The Inflectional History of the name Ester

Abstract

The Icelandic proper name Ester (Esther) merits attention for a number of reasons. This article undertakes the task of writing the history of the declension of this name. The following issues will be dealt with:

a. The name Ester first appeard in Guðbrandsbiblía (1584), the first Icelandic edition of the Bible.

b. In Guðbrandsbiblía, the name Ester was without a special genitive ending. In sources, a bit younger, the ending could also be -s which is the ending for masculine or neuter Une Pensée de l’eau 196 nouns. In the Bible, the ending -s first appeared in the 1813 edition.

c. In the new translation of the Bible 1908, the genitive ending -ar, the most common ending for all feminine nouns, first appeared. Shortly before, Ester had been established as a proper name.

d. In the modern languge, Ester normally gets the the genitive ending -ar. However, the ending -s can be found and sometimes the name is without an ending (-Ø). Furthermore, the same could be said of few other female names.

e. In the article, this special behavior, here described, is discussed. The status of proper names and their role will also be taken into consideration.

Keywords: history of Icelandic, morphology, genitive singular, biblical women’s names, proper women’s names