dagsetningu

Dagsetning is the Icelandic term for a calendar date, referring to the day, month, and year of an event or the issue date of a document. It is used in everyday language, in forms and contracts, and in bibliographic records to indicate when something occurred or was created. The word combines dag (day) with setning, a historical usage related to placing or setting a day.

Usage and formatting conventions in Icelandic typically present the date with the day first, followed by the month and year. This can appear as 12. maí 2023 or 12. maí 2023, with the month written in words. Months may also be written as numerals in some contexts, yielding forms such as 12.05.2023. In international or technical contexts, the ISO 8601 format 2023-05-12 is used, particularly in databases and programming.

In official documents, dagsetning often appears near the top of the page or before signatures, and it establishes the timing of obligations, deadlines, or the validity period of the document. Changes to a document may require updating the dagsetning to reflect amendments or the effective date of new terms.

Etymology traces dagsetning to dag (day) and a component related to setting or placing, reflecting the historical notion of marking the day on which something occurs. While identical in meaning to the English “date,” dagsetning is used within Icelandic linguistic and legal conventions and conforms to local date-writing practices.