Norwegian Genealogical Word List

This Norwegian Word List contains Norwegian words with their English translations. The words included here are those that you are likely to find in genealogical sources. If the word you are looking for is not on this list, please consult a Norwegian-English dictionary. (See the "Additional Resources" section below.)

Norwegian is a Germanic language like Swedish, Danish, and Icelandic. There are two official dialects in Norway. Prior to 1915 most Norwegian records are in a language closer to written Danish than to modern Norwegian. You may also want to refer to the Danish Genealogical Word List.

Records published after 1915, such as family and local histories, are in modern Norwegian. Most differences between modern and old Norwegian are simply a matter of spelling. Carefully study the section below on spelling. This will help you find the words in this list.

LANGUAGE CHARACTERISTICS
Variant Forms of Words

In Norwegian, as in English, the forms of some words will vary according to how they are used in a sentence. Who—whose—whom or marry—marries— married are examples of words in English with variant forms. The endings of a word in a document may differ from those in this list. For example:

Alphabetical Order
Written Norwegian has three letters not found in the English alphabet: Æ (æ), Ø (ø), and Å (å). In most record sources prior to 1915, Å (å) is written as Aa (aa) and filed at the beginning of the alphabet. Modern Norwegian dictionaries, indexes, the Locality section of the Family History Library Catalog, and this word list use the following alphabetical order:

a b  c  d  e  f  g  h  i  j  k  l  m  n  o  p  q  r  s  t  u  v  w  x  y  z  æ  ø  å

A through C
absolvere                          to give absolution adel                                   nobility adelig                                noble adelsmann                         nobleman adoptert                             adopted adresse                              address aften                                  evening alder                                  age alderdomssvakhet             weakness of old age aldri                                   never alle                                    all alltid                                  always almisse                              charity almisselem                        indigent, poor altergang                           communion amt                                    county amtmann                           chief county administrator andre                                 others, other, next anetavle                             pedigree chart anfall                                  seizure, attack anførte                                entered, mentioned ankomst                              arrival anmerkning                        remark, notice, note annen, annet                      second, another annen gang                        second time anno (Latin)                        year annonsere                          publish, announce antall                                  number, count april                                   April arbeider                             laborer arkiv                                   archive arv                                      inheritance arvelodd                             share of inheritance arving                                 heir astma                                 asthma at                                        that atten                                   eighteen attende                               eighteenth attest                                   certificate august                                 August av                                        of, at, by, from avdeling                              part, division avdød                                  deceased avgangen                            departed avgift                                   duty (monetary), fee avkom                                 offspring, issue avtale                                  agreement 

B

'''bakbygning                       back building (additional residence behind the main building) baker                                 baker bakke                                 hill bannlyse                            excommunicate baptist                                Baptist bar                                     carried bar barnet                          held child (at baptism font) bare                                   only barn                                   child barna                                 children barndom                            childhood barnebarn                          grandchild barnedåp                           child baptism barnefar                             child’s father barnløs                               childless barsel                                 birth barselfeber                         childbed fever barselseng                          birthing bed be                                       pray, request beboer                                occupant, resident bededag                             prayer day bedrive hor                         commit adultery befolkning                           population, people begge                                  both begivenhet                          event, occurrence begravelse                          funeral, burial begravet                              buried behandle                            handle, treat, manage bemerkning                        remark ben                                     leg, bone benekte                              deny benåde                               pardon beruset                               drunk besetning                           livestock, crew beskrivelse                         description beslektet                             related bestefar                              grandfather besteforeldre                      grandparents bestemor                            grandmother besvangre                          impregnate, get with child, make pregnant betale                                 pay betler                                  beggar bevilge                               grant bevis                                   proof bibliotek                             library bind                                    volume (book) biografi                               biography biskop                                 bishop bispedømme                       diocese bli                                       become blikkenslager                      tinsmith blind                                   blind blod                                    blood blodgang                            dysentery'''

blodskam                           incest blodsott                               abnormal loss of blood during illness bo                                        to live at bodde                                  lived bok                                      book bokhandler                          bookseller bokholder, bokfører             bookkeeper bokstav                                letter, character bolig                                    residence, house bonde                                  farmer bopel                                   residence, domicile borger                                 citizen borgermester                       mayor borgerskap                          citizenship bot                                       fine, penalty brann                                   fire brennevinsbrenner              distiller of spirits brev                                     letter (correspondence) bro                                       bridge bror                                      brother brordatter                             brother’s daughter brorsønn                               brother’s son brud                                      bride brudgom                               bridegroom bruk                                      farm, use brygger                                 brewer bryllup                                  wedding budeie                                  milkmaid buskap                                  livestock, crew by                                         town, city bygd                                     small country community, village bygdebok                             rural chronicles bygsel                                  lease byll                                       abscess byllepest                              plague (bubonic) bære                                    carry bøkker                                  cooper, barrel maker både                                     both, either båret                                     carried båt                                        boat, ship båtbygger                             shipbuilder båtsmann                              boatswain, bosun 

