Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun The parliament of Iceland. It is the oldest assembly in Europe, first convened in 930.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The general assembly or parliament of Iceland.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The national assembly or parliament of Iceland. See thing, n., 8.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun the national parliament of Iceland

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Old Norse althing, parliament, whole assembly : allr, all; see al- in Indo-European roots + thing, assembly.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Icelandic Alþingi, from Old Norse alþingi, from allr ("all") + þing ("Thing"). Compare Thing, thing.

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Examples

  • Usually it refers to some small, original version of a much larger thing (Wisconsin's welfare program was said to be the homunculus version of the federal Welfare Reform Act of 1996; Iceland's ancient parliament, the Althing, is the homunculus version of Congress), but it can also mean someone who resembles the homunculi depicted in illuminated treatises.

    Never Mind 2004

  • Usually it refers to some small, original version of a much larger thing (Wisconsin's welfare program was said to be the homunculus version of the federal Welfare Reform Act of 1996; Iceland's ancient parliament, the Althing, is the homunculus version of Congress), but it can also mean someone who resembles the homunculi depicted in illuminated treatises.

    Never Mind 2004

  • This 'Althing' combined both the power of a High Parliament and that of

    A Girl's Ride in Iceland George Harley 1862

  • "Althing" gathering last Aug. 29-Sept. 1 on private land purchased by Volksfront in rural Missouri, about an hour's drive north of St. Louis.

    slackbastard 2009

  • As I mentioned, this is where Iceland's old parliamentary assembly had its seat in the past -- the Althing, which literally means "everyman's assembly".

    Alda Sigmundsdottir: The Magic of Iceland's Golden Circle Alda Sigmundsdottir 2011

  • As I mentioned, this is where Iceland's old parliamentary assembly had its seat in the past -- the Althing, which literally means "everyman's assembly".

    Alda Sigmundsdottir: The Magic of Iceland's Golden Circle Alda Sigmundsdottir 2011

  • The government of Iceland has agreed that it has an obligation and the Althing recently passed a bill setting out the repayment schedule.

    Matthew Yglesias » The IMF in Iceland 2010

  • The DYDA DISPATCHES: The Senedd and the Althing skip to main | skip to sidebar

    The Senedd and the Althing 2008

  • Only Iceland's Althing, founded in 930 A.D., is older.

    1491: excerpts part 3 2009

  • When the Althing in Iceland declared that Iceland was a Christian country, the two major concessions made to those who had not yet converted was the continued legality of infanticide and the allowance of private but not public pagan sacrifices.

    The Volokh Conspiracy » Abortion: Murder or Tragedy? Are Those the Only Options? 2009

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