Where does “Tromsø” come from?
Tromsø (English) comes from Norwegian Bokmål Tromsø, from Old Norse Trums, from Old Norse straumr, from Proto-Germanic straumaz, from Proto-Indo-European srowmos, from Proto-Indo-European srew-, from Proto-Indo-European ser- — to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together.
Ancestry of “Tromsø”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Norwegian Bokmål | Tromsø | — |
| 2 | Old Norse | Trums | — |
| 3 | Old Norse | straumr | a stream, a current, a race, a river; the tide |
| 4 | Proto-Germanic | straumaz | stream, current, river |
| 5 | Proto-Indo-European | srowmos | river |
| 6 | Proto-Indo-European | srew- | to flow, stream |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | ser- | to flow; to guard; to bind, to tie together |