Mainland Scandinavian: Loans from Middle Low German

( Written : 2000; last updated : 24 Mar 2020)



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Color key to the words:

red = Modern Swedish, Danish and Norwegian;

blue = Middle Low German (MLG=MLS and/or MDu);

green = Old West or East Norse words displaced;

purple : Middle Scandinavian words.

Other abbreviations : arch. = archaic; dial. = dialectal; emLG = Early Modern Low German; HG = High German; LG = Low German; Nyn. = Nynorsk; ON = Old Norse; OSwed. = Old Swedish.

Introduction and Orientation

Definition of terms:

Middle Low German (MLG)

Means scholars are not certain about whether a loan came from Middle Low Saxon (MLS) or Middle Dutch (MDu). MLG can therefore be taken to mean from either, or both.

Middle Low Saxon (MLS)

Means the Low German dialects spoken in northern Germany and what is now the Netherlands by Hansa merchants etc. which were based on Old Saxon dialects.

Middle Dutch (MDu)

Means the Low German varieties based upon Old Franconian forms spoken by traders from what is now the Netherlands .

Old Norse (ON)

Is used here, rather than the Old- and Middle- Danish/Swedish forms that were actually replaced (unless stated), as instances of Old Norse are much easier to locate and state with certainty.

Modern Low Saxon/Modern Low German (ModLS)

Means today's Low German dialects that have descended from Old Saxon and are used in Northern Germany and the Eastern Netherlands .

Modern Dutch (Du)

Means today's Low Franconian dialects that are used in the Netherlands, Belgium ("Flemish"), and France (Westhoeks Flemish), as well as in protectorates and former colonies of the Netherlands, descended from Old Low Franconian.

Introduction :

The influence of Low Saxon and Dutch on the Scandinavian languages during the late medieval and early modern period was profound. Some commentators have compared it to the huge influence, both at the lexical and structural levels, that Norman French exerted on late Old English following the Norman Conquest. Indeed, this is the only parallel that can be found from the entire history of European languages! During the course of the medieval period, Danish for example borrowed more than 1500 new words, some of which were loaned from Latin, but the great majority came in from Middle Low German. (Not only were there direct loanwords but many loan translations in which the flesh is native, but the soul imported). The changes effected by Middle Low German on the Mainland Nordic languages were especially pronounced in the period c.1300-1400, when the Hansa was at its peak. But MLG influence lasted until 1550 (and to a lesser degree beyond), after which, High German became became the primary language in Northern Germany and began to influence the Mainland Nordic languages. It has been estimated that the total German – thus encompassing both Low and High German – element in the Danish lexicon is as high as 25%. A similar figure presumably applies to Swedish and Norwegian, although Norwegian has been the most puristic of the three. Willy Sanders puts an even higher figure on the MLG influence in Scandinavian: “…jetzt noch 30% des Wortschatzes nd. Herkunft sind.” Karl Wührer estimates the total share of MLG loans in the Mainland Scandinavian languages to be as high as 50-66%, but this is surely an overestimate. It also says nothing about the frequency of such loanwords. Other scholars are rather more conservative in their estimates. Most MLG words are found in guild laws and legal documents – the fewest are to be found in proverbs and folksongs, i.e. forms closest to the spoken language. That being said, many MLG loans belong to the most common words in the Mainland Scandinavian languages and the history of the Scandinavian languages simply cannot be studied without a detailed consideration of the MLG element. No Nordicist can afford to neglect this area. As Torsten Dahlberg put it (p.194):

“Fast auf allen Gebieten der Nordistik spürt oder ahnt man direkt oder indirekt das niederdeutsche Substrat. In Skandinavien können wir an dem Niederdeutschen nie vorbeikommen”.

Another way to appreciate the magnitude of the effect of MLG on the Nordic languages is to consider what it gave to the societies of the speakers. In other words, its cultural impact. This inpact was tremendous and lasting, effectively dragging the Nordic countries into the mainstream of European cultural life. As H. Bach remarks about Danish (p.527):

“…eins steht völlig klar: die Einwirkung des mnd. war die wichtigste Voraussetzung für die Einbeziehung des Dänischen in das gesamteuropäische Kulturmuster.”

A detailed discussion of the social, historical, legal, cultural and literary impact of MLG on the Nordic languages is beyond the scope of this article, but the interested reader can get a small taste of it by noting the MLG loans from cultural and social life provided in this article. It is generally accepted that the political, sociological and linguistic conditions in Sweden and Denmark-Norway were overall quite similar during the peak of the Hansa influence, thus allowing the largescale uptake of MLG language and culture across the board.

In the early and mid 1100s the Hansa trade town of Lübeck was rising to prominence on the Baltic coast. Along with other Hansa towns, Lübeck allowed the Hanseatic League to dominate trade across Scandinavia and the Baltic for the next three centuries. Colonies of Low German speaking merchants, craftsmen and officials settled in numbers in many major Nordic towns, such as Oslo , Bergen , Visby , Stockholm , Malmö, Söderköping, Kalmar and Copenhagen . ( Visby in Gotland was the first centre of Low German expansion and part of a German eastward colonization, being already in the 12th century an almost entirely German town). It is worth noting at this point that the place of language contact – and hence language mixing – was not the national language areas in general but the large trade and traffic areas, i.e. the major towns.

Many aristocratic families from what is now Northern Germany settled in Denmark and elsewhere in Scandinavia, and these often held prominent positions and hence had the chance to influence the literary language of all three nations to quite a degree. Due to the prestige and power of these artisans, tradesmen and courtiers their spoken and written Middle Low German enjoyed a special prestigious position in medieval Scandinavian society. The polite and courtly speech of the Scandinavian courts (from which there were such loans as riddari, knapi, gígja, hæverskr, lên and hertogi), as well as the terminology of merchants, craftsmen and officials was a for several centuries mainly Middle Low German, and this language left a considerable and lasting lexical legacy in the native languages before it expired as a spoken language in Scandinavia. These immigrants brought with them many loanwords for professions, offices and tools, and the language of the Danish guilds was, for example, full of German terms until the 1800s. Legal and official documents from the Nordic trade-centres of the late medieval and early modern period are loaded with Middle Low German loans and expressions, that is, when they are not written in Low German itself. Germans in Scandinavian towns dominated on account of special rights granted them and influenced political life to such an extent that their presence was eventually decisive in bringing about the pan-Nordic Union of Kalmar in 1397. Albrekt of Mecklenburg, a German-born king, came to the Swedish throne in 1364 and MLG reached its greatest influence during his reign. Stockholm was jointly founded by Germans and Swedes. Furthermore, the first mayor of Stockholm was from the area of today's Northern Germany and during the 1350s the stadslag of Magnus Eriksson had to be passed (among other things) in order to legislate against not more than half of the town officials being of "German" birth! With the advent of printing in the 1400s some of the earliest works printed in Denmark are two Danish chronicles called Rimkrønicken and Den Danske Krønike. These were already known from older MLG versions. The language of Lübeck, the town which represented the central power hub of the Hansa, acted as a kind of normative influence on written MLG, and this variety of MLG is likely to have been especially influential on the Scandinavian languages.

Most words that came in were naturally enough connected with trade and commerce or the nobility. Before 1300 we find fals, herbergi, skraddari, skúta, treya, danz, par, slekt, spital, æra, akta, prófa, klókr, opinberr, ærligr. Already in 1277 Magnus Lagabøter had put the titles barrún and riddari into official use.

The Hanseatic domination of early modern northern European trade was not merely confined to the north Atlantic but spread to the Baltic Rim as well, with numbers of merchants and trade organisations establishing themselves in Poland, Russia, Finland and the Baltic countries. Languages of the region such as Finnish, Karelian, Estonian, Livonian and Latvian also received a number of Low Germanic loans as a result of this intercourse. In later times when Nordic nations thrived in the Baltic trade, still more Low German loans were introduced into these languages from their Scandinavian neighbours.

The result of Low German domination of Nordic trade, economy, handicrafts, shipping, mining, and to some extent, local government and the court, was an unparalleled influx of loanwords and productive morphological elements from the high-prestige Low German varieties. Only now is modern international English contributing a comparable number of loanwords to the Mainland Scandinavian languages, or exerting a similar kind of structural influence. Most substantial among the areas for loans from the Low German were shipping, fishing and navigation, trade and economy, local administration, housebuilding and -keeping, handicrafts and religious activities, but many terms pertaining to the court and polite society were also borrowed, as well as military terminology and many general and now everyday verbs, adjectives and adverbs. In some cases the loanwords were indispensible in naming professions, objects and concepts for which the Scandinavian language speakers had no equivalents – i.e. they had been introduced by the German speakers. Literally thousands of MLG loans and words derived from MLG loaned elements entered into the Mainland Scandinavian languages, and many native Scandinavian words were displaced. The lower prestige Scandinavian elements of the population who wanted to do business with the German immigrants, the main wielders of power at the time, were obliged to learn the foreigners’ language – or at least enough to get by. Nordic merchants probably mixed in MLG words into their speech in order to be better understood by their Hansa counterparts. This partial learning of the immigrants’ tongue paved the way for hundreds of their everyday words to enter the Scandinavian languages.

During the late Middle Ages MLG was closer to the Scandinavian languages in terms of syntax, conjugation and pronunication than is the case between modern High German and Scandinavian.

Around the period 1325-1425, the Danish written language was in danger of being replaced as a written language for letters and official documents by MLG. The nobility, the clergy, the chancellry and the court were the primary users of written communication, and especially in Denmark and southern Sweden MLG was close to becoming the accepted, standard written language. Even the internal correspondance of the officials was partly in MLG.

MLG affected almost all spheres of the Mainland Scandinavian lexicon (in Einar Haugen’s words: personal names, titles [herr, fru and frøken began as titles for the nobility, but eventually reached their way down to ordinary citizens], curses, devices and equipment, weapons, musical instruments, weights and measures, trade, courtly and refined behaviour, mining, animals, food, weather, illness, laws, administration and education), but the examples given below of words current in modern Danish (unless stated otherwise) indicate the main spheres of influence. The areas most borrowing took place were in trade and professions, house and home, food, clothing, warfare, shipping, local administration and the courtly life. Many of these words are loan-translations (i.e. Low German elements are translated directly into their Scandinavian etymological and semantic equivalents – often using word-forming elements borrowed from MLG), for example MLG hantwerk becomes håndværk “craft, trade” and unwetenheit becomes uvidenhed “ignorance”. Many of these loans are now among the most everyday words in the Mainland Scandinavian languages:

1. Trade and professions : arbejd “work”, bager "baker", bytte “exchange”, bødker “cooper”, børs “stock exchange”, bøssemager "gunsmith", fisker "fisherman", fragt "freight", garver “tanner”, gesäll (Swed.) “journeyman”, glasmästre “glazer”, handel “trade”, handle "to trade", handskemager "glover", håndværk "handicraft", håndværker “craftsman, workman”, høker “shopkeeper; huckster”, isenkræmmer "ironmonger", klejnsmed "locksmith", kræmmer “shopkeeper”, krögare (Swed.) “innkeeper, restauranteur”, kunstner "artist", købe "to buy", købmand "merchant", køgemester “master cook”, köpenskap (Swed.) “trade”, lærling “apprentice”, maler “painter”, murer “mason”, pels "pelt, hide", portner “porter; janitor”, pund "pound", præst "priest", regne "calculate; consider", regning "calculation", regningskab (now regnskab) "accounts", rente "interest, dividend", sadelmager "saddler", skomager "cobbler" (replaced suder), skrædder "tailor", slagter "butcher" (replaced kødmanger), snedker “joiner”, told “customs, duty”, tømmermand "ship-wright", udgift "expenditure", vare "product, article", værkmester “foreman”, værksted "workshop", værktøj “tool”.

(Some in this category have disappeared or are seldom encountered because the trade, profession or occupation is obsolete, e.g. bægermager “cup maker”, fyrbøder “stoker”, hjulmager “wheelwright”, pottemager “potter”, buntmager “furrier”, kedelflikker “tinker”, skoflikker “cobbler”, klokkeguder “clock caster”, plåtslagare (Swed.) “plate smith”, slutter “gaoler”, spillemand “minstrel”, stratenrøver “highwayman”, væbner “weaponsmith”).

2. Tools and implements : bolt “bolt”, fork “pitchfork”, fusthammer “hammer for horseshoes”, høvl “plane”, knibtang “pincers”, skrue “screw”, fyrtøj “tinderbox”.

