Common Norwegian Words in Genealogy

and guides to understanding the Norwegian language.

Please let me know if this list has been useful to you or if you can add to the list.

Av == By, from, of

Bort == Away

Brukar == User

Bruksnavn == subfarm name

Bruksnr == subfarm number

Ca == About, approximate

Daddel == date

Daler-Ort-Skilling == more monetary units

Dreng == youth, hired hand

Død == Death

fadder == godfather

Far == Father

Fisker, Baadbygger == fisher, boat builder

Frå == From

Føderaadshus == pensioner's house

Født == Born

grannebruket == the neigbouring farm

Gaardbruger, Selveier == farmer, owner

Gift == Married

Gift Med == Married with

Gutt == boy

Gårdsnavn == farm name

Gårdsnr == farm number

Herred == old administative unit, now called a kommune

hjelper Faderen == helps his father

Hjemme hos Forærene == The person was living at the parents house

Husfader == Head of the family

Husmand med Jord == head of household/Cotter with land

Inderstar == tennant,farmworker

innerst og legdekone == lodger and a pauper woman

Inntil == until

Jæger med Jord = Hunter with land

Leilaenning/leilending == renter, tenant

Løpenr == older farm numbering system (used in 1865 census)

Mor == Mother

Navn på eier == name of owner

På == Upon, on, at, to

Pige/pg/jente == girl

Piige == girl/unmarried woman

Pleisesønn == foster son

Skyld i mark og øre == tax in the monetary units of the time (øre=1/8 mark)

smed == blacksmith

Sogn == parish (a smaller division of the prestegjeld)

Svigerson == son-in-law

Til == To

Tjenestepige == serving girl

umlag == circa, about

Ung == Young

Ungkar == Unmarried man

Ved == At

 

 

In front of ship names, in common Norwegian usage:

SS=steam ship

MV=motor vessel

MS=motor ship

MT=motor tanker

ST=steam tanker

 

Abbreviations in Norwegian company names

A/S (Aksjeselskap) is broadly the same as the British "Co Ltd"

D/S (Dampskibsselskab) is "Steamship Co."

 

Keyboard shortcuts to Norwegian characters

Å=Alt+0197

å=Alt+134

Ø=Alt+0216

ø=Alt+0248

É=Shift+Ctrl+Alt+E

é=Ctrl+Alt+e

Æ=Alt+0198

æ=Alt+0230

Ö=Alt+0214

ö=Alt+0246

 

Or use the little program Character Map that is supplied with Windows - you may have to add this accessory via Add/Remove Programs (make sure you have your Windows Disk handy).

 

Understanding the Language

English and Norwegian are both Germanic and so have many words in common.  Denmark ruled over Norway for several hundred years until 1814, this had a profound effect on the language within the towns of Norway.  This influence lead to a division between the accents of towns, Bokmål, and the less accessible country, Nynorsk.   Today Bokmål is the prevailing 'language' and is used in most newspapers and understood almost everywhere.

Because of this difference in dialect there are sometimes slight variations in the written word.  Some examples are:

These minor differences do not cause a problem to the Norwegians but can be an endless mystery to those with little knowledge of the language.

There are other small differences of note; for instance Bokmål uses u where Nynorsk will use o (i.e. hull & hol = hole).  Nynorsk will often add a j as in the above example for milk.  And Nynorsk adds a feminine gender to the Bokmål common and neuter genders.

There are two speech 'melodies' or tones in Norwegian which combine to differentiate between some words or to stress others.  Also two or more short words are often combined to create a longer word, try cutting longer word up into its shorter components (usually after an s or e).

Today there is a steady migration towards old Norse words and sometimes new words can come into use, replacing current trends.  This all adds to a colorful journey for those interested in learning Europe's 'most fluid language'!

TRY THESE:

http://home.online.no/%7Eotjoerge/files/word.htm

http://www.tolken99.com/

http://www.algonet.se/~hagsten/engindex.htm

http://www.linkopp.com/members/vlaiko/dictionaries.htm

http://www.freetranslation.com/

http://www.freedict.com/onldict/nor.html

http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~norway/dictionaries.html

Please let me know if these Links are broken