kjerr

Norwegian Bokmål

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /çɛr/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛr
• Hyphenation: kjerr

Etymology 1

From Old Norse kjarr (“copsewood, brushwood, thicket”), from Proto-Germanic *kerzą, *kerzuz (“scrub, bushes”), from Proto-Indo-European *ǵers- (“to turn, bend, twist”).

Noun

kjerr n (definite singular kjerret, indefinite plural kjerr, definite plural kjerra or kjerrene)

1. (chiefly dialectal) a small bog or swamp; marsh (an area of low, wet land, often with tall grass)

   Synonyms: myr, sump

2. a small scrub, especially with willows or alder on marshy ground
   • 1858, Nicolai Ramm Østgaard, Fra Skov og Fjeld, page 119:

     [hesten ville idelig] gjøre afstikkere ind mellem kjærrene for at afrive sig en mundfuld løv

     [the horse would constantly] make detours in between the scrubs to tear off a mouthful of foliage

   • 1907, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnsons fortællinger, page 29:

     jeg ledte i hvert kjær

     I searched in every scrub

   • 1989, Herbjørg Wassmo, Dinas bok, page 52:

     [bringebærene] blir plukket i kjerret bak stabburet

     [the raspberries] are picked in the scrub behind the storage house

Alternative forms

• kjer

Derived terms

• bjørkekjerr
• multekjerr
• vierkjerr

 

Etymology 2

Alternative or dialectal form of kjer (“a fishing device”), from Old Norse ker (“tub, vessel, goblet”), from Proto-Germanic *kazą (“vessel, vat, tub, barrel”), from *kas- (“to throw, toss, raise, bring up”), of unknown origin. Doublet of kar.

Noun

kjerr n (definite singular kjerret, indefinite plural kjerr, definite plural kjerra or kjerrene)

1. Alternative spelling of kjer (“a device consisting of a chamber with a wedge-shaped entrance for catching salmon or trout in rivers”)

References

• “kjerr” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “kjerr_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “kjerr_2” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• “kjer” in Store norske leksikon

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse kjarr.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /çɛrː/

Noun

kjerr n (definite singular kjerret, indefinite plural kjerr, definite plural kjerra)

1. thicket
   • 1971, Olav H. Hauge, Tid å hausta inn:

     […] og svarte klasar av bjønnebær skin i kjerri, […]

     […] and black bunches of blackberries glimmer in the thickets, […]

References

• “kjerr” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.