English
Oslo
Oslo comes from Old Norse Ósló, from Proto-Germanic *ansuz ‘god, deity’, and ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems- ‘to engender, beget’.
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ems-‘to engender, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂émsus‘king, lord’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ansuz‘god, deity’reconstructed
- Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CE*ansulauhutransliteratedrunes *ᚨᚾᛊᚢᛚᚨᚢᚺᚢreconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350Ósló
- NorwegianmodernOslo
- Englishearliest quotation 2017same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂ems-‘to engender, beget’reconstructed
- Proto-Indo-European, derivedc. 4500–2500 BCE*h₂émsus‘king, lord’reconstructed
- Proto-Germanicc. 500 BCE–200 CE*ansuz‘god, deity’reconstructed
- Proto-Norsec. 200–800 CE*ansulauhutransliteratedrunes *ᚨᚾᛊᚢᛚᚨᚢᚺᚢreconstructed
- Old Norsec. 800–1350Ósló
- NorwegianmodernOslo
- Englishearliest quotation 2017same form
Earliest quotation: 2017, Linda Geddes, The dark town that built a giant mirror to deflect the Sun: “He was drawn to the three-dimensionality of the place:…”
The story
The first element is disputed, but is likely from ǫ́ss, áss (‘god; one of the Æsir’), from Proto-Germanic *ansuz.disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it. Another theory is that it comes from áss (‘hill, beam’), from Proto-Germanic *ansaz, but this is unlikely.disputed Scholars disagree here; the competing view is quoted as the source gives it. The second element is ló f or n (‘meadow’), from Proto-Germanic *lauhō f, *lauhaz m (compare the suffix -ley in English place-names).
Every English word from Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems-
Today it means
name A county and municipality, the capital city of Norway. Formerly called Christiania and Kristiania.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Proto-Indo-European *h₂ems- / Oslo