C

cirka                                     approximately communion                           Communion confirmerede                         confirmed copulerede                            marriage 

D through F
'''dag                                       day dagen før                               the previous day dagsarbeider                         day laborer dal                                         valley Danmark                                Denmark dannekvinde                         gentlewoman dannemand                          gentleman dansk                                    Danish dato                                      date (noun) datter                                    daughter datterdatter                           daughter’s daughter dattersønn                             daughter’s son datum (Latin)                        date dele                                       to divide, to share dem                                       them, they den                                        the, it, that denne                                    this der                                         there deres                                      their derfor                                     therefore desember                               December det                                          it, that, the difteri                                      diphtheria din                                           your disse                                        these diverse                                    various dokument                                document domkirke                                 cathedral dommer                                   judge dragon                                     dragoon, light cavalryman dreng                                       boy drengebarn                              male child drepe                                       kill dronning                                  queen druknet                                    drowned dydig                                       virtuous dø                                            to die døbt(e)                                     christening død                                          dead, death døde                                        died, death dødfødt                                    stillborn dødsfall                                   death døgn                                        24-hour period of time døpt                                         baptized, christened døtre                                        daughters døv                                          deaf døvstum                                   deaf and dumb dåp                                          baptism dåpsattest                                certificate of baptism dåpsdag                                   day of baptism '''

E

'''efter                                          after efterkommer                              descendant efterlatte                                    surviving, survivors efterlevende                              surviving eftermiddag                               afternoon efternavn                                   surname, last name egen                                          own egentlig                                     actual egteviede                                  marriage eie, eje                                      to own eiendom                                    property, real estate ekte                                           legitimate, to marry ektefelle                                    spouse ektemann                                  husband ektepar                                      married couple ekteskap                                    marriage ekteskapelig                              marital, conjugal ekteviet                                     married eldre                                         older eldst                                          oldest, eldest elev                                           student eller                                          or, or else elleve                                       eleven ellevte                                      eleventh elv                                            river, stream embete                                    public office embetsmann                           public official emigrant                                  emigrant emigrere                                  emigrate en, et                                       a, one enebarn                                   only child engelsk                                    English England                                   England enhver                                     each enke                                        widow enkemann                               widower enkestand                                widowed ennu                                        yet, still epilepsi                                    epilepsy er                                             is, are erhverv                                    livelihood erkjenne                                  acknowledge et                                             a, one etasje                                      floor, story etc. (Latin)                               et cetera, and so on etternavn                                 surname, last evne                                        intelligence '''

F

'''fabrikk                                   factory faddere                                  christening witnesses, godparents fallesyke                                epilepsy falt                                         fall, be killed in war familie                                   family familie                                   historie lineage books far                                          father farfar                                      paternal grandfather farger                                     dyer, tanner farmor                                    paternal grandmother farsot                                      pestilence, plague fartøy                                      vessel, craft fattig                                       poor fattigvesnet                             welfare agency februar                                   February felles                                      common, joint fem                                         five femte                                      fifth femten                                    fifteen femtende                                fifteenth femti                                       fifty femtiende                               fiftieth fengsel                                   prison festeseddet                             rental contract festning                                  fortress fetter                                      cousin (male) Finnland                                Finland finsk                                       Finnish fire                                         four fisker                                      fisherman fjell                                        mountain fjerde                                     fourth fjorten                                    fourteen fjortende                                fourteenth flere                                       several, more flittig                                      diligent flytte                                      move foged, fogd                            bailiff, sheriff folio                                       page (double) folk                                        people folkemengde                         population folkeregister                          citizen register, national register folketelling                            census for                                          for, at, before, by foran                                      in front of forblødning                            bled to death foreldre                                  parents foreldreløs                             orphan forening                                 society forfedre                                 ancestors, forefathers forhenværende                      former, previous, preceding forhus                                    house in front (usually the main house on a farm) forkjølet                                 to have a cold forklaring                               explanation forlate                                    leave, forgive forlovelse                               engagement forlovere                                marriage witnesses formiddag                              between morning and afternoon formynder                              guardian fornavn                                  first name, given name forpakter                               manager of estate forrige                                   former forstand                                 intellect, mind forstoppelse                          constipation, obstruction forsørges                               supported fortelle                                  tell, relate fortid                                     past forvalter                                manager foster                                    fetus fosterbarn                             foster child fostre                                    foster, to rear fra                                         from fraflytte                                 leave, move away fraværende                          absent fredag                                  Friday fremmed                              foreign, foreigner fremtid                                 future fru                                        Mrs. fruentimmer                         unmarried mother, female person (derogatory) fruktsommelig                      pregnant frøken                                  Miss full                                       full, complete, drunk fullmektig                            head clerk, agent fylke                                    county fyr                                        lighthouse fæstebrev                            to acquire land føderåd                               support received after giving one’s estate to another føderådskone                      woman receiving support føderådsmann                     man receiving support fødested                              birthplace fødsel                                  birth fødselsattest                        birth certificate fødselsdag                           birthday født(e)                                  born (birth) følgende                              following, next føllaug                                 retired før                                        before første                                   first førti                                      forty førtiende                              fortieth får                                        sheep, receives '''

