suffixes or inflectional endings. Calques or loan translations render a foreign concept with Icelandic materials rather than importing a foreign word. Some neologisms are borrowings that are adapted to Icelandic spelling and grammar. Finally, semantic extension of existing words can create new meanings that function as new terms in specific domains.

In practice, nýyrði reflect advances in technology, science, business, culture, and everyday life. They may begin in specialized discourse and gradually enter general usage; successful neologisms are often included in dictionaries and taught in schools. Language policy and lexicography in Iceland emphasize creating and standardizing native-form neologisms where possible to preserve linguistic distinctiveness, while also documenting widely used foreign terms that have become naturalized.

See also:

Icelandic language, lexicography, neologism.