Óalþjóðleg íslenk nýyrði

apostle: toglöðungur (from toglöð, the Old Icelandic word denoting a group of twelve men)

archducal: yfirtyggja-(tyggi is the Old Icelandic word for 'hertogi')

armagnac: armangveig

Artesian: Arteisar- (The French ending -ois was icelandicized as -eis in Old Icelandic literature: e.g. bourgeois (burgeis), hence Artois: Arteis)

artesian well: Arteisarlind, bullauga

Assyria: Essringaland (Essringar = Assyrians, derived from 'Assur')

atom: ögnungur (diminutive of ögn and a one-word equivalent of 'agnarögn')

atto- (prefix denoting 1/quintillionth part): ördyrgil- (ör = micro + dyrgil- (pico, diminutive of dvergur (nano-) see 'íslensk orðsifjabók), micropico = atto)

baboon: báfjáni (spoonerism of fábjáni (idiot, clown))

banjo: bumbulúta

barbie doll: böbbubrúða (Barbie is an English pet-form of 'Barbara'. In Icelandic the pet-form would be 'babba' (compare: German Babs). The full name of Barbie is Barbie Millicent Roberts (Babba Amalsviða Hróbjarts)

bikini: pinkuskýla

boron: bur (from 'burís')

bra: bralli (slangurorðabók, nice abbreviation of 'brjósthaldari')

carboranes: kolburungur (A carborane is a cluster composed of boron ('bur' from 'burís') and carbon (kolefni) atoms.)

cello/ to play the cello, cellist: hniðla/ að hniðla/ hniðlir: (hné +fiðla)

chewing gum: jórturleður (slangurorðabók)

cover (song): kráka (slangurorðabók)

credit card: gjaldspjald (spjalda (verb): pay with a creditcard)

cylinder: kefli (another possible synonym of 'sívalningur' next to 'hólkur' (see Íslensk orðsifjabók)

Damian: Tamján (personal name, From the Greek name Damianos which was derived from Greek damao "to tame", hence the use of Tam- (from temja) as the first element in the Icelandic neologism)

Deirdre (Personal name of Irish origin): Dýrðra

dinosaur: treðla (tröll + eðla)

drag queen: kjólasveinn (slangurorðabók)

duchess: tyggjaynja (from 'tyggi' (hertogi))

dwarf-mammoth: pútaloffi (second member 'loffi' is a 'gælumynd' of 'loðfíll')

emo (style of music): tilfó (slangurorðabók)

femto- (prefix denoting 1/quadrillionth part): ördverg- (ör = micro + dverg = nano: micronano = femto, see atto-, pico)

gasoline: ökvi (from vökvi and aka, good replacement for the loan-word 'bensín')

giga- (prefix denoting a billion units): þursund- (þurs, þursi + þúsund).

hair roller: kiðlir (from the verb 'kiðla' (skrýfa eða krulla hár), see Íslensk orðsifjabók)

handbreak: mundhemill (handbremsa is too understandable for non-icelanders.)

Harlem: Harleimur

Harlequin: Tíglótta fíflið: (after the characteristic diamond patterns of Harlequin's costume)

harmonium: heimilisómvél (orgel = ómvel)

Hartfordshire: Hjartfurðuskíri (Hartfort comes from Old English Heorot +ford, "Ford frequented by harts or stags". The Icelandic equivalent is Hjartfurða. 'Shire' can be translated as sýsla or skíri.)

Harvard University:Hervarðarmenntahöll (The University was named after John Harvard, a clergymen. The name is cognate with Hereward, O.E. hereweard, lit. "army guard." The Icelandic version is Hervarðar. For university 'menntahöll' is used to avoid the compound 'háskóli', which is already used in many languages.)

hellgrammite: hornefjungur (the larva of the Dobson fly (Icel. hornefja))

helicon: gormlúður

Héloise (personal name): Heilvíða (probably from the Germanic name Helewidis, composed of the elements heil "hale, healthy" and wid "wide".)

