List of English words of Scandinavian origin explained

This is a list of English words that are probably of modern Scandinavian origin. This list excludes words borrowed directly from Old Norse; for those, see list of English words of Old Norse origin.

English words of Scandinavian origin

• cog
• cosy
• flounder
• hug
• lug
• scree
• snug
• torsk, "codfish"
• wicker

English words of Danish origin

• aquavit, "a clear Scandinavian liquor flavored with caraway seeds"^[1]
• fjeld, "a barren plateau of the Scandinavian upland"^[2]
• flense, "to strip of blubber or skin"^[3]
• Ombudsman, “Ombudsmand”
• Window, “vindue”
• scrike, "shriek"^[4]
• torsk, "codfish"^[5]
• husband, “hus” is house in Danish, “bonde” is a type of farmer in Danish. Source: Kasper
• egg, "æg"

English words of Norwegian origin

• aquavit, "a clear Scandinavian liquor flavored with caraway seeds"^[6]
• brisling, "sprat"^[7]
• fjord, "a narrow inlet of the sea between cliffs or steep slopes"^[8]
• flense, "to strip of blubber or skin"^[9]
• floe, "floating ice formed in a large sheet on the surface of a body of water"^[10]
• gravlax, "salmon cured especially with salt, sugar, pepper, and dill and often additional ingredients (such as fennel, coriander, lime, and vodka or aquavit)"^[11]
• klister, "a soft wax used on skis"^[12]
• krill, "planktonic crustaceans and their larvae (order or suborder Euphausiacea and especially genus Euphausia) that constitute the principal food of baleen whales"^[13]
• lemming, "any of various small short-tailed furry-footed rodents (such as genera Lemmus and Dicrostonyx) of circumpolar distribution that are notable for population fluctuations and recurrent mass migrations"^[14]
• lefse, "a large thin potato pancake served buttered and folded"^[15]
• lutefisk, "dried codfish that has been soaked in a water and lye solution before cooking"^[16]
• murk, "gloom, darkness; c. 1300, myrke, from Old Norse myrkr 'darkness,' from Proto-Germanic *merkwjo, Danish mǿrk 'darkness',"^[17]
• murky, "dark, obscure, gloomy; mid-14c., from murk + -y,"^[18]
• scrike, "shriek"^[19]
• ski, "one of a pair of narrow strips of wood, metal, or plastic curving upward in front that are used especially for gliding over snow"^[20]
• slalom, "skiing in a zigzag or wavy course between upright obstacles (such as flags)"^[21]
• telemark, "a turn in skiing in which the outside ski is advanced considerably ahead of the other ski and then turned inward at a steadily widening angle until the turn is complete"^[22]
• torsk, "codfish"^[23]

See also

• List of English words of Old Norse origin
• Lists of English words by country or language of origin
• List of English words of Swedish origin

References

1. Web site: Definition of AQUAVIT. 12 March 2024 .
2. Web site: Definition of FJELD.
3. Web site: Definition of FLENSE.
4. Web site: Definition of SCRIKE.
5. Web site: Definition of TORSK.
6. Web site: Definition of AQUAVIT. 12 March 2024 .
7. Web site: Definition of BRISLING.
8. Web site: Definition of FJORD. January 2024 .
9. Web site: Definition of FLENSE.
10. Web site: Definition of FLOE. 2 January 2024 .
11. Web site: Definition of GRAVLAX.
12. Web site: Definition of KLISTER.
13. Web site: Definition of KRILL. 21 December 2023 .
14. Web site: Definition of LEMMING. 29 December 2023 .
15. Web site: Definition of LEFSE.
16. Web site: Definition of LUTEFISK.
17. Web site: Murk | Etymology of murk by etymonline.
18. Web site: Murky/ | Search Online Etymology Dictionary .
19. Web site: Definition of SCRIKE.
20. Web site: Definition of SKI. 2 January 2024 .
21. Web site: Definition of SLALOM. 20 November 2023 .
22. Web site: Definition of TELEMARK. 27 February 2024 .
23. Web site: Definition of TORSK.