sæl

sæl

See also: Appendix:Variations of "sal"

Danish

Etymology

From Old Norse selr (“seal”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɛːl/, [sɛːˀl]

Noun

sæl c (singular definite sælen, plural indefinite sæler)

1. seal (Phocidae)

Inflection

Declension of sæl

common gender	Singular		Plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	sæl	sælen	sæler	sælerne
genitive	sæls	sælens	sælers	sælernes

Synonyms

• sælhund c

Derived terms

• Sjælland
• sælskind (sealskin)

See also

• søløve

---

Icelandic

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sail̥/, [sai̯ːɬ]
• Rhymes: -aiːl

Interjection

sæl

1. hi, hello (to a female or a mixed male/female group)

See also

• sæll

Anagrams

• læs

---

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse sæll.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /seːl/, /sæːl/

Adjective

sæl (neuter sælt, definite singular and plural sæle, comparative sælare, indefinite superlative sælast, definite superlative sælaste)

1. happy, joyful
2. satisfied
   • 1866, Aasmund Olavsson Vinje, Storegut, page 32:

     „D’er godt at faa,“ so sagde tidt han Fa’r,
     „ei unger Kone og ein gamal Gard.
     D’er lett med desse tvo at liva vel;
     og Skam faa den, som ei med det er sæl.“

     “It’s good to have”, father often said,
     “a young wife and an old farm.
     With these two it is easy to live well;
     and shame on him who is not satisfied with that.”

3. blessed

References

• “sæl” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

---

Old English

Etymology 1

From Proto-West Germanic *sal, from Proto-Germanic *salą. Cognate with Old High German sal, German Saal (“hall, large room”), Old Saxon sal, Dutch zaal. Compare sele, from a Germanic variant stem.

Alternative forms

• sel

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sæl/

Noun

sæl n (nominative plural salu)

1. room, great hall, (large) house, castle

   Wuna salu sinchroden. ― By custom, ornately decorated halls.

Declension

Declension of sæl (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	sæl	salu
accusative	sæl	salu
genitive	sæles	sala
dative	sæle	salum

Derived terms

• burgsæl (“city-hall, house”)
• folcsæl (“folk-hall”)
• hornsæl (“house with gables”)
• sælþ (“dwelling, house”)
• wīnsæl (“wine-hall”)

Related terms

• sele

Descendants

• Middle English: sal, sale, sall

Etymology 2

From Proto-West Germanic *sāli, from Proto-Germanic *sēliz.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sæːl/

Noun

sǣl m or f

1. happiness, prosperity
2. (proper) occasion, time; season, opportunity, condition, position

   Ðás wyrte man mæg niman on ǽlcne sǽl. ― This plant may be gathered at any time. (Lchdm. i. 112, 3.)

Declension

Masculine

Declension of sæl (strong a-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	sǣl	sǣlas
accusative	sǣl	sǣlas
genitive	sǣles	sǣla
dative	sǣle	sǣlum

Feminine

Declension of sæl (strong i-stem)

Case	Singular	Plural
nominative	sǣl	sǣle, sǣla
accusative	sǣl, sǣle	sǣle, sǣla
genitive	sǣle	sǣla
dative	sǣle	sǣlum

Derived terms

• sǣlan (“to take place, happen; to tie, bind, fetter, fasten: curb, restrain, confine”)
• sǣlig (“happy, prosperous”)
• sǣlige (“happily”)
• sǣliglic (“happy, blessed, fortunate”)
• sǣliglīce (“happily, blessedly, fortunately”)
• sǣlignes (“happiness”)
• sǣlþ, sȳlþ (“happiness, prosperity, blessing”)
• sǣlwang (“fertile plain”)

Descendants

• Middle English: sele, cele, seel, sel
  • English: sele, seel
  • Scots: seil

References

• John R. Clark Hall (1916), “sæl”, in A Concise Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, New York: Macmillan
• Joseph Bosworth and T. Northcote Toller (1898), “sæl”, in An Anglo-Saxon Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Oxford University Press.