3. Court and nobility : eventyr "adventure, fairy tale", frøken "young woman, Miss", fyrste "prince", greve "count, earl", herre "lord" (now "gentleman"), hertug "duke" (replaced native jarl), hof "court", hofmester "steward" (now "waiter"), hovmod "pride", jagt “hunting”, jomfru "noble young lady" (now "virgin"), junker "nobleman", kejser “emperor”, krone "crown", ridder "knight", slot "castle, palace", væbner "squire", ære “honour, glory”, ærlighed "honour".

4. Government, law and church : almisse “alms”, bann “excommunication”, borger "citizen", borgmester "burgomaster", burskap (Swed.) “freedom”, domherre "judge" (now dommer), embedsmand "goverment offical" (cf. English loan from Swedish ombudsman), forbud “ban”, fordel "advantage", forhør “inquiry; interrogation”, fuldmagt "authority", kansler “chancellor”, kætter “heretic”, lægmand “layman”, magt "power", mester “master”, nåde “grace; mercy”, oldermand "alderman", pant “lien”, pave “pope”, pinse “Whitsun”, påske “Easter”, regere "rule", rådhus “town hall”, rådmand "alderman", sprog “language”, straf “punishment”, told "duty, customs", trykkeri “printing works”, tugthus “prison”, tvist “dispute”, vægter “watchman”.

5. Military : afdelning “unit, detachment”, anfalde “attack”, angreb “attack”, armborst “crossbow”, befaling “command”, befalla (Swed.) “order, command”, bøsse “gun”, erobre "conquer", fane "banner, standard", fejde "feud; war", flag “flag”, fodgænger "infantryman" (now "pedestrian"), gevær "gun, rifle", harnesk “armour”, høvedsmand "captain", kamp "battle", krig "war", krudt “gunpowder”, kunskapare (Swed.) “scout”, magt “power”, nederlag "defeat", orlog "naval battle", overfalde “attack, assault”, panser "armour", plyndre "plunder", rejse (with the meaning) "campaign", trommeslager “drummer”.

6. Shipping , fishing and navigation* : agter "astern", bådsmand "boatswain", dok “dock”, dørk “floor”, fartøj "vessel", fiskeri “fishing”, flag "flag", fok “foresail, jib”, fribytter “freebooter, buccaneer”, gast “hand”, haj "shark", kaj "quay", klyver “jib”, kyst "coast", lods “pilot”, malstrøm "whirlpool, maelstrom", mandskab "crew", matros “sailor”, roder (Swed.) “rudder”, ræling “gunwale”, skipper “skipper”, stuva “stow”, styrbord "starboard", styrmand "first mate; helmsman", sælhund "seal", tackla (Swed.) “rig”.

7. Relationships etc. : fadder “godparent”, formynder “guardian”, fætter “cousin”, gemal “consort”, oldefar “great-grandfather”, oldemor “great-grandmother”, pebersvend “bachelor”, slægt “kindred, relations”, svoger “brother-in-law”, til ægte “have someone’s hand in marriage”, ægteskab “marriage”.

8. Food : bakelse (Swed.) “pastry, cake”, brændevin “aquavit”, fennikel “fennel”, frokost “breakfast” (Dan.: lunch), frugt “fruit”, gaffel “fork”, husgeråd “kitchen utensils”, ingefær “ginger”, koge “cook; boil”, koldskål “cold buttermilk dish”, kop “cup”, krus “mug, tankard”, krydderi “spice”, køkken “kitchen”, medvurst “mettwurst”, mynte “mint”, måltid “meal”, mørbrad “tenderloin”, peber “pepper”, persille “parsley”, postej “pie”, senap “mustard”, skinke “ham”, smag “taste”, smage “(to) taste”, spæk “blubber, fat”, suppe “soup”, sylte “brawn”, tallerken “plate”, tallrik (Swed.) “plate”, vaffel “waffle”.

9. Clothes : bukser “trousers”, dragt “dress, clothes”, ficka (Swed.) “pocket”, kappe “cloak, coat”, mössa (Swed.) “cap”, rock (Swed.) “coat”, skørt “skirt, petticoat”, strømpe “stocking, sock”, støvle “boot”.

10. Buildings, house and home : bädd (Swed.) “bed”, bænk “bench”, disk “counter”, fönster (Swed.) “window”, gemak “apartment”, herberg “shelter; hostel”, kammer “chamber”, kuffert “trunk”, kælder “cellar”, køkken “kitchen”, lampe “lamp”, mur “wall”, skab “cupboard”, skorsten “chimney”, spejl “mirror”, sæbe “soap”, tegl “tile, brick”, trappe “stairs”, tæppe “carpet”.

11. Medical : brok “hernia”, feber “fever”, gigt “gout”, krank “ill”, kramp “cramp”, pokker “pox”, stær “cataract”, svulst “tumour”.

12. Misc : angst “anxiety”, anledning “ocassion, cause”, art “type”, digt “poem”, fiol “violin”, fløjte “flute”, forhold “conditions, relations, circumstances”, frygt “fear”, gunst “favour; mercy”, klokke “clock; bell”, kunst “art”, lykke “happiness; good fortune”, pligt “duty, obligation”, rygte “reputation; rumour”, slange “snake; hose”, iver “zeal, fervour”, fare “danger”, herkomst “origin, descent”, äventyr (Swed.) “adventure”, hovmod “pride, arrogance”, högfärd (Swed.) “pride, vanity, conceit”, bihang (Swed.) “appendix”, bilaga (Swed.) “enclosure, attachment”, uppförande (Swed.) “building; behaviour, conduct”, taske “bag”, lægmand “layman”, vandel “morals, good conduct”, videnskab “knowledge, science”, vemod “sadness, melancholy”, vilkår “conditions”.

13. Common and auxilary verbs : anføre “lead; state, quote”, anholde “arrest, apprehend”, anmelde “announce; subscribe”, anvende "use", arbejde "work", begribe "comprehend", begynde "begin", behøve “need”, berette “tell, narrate”, beskrive “describe”, bestemme "decide", betale "pay", betyde "mean", blive "become", bringe "bring", bruge "use", digte "compose, write, write poetry", erfare "experience", erhålla (Swed.) “obtain, receive”, fatte "comprehend", fordærve “spoil, corrupt”, forekomme "appear", forklare "explain", foreslå "suggest", forfatte “write, compose”, forlade “leave, abandon; forgive”, formå “be able to, be capable of”, fornøje “gratify, please”, forsage “renounce, give up”, forstå "understand", fortjene “deserve”, forsvinde "disappear", fortsætte “continue”, fortælle "tell, narrate", frukta (Swed.) “fear, dread”, fråga (Swed.) “ask”, føle "feel", förgäta (Swed.) “forget”, gælde “apply”, håbe "hope", klage "complain", koge "boil, cook", købe "buy", kæmpe "fight", lære "learn", mene "mean, intend", male "paint", opdage "discover", ordne "arrange", oversætte "translate", overveje "consider, comtemplate", pleje "be in the habit of", prate "chat" (now only "talk nonsense"), prøve "try", redde "save, rescue", rejse "travel", regne "estimate, reckon (with)", råbe “shout, cry out”, samle "collect", ske “happen”, skildre "describe", skrive “write”, slute "finish", smage "taste", snakke "talk, chat", spille "play", stille "put, place", straffe “punish”, støtte "support", tilgive “forgive, pardon”, trække "draw, pull", tænke “think”, undersøge "investigate", undgå "avoid", undkomme “escape”, undskylde "excuse", vandre “”walk, wander”, vare "last", øve "practice".

14. Common adjectives : alvorlig "serious", bange "afraid", berømt “famous”, billig "cheap", bra (Swed./Nor.) “good, excellent; well”/ brav (Dan.) “good, worthy”, dejlig "pleasant", dygtig "capable", egentlig "real; proper", elendig “wretched, miserable”, endelig "final", enig “united, agreed”, enkel "simple; single", evig “eternal”, falsk "false", fin “fine”, flink "clever", fri "free", frisk "fresh, healthy", fremmed "foreign, strange", from "pious", færdig "ready", forsigtig "cautious", gemen "public", grov “coarse”, hemmelig "secret", hændig "practical", herlig "splendid", høvisk "courteous", høflig "courteous", klar “clear; ready”, klejn “tiny; delicate”, klog "wise", kort "short", krank "sick", læsbar “readible”, middelmådig "mediocre", mulig "possible", rar "nice, kind", rask "quick", rund “round”, skøn "pretty", smal “narrow”, smuk “fair, beautiful”, stille “still, quiet”, stolt "proud", svag "weak", tapper "brave", tilfreds "satisfied", underdanig “submissive, subservient”, ædel “noble”, ægte "genuine", ærlig “honest”, åbenbar "public, manifest".

15. Common adverbs , prepositions and conjuctions : alene “only, solely”, allerede “already”, blott (Swed.) “merely, only”, bra (Swed./Nor.) “well, excellently; very, awfully” / bravt (Dan.) “stoutly, well”, dog "however, yet", emellertid "however" (Swed.), forbi "past", ganske "quite; very", jo "yes indeed, certainly", likväl (Swed.), likevel (Nor.) "all the same, nevertheless", men "but", måske “perhaps, maybe” (Dan.) nemlig "namely, that is", overalt "everywhere", redan "already" (Swed.), samt "and also, plus", sikker "certainly", straks "immediately", sådan "such", temmelig "rather", tilsammen "in all, altogether", trods "despite", ur "from, of" (Swed.), vældig "awfully, very", øvrig "the rest, what's left".

(* note : there are many specialised loans for shipping and types of fish which are not included in the main lists below.)

Vibeke Winge points out interestingly enough that Danish words for artisans, goods and tools are by and large from MLG.

For about 300 years (approx. 1250-1550) Middle Low German was the language of prestige, close to the speakers’ own languages, from which Scandinavian speakers augmented their own because it was the fashion to do so, rather than from any real necessity (in some cases, however, they had no equivalent words in their own languages). Germans formed the intellectually and economically leading class, so making MLG the “feine Sprache” and one to be imitated. The Scandinavian citizen in his appearance and language tried to make the “fineness” of the German higher class his own. As Dahlberg puts it “Niederdeutsch wurde Modesache”. This factor no doubt eased considerably the passage of MLG words into Mainland Scandinavian. The non-clergy upper class and the middle classes used MLG as their favoured second language, as the royal family, the nobility, the merchants and the craftsmen were either German or had close ties with German-speakers. Otto Höfler is of the view that this language contact went on at a high level as in many cases the gender of MLG nouns is retained with their borrowing into Middle Scandinavian. Despite the men of the Hansa representing practical people – merchants, administrators, law-makers, shipwrights, sailors – there is no doubt they represented not only a higher material but also a higher intellectual culture than the native culture.

