härfågel

Swedish

Etymology

Just like its Latin (Upupa) and English names (hoopoe), the Swedish name originates from the sound of the bird, interpreted as "Upp! Upp! Upp! Ut! Ut!" (up, up, up, out, out), a sign of bad times of war and starvation. This gave the bird the name of oäringsfågel already in Medieval times, which later has turned into härfågel. Oäring being the negation (o-) of äring, a good year's harvest.

Noun

härfågel c

1. a hoopoe, the bird Upupa epops

Declension

Declension of härfågel

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	härfågel	härfågels
	definite	härfågeln	härfågelns
plural	indefinite	härfåglar	härfåglars
	definite	härfåglarna	härfåglarnas

Further reading

• härfågel in Svensk ordbok.