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kerling

From Wiktionary, the free dictionary

Icelandic

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Etymology

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From Old Norse kerling.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈcʰɛrtliŋk/ (more formal, used especially in senses 1 and 2)
  • IPA(key): /ˈcʰɛtliŋk/
    Rhymes: -ɛtliŋk

Noun

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kerling f (genitive singular kerlingar, nominative plural kerlingar)

  1. (old) woman
  2. (chiefly historical) a lower-class woman, as opposed to frú, dama, maddama
  3. (derogatory) wuss, wimp (referring to a man or boy)
  4. (informal, sometimes derogatory) wife
  5. a general term of endearment for a female; girl, old girl

Declension

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Old Norse

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Etymology

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From karl +‎ -ing.

Noun

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kerling f (genitive kerlingar, plural kerlingar)

  1. woman, wife
  2. old woman

Declension

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Derived terms

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Descendants

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References

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  • kerling”, in Geir T. Zoëga (1910) A Concise Dictionary of Old Icelandic, Oxford: Clarendon Press