Slökkva

Slökkva is an Icelandic verb meaning to extinguish or switch off. It covers turning off lights and other electrical devices, extinguishing fires, and, in a broader sense, quenching or stopping the spread of something. The verb is transitive and is used with direct objects, for example in phrases referring to lights (ljós) or fire (eld). It also appears in metaphorical expressions, such as extinguishing hope or enthusiasm.

Morphology and usage: Infinitive form is slökkva. The past tense is slökkti and the past participle is slökkt, forms that appear in perfect and passive constructions (for example, "ljósið er slökkt" meaning the light is off). The imperative form is slökva, used to give a direct order to turn something off. In present tense, slökkva follows standard Icelandic verb conjugation patterns and is commonly used in everyday speech and written language.

Etymology: Slökkva derives from Old Norse and is cognate with related Germanic languages, including Norwegian slukke and Danish slukke. The term belongs to a family of extinguish or switch-off verbs that appear across Scandinavian languages, reflecting a shared semantic core.

Usage notes: Slökkva is used in literal contexts—lighting, heating, safety equipment, and firefighting—as well as in figurative language to denote ending or halting something. It appears in signage, instructions, and safety protocols, where precise wording matters for clear communication. While regional variation exists in phrasing, the core meaning and most common collocations (such as slökkva ljósin, slökkva eldinn) are widely understood across Icelandic speech.