gemsi

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈcɛmsɪ]

  Rhymes: -ɛmsɪ

Etymology 1

Noun

gemsi m (genitive singular gemsa, nominative plural gemsar)

1. one-year-old sheep

Derived terms

• vandræðagemsi (“troublemaker”)

Related terms

• gemlingur

Etymology 2

A metathetic vocalization of GSM (“Global System for Mobile communications”).

Fell into disuse around the time when smartphones became ubiquitous (c. 2010), which are simply termed sími or farsími.

Noun

gemsi m (genitive singular gemsa, nominative plural gemsar)

1. (informal) cell phone, mobile phone (but not a smartphone) [late 1990s – early 2010s]

Synonyms

• (mobile phone): farsími m, GSM-sími m

Further reading

• “gemsi” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)