hin håle

Swedish

Alternative forms

Etymology

A noa-name for the Devil. From hin, an archaic definite article, and håle, an originally dialectal pronunciation of hårde (“hard (evil) one”). The dialectal change from rd > l can also be seen in e.g. utböling, vålnad, tvi vale etc.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /hɪn ˈhoːlɛ/, /hiːn ˈhoːle/

Proper noun

hin håle c (genitive hin håles)

  1. (euphemistic) the Devil
    Synonyms: den lede, den onde, hin, hin onde, skam
    Det var hin håle själv som hade knackat på dörren!
    It was the Devil himself who had knocked on the door!

Usage notes

Fairly quaint in modern times.

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