In the course of this process of borrowing, many Scandinavian arveord (words from the common Nordic stock), such as are in most cases still present in Modern Icelandic, developed direct competitors. Loans from MLG (lånord in the table below) considerably enriched the vocabularies of the mainland Scandinavian languages, and examples are to be found of word pairs which are roughly synonymous (and therefore competitive) in the modern languages from both native and borrowed sources, for example (Norwegian Bokmål unless stated):

Arveord Lånord ON (OSwed.) Meaning ale opp opdra ala upp raise, bring up allesteds overalt allsstaðr everywhere andlet; anlete (Swed.) ansikt andliti; andlite face bardage (arch.) kamp bardagi battle berg klippe bjarg rock, mountain besk bitter bitter bjuda (Swed.) befalla biuþa offer borg slot borg castle, fortress borge betala borga, greiða pay, defray bot vederlag bót recompense bratt steil; plutselig brattr steep; sudden brygge kai bryggja wharf budskap beskjed boðskapr message bølgje; bölja (Swed.) våg (arch., dial.); våg bylgja; (OSwed.) bylghi wave börja (Swed.); byrje (Nyn.) begynna; begynne (OSwed.) byria, børia; (ON) byrja begin djerv dristig djarfr brave dugelig flink duglegr capable, clever dyrd (Swed., arch.) ära (OSwed.) dyrth honour eie besitte eiga to own ende slutt endi end ende slutte enda to end fager skjønn, smukk fagr pretty, fine fattigdom armod fátækr- poverty ferd reise ferð journey frende (arch.) slektning frændi relative gagn fordel gagn benefit, gain gave skjenk gjöf gift genast (Swed.) strax (OSwed.) genast immediately glad fro glaðr cheerful, joyous gjemme bevare gøyma store, keep glömma (Swed.) förgäta (OSwed.) gløma forget grein fag grein branch, subject grein regnskab grein account gripe fange grípa grasp, grip gälda (Swed.) betala (OSwed.) giælda pay heder ære heiðr honour hænde (Dan.), hende (Nor.) ske henda happen, occur hest hingst hestr horse hird hof hirð court, retinue hjelpe støtte hjálpa to help hjälpa (Swed.) bistå (OSwed.) hiælpa to help hug sinn hugr mind huske erinde hugsa to remember ild fyr eldr fire jorde begrave jarða to inter kjenne føle kenna to feel kjensle følelse kensl feeling kjære klage kæra to complain kledning drakt klæðnaðr clothing, garb kvede dikt kvæði poem kvide angst kviði pain, anxiety, fear leik spill leikr play leike spille leika to play lott del hlutr lot, share love berømme lofa praise lønnlig hemmelig leyniligr secret lød farge litr hue, colour makt vald máttr, veldi power meget veldig mjök much, very, a lot miskunnelig barmhjertig miskunnsamr merciful mista, tapa (Swed.) förlora (OSwed.) mista; tapa, tappa to lose morgenmat frokost morgunmatr breakfast mål; tungomål (Swed.) språk mál language, speech möta (Swed.) drabba (OSwed.) møta meet nytte anvende, bruke nýta use nåde gunst náðr favour ran rov rán plunder, robbery rane røve, plyndre ræna to rob, plunder redd bange hræddr afraid reddes frykte hræðast to be frightened (of) redsel frykt hræðsla fear rolig stille rólegr quiet, calm rope skrike hrópa to shout røyne (Nyn.) erfare reyna to experience røyne (Nyn.) forsøke, prøve reyna to test, try røynsle erfarenhet reynd experience sann ekte sannr true sanne prøve sanna to verify, confirm sende skikke senda to send si fra berette segja frá to narrate, tell si fra fortelle segja frá to narrate, tell si til underrette segja til to give an account skifte dele skipta divide skire døpe skíra to baptise skjønne begripe, forstå skynja to grasp, comprehend skydevåben (Dan.) bøsse, gevær (ON) skotvopn firearm, rifle skytevåpen gevær skotvopn firearm, rifle skär (Swed.) klar ? clear, pure sorg (Swed.) bekymmer (OSwed.) sorgh grief, care spörja (Swed.) fråga (OSwed.) spyria to ask sted plass staðr place strand kyst strönd coast, beach strid krig stríð war styrka (Swed.) bevisa (OSwed.) styrkia prove, attest støe støtte stoða to support sveinn knape sveinn squire, lad svik fals svik false, deceitful svikte bedra svíkja to deceive syde koke sjóða to boil syssel len sýsla administrative district sømd æra ? honour säng (Swed.) bädd (OSwed.) sæng, siang bed tala (Swed.) prata tala speak, talk tale snakke tala talk, chat telle rekne telja count dra(ge) trekke draga pull, draw turve (Nyn.); tarva (Swed.) behøve; behöva þarfa; (OSwed.) þarva to need to trygge borge tryggja guarantee, secure useier nederlag ósigur defeat vedgå erkjenne (HG loan) viðganga < ganga við admit, acknowledge veide jage veiða to hunt veik svak veikr weak velde makt veldi power verk smerte verkr pain, ache vindöga (arch., dial.); vindue (Dan.) fönster vindauga window vettug klok vitr wise, sage vorde bli verða to become vrang falsk rangr false, incorrect vård (Swed.) vakt (OSwed.) varþer care, charge, guard ætt herkomst ætterni descent, lineage ætt slekt ætt kin, family

In some cases, the native Scandinavian word acquired a different or more narrow meaning, such as with syde "seethe, boil, fizz", which used to denote the wider-meaning "cook" now taken by MLG loan koke. Danish lød, once a general term meaning "colour", now denotes the narrower "hue, complexion" and has been largely replaced by loaned farve "colour; paint, dye" (In Norwegian, lød still denotes "colour", alongside commoner farge). In other cases, the native word survived but became marginalised or less used than the loanword, e.g. in Norwegian, the case of the loaned trekke and the native dra (in Danish, drage has in almost all cases been replaced by trække). Native Scandinavian mål, which used to mean “language” (cf. ON mál), has largely come to mean the narrower “dialect” (cf. though Swedish tungomål “language” from Old Swed. tungo mal). Also in Swedish native arvode (from Old Swed. arvoþe) has narrowed in meaning from “work” to “remuneration for work done”, presumably under the influence of MLG-derived arbete. Some further examples, now from Danish, will illustrate the weaker position of some native words against MLG import (near-)synomyns: Danish fager (cf. English fair) is now considered poetic and archaic, having been marginalised by the preferred and synonymous MLG import smuk (fager is also poetic in Norwegian); ræd is still in use but MLG import bange is definitely commoner (in Norwegian, however, the reverse is true); brat is also still in use, but both its meanings are more commonly covered by the MLG imports stejl for "steep" and pludselig for "sudden". Leika “play” was replaced by spille (< MLG spelen) when denoting playing music or acting.

In most cases, however, the old Nordic words simply fell out of use in Mainland Scandinavian, and loans from MLG (some of which could also be seen as unncessary) replaced them. Dahlberg makes a pertinent point in this connection:

“Auf diese Weise sind leider viele einheimische, gut brauchbare Wörter verlorengegangen.” (p.196)

In the mainland languages, native vorde (Old Danish warthæ, Old Swedish varþa, cf. ON verða, German werden) has as good as been ousted by the MLG derived form bli(ve)/bliva (although vorde still survives in poetic and biblical usage). In Danish, the loaned forms arbejde "work" and men "but" ousted Old Danish ærvæthæ "work, labour" (cf. ON erfiði) and æn "but, and" (cf. ON en), as well as use of uden/utan “except”. Older Danish børje (cf. Swedish börja (which is still the preferred choice in that language), Nynorsk byrje) gradually lost the struggle against loaned begynde, while the same fate was suffered by older anlæte “face” to ansigt (anlete still exists in Swedish though alongside ansikte), øbe/öpa "cry, shout" to råbe/ropa (a Nordic word whose meaning has been influenced by the MLG cognate ropen) and MLG import skrige, older røne “try, experience” fell to prøve (cf. Norwegian røyne though) and genest fell to MLG import straks (genast still exists in Swedish though - alongside strax), in Swedish older má fell to måste, Scandinavian ván “hope” was ousted by MLG hope (Danish håb, Swedish hopp), as was vónast by hopast, frjáls by fri, everðeligr by evig and samþykkiliga by endrægteliga, while common verbs of motion ganga and standa both lost out to MLG forms gân and stân, resulting in modern gå and stå. Furthermore, þarf fell to behóf “need”, gøyma and varðveita to bevara “preserve”, sanna and prófa to bevisa “show, demonstrate”, skipta to býta “change, swap”, lutr to deil “part”, vitr to klókr “wise”, giäf (Old Swed.) to gava, máttr and veldi to makt “might, power”, háttr to máti “custom; manner”, hyggja and ætla to meina “intend”, ætla to akta (MLG achten), kenna “teach” and nema “learn” to læra “learn; teach” (MLG lêren), (in Denmark) kenna lost meaning of “feel” to følæ (MLG vôlen), løyfi to orlof “leave”, stríð to krig “war”, ætt to slekt “lineage”, hyggia, ætla and hugsa to þenkia “think”. Furthermore, in Danish we can note the loss of neita to MLG-derived nægte, nytja to bruge, rædd to bange and reyna (ODan. rønæ) to forsøge. Social changes led to such words as bygd, træl, kone and rise becoming antiquated in Danish, although in modern times they have been partly revived due to Norwegian influence. Peter Skautrup notes some further words that were lost in Danish in the early modern period (1350-1500): bukser “trousers” replaced brog, dog “however” replaced tho, straks “immediately” replaced thegær, and sådan “such” replaced slig.

When a choice still exists and there are two forms to choose from, the Low German loan generally tends to take precedence. Some otherwise obsolete Norse forms, however, still survive and are used preferentially in Norwegian Nynorsk. There are far too many in Nynorsk to give here.

Following the MLG model in late medieval Swedish the k-sound was reproduced in writing as ch, and this can still be seen in och “and”, cf. Danish og. In Danish of the same period [sk] was written sch-, e.g. Schanning “Skåne”.

In some cases words were borrowed differently or provided different inspiration in the respective recipient languages. So, for example, Danish loaned MLG merschûm “meerschaum” as merskum, whereas Swedish rather loan-translated it as sjöskum. Similarly, Danish loaned MLG schadenfroh (cf. German Schadenfreude) as skadefro, whereas Swedish loan-translated as skadeglad. In other cases one language borrowed a word which was never taken up in another. The classic example is Swedish fönster “window” where Danish still uses the Nordic word vindue. Other well-known examples are Swedish bädd versus Danish seng, Swedish börja versus Danish begynde, Swedish fråga versus Danish spørge, Swedish förgäta versus Danish glemme, Swedish ficka versus Danish lomme, Danish føle versus Swedish känna, Swedish hustru versus Danish kone, Swedish rita versus Danish tegne, Swedish skicka versus Danish sende, and Swedish äta versus Danish spise. More examples are given in the table below:

MLG-derived word Native Nordic equivalent Meaning Swedish Danish anspråk krav, fordring claim belåten mæt satisfied, full bittida tidlig early bädd seng bed drabba træffe hit, strike, befall ficka lomme pocket flod elv river fort rask, hurtigt fast, quickly fråga spørge ask fönster vindue window förgäta glemme forget förlora miste, tabe lose förlust tab loss förstöra ødelægge destroy, wreck hustru kone wife hyra leje rent, hire inrymma inholde contain, include lärjunge lærling apprentice ort sted place, locality rita tegne draw skicka sende send, dispatch stad by town tillhopa helt, helt og aldeles altogether, in all umbära undvære do/go without upprepa gentage repeat uppsåt forsæt (also from MLG) intent, purpose även også, ligeledes also, too *** *** *** Danish Swedish altid jämt always bange rädd afraid begynde börje begin forfærdelig hemsk awful forkert orätt, vrång wrong, incorrect forlade lämna leave fornøden --- necessary, needful forskel skillnad difference føle känna feel, perceive, know hvordan hur how kundskab kännedom knowledge men utan but måske kanske, kanhända (ske and hända also from MLG) perhaps nøle tveka hesitate omtrent omkring around, about rejse (køre is Nordic however) åka go, drive, travel slem elak bad, nasty smuk fager, vacker pretty, fair spise äta eat straks genast immediately sådan dylik such tænke tycka think undertiden ibland, stundom sometimes undervejs --- underway, in motion undskylde ursäkta excuse årsag skäl (orsak also exists in Swedish) reason, cause

The average speaker in Bergen, Oslo, Copenhagen or Stockholm could not help learning enough Middle Low German to be tempted to colour their speech and writing with them. The German settlers enjoyed the economic and social advantage and it was natural for the locals to use a kind of Mischsprache for their communication needs. The settlers from northern Germany put down their roots not only in the commercial centres but in all towns in Norway and their higher status meant that they did not need to learn the complexities of the Norse language.

This settlement resulted in a large expansion of the vocabulary for everyday things, as well as more abstract concepts, and the developing urban dialects were strongly characterised by Low German loans. The influence of Middle Low German on the later development of the Scandinavian languages was succinctly described by the Norwegian Nordicist Didrik Arup Seip when he remarked:

"Two Norwegians cannot in our day carry on a conversation of 2-3 minutes without using Low German loanwords...of course without knowing that they are doing so."

This statement applies in equal measure to Swedish, and perhaps even in slightly greater measure to Danish.

As we would expect, it would be reasonable to suppose that because of its geographical proximity, as well as closer political and trading ties, Denmark was the initial borrower of most of these terms. It is at any rate unlikely to have received many terms later than Swedish, and in fact probably transmitted not a few items into Swedish and Norwegian, rather than MLG itself being the donor language. There are only a few cases, however, for which it can be proven by linguistic methods that MLG words came into Swedish via Danish. The most typical Danicism in phonology – the weakening of intial stops k, p and t – has only left small traces in Swedish (one therefore concludes that the transmission into Swedish was overwhelmingly direct). Both Swedish and Danish opened the door in Norwegian to MLG words and they had already borrowed many words, especially in the written language. Because all three languages took up much the same MLG words and word-forming elements, it in some respects brought the three languages closer together.

