einn

Einn is a term used in Icelandic primarily as the masculine nominative singular form of the cardinal numeral one. In Icelandic, the feminine and neuter forms are ein and eitt, and the numeral typically agrees with the gender of the noun it modifies. Einn is used to count items and to indicate a single object, as in einn maður (one man) or einn dagur (one day). It can also appear as an indefinite pronoun in some contexts to mean “one” in a general sense.

Linguistically, einn is an ancient form within the North Germanic branch and is cognate with similar words in related languages. Its etymology traces back to Proto-Germanic *ainaz, related to English one, German eins, Dutch een, and the Scandinavian forms en/ein. The Icelandic form has preserved characteristics that set it apart from some of its modern counterparts in neighboring languages.

In modern Icelandic usage, einn is common in numerical expressions and often appears alongside determiners or nouns as part of standard counting and measurement. Outside Icelandic, the term is primarily of interest in historical or comparative linguistic contexts, rather than in contemporary everyday usage.

See also: One (number); Icelandic language; Germanic languages.