tímabilum

Tímabilum is an Icelandic noun form meaning "periods" or "intervals." It is the dative plural form of tímabil, the base noun used to denote a span of time, era, or phase in various fields.

Etymology and grammar: Timabil is a compound from tími ("time") and bil ("interval"), with cognates in related North Germanic languages. Icelandic nouns change form according to number and case, and -um is a common marker for dative plural in many neuter or masculine nouns. The dative case is used after prepositions or verbs that require it, such as after the preposition á ("on", "across") in "á mörgum tímabilum" ("across many periods").

Usage: Tímabilum appears mainly in written Icelandic, in history, archaeology, geology, and climatology, where authors discuss timespans and chronological sequences. It is less common in casual speech.

Notes: The form timabilum is specifically the dative plural; other forms of tímabil appear in different grammatical contexts. Related terms include tímabil (period), tími (time), and bil (interval).