björn

From Old Norse bjǫrn, from Proto-Germanic *bernuz, northern form of Proto-Germanic *berô.

• IPA^(key): /pjœrtn/

  Rhymes: -œrtn

• IPA^(key): /pjœtn/ (colloquial)

björn m (genitive singular bjarnar, nominative plural birnir)

1. bear (mammal)

From Old Swedish biorn, biørn, from Old Norse bjǫrn, from Proto-Germanic *bernuz, northern form of Proto-Germanic *berô, probably from Proto-Indo-European *bʰer- (“brown”).[1]

• IPA^(key): /bjøːrn/, [ˈbjœ̞ːɳ]

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björn c

1. a bear (an ursid)

   Synonyms: (colloquial) nalle, (colloquial) bamse

   Vi såg en björn i skogen i går

   We saw a bear in the forest yesterday

   • 1989, “Bumbibjörnarna [signaturmelodi] [Disney's Adventures of the Gummi Bears [theme song]]”, Monica Forsberg (lyrics), Michael Silversher, Patricia Silversher (music), performed by Haakon Pedersen:

     Snälla och rara, helt underbara, och deras saga berättas igen. Hörs deras sånger som förr många gånger. Djupt in i skogen där lever de än. Hipp hurra, för här kommer Bumbibjörnarna. Studsar fram igenom sagorna. Och vi får följa med. Bumbibärssaften, den magiska kraften, och visst blir man stark om man dricker utav den. Ondska och törnar, det klarar små björnar. De kämpar och godheten segrar igen.

     Kind and sweet, truly [completely, absolutely, wholly] wonderful, and their story is told again. Their songs are heard like many times before ["Are heard their songs like before many times" – somewhat cryptically worded in Swedish as well]. Deep in the forest, [there] they still live. Hip hooray, for here comes the Gummi Bears. [They] bounce [forth] through the fairy tales. And we get to come along. The gummiberry juice, the magic power, and you certainly become strong if you drink from it. Evil and hard knocks – little bears can handle it. They fight, and [the] goodness [definite is often idiomatic for concepts] triumphs again ["good triumphs" is more commonly "det goda segrar" (the good triumphs)].

   • 1995, Charta 77 (lyrics and music), “Lilla björn och lilla tiger [Little bear and little tiger]”, in Tecken i tiden [Sign of the times]:

     En björn och en tiger mot drömmarnas land, där solen som stiger alltid är varm. Tillsammans på stigen som leder dom fram.

     A bear and a tiger towards the land of dreams, where the sun that rises ["the rising sun" is "den uppgående solen" instead] is always warm. Together on the path that leads them forward.

2. (gay slang) a bear (big, hairy (gay) man)

• brumma (“growl like a bear”)
• ram (“front paw of a bear”)
• ide (“hibernation den”)
• labb (“larger paw”)
• lufsa (“move like a bear”)
• lurvig (“furry, shaggy”)
• tass (“paw”)

• björn in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• björn in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• björn in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)