foreldrar

Icelandic

Etymology

Once variants (“tvímyndir; a different spelling, pronunciation, or form of the same word”) of foreldri (“a parent”). It is rare that a word's gender differs between grammatical numbers, but modern dictionaries generally list them as two distinct words — even though their form and declension is similar. The reason for this disparity in usage is the masculine word's lack of singular form.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈfɔːrɛltrar/

• audio

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Noun

foreldrar m pl (plurale tantum)

1. (plural only) parents; (mother and father, or any combination thereof) (genealogical abbreviation for.)

Usage notes

• The term is masculine when used in the plural but neuter when used in the singular foreldri (“a parent”).