Mainland Scandinavian: Loans from Middle Low German

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

(Deutsche Fassung: hier klicken!)

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 12^th 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:

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”).

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

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".

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”.

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”.

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”.

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”.

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”.

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”.

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”.

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

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”.

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".

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".

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 12^th-14^th 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 (3^rd 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 indicate 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 further 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 Zedel, 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., beden [be:dn] ~ [bE:dn] 'to request', 'to pray' vs. beden [bEIdn] ~ [baIdn] 'to offer', Kööm [kø:m] 'caraway' vs. kööm [kœIm] ~ [kOIm] 'came', Toon [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.

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	Angreep
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		Begreep
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	Doomherr
domkyrka	domkirke	cathedral	dôm (MLG) + kirkja (ON)	dómkirkja	Dookark
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	Feel
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 Greef
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	Hoogmood Hoochmoot
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		Kroon
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	Köök, Köken
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		Rekenschup(p) Rekenschop(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		Zedel, 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	Speel, 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		Stevel, Stebel
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, Woor
varulv	varulv	werewolf	warwulf, werwulf	varúlfr	Weerwulf, Wehrwulf
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		Warksteed'
vetenskap (1630)	videnskab	science, knowledge	wêtenschap	vísendi	Wetenschup(p), Wetenschop(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		Wesen
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	Eventüür
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		Överfloot
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	capable, able	duchtig, düchtig		düchtig
dunkel	dunkel	dark, dusky	dunkel, dunker	dökkr
	dusin	dozen	dosin
egentlig (1542)	egentlig	proper, real, actual	êgentlik (MLG)	eiginligr	egenlik, egentlich
endräktig	endrægtig	harmonious	eindrechtich	samhljóðr
enig	enig	agreed, united, unanimous	enig	samráða, samsáttr	enig, eenig
enkel (1556)	enkel	single, individual; simple	ênkel, ênkelt		enkel
enständig (c.1630)	------	urgent	instendich		instännig
evig	evig	eternal	ewich	eilífur	ewig
falsk	falsk	false, wrong	valsch	ósannr, rangr	falsch
fin	fin	fine, good	fîn	fagr, ágætr	fien
flack (1638)	flad	flat, level	vlak	jafn	flack
flau (1845)	flov	embarrased	flau (LG)		flau
flink (1650)	flink	quick, nimble; smart, clever (Dan.)	flink (LG)	hvass	flink
fri	fri	free, at liberty	vrî, vrîg	frjáls	frie, free
frisk	frisk	sound, fresh; cheerful	vrisch	nýr	frisch
from	from	pious, devout	vrome	guðrækinn	fraam, fromm
fruktbar	frugtbar	fertile	vruchtbar	frjósamr	fruchtbar
främmande	fremmed	foreign, strange	vremede, vromede	erlendr	fremd, frömd
fullständig	fuldstændig	complete, entire	vulstendich		vullständig
-fällig	-fællig	(adjective suffix)	-vellich, -veldich		-fällig
färdig	færdig	ready, completed	verdich		fardig
-färdig	-færdig	(adjective suffix)	-verdich		-fardig
färsk	fersk	fresh, new	versch, varsch	nýr	vers (Du)
förborgad	forborgen	secret, hidden	vorborgen	leyniligr	verbargen
förfaren	forfaren	experienced, skilled	vorvaren		---
förfärlig	forfærdelig	awful, terrible, horrible	vorvêrlik	ógurligr	---
förgänglig	forgængelig	perishable, corruptable	vorgenglik	spilliligr	---
------	forloren	false, fake	vorloren
förmäten	------	presumptuous, arrogant	vormeten	drambsfullr	---
förnuftig	fornuftig	sensible, reasonable	vornuftig	vitrligr	vernünftig
förnöjd	fornøjet	satisfied, contented	vornögd (LG)		vergnöögt 'happy', 'merry'
försiktig	forsigtig	careful, cautious	vorsichtich	gætinn, varr	vörsichtig
