Icelandic edit

Etymology edit

From Proto-Germanic *hneutaną, related to hnjótur, hnot, hnúta, and hnöggva.

Pronunciation edit

Verb edit

hnjóta (strong verb, third-person singular past indicative hnaut, third-person plural past indicative hnutu, supine hnotið)

  1. to stumble

Usage notes edit

  • Used with the preposition um ("about") to designate "tripping over" something.
    Drengurinn hnaut um steininn.
    The boy tripped over the rock.
    • Stephan G. Stephansson, Fullkomleikinn ("The Perfectness")
      Hæsta takmark hugsjónar
      haft í stiga aðeins var.
      Að hnjóta um lífsins hála svið,
      að hrasa og falla, en upp á við,
      er ferill framfara auði.
      Vision's highest goal
      was only kept in stairs.
      To trip over life's slippery stage,
      to stumble and fall, but upwards,
      are the empty traces of progress.

Conjugation edit

References edit