verðmætum

Verðmæti is an Icelandic noun that denotes value or assets with monetary worth. It is used to refer to items or rights that have financial significance, including tangible property such as real estate, machinery, or valuables, as well as intangible assets like intellectual property or rights. In everyday language, verðmæti can describe the worth of objects, while in economics and accounting it refers specifically to the assets recorded on a balance sheet and used to assess net worth.

The form verðmætum is the dative plural of verðmæti. It appears in sentences where the noun governs the dative case, for example in phrases such as aðgengi að verðmætum eignum (access to valuable assets) or við verðmætum hlutum (with valuable items). Thus, verðmætum is a grammatical form of the same noun rather than a separate word with a distinct meaning.

Usage and context: In financial contexts, verðmæti is central to evaluating wealth, collateral, insurance values, and depreciation. In law, it can define what counts as property or security. The term can also be used more broadly in everyday Icelandic to refer to things of worth, not only formal assets.

Etymology: Verðmæti derives from the Icelandic word verð, meaning price, combined with a element indicating worth or measure. The concept is cognate with related terms in other Nordic languages that express value or value-bearing assets.