Where does “tomtenisse” come from?
tomtenisse (Swedish) comes from Swedish Nisse, from Swedish Nils, from Latin Nīcolāus, from Ancient Greek Νικόλαος, from Ancient Greek λᾱός, from Proto-Hellenic lāwós, from Proto-Indo-European leh₂wos, from Proto-Indo-European leh₂- — to bark, howl; to be concealed.
tomtenisse (Swedish): a (small) tomte (type of brownie or gnome from Nordic folklore), in modern times often one of Santa's helpers (a Christmas elf)
Definitions
- a (small) tomte (type of brownie or gnome from Nordic folklore), in modern times often one of Santa's helpers (a Christmas elf)
Ancestry of “tomtenisse”, step by step
tomtenisse traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Swedish Nisse
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | Nisse | recorded since the Middle Ages |
| 2 | Swedish | Nils | — |
| 3 | Latin | Nīcolāus | — |
| 4 | Ancient Greek | Νικόλαος | Nicolas |
| 5 | Ancient Greek | λᾱός | people; men; the people |
| 6 | Proto-Hellenic | lāwós | people, crowd |
| 7 | Proto-Indo-European | leh₂wos | people |
| 8 | Proto-Indo-European | leh₂- | to bark, howl; to be concealed |
via Swedish tomt
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | tomt | a ground lot, a parcel (of land), that has had, currently has or in the future will have a house built on it. It especially refers either to the land that directly surrounds the house (not uncommonly fenced), even if the total estate might be much bigger, or a legally delineated lot in town-like env |
| 2 | Old Norse | toft | — |
| 3 | Proto-Germanic | tumþiz | seemliness, agreement; association, guild,... |
| 4 | Proto-Indo-European | dem- | to build; to arrange, to put together |