stofn

Stofn is a noun in Icelandic that denotes ancestry, stock, or lineage. It is used primarily in genealogical and historical contexts to refer to the ancestral stock from which a family, clan, or population originates. In modern Icelandic, stofn tends to be formal or literary and appears in scholarly writing, genealogical records, and discussions of population history.

The word is part of a family of cognates across North Germanic languages and is related to terms in related languages that convey ideas of trunk, stem, or lineage. This cross-language connection reflects a common semantic core describing origin or descent. In contrast to everyday language, where terms like ætt or uppruni are more common for describing ancestry or origin, stofn carries a slightly more specialized or formal nuance.

In addition to historical and genealogical uses, stofn can appear in older or more technical texts related to biology or population studies when referring to a strain or stock, though this sense is less common in contemporary Icelandic usage. The term can be employed in plural discussions of lineages or stocks, particularly within scholarly or heritage-focused discourse.

See also: ætt, stam, Stammbaum. References to stofn are found in Icelandic dictionaries and linguistic resources that cover genealogical terminology and historical language usage.