Where does “tettsted” come from?

tettsted (Norwegian Bokmål) comes from Swedish tätort, from Swedish tät, from French tête, from Middle French teste, from Old French teste, from Latin testis, from Latin terstis, from Latin trīstis — to stand.

tettsted (Norwegian Bokmål): a built-up area, an urban area

Definitions

  1. a built-up area, an urban area

Ancestry of “tettsted”, step by step

tettsted traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.

via Swedish tätort

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1SwedishtätortA built-up area (i.e. a city, town or village), per definition in the Nordic countries a locality with at least 200 inhabitants and up to 200 metres (Norway: 50 m) between the buildings; if two buildings cannot be connected by a route along which buildings are at most 200 metres away from each other
2Swedishtätdense, thick "or" crowded; dense; compact;...
3Frenchtêtehead; header; a bright spark, a quick study
4Middle Frenchtestehead
5Old Frenchtestehead
6Latintestiswitness; one who testifies or attests; testicle
7Latinterstis
8Latintrīstissad, unhappy, melancholy, morose
9Proto-Indo-Europeantristh₂sa third party standing, after the two parties to...
10Proto-Indo-Europeansteh₂-to stand

via Norwegian Bokmål sted

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Norwegian Bokmålsteda place
2Danishstedplace; spot; passage, text
3Old Danishstathplace, spot; town, city
4Old Norsestaðra place, spot, abode; a city, town, palace; a...
5Proto-Germanicstadizplace, location
6Proto-Indo-Europeanstéh₂tisstanding, position
7Proto-Indo-European*steh₂-

via Norwegian Bokmål tett

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Norwegian Bokmåltetttight; close; dense
Every word from Proto-Indo-European steh₂-Every word from Proto-Indo-European tristh₂sEvery word from Latin trīstis
tettsted — Etymology, Origin & Word History | Etymology Explorer