According to some Swedish linguists up to 75% of the modern Swedish vocabulary derives from MLG or MLG-mediated words. (But this figure is clearly absurd – the actual percentage must be much lower, probably 25-30%). Most of such words came into Old Swedish in the 12th-14th centuries. In fact it is difficult to arrive at a reliable figure, but there can be no doubt that MLG loans, words inspired by them or words made form originally MLG elements are among the most common in the language.

In many cases the loans were for new concepts, e.g. borgmeistari and radman – these were institutions not previously in existence in Scandinavia . New professions or offices were imported that bore the name of the owner or actor, e.g. skómakari, bartskærer, bøssemager, maler, pladeslager, mægler, portner, tolk. Even the word handel “trade” is itself of MLG origin. Furthermore in connection with their notable seafaring prowess the Low German seamen and traders brought with them such loans as galei, jakt, kogge, mers and mast.

Some MLG words were importated to express negative or destructive elements in society, e.g. skalkar “rogue”, rövare “robber, thief” and bödel “hangman”.

To describe animals there were also new words such as bæver, falk “falcon”, flädermus (Swed.) “bat”, hingst “stallion”, kamel, lærke “lark”, løve “lion”, näktergal (Swed.) “nightingale”, panter, rotte “rat”, sköldpadda “tortoise, turtle”, vagtel “quail”. These words often eventually rendered the native terms – if such existed – obsolete.

Swedish took in most loans after 1350, where we find such everyday words as bädd, frukost, rock, språk, släkt, fri, from, klar, klen, smal, arbeta, bliva, bruka, lära, smaka, sådan. Other loans from MLG are falskhet (valschheit), frihet (vrîheit), and ärlighet (êrlikheit). Of words made on Danish or Swedish soil but formed using MLG elements we could mention such words as benægte, begagna, benägen, forfremme, forsinke, förbrylla, undeselig and undvære (loaned into Swedish as umbära).

Many common, everyday words which make up a speaker of modern Scandinavian’s basic vocabulary were brought in during this period of Hansa domination when MLG when the prestige language, e.g. nouns such as arbete “work” bevis “proof, evidence”, bukse “trousers”, fel “error” förstånd “reason, intelligence”, kopp “cup”, papir “paper”, skrin “box”, støvler “boots”, tröja “sweater”, tvivel “doubt”, vilkor “conditions” verbs such as bevisa “prove, show”, forklare “explain”, forlike “reconcile”, mene “mean, intend”, prøve “test” and skaffe “procure”, adjectives such as falsk “false”, fin “fine”, främmande “foreign”, färdig “ready, done”, klok “wise”, möjlig “possible” svag “weak”, adverbs such as altid “always”, bittida “early”, blott “only”, ganske “quite”, straks “immediately” and även “also”, and conjunctions such as jo “yes; oh” and men “but”. We could also mention some common expressions that came into Mainland Scandinavian from MLG: dit og dat “one thing and another” (dit un dat), få i sigte “to sight” (sichte), göra klart “make clear; prepare”, klappet og klart “ready, all set” (klapp un klar), med rätta “rightly, justly” and till godo “to the good, in credit”, til rette “in order, to rights” (to rechte). We can also note that the plural of Swedish stad “town” is städer, which is due to MLG influence (in Old Swedish it would be stathir).

A word frequency study by Martin Gellerstam of 6,000 of the most common Swedish words shows that 24.1% of these are from German and for 30.3% of the words, German was the medium of borrowing. And yet to a modern speaker of Scandinavian the low and high German element in their languages now appear as if they were there from the beginnings of the language. As Gellerstam puts it:

“Vem tycker idag att de lågtyska lånen språk, arbete, lära, fråga är något annat än gamla hederliga svenska ord?”.

Dierecks and Braunmüller, quoting Moberg, make the point of how easy it was for words of MLG origin to enter the Swedish language and quickly become adopted:

“Die Anpassung der mittelniederdeutschen Lehnwörter an das altschwedische Flexionssystem konnte im allgemeinen ohne größere Schwierigkeiten geschehen. Aufgrund der ähnlichen Struktur und oft verwandten Wortbildungsmuster konnten viele Substantive, Adjektive und Verben relativ einfach an entsprechende einheimische Wortgruppen anschließen.” (p.23)

Another point worth bearing in mind is how the mutual loaning into the Nordic languages meant all three languages more closely approached each other in terms of vocabulary, something which no doubt eased communication between Scandinavian speakers and continues to do so today.

It is just at the end of the middle ages that the modern Scandinavian languages were taking shape and precisely during and by the end of the this period of MLG influence that modern Scandinavian languages as we know them were coming into being. MLG had much to do with their modernisation and the present form. As Marquardsen says of Danish:

“Diese moderne Form, die sich während der zweiten Hälfte des 14. und im 15. Jahrhundert herausbildete, weicht so wesentlich von der Sprache der vorhergehenden Period ab, dass innerhalb des Zeitraums von 1350-1500 eine durchgreifende Veränderung der Dänischen Sprache zu constatieren ist.” (p.405-406).

Borrowed Affixes

German-derived prefixes and suffixes play a major role in the modern Scandinavian languages.

Scandinavian speakers were adept at resolving Middle Low German forms into their own sound and inflexional systems, and many affixes borrowed from Middle Low German later became productive in the formation of native Scandinavian words on home soil. Middle Low Saxon and Middle Dutch thus had an effect at a morphological level, as well as a lexical one. Indeed the fact that such word-forming elements were borrowed and made so productive serves to stress just what an extraordinary influence MLG exerted on the Mainland Scandinavian languages (it is true to say, however, that the language was already in the process of simplification before contact with MLG – but this language contact accelerated and intensified the change). Native abstract suffixes which were common to North and West Germanic -dom, -inge and -skap were revitalized and the vocabulary enriched owing to masses of MLG imports in -schap, -inge, -en(t) and -nisse which become productive elements in the borrowing languages (with -nisse becoming -else in Scandinavian), e.g. broderskap, betalning, bedrövelse. Furthermore, the elements -hed/-het, -inde/-inne and -ske/-ska which appeared in the 1300s were better suited to the creation of new words than the native affixes, some of which were weakened by syncope and the reduction of unstressed syllables, meaning there were fewer options for word-formation based on native Scandinavian elements. The imported elements thus fulfilled a need. The suffix -hed becomes completely common in Danish during the 1400s. The native intensifying prefix for-/för- was reactivated by MLG vor- (and later by High German) – new words coined from native resources with this prefix are legion, for example, forarbejde “prepare, process”, forbedret “improved”, fortabe “forfeit”, forskyde “displace”, forøde “waste, squander”, forglemme “forget” (ODan. forglømæ based on MLG vorgeten), forbryde “forfeit” (ODan. forbrytæ based on MLG vorbrêken). MLG -ent is still very productive in Swedish forming nouns in -ende and -ande, e.g. letande “searching”, vetande “knowledge, learning”. The adjective suffixes -agtig/-aktig (equivalent to HG -haftig), -bar, -dan, -vortes/-vörtes were borrowed after around 1400. Native suffix -sk became -isk from a MLG model, while -ugh became -ig (see below).

Kurt Braunmüller makes the point that the loaning of word-forming elements from MLG changed the nature of the Scandinavian languages, making them less Nordic in character and bringing them closer to West Germanic:

“Ein Ergebnis dieses intensiven Sprachkontakts war – wie gezeigt – z.B. die typologische Annäherung des Skandinavischen an das Mnd./Westgermanische auf den Gebieten der Morphologie und besonders der Wortbildung.” (p.159).

H. Bach makes the interesting observation that these borrowed affixes became so productive with both loaned and native lexical elements that the Scandinavian languages have in the course of time developed a large number of words which now have direct parallels in modern High German, which separately created the same words using the same affixes and lexical material. There are far too many to examine here, but a few examples will suffice to clarify the point: forandring <> Veränderung, forfalske <> verfälschen, fordragelig <> verträglich, indgang <> Eingang, udgang <> Ausgang, udsætte <> aussetzen, opgang <> Aufgang, overenstemmende <> übereinstimmend, medarbejder <> Mitarbeiter, modstand <> Widerstand, tilflugt <> Zuflucht, tilstand <> Zustand, tillade <> zulassen, undergang <> Untergang, understøtte <> unterstützen.

What follows is a list of the main affix loans, illustrated with examples from all three modern languages (many of these will be familiar to readers who know German):

Nordic affix Affix (MLS) Modern examples Meaning an- (late 1300s) an- anbefale, anklage, angrepp recommend, accuse, attack be- (since 1350) be-, bi- bidrage, behandle, betænke, beslut contribute, treat, consider, decision bi- (Swed.) bi- bifalla, bistå assent, support fore- vor- forekomst, foretrække, foredrag occurrence, lecture/address för- (Swed.) vor- försiktig, fördöma cautious/careful, condemn om- um- omgive, omstendighet, omkreds surround, circumstance, circumference over- over- overbevise, overhøre, oversætte convince, interrogate, translate över- (Swed.) over- övermod, översätta arrogance/pride, translate un-/und- (since around 1400) unt- undgå, undskylde, unnvære escape/evade, excuse, do or go without -aktig (Swed. post-1450, Nor.);

-agtig (Dan.) -achtich varaktig, karlaktig, lögnaktig, dåraktig, småaktig, byagtig, livagtig, nøjagtig enduring, manly, lying, foolish/silly,petty, urban, lifelike, precise -ande (c.1400 in Swed.), -ende (Dan., Nor.) -ent inflytande, forehavende, udseende influence, enterprise, appearance -bar (1500s in Swed.) -bâr brukbar, frugtbar, kostbar, holdbar, strafbar, stridbar, åbenbar usable, costly/precious, durable/tenable, punishable -dan (Dan.) -dân(ne) sådan, ligesådan, hvordan, ligedan so, thus, similar, how, similar -else (many orig. in –nisse) -sel skapelse, overdrivelse, spøgelse shape/creation, exaggeration, spectre -are (Swed.), -er (Dan., Nor.) -êre borgare, jägare, bæger, maler, lærer citizen, hunter, beaker, painter, teacher -eri (pre-1400 in Dan.) -erîe fiskeri, bedrageri, tyveri, skriveri, slagteri fishery, fraud, theft, abattoir -(er)ska (Swed.) -ske (Dan.) (pre-1400) -ersche tvätterska, studentska, syerske, husholderske laundress, student, seamstress, housekeeper -het (Swed. pre-1375; Nor.),

-hed (Dan.) -heit, -hêt nyhed, storhet, flertydighet, rigtighed novelty, greatness, ambiguity, correctness/truth -häftig (Swed. post-1450), -heftig (Nor) -haftig (Dan) -heftich mandhaftig, standhaftig mannish, firm -inna (Swed.)

-inde (Dan.) (pre-1400)

-inne (Nor.) -inne, -in furstinna, hertuginde, grevinde, gudinna princess, duchess, countess, goddess -isk (loaned or influenced) -isch høvisk, upprorisk, jordisk courteous, rebellious, earthly/wordly -liken -ligen (Swed.) -liken troligen, skäligen, very likely, rather; reasonably, -mager (Dan.) -maker (Nor.) -makare (Swed.) -maker hattemager, skomager, urmaker hatter, cobbler, watchmaker -näre (Swed.), -ner (Dan., Nor.) -(e)nêre kunstner, gartner, väpnare artist, gardener, squire -skap (Swed., Nor.)

-skab (Dan.) -schap vennskap, landskab, ekteskap, borgerskab friendship, landscape, marriage -slager (Dan.) -släger blikkenslager, plattenslager tinsmith, con man

Not all of these affixes are productive in the modern languages. Some like an-, be-/bi-, fore-/för-, -ska and und-/unn- are no longer productive as word forming elements, while om- and over-/över- are active elements. The following suffixes used to form adjectives, agent nouns and abstract nouns are still very productive: -aktig/-agtig, -bar (also from HG influence), -else, -er, -hed/-het, -ig/-lig. Productive adjectival endings in the past were -et, -sk, -som (agtsom, arbejdsom, beslutsom) and -vorn (drillevorn, sladdervorn, slingrevorn). Most of these suffixes could be used with both native and loaned words. –else becomes much used with word material of native Scandinavian origin. Old Scandinavian was relatively poor in word-forming elements for abstract concepts, whereas MLG provided such elements in abundance.

Niels Åge Nielsen’s Dansk Etymologisk Ordbog (3rd ed. 1976) contained no less than 283 words with the MLG-derived prefix be-. A large dictionary of Danish will contain many more.