förståndig	forstandig	sensible, wise	vorstandich	vitrligr, vitr	verständig, verstännig
förtretlig	fortrædelig	annoyed, vexed	vordrêtlik	skapraunaði	verdreetlich
förvant	forvandlet	changed, altered	vorwant	breytinn
gemen	gemen	common, public	gemêne, gemeine	almenniligr	gemeen
gemen	gemen (arch.)	public	gemên	almennr, opinberr	gemeen
grov	grov	coarse, rough	grof		groff
gudfruktig	gudfrygtig	pious, god-fearing	godevruchtich	guðrækinn
gyllen	gylden	golden	güllen, gülden	gullinn	golden, gollen gülden, güllen
hastig	hastig	hurried, rapid	hastich		hastig
hemlig	hemmelig	secret, hidden, covert	hêmêlîk	leyniligr	heemlich
häftig (1550)	heftig	violent, heated	heftich	ákafr	heftig
händig (1506)	hændig	handy	handich		hannig
härdig	------	hardy, tough	herdich	harðgörr, hraustr
härlig	herlig	splendid, magnificent	herlik	dýrligr	herrlich
hövisk	høvisk	courteous; decent	hövesch
hövlig	høflig	courteous, polite	hovelik		hööflich
idel	idel	sheer, pure, mere	itel
invändig (c.1673)	indvendig	internal, interior	inwendich	innri	inwennig
invärtes	indvortes	internal, inner	inwordes, inwerdes	innri	---
klar	klar	ready; clear, distinct	klâr	búinn; greiniligr	klaar
klen	klejn	feeble; tiny	klêne		kleen
klok	klog	wise, sage	klôk	vitr	klook
kort	kort	short, brief, abrupt	kort	stuttr, skammr	kort
krank	krank	weak, bad; sick	krank	slæmr, illr	krank
krum	krum	curved, crooked, ben t	krum		krumm
kysk	kysk	chaste, virginal	kûsch	hreinlátr	kuusch
lättfärdig	letfærdig	loose, frivolous	lîchtverdich		lichtfardig
medel	middel	middle, centre	middel	miðr	middel
medlidande	medlidende	compassionate, sympathetic	medelident
medelmåttig	middelmådig	second-rate, mediocre; medium, average	middelmâtich	meðallagr	middelmatig
motvillig	modvillig	averse, reluctant	môtwillich	mótsnúinn, mótdrægr	moodwillig, mootwillig
myndig	myndig	authoritative, masterful	mundich		münnig
möjlig	mulig	possible, feasible	mogelik	möguligr	mööglich
nykter (1520)	nøgtern	sober, down-to-earth	nuchtern, nochtern	skynsamligr	nüchtern, nochtern
platt (1520)	plat	flat, low	plat		platt
nådig	nådig	gracious	genedelik
pliktig	pligtig	bound, obliged
plötslig	pludselig	sudden	plutzlik (via HG plötzlich from MLG)	snöggr, skyndiligr
rar	rar	uncommon; nice, kind	râr		raar, ro(o)r
rask	rask	quick, rapid	rasch	fljótr, snöggr	rasch
ringa	ringe	small, little	ringe	smár, lítill	ring
rund	rund	round	runt, rund	kringlóttr	rund
rättfärdig	retfærdig	righteous, just	rechtverdich	réttlátur	rechtfardig
rättmätig (1586)	------	rightful, lawful	rechtmêtich		rechtmatig (Du)
salig	salig	blessed	sâlich, sêlich	sæll	selig
skrå	skrå	slanting, inclined	schrât
skön	skøn	beautiful, fair, nice	schône	fagr	schöön, scheun
smal	smal	narrow, thin	smal		small, smaal
smidig (1530)	smidig	supple, pliant, soft	smîdich		smiedig
stilla	stille	still, calm, quiet	stille	kyrr	still(e)
stolt	stolt	proud	stolt		stolt
styrbar	styrbar	dirigible
ståtlig	statelig	grand, impressive, stately	statelik	vörpuligr
sund	sund	healthy, sound	sunt, gesunt		sund
svag	svag	weak, feeble	swak	veikr	swack
synnerlig	------	particular; pronounced	sunderlik, sunderich		sünnerlich
säker	sikker	safe, certain, secure	seker	øruggr, víss	seker
sällsam (c.1555)	------	strange, peculiar	seltsam		---
tapper (1560)	tapper	brave, corageous	dapper, tapper	hugaðr	tapper
tidig	tidlig	early	tîdich	snembúinn	tiedig
tillbörlig	tilbørlig	due, fitting	tobôren
tillfreds (1558)	tilfreds	satisfied, content	tovreden, tovredich		tofreden
trind	trind	round, plump, chubby	trint
underdånig	underdanig	submissive, humble, subservient	underdanich	auðsveipr, auðmjúkligr	ünnerdänig, ünnerdänich
underdånig	------	humble, subservient, obedient	underdânich	auðmjúkr, hlýðinn	ünnerdänig
underlägsen	underlegen	inferior	underlegen		---
underst	underst	lowest, bottom	underst	neðast	ünnerst
uppenbar	åbenbar	obvious, evident	openbâre	auðsær	apenbaar, openbor
uppriktig (1545)	oprigtig	sincere, heartfelt, honest	uprichtich		uprichtig, oprichtig
upprorisk	oprørsk	rebellious, mutinous	uprôrisch		---
utvändig	udvendig	outward, external, exterior	ûtwendich		u(u)twennig
vedervärdig	------	repulsive	wedderwerdich		wedderworig, wedderwordig, wedderwortig
veterlig	vitterlig	well known, obvious, notorious	witlik, wetelik	alkunnr, opinberr
väsentlig (1540)	væsentlig	essential, main; substantial	weselik, wesentlik	aðal-	wesentlich
yppig (1612)	yppig	luxuriant, lush	uppich
ytterlig	yderlig	extreme, outermost	ûterlich	ýztr
ädel (1516)	ædel	noble	edel		edel, eddel
äkta	ægte	genuine, real, legitimate	echte, echt	sannr	echt
äregirig	ærgerrig	ambitious	erengîrich	metnaðargjarn
ärflig (1612)	arvelig	hereditary	ervelik		erfelijk (Du)
ärlig	ærlig	honest, frank, sincere	êrlik		eerlich, ehrlich iehrlich
överdådig	overdådig	luxuriant, sumptuous	overdâdich		överdadig
överflödig	overflødig	superfluous	overvlôdich		---
övermodig	overmodig	arrogant, overbearing, proud	overmôdich	drambsfullr, stoltr	övermodig, övermodig
övrig (c.1625)	øvrig	the rest, the remainder, what's left	överich		övrig

