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björn - Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

From Old Norse bjǫrn, from Proto-Germanic *bernuz, northern form of Proto-Germanic *berô.

björn m (genitive singular bjarnar, nominative plural birnir)

  1. bear (mammal)
  • Ásgeir Blöndal Magnússon (1989) Íslensk orðsifjabók, Reykjavík: Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, →ISBN (Available at Málið.is under the “Eldri orðabækur” tab.)
  • Kristín Bjarnadóttir, editor (2002–2025), “björn”, in Beygingarlýsing íslensks nútímamáls [The Database of Modern Icelandic Inflection] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies
  • Mörður Árnason (2019) Íslensk orðabók, 5th edition, Reykjavík: Forlagið
  • “björn” in the Dictionary of Modern Icelandic (in Icelandic) and ISLEX (in the Nordic languages)
  • “björn”, in Ritmálssafn Orðabókar Háskólans [The Written Collection of the Lexicological Institute] (in Icelandic), Reykjavík: The Árni Magnússon Institute for Icelandic Studies, (Can we date this quote?)
en björn som står med framtassarna / ramarna på en liten stubbe [a bear standing with its front paws on a small stump]

From Old Swedish biorn, biørn, from Old Norse bjǫrn, from Proto-Germanic *bernuz, northern form of Proto-Germanic *berô, probably from Proto-Indo-European *bʰerH- (“brown”).[1]

  • IPA(key): /bjøːrn/, [ˈbjœ̞ːɳ]

björn c

  1. a bear (an ursid)
    Synonyms: (colloquial) nalle, (colloquial) bamse

    Vi såg en björn i skogen i går

    We saw a bear in the forest yesterday

    Björnar gillar att mumsa på bär

    Bears like to munch on berries

    En björn lufsade in på min bakgård

    A bear lumbered into my backyard

    Björn är även ett vanligt förnamn

    Björn is also a common first name [också vs. även is similar to also vs. additionally here – see the usage notes for även]

    • 1989, “Bumbibjörnarna [signaturmelodi] [Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears [theme song]]”, Monica Forsberg (lyrics), Michael Silversher, Patricia Silversher (music)‎[1]performed by Haakon Pedersen:

      Snälla och rara, helt underbara, och deras saga berättas igen. Hörs deras sånger som förr många gånger. Djupt in i skogen där lever de än. Hipp hurra, för här kommer Bumbibjörnarna. Studsar fram igenom sagorna. Och vi får följa med. Bumbibärssaften, den magiska kraften, och visst blir man stark om man dricker utav den. Ondska och törnar, det klarar små björnar. De kämpar och godheten segrar igen.

      Kind and sweet, truly [completely, absolutely, wholly] wonderful, and their story is told again. Their songs are heard like many times before ["Are heard their songs like before many times" – somewhat cryptically worded in Swedish as well]. Deep in the forest, [there] they still live. Hip hooray, for here comes the Gummi Bears. [They] bounce [forth] through the fairy tales. And we get to come along. The gummiberry juice, the magic power, and you certainly become strong if you drink from it. Evil and hard knocks – little bears can handle it. They fight, and [the] goodness [definite is often idiomatic for concepts] triumphs again ["good triumphs" is more commonly "det goda segrar" (the good triumphs)].

    • 1995, Charta 77 (lyrics and music), “Lilla björn och lilla tiger [Little bear and little tiger]”, in Tecken i tiden [Sign of the times]‎[2]:

      En björn och en tiger mot drömmarnas land, där solen som stiger alltid är varm. Tillsammans på stigen som leder dom fram.

      A bear and a tiger towards the land of dreams, where the sun that rises ["the rising sun" is "den uppgående solen" instead] is always warm. Together on the path that leads them forward.
  2. (gay slang) a bear (big, hairy (gay) man)
  • brumma (“growl like a bear”)
  • ram (“front paw of a bear”)
  • ide (“hibernation den”)
  • labb (“larger paw”)
  • lufsa (“move like a bear”)
  • lurvig (“furry, shaggy”)
  • tass (“paw”)
  1. ^ björn in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)