sçan

Síðan is Icelandic for the adverb meaning then, afterwards, or subsequently. It is used to indicate that one event follows another in time or sequence, and it appears in both spoken and written Icelandic. The word can stand on its own as a transitional marker or introduce a following clause that describes what happened after something else.

Usage notes and examples:

Síðan typically connects two clauses to mark progression in time. It is invariable and commonly placed after a main clause or at the beginning of a new clause. Examples:

- Við unnum verkefnið, síðan lögðum við af stað.

- Fyrst var veðrið gott, síðan versnaði það.

- Hún kom til mín í morgun; síðan fór hún heim.

Etymology and related terms:

The word derives from the same temporal sense as síðar, meaning later. It is cognate with cognate forms in other Nordic languages, such as Danish senere, Swedish senare, and Norwegian senere, all of which carry a similar meaning related to time after a point.

Relation to other expressions:

Síðan is primarily an adverb and does not inflect. It differs from prepositions like eftir, which introduce phrases indicating what comes after in a spatial or temporal sense, and from síðar, which often means “later” in a broader sense. In narrative or expository prose, síðan helps structure a succession of events or claims, guiding the reader or listener through time.