3 - ADVERBS, CONJUNCTIONS, PRONOUNS and PREPOSITIONS

(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	solely, only	allêne
(redan)	allerede	already	al(ge)rêde	þegar
------	foran	before, in front of	voran		vöran
------	forleden	the other day	vorliden
------	formedelst	through, by means of	vormiddelst	ígegnum, við	---
------	måske	perhaps, maybe	mach schên
------	omtrent	approximately, about, around	ummetrent	um	ümtrent
tillförne	tilforn	formerly, before, of yore	to-vören
------	under tiden	sometimes	undertîden	stundum
------	undervejs	en route	underwegen	áleið	ünnerwegen(s)
akter	agter	astern	achter (MLG) or (MDu)	eptir	achter
alltid	altid	always, ever	alletît		alltied
allting	alting	everything	al dink
beständig	bestandig	constant(ly), continuous(ly)	bestendich	stöðugr, einart
bittida	------	early	bitîde	snemma	biti(e)den
blott (c.1600)	blot	only, simply; mere, very	blôt	einga, eina, einfaldliga	bloot(s)
bra	bravt	well, excellently; quite, very (Swed.); stoutly, well (Dan.)	brav
desto	desto	(adv. particle)	deste
ditt och datt	dit og dat	one thing and another, this and that	dit un dat		dit un dat düt un dat
dock	dog	however, yet	doch	þó	doch
efter hand	efterhånden	gradually, by degrees	na der hand	smátt ok smátt, smám	naderhand
emellertid	imidlertid	however	middeler tît	þó
fort (c.1538)	------	fast, quickly	vort	fljótr	foort
färdig	færdig	ready; done, finished	verdich		fardig
föga	------	little; hardly, barely	vöge	varla
förbi (1536)	forbi	past, over	vorbî (MLG)	hjá	vörbi
förgäves	forgæves	in vain	vorgevens		vergevens, vergeevs
förmodligen	formodentlig	presumably, probably	vormôdelik		---
ganska	ganske	quite, rather; very	ganz	mjök; nokkuð	ganz, ganß
hej (1536)	hej	hi, hello; goodbye	hei		he(h)
hurudan	hvordan	how, in what manner	wôdân	hvernig, hversu	wodennig
ju	jo	yes, indeed; you know	ju, jo		ja, jo, jau
likväl	alligevel	nevertheless, all the same	lîkewol	þó	liekerwelt
men	men	but	men, man	en	man
möjligen	muligvis	possibly	(derivation): mögelik		möglich, mööglik
noga	nøjagtig	exactly, precisely	nouwe		nau
nyss	nys	recently; just now	nies, niges	nýliga	nies, nieges
nämligen	nemlig	namely, that is	nameliken, nemeliken		nämlich
redan	(allerede)	already	rêde, rêden	þegar
sakta	sagte	slowly; softly	sâchte		sacht(en(s))
samt	samt	and also, plus	samet, samt	ásamt	sam(t)s
slätt	slet	purely, simply; badly	slecht	einfaldliga; illa	slecht
stilla	stille	still, calm, soft	stille		still
strax	straks	immediately, at once; just	strackes		stracks
sådan	sådan	such, like that	so-dân, so-dânich	þannig	sodennig, sodannig
till rätta	til rette	to rights, in order	to rechte		torecht, trecht
tillförne	til forn (arch.)	before, formerly	tovoren, tovorens	forðum	tovörn, tovöörn
tillhopa	------	altogether, in all	tô hôpe		tohoop
tillika (1540)	tillige	also, besides, moreover, as well	togelîke, tolîke	og, líka	to(g)liek
tillsamman	tilsammen	altogether, in all	tôsamene	saman	tosamen, tosomen
trots (1600)	trods	despite	trot, tros, trotz, tratz
tämligen	temmelig	rather, fairly, quite	temmelik	nokkuð	teemlich
understundom	------	sometimes, now and then	understunden		---
utvärtes	udvortes	externally, outwardly	ûtwerdes	útan	utwarts
väldig	vældig	awfully, very	weldich, waldich	mjök
äntligen	endelig	at last, finally	endeliken	loks	endlich
även	------	also, too, as well	evene, even	líka, ok	even
överalt	overalt	everywhere	overal		överall
överens	overens	be in concord, concord with	overêns		övereens, overeen, öbereens
överljutt	overlydt	noisily, loudly	overlût		---
övermåttan	overmåde	extremely, very	overmâte		övermaten, öbermaten
övrig (1625)	øvrig	the rest, what's left	overich		ö(ö)vrig

