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Glite Dictionary
Proto-Norse language

Proto-Norse language

9.9
An early form of the Scandinavian languages spoken before 700 AD
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : lengua proto-nórdica
  • Runic inscriptions are some of the few surviving records of the Proto-Norse language.

Examples

  • Many words in modern Scandinavian languages derive from Proto-Norse language.

  • Scholars study the Proto-Norse language to understand the origins of Scandinavian dialects.

  • Before the Viking Age, the people of Scandinavia spoke the Proto-Norse language.

  • The Proto-Norse language was spoken in Scandinavia.

  • Before the Viking Age, the people of Scandinavia spoke the Proto-Norse language.

  • Runic inscriptions are some of the few surviving records of the Proto-Norse language.

  • Scholars study the Proto-Norse language to understand the origins of Scandinavian dialects.

Synonyms

Proto-Norse
vsProto-Norse language
  • Specialized
9.9

The earliest form of the languages spoken in Scandinavia until about 700 AD

has identical meaning but is a longer phrase mentioning the word for speech

Surface Forms

Proto-Norse language singular
Proto-Norse languages plural

Morphology

Proto-Norse + language

The meaning is directly compositional: 'Proto-Norse' names the initial form of North Germanic speech and 'language' denotes a speech system, so the phrase simply refers to that language. This straightforward noun–noun composition is literal and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Proto-Norse language comes from Proto (meaning 'first') and Norse (the 'people of the North'). Language experts use it for the 'first' or very 'early' form of the languages spoken in Scandinavia, known from short texts written in runes, so the name means the earliest stage of those languages.