Although -ing was productive and native to the Old Scandinavian dialects, this noun-forming suffix was greatly expanded in terms of use and scope owing to MLG influence, in which the suffix was highly productive (it is also native to the West Germanic languages cf. Eng. -ing, Dutch -ing, German -ung). Since -ing had a direct native equivalent in Old Swedish (Danish, Norse), it could easily be loaned in or form new words without further ado. In Swedish and Norwegian (especially Nynorsk), -ing has been replaced by variant -ning. This element often denoted an activity or person.

The same ease of adoption cannot be ascribed to another MLG noun-forming suffix, -nisse (cf. Eng. -ness, German - nis ), which as stated in the table above, has been transformed into -else in the modern Scandinavian languages, from association with a small group of words in the languages which originally had this ending (e.g. Old Danish døpælsæ from Old Saxon dopilsi). Thus MLG vengenisse becomes fängelse “prison”, begencnisse becomes begängelse “cremation”, bedrovenisse becomes bedrøvelse “sorrow, grief” and schickenisse becomes skickelse “decree”. Initially only appearing in loanwords, it later quickly became productive in the formation of new compounds made from native Danish words, e.g. hændelse “event, occurrence”, styrelse “control, governance”, lignelse “likeness”, tilhørelse “belonging”, skikkelse “form; character”, velsignelse “blessing” and fristelse “temptation” etc. This suffix became far more productive in the Scandinavian languages than did the corresponding element -ilsi in German. However, according to Norwegian linguists Didrik Arup Seip and Olav Næs this ending in -else is native and found in south-east Norwegian as early as 1150, i.e. before it was used to domesticate words from MLG. It has to be said that Seip and Næs are in a minority in this belief.

The prefix be- first appeared in Norwegian in 1376 (behalda) – bytala was already known in Swedish from 1370. Bitala appeared in Norwegian before 1400, beating off competition from the native terms gjalda, greiða and reiða.

The prefix und- was related to ON undan meaning that words such as undfly were supported by native fly undan.

The suffix -heit is found in Norwegian as early as 1353. It was already productive in Danish and Swedish for making abstract words (e.g. falskhet, frihet, ärlighet, gudelighed, vanvittighed, retighed, vitterlighed, barmhjertighed, with wârheit and swârheit providing the models for sandhed and tunghed), and in Norwegian it become the most productive suffix for turning adjectives into nouns, so making it difficult for scholars to decide whether a word was borrowed or formed on home soil. So, for example, in Middle Danish, witscap “knowledge” could be a native construct as both wit + -skap are found in the language. But the word is thought to be loaned in its entirety from MLG witscap. This element -hed competed with native -lek and -ned and as good as ousted them from Danish (-nad is somewhat common in Swedish and Norwegian however).

The suffixes -dom and -skap were rare, however they are found in small number of words, e.g. vennskap, borgerskap, hedendom, trældom.

The affixes ge- and er- appeared late (around 1550 and the late 1500s respectively) and were probably more due to the influence of High German than Low German.

In the 1400s -eri appeared in Norwegian and was used for a range of professions and business institutions (thus denoting activity or place of activity) e.g. skriveri, as well as forming words with derogatory meanings such as ketteri, røveri, svineri, tiggeri, snobberi. It is also still productive in Danish and Swedish (e.g. avguderi “heathendom”, baktalari “slander”). Another important suffix is represented by nouns ending in -er and denoting “doer/agent”, e.g. borger , lærer.

The other main affixes are detailed in the lists below. Mention also needs to be made of MLG influence on the use of the native adjective and adverbial ending, -lig (-ig). Although this element is common Germanic (cf. ON -ligr, -legr, OE -lîc, OHG -lîh, Goth. -leiks, ODan. -likær, OSwed. -lîker), its present popularity and widespread usage in word-formation has a great deal to owe to MLG influence, through the suffix -lîk. Niels Åge Nielsen (see booklist) makes the point in his Dansk Etymologisk Ordbog :

"De Nord. adj. (og adv.) på -lig er for en stor dels vedkommende lånt fra el. påvirket af de modsv. former mnty. -lîk, nty. -lik, ty. -lich." (P.261; he then procedes to give a list of examples of native words in -lig and those which have been loaned from, or influenced by, MLG). Indeed, the nominalizing suffix -leikr almost disappeared in Danish, and fell togther with the adjectival ending -lig (but cf. Norwegian kjærleik, Swedish kärlek).

Similar observations regarding Swedish -ig are made by Bertil Molde (see booklist below):

"Att -ig dominerar som avledningselement för adjektivbildning (blodig, stenig) beror också i hög grad på inflytande från lågtyskan." (p.78)

The influence of MLG adjectival suffix -ich was to render native nouns in -ogh to change form to -ig (an easy change), words in -ig were activated and became productive due to MLG influence.

Direct loans, however, are, for example, Middle Swedish ävigh “eternal”, pliktligh “bound, obliged” and värdigh “worthy” from MLG êwich, pliktigh and werdich.

Forms in -ug from a native Swedish adjectival suffix are still, however, found in some northern Swedish dialects e.g. nyttug “useful”, stenug “stony”, tokug “silly”.

Diminutives -ken, -ke and -lín (cf. German -chen, -lein) as a rule only exist in direct loans from MLG, e.g. frøken “Miss”, tallerken “plate”, nellike “clove”, sønneke “lad, sonny”, hønnike “pullet”.

H. Bach mentions lykke, klog and smuk as probable Modewörter, and points out that these words are MLG imports in High German as well.

Middle Low German had a slighter effect on syntax and such morphological aspects as nominal inflexional endings, although most scholars do agree that that MLG influence is behind the general levelling of the Scandinavian inflexional system and the more analytic (relying on word order to convey meaning), rather than synthetic (case-endings bear the grammatical information) structure of Scandinavian syntax which developed over the period in question, meaning that by the 1500s the Mainland Scandinavian languages had developed into the language stage we have now. (The most intense period of language contact appears to have been 1300s and 1400s, and the Nordic languages were most influenced during this period of high intensity). As Lars S. Vikør puts it (p.41): “The influence from Low German may have been even more profound…it may have stimulated the morphological simplification of [Mainland] Scandinavian.” That having been said, inflexional levelling and increasingly analytical syntax has occurred in all the Germanic languages to a greater (e.g. English) or lesser (e.g. German) extent, regardless of the nature of language contacts. Some commentators have argued that these features were the result of Low German users being unable to speak Scandinavian correctly and so a grammatically-simplified Mischsprache arose - which is a defensible viewpoint. (This view is especially prominent among Swedish scholars). The real nature of such a mixed language first becomes clear when the number of loanwords has reached such an extent that a direct effect on the grammatical structure of the native language is visible. Many of the MLG words did not fit easily into the Scandinavian case system and this leads to the alternative view, i.e. that the loanwords themselves were the cause of the loss of the classic case system. Keith Boden presents a counter-argument to the Mischsprache theory, pointing out that Hanseatic Germans, as the speakers of the prestige language, would have no motivation to learn Scandinavian until the decline of the Hansa and the resurrgence of the Scandinavian kingdoms. Therefore improper learning by Low German speakers cannot account for the MLG influence on the Scandinavian form system. Whatever the cause, however, it seems likely, as argued above, that MLG contact both accelerated and helped determine the direction of these already existing processes in the Mainland Scandinavian languages.

In summary of the above, worth repeating here are comments made by Bertil Molde concerning the relative ease with which MLG loans could be assimilated into the native Scandinavian phonological, morphological and lexical systems:

"Detta lågtyska språk hade på vissa viktiga punkter stora likheter med svenskan (och danskan). Det hade t.ex. inte högtyskans diftonger, och den s.k. högtyska ljudskridningen (dvs. övergangen av t.ex. äldre /p/ till /f/) hade inte genomförts i lågtyskan. Detta gjorde att lågtyskan hade ordformer som sten, hûs, ôge, tunge, dragen, gripen (motsvarande högtyskans Stein, Haus, Auge, Zunge, tragen, greifen) dvs. former som uttals- och stavningsmässigt låg mycket nära svenskans. Sådana likheter mellan lågtyskan och den medeltida svenskan var av avgörande betydelse för möjligheterna för svenskan att ta emot lån från lågtyskan. Dessa lån kom att bli av väldig omfattning, och de finns inom praktiskt taget alla områden." (p.77)

and further:

"Deres allmänna struktur (i fråga om ljud, stavning, böjning) låg redan från början så nära strukturen hos inhemska ord att assimilations processen gick snabbt." (p.79)

To those listed by Molde, we might add such MLG forms as open, tam, eten, riden, vören, varen, leggen, setten, gôt and dôt (cf. the close Swedish words öppen, tam, äta, rida, föra, fara, lägga, sätta, god and död). Compare these with the rather more distant High German offen, zahm, essen, reiten, führen, fahren, liegen, setzen, gut and tot.

This closeness in vocabulary and sounds of the language is given by Moberg as one important reason why MLG did not become the language of the Scandinavian nations despite being so well ingrained. The Scandinavian languages were close enough to MLG for it not to seem very alien and due to the loaning of new, productive affixes, speakers of Scandinavian were quite easily able to form new words based on either native or loaned elements as the need arose. The natives did not feel they were learning and using a language so different from their own. The fact that elements with no independent meaning could be loaned from one language to another and form productive word classes indicates the in some respects closeness of MLG and the late medieval Scandinavian languages.

Furthermore, a class of bilingual speakers which arose from intermarrying between the natives and the Low German immigrants would have intensified the influence of MLG on the less prestigious Scandinavian languages and is another reason why MLG came to impact on Scandinavian in the way that it did. Moberg mentions a Helmik van Nörden who kept the records for Stockholm ’s rådstuga at the close of the 1400s. Helmik does not hesitate to use words with originally Low German endings affixed to native bases, e.g. sanhet, thunghet for MLG wârheit and swârheit. He switches effortlessly between native läkiare “doctor”and import arst, between native vindögha “window” and import fenster, and between native anlite “face” and import ansikt.

Gradually as the power of the Hanseatic League declined in the 1400s, and the New World was discovered, so did the influence of Middle Low German on the Nordic tongues. (However, as Ahldén demonstrates in his article, MLG loans into Scandinavian continued in far smaller numbers into the 1800s). It is unlikely that many Scandinavians developed a full command of MLG. This partial bilingualism gradually faded, the Germans were assimilated and soon spoke a Scandinavian coloured by LG.

At the same time, the advent of printing, and later the Luther Bible, brought a new High German influence to bear. Indeed, the many MLG loans in the Mainland Scandinavian languages eased the passage for these High German loans or models to begin arriving in force from the middle of the 1500s. The 1526 Swedish New Testament was aimed at the town dwellers and eschewed older native words and expressions such as found in the Vadestena Bible with the aim of being clear and easily understandable for its intended audience, who were by now users of a considerable number of Low German loanwords. So we find words such as fråga instead of native spörja, begynna instead of native börja, behaga and behaglig instead of native thäkkias and thäkkelig, måste instead of måtte, ansikte instead of anlete. Not only the Bible but many psalms and songs were based on German models.

By 1540 the chancellery of the Danish king had made the switch to High German. The Lutheran Reformation in particular, opened the way for a flood of High German lexical items and syntactical influence. Many of the men of the Swedish Reformation had been schooled in Germany . High German as a source of loans and other linguistic features, which was still very influential up until 1945, will be considered in a separate article. It is as well to point out here, however, that MLG loans and words based on MLG loaned elements have never been as much the object of the language purists’ energies as the later High German imports – indeed many could barely identify MLG words to be such, so ingrained were they in the language.

MLG would have been reflected in speech before writing, so our knowledge of its exact route is limited. One of the greatest controversies in this field is whether the loans in Swedish came in via Danish, or directly from MLG. For a small number of words, e.g. bagare, the forms in Swedish ind icate that they have passed through Danish first. But for the great majority of the words in Swedish the jury is still out until more detailed studies are made. This controversial but important issue cannot be considered any furth er here.

Whatever their route, MLG-derived words are attested even in rural Swedish dialects by the late 1500s and studies by Lennart Elmevik have shown that the dialects have been penetrated by LG to a far higher extent than previously believed.

By 1600 the MLG loans were so well assimilated that few suspected such words were of foreign origin (unlike many later High German loans that were purged from the languages). Nowadays only linguists among Scandinavian speakers recognize that such words are of MLG origin.

When Esaias Tegnér the Elder (1782-1846) in the poem Språken (1817) described Swedish as “Ärans och hjältarnas språk!”, he presumably was not aware of the irony that the three nouns in his sentence are all descended from MLG!! (êre, helt, sprâke).

