# Icelandic: ball



## Gavril

<thread closed, topic needs to be more well-defined>

The discussion of _knattspyrna_ vs. _fótbolti_ made me wonder about Icelandic translations for the word _ball_. How would it be translated in the following contexts?

_ball of rubber / clay / cotton / thread

I crumpled the piece of paper into a ball

The cat curled up into a ball
_

Thanks


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## hanne

I read this and tried to think of Danish translations, which made me realise something. In Danish (so possibly Icelandic too), "bold" is a toy, not a geometrical shape (that's "kugle"). So your first expressions cannot be translated well without some sort of context to determine if you mean one or the other. In your examples here it looks like you really mean "a round object made of rubber" etc. - which is different from "a round object made of rubber used as a toy". Granted, the definition of "toy" extends to sports in general, but I hope you still get the idea. So I think you need to clarify your question before you can get good answers.


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## Gavril

hanne said:


> I read this and tried to think of Danish translations, which made me realise something. In Danish (so possibly Icelandic too), "bold" is a toy, not a geometrical shape (that's "kugle"). So your first expressions cannot be translated well without some sort of context to determine if you mean one or the other. In your examples here it looks like you really mean "a round object made of rubber" etc. - which is different from "a round object made of rubber used as a toy". Granted, the definition of "toy" extends to sports in general, but I hope you still get the idea. So I think you need to clarify your question before you can get good answers.



I'd like to know the translations for both the toy and non-toy meanings of _ball_ in the contexts mentioned. (String/clay/cotton balls are not normally used as toys, though, and rubber balls are almost always toys as far as I know.)


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## hanne

Gavril said:


> I'd like to know the translations for both the toy and non-toy meanings of _ball_ in the contexts mentioned. (String/clay/cotton balls are not normally used as toys, though, and rubber balls are almost always toys as far as I know.)


My point was: when you ask for the word for something, you should give an appropriate description of the object. "Ball of rubber, non-toy type" isn't a very accurate description. The toy/non-toy distinction was one I happened to think of, there may be others. It was just meant to illustrate that names aren't always clear and unambiguous, without context/further description. When somebody comes around to answer a question, it shouldn't be their task to first sit down and think of all the possible interpretations - it's your job when you ask the question to be clear, so there's only one way to interpret it .


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## kepulauan

Well for starters, if you're thinking about _knattspyrna_, it's safe to say that the word _knöttur_ isn't really used for anything nowdays. Exceptions include mostly names of ball games and maybe sport teams.

Ball is usually translated as _bolti_, but _kúla_ often interchangeable or preferred.


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## sindridah

Bolti, knöttur , tuðra. I would say and you could use it for all i guess.

_rubber / clay / cotton / thread bolti._

_rubber / clay / cotton / thread knöttur._

_rubber / clay / cotton / thread tuðra._


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## hanne

sindridah said:


> Bolti, knöttur , tuðra. I would say and you could use it for all i guess.
> 
> _rubber / clay / cotton / thread bolti._
> 
> _rubber / clay / cotton / thread knöttur._
> 
> _rubber / clay / cotton / thread tuðra._



Do those three all mean the same thing? Do they all mean "ball" in the meaning of a toy? Pollodia mentioned kúla, so let me guess that a rubber-"kúla" isn't the same thing as a rubber-"bolti".

To get back to my previous request for _context and elaboration_, we still didn't get any. As for "ball of string", the translations you've got so far are probably not at all what you meant. I think sindri's suggestions all refer to a ball that is used as a toy, and that can be (imagined to be) made out of different materials (not items you're very likely to encounter in life, but the words are perfectly valid, and given the lack of detail, they answer the question that was asked.).

Now _what I think_ Gavril meant was:

Rubber ball: a toy. Is it just any ball that's made out of rubber, or is it perhaps the very bouncy type specifically? Could be gummibold in Danish (no, Danish wasn't asked for, I'm just using it to illustrate my point).
Clay ball: a lump of clay? Lerklump in Danish.
Cotton ball: the flower/fruit/whatever-it-is, that is growing on the cotton plant. Don't have a clue what I'd call this in Danish. If you're talking about the manufactured cotton you buy in a shop, a ball of that would be "vattot".
Thread ball: A roll of thread - the way you store thread until it is used. Probably garnnøgle in Danish.

I'm sure Gavril will come back to correct me, and then hopefully remember to provide the explanations himself in the future. These are the kind of terms that non-natives rarely come across and _know_, but when they do occur, we can usually hit the target by making a qualified guess based on context. Without context, we're just taking it strictly literally, and then you get the ball = bolti translation, because that shares the original word root (don't remember if cognate is the term for this) .


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## hanne

MOD NOTE:

This thread seems to be about a range of very different items, that just happen to have the same name in English. As such, it doesn't have a clearly defined topic, and will be closed unless Gavril can justify it's existence as one thread.

If anyone wants to go into a discussion of the difference between bolti, knöttur, and tuðra, which could probably be interesting , I suggest you start a new thread.


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## sindridah

As a toy then definitely just the word *"bolti"* as consider to sports you could use *"bolti/knöttur/tuðra"*

Kúla is more like, For example the balls in billiard/snoker and in bowling that is indeed *"kúla"*

bullets in guns we call byssu*kúla* also.


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## Gavril

hanne said:


> Do those three all mean the same thing? Do they all mean "ball" in the meaning of a toy? Pollodia mentioned kúla, so let me guess that a rubber-"kúla" isn't the same thing as a rubber-"bolti".
> 
> To get back to my previous request for _context and elaboration_, we still didn't get any. As for "ball of string", the translations you've got so far are probably not at all what you meant. I think sindri's suggestions all refer to a ball that is used as a toy, and that can be (imagined to be) made out of different materials (not items you're very likely to encounter in life, but the words are perfectly valid, and given the lack of detail, they answer the question that was asked.).
> 
> Now _what I think_ Gavril meant was:
> 
> 
> Rubber ball: a toy. Is it just any ball that's made out of rubber, or is it perhaps the very bouncy type specifically? Could be gummibold in Danish (no, Danish wasn't asked for, I'm just using it to illustrate my point).


I meant any rubber ball used for sports or for children's play. 

(I realize that this isn't very specific; I thought that the respondent(s) would help to provide the needed specificity.)



> Clay ball: a lump of clay? Lerklump in Danish.


I was thinking of a sphere-shaped ball of clay. This could be made by a child playing with clay, or a potter working with clay.



> Cotton ball: the flower/fruit/whatever-it-is, that is growing on the cotton plant. Don't have a clue what I'd call this in Danish. If you're talking about the manufactured cotton you buy in a shop, a ball of that would be "vattot".


I meant the manufactured cotton balls.



> Thread ball: A roll of thread - the way you store thread until it is used. Probably garnnøgle in Danish.


Exactly right.


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