Langårbyen

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From lang (“long”) +‎ år (“year”) +‎ by (“city”); a calque of English Longyear City, or from the Longyear part of Longyearbyen. From a creative interpretation of the name as “the city where the year seems longer”.

Proper noun

Langårbyen m

1. (humorous) synonym of Longyearbyen
   • 1978, Jon Leirfall, Soga om Oddvar Rådvill og Per Klipping:

     Langårbyen fekk dette namnet fordi tida fall lang for dei som budde der. Men etter at nordmennene tok til å skifte ut norrøne ord med ord frå Vinland, er staden no kalla Longyearbyen, som tyder det same.

     The Longyear City got this name because time felt long for those who lived there. But after the Norsemen began switching out Norse words with words from Vinland, the place is now called Longyearbyen, which means the same.