bákn
Icelandic edit
Etymology edit
From Old Norse bákn, a borrowing from Old Frisian bāken, from Proto-Germanic *baukną. Cognate with English beacon, Dutch baken.
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
bákn n (genitive singular bákns, nominative plural bákn)
- (archaic) beacon, signal
- huge thing, colossus
- cumbersome system, red tape, bureaucracy