This is the 301st most frequent Icelandic word.
hélt
"Hélt" is the past tense of "halda," meaning "held" or "thought" in English.
In this sentence, 'hélt' functions as the past tense of the verb 'halda', meaning 'to think' or 'to believe'.
Ég hélt að hann hefði sagt já.
I thought he had said yes.
Here, 'hélt' is the past tense of the verb 'halda', which here means 'to hold'.
Hún hélt í blómin með varkárni.
She held the flowers carefully.
In this example, 'hélt' (conjugated as 'héldum' for plural form) represents the past tense of 'halda', meaning 'to start' or 'to set off'.