The Scandinavian Connection

The Scandinavian Connection The Scandinavian Connection The Scandinavian Connection By Sharon A chance remark by a Swedish friend about English loan words in Swedish set me on the trail of borrowings of Swedish origin that have entered the English language. There are a few common ones: angstrom a unit of length named after a Swedish scientist flounder a type of flat fish gauntletis believed to originate from gatlopp. The expression run the gauntlet refers to a military punishment where someone would run between two rows of soldiers who would strike at hime gravlax smoked salmon lingonberry from lingon orienteering the sport that combines navigation with racing originates from Sweden smorgasbord a buffet with certain types of food; has a more general meaning in English tungsten chemical element; the name means heavy stone. There are also several words of Norwegian origin in English, including: aquavit a very alcoholic drink; the name derives from the Latin for water of life fjord a geographical formation floe an ice formation lemming a type of rodent quisling a traitor, named after Vidkun Quisling ski the equipment used for skiing slalom a downhill skiing technique featuring twists and turns Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)Peace of Mind and A Piece of One's Mind9 Forms of the Past Tense