**

* NOTE : these lists can only give some of the more common, important or else interesting MLG loans. There are thousands and whole books have been written detailing them. Deliberately excluded are some specialised registers, especially in the field of fishing and shipping, but also quite a few terms about the natural world. All the words in the lists, as far as I know, are still current in all or at least one of the Mainland Scandinavian languages - and the lists give the modern forms of these, along with their current meanings. Loans into Icelandic and Faroese from MLG are a separate and more complex issue and will be treated later. However a few general remarks about the uptake of Low German loans into these insular Nordic languages is appropriate now.

Icelandic and Faroese received far fewer direct loans from Middle Low German mainly owing to their remote location and trade agreements with Norway, and later, Denmark. Most loans into these North Atlantic languages therefore were taken up indirectly with Norwegian or Danish (especially the latter) acting as an intermediary. There were fewer loans into Icelandic compared to the mainland, but those that existed were used with vigour in the learned written language until the 1600s when the tide began to turn against them. Such loans (as well as those that were entirely Mainland Scandinavian in origin) were increasingly frowned upon as corruptive and unncessary. This feeling gradually increased and culminated last century in the hreintungustefna (policy of linguistic purism) which still defines the criteria concerning the adoption of foreign words into Icelandic. Many Low German loans through Danish as well as pure Danish words have been ejected in favour of native constructs and most of the productive word-forming elements loaned from the original imports have been cleansed from the written language. The result is a purer but rather different Icelandic from that of the 1600s and before. A similar principle guides some of the more ardent adherents of Norwegian Nynorsk, who want to see Low German "interference" minimised. The situation with Faroese is rather more complicated, as the language is still subjected to considerable Danish influence. There has been a movement for a less mixed language there too, but the impetus has been weaker. Consequently the Low German lexical influence in Faroese (mostly through Danish) is more noticeable, but still not nearly so important as the corresponding effect on the Mainland Scandinavian languages.

A few words in the lists below are element loan-translations (e.g. domkyrka from MLG dôm and (originally) ON kirkja), but these have been included as important or interesting words).

Middle Low German forms use circumflexes as a diacritic to indicate long vowels because using macrons was impossible in an HTML text.

In many cases, supposedly Middle-Low-German-derived words in Scandinavian seem more closely related to the corresponding ModLS forms than to the corresponding MLG forms as we know them from written sources. This is especially obvious where front vowels (represented by the letters y, ö/ø and ä/æ/e) correspond to front vowels in ModLS (ü/üü, ö/öö, ä/ää e/ee) while corresponding to what are represented as back vowels in Middle Low German writing (u/û, o/ô, a/â). Other MLG loans in Scandinavian are more similar to their ModLS cognates than to the written MLG ones in other ways. This may be an indication that such loans came from spoken Low Saxon dialects in which vowel fronting (umlauting) and other changes had already taken place, while this was not yet reflected in the more or less standardized and assumedly rather conservative written language at the time. Also, in some cases comparisons between the Scandinavian forms and the ModLS forms reveals that there was more than one MLG donor dialect. For example, the Swedish word sedel is related to ModLS Z e del, while the Danish equivalent seddel is related to the ModLS variant Zeddel. For this reason ModLS and, where deemed necessary, Modern Dutch (Du) cognates are added for comparison. This is limited to actual cognates, i.e. to directly corresponding words. It does not mean that closely related words do not exist. A cognate may or may not have the same meaning as that of the loanwords in Scandinavian.

ModLS has many dialects and so far no standard dialect and standard orthography. ModLS forms are here provided in a North Saxon dialect of Germany in conventional German-based orthographies. A long vowel is represented by a single letter if it is in an open syllable (e.g., Damen 'ladies') and by a double letter if it is in a closed syllable (e.g., Daam 'lady') or anywhere before two or more consonant letters (e.g., Paaschen 'Easter'). Long /i/ is always written as ie . German-based spelling distinguishes long vowels from diphthongs only optionally by a small hook (ogonek) underneath e and ö to mark monophthong long vowels. However, this is rarely utilized. Instead of placing a hook we underline a letter that represents a long vowel; e.g., b e den [be:dn] ~ [bE:dn] 'to request', 'to pray' vs. beden [bEIdn] ~ [baIdn] 'to offer', K öö m [kø:m] 'caraway' vs. kööm [kœIm] ~ [kOIm] 'came', T oo n [to:n] 'tone' vs. Book [bouk] ~ [bauk] 'book'. An apostrophe following a consonant indicates that, where an older -e has been dropped, "superlength" or "drawl tone" applies: the consonant does not undergo the usual devoicing, and the preceding vowel or diphthong is extra long.

* note : a number of possible MLG loans appear in my article on High German loans in the Scandinavian languages

1 - NOUNS

(Dates given for first appearance in Swedish ).

*All loans assumed to be Middle Low Saxon (MLS) unless given otherwise .

Swedish Danish English MLS Old Norse Mod LS or Du ------ bødker cooper bödiker ------ forskel difference vorschel munr Verscheel, Verschääl ------ forsæt intention, purpose vorsat mál, ætlan Vörsatt (decision, plan) ------ fætter cousin vedder frændi Vedder ------ kok cook koch ------ køgemester master cook kôkenmester ------ maler painter Maler ------ optog procession, paegeant optoch --- pebersvend bachelor ------ taske bag tasche Tasch ------ tæppe carpet teppet ------ udtog abstract, summary ûttoch Uttog adel adel nobility adel Adel akt agt document, record; act âcht rit; lög Akt(e); akte (Du) allvar alvor earnestness alwâr alvara (loan from MLG) (alwaar 'whereas' (Du)) amma amme nurse amme Amm amt

(1620) amt county ambacht,

ammecht Amt andakt (c.1620) andagt devotion, prayers andacht bænir Andacht andel andel share, portion andêl hlútr Andeel andrake andrik drake anderik andarsteggr --- anfall anfald attack anval, aneval áhlaup Anfall angrepp angreb attack angrepe áhlaup Angr ee p anhang

(1527) anhang supplement anhang Anhang ankomst ankomst arrival ankumpst koma, kváma Ankumst anrop anråb challenge anrop áskoran Anroop (call) ansikte ansigt face ansichte andlit anskri anskrig cry, scream anschrî óp, öskr --- anslag anslag impact; estimate; allowance anslach ætlan Anslag, Anslach anspråk ------ claim, demand ansprake kröf Anspraak anstöt anstød offence anstôt afbrot Anstoot antal antal number antal tala aantal (Du) antal antal number, figure antal tal Antall, Antaal arbete arbejde work, labour arbeit erfiði Arbeid armod armod poverty armôt, armôde fátækð Armood art art kind, sort art tigund, kyn Aard, Aart, Oort avdelning afdeling division afdêlinge deild afdeling (Du) avlösning afløsning relief aflosinge bagare bager baker bakker Backer bedrift bedrift achievement, exploit; enterprise bedrif afrek, dáð Bedriev, Bedrief bedrövelse bedrøvelse sorrow, grief bedrôvenisse befallning befalning order, command Befehl befordring befordring conveyance begrepp begreb idea, concept begrîp, begrêp Begr ee p begär begær desire, craving beger þrá, lyst Begehr behag behag pleasure, satisfaction behach lyst, ánægja Behaag, Behaach, Behagen behov behov need behôf þorf behoef (Du) behov behov requirement, need behôf þörf, nauðr --- behåll behold keeping, preservation, retention beholt geymsla, varðveizla --- bekymmer bekymring worry, concern, anxiety bekumberinge áhyggja belevenhet ------ good breeding, fine manners belewtheit kurteisi --- belopp beløb amount belôp beloop (Du) beläte billede image, picture bilde, belde mynd Bild; beeld (Du) beråd beråd doubt, hesitation, uncertainty berât tvímæli, tvísýni --- besked besked message beschêd boð Bescheed beslag beslag fittings, mountings beslach Beslag, Beslach beslut beslutning decision, resolution beslut ákvæði Beslutt bestyr (bestyrelse) work, business, management bestür verk, stjórn, viðskipti Bestüür bestånd bestand stock, number bestant birgðir Bestand beställning bestilling order besättning besættelse occupation besettinge hernám bezetting (Du) betryck betryk distress, need bedruck nauð --- bevillning bevilling grant, appropriation bewillinge veiting --- bevis bevis proof, evidence bewîs sannindi Bewies bevåg (c.1540) ------ responsibility, authority bewach ábyrgð --- bihang ------ appendage, appendix bîhank viðauki bilaga bilag enclosure, supplement, insert bilage Bi(e)lage, Bi(e)laag' bild billede image, picture bilde, belde mynd Bild; beeld (Du) bisittare bisidder assessor, observer bisitter Bisitter bislag bislag porch bislach Bislag, Bislach blick

(c.1593) blik look, gaze blick ásyn borgare borger citizen borgere Börger borgmästare borgmester burgomaster borgermêster Börgermeester bovete boghvede buckwheat bôkwête Bookweten brännvin brændevin brandy, gin bernewîn Brandwien bukt bugt bay, gulf bucht vík Bucht bult bolt bolt bolte Bult, Bült burskap borgerskab franchise; citizens bûrschap borgarlýðr byxa bukse trousers, breeches buxe Büx(e), Bux(e) bålverk bolværk rampart, bulwark bolwerk (MLG) Bollwark

bolwerk (Du) båtsman bådsmand boatswain bôtsman bátsmaðr Bootsmann bädd ------- bed bedde rúm, sæng Bedd, Bett bägare bæger baker beker bakari Backer, Bäcker bäver bæver beaver bever bjórr Bever, Bewer bödel bøddel executioner, hangman bodel, boddel Bödel, Bodel börs børs purse, fund börs (LG), burse (MLG) fjárfundr, sjóðr Börs(e) ('purse', 'stock exchange') bössa bøsse gun; cashbox busse Büss(e), bus ? bøssemager gunsmith ? ------ del del part, fraction dêl, deil hlutr Deel dikt digt poem dichte kvæði docka dok dock MDu dok, MLG docke domherre

(1640)

(now domare) domherre

(now dommer) judge dômherre dómsmaðr D oo mherr domkyrka domkirke cathedral dôm (MLG) +

kirkja (ON) dómkirkja D oo kark dop dåb baptism dope drake drage dragon drake dreki Drake dryckenskap drukkenskab drunkenness drunkenschap drykkjuskapr dräkt dragt dress, garb dracht umbúningr, klæði Dracht dunder dunder thunder, rumble dunner dust dyst fight, clash, tussle dust, diest bardagi däck (c.1690) dæk deck dek (LG or Du) döp dåb baptism dôpe skírn Dööp ebb

(1787) ebbe low tide, ebb ebbe (Du) fjarra Ebb; eb(be) (Du) egendom ejendom property êgendôm (MLG) eign Egendoom egendom ejendom property, estate egendom eign, bú Egendom elände ------- misery ellende aumleikr Elend endräkt endragt harmony, concord eindracht samræði, samhljóðan Eendracht -eri -eri (suffix forming nomen agentis) -erîe -eree, - erie fack fag line, trade; subject vak (MLG) Fack fadder fadder godparent vadder falk falk falcon, hawk valke haukr, fálki Falk(e) fals fals deceit, falsehood vals lygi falsch 'wrong' falskhet falskhed falsness, duplicity valschheit Falschheit fana fane banner, standard vane merki Faan, Fahn fara fare danger vâre hætta Faar, Fahr fartyg fartøj vessel, ship fartüg (MLG) skip Faartüüg, Fahrtüüg feber (c.1533) feber fever feber Fever, Fewer fejda fejde feud, strife, war veide stríð, ófriðr Fede, Feed' fel

(c.1520) fejl mistake, error feil, fegel villr F ee l fett fedt fat, lard, grease fett

(MLG) feitr Fett ficka ----- pocket ficke Fick fiol fiol violin viole flagg

(1605) flag flag flagge (MLG) or vlag (Du) Flagg(e) flykt flugt escape, flight vlucht, vlücht flótti Flucht, Flücht flöjt fløjte flute flöite fogde foged sheriff, bailiff voget sýslumaðr Voogt fotfolk fodfolk infantry vôtvolk fótgönguherr fotgängare fodgænger infantryman

(now "pedestrian") vôtgenger fótgöngumaðr frakt

(1524) fragt freight vracht farmr Fracht fru frue lady; Mrs vrouwe kona Fru, Fro frukost frokost breakfast

