kortleggja

Kortleggja is Icelandic for the act of mapping or charting. It refers to the process of locating, recording, and presenting information about spatial features, data, or phenomena on a map or diagram. The verb is used across fields such as geography, urban planning, geology, ecology, and data analysis, where it denotes turning observations into a spatial representation or a structured overview.

Etymology and form: The word combines kort, meaning map, with the verb root leggja, meaning to lay or place. Thus, kortleggja literally means to lay out on a map. The related noun kortlagning denotes the act or result of mapping, while kortlagður refers to something that has been mapped.

Usage: Kortleggja is a transitive verb and typically governs a direct object in the accusative, such as svæði (area), gögn (data), or fyrirbæri (phenomena). Examples include: Rannsóknin kortlagði dreifingu loftmengis á svæðinu. Mannvirkjakortlagning kortlagði höfðuborgarsvæðið. In GIS and data contexts, kortlagning is often used for the broader process, while kortleggja emphasizes the act of mapping itself.

See also: Cartography, geographic information systems (GIS), landnotkunarmál (land use planning), kortlagning. The term is part of a technical vocabulary used when presenting spatial analyses or planning projects in Icelandic.