vísindalegir

Vísindalegir is an Icelandic adjective meaning "scientific" or "related to science." It is formed from vísindi, meaning science, and the suffix -legur/-legr, which creates descriptors. The term is used to describe methods, approaches, or concepts that belong to or are characteristic of science, and it appears in common collocations such as vísindalegar rannsóknir (scientific research), vísindalegar aðferðir (scientific methods), and vísindaleg hugsun (scientific thinking).

In Icelandic grammar, vísindalegir is the masculine plural nominative form of the adjective; corresponding forms include vísindalegur (masculine singular), vísindaleg (feminine and neuter singular, as well as plural neuter and feminine forms in some contexts), and vísindalegar (feminine or mixed plural). The adjective is used with a noun it describes, agreeing in gender and number, for example: vísindalegar kenningar (scientific theories) or vísindalegar aðferðir (scientific methods).

As a rule, vísindalegir is primarily an adjective. When referring to people, Icelandic typically uses specific noun forms such as vísindamaður (scientist) or vísindamenn (scientists), rather than treating vísindalegir as a standalone noun. The term remains common in technical and academic language to characterize things that follow or relate to scientific principles rather than to denote a group of people by itself.

See also: vísindamaður, vísindi, vísindalegar aðferðir.