Norwegian Genealogical Word List

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

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

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

LANGUAGE CHARACTERISTICS
Variant Forms of Words

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

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

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

A through C
A

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

B

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

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

C

cirka                                 approximately communion                       Communion confirmerede                     confirmed copulerede                        marriage 

D through F
D

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

E

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

F

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

G through I
G

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

 

H

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

I

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

J through L
J

januar                              January jeg                                    I jeger                                 light infantry soldier, hunter jomfru                               damsel, Miss, virgin jordbruk                            farming jordet                                burial jordmor                             midwife jordpåkastelse                  ceremony of sprinkling earth on the coffin jul                                     Christmas juli                                    July juni                                   June jurist                                  lawyer 

K

kallet                               named kanskje                             maybe, perhaps karet                                 coach kart                                   map katolsk                              Catholic kavaleri                            cavalry kemmer                            peddler kikhoste                            whooping cough kirke                                 church kirkebok                           parish register kirkegård                          cemetery, churchyard kirkeværge                       church warden kiste                                  chest, coffin kjent                                 known kjønn                                sex kjøpe                                buy kjøpmann                         merchant klokker                             sexton, parish clerk, bell ringer, deacon kloster                              convent, monastery kokarde                            insignia kolikk                               colic kommune                        municipality, township kone                                wife konfirmasjon                    confirmation konge                               king kongedømme                   kingdom kongelig                           royal kontor                              office kopper                             smallpox, copper kort                                  short, card kort                                  register card index krampe                            convulsions, spasm kreft                                 cancer krig                                 war ku                                    cow kun                                  only kunngjøre                       declare kunnskap                         knowledge kusine                              cousin (female) kusk                                 coachman, teamster kveg                                cattle kvele                               choke kvell                                evening kvinne                             woman kvinnekjønn                     female kyllinger                          chickens kår                                   support received after giving one’s estate to another kårkone                           woman who receives kår kårmann                         man who receives kår 

L

la                                   let, allow lagrettemann                  court member land                                country landsby                           village langfredag                     Good Friday laugverge                       widow’s guardian or spokesman legd                               welfare, military levying district legdslem                        welfare recipient leie                                hire, rent leier                               tenant leilending                       leaseholder lejermål                          illicit and punishable intercourse lenge                              long lensmann                       sheriff lese                                 read leve                                 live levende                           live, living lignende                          same, alike, similar lik                                    corpse, alike likeledes                         also, as well lille                                 small lite (litt)                           little liten                                little, small liv                                   life los                                  pilot (ship) losjerende                     boarder, lodger lov                                  law lovlig                              legal lungebetendelse            pneumonia luteraner                        Lutheran lysning                           post banns lysninger                       banns læregutt                         apprentice lærer                              teacher (male) lærerinne                       teacher (female) lærling                           apprentice løpenummer                  serial number lørdag                            Saturday løsaktig                          loose or immoral woman løsarbeider                    day laborer 

M through O
M

magesyke                        diarrhea, stomach ailment mai                                   May maler                                painter mandag                            Monday mange                              many mann                                man, husband mannkjønn                       male mark                                 field mars                                 March matrikkel                          land registration matros                              sailor med                                  with medhjelper                      assistant, helper medlem                           member med videre                       (Latin) et cetera, and so on meg                                 me mellom                            middle mellombygning               middle building men                                  but mer                                  more, additional meslinger                        measles messingsmed                   brazier, brass smith mester                              master (of a trade) midlertidig                        temporarily midnatt                            midnight mil metric                        mile (ten kilometers) militær                             military min mine                          (belongs to me) mindre                              lesser minearbeider                   miner minste                               smallest, youngest minutt                               minute modig                               courageous, brave mor                                  mother mord                                murder morfar                              maternal grandfather morgen                            morning mormor                            maternal grandmother motta                                receive murer                               mason musiker                            musician m.v. (Latin)                       See med videre myndig                             of age møbelsnekker                   furniture maker møller                              miller måned                             month 

N

nabo                                neighbor nadverd                            Communion, sacrament natt                                   night navn                                 name nedbrent                          burned down nei                                   no neste                               next, neighbor neste år                          next year nevø                               nephew ni                                    nine niende                            ninth niese                               niece nitten                              nineteen nittende                          nineteenth nitti                                 ninety nittiende                         ninetieth noen                               some, any nord                                north november                       November nu, nå                             now nulevende                       living null                                  zero nummer                          number ny                                    new nyfødt                              newborn nylig                                lately nyttår                              new year nær                                 near, close næringsvei                      livelihood, trade nå, nu                              now når                                   when, if, reach 

