gamall

From Old Norse gamall, from Proto-Germanic *gamalaz.

• IPA^(key): /ˈkaːmatl/

  Rhymes: -aːmatl

gamall (comparative eldri, superlative elstur)

1. old
   • Colossians 3:9

     Ljúgið ekki hver að öðrum, því þér hafið afklæðst hinum gamla manni með gjörðum hans.

     Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices.

   Hvað er mamma þín gömul? — Hún er fjörutíu og níu ára gömul.

   How old is your mom? — She's forty-nine years old.

   Hvað ertu gamall?

   How old are you?

2. old, ancient

• forn
• aldraður

gamall (masculine and feminine gamall, neuter gamalt, definite singular and plural gamle)

1. (pre-1917) alternative form of gamal

The positive form is from Proto-Germanic *gamalaz. The comparative and superlative forms are from Proto-Germanic *alþizô and *alþistaz respectively, comparison forms of the positive *aldaz (“old”), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eltós, ultimately from the root *h₂el- (“to grow, nourish”). Compare with English old – elder – eldest.

gamall (comparative ellri, superlative ellztr)

1. old
   • Hávamál, verse 135

     at hárum þul / hlæ þú aldregi,
     oft er gótt, / þat er gamlir kveða;

     at a grey-haired sage / never laugh,
     often is good, / that which the old tell;

2. old, aged; of a certain age

   hve gamall maðr ertu ― how old art thou?

This word has a suppletive inflection, using another root in the comparative and superlative forms, than in the positive form.

• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “gamall”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive
• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “ellri”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive
• Zoëga, Geir T. (1910) “ellztr”, in A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press; also available at the Internet Archive