hljóðum

hljóðum is a grammatical form found in Icelandic and Old Norse. It is the dative plural of the noun hljóð, which means sound, noise, or voice in these languages. The form is primarily attested in historical texts and in linguistic descriptions of phonology and meter, where writers refer to “the sounds” of a line or passage. Morphologically, hljóðum marks the dative plural and occurs when the noun hljóð is governed by a dative argument or by a preposition that requires the dative case. In poetic and scholarly contexts, hljóðum can be used to discuss audible features of speech, the role of sound in versification, or auditory imagery in prose.

In the study of Old Norse and Icelandic, hljóðum is part of the broader system of noun inflection that includes case, number, and definiteness. Its usage reflects how speakers of these languages treat sounds or phonemes as objects within grammatical constructions, rather than as mere events. The term thus serves as a convenient label in grammars and editions of medieval texts for referring to the set of sounds under discussion.

Related discussions often appear in works on phonology, meter, and textual criticism, where hljóðum may be contrasted with other grammatical forms of hljóð or with similar terms describing aspects of sound. While hljóðum is primarily of historical linguistic interest, understanding its function helps illuminate how Old Norse and Icelandic speakers categorized and manipulated sound within their language.