skipta

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse skipta, from Proto-Germanic *skiftijaną.

Verb

skipta (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative skipti, supine skipt)

1. (with dative) to divide, to partition, to cleave

   Ég skal skipta appelsínunni í tvo hluta.

   I'll divide the orange into two parts.

2. (with dative) to distribute, to divide amongst
3. (with dative) to change

   Af hverju skiptir himininn litum?

   Why does the sky change colours?

4. (with dative) to change, exchange, to swap

   Ég skipti gamla bílnum mínum fyrir nýjan.

   I exchanged my old car for a new one.

   Ég skipti krónunum mínum í dollara.

   I converted my krónur to dollars.

5. (impersonal, with dative) to matter

   Það skiptir engu máli.

   It doesn't matter.

   Það skiptir ekki máli.

   It doesn't matter.

   Það skiptir máli.

   It matters.

   Þeir riðu svo tugum skiptir.

   They rode by the dozens.

   Ég hef ekki séð hana svo mánuðum skiptir.

   I haven't seen her for months on end.

Usage notes

• In the sense skipta máli (“to matter”), when emphasis is added to the word skipta it is the equivalent of adding the auxiliary verb do with emphasis:

  Þetta 'skiptir' máli!

  This 'does' matter!

Derived terms

• ef því er að skipta
• láta hendur skipta
• skipta á milli sín/skipta milli sín
• skipta fyrir
• skipta í tvennt
• skipta sér af (to interfere, meddle)
• skipta skapi
• skipta sköpum (be crucial)
• skipta við
• skipta um
• skiptast

Old Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse skipta, from Proto-Germanic *skiftijaną.

Verb

skipta

1. to distribute
2. to allot
3. to share
4. to shift, change

Conjugation

Descendants

• Swedish: skifta