4 - VERBS

(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
------	bagvaske	defame, slander	bakwaschen	bakmæla, niðra	--
------	bedrive	commit; do	bedrîven	fremja	bedrieven, bedrieben
------	befrygte	fear	bevruchten	hræðast, óttast	--
------	belære	teach, instruct	beleren
------	beråbe sig	appear, refer	berôpen	koma fram	beropen, sik
------	beskænke	provide alcohol	beschenken		beschenken, beschinken 'bestow gifts'
(utarme)	forarme	impoverish	vorarmen	rýra	--
------	forbavse	surprise, astonish	vorbâsen		(verbaast 'astonished')
------	fordøje	digest	vordouwen	melta	verdauen
------	forlange	ask for, demand	vorlangen	beiða, krefja	verlangen
------	forskyde	displace	vorschêten
------	fortabe	forfeit
------	forøde	waste, squander
------	føle	feel, sense	vôlen	kenna (in ODan.)	fö(h)len
------	knæle	kneel	knelen
------	opsætte	establish, set up	upsetten	stofna	upsetten
------	overtrække	cover	overtrekken	þekja, hylja	övertrecken
------	slæbe	haul, tow, drag	slepen
------	sprede	spread, disperse	spreden
------	tvivle	doubt	twivelen
------	underkøbe	suborn, tamper with	underkôpen	fitla	--
------	undlive	kill, destroy	entlîven	drepa; eyða	--
------	undløbe	run away, escape	entlôpen	komask undan	--
------	undse sig	not partake of	untsên		--
------	undsige	challenge, threaten	untseggen	skora, hóta, ógna, heitast	entseggen
------	undslå sig	decline, refuse	entslân	neita	--
?	forlide	pass (time)	vorlîden	líða	--
ana	ane	suspect, have a feeling	ane	gruna	ahnen
akta	agte	esteem, take care of; intend	achten	ætla
anbringa	anbringe	place, put, fix, mount	anbringen	setja, leggja	anbringen
andraga	andrage	put forward, advance	andragen	sækja á	andregen
anfäkta	anfægte	tempt	anvechten	freista	--
ange	angive	state, mention	angeven	segja, skýra	angeven, angeben
angå	angå	concern, refer to	angân	varða, snerta, visa til	angahn
angöra	------	call at, approach	andôn; anmaken (Du)	nálgast	andoon; anmaken
anklaga	anklage	accuse, charge	anklagen	kæra	anklagen
anmoda	anmode	request, solicit	anmôden	beiða	--
annamma	annamme	receive	annâmen	fá, taka við	annehmen
anropa	anråbe	call up, call upon	anrôpen	heita, kalla á	anropen
anse	anse	look upon, regard as	ansên	líta á	ansehn
anstå	anstå	be proper, be suitable	anstân	sæma	(anstännig 'proper')
anteckna	antegne	record, note down	antekenen	skrásetja	anteken
anträda	------	start off, begin	antreden	byrja, hetja	antreden
antvarda	antvorde	answer	antwarden	svara	antwoorden
använda (c.1550)	anvende	use, employ, utilise	anwenden	nýta	anwennen
arbeta	arbejde	work, toil	arbeiten	vinna, starfa	arbeiden
avsky	afsky	detest, loathe	afschuwen
bebåda	bebude	announce, herald	beboden	kunngera	--
bedarra	------	calm down, lull	sik bedaren	kyrrast	bedaren
bedraga	bedrage	deceive, swindle	bedrêgen	svikja	bedregen
bedriva	bedrive	carry on, pursue	bedriven	halda áfram	bedrieven, bedrieben
bedröva	bedrøve	sadden, grieve	bedrôven	hryggja	bedröven, bedröben
bedyra	bedyre	assert, protest, avow	bedüren	lýsa yfir, krefjast	beduren
bedåra	bedåre	fascinate, captivate	bedôren		--
bedöva	bedøve	anaesthetize	bedöven
befalla	befale	order, command	bevalen	skipa	befehlen
befatta	befatte	be concerned with	bevaten	varða, snerta	befaten
befinna	befinde	be, feel, find oneself	bevinden	finna, kenna	befinnen
befordra	befordre	convey, transport, send	bevorderen	flýtja, senda	befördern
befria	befri	liberate, free	bevrîen	frelsa, leysa	befreen, befrien
befrynda sig	------	acquire kinship through marriage	sik befründen	mægjast	befrünnen
bege	begive	proceed	begeven
begrava	begrave	bury, inter	begraven	jarða, grafa niðr	begraven, begraben
begripa	begribe	grasp, comprehend	begrîpen	skilja	begriepen
begråta	begræde	moan, lament	bewênen	gráta, syrgja, harma
begynna	begynde	begin, commence	beginnen	byrja, hefja	beginnen
begå	begå	commit, perpetrate	begân	fremja, gera	begaan, begahn begohn
begära	begære	demand; request, require	begeren	krefja, beiða	bege(h)ren
behaga	behage	please, appeal to	behagen		(be)hagen
behandla	behandle	treat, handle, deal with	behandelen	fara með	behanneln
behjälpa	behjælpe	assist, be helpful	behelpen	hjálpa, stoða	behelpen
behålla	beholde	keep, retain	beholden	varðveita, geyma	beholden
behäfta	behefte	encumber	beheften	hamla, teppa	--
behöva	behøve	need, require	behôven	þarfa
beklaga	beklage	excuse, regret; pity	beklagen	harma	beklagen, beklogen
bekosta	bekoste	pay for	bekosten	greiða	bekösten 'provide room and board'
bekräfta	bekræfte	confirm, ratify	bekreften	staðfesta, steðja
bekymra	bekymre	trouble, worry	bekummeren		bekümmern
belamra (c.1700)	belemre	clutter up, encumber	belammern (LG)		belämmern
belägga	belægge	engage, occupy; cover, coat	beleggen	fást við; þekja	beleggen
belägra	belejre	besiege	belegeren	sitja um, umkringja	--
bemänga	------	mix, mingle	bemengen	blanda	bemengen
bemöda	bemøje	take pains, take trouble	bemôien		bemöhen
benåda	benåde	pardon, reprieve	benâden	afsaka, fyrirgefa	--
berama	beramme	fix, plan, appoint	berâmen	festa, ráða	--
bereda	berede	prepare	berêden	vinna, greiða	bereden
berida	beride	break in a horse	berîden		--
berätta	berette	tell, narrate, recount, report	berichten	segja frá	berichten
berömma	berømme	extol, praise, laud	berômen	lofa, hrósa	berö(h)men
