blaí

Blað is a common Icelandic noun with two primary senses: a leaf of a plant or tree, and a sheet or page of written material such as a book, magazine, or newspaper. In botany, blað refers to the flat, photosynthetic organ of a plant, while in publishing it denotes a single sheet or page within a larger work.

Etymology and related forms: The word originates in Old Norse blad and is cognate with related Germanic terms such as Swedish blad and German Blatt, all referring to a leaf or a sheet. In Icelandic usage, the sense of a leaf extends to leaves of plants as well as to sheets of paper used for printing. The plural form is typically blöð.

Usage: Blað is a basic term that appears in both botanical descriptions and discussions of printed media. It is used for referring to plant leaves as well as to individual pages or sheets in books and newspapers. The word can also appear in compound or idiomatic expressions where the sense of a flat, thin surface is implied.

In summary, blað functions as a versatile Icelandic term covering natural and textual material, with clear roots in the broader Germanic language family.