åtminstone
Swedish
Etymology
From Old Swedish at minsto, + the feminine dative singular definite suffix definite -unni/-onne. Equivalent to åt + dative form of modern minsta.
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /oːt²mɪnsˌtɔnɛ/ (standard)
- IPA(key): /oːt²mɪnsˌtɔndɛ/ (nonstandard, but more common than the correct one)
- The nonstandard pronunciation comes from a confusion with the affix -onde which is a much more common ending than -one. -onde is found in some ordinal numbers such as åttonde (“eighth”), nionde (“ninth”), tionde (“tenth”) and tjugonde (“twentieth”). There are also -ande and -ende, the Swedish equivalents of -ing, both with the d before the last vowel which also makes it seem natural to pronounce it in this word, which actually lacks it, as well. -one appears only in two other terms: på sistone, i förstone, of which the latter is somewhat dated.
Adverb
åtminstone (not comparable)
- at least (at a lower limit)
- Det finns åtminstone fem godissorter på affären.
- There are at least five sorts of candy at the supermarket.
- Att tanka idag går på åtminstone 500 kronor.
- To refuel these days is at least 500 kronor.
References
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