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NORWEGIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Norwegian expression of the day: Grevens tid 

Is it a good thing, or a bad thing, if you manage to do something in the "counts time"? Let's find out. 

Today's word of the day.
Is it a good thing to make it in a count's time? Caption Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Unsplash / Nicolas Raymond/FlickR

What does it mean? 

As mentioned in the intro, “grevens tid” literally translates to the “count’s time”. The count’s time means arriving at a good or lucky moment or achieving or preventing something, typically at the last minute. 

Catch a vase just before it hits the ground, or make it to the station just in time to catch your train? Then you did it in the count’s time. 

The term is said to have originated in Sweden and refers to Count Per Brahe Dy, who became governor of Finland in 1637. It was customary for a count to arrive late to events during the period. This is because, typically, the highest status one held, the more likely they were to come later. 

However, these days the saying isn’t used to describe when someone arrives “fashionably late” to use an English expression. 

Use it like this: 

Nå kom du i grevens tid 

(You came just at the right time.)

Du kom i grevens tid, jeg skulle akkurat til å ringe!

(You came just at the right time, I was just about to call you!)

Nå kom du i grevens tid! Vi skulle akkurat til å spise! 

(You came just at the right time, we are about to eat!)

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NORWEGIAN WORD OF THE DAY

Norwegian word of the day: Påske 

Today's Norwegian word of the day is one you have probably heard a lot in recent weeks, but you probably don't recognise it from English. 

Norwegian word of the day: Påske 

What is påske?

Påske is the Norwegian word for Easter. The word may be more recognisable if you speak another European language. 

Unlike in English, but like other Norwegian words for festivals, months, and weekdays, it isn’t capitalised. 

It’s a relative of French Pâques, Italian Pasqua, Spanish Pascua, Romanian Paşti and Dutch Pasen, to name a few.

These words all date back to the Greek word Πάσχα (Pascha), which is linked to the Hebrew word Pesach, meaning “to pass over”. The word pascha was adopted by Latin as the name of the Christian holiday, which became páskar in Old Norse. 

Why do I need to know påske?

Although the English name Easter has a different origin (from Ēostre, the name of a goddess linked with springtime), you will still find relatives of påsk in English dialects, including Pace in Scotland and northeastern England and Pask in Cornish.

So now that you know where the word comes from, how to use it? 

Happy Easter is god påske, and you will also find it in lots of festive compound words: påskeferien (the Easter holiday), påskeværet (the Easter weather), påskeåpne (open over Easter), påskeegg (Easter egg), påskepynt (Easter decorations). 

Example

Påskeharen har lagt et påskeegg

The Easter Bunny has left an egg. 

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