beröra	berøre	touch, affect	beroren	snerta	berö(h)ren
bese	bese	look at, see	besên	líta á, sjá	besehn
besegla	besegle	seal	besegelen	innsigla
besinna	besinde	consider; collect one's thoughts	besinnen	hugleiða	besinnen
besitta	besidde	possess, hold, have	besitten	eiga, ráða	besitten
beskatta	beskatte	levy tax	beschatten		--
beskicka	beskikke	appoint	beschicken	nefna	(beschicken 'to accomplish')
beskita	beskide	soil	beschîten	skíta	beschieten
beskriva	beskrive	describe	beschrîven	lýsa	beschrieven, beschrieben
beskydda	beskytte	protect, shelter, shield	beschûdden	verja	--
beskåda	beskue	contemplate, regard	beschouwen	horfa á, líta á	beschoen, beschuen
beskära	beskære	cut, trim, crop	bescheren	klippa	--
beskärma	beskærme	protect	beschermen		beschermen (Du)
besluta	beslutte	decide, resolve	beslûten		besluten
beslå	beslå	mount; stud	beslân		beslaan, beslagen
besmitta	besmitte	infect, taint	besmitten		--
bespeja	------	spy upon	bespên	njósna	--
bespisa	bespise	feed	bespîsen	fæða	bespiesen
besticka	bestikke	bribe, pay off, suborn	bestechen	múta	--
bestrida	bestride	deny, contest	bestrîden	neita	bestrieden
bestyra	bestyre	run, manage	bestûren	handla, valda	bestüren
bestå	bestå	be, exist; last	bestân	vera	bestaan, bestahn bestohn
beställa	bestille	order, book	bestellen		bestellen
bestämma (1524)	bestemme	decide, determine	bestemmen	ráða, festa	bestimmen; bestemmen (Du)
besvika	besvige	defraud	beswîken	svíkja e-u	--
besvimma	besvime	faint, pass out	beswîmen		beswiemen
besvära	besvare	answer, reply	beswêren	svara
besvära	besvære	trouble, bother	beswêren	angra	besweren
besvärja	besværge	conjure up, raise, invoke	besweren	kalla á, særa	beswören
besätta	besætte	occupy, fill	besetten	fylla	besetten
besöka	besøge	visit	besôken	heimsækja	besöken
besörja	besørge	see to, attend to	besorgen	gæta til e-s	besorgen
beta	betage	move, transport; charm	benemen	flýtja	benemen, benehmen
betala	betale	pay	betalen	greiða	beta(h)len, betohlen
beteckna	betegne	represent, denote	betêkenen	tákna	beteken
betinga	betinge	condition; stipulate	bedingen
betrakta	betragte	consider, look at	betrachten	horfa á, líta á
betro	betro	entrust	betrûwen	fela, treysta	--
betvinga	betvinge	subdue, overpower	bedwingen	yfirbuga, undiroka	(dwingen)
betyda	betyde	mean, signify	bedûden	merkja, þýða	bedüden
betyga	------	certify, vouch for; declare, profess	betûgen		betügen
betänka	betænke	consider, bear in mind	bedenken	íhuga, hugsa	bedenken, bedinken
bevaka	bevogte	guard, watch	bewêken	gæta	--
bevara	bevare	keep, preserve	bewâren	varðveita, gøyma	bewa(h)ren bewohren
bevilja	bevilge	grant, accord	bewillen		--
bevisa	bevise	prove, demonstrate	bewîsen	sanna, prófa, vísa	bewiesen
----	bevæge	move	bewegen		bewegen
bifalla	bifalde	assent, approve	bîvallen	játa	bifallen
bistå	bistå	aid, assist	bistân	hjálpa, stoða	bi(e)stahn
bisätta	bisætte	inter in a vault	bisetten		bisetten
bliva (c.1300)	blive	become; stay, be	blîven	verða	blieven
blända	blænde	blind, dazzle	blenden		blennen
borga	borge	guarantee, vouch for	borgen	tryggja	börgen
bringa (1524)	bringe	bring, carry	bringen	færa, flytja	bringen
bruka	bruge	use, apply	brûken	nýta	bruken
bräcka	brække	snap, break, crack	breken	brjóta	breken
byta	bytte	change, exchange	bûten	skipta
böra	burde	ought to, should	boren	eiga að	(bören 'bear')
dansa	danse	dance	danzen	dansa	danzen, dansen
dela	dele	divide, share	dêlen		delen
dikta	digte	write, compose	dichten		dichten
drabba	-------	hit, strike, meet; happen	drapen	hitta; hittast, møtast	drapen
drypa	dryppe	drip, trickle	druppen
döpa	døbe	baptise	dôpian (OSax.)	skíra	döpen
entlediga (c.1577)	------	dismiss, remove	entledigen		--
erbjuda	(tilbyde)	offer, present	erbêden	bjóða
erfara (1647)	erfare	experience	ervaren	reyna
erinra	erindre	remind; remember (Dan.)	erinneren	minna	erinnern
erövra (c.1563)	erobre	conquer, win, capture	eroveren, erövern	vinna, sigra	erövern, eröbern
fatta	fatte	comprehend, grasp	vaten	skilja	faten, foten
fejda	fejde	feud, make war	veiden	stríða, berjast, eigast við deildir
flykta	flygte	run away, flee	vluchten
fortsätta	fortsætte	continue, go on	vortsetten (MLG)	halda áfram
frukta	frygte	fear, dread	vruchten, vorchten	hræðast, óttast	früchten, fröchten
fråga	------	question, ask	vrâgen	spyrja	fragen, frogen
fullborda	fuldbyrde	complete, accomplish	vulborden	fullgera	--
fullkomna	fuldkomme	perfect	vulkomen	fullkoma	vullkamen, vullkomen
fånga	fange	catch, trap; take captive	vangen, vân	grípa, ná
fäkta	fægte	fence, fight	vechten	skylmaz	fechten
förakta	foragte	despise	vorachten	fyrirlíta	verachten
förandra	forandre	change, alter	voranderen	breyta, skipta	verännern
förarbeta	forarbejde	prepare, process	vorarbêiden
förarga	forarge	annoy, provoke	vorargen	skaprauna	verargen
förbanna	forbande	curse	vorbannen	bölva	--
förbarma sig	forbarme sig	take pity on	vorbarmen		(barmen)
förbehålla	forbeholde	reserve	vorbeholden	varðveita, geyma	--
förbinda	forbinde	connect, join	vorbinden	tenglsa, samsetja	verbinnen
förbittra	forbitre	embitter	vorbitteren		verbittern
förbjuda	forbyde	ban, forbid, prohibit	vorbêden, vorbeiden	banna	verbeden
förbruka	forbruge	consume, use	vorbruken