(Dan. ="lunch") vrôkost Fru(h)kost

Frö(h)kost frukt frugt fruit vrucht Frucht fruktan frygt fear, dread vruchte hræzla, ótti Forcht, Furcht fröken

(1560) frøken young lady; Miss vrouwekin, vrouken fukt fugt damp, moisture vucht fullmakt fuldmagt authority vulmacht yfirskipan Vullmacht

Vollmacht fullmäktig fuldmægtig principal, delegate vulmechtich forstjóri Vullmacht furste fyrste prince vorste, vurste vísir furstinna fyrsteinde princess vorstinne dróttning Förstin fyr fyr fire vûr, vuer eldr Füür fält felt sphere; field velt Feld fängelse fængsel prison; imprisonment vengnisse fangelsi färg farve colour, hue varwe, varve litr Farv(e) fästning (c.1630) fæstning fortress vesteninge föga (falla till föga) føje (falde til føje) cause, ground, reason (yield, submit) vôge (in de vôge fallen) örsok fönster (ousted OSwed. vindögha) ------ window vinster, venster gluggr Finster, Fenster förakt foragt contempt, disdain voracht --- förbud forbud ban, prohibition vorbot förbund forbund union, league, federation vorbunt lag, samfélag Verbund fördel fordel advantage vordêl gagn Fördeel fördrag ------ lecture, address, delivery vordrach verdrag (Du) förekomst forekomst occurence, incidence vorkumpst --- föreståndare forstander principal, director vorstender forstjóri --- förfall forfald decay, decline vorval niðrfall Verfall förfång ------ detriment; prejudice vorvank --- förgift forgift poison vorgift eitr --- förgängelse (forgængelighed) corruption vorgenknis spilling --- förhänge forhæng curtain, drape; veil vorhenge tjald Vörhäng förhör forhør interrogation (vorhören) förköp forkøb pre-emption vorkôp Verkoop förlopp forløb lapse; course of events vorlop förlov forlov permission, leave vorlôf leyfi Verlööv, Verlööf förlust ------ loss, damage vorlust tapan, skaði Verlust förnuft fornuft sense, reason vornuft skynsemd förräder forræder traitor vorrêder svikamaðr Verrader, Verräder förstånd forstand intellect, brains, reason vorstant vitsmunr, skynsemd, samvizka Verstand förtret fortræd annoyance, vexation, harm vordrêt skapraun; skaði Verdreet gaffel gaffel fork gaffel(e) Gaffel garvare garver tanner garwer, gerwer (LG) sútari Garver gemål (c.1565) gemal consort, spouse gemâl maki gesäll gesel journeyman geselle Gesell(e) gevär

(1620) gevær rifle, gun gewêre Geweer, Gewehr gikt (c.1578) gigt gout gicht, jicht Gicht, Jicht greve greve count, earl greve, grave jarl Graaf

Gr ee f grevinna grevinde countess grevinne greifinna (Gräfin) gräns grænse border, boundary grense, grenitze merki Grenz(e), Grenß(e) gunst gunst favour, grace gunst náð Gunst gåva gave gift, present gâve gjöf; giäf (Old Swed.) Gaav', Gave -gängare -gænger -walker, -goer -genger, -ginger fótgöngmaðr -gänger haj

(1674) haj shark haai Hai handel handel trade, commerce handel handske handske glove hantschô, hantsche hanzki Handsch(e) handskmakare handskemager glover hantwerk

(1540) håndværk handicraft, trade hantwerk iðn Handwark;

handwerk (Du) hast hast haste, hurry hast skynding, skyndir Hast helgon (pl.) helgen saint thie hêlagon (OSax.) herre herre gentleman; Mr hêrre (MLG) maðr, karlmaðr Herr herrskap herskab master and mistress hêrschop, hêrschap Herrschup(p)

Herrschop(p) hertig hertug duke hertoch, hertich hertoga Hertog, Hertoch hertiginna hertuginde duchess hertochinne hingst hingst stallion hinxt, hingest hestr Hingst hjälte helt hero helt hetja Held hjältinna heltinde heroine hopp håb hope, expectation hôpe (MLG) ván hoop (Du) hov hof court, noble society hof hirð Hoff högmod hovmod pride, arrogance hogmôt husgeråd husgeråd household utensils hûsgerât husman husmand smallholder hûsman smábóndi hustru hustru (house)wife hûsvrouwe húsfreyja Huusfru, Huusfro hytt

(1842) hytte cabin hütt, hütte (LG) Hütt häkte hægte custody, jail hechte varðhald hecht; haft (Du) härbärge herberg shelter, lodging herberge gisting Harbarg;

herberg (Du) härkomst herkomst origin, lineage herkumpst ætterni Herkumst, Herkomst höft

(c.1538) ------ hip hûfte mjöðm Hüft(e) högfärd ------ pride, vanity hôchvart hégómadýrð --- högmod hovmod pride, arrogance hogemôt, homôt dramb H oo gmood

H oo chmoot högmod højmod magnanimity hôgmôd gjöfli Hoogmood, Ho(o)chmoot hökare (1693) høker provision dealer, huckster höker (LG) Höker hövitsman høvedsmand captain hôvetman hoofdman (Du) innbyggjare indbyggere resident inbûwe ingefära ingefær ginger ingever Ingwer, Engwer inkomst indkomst income, profit inkomst ávinningr Inkumst -inna -inde fem. noun-forming suffix -inne, -in -in innandöme ------ inside, interior ingedöme Ingedööm(t) (inner organs) inpass indpas footing, entry inpas innganga --- intrång (indtrængen) encroachment, trespass indrank ágangr, yfirgangr --- intåg indtog entry intoch innganga Intog, Intoch invånare indvåner inhabitant inwoner íbyggjari Inwa(h)ner

Inwohner ----- isenkræmmer ironmonger isenkremer iver (1560) iver eagerness, keenness, zeal îver ákafi, kappi Iewer, Iber jakt jagt hunt, hunting jacht veiðr jungfru jomfru virgin juncfrouwe mær Jungfer, Jumfer

Jümfer junker

(1788) junker young gentleman junkman, jungman jungherra jägare jæger hunter jeger veiðimaðr Jager, Jäger jämmer (1540) jammer moaning, lamentation, misery jammer kveinkani Jammer kaj

(1807) kaj quay kaai (Du) bryggja Kai; kaai (Du) kammare kammer small room kamer herbergi Kamer kamp kamp battle kamp bardagi, orrosta kant

(1643) kant edge, border kant, kante jaðarr Kant kappa kappe coat, cloak, cape kappe skikkja Kapp(e) kejsare kejser emperor keiser keisari Kaiser kista kiste chest, coffer kiste kista (loan) Kist(e) klensmed klejnsmed locksmith klensmede klippa klippe rock, cliff klippe bjarg, klettr klip (Du) klocka klokke clock, bell klocke (MLG) bjalla Klock kloster kloster monastery, convent klôster knape ------ youth, swain knape sveinn, drengr knop (c.1698) knob, knop knot knoop (Du) Knoop, Knop koffert kuffert trunk koffert koger kogger quiver koker örvamalr Köker kogg kogge cog (shipping) kogge konst kunst art kunst, konst list Kunst konstnär

(1538) kunstner artist, artisan kunstener, kunstner listamaðr kopp

(1539) kop cup kop, koppe bolli Kopp kopparslagare (kobbersmed) coppersmith koppersleger koppari korg kurv basket korf karfa (loan) Korf kort

(1587) kort card; map kort (MLG) spjáld Kaart, Koort kost kost fare, food koste kramp krampe cramp, spasm krampe Kramp krans krans wreath, garland kranz Kranz, Krans krig krig war krîg stríð Krieg kristen kristen Christian kristen kristinn krog kro inn, tavern krôch, krûch ölhús Kroog, Krooch krona krone crown krône, krûne Kr oo n krus krus jug, tankard krûs krut krudt gunpowder krût púðr krämare kræmmer shopkeeper krêmer krögare (krovært) innkeeper kröger, kruger Kröger krönika krønike chronicle, annals kroneke annáll Krönk, Krünk kungöra kundgøre announce kunt maken ? ? kunskap kundskab knowledge, skill kuntschop kunnusta Kundschup(p)

Kundschop(p) kunskapare ------ military scout kuntschopper njósarmaðr kunst kunst art kunst Kunst kust

(1660) kyst coast, shore kost (MLG) or kust (Du) strönd Küst kypare (c.1669) kyper waiter kûper þjónn Küper, Kuper ('cooper'); kuiper (Du) kyskhet kyskhed chastity, virginity kûschheit hreinlífi, hreinleiki Kuuschheit källare kælder cellar kelleri (OSax.) Keller köpman købmand merchant kôpmann Koopmann kök køkken kitchen koke, kokene eldhús K öö k, K ö ken köksmästare køgemester head chef

master cook kôkenmester köpenskap ------ trade, business kopenschap verzlan körsbär kirsebær cherry kersebere Ka(r)sbeer(e) lamp lampe lamp lampe lampi Lamp lekman lægmand layman lêkmann leikmaðr lots lods pilot lots ? Loots luder luder whore luder luft

(1630) luft air; sky luft lopt Luft lukt



lugt smell lucht Lucht lycka lykke fortune, luck lucke hamingja, gæfa låda lade box, case lade Laad' långsax langsaks long shears, knife lanksax (MLG) sax län len fief lên lén Leen, Lehn lärjunge ------ pupil lêrjunge lærisveinn Leerjung, Lehrjung

Liehrjung lärka lerke lark lêwerike lævirki Lewark -makare -mager -"maker" -maker -smiðr -maker makt magt power, force macht máttr, veldi Macht malström malstrøm whirlpool, maelstrom maalstroom (Du) röst maalstroom (Du) manskap mandskab crew; troop manschap skipan Mannschup(p)

Mannschop(p) markgreve markgreve margrave, marquis markgrêve markgrefi marskalk marskalk marshal, steward marschalk maarschalk (Du) marskland

(1713) marskland marshland marsch, mersch mýrr Marsch mist

(1750) ------ mist, fog mist (MLG) or

mist (MDu) Mist; mist (Du) munk munk monk monik, monk munkr Mönk murare murer mason mynt mynt, mønt coin, mint munte, monte peningr Münt målare maler painter maler Maler måltid måltid mealtime mâltîd máltíð Maaltied måtta måde manner, way, mode mâte háttr Maat människa menneske human being mennisco (OSax.) maðr märs mærs top (sail) marse, merse Mars mästare mester master, lord meister, mêster meistari Meester mönster mønster pattern, design munster Munster mössa mytse cap mutze, musse, musche húfa Mütz(e) narr

(1614) nar fool, idiot narre Narr näktergal nattergal nightingale nachtegale nederlag nederlag defeat nedderlage úsigr Nedderlaag' nytta nytte use, benefit nûtte gagn, nytsemd Nütten nåd nåde grace, mercy gnâde (MLG) miskunn Gnaad' omständighet

(1530) omstændighed situation, circumstance ummestendicheit tilstaða orlov orlov leave orlof leyfi --- orsak årsag cause, reason orsake Oorsaak ort

(1535) ------ place, locality ort staðr Oord, Oort ovetenhet uvidenhed ignorance unwetenheit úkunnandi, fákunnasta unwetenheit pack

(1535) pak riff-raff, rabble pak Pack pansar panser armour panser pant pant pledge, lien pant papir papir paper pappîr par par pair, couple pâr par Paar pil pil arrow pîl ör Piel plats plads place, location plâtse, plâtze staðr Plaats, Platz plikt pligt duty, plight plicht skuld Plicht plåga plage pain, nuisance; plague plâghe þjáning Plaag' prakt

(1550) pragt magnificence, grandeur pracht dýrð Pracht pris pris worth; price pris verð Pries prov

(1595) prøve test, trial prôve tilraun Proov' pränt prent print prente präst præst priest prêstar (OSax.) prestr Preester, Preister pump pumpe pump pumpe Pump påska påske Easter pasche páskar Paasch(en) påve pave Pope pâwes, pâwest páue päls

(1560) pels pelt, hide pels, pletz feldr Peltz, Pelß redskap redskab tool, implement rêdeschap (LG) verkfæri Reedschopp, Reedschupp, Reschopp resa rejse trip, journey reise ferð Reis', Reise riddare ridder knight ridder riddari Ridder rim rim rhyme rîm rím Riem rock rok coat, jacket rock Rock roder ror rudder, helm rôder, rôr roer (Du) rov rov loot, plunder, spoils, booty rôf herfang Roof ryggsäck rygsæk rucksack rugensak Rucksack (HG) rykte rygte rumour, report; fame ruchte, rochte frægð, orðstírr, orðrómr ryttmästare (1500s) ------- cavalry captain ritmêster ritmeester (Du) rådhus rådhus town hall râthûs Raadhuus