O

'''odel                                birthright or allodial ownership ofte                                  often og                                    and oktober                            October oldebarn                          great-grandchild oldefar                             great-grandfather oldeforeldre                    great-grandparents oldemor                          great-grandmother om                                  if, about omegn                            neighboring places omtrent                           about, almost, nearly omvendelse                    conversion onkel                              uncle onsdag                           Wednesday opp                                 up oppe                               above, upstairs oppfostre                        foster, to rear oppholdsted                   residence opptegnelse                   record ordbok                            dictionary ordfører                          mayor oss                                  us osv. et cetera, and so on over                              over overlevende                  survivors overtredelse                  transgression '''

P through S
P

pagina (Latin)                  page pallask                              sword pantebok                          mortgage record parsell                              plot of land, allotment parykkmaker                    wigmaker penger                             money pensjon                            pension pensjonist                         retired person person                              person pest                                  plague pike (pige)                        girl, maid pikebarn                           female child pikenavn                          maiden name, girl’s name pinse                                Pentecost pleiebarn                         foster child pleiedatter                       foster daughter pleiefar                            foster father pleieforeldre                    foster parents pleiemor                          foster mother pleiesønn                         foster son pottemaker                      potter preke                               preach prest                                minister, priest prestegjeld                       clerical district prestekontor                     parish office prins                                 prince prinsesse                          princess på                                    on, at, upon påske                               Easter 

R

register                            index, register regjering                          government regning                            bill regnskap                          account reise                                 travel religion                             religion repslager                          rope maker rett                                    court (noun), correct rettferdig                           just, righteous ridder                                knight rik                                     wealthy riktig                                 correct rundt                                 around rytter                                 cavalryman rådmann                           councilman 

S

'''sa                                     said, stated sabbat                               Sabbath sakrament                         sacrament salig                                  deceased, holy, blessed salmaker                           saddler samfunn                            society samleie                             intercourse samme                              same samme dag                       the same day sammen                            together sammesteds                      in the same place samtlige                            all samtykke                           consent sau                                    sheep seg                                    oneself seks                                   six seksten                              sixteen sekstende                          sixteenth seksti                                 sixty sekstiende                         sixtieth selv                                   self selveier                            owner, freeholder selvmord                          suicide senere                              later seng                                 bed sengeliggende                 bedridden separeret                          separated september                        September side                                  page, side sidehus                             side house siden                                since, later sin, sitt, sine                     his, hers, its sinnsvak                           insane, retarded sinnsyk                             mentally ill siste                                  last, latter siste olje                           last rites sjette                                sixth sju (syv)                            seven sjuende (syvende)            seventh sjø                                    sea, lake sjømann                           sailor, seaman skaberak                          elaborate horse blanket skal                                  shall, must skarlagensfeber               scarlet fever skatt                                 tax skibsfører                         ship’s captain skifte                                probate skifteprotokoll                  probate record book skifteretten                       probate court skilsmisse                         divorce skilt                                  divorced skiløper                            infantry soldier on skis, skier skjedde                            happened skjøte                               deed (property) skog                                 forest skole                                school skomaker                         shoemaker skredder                           tailor skriver                              scribe skulle                               should slag                                  strike, blow, stroke slakter                              butcher slekt                                 relatives, family, lineage slektninger                       relatives slektsforskning                 genealogy slektshistorie                    family history, lineage books slektsvåpen                      coat of arms slå                                    ihjel kill smed                                smith snart                                 soon snekker                             cabinetmaker, carpenter sogn                                  parish soldat                                soldier sorenskriver                      magistrate, probate judge sort                                    black spebarn                             infant, baby spillemann                        musician, fiddler stabbur                              storehouse on pillars stamtavle                          descendancy chart stand                                 social position stebarn                              stepchild stebror                               stepbrother sted                                   place stedatter                            stepdaughter stefar                                 stepfather steinhogger                       stonecutter stemor                               stepmother stesønn                              stepson stilling                               status, position, office stor                                    large straff                                  punishment straks                                 right away, immediately stum                                  mute (can’t speak) summa                              (Latin) totals summarisk                        statistical, summary svak                                  weak svakhet                             weakness svart                                  black svenn                                journeyman svensk                              Swedish Sverige                             Sweden svigerdatter                      daughter-in-law svigerfar                           father-in-law svigerinne                        sister-in-law svigermor                        mother-in-law svigersønn                      son-in-law svoger                            brother-in-law svulst                              tumor syd                                 south sydlig                             southern syerske                          seamstress syk                                 sick sykdom                          disease sypike                            seamstress sytten                             seventeen syttende                         seventeenth sytti                                seventy syttiende                        seventieth syv (sju)                          seven syvende (sjuende)          seventh sølv                                silver søndag                           Sunday sønn                               son sønnedatter                    son’s daughter sønnesøn                        son’s son sør                                  south søsken                            siblings søster                             sister søstersønn                      sister’s son så saw (see),                  so, if so, sow (seed) sådan                             such således                          thus, in this or that '''

