bætti

Bætti is a finite verb form in the Icelandic language. It is the simple past (preterite) form of the verb bæta, which has senses including to add, to improve, or to repair, depending on context. The infinitive of the verb is bæta, and the past participle is bætt.

In modern Icelandic, bæti is used to describe actions that were completed in the past. Its exact meaning is determined by the surrounding context, which can refer to adding something to a collection or list, improving a condition, or repairing something. The verb is versatile and appears across everyday speech, literature, and journalism.

A common sense of the root bæta is to make something better or more complete, rather than merely to repair. In many constructions, the idea of addition is foregrounded, for example when information, items, or capabilities are extended. The form bæti is found in various past-tense narratives and reports, while the past participle bætt is used with auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses, such as “have added.”

Etymology and related forms: bæta originates in Old Norse and is part of a family of North Germanic verbs with similar meanings related to addition, improvement, and repair. In Icelandic, these connections persist in related words and in the way the past tense and past participle are formed and used in sentence structures.

Notes: Bætti functions as a conjugated form rather than as an independent lexical item. In dictionaries, it is described as the preterite form of bæta; the base form and related participle forms are bæta and bætt, respectively. The word’s exact nuance depends on context, similar to how the English “added” can imply adding information, materials, or value.