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- Forår og Efterår
Forår og Efterår
So, unless I'm mistaken, the literal translation of these Danish words (meaning "spring" and "autumn") would be "before year" and "after year"? I'm curious how these came to be the words for those seasons; I'm sure there's a fascinating reason behind it!
7 Comments
here you go :) Sommer = derived from the old nordic word sumar, and means "half year" Vinter = an old nordic word which stems from the old gothic word Wintrus, and means wet season Vår = the word used in the past for forår, it stems form the old nordic word "vár" which meant "the good season" høst (harvest) = the word used in the past for efterår, an old nordic word which meant "to pick", since autumn was the season of harvest
forår = derived form the medieval german word "vorjar", "vorjar" means "first part of the year" efterår = was simply formed in opposition to "forår"
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Den Danske Ordbog giver en kort forklaring på oprindelsen af "forår":
http://ordnet.dk/ddo/ordbog?query=for%C3%A5r Forår efter middelnedertysk vorjar, første led vor i betydningen 'første del af'