Norsemen - Modern Scandinavian Usage

Modern Scandinavian Usage

In the Old Norse language, the term norrœnir menn (northern men), was used correspondingly to the modern English name Norsemen, referring to Swedes, Danes, Norwegians, Faroe Islanders, Icelanders, Orcadians, etc.

In the modern Scandinavian languages, no common word for Norsemen exists. In Swedish, the term nordmän is used, which corresponds to "Northmen". The Norwegians and Danish lack a word for the ancient North Germanic peoples. Usually they are simply (but incorrectly) called vikinger in Denmark and Norway, and vikingar in Sweden. In Norway, nordmann, Denmark, nordmand, and Sweden, "norrman" is the common demonym for a Norwegian. In Icelandic, Norðmaður means a man from Norway, but Norrænn maður is the term for a "North Germanic man" (or "woman"/"people"). In Faroese, Norðmaður means a man from Norway, just like in Icelandic, but the term Norrønur maður or Norrøn kvinna/fólk are the terms for the "North Germanic man" or "North Germanic woman/people" respectively.

The word nordbo however, (Sw.: nordborna, Da.: nordboerne, No.: nordboerne or nordbuane in the definite plural) is used for both ancient and modern people living in the Nordic countries and speaking one of the North Germanic languages.

Read more about this topic:  Norsemen

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