rumpetroll

Norwegian Bokmål

A European tree frog tadpole.

Etymology

From rumpe (“rear, tail”) +‎ troll (“troll”), literally “tail troll”.

Compare Norwegian Nynorsk rumpetroll and dialectal Swedish rumpetroll (“tadpole”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²rum.pəˌtrɔl/, [ˈɾûm.pəˌtʰɾɔlː]
• Rhymes: -ɔl
• Hyphenation: rum‧pe‧troll

Noun

rumpetroll n (definite singular rumpetrollet, indefinite plural rumpetroll, definite plural rumpetrolla or rumpetrollene)

1. (zoology) tadpole; the aquatic larva of a frog or toad, having gills and a long swimming tail which disappears during metamorphosis
   • 2015, Ingvild H. Rishøi, La stå, page 75:

     [syltetøyglasset var] fullt av vann og mørke rumpetroll

     [the jam jar was] full of water and dark tadpoles

   • 2023, Anna Blix, 40 uker, page 75:

     de utvikler seg fra rumpetroll til små frosker mens de lever i kvekkeposen

     they develop from tadpoles into little frogs while living in the vocal sac

   1. (figurative) a sperm cell, likened to a tadpole
      • 1985, Tom Lotherington, Den tredje tjeneren, page 194:

        mikroskopiske rumpetroll i sverm med hodet fullt av kromosomer

        microscopic tadpoles swarming, their heads full of chromosomes

Usage notes

• Rumpetroll is used for the larvae of frogs and toads. The superficially similar larvae of salamanders are not normally called rumpetroll.

References

• “rumpetroll” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “rumpetroll” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).
• Skei, Jon Kristian: “rumpetroll” in Store norske leksikon.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Alternative forms

• rompetroll, rompetrøll (nonstandard)

Etymology

From rumpe (“rear, tail”) +‎ troll (“troll”).

Noun

rumpetroll n (definite singular rumpetrollet, indefinite plural rumpetroll, definite plural rumpetrolla)

1. a tadpole

   Synonyms: myrlappause, kavause

Swedish

Etymology

From Norwegian Nynorsk rumpa (“rear, tail, rump, ass”) +‎ troll (“troll”).

Noun

rumpetroll

1. (dialectal) a tadpole

Synonyms

• grodyngel