Henriette (personal name): Hinrétta (Hin- of 'Hinrik' + phonetical adaptation + feminine ending -a)

hinny: hálfhestur (MÚLASNI)

Indus river: Fimmfljótungur ((The Indus receives its most notable tributaries from the Punjab (= Land of Five Rivers, translated in Icelandic as Fimmfljótaland, see 3) to the east, including the Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej rivers.)

jelly roll: vöðluranda með aldinmauki, maukvöðla: (avoid compounds with the danicism 'sulta')

Ken: Kinni (from Kenneth, Icelandic form Kinaður (see Íslensk orðsifjabók). The pet-form of Kinaður and equivalent of English 'Ken' is then 'Kinni'.)

Kermit (frog from Sesame Street): Kjarmiður: (From the Irish surname Mac Dhiarmaid, which means "son of DIARMAID". The Icelandi adaptation is K (last character in 'Mac') + jarmiður (Dh is mute)

lepton (1/100 of a drachm): létteyrir (léttur (lepto-) + eyrir (1/100 part); eyhafskur eyrir (Greek cent)

letter bomb: hvellsending

leu (rumenian currency unit): blökumannaljón (blökumannaland = Valakía, could be used for Modern Rumenia)

lev (Bulgarian currency unit): þrakslafneskt ljón (Thracoslavic = Bulgarian) lion

mandarine: mikilembættismaður

mega- (prefix denoting a million units): miklund- (mikill (Greek megas) + -und (in þúsund). The word can be used for 'million' and the prefix 'mega-')

Minoan: Míneskur:(derived from Minos (here adapted to Mínur Mín, Míni, Míns)

mitre: oddbogahattur

monk: lifri (see 'nun')

monobasic: einbeiskjulegur

monohydroxy: einvetnildis-

Montgomaryshire: Mundgumareksskíri (Montgomery means "GUMARICH's mountain" in Norman French. A notable bearer of this surname was Bernard Montgomery ‘Bjarnharður Mundgumrekingur (Mundgumarekur (surname) – Mundgumrekingur, af Mundgumareksætt (family name)), The name originates from the Germanic elements guma meaning "man" and ric meaning "power, rule".)

moralist: síðafræðari, siðatoglöðungur (avoid compounds with 'prédikari' and 'postuli'. You can use 'toglöðungur' for the latter. It is derived from ON toglöð, which designated a group of twelve men.

morion: brynhattur

morocco (kind of leather): vestserkneskt/ sundmárískt/ njörvaserkneskt leður/ serkneskt sauðleður (SAFFÍAN): . The icelandic word saffían is derived from Safi, the name of the Moroccan city where the leather is made. Vestserkneskur (from Vesturserkland) is a translation of the full Arabic name al-Mamlaka al-Maġribiyya, which translates to "The Western Kingdom". Al-Maġrib (meaning "The West") is commonly used. Morocco is the most western part of Serkland (the muslim countries). Another possibility is njörvamárískur/sundmóverskur (Strait-Moorish, from Sundmóverskur/Sundmárískur/Njörvaserkneskur (after 'Njôrvasund' (strait of Gibraltar)

nectarine: sléttferskja (smooth peach)

neon: nýloft (turned out that the most simple translation yields the best option after all)

nightclub: njólukolfur (næturklúbbur is too understandable for Europeans and Americans. Njóla is a poetic word for 'night' and kolfur (no umlaut) is an old Icelandic word for a gathering that failed to be revived as an equivalent of the anglicism klúbbur. But, as for me, klúbbur doesn't exist, 'kolfur' is the true Icelandic word)

Nilotic-Saharian languages: Nykurelfar- og Sandheimstungumál

nostalgia: þáþrá (from slangurorðabók, very short and flexible)

nun: lifra (Old Icelandic synonym for 'systir'. these words could be revived and used instead of the foreignism 'nunna' because they are related to Old Icelandic 'lífi' and 'munklífi'.

