garði

Garði is the dative singular form of the Icelandic noun garður, which means garden, yard, or enclosed outdoor space. In everyday Icelandic, garður refers to a garden or yard associated with a home or property, while the definite form garðurinn is used for “the garden.” The dative form garði appears in phrases indicating location or direction after prepositions or in certain verbal constructions.

Etymology and cognates

The word garður comes from Old Norse garðr, a term meaning an enclosed space, yard, or garden. It is cognate with other medieval and modern Nordic words such as Danish gård and Norwegian gård (and the Swedish gård), which share the sense of an enclosed or cultivated area. The Icelandic form garður has evolved through inflection, with garði serving as the dative singular, garðs genitive singular, and garðurinn/garðinn the definite forms in various cases.

Morphology and usage

Garður is a masculine noun with several grammatical forms: nominative garður, genitive garðs, dative garði, accusative garð; plural forms include garðir (nom.), garða (gen.), garði**m** (dat. pl.), garða (acc.). The dative garði is used after prepositions and in relief of location, e.g., in garði (in the garden) or til garðs (to the yard). The root also appears in compounds such as garðyrkja (horticulture) and in toponyms and place names derived from the idea of a garden or enclosed space.

See also

Icelandic language, Old Norse, cognate Nordic terms for garden or yard, and related toponyms in Iceland.