Raathuus rådman rådmand alderman râtman sveitarmaðr Raatsmann, Raadsmann rådsherre rådsherre councillor râthêre Raadsherr

Raatsherr råtta rotte rat rotte Rott räkenskap regningskab

(now regnskab) accounts rekenschop R e kenschup(p)

R e kenschop(p) ränta rente interest rente rättighet rettighed right, privilege rechticheit réttindi, réttr rövare røver robber, thief rôver þjóðr, raufari Röver sadelmakare sadelmager saddler sadelmaker söðlari Sad(d)elmaker sedel seddel note, slip, bill sedel, cedele Z e del, Zeddel sinne sind mind; temper sin hugr, geð, skap Sinn själ sjæl soul siala (OSax.) or

siele (OFris.) sál Seel självsvåld ------ high-handedness, wilfulness sulfwalt --- skilling skilling shilling schilink skillingr Schilling ----- skik custom, practice schick skinka skinke ham schinke svínaflesk Schinken skinnare skinder skinner skola skole school scôla (OSax.) skóli School skomakare skomager cobbler schômaker, schômeker skósmiðr Scho(h)maker skorsten skorsten chimney schorstein skorsteinn (loan) Schösteen skräddare skrædder tailor schrâder, schrôder skraddari Schrader, Schröder (surname) skuldra skulder shoulder schulder(e) öxl Schuller skytt skytte marksman schutte schutter (Du) sköldpadda skildpadde tortoise, turtle schildepadde, schiltpadde (LG) skört skørt skirt, petticoat schört skåp skab cupboard schap Schapp skällsord skældsord invective, abuse scheldewort bannan skänk

(1530) skænk gift, present schenke gjöf slag slag kind, sort slâg tigund, háttr Slag, Slach slaktare slagter (replaced kødmanger) butcher slachter Slachter slang slange tube, hose; snake (Dan.) slange Slang slott slot castle, palace slot höll Slott slut

(1610) slut finish, end slût lok, endi släkt slægt family, kin slechte ætt smak smag taste, flavour smak, smake Smack smitta smitte infection smitte, smette mein smärta

(1670) smerte pain, hurt smerte verkr Smart, Smatt snaps

(1800) snaps snaps snaps (Du) Snaps snickare snedker joiner, carpenter sniddeker trésmiðr Snieder 'tailor' socka sok sock socke leistr Sock socker sukker sugar sucker Zucker, Sucker spann

(1680) spand span span Spann spegel spejl mirror spêgel, spiegel Spegel; spiegel (Du) spel spil game, play spil, spel leikr Sp ee l, Spill, Spell språk

(1535) sprog language sprâke mál, tunga Spraak, Spro(o)k späck spæk fat; bacon spek stallmästare staldmester equerry, ostler stalmêster stalmeester stam stamme stem; tribe stam ættbálkr Stamm stift

(1550) stift diocese stift, steft Stift straff straf punishment straffe hegning, refsing Straaf strumpa

(c.1585) strømpe stocking strumpe sokkr Strump stråle stråle ray, beam strâle geisl Straal, Strahl stråt stræde path, way strâte Straat, Stro(o)t styrbord

(1687) styrbord starboard stûrbort stjórnborði Stüürbord styrman styrmand first mate; helmsman stûrman (MLG) stýrimaðr Stüürmann stånd stand state, condition stant Stand ståthållare stadholder governor statholder, stedeholder stedehouder (Du) stämma

(1580) stemme voice stemne, stemme rödd Stimm; stem (Du) stötta

(1670) støtte support, prop; stay stutte stoð Stütt stövel støvle high boot stevel St e vel, St e bel sump

(1525) sump marsh, swamp sump, sumpt fen, mýrr Sump svaghet svaghed weakness svalg svælg throat swalch kverk svåger svoger brother-in-law swâger mágr Swager svägerska (c.1633) (early mod. Dan. svogerske) sister-in-law swegersche mágkona Swegersch(e), Swägersch(e) svärdfejare sværdfeger sword-cleaner (Swed.)

sword-smith (Dan.) swertveger sverðskriði sylta sylte brawn sulte zult (Du) såpa sæbe soap sepe sälhund sælhund seal selhunt selr Saalhund sällskap selskab society, association selschop, selschap félag Sellschup(p)

Sellschop(p) tallrik tallerken plate tallorken diskr Teller, Töller (-ken diminutive) tavla tavle table, board tafele, taffel tegel tegl tile tegel tidning tidende news, tiding

(now: "newspaper" (Swed.)) tîdinge frétt, tíðindi Tieding(e) tillbehör tilbehør fixtures, fittings, parts tôbehöre Tobehöör tillflykt tilflugt refuge, haven tôvlucht skýli Toflucht tillfälle tilfælde occassion, case, instance tôval dæmi, mál, kostr Tofall tillgift tilgift something thrown in, added inducement tôgift --- tillkomst tilkomst advent, origin, creation tôkumst upphaf, uppruni, tilkoma Tokumst, Tokunft timmerman tømmermand carpenter timmerman trésmiðr Timmermann tolk tolk interpreter tolk, tollik tolk (Du) torn tårn tower, steeple torn, tarn, toren turn Toorn trappa trappe staircase, stairs trappe Trapp tryckeri trykkeri printing works prentsmiðja trots

(c.1600) trods defiance, obstinacy trotz, tros gagnstaða Trutz, Trotz tröja trøje sweater, jersey, jacket troie, troge Troier tukt tugt discipline tucht agi Tucht tull told duty, toll, customs toll tollr Toll tvist tvist dispute; twist twist deila tvivel tvivl doubt twîvel vafi Twiewel, Twievel

Twiefel tvätterska ------ laundress, washerwoman tyg tøj material, clothes tûch efni; klæðnaðr, fat Tüüg tåg tog train, waggon toch lest Tog, Toch tält

(1680) telt tent telt, telde tjald Telt okyskhet ukyskhed unchasteness olycka ulykke misfortune, accident ungelucke undersåte undersåt subject undersâte undirmaðr, þegn --- undervisning undervisning education unterwîsen menntan, fræðinæmi ünnerwiesen upplopp opløb crowd, gathering; riot uplôp hópr, þröng Uploop uppror

(1540) oprør rebellion, insurrection uprôr upprás Uproor, Uprohr

Oprohr uppsikt

(1525) opsigt sensation, stir upsicht Upsicht, Opsicht uppståndelse opstandelse resurrection; excitement, stir upstannisse upprisa; uppreisn Upstand uppsåt ------ intention, purpose upsat mál, ætlan --- uppträde (c.1630) optræden scene, disturbance (Swe.); appearance; conduct uptrede --- ur

(1670) ur clock, watch ûre Uhr (HG) utgift udgift expenditure ûtgift kostnaðr U(u)tgift utslag udslag decision, result ûtslacht ákvæði utträde udtrædelse retirement, withdrawal ûttrede --- vakt vagt watch, guard wacht vörðr Wacht vandel vandel conduct, behaviour wandel hegðan Wannel vara vare article, product ware vara (loan) Waar, W oo r varulv varulv werewolf warwulf, werwulf varúlfr W ee rwulf, W e hrwulf vederlag vederlag compensation wedderlach, -lage bót vedermöda ------ hardship weddermöde --- vederpart vederpart ? wedderpart Wedderpart vemod vemod sadness, melancholy wêmôt verkmästare værkmester foreman, supervisor werkmêster forráðamaðr, höfuðmaðr verkstad værksted workshop werkstede Warkst ee d' vetenskap

(1630) videnskab science, knowledge wêtenschap vísendi W e tenschup(p), W e tenschop(p); wetenschap (Du) vikt vægt weight wicht, wichte þyngð Wicht villkor vilkår condition, stipulation willekor formáli, skildagi, skilorð vinkel vinkel angle winkel horn Winkel vrak vrag wreck wrak flak Wrack våffla

(1710) vaffel waffle wâfel (LG) Waffel våg vove wave, billow wâge bylgja Wach, Wagg(e) våning våning flat; storey woninge, wounge woning (Du) väktare vægter watchman wechter varðmaðr Wächter väpnare væbner squire wêpener sveinn värd (c.1560) vært host, innkeeper, landlord wert gestgjafi We(e)rt värdinna værtinde hostess, innkeeper, landlady werdinne värv

(1560) hverv work, task, duty wert, wart Warf väsen væsen being, creature wesen, wesent W e sen vört

(1540) urt wort, herb werte, wert jurt ålderman oldermand alderman olderman sveitarmaðr Öllermann ångest angst angst, fear angest Angst äktenskap ægteskab marriage echteschop, -schap hjúskapr ängd (1541) (egn) tract jegen (LG) svæði ära ære honour êre heiðr Eer, Ehr, Ihr äventyr eventyr adventure, fairy tale eventuren ævintýr E ventüür ögonblick øjeblik instant, moment ogenblick augabragð Ogenblick örlog, örlig orlog naval battle orloge, orloch

orlech stríð Oorloog överdåd (c.1670) overdådighed sumptuousness, luxury overdât munaðr --- överenskommelse overenskomst agreement, arrangement overeenkomst samþykt, sammæli Övereenkumst, Öbereenkumst överflod

(1610) overflod abudance, profusion overvlôt Ö verfloot överhand overhånd upperhand, advantage overhant gagn, hagr Överhand, Öberhand överhet (c.1541) øvrighed the authorities overheit (emLG) yfirvöld Överheed; overheid (Du) övermod overmod pride, arrogance, overweening overmôt dramb, drambskapr Övermood, Övermoot, Öbermoot

2 - ADJECTIVES

(Dates given for first appearance in Swedish ).

*All loans assumed to be Middle Low Saxon (MLS) unless given otherwise .

Swedish Danish English MLS Old Norse Mod LS or Du ------ alene alone alle(i)ne einn, einsamall alleen, allein ----- bange afraid bange hræddr bange ------ belejlig convenient belegelik hentugr, þægiligr --- ------ fordrukken drunk vordrunken drukkinn --- ------ forkert wrong, incorrect vorkêren verkehrt ------ fornøden necessary, required van nôden nauðsynligr --- (försmadligt (adv.)) forsmædelig ignominious vorsmâdelik fyrirlitligr --- ------ forsætlig intentional, deliberate vorsetlik --- ------ gesvindt quick geswinde ------ gevaldig tremendous, enormous gewaldich ------ indstændig urgent; earnest instendich instännig ------ overhørig disregarded, ignored overhôrich --- ------ smuk beautiful, fine smuck, smuk smuck ------ udlændig exiled ûtlendich útlægr --- allvar alvor serious, grave alwâr alvarligr avfällig

(1541) affældig defective, apostate; decrepit (Dan.) afvellich afvallig (Du) barmhärtig barmhjertig merciful, compassionate barmhertich miskunnsamr barmhartig bedrövlig bedrøvelig sad, miserable, melancholy bedrôvelik hryggr, aumr --- befaren befaren experienced bevaren --- behjälplig behjælpelig helpful behelplik hjálpsamligr --- behändig behændig agile, dexterous behendich fimr behändig, behänn, behann behörig behørig due, fitting behôrich tilhlýðiligr --- bekant bekendt known bekent kunnr bekannt bekväm bekvem comfortable; convenient bequême þægiligr bequeem beredd beredt prepared, ready berêde búinn --- berömd berømt famous, renowned From MLG berômen beskedlig beskeden meek; modest beschêden beskäftig (c.1650) (beskæftiget) meddlesome, fussy bescheftich afskiptinn --- beständig bestandig constant, lasting bestendich besynnerlig besynderlig strange, odd, curious besunderlik, besunderich (sünnerlich) betänklig betænkelig serious, grave; difficult bedenklich vandræðasamr --- bevågen bevågen well disposed bewogen velviljaðr --- billig billig cheap, inexpensive bilik, billich billig bister (c.1525) bister fierce, grim bister grimmúðigr bra brav good, excellent; well (Swed.); honest, good, worthy (Dan.) brav dejlig dejlig lovely, beautiful degelik unaðsamr dov

(1710) døv deaf dôf doov, doof dristig dristig bold, courageous drîst, drîstich djarfr driest duktig

(1665) dygtig cap