Singularið

Singularið is a term that appears in linguistic discussions about Icelandic grammar. It denotes the singular form or the concept of singular, contrasted with fleirtala, the plural. In everyday usage the standard label for this category is eintala; singularið is more common in academic or descriptive texts when referring to the idea of the singular as a grammatical feature.

In Icelandic, nouns inflect for number and definiteness. The two-number system is eintala (singular) and fleirtala (plural). The definite form is expressed with a postposed suffix, and the singular definite form is typically húsið (the house) from the base hús (house). Indefinite singular is usually shown by the bare noun with a numeral or article, e.g., eitt hús (one house). Plural indefinite is hús (houses). Plural definite is húsin (the houses). The forms vary by gender and declension class, and adjectives agreeing with the noun also reflect singular or plural.

The term singularið may be used to refer to the set of forms that mark singular, or to the singular as a grammatical concept in contrast with plural. It is not the standard label in Icelandic grammars, which almost exclusively use eintala. When teaching or writing about number in Icelandic, authors typically use eintala and fleirtala, and reserve singularið for cross-linguistic or theoretical discussion.