skæv
Danish
Alternative forms
- skjæv, skiæv, skjev, skiev (older spellings)
Etymology
From Old Norse skeifr, from Proto-Germanic *skaibaz (“crooked”), of disputed ultimate origin. Perhaps from the same source as *skeuhaz (“frightened, shy”).[1] Another possibility is Proto-Indo-European *skeh₂iwos, the source of Latin scaevus (“on the left side”).[2] See also Swedish skev, Dutch scheef, German schief (from Low German).
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˈskɛːˀv/, [ˈsɡ̊ɛˀʋ], [ˈsɡ̊ɛwˀ]
Adjective
skæv (neuter skævt, plural and definite singular attributive skæve)
- oblique, slanting
- wry, skew, cockeyed
- lopsided, one-sided, distorted
- unequal
- stoned, high
Inflection
| Inflection of skæv | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative | |
| Common singular | skæv | skævere | skævest2 |
| Neuter singular | skævt | skævere | skævest2 |
| Plural | skæve | skævere | skævest2 |
| Definite attributive1 | skæve | skævere | skæveste |
| 1) When an adjective is applied predicatively to something definite, the corresponding "indefinite" form is used. 2) The "indefinite" superlatives may not be used attributively. | |||
Synonyms
- (high): høj
Descendants
- Norwegian Bokmål: skjev
References
- Douglas Harper (2001–2023), “skew”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
- van der Sijs, Nicoline, editor (2010), “scheef”, in Etymologiebank, Meertens Institute