þurr

Þurr is a word of Old Norse origin meaning “dry.” It appears in Old Norse texts as a basic descriptive adjective and is the ancestor of the modern Icelandic adjective þurr, used with the same core sense. In Old Norse usage, the term described things lacking moisture or hydration, including weather, land, clothing, and other materials, and it could modify nouns across gender and number according to the language’s inflection patterns.

Etymology and relatives: The term belongs to the Germanic family of languages. It is linked to other Germanic words for dry, and its cognates survive in modern Scandinavian languages, such as Danish tør and Norwegian tørr. In Icelandic, the adjective is typically inflected to reflect grammatical gender and number, with forms such as þurr (base form) and þurrt (neuter form) in some inflections.

Modern usage: In contemporary Icelandic, þurr remains the standard word for dry when describing weather, soil, or textures. It appears in literature and everyday speech, and it also shows up in place names and historical glossaries that preserve Old Norse vocabulary. The concept can be extended metaphorically to describe dryness of humor, climate, or landscape in literary contexts.

See also: Old Norse language, Icelandic language, Germanic languages, Danish language, Norwegian language.