älska

From Old Swedish ælska, from Old Norse ælska (Compare Old West Norse elska). Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *aliskōną (“to care for, cultivate, cherish”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛlˌska/

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• Hyphenation (inflected forms): älsk‧ar

älska (present älskar, preterite älskade, supine älskat, imperative älska)

1. (usually transitive, sometimes intransitive) to love

   Jag älskar dig

   I love you

   Jag älskar deras nya kebabsås

   I love their new kebab sauce

   • 1969, Lasse Berghagen (lyrics and music), “Teddybjörnen Fredriksson [Fredriksson the teddy bear]”:

     Teddybjörnen Fredriksson, ja, så hette han. En gång var han bara min, och vi älskade varann. Teddybjörnen Fredriksson, hans nos den var av garn. Ja, han var min bästa vän, när jag var ett litet barn.

     Fredriksson the teddy bear, yes, that was his name. Once he was just mine, and we loved each other. Fredriksson the teddy bear, his nose was made of yarn. Yes, he was my best friend, when I was a little child.

2. (intransitive) to make love

   De älskade med varandra

   They made love to each other

   De älskade uppe på höskullen

   They made love in the hayloft

• kär
• kärlek (“love”) (see there for derivatives)

• älska in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• älska in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)

• läska