mannvitsbrekka

Icelandic

Etymology

From mannvit (“sense, knowledge”) +‎ brekka. The meaning of the second constituent has not fully been determined,[1] but is possibly used as a emphatic suffix to mean “a paragon of wisdom”. Found in archaic speech, two women have the nickname mannvitsbrekka in Landnámabók (“The Book of Settlements”)[1]

The oldest example of the word from later usage is from 1915, but it is generally used sarcastically.[1]

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈmanː.vɪtsˌprɛhka/

Noun

mannvitsbrekka f (genitive singular mannvitsbrekku, nominative plural mannvitsbrekkur)

  1. genius; a sarcastic way of referring to a person's wit
  2. (nickname, archaic) a hill of man's wit, a paragon of wisdom

Declension
declension of mannvitsbrekka
f-w1 singular plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative mannvitsbrekka mannvitsbrekkan mannvitsbrekkur mannvitsbrekkurnar
accusative mannvitsbrekku mannvitsbrekkuna mannvitsbrekkur mannvitsbrekkurnar
dative mannvitsbrekku mannvitsbrekkunni mannvitsbrekkum mannvitsbrekkunum
genitive mannvitsbrekku mannvitsbrekkunnar mannvitsbrekkna mannvitsbrekknanna

References
  1. Icelandic Web of Science: Hver er uppruni orðsins mannvitsbrekka og hvar kemur það fyrst fyrir? (“Where does the word “mannvitsbrekka” come from and where did it originate?”)

Further reading
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