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skriðdreki

skríðato crawl

+

drekidragon

=

crawling dragon

which everyone uses to mean military tank

First printed in 1917. Icelandic already had bryndreki, an armour dragon, for a warship.

things

Literal glosses are a translator’s liberty, not a rule. This compound may have frozen centuries ago, with its pieces drifting since. If it is wrong, a correction from an Icelandic speaker is the whole point.

Timo Zuther · Impressum · Privacy