förbryta	forbryde	offend, break the law	vorbrêken	brjóta	verbreken
förbyta	forbytte	mix up, substitute	vorbûten		--
fördela	fordele	distribute, allocate	vordêlen	skipta	verdelen
fördra	fordre	demand, claim	vôrderen	krefja	föddern, feddern
fördra	fordrage	bear, endure, stand	vordrâgen	þola, vara	verdregen
fördriva	fordrive	drive away, expel	vordrîven	reka	verdrieven, verdrieben
fördärva	fordærve	corrupt, spoil	vorderven	spilla, eyða	verdarven, verdarben
fördöma	fordømme	condemn, denounce	vordômen	fordæma	verdömen
förekomma	forekomme	happen; appear; hinder (Swed.)	vorkomen	koma fram	vörkamen, vörkomen
förena	forene	join, unite, combine	vorênen, voreinen	tenglsa, samsetja	vereenen
förevita	------	accuse, reproach	vorwîten		--
förfalla	forfalde	decay, decline, fall to ruin	vorvallen	hnigna, hrørna	verfallen
förfara	-----	proceed	vorvaren
författa	forfatte	write, compose	vorvaten	skrifa	verfaten, verfoten
förfoga	forføje	make oneself scarce	vorvôgen	hverfa	--
förfära	forfærde	terrify, appal, dismay	vorvêren	hræða, skelfa	verferen
förfärdiga	forfærdige	produce, manufacture	vorverdigen	skapa, gera	--
förfölja	forfølge	pursue, chase	vorvolgen	ofsækja, reka	verfolgen
förföra	forføre	seduce	vorvôren	tæla, lokka	--
förfördela	forfordele	wrong, injure	vorvordêlen	skaða	--
förgifta	forgive	poison	vorgêven	eitra	vergeven, vergeben
förgripa	forgribe	assault	vorgrîpen	ráðast á	vergriepen
förgylla	forgylde	gild	vorgulden	gylla	vergüllen
förgå	forgå	perish, pass away, vanish	vorgân	farast	vergahn
förgäta	forgætte (poet., dial.)	forget	vorgeten	gleyma	vergeten
förhandla	forhandle	negotiate	vorhandelen	semja, miðla	verhanneln
förhasta sig	forhaste sig	be in a hurry	vorhasten	skynda	--
förhindra	forhindre	prevent, hinder	vorhinderen	tálma	verhinnern
förhöja	forhøje	raise, increase	vorhôgen	auka, reisa	--
förhöra	forhøre	question, interrogate	vorhoren		verhören, verhüren
förkasta	forkaste	reject, repudiate, refuse	vorwerpen	neita	--
förklara	forklare	explain	vorklaren	skýra	verklaren, verkloren
förkorta	forkorte	shorten, abbreviate	vorkorten	stytta	verkörten, verkötten
förkunna	forkynde	proclaim, announce	vorkunden	kunngera	verkünnen
förkyla sig	forkøle sig	catch a cold	vorkôlen		verküllen, verköhlen
förlika	forlige	reconcile	vorlîken	sætta
förlisa	forlise	be lost, be wrecked	vorlîsen	spillast	--
förljuda	forlyde	report, rumour	vorluden	segja frá	verluden
förlora	------	lose	vorloren		verleren, verlieren
förlossa (c.1500)	forløse	deliver, redeem	vorlosen	frelsa	--
förlova sig	forlove sig	be engaged to	vorloven	trúlofa sér	verloven, verloben
förlusta	forlyste	amuse, entertain	vorlusten	skemta	--
förlåta	forlade	forgive; leave (Dan.)	vorlâten	fyrirgefa; yfirgefa
förläna	forlene	endow, grant	vorlênen	veita, gæða	verlohnen
förlänga	forlænge	lengthen, extend	vorlengen	lengja	verlangen
förlöpa	forløbe	pass, elapse	vorlôpen	líða	verlopen
förlösa	forløse	deliver	vorlôsen	frelsa	--
förmana	formane	exhort, admonish	vormanen	áminna	vermahnen
förmedla	formidle	mediate, bring about	vormiddelen	miðla	vermiddeln
förmena	formene	think, believe	vormênen	hyggja
förmoda	formode	presume, suppose	vormôden, vormûden	gøra ráð fyrir	vermoden, vermauden
förmå	formå	be able, be capable of	vormogen	mega	vermögen
förmäla	formelde	tell, convey	vormelden	segja frá	vermellen
förnedra	fornedre	debase, degrade	vornederen	niðra	--
förnimma	fornemme	feel, perceive, sense	vornemen	skynja	vernehmen
förneka	fornægte	disavow, deny
förnöja	fornøje	gratify, please	vornôgen	þokknast	vernögen
förorsaka	forårsage	cause	vororsaken	valda	veroorsaken
förorätta	forurette	wrong, injure	vorunrechten	skaða	verunrechten
förplikta	forpligte	oblige, have a mandate for	vorplichten	skylda	verplichten
förringa	forringe	minimise, belittle	vorringen		--
förrycka	forrykke	disturb, dislocate	vorrucken	raska	--
förråda	forråde	betray, give away	vorrâden	svíkja	verraden
förrätta	forrette	perform, accomplish	vorrichten (MLG)	fremja	verrichten
försaka	forsage	forsake, go without, renounce	vorsaken	án vera, yfirgefa
församla	forsamle	gather, collect	vorsamelen	samna	versammeln
förskaffa	forskaffe	procure
förskriva	forskrive	order, write for	vorschriven		verschrieven, verschrieben
förskräcka	forskrække	scare, terrify	vorschrecken	hræða	verschrecken
förskulla	forskylde	be to blame, be responsible for	vorschulden		verschüllen, verschullen
förslå	forslå	suffice, be enough	vorslân	nægja, duga
försmå	forsmå	disdain, reject	vorsmân	hafna	versmaden, versmajen, versmaan
försmäkta	forsmægte	pine away, languish, die	vorschmêcten		versmachten
förspilla	forspilde	waste, forfeit	vorspilden	eyða, spilla	verspillen
förstå	forstå	understand	vorstân	skilja	verstaan, verstahn verstohn
förstöra	forstyrre	destroy, wreck, spoil; disturb, interrupt (Dan.)	vorstôren, vorsturen	eyða, spilla
förstöra	------	destroy, wreck	vorstören	eyða	---
försumma	forsumpe	neglect, leave undone; stagnate, decline (Dan.)	vorsûmen	vanrækja; hniga	versümen
försvara	forsvare	defend, justify	vorantwarden	verja	verantwoorden
försvinna	forsvinde	disappear, vanish	vorswinden	hverfa	verswinnen
försvärja	forsværge	forswear, abjure	vorsweren	fyrirsverja
försäkra	forsikre	assure, insure	vorsekeren	tryggja	versekern
