ljóða

Ljóða is a term found in historical Icelandic and Old Norse sources that is generally understood to mean a poem, lay, or song. In contemporary Icelandic, the everyday word for a poem is ljóð, and ljóða is not commonly used in modern speech. The form appears mainly in philological editions, dictionaries, and literary works that discuss older poetry or the language of earlier periods.

In linguistic and literary studies, ljóða or ljóða is treated as an archaic or regional variant of the same semantic field as ljóð. It is often cited to illustrate historical spellings, inflection, or semantic nuance in older texts. Because it is primarily attested in older writings, the term is of interest mainly to scholars examining the development of Icelandic poetry and the vocabulary surrounding poetic composition.

Historically, Icelandic poetry encompasses several distinct traditions, including skaldic verse and classic rímur. While ljóð is the standard modern designation for a poem, terms like ljóða appear in discussions of earlier linguistic stages and can appear in translated editions or glossaries to help readers recognize older language forms. The usage of ljóða today is largely confined to scholarly contexts rather than everyday language.

Overall, ljóða is best understood as a historical or archaic variant associated with the broader Icelandic term for poetry. For most readers and writers, ljóð remains the primary and current term for a poem in Icelandic, with ljóða of interest mainly to philologists and historians of language.