karlkyns

Karlkyns is the masculine grammatical gender in Icelandic grammar. It is one of three genders used to classify nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and determiners, alongside kvenkyns (feminine) and hvorugkyn (neuter). The term kar lkyns derives from the words for “man” and “kind/type,” reflecting historical ideas about gendering nouns.

In modern Icelandic, nouns assigned to kar lkyns are described as masculine nouns (karlkyns nafnorð). The gender influences agreement: adjectives and determiners inflect to agree with the masculine noun in gender, number, and definiteness. Definite forms are typically marked by suffixes attached to the noun, and adjectives shift form depending on whether they appear with definite or indefinite nouns. For example, a masculine singular indefinite noun may take one adjective form, while its definite form adopts another.

Common examples of masculine nouns include words such as maður (man) and bíll (car). The definite forms are maðurinn and bíllinn, respectively. Other parts of speech that interact with gender include pronouns and numerals, which also reflect masculine agreement.

Karlkyns is contrasted with kvenkyns (feminine) and hvorugkyn (neuter). While many Icelandic nouns clearly align with one gender, the assignment can be irregular, and dictionaries or grammars typically indicate the gender of each noun. Understanding kar lkyns helps explain vowel changes, article-like endings, and adjective inflection patterns across sentence structures.

See also: kvenkyns, hvorugkyn, Icelandic grammar.