försända	forsende	send, dispatch	vorsenden	senda	versennen
försöka	forsøge	try, attempt	vorsôken	reyna	versöken
försörja	forsørge	support, maintain, provide for	vorsorgen	stoða, sjá fyrir	versorgen
förtelja	fortælle	tell, narrate	vortellen	segja frá	vertellen
förtjäna	fortjene	deserve	vordênen, vordeinen	verðskulda	verdenen
förtolka	fortolke	interpret	vortolken	þýða	---
förtro	------	entrust, commit to s-one	vortruwen	fela	vertrugen, vertruun, vertroon
förtrycka	fortrykke	oppress	vordrucken	kúga	verdrücken
förtränga	fortrænge	drive out, expel, oust	vordrengen	reka	verdrengen, verdringen
förtvivla	fortvivle	despair	vortwîvelen	örvænta
förtänka	fortænke	blame, suspect	vordenken	kæra, gruna	verdenken, verdinken
förundra	forundre	surprise, astonish	vorwundern		verwunnern
förvandla	forvandle	change, transform	vorwandelen	umbreyta	verwanneln
förvara	forvare	keep	vorwaren	varðveita, halda	verwaren
förverka	------	forfeit	vorwerken	fyrirgera	---
förvilla	forvilde	confuse, bewilder	vorwilden	rugla	---
förvisa	forvise	banish, deport	vorwîsen	útlægja	verwiesen
förvissa	forvisse	assure	vorwissen		---
förvärva	------	acquire	vorwerven	öðlast	---
föryttra	------	sell, part with	vorüteren	selja	---
förära	forære	present, bestow	vorêren	bjóða, gefa	verehren 'to honour', 'to admire', to adore'
garva	garve	tan	garwen
gå	gå	go, walk	gân	ganga	gaan, gahn, gohn
handla (1523)	handle	trade, shop; act	handelen	kaupa	hanneln
hantera	håndtere	handle, manage, wield	hantêren	handle, valda	hanteren, hantern
hoppas	håbe	hope, expect	hôpen, hapen	vænta	höpen, hapen, hopen
hyra (1530)	hyre	rent, hire	hûren		hüren
häkta	hægte	arrest, apprehend	hechten	fanga
hämma	hæmme	hamper, impede, inhibit	hemmen
härska (1620)	herske	rule, reign	hêrschen	ríkja
inbilla (1604)	indbilde	imagine, fancy	inbilden		inbillen
införliva (c.1550)	------	incorporate	invorlîven
inkräkta	------	encroach, trespass	inkrechten	ganga á	---
inrita	------	draw in	inrîten		inrieten
inrymma	------	contain, include	inrümen		inrümen
intyga	------	certify, attest, affirm	intügen	sanna	---
jaga	jage	hunt, shoot	jagen	veiða	jagen, jogen
klaga	klage	moan, complain	klagen	kvarta	klagen
klämma	klemme	squeeze, hug	klemmen		klemmen
koka	koge	boil, cook	koken	sjóða	kaken, koken
kosta	koste	cost, amount to	kosten	kosta	kösten, kosten
krusa	kruse	curl, frizzle; ripple	krusen
kungöra	kundgøre	announce, make known	kuntmaken	kunngøra
kämpa	kæmpe	fight	kempen	berjast
köpa	købe	buy	kopen	kaupa	köpen, kopen
lida	lide	suffer, endure	lîden		lieden
lära	lære	learn; teach	lêren	kenna	le(h)ren, liehren
meddela	meddele	inform, communicate, notify	mededelen
mena	mene	think, believe; mean	mênen, meinen	hyggja, ætla	menen
missbruka	misbruge	misuse, abuse	misbrûken	únýta	mißbruken
måla	male	paint	mâlen	skrifa	malen, molen
måsta	(måtte)	must, have to	moste	hljóta
mönstra	mönstre	pattern; scrutinise, examine	munsteren	skoða	munstern, münstern
nalkas	------	approach	nâleken	nálgast
nära	nære	feed, nourish	neren	fœða	nähren
nödsaka	nødsage	constrain, compel	nôtsaken	þvinga, nauðga
omkomma (c.1560)	omkomme	die, perish	ummekommen	farast, ándast	ümkamen
omkomma (1560)	omkomme	die, be killed	ummekommen	andast, látast	ümkamen, ümkomen
ordna (1550)	ordne	arrange, order	ordenen	skipa
packa	pakke	pack, cram	packen		packen
passa (c.1540)	passe	adjust, adapt; mind to	passen	gæta	passen
pina	pine	torment, torture	pînen	pína (loan), misþyrma
plundra (1500)	plyndre	plunder, loot, sack	plunderen	ræna	plünnern
plåga	plage	torment; bother	plâgen		plagen, plogen
pläga	pleje	be in the habit of be used to	plegen		plegen
prata (1650)	prate	talk, chat; talk nonsense (Dan.)	prâten, prâtelen	orða, segja	praten, proten
pränta (1500)	prente	print, write carefully	prenten	ríta	printen, prenten
pröva	prøve	try, attempt, test	prôven	reyna	pröven, proven pröben
regera	regere	rule, govern	rêgeren	stýra	regeren
resa	rejse	travel, fare	reisen	fara	reisen
ropa	råbe	call, cry out	rôpen	kalla	ropen, raupen
rådfråga	(rådspørge)	consult, ask advice	râtvrâgen	ráða, spyrja
rädda	redde	save, rescue	redden	bjarga	redden
räkna	regne	calculate, reckon; work out, solve (Dan.)	rekenen, reken	telja	rekenen
röva	røve	rob, pillage, steal	rôven	raufa	rövern
samla	samle	collect, assemble	samelen, samenen	safna	sammeln
ske	ske	happen, occur	schên	gerast	(ge)schehen
skicka	skikke	send, dispatch	schicken	senda	schicken
skildra (1700)	skildre	describe, depict	schilderen	lýsa	schillern
skria	skrige	scream, cry out	schrîen, schrîgen	hrópa	schrie(ge)n, schreen
skriva	skrive	write	schrîven	ríta, skrifa	schrieven, schrieben
skydda	beskytte	protect, defend	(be)schutten	verja	schütten
skända	skænde	desecrate, ravage	schenden
skänka	skænke	present; pour	schenken		schenken, schinken
sluta	slutte	finish, conclude	slûten	enda, lúka	sluten
smaka	smage	taste	smaken
smitta	smitte	infect	smitten	slá, ljósta
smuggla (1830)	smugle	smuggle	smuggeln (Du)		smuggeln
smycka (1558)	smykke	adorn, decorate	smucken		smücken
smärta	smerte	hurt, be painful	smerten		smarten
snacka	snakke	talk, chat	snacken	tala	snacken
spela	spille	play	spelen	leika (in most senses)	spelen
spisa	spise	eat	spisen		spiesen
spöka (1550)	spøge	haunt	spôken		spöken
