Etnedal

Norwegian Bokmål

Etnedal in Innlandet.

Steinsetbygda in Etnedal.

Alternative forms

• Etnedalen (former official spelling of the municipality name until 1917; still used for the valley)

Etymology

Inherited from Old Norse Etnardalr, from the genitive Etnar of the old river name Etn, followed by dalr (“valley”), literally “valley of the Etna”. The modern form is analysable as Etna + dal (“valley”); when the river name occurs as the first element of the compound, its final -a is traditionally dropped, giving unlinked Etne-.

The deeper origin of the river name is uncertain; it has been connected with Old Norse etja (“to urge, drive forward”) or eta (“to eat”).

The municipality was established in 1894 under the name Etnedalen. By royal resolution of 3 November 1917, the official municipality name was changed to Etnedal.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛt.nəˌdɑːl/
• Rhymes: -ɑːl
• Hyphenation: Et‧ne‧dal

Proper noun

Etnedal

1. Etnedal; a municipality of Innlandet, Norway, traditionally part of Valdres, centred on the upper course of the river Etna, with Bruflat as its administrative centre.

   Etnedal ligger i Valdres i Innlandet. ― Etnedal is situated in Valdres in Innlandet.

   • 2019 February 22, “Etnedal”, in Statsforvalteren i Innlandet:

     Etnedal, Oppland fylkes minste kommune i folketall og – som noen kanskje vet – hjemkommunen til «adelsmannen» Jens von Bustenskjold.

     Etnedal, Oppland county's smallest municipality by population and – as some may know – the home municipality of the “nobleman” Jens von Bustenskjold.

Derived terms

• etnedøl (“person from or resident of Etnedal”)

References

• “Etnedal”, in Store norske leksikon.
• “Hvordan skal navna skrives?”, Språkrådet.
• Rygh, Oluf (1902), Norske Gaardnavne, volume IV, part 2: Kristians amt (anden halvdel), page 242.
• Norsk Lovtidende. 2den Afdeling. 1917. Samling af Love, Resolutioner m.m., pages 1057–1065.