English
havfrue
Havfrue comes from Danish havfrue ‘a mermaid’.
- Danishmodernhavfrue‘a mermaid’
- Englishearliest quotation 1850same form
attested reconstructed ? uncertain or disputed
Lineage
- Danishmodernhavfrue‘a mermaid’
- Englishearliest quotation 1850same form
Earliest quotation: 1850, Thomas Keightley, The Fairy Mythology: “A girl one time fell into the power of…”
Every English word from Danish havfrue
Today it means
noun A type of mermaid of Danish folklore.
Language periods are conventional ranges, not dates for this word.
Etymograph / Danish havfrue / havfrue