måtte

See also: matte, Matte, matté, and mätte

Danish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈmɔtə/, [ˈmʌd̥ə]

Etymology 1

Borrowed via Middle Low German matte from Medieval Latin matta, of Semitic origin. Also borrowed to English mat and German Matte.

Noun

måtte c (singular definite måtten, plural indefinite måtter)

1. mat

Declension

Declension of måtte

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	måtte	måtten	måtter	måtterne
genitive	måttes	måttens	måtters	måtternes

Descendants

• → Faroese: motta
• → Icelandic: motta

References

• “måtte,1” in Den Danske Ordbog

Etymology 2

From Old Norse mega (“must, may”), from Proto-Germanic *maganą, cognate with English may, German mögen. The original infinitive was lost and replaced by the past tense (in analogy with the verbs kunne (“could”), skulle (“should”), and ville (“would”), in which the infinitive and the past tense have become homophonous).

Verb

måtte (present må, past måtte, past participle måttet)

1. must, have to, got to (duty or certainty)
2. can, may (allowance)
3. may (wish)
4. may (possibility)

Conjugation

Conjugation of måtte

active passive present må — past måtte — infinitive måtte — imperative - — participle present - past måttet (auxiliary verb have) gerund —

References

• “måtte,2” in Den Danske Ordbog

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Inherited from Danish måtte, from Old Norse mega, from Proto-Germanic *maganą. The modern infinitive was backformed from the past tense (Old Norse mátta) by analogy with kunne, skulle, ville.

Verb

måtte (present tense må, simple past måtte, past participle måttet)

1. must
2. may (subjunctive present auxiliary)

References

• “måtte” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²mɔtːə/

Verb

måtte (present tense må, past tense måtte, past participle mått or måtta)

1. alternative form of måtta

Swedish

Verb

måtte

1. past indicative of må