Where does “trollkarl” come from?
trollkarl (Swedish) comes from Swedish trolla, from Swedish a, from Swedish avlopp, from Swedish lopp, from Swedish löpa, from Old Swedish løpa, from Old Norse hlaupa, from Proto-Germanic hlaupaną.
trollkarl (Swedish): a wizard, a magician, a sorcerer (man who can perform supernatural magic)
Definitions
- a wizard, a magician, a sorcerer (man who can perform supernatural magic)
Ancestry of “trollkarl”, step by step
trollkarl traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.
via Swedish trolla
| Step | Language | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Swedish | trolla | to perform magic or illusionary tricks, which is... |
| 2 | Swedish | a | from |
| 3 | Swedish | avlopp | a drain; sewage |
| 4 | Swedish | lopp | a race (running competition or (in an extended sense) other speed competition, like in English) |
| 5 | Swedish | löpa | to run along, stretch; to run, to move quickly... |
| 6 | Old Swedish | løpa | to run |
| 7 | Old Norse | hlaupa | to leap, jump, spring |
| 8 | Proto-Germanic | hlaupaną | to jump forward, to leap |
| 9 | Proto-Indo-European | klaup- | — |