leigja

Leigja is an Icelandic verb meaning to rent or hire, specifically to obtain the use of property, equipment, or services in exchange for payment over a fixed period. The related noun leiga refers to the rental itself or the arrangement. The verb is used with a direct object that names the item being rented, and it can also be used in a sense of renting something out when the subject provides it to others for use.

In practical use, leigja appears in contexts such as renting housing, vehicles, or tools. The infinitive leigja is used with the particle að to form verb phrases, for example að leigja something, and tenses and moods are built through standard Icelandic verb conjugation. The term is common in everyday speech as well as in contracts, advertisements, and formal documentation relating to rental agreements.

Etymology and cognates: Leigja derives from Old Norse leiga, with cognates in other Nordic languages, such as Danish leje and Norwegian leie, reflecting a shared Germanic ancestry for rental terms. The related noun leiga (rental) is widely used in legal and commercial Icelandic.

Summary: Leigja covers the action of renting something from another party, while the noun leiga denotes the rental arrangement itself. It is a core term in real estate, consumer rentals, and service economies in Icelandic.