Where does “fattig som en lus” come from?
fattig som en lus (Swedish) comes from Swedish söm, from Swedish -nad, from Old Norse -naðr, from Old Norse -aðr, from Proto-Norse -ᛟᚦᚢᛉ, from Proto-Germanic -ōdaz, from Proto-Indo-European -tós — Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems.
fattig som en lus (Swedish): poor as a church mouse (very poor)
Definitions
- poor as a church mouse (very poor)
Ancestry of “fattig som en lus”, step by step
fattig som en lus traces back through 3 separate lines of ancestry.
via Swedish söm
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | söm | seam |
| 2 | Swedish | -nad | suffix used to create nouns, particularly from... |
| 3 | Old Norse | -naðr | suffix used to create nouns, particularly from... |
| 4 | Old Norse | -aðr | suffix used to create adjectives meaning “having,... |
| 5 | Proto-Norse | -ᛟᚦᚢᛉ | — |
| 6 | Proto-Germanic | -ōdaz | Forms adjectives from nouns, indicating the... |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | -tós | Creates verbal adjectives from verb stems |