Pennsylvania: Pennsskógarríki: (Named after Admiral Penn. Sylvania means 'wood land')

Pennsylvanian: Pennskógrískur

picosecond: pinkuskund, dyrgilskund (pinku- = pico-, a phonosemantic match or 'dyrgil-', the diminutive of dvergur (nano-) mentioned in the íslensk orðsifjabók') + skund (shortest possible adaptation of 'second', declined like 'stund' and derived from 'skunda')

plaster: benbót (shortest possible word)

polonium: maríublý (The element in the neighbourhood of 'lead' (blý) that was discovered by Marie (Maríu-) Curie)

positron: jánd: (don't be shy to REDUCE word-lenght)

Preraphaelite Brotherhood: forrafjálskt bræðralag (The group's intention was to reform art by rejecting what they considered to be the mechanistic approach first adopted by the Mannerist artists who succeeded Raphael (Rafjáll) and Michelangelo (Mikjálengill). They believed that the Classical poses and elegant compositions of Raphael in particular had been a corrupting influence on the academic teaching of art.)

Priamos (King of Troy): Frjámur: A lovely brutal icelandification of the Greek personal name.
Pyrenees: Hrólendsfjöll (Roland's mountains)

radium: maríukelki (maríu- (Marie Curie) + kelki (calcium, derived from 'kalk', like 'ildi' (oxygen) from 'eldur' (fire) and 'vetni' (hydrogen) from 'vatn' (water))

samba: bríslandsspor (the dance of Brazil. Icelandic 'brís-' in 'brúnbrís' has the same meaning and origin as 'Brazil'. The name of the country in Icelandic could be Brísland)

sapodilla: tyggileðurtré (tyggiGÚMMÍtré)

saran (plastic): festihimna (Saran is also called 'cling film' a thin plastic film made of saran (trade name Saran Wrap) that sticks to itself; used for wrapping food. We use 'himna' instead of 'filma', sorry for the loss of the aliteration)

satrap: persajarl

satrapy: persneskt jarlsdæmi

Saudi-Arabia: Sáðunga-Serkland, Sáðunga-Rábítaland, Sáðungaland

sauterne: sóterni

sitar: gnæfingjalúta (gnæfingi = giraffe + lúta (lute), Icelandic: langhálslúta)

smectite: kljángur (from klé in kléberg, which is synonymous with tálgusteinn. The term smectite originates from the Greek smectos, which means 'soap' and 'soapstone' (tálgusteinn, þveljusteinn, kléberg ) belong to the smectite group. I decided to add -ungur to kle- (kljá(u) ngur).

Smithsonian: Smisneskur

snake dance (slönguDANS): ormspor

sniper: skotdraugur

sun glasses: röðulskyggjur (see slangurorðabók) Nicely uninternational.

Tamil tigers: tamlverskir þórskettir/ rákagramar/randagandar (tiger translates as 'rákagramur' (striped tyrant king (compare tyrannosaurus rex (grameðla)) or 'randagandur')

tangerine: jólaglói (jól + glóaldin (glóa); the tangerine is also known as the 'christmas orange')
tango: tengja (-u, -ur)

tear-gas: táraþoka

thyroid gland: skeynill (skaun(n) + -ill in kirtill), skaunepill (more un-mainland-scandinavian than 'skjaldkirtill', which is not special)

thyroid hormone: skeyni (from 'skaun(n)'

trendsetter: straumbreytir (source: Morgunblaði, coined by Sigurbjörg Þrastardóttir)

Tristan da Cunha (island): Trostansey (Trostan is the original Icelandic form of the personal name Tristan)

yard: þrífet (A yard equals three feet)

yogi: einspekingur (from 'einspeki' (yoga))

Zanzibar: Neguley (island of cloves)

zero: eyvit (eyvitu, eyvitu, eyvitar) another possible term for the number zero next to 'ekkert' and 'vetki' (see orðsifjabók 'eyvið')

zither: strengjaborð

Zoroastrism: meðatrú (The religion was originally Medic, not Persian)