stinka (1570)	stinke	stink, reek	stinken		stinken
stoppa	stoppe	stop up, plug, fill	stoppen		stoppen
straffa	straffe	punish	straffen	refsa, hegna	strafen
sträcka	strække	stretch	strecken	rétta	strecken
sträva (1640)	stræbe	strive, toil	streven	starfa, vinna	streven, streben
stå	stå	stand	stân	standa	stahn
stötta (post-1670)	støtte	support	stutten	stoða, hjálpa	stütten
svinga (1619)	svinge	swing, wave	swingen	sveifla	swingen
sylta	sylte	preserve	sulten		zulten (Du)
tilldraga sig (c.1550)	tildrage sig	come to pass, befall	sik tôdragen	gerast	todregen
tillfalla	tilfalde	be alloted to	tôvallen		tofallen
tillgiva	tilgive	forgive, pardon	togêven	fyrirgefa	togeven, togeben
tillgå	tilgå	reach	togân	ná	togahn
tillkännagiva	tilkendegive	declare, inform, express	tô kennen geven	kunngera, segja frá	to kennen/kinnen geven/geben
tillräkna	tilregne	ascribe s-th to s-th; blame	torekenen		torekenen
tillskriva	tilskrive	ascribe to attribute to	toschrîven	eigna sér	toschrieven toschrieben
tillskynda	tilskynde	prompt, urge, incite	tôschunden	hvetja, eggja	---
tillstå	tilstå	admit, confess	tostân	játa	tostahn
träda	træde	step, tread	treden	ganga, stíga	treden
----	trække	pull, draw	trecken		trecken
tänka	tænke	think, believe	denken	hugsa, hyggja, ætla	dinken, denken
töva	tøve	hesistate, tarry	toven
umbära	------	do without, go without	untberen	án vera
umgälla	undgælde	pay, suffer for	untgelden		---
underlåta	undlade	omit, neglect	underlaten	vanrækja	ünnerlaten ünnerloten
underrätta (1615)	underrette	inform, notify	underrichten	segja til	ünnerrichten
understicka	------	hide away, put out of sight	understecken	fela, hylja	---
understå	understå	dare to, venture	sik understân
undersöka (1680)	undersøge	investigate, examine	undersoken	kanna, skoða	ünnersöken
undertrycka	undertrykke	suppress, crush, put down	underdrucken		ünnerdrücken
undervisa	undervise	educate, instruct	underwîsen	kenna	ünnerwiesen
undfly	undfly	avoid, shun	entvlên	forðast	---
undfå	undfange	receive	untvân, entvangen	hljóta, fá
undgå	undgå	avoid, evade, shun; escape	entgân	forðast; komast undan	entgahn
undkomma	undkomme	escape, get away	untkômen, untkâmen		entkamen
undskylla sig (1585)	undskylde sig	apologise, excuse oneself	entschulden		entschülligen entschulligen
undsätta	undsætte	relieve, rescue	entsetten	létta; bjarga	---
undvara (c.1795)	undvære	do without, go without	untberen, entberen (LG)	án vera	---
undvika	undvige	avoid, evade; escape	entwiken	forðast; komast undan	---
uppdaga (1680)	opdage	discover	updagen (MLG)	finna
uppdraga	opdrage	bring up, educate	updragen	ala upp
upphöra (1620)	ophøre	cease, stop	ophôren, uphôren	hætta, stöðva	uphören, ophören ophüren
upprepa	------	repeat, reiterate	upreppen	endrnýja	upreppen
upprymma	oprømme	broach, ream	uprumen		uprümen
uppskjuta	opskyde	shoot up, sprout; expend	upschêten	sprétta	upscheten
uppträda	optræde	appear, act, perform	uptreden	koma fram; fremja	uptreden
utesluta	(udelukke)	exclude, bar	ûtsluten		u(u)tsluten
utplåna	------	obliterate, extinguish, efface	ûtplanen	afmá, eyða	---
utreda	udrede	investigate, analyse; clear up, explain	ûtrêden	kanna, útskýra, greina
uträtta	udrette	do, achieve; straighten out	ûtrichten	fremja; greiða	utrichten
utstyra	udstyre	equip, fit out, furnish	ûtstüren		utstüren
utstå	udstå	suffer, endure	ûtstân	þola	u(u)tstaan, utstahn utstohn
utträda	udtræde	retire, withdraw	ûttreden		uttreden
vandra	vandre	ramble, wander	wanderen	ganga	wannern
vara	vare	take care of; guard against	waren	vara	wa(h)ren, wohren
vara	vare	last, endure	waren
vederfaras	vederfare(s)	befall, happen to	weddervaren		---
vedergälla	vedergælde	return, requite, repay	weddergelden		---
vederkvicka	vederkvæge	refresh	wedderquicken		---
----	vove	venture, risk, dare	wagen		wagen
----	ængste	make s-one anxious	(EmodLG) engesten
öva	øve	practise, train	ôven		öven, öben
överantvarda	overantvorde	deliver up, commit	overantworden		---
överbevisa	overbevise	convince	overbewîsen		---
överfalla	overfalde	assault, attack	overvallen	ráðast á	överfallen
överhala	overhale	overhaul	overhalen		overhalen, överholen
överila sig	overile sig	act rashly	overîlen		överielen, öberielen
överlåta	overlade	hand over, assign, entrust	overlâten	afhenda, fela	överlaten, öberlaten
överlägga	overlægge	deliberate, reflect	overleggen	líta á, íhuga	överleggen, öberleggen
överse	overse	survey, assess; overlook	oversên	líta yfir	överse(h)en öberseh(e)n
översätta	oversætte	translate	oversetten	þýða	översetten, öbersetten
överträda	overtræde	infringe, transgress	overtreden	brjóta, ganga á	övertreden, öbertreden
övertyga	overtyde (older overtye)	convince, persuade	overtûgen		övertügen
överväga	overveje	consider, contemplate	overwegen	hugleiða, íhuga
överväldiga	overvælde	overwhelm, overcome	overwelden	sigra, yfirvinna	---

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© Edward Smith 2011.  E-mail the author

Many thanks to Reinhard Hahn - a speaker, writer and passionate supporter of Low Saxon - for his friendly and expert advice concerning the structure and content of this article. Reinhard also supplied most of the words in the modern Low Saxon/Dutch columns.

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