tomte

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From tomt, from Old Norse tompt. Doublet of tufte and tofte (“the oldest man on a farm”). Cognate with Swedish tomte.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): [²tu̞mtə], [²tɞ̞mtə]

Noun

tomte m (definite singular tomten, indefinite plural tomtar, definite plural tomtane)

  1. (folklore, chiefly Eastern Norwegian) synonym of tufte

Derived terms

Swedish

Etymology

Attested since 1790 according to Svenska Akademiens ordbok. An elliptic form of tomtebisse or tomtegubbe with the same meaning. Derived from tomt (“site; lot; garden”). The association between the mythological creature and Santa Claus had its origins in the 19th century (first attestation is from 1864) and was firmly established in the middle of the 20th century.

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /ˈtɔmˌte/

Noun

tomte c

  1. (folklore) A small human-like creature in Nordic folklore that lives on farmsteads and watches over their inhabitants; a brownie, a gnome.
    Om tomten inte får en klick smör i sin julgröt kan han bli arg och göra stor skada.
    If the house gnome doesn’t get a dab of butter in his Christmas porridge, he might get angry and do great harm.
  2. (usually in the definite form "tomten") Santa Claus
    Synonyms: jultomte, tomtefar
    Moster Agneta klädde ut sig till tomte och delade ut klappar till barnen.
    Aunt Agneta dressed up as Santa and handed out presents to the children.
  3. (colloquial, derogatory) A person who behaves irresponsibly, oddly or incompetently.
    Vad är det för tomte som har slängt mina kläder i snön?
    What kind of fool threw my clothes in the snow?
  4. (colloquial, especially in compound nouns) A person that diligently tends to practical matters.
    Din man är en riktig hustomte när han snickrar på möbler.
    Your husband is a real busy bee when he does woodworking on furniture.

Declension
Declension of tomte 
Singular Plural
Indefinite Definite Indefinite Definite
Nominative tomte tomten tomtar tomtarna
Genitive tomtes tomtens tomtars tomtarnas

Synonyms

Derived terms

See also

References

Further reading

Anagrams
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