óskrifaðar

Óskrifaðar is an Icelandic adjective meaning "unwritten." It is used to describe norms, rules, or traditions that are understood or observed in practice but have not been formally written down or codified. The term is formed from the verb skrifa (to write) with the negating prefix ó- and the past participle ending, yielding a form that agrees with feminine plural nouns, as in óskrifaðar reglur or óskrifaðar venjur.

Common collocations include óskrifaðar reglur (unwritten rules), óskrifaðar venjur (unwritten customs), and, more broadly, óskrifaðar hefðir. The phrase is widely used in social, cultural, and organizational contexts to refer to tacit expectations or practices that guide behavior without legal or formal documentation. It can also appear in discussions of etiquette, workplace culture, or civic life, where informal norms differ from officially established procedures.

Etymology-wise, the word combines ó- (a prefix indicating negation) with skrifa (to write) and the participial morphology used for adjectives in Icelandic. As a result, óskrifaðar functions as a descriptive label for things that exist in effect rather than in written form. The concept is common across languages, and in Icelandic it is most often encountered in discussions of social norms, governance, and tradition.