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)

genius; a sarcastic way of referring to a person's wit
(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

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 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?”)