starfa

From Old Norse starfa (“to exert oneself”), through an intermediate meaning “to endure” derived from Proto-Germanic *sterbaną (“to become stiff”). By surface analysis, starf n (“work”) +‎ -a (denominal suffix).^[1][2]

Cognate with Norwegian Bokmål starve (“to work, exert oneself”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈstarva/

  Rhymes: -arva

starfa (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative starfaði, supine starfað)

1. to work

   Synonym: vinna

   starfa sem ― to work as

   Hún fór að starfa í Reykjavík. ― She started working in Reykjavík.

   Hún hafði aðeins starfað í eitt og hálft ár. ― She had only worked for a year and a half.

2. to work for a living, to be employed

   Synonym: gera

   Hvað starfar þú? ― What do you do for a living?

   Ef þú værir ekki kennari, við hvað myndir þú þá vilja starfa?

   If you weren't a teacher, what would you want to do for a living?

3. to function

   Synonyms: virka, fúnkera

   Hjartabilun er ástand þar sem hjartavöðvinn starfar ekki eðlilega.

   Heart failure is a condition where the heart muscle does not function normally.

• Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2026), “starfa”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
• “starfa” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)
• “starfa”, in Íðorðabanki [Terminology Bank] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, 2002–2024
• “starfa”, in Ritmálssafn Orðabókar Háskólans [The Written Collection of the Lexicological Institute] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies