Hardanger
English
Norwegian Bokmål
Proper noun
Hardanger
- The district surrounding the Hardangerfjord in Hordaland county, Western Norway, consisting of seven municipalities, Kvam, Jondal, Granvin, Ulvik, Eidfjord, Ullensvang and Odda.
Derived terms
Norwegian Nynorsk
Alternative forms
- Hardang
- Harong, Hårångur (dialectal)
Etymology
From Old Norse Harðangr, traditionally believed to be related to hǫrðar (“Harudes”); from Proto-Norse *Harudangraʀ, from Proto-Germanic *harudōz m pl (“Harudes”) + *angraz (“fjord”). The reason for the -a-, as opposed to the -ǫ- in hǫrðar, is said to come from a different placement of the stress, causing an earlier syncope of the -u- than in the other word. It therefore did not yield a u-umlaut.[1]
It has also been suggested that the fjord name may derive from *hardaz (“hard”) instead of *harudōz, due to the location of the fjord being outside the original area of the Harudes (Hordaland). This may better explain the -a- than relying on the absence of an expected u-umlaut.[1]
Proper noun
Hardanger m
Derived terms
References
- Per Hovda (1978) Frå hav til hei, page 67
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