Each year, the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic studies selects the Word of the Year. The institute has been involved in choosing the Word of the Year since 2015. Initially, the selection process was a collaboration with national broadcaster RÚV and Mímir – the Association of Icelandic Studies Students. However, in 2018, the two groups parted ways, and the Árni Magnússon Institute and RÚV began selecting their own Words of the Year using different methods. RÚV allows readers of Ruv.is to nominate ten words and vote on them, while the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies bases its selection on data from the Icelandic Gigaword Corpus, which highlights evolving trends in vocabulary.

This year marks the tenth time the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies has selected a Word of the Year. Ten words are selected as representative of the year in some way, with one standing out as the most significant.

The Word of the Year for 2024, deemed the most notable, is Hraunkæling (lava cooling).
 

Hraunkæling

The past few years have been marked by volcanic activity on the Reykjanes Peninsula, which began with the eruption in Geldingadalur at Mount Fagradalsfjall on March 19, 2021. During the first year, terms from the field of volcanology dominated, with words like óróapúls (tremor pulse), gosmóða (volcanic fog), and kvikugangur (magma intrusion) nominated as Words of the Year by the Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies. Over the next two years, volcanic activity continued, but new and old terms did not attract significant attention.

However, the past year brought renewed excitement, with six eruptions occurring in a single year. Various terms gained prominence, such as varnargarður (protective barrier), sprunguhreyfingar (fracture movements), and kvikusöfnunarsvæði (magma accumulation zone). Still, the term hraunkæling (lava cooling) stood out among the rest.

In the summer of 2024, lava cooling methods were employed when it was uncertain whether protective barriers alone would suffice. Lava cooling is an entirely Icelandic invention that proved highly effective during the eruption on Heimaey in 1973. The idea of using lava cooling to protect infrastructure on the Reykjanes Peninsula was first floated in 2023, and the term appears 161 times in the Icelandic Gigaword Corpus that year. In the first ten months of 2024, however, it is recorded 1,530 times. The term also gained particular attention through the newly created job title hraunkælingarstjóri (lava cooling director), held, at least temporarily, by Helgi Hjörleifsson.
 

Other Words Nominated

• Inngilding (inclusion)
• Þyngdarstjórnunarlyf (weight management drugs)
• Gjörunninn (ultra processed)
• Fjölskyldusameining (family reunification)
• Móttökuskóli (reception school)
• Brottfaraúrræði (deportation solutions)
• Skjáhætta (screen risk)
• Tómthússkattur (vacant lot tax)
• Vindorkuréttindi (wind energy rights)

Further details about the Word of the Year can be found in an article on the online magazine mannamal.is (in Icelandic).