G through I
gammel                              old  gartner                                gardener garver                                 tanner gate                                    street gave                                   gift, endowment geistlig                               ecclesiastical geografisk leksikon            gazetteer gift                                      marriage, married, poison gikt                                     rheumatism gjeld                                   debt gjenlevende                       survivors gjennom                             through gjestgiver                           innkeeper gjet, gjeit                            goat gjeter                                  herdsman gjørtler                                brazier, brass smith god                                     good gods                                    estate godseier                              estate owner gratis                                   free grav                                    grave graver                                 gravedigger, sexton gravlund                             cemetery gravsted                              burial place gren                                    branch grenader                             infantryman grense                                 boundary, border greve                                  Count (nobility) grevinne                             Countess grunn                                  ground, reason gruve                                  mine, pit gruvearbeider                    miner grønn                                 green gudfar                                godfather gudmor                              godmother gull                                    gold gulsot                                 jaundice gulv                                   floor gutt                                    boy gå                                      go, walk gård                                   farm gårdbruker                         farmer gårdeier                             farm owner gårsdagens                        of yesterday 

H

'''ha                                     to have hadde                                had halshugget                        decapitated halv                                   half halvbror                            half brother halvsøster                         half sister ham                                  him han                                   he handelsmann                   merchant, trader hans                                 his hanskemaker                   glove maker har                                   has, have hattemaker                      hatmaker havn                                harbor heller                               rather helligdag                         holiday hengt seg                        hanged himself or herself henne                              her her                                   here Herr                                  Mr. herred                              judicial district Herren                              the Lord hest                                  horse heter                                is named historie                             history hittebarn                          orphan, foundling hjem                                home hjemme                           at home hjemmedøpt                    baptized at home hjemmehørende              residing hjerte                               heart hjertefeil                          heart disease hjul                                  wheel hjulmaker                        wheelwright holde                               hold, stop horeri                              adultery hos                                  with, at hoste                               cough hovedliste                       census list hun                                 she hundre(de)                      hundred (hundredth) hus                                  house husar                              hussar, cavalryman husbonde                       head of household husholderske                  housekeeper husmann                        cottager, tenant farmer husmor                           housewife hustru                             wife hva                                 what hvem                              who hver                                every hvilken                           which hvis                                if, whose hvit                                 white hvor                                where hvordan                          how hvorfor                            why hvorvidt                           whether høsten                             in the fall høy                                  tall, high, hay høyre                              right (side) håndarbeide                   handwork håndtering                      occupation håndverk                         trade, handicraft '''

I

i                                      in idiot                                 idiot ifølge                               according to igår                                  yesterday igjen                                again i hjel, slå                          kill ikke                                  not ikke enda                         not yet ild                                     fire imellom                            between, among imorgen                            tomorrow infeksjon                           infection ingen                                 none inn                                     in inne i                                 inside innerst                               renter, innermost innflyttning                        moving in innhold                              content innsitter                              renter innsjø                                 lake innvandring                        immigration intet                                    none introduceret                        introduced Island                                  Iceland islandsk                               Icelandic       

Spelling
Spelling was not standardized when most early records were made. The following spelling variations are common:

Examples:

"gjørtler" spelled as "giørtler" "mann" spelled as "mand" "kvinne" spelled as "quinde"

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
This word list includes only words most commonly found in genealogical sources. For further help, use a Norwegian-English dictionary. Several Norwegian-English dictionaries are available at the Family History Library. These are in the Scandinavian collection. Their call numbers begin with 439.82321. Family History Centers can obtain the following dictionaries on microfilm:

Scavenius, H. Glydendals Ordbøker; Norsk-Engelsk [Gyldendal’s Dictionaries; Norwegian-English]. Oslo, Norway: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1945. (FHL film 1,224,705, item 4).

cavenius, H. Glydendals Ordbøker; Engelsk-Norsk [Glydendal’s Dictionaries; English-Norwegian]. Oslo, Norway: Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, 1945. (FHL film 1,224,705, item 3). Additional dictionaries are listed in the Subject section of the Family History Library Catalog under NORWEGIAN LANGUAGE - DICTIONARIES and in the Locality section under NORWAY - LANGUAGE AND LANGUAGES.

KEY WORDS
In order to find and use specific types of Norwegian records, you will need to know some key words in Norwegian. This section lists key genealogical terms in English and the Norwegian words with the same or similar meanings.

For example, in the first column you will find the English word marriage. In the second column you will find Norwegian words with meanings such as marry, marriage, wedding, wedlock, unite, legitimate, joined, and other words used in Norwegian records to indicate marriage.