bestemor

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From beste (“the best”) +‎ mor (“mother”), after Dutch and Middle Low German beste moder, literally "best mother". The use of beste- may be a reference to the state of being a generation older than the parents (compare the use of grand- in grandmother).

Noun

bestemor m or f (definite singular bestemoren or bestemora, indefinite plural bestemødre or bestemødrer, definite plural bestemødrene)

  1. a grandmother (paternal or maternal; mother of someone’s parent)
    Livet har mange begynnelser. En av dem er den dagen en blir bestemor. ((Can we date this quote by Gudrun Vinsrygg and provide title, author’s full name, and other details?))
    Life has many beginnings. One of them is the day one becomes a grandmother.
    Hyponyms: farmor, mormor

See also

References

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From beste (“the best”) +‎ mor (“mother”), after Dutch and Middle Low German beste moder, literally "best mother". The use of beste- may be a reference to the state of being a generation older than the parents (compare the use of grand- in grandmother).

Noun

bestemor f (definite singular bestemora or bestemori, indefinite plural bestemødrer, definite plural bestemødrene)

  1. a grandmother (paternal or maternal; mother of someone’s parent)
    Løgna har hatet til mor, og sorga til bestemor. (proverb about lies)
    The lie has a mother's hate and a grandmother's sorrow.
    Synonyms: beste, godmor
    Hyponyms: farmor, mormor

Usage notes

Note the form in brackets, they indicate that the form is optional for students only and are not allowed in official texts. These forms are either conservative (from or close to traditional Nynorsk) or radical (from or close to Bokmål) and are in Norwegian called klammeformer ("bracket forms") and originated from the idea to eventually merge Bokmål and Nynorsk into one written language. This idea was officially abandoned in 2005, followed by the system being abolished in Bokmål, but it was kept in Nynorsk.

See also

References
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