sparka

Icelandic

Etymology

From Old Norse sparka, ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *spurnaną (“to trample, kick”). Compare Swedish sparka.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈspar̥ka]

  Rhymes: -ar̥ka

Verb

sparka (weak verb, third-person singular past indicative sparkaði, supine sparkað)

1. to kick [with dative]
2. (figuratively) to give someone the boot, to fire, to sack [with dative]

Conjugation

sparka – active voice (germynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að sparka
supine sagnbót		sparkað
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		sparkandi
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	sparka	sparkaði		sparki	sparkaði
	þú	sparkar	sparkaðir		sparkir	sparkaðir
	hann, hún, það	sparkar	sparkaði		sparki	sparkaði
plural	við	spörkum	spörkuðum		spörkum	spörkuðum
	þið	sparkið	spörkuðuð		sparkið	spörkuðuð
	þeir, þær, þau	sparka	spörkuðu		sparki	spörkuðu
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	sparka (þú), sparkaðu
plural	þið	sparkið (þið), sparkiði1

¹ Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

sparkast – mediopassive voice (miðmynd)

infinitive nafnháttur		að sparkast
supine sagnbót		sparkast
present participle lýsingarháttur nútíðar		sparkandist (rare; see appendix)
		indicative framsöguháttur			subjunctive viðtengingarháttur
		present nútíð	past þátíð		present nútíð	past þátíð
singular	ég	sparkast	sparkaðist		sparkist	sparkaðist
	þú	sparkast	sparkaðist		sparkist	sparkaðist
	hann, hún, það	sparkast	sparkaðist		sparkist	sparkaðist
plural	við	spörkumst	spörkuðumst		spörkumst	spörkuðumst
	þið	sparkist	spörkuðust		sparkist	spörkuðust
	þeir, þær, þau	sparkast	spörkuðust		sparkist	spörkuðust
		imperative boðháttur
singular	þú	sparkast (þú), sparkastu
plural	þið	sparkist (þið), sparkisti1

¹ Spoken form, usually not written; in writing, the unappended plural form (optionally followed by the full pronoun) is preferred.

sparkaður — past participle (lýsingarháttur þátíðar)

strong declension (sterk beyging)	singular (eintala)			plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	sparkaður	spörkuð	sparkað	sparkaðir	sparkaðar	spörkuð
accusative (þolfall)	sparkaðan	sparkaða	sparkað	sparkaða	sparkaðar	spörkuð
dative (þágufall)	spörkuðum	sparkaðri	spörkuðu	spörkuðum	spörkuðum	spörkuðum
genitive (eignarfall)	sparkaðs	sparkaðrar	sparkaðs	sparkaðra	sparkaðra	sparkaðra
weak declension (veik beyging)	singular (eintala)			plural (fleirtala)
	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)	masculine (karlkyn)	feminine (kvenkyn)	neuter (hvorugkyn)
nominative (nefnifall)	sparkaði	sparkaða	sparkaða	spörkuðu	spörkuðu	spörkuðu
accusative (þolfall)	sparkaða	spörkuðu	sparkaða	spörkuðu	spörkuðu	spörkuðu
dative (þágufall)	sparkaða	spörkuðu	sparkaða	spörkuðu	spörkuðu	spörkuðu
genitive (eignarfall)	sparkaða	spörkuðu	sparkaða	spörkuðu	spörkuðu	spörkuðu

Derived terms

• spark

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

• sparkene

Noun

sparka n

1. definite plural of spark

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• sparket

Verb

sparka

1. inflection of sparke:
   1. simple past
   2. past participle

Norwegian Nynorsk

Noun

sparka n

1. definite plural of spark

Polish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰ

Proto-Indo-European *-s

Proto-Indo-European *h₁éǵʰsder.

Proto-Balto-Slavic *iź

Proto-Slavic *jьz

Proto-Slavic *jьz-

Proto-Indo-European *sem-

Proto-Indo-European *sm̥-

Proto-Balto-Slavic *san?

Proto-Indo-European *ḱe?

Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm?

Proto-Slavic *sъ(n)

Old Polish z-

Old Polish s-

Polish s-

Proto-Slavic *porěti

Proto-Indo-European *-yeti

Proto-Indo-European *-éyeti

Proto-Balto-Slavic *-éitei

Proto-Slavic *-iti

Proto-Slavic *pariti

Polish parzyć

Polish sparzyć

Proto-Indo-European *-keh₂

Proto-Balto-Slavic *-kāˀder.

Proto-Slavic *-ъka

Old Polish -ka

Polish -ka

Polish sparka

From sparzyć + -ka.

Pronunciation

• (Lesser Poland):
  • (Kielce) IPA^(key): [ˈspar.ka]

Noun

sparka f

1. (Kielce) synonym of upał

Further reading

• Władysław Siarkowski (1878), “sparka”, in “Materiały do etnografii ludu polskiego z okolic Kielc”, in Zbiór wiadomości do antropologii krajowej (in Polish), volume 2, chapter 3, Krakow: Komisyja Antropologiczna Akademii Umiejętności w Krakowie, page 253

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse sparka, ultimately related to Proto-Germanic *spurnaną (“to trample, kick”). Compare Icelandic sparka.

Pronunciation

• Audio:

  (file)

Verb

sparka (present sparkar, preterite sparkade, supine sparkat, imperative sparka)

2. to kick; to strike with the foot or leg
   • 1909, Leon Larson, Samhällets fiende‎^[1], archived from the original on 20 January 2025:

     Han kände sig ungefär som en häst som sparkat sönder sina skaklar och som nu kunde få skena i väg så långt han ville utan fruktan för piskan och tygeln.

     He felt something like a horse that had kicked its shackles to pieces, and that now could bolt as far as he pleased without fear of whip or reins.

3. (slang) to fire; terminate an employment

Usage notes

The passive sparkas often has an active meaning as well in (sense 1).

Conjugation

Conjugation of sparka (weak)

	active		passive
infinitive	sparka		sparkas
supine	sparkat		sparkats
imperative	sparka		—
imper. plural1	sparken		—
	present	past	present	past
indicative	sparkar	sparkade	sparkas	sparkades
ind. plural1	sparka	sparkade	sparkas	sparkades
subjunctive2	sparke	sparkade	sparkes	sparkades
present participle		sparkande
past participle		sparkad

¹ Archaic. ² Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Derived terms

• spark

Further reading

• “sparka”, in Svensk ordbok [Dictionary of Swedish] (in Swedish)

Anagrams

• Kaspar, skapar, skarpa, skrapa