sæll

From Old Norse sæll (“happy”), from Proto-Germanic *sēliz.

• IPA^(key): /saitl̥/, [sai̯tɬ]
• Rhymes: -aitl

sæll (comparative sælari, superlative sælastur)

1. happy, content

   Synonyms: ánægður, hamingjusamur, líða vel

   1. fortunate
   2. my dear (used in certain set phrases when addressing someone)

      sonur sæll ― my dear son

2. hello (a greeting)

Sæll is a very common greeting, particularly in formal situations. It inflects with the gender and plurality of the person being addressed (sæll for a man, sæl for a woman and a mixed-gender group, sælir for a group of men, and sælar for a group of women).

In slang, the plural sælir/sælar is occasionally used to address a single person; it is considered a more "cool" and relaxed greeting.

• sæll vertu (“hello”)
• vertu sæll (“goodbye”)
• sæll og blessaður (“hello”)
• sæla (“happiness”)

• Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon — Íslensk orðsifjabók, (1989). Reykjavík, Orðabók Háskólans. (Available on Málið.is under the “Eldra mál” tab.)

Inherited from Proto-Germanic *sēliz, from Proto-Indo-European *selh₂- (“to calm, quiet, be favourable”).

sæll (comparative sælari, superlative sælastr)

1. happy, fortunate
   • 800s, Hávamál, verse 69

     Es-at maðr alls vesall, // þótt sé illa hęill,
     sumr es af sonum sæll,
     sumr af frændum, // sumr af fé ǿrnu,
     sumr af verkum vęl.

     Man is not completely wretched, though he of poor health be: someone is fortunate from sons, someone from kinsmen, someone from ample cattle, someone from works done well.

• Icelandic: sæll
• Faroese: sælur
• Norn: sel
• Norwegian: sæl
• Old Swedish: sǣll
  • Swedish: säll
• Old Danish: sæll, sææl
  • Danish: sæl