Svalbard

See also: Svalbarð

English

Wikivoyage

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse Svalbarð n probably through Norwegian. From svalr (“cool”) +‎ barð (“edge, brim”), thus roughly meaning “cold shore”, probably alluding to the treeless landscape mostly covered with grass. The name was first attested in Skálholtsannáll from 1350, but it’s uncertain whether it referred to the modern archipelago, the more southern island Jan Mayen or a part of Greenland. Cognate with Faroese Svalbarð, Icelandic Svalbarði and Norwegian Svalbard.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsvɑːlbɑː(ɹ)/, (anglicized) /ˈsvɑːlbɑː(ɹ)d/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Proper noun

Svalbard

1. A group of islands northeast of Greenland; a territory of Norway.

Synonyms

• Spitsbergen, Spitzbergen (both dated)
• Greenland (obsolete)
• Grumant (dated)

Derived terms

• Svalbard and Jan Mayen Islands
• Svalbard reindeer
• Svalbardian

Translations

islands north east of Greenland

• Arabic: سْفَالْبَارْد m (sfalbard)
• Belarusian: Шпіцбе́рген m (Špicbjérhjen), Шпіцбэ́рген m (Špicbérhjen) (taraškievica)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 斯瓦爾巴／斯瓦尔巴 (Sīwǎ'ěrbā)

• Czech: Špicberky (cs) pl
• Danish: Svalbard
• Dutch: Spitsbergen (nl) n
• Esperanto: Svalbardo
• Faroese: Svalbarð n
• Finnish: Huippuvuoret (fi) pl, Svalbard (fi)
• French: Svalbard (fr) m
• Georgian: შპიცბერგენი (šṗicbergeni), სვალბარდი (svalbardi)
• German: Spitzbergen (de) n (remains predominant); Svalbard (de) n (chiefly official)
• Greek: Σφάλμπαρ m (Sfálmpar), Σβάλμπαρντ m (Sválmparnt)
• Icelandic: Svalbarði m
• Italian: Svalbard
• Japanese: スバールバル (Subārubaru), スヴァールバル諸島 (Suvārubaru shotō)
• Korean: 스발바르 (Seubalbareu)
• Latin: Svalbardum
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: Svalbard

  Nynorsk: Svalbard

• Polish: Svalbard (pl) m inan
• Portuguese: Svalbard f
• Romanian: Svalbard n
• Russian: Сва́льбард m (Sválʹbard), Шпицбе́рген (ru) m (Špicbérgen)
• Slovak: Špicbergy m pl
• Spanish: Svalbard m
• Swedish: Svalbard (sv)
• Turkish: Svalbard (tr)

References

• “Svalbard”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.

Further reading

• Svalbard, CIA World Fact Book 2004 on Wikisource.Wikisource
• Spitsbergen in the Encyclopædia Britannica (11th edition, 1911)
• Spitzbergen in the 1905 edition of the New International Encyclopedia.

German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsvaːlˌbart/, [ˈsʋaːlˌbaʁt], [-ˌbaɐ̯t], [-ˌbaːt]

Proper noun

Svalbard n (proper noun, genitive Svalbards or (optionally with an article) Svalbard)

1. (especially official use) Svalbard (an archipelago in the far north of Norway)

   Synonym: (remains predominant) Spitzbergen

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse Svalbarð, see the English entry.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsvɑ̂ːɫbɑr/

Proper noun

Svalbard

1. Svalbard (a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, to the north of Norway)

Norwegian Nynorsk

Longyearbyen på Svalbard.

Etymology

Borrowed from Old Norse Svalbarð n or Svalbarðr m, from svalr (“cool”) +‎ barð (“edge, brim”), thus roughly meaning “cold shore”. Cognate with Faroese Svalbarð and Icelandic Svalbarði.

The name was first attested in Skálholtsannáll from 1350, but it’s uncertain whether it referred to the modern archipelago, or the more southern island Jan Mayen.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²svaːlbaːr/, /²svaːɽbaːɽ/

Proper noun

Svalbard n

1. Svalbard (an archipelago in the far north of Norway)

Derived terms

• svalbardgås (“pink-footed goose”)
• svalbarding (“someone from Svalbard”)
• svalbardkol
• svalbardlaks (“arctic char”, literally “Svalbard salmon”)
• svalbardlomvi (“thick-billed murre”)
• Svalbardlova (“the Svalbard Act”)
• svalbardløn
• svalbardrein (“Svalbard reindeer”)
• Svalbardrådet
• svalbardteiste, svalbardteist (“Cepphus grylle mandtii”)
• Svalbardtraktaten (“the Svalbard Treaty”)
• svalbardull, svalbardmyrull (“Eriophorum sorensenii”)
• svalbardvalmue (“Papaver dahlianum”)

 

Related terms

• bard (“edge”)
• Grumant (dated)
• Spitsbergen
• sval (“cool”)
• Vestspitsbergen

 

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈsfal.bart/

• Audio

  (file)

• Rhymes: -albart
• Syllabification: Sval‧bard

Proper noun

Svalbard m

1. Svalbard (group of islands in the Arctic)

Declension

Declension of Svalbard

	singular
nominative	Svalbard
genitive	Svalbardu
dative	Svalbardowi
accusative	Svalbard
instrumental	Svalbardem
locative	Svalbardzie
vocative	Svalbardzie

Further reading

• Svalbard in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Proper noun

Svalbard f

1. Svalbard (an archipelago and territory of Norway in the Arctic Ocean)