skjöldur

From Old Norse skjǫldr, from Proto-Germanic *skelduz (“shield”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)keit-, *(s)keid-, *kheit- (“shield, cover”). Compare Faroese skjøldur, Danish and Norwegian skjold, Swedish sköld.

• IPA^(key): /ˈscœltʏr/
• Rhymes: -œltʏr

skjöldur m (genitive singular skjaldar, nominative plural skildir)

1. shield (handheld piece of armor)
2. shield (anything which protects or defends)

In certain phrases such as koma í opna skjöldu, ganga fram fyrir skjöldu, and stíga fram fyrir skjöldu, an archaic plural accusative form skjöldu still survives.

• hlífiskjöldur
• koma í opna skjöldu (to catch somebody off guard, to take by surprise)
• leika tveim skjöldum, leika tveimur sköldum (to trim one's sails to the wind, to swim with the tide)
• skjöldóttur
• skjaldarmerki