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