T through V
 T 

'''tak                                   roof takk                                  thank you takksigelse                       thanksgiving tall                                   number, count tambur                             drummer (soldier) tante                                aunt testamente                       last will ti                                       ten tid                                     time tidlig                                 early tidsperiode                       period of time tidsskrift                            periodical tiende                               tenth, tithing tigger                               beggar til                                      to, until, for tillatelse                           dispensation, permission time                                 hour tippoldefar                       great-great-grandfather tippoldemor                     great-great-grandmother tirsdag                              Tuesday tittel                                  title tjene                                 serve, work tjeneste                            service tjenestedreng                   servant, employee, male tjenestepige                     servant, employee, female tjue (tyve)                         twenty tjueannen                         twenty-second tjueen                               twenty-one tjuefem                             twenty-five tjuefire                              twenty-four tjuefjerde                          twenty-fourth tjueførste                          twenty-first tjuende (tyvende)             twentieth tjueni(ende)                      twenty-nine (twenty-ninth) tjueseks                            twenty-six tjuesjette                          twenty-sixth tjuesju(ende)                    twenty-seven(th) tjuetemte                          twenty-fifth tjueto                                twenty-two tjuetre(dje)                        twenty-three (twenty-third) tjueåtte(nde)                     twenty-eight (twenty-eighth) to                                      two tohundre                           two hundred tollbetjent                         customs officer tolv                                   twelve tolvte                                twelfth torsdag                             Thursday tre                                     three tredevte (trettiende)          thirtieth tredje                                third tredve (tretti)                     thirty tretten(de)                         thirteen (thirteenth) trettien(de)                        thirty-one (thirty-first) trettiførste                         thirty-first trolovelse                         engagement trolovet                             engaged trosbekjennelse                creed trossamfunn                     religion tuberkulose                      consumption, tuberculosis tukthus                             prison tusen(de)                          thousand(th) tvangsarbeide                  hard labor, compulsory labor tvilling                              twin tyfus                                 typhoid fever tysk                                  German Tyskland                          Germany tyv                                    thief tyve (tjue)                         twenty tyvende (tjvende)             twentieth tæring                              tuberculosis tømmermann                   carpenter, framer, ship’s carpenter tønne                               barrel '''

U

udøpt                              unbaptized uekte                               illegitimate ugift                                 unmarried uke                                  week ukjent                              unknown, foreign ulovlig                             illegal ulykke                              accident umoralsk                         immoral umyndig                          under legal age under                               under, below underholde                      support underskrevne                   the undersigned underskrift                        signature undertegnet                      signed ung                                   young ungkarl                             bachelor unntatt                              except uskyldig                            innocent ussel                                 miserable, poor usømmelig                        indecent utdrag                               extract uten                                  without utenfor                              outside of utfattog                             destitute, penniless utflyttning                         moving out utføre                               perform, do utgi                                   publish uti                                     at, in utlagt                                named as, alleged utlandet                            foreign country utukt                                 lechery, fornication utvandre                           emigrate utvandrer                         emigrant utvandring                        emigration 

V

vaccinerede                     vaccination vaksinert                           vaccination, vaccinated vanfør                                crippled, disabled vanskapt                            deformed, handicapped var                                     was, were vattersot                            dropsy ved                                    at, by vedkommende                  person concerned ved siden av                      next to velstand                             prosperity venn                                  friend venstre                              left (side) verge                                 guardian verneplikt                          military duty vertshus                             inn vest                                    west vever                                 weaver vielse                                 marriage, wedding vielsesattest                        marriage certificate viet                                     married vitne                                    witness vitnesbyrd                           testimony vogn                                   carriage, wagon, vehicle vognmann                          coachman voldta                                 rape værdig                                worthy være                                   be vår                                      our våren                                  in the spring   

Y through Å
 Y 

yngre younger yngst youngest yrke profession  

Æ

ærbødig respectful ære honor ærlig honest ættegransking genealogy 

Ø

øde desolate, waste ødelegge destroy ødemark wasteland, wilderness ønske wish, desire, want øre ear øst east øvre upper øy island øye, øie eye 

Å

ånd spirit åndsvak mentally deficient år year århundre century årlig annual, yearly årsak cause, reason åsted where event took place (place of event) åtte eight åttende eighth åtti eighty åttiede eightieth   

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

Examples:

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

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

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

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

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

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