Word Of The Issue: A Window Of Opportunity

The Grapevine’s guide to sounding Icelandic, one word at a time

Continuing the “two (or more) words for the price of one!” deal from our last Word of the Issue column, this week’s pick is another beloved and classic compound word. And it’s a timely one — you’ll get a lot of mileage out of this word for the next few weeks, before it goes more or less dormant until Spring.

Have you ever woken up to the sun shining through your window, with a seemingly beautiful day just a pane of glass away? You bounce out of bed, excited to head out into this nice-looking day. You get dressed in some light clothing and go outside — then BAM. You’re hit by a wave of biting cold. You’ve been tricked! You trudge back inside to collect a hat and some wool.

You’re not alone in this experience. In fact, it’s such a common experience in Iceland that there’s a term for it: gluggaveður.

To break it down, gluggi is a word for window in Icelandic, which comes directly from the Old Norse. Veður means weather, taken from the Old Norse veðr. Put them together, and you get gluggaveður, or “window weather” — the term for weather that looks nice through a window, but isn’t at all nice once you’re outdoors.

As we’re now entering gluggaveður season, there are two paths forward for using this word. One, when hit by that unexpected gust of freezing wind, you can now complain about the gluggaveður! You know exactly what to say when you’re deceived by a sunny, warm-looking day that’s anything but. Secondly — and this is how I try to think of it — you can talk happily about the gluggaveður from behind the safety of a window.

And now for an extra-credit section: window, in English, actually is a compound word stemming from Old Norse too! Vindauga, vind(r) + auga, is wind + eye. An eye to the wind! It’s almost too perfect.

With a new window of opportunity to talk about wind, windows, and weather, you’re all set. So go forth and enjoy the gluggaveður.

Learn more Icelandic words hér.