dögum

Dögum is an Icelandic grammatical form derived from the noun dagur, which means day. It is most commonly the dative plural form of dagur, used in expressions related to time to indicate a duration or a point in time after or within days. In standard modern Icelandic, the corresponding plural forms of dagur include dagar (nominative), daga (accusative), and dögum (dative), with daga or daganna appearing in genitive forms depending on definiteness and grammatical context. Dögum therefore functions primarily as a case-specific inflection rather than as a standalone lexical item.

Etymology and historical context trace the word back to Old Norse dagr, with related forms in other Scandinavian languages. The term reflects a Germanic root for “day” that has evolved through centuries of Icelandic grammar, retaining a set of standard inflectional endings for masculine, strong nouns.

Usage in contemporary Icelandic centers on time expressions. Dögum appears in phrases that convey durations, intervals, or references to days in relation to other events. It is common in both written and spoken language, especially in sentences that involve temporal positioning, deadlines, or elapsed time. The form interacts with numerals and prepositions according to Icelandic syntactic rules, and its exact meaning shifts with context much as English “days” does when used in phrases like after several days or within a few days.

See also: dagur, dagar, daga, dögum in other cases, and Icelandic noun declension.