Iceland (Lonely Planet, 7th Edition) - Fran Parnell [288]
If you’re searching for words in an Icelandic dictionary, index or telephone book, be aware that Ð, þ, æ and ö have their own separate places in the alphabet: Ð comes after d, and the other three letters appear at the very end of the alphabet.
Vowels
Consonants
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ACCOMMODATION
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CONVERSATION & ESSENTIALS
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DIRECTIONS
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EMERGENCIES
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EATING OUT
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HEALTH
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NUMBERS
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SHOPPING & SERVICES
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TIME & DATES
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TRANSPORT
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Glossary
Click here in the Food & Drink chapter for useful words and phrases dealing with food and dining. See the Language chapter Click here for other useful words and phrases.
á – river (as in Laxá, or Salmon River)
álfar – elves
álfhóll – ‘elf hillock’; small wooden house for elves, often seen in Icelandic gardens
Alþingi – Icelandic parliament
basalt – hard volcanic rock that often solidifies into hexagonal columns
bíó – cinema
brennivín – local schnapps
bær – farm
caldera – crater created by the collapse of a volcanic cone
dalur – valley
eddas – ancient Norse books
ey – island
fjörður – fjord
foss – waterfall
fumarole – vents in the earth releasing volcanic gas
gata – street
geyser – spouting hot spring
gistiheimilið – guest house
gjá – fissure, rift
glíma – Icelandic wrestling
goðar – chieftain
hákarl – putrid shark meat
hestur – horse
hot pot – outdoor hot tub or spa pool, found at swimming baths and some accommodation
hraun – lava field
huldufólk – hidden people
hver – hot spring
höfn – harbour
ice cap – permanently frozen glacier or mountain top
Íslands – Iceland
jökulhlaup – glacial flooding caused by volcano erupting beneath an ice cap
jökull – glacier, ice cap
kirkja – church
Landnámabók – comprehensive historical text recording the Norse settlement of Iceland
laug – hot spring
lava tube – underground tunnel created by liquid lava flowing under a solid crust
lón – lagoon
mudpot – bubbling pool of superheated mud
mörk – woods or forest
nes – headland
nunatak – hill or mountain surrounded by a glacier
puffling – baby puffin
reykur – smoke, as in Reykjavík (literally ‘Smoky Bay’)
runtur – ‘round tour’; Icelandic pub crawl or aimless driving around town
sagas – Icelandic legends
sandur – glacial sand plain
scoria – glassy volcanic lava
shield volcano – gently sloped volcano built up by fluid lava flows
skáli – hut; snack bar
stræti – street
sundlaug – heated swimming pool
tephra – rock/material blasted out from a volcano
tjörn – pond, lake
torg – town square
vatn – lake (as in Mývatn, or Midge Lake)
vegur – road
vents – natural clefts where hot steam emerges from the ground
vík – bay
vogur – cove, bay
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The Authors
FRAN PARNELL Coordinating Author, Reykjavík, Southwest Iceland, Southeast Iceland
Fran’s passion for Scandinavia began while studying for a masters degree in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. A strange university slide show featuring sublime Icelandic mountains and a matter-of-fact man who’d literally dug his own grave awakened a fascination that has kept on growing. Deserted valleys and blasted mountain tops are her chosen lurking places, and Hekla is her favourite volcano. Fran returns to Iceland as often as possible and, when not there, can read, think and dream of little else. Fran has also worked on Lonely Planet’s guides to Scandinavian Europe, Sweden and Reykjavík. For this edition she also wrote Destination Iceland, Getting Started, Events Calendar, Itineraries, History, The Culture, Iceland’s Great Outdoors and Directory.