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Elfenbenskysten

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Danish

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Proper noun

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Elfenbenskysten

  1. Ivory Coast, Côte d'Ivoire (a country in West Africa)

Norwegian Bokmål

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The flag of Ivory Coast.
Ivory Coast in Africa.
The bus station and the Basilica of Our Lady of Peace in Yamoussoukro, the capital of Ivory Coast.

Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From elfenben +‎ -s- +‎ kysten, literally “the ivory coast”. The alternative spelling Elfenbeinskysten instead contains the synonymous Bokmål form elfenbein (“ivory”).

The name belongs to a historical European naming tradition in which stretches of the West African coast were named after important commodities traded there. It refers to the historical trade in ivory along this part of the coast. Compare Portuguese Costa do Marfim (“Ivory Coast”) and French Côte d'Ivoire (“Ivory Coast”). The precise language from which the Norwegian formation was immediately modelled is uncertain.

The first element elfenben (“ivory”) is from German Elfenbein, ultimately from Old High German helfantbein (“elephant bone”). The second element kysten (“the coast”) is the definite singular of kyst (“coast”), from German Küste, from Old French coste, ultimately from Latin costa (“side, rib”).

The name initially designated a stretch of the West African coast. It was subsequently applied to the French colony established in 1893 and was retained by the independent state in 1960.

Parallel formations include Danish Elfenbenskysten, Swedish Elfenbenskusten, German Elfenbeinküste, Dutch Ivoorkust, French Côte d'Ivoire and English Ivory Coast.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /²ɛl.fən.beːnsˌçʏs.tən/, [ˈɛ̌l.fən.beːnsˌçʏs.tn̩]
  • Rhymes: -ʏstən
  • Hyphenation: El‧fen‧bens‧kys‧ten

Proper noun

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Elfenbenskysten

  1. Ivory Coast, Côte d'Ivoire; a country in West Africa, Africa, on the Gulf of Guinea, with Yamoussoukro as its capital.
    Yamoussoukro er hovedstad i Elfenbenskysten, mens Abidjan er landets største by. ― Yamoussoukro is the capital of Ivory Coast, while Abidjan is the country's largest city.
    • 2026 July 3, Morten Hagen, “Elfenbenskysten”, in Store norske leksikon‎[1], archived from the original on 21 August 2026:
      Elfenbenskysten er et land ved Guineabukta i Vest-Afrika.
      Ivory Coast is a country on the Gulf of Guinea in West Africa.
  2. (historical) Ivory Coast; a historical coastal region in West Africa, along the Gulf of Guinea, named for the ivory trade and corresponding approximately to the coast of the present-day country.
    • 2016 April 18, Maren Sæbø, “Gullkysten”, in Dagsavisen‎[2], archived from the original on 18 September 2026:
      Vestkysten av Afrika fikk navn etter hvilke råvarer som ble hentet ut – Pepperkysten, Gullkysten, Elfenbenskysten og Slavekysten.
      The west coast of Africa was named after the commodities extracted there – the Pepper Coast, Gold Coast, Ivory Coast and Slave Coast.
  3. (historical) Ivory Coast; a former French colony in West Africa, established in 1893 and becoming independent as the modern state of Elfenbenskysten in 1960.
    • 2026 July 3, Morten Hagen, “Elfenbenskysten”, in Store norske leksikon‎[3], archived from the original on 21 August 2026:
      Elfenbenskysten var en fransk koloni fra 1893 og ble selvstendig republikk i 1960.
      Ivory Coast was a French colony from 1893 and became an independent republic in 1960.

Usage notes

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  • Both Elfenbenskysten and Elfenbeinskysten are standard Bokmål spellings. In Nynorsk, only Elfenbeinskysten is standard.
  • The corresponding official Norwegian long forms are Republikken Elfenbenskysten and Republikken Elfenbeinskysten.
  • The country's official French name is République de Côte d'Ivoire. In 1985, the government requested that the name Côte d'Ivoire be used without translation in all languages, and the United Nations subsequently adopted this usage. Norwegian official usage nevertheless retains the established forms Elfenbenskysten and Elfenbeinskysten.
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See also

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countries in Africa: land i Afrika (appendix)edit

References

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