þema

þema is the Icelandic noun for theme or topic. It denotes the central idea, subject, or organizing principle of a text, discussion, research project, or design brief. In literature and academic writing, a þema acts as the main lens or question around which analysis and argument are built. In education, students are often asked to identify a þema and to develop it through planning, evidence, and interpretation. In professional contexts, a campaign, exhibit, or product concept may be described as having a coherent þema that unifies its elements.

Cognates exist in Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish as tema, and Icelandic uses the same root with its distinctive orthography. The word is part of a broader family of terms for “theme” that trace back through Nordic languages to older Indo-European roots, with connections to the Greek thēma via Latin. In Icelandic orthography, the letter þ (thorn) represents a voiceless or voiced th-sound, so þema is pronounced with a “th” initial sound, similar to the English word “thing.” The term is used across fields—from classroom instruction and literary analysis to media, design, and research planning—to denote the unifying idea that guides interpretation, structure, and communication.