Where does “hovedstad” come from?
hovedstad (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Norwegian Bokmål hoved-, from Danish hoved-, from Danish hoved, from Danish hovedrig, from Danish rig, from English rig, from English ring, from Middle English ryng — to cut, cut off, sever.
hovedstad (Norwegian Bokmål): capital , or capital city
Definitions
- capital , or capital city
Ancestry of “hovedstad”, step by step
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|
| 1 | Norwegian Bokmål | hoved- | head, chief, main, principal |
| 2 | Danish | hoved- | main, chief |
| 3 | Danish | hoved | head; mind; person |
| 4 | Danish | hovedrig | very rich |
| 5 | Danish | rig | rich , wealthy, affluent; exuberant, luxuriant;... |
| 6 | English | rig | The rigging of a sailing ship or other such... |
| 7 | English | ring | A solid object in the shape of a circle; A group... |
| 8 | Middle English | ryng | — |
| 9 | Old English | hring | ring |
| 10 | Proto-West Germanic | hring | ring, circle |
| 11 | Proto-Germanic | hringaz | ring, circle; curve; sound, ring |
| 12 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)krengʰ- | to turn, bend |
| 13 | Proto-Indo-European | (s)ker- | to cut off; to turn, bend |
| 14 | Proto-Indo-European | sek- | to cut, cut off, sever |