hópum

Hópum is the dative plural form of the Icelandic noun hópur, meaning "group." Hópur refers to a collection of people or things and is a masculine noun in Icelandic. In the standard noun paradigm, the dative plural is hópum, while the nominative plural is hópar and the accusative/genitive plural is hópa.

In usage, hópum appears when the group is in a dative context—for example, as the indirect object of a verb or after prepositions that govern the dative. It is primarily found in descriptive or formal Icelandic, including academic, journalistic, and educational writing, when referring to multiple groups in a dative sense. The word thus functions within the grammar of case rather than as a separate lexical unit with independent meaning.

Etymology: hópur is an inherited Icelandic noun with cognates in other Nordic languages and traces back to Old Norse hǫpr (or a related form), evolving into the modern Icelandic hópur and its plural hópar, hópa, and hópum.

See also: hópur; Icelandic grammar; dative case.