gnälla
Swedish
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Unknown. Arguably onomatopoeic. Arguably related to Proto-Germanic *gnīdaną (“to rub”). Compare Danish gnælde, Icelandic gnella (“to scream”), Norwegian Nynorsk gnella, Old Norse gnǫllra (“to howl, to bark”).
Verb
[edit]gnälla (present gnäller, preterite gnällde, supine gnällt, imperative gnäll)
- to whinge, to whine, to nag, to complain incessantly about minor issues
- 1972, Philemon Arthur and the Dung, “Jag vill va i fred”[1]:
- Varför ska alla gnälla på mig att jag ska följa med ut
till något fånigt danspalais, där jag har varit förut?- Why does everybody need to nag at me that I must join them out
to some silly dance hall, where I have been before?
- Why does everybody need to nag at me that I must join them out
- to squeak; make a sound as from rusty hinges
Conjugation
[edit]| active | passive | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| infinitive | gnälla | — | ||
| supine | gnällt | — | ||
| imperative | gnäll | — | ||
| imper. plural1 | gnällen | — | ||
| present | past | present | past | |
| indicative | gnäller | gnällde | — | — |
| ind. plural1 | gnälla | gnällde | — | — |
| subjunctive2 | gnälle | gnällde | — | — |
| present participle | gnällande | |||
| past participle | gnälld | |||
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.
Related terms
[edit]References
[edit]- gnälla in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- gnälla in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- gnälla in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
- gnälla in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)