Where does “Norrbotten” come from?
Norrbotten (Northern Sami) comes from Swedish Norrbotten, from Swedish norr, from Swedish nörd, from English nerd, from English nerts, from English nuts, from English nut, from Middle English nute — to arise, begin.
Ancestry of “Norrbotten”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Swedish | Norrbotten | — |
| 2 | Swedish | norr | north; one of the four major compass points;... |
| 3 | Swedish | nörd | nerd |
| 4 | English | nerd | A person who is intellectual but generally... |
| 5 | English | nerts | Crazy; nuts; Nuts! Expression of dismay |
| 6 | English | nuts | plural of nut; Testicles; An unbeatable hand; the... |
| 7 | English | nut | A hard-shelled seed; A piece of metal, usually... |
| 8 | Middle English | nute | — |
| 9 | Old English | hnutu | nut |
| 10 | Proto-West Germanic | hnut | nut |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | hnuts | nut |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | knew- | to scrape; scratch; rub; to scratch; scrape; rub |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | ken- | to arise, begin |