nogen

See also: nøgen

Danish

Etymology

From Old Danish nokær, nogher, noghen, from Old Norse nǫkkurr, cognate with Norwegian Nynorsk nokon and Swedish någon. Grammaticalization of the phrase Proto-Germanic *ne wait ek hwarjaz (“I don't know who = somebody”). For the expression, compare Old English nāthwylc (“somebody”) (from *ne wāt hwylċ), Middle High German neizwer (“somebody”) (from *ne weiz wer), Latin nescio quis (“somebody”).

The Danish form has -n from the old accusative, cf. Old Norse nǫkkurn, whereas the plural the old -r- has been replaced by -l- in the plural nogle, cf. Old Norse nǫkkura, Swedish några. The neuter noget contains a different pronoun than the rest of the paradigm: Old Norse nǫkkut, Norwegian Nynorsk noko, Swedish något, from Proto-Germanic *ne wait ek hwat.

Pronunciation

• {* IPA^(key): /noːɣən/, [ˈnoːn̩], [ˈnoːn], [ˈnoŋŋ̩]
• Homophone: nogle

Pronoun

nogen (neuter noget, plural nogle or nogen)

1. (determiner) some
2. (pronoun) somebody, someone, something

Usage notes

• In spoken language, the plural most often has the form nogen.

Pronoun

nogen (neuter noget, plural nogen)

1. (determiner) any
2. (pronoun) anybody, anyone, anything

Usage notes

• This pronoun is used in questions and negative sentences.

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology 1

Clipping of nogenlunde (“bare pass (school grade)”), an older spelling of noenlunde.

The components of the source word go back to Old Norse nǫkkurr (“some, any”) (from Proto-Norse) and Old Norse lund (“manner, disposition”), with earlier ancestry in Proto-Germanic and Proto-Indo-European; see noenlunde for the full component histories.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²ˈnoː.ɡən/, [ˈnôː.ɡən], [ˈnôː.ɡn̩]
• Rhymes: -oːɡən
• Hyphenation: no‧gen

Noun

nogen m (definite singular nogenen, indefinite plural nogener, definite plural nogenene)

1. (education, colloquial, historical) a bare pass; a low school grade called nogenlunde tilfredsstillende or nokså godt in older Norwegian grading systems

   Han fikk en nogen i regning. ― He received a bare pass in arithmetic.

   • 1997 July 26, Dagens Næringsliv, page 26:

     karakterboken viste to megeter, tre nogener og resten g’er

     the report card showed two grades of “very good”, three bare passes and “good” for the rest

   • 2000 July 19, Aftenposten, Oslopuls, page 19:

     […] Som belønnet innsatsen med karakteren Nogen

     […] Who rewarded the effort with a bare pass

Derived terms

• Ng (“bare pass (school grade)”) (abbreviation)

Etymology 2

Alternative forms

• noen (current standard spelling)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²ˈnuː.ən/, [ˈnûː.ən], [ˈnûː.n̩]
• Rhymes: -uːən
• Homophone: noen
• Hyphenation: no‧gen

Pronoun

nogen (neuter noget, plural nogen or nogle)

1. superseded spelling of noen (“some, any; someone, anyone”)

   Har du nogen penger? ― Do you have any money?

   Det er nogen ved døren. ― There is someone at the door.

   • 1873, Henrik Ibsen, Kejser og Galilæer, page 52:

     nogen har forrådt mig

     someone has betrayed me

   • 1882, Henrik Ibsen, En folkefiende, page 96:

     stryg ikke nogen af udråbstegnene!

     do not cross out any of the exclamation marks!

   • 1908, Knut Hamsun, Rosa, page 28:

     hun sa nogen svenske ord i blandt

     she said a few Swedish words now and then

   • 1911, Sigrid Undset, Jenny, page 304:

     for nogen farver

     what colours

Usage notes

The pronoun spelling nogen was removed from official Bokmål orthography in 1938; noen had been permitted as a secondary form since 1917. This does not apply to the school-grade noun above.

Older written usage distinguished plural nogle (“some”) from nogen (“any”), while colloquial Norwegian used nogen for both.

References

• “nogen” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “nogen” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).
• “noen” in Norwegian Academy Dictionary (NAOB).

Anagrams

• gonen