English

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Noun

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eller (plural ellers)

  1. Obsolete form of alder.

Danish

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old Danish ællær, from Old Norse ella, ellar, from Proto-Germanic *aljaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos.

Pronunciation

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  • IPA(key): /ˈɛlər/, /ˈɛlɐ/, [ˈelɐ], [ˈelɒ̽]

Conjunction

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eller

  1. or
    At være eller ikke være.
    To be or not to be.
  2. nor
    Han sagde hverken ja eller nej.
    He said neither yes nor no.

Norwegian Bokmål

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Etymology

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From Old Norse ella, ellar, from Proto-Germanic *aljaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos.

Pronunciation

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  • Audio:(file)

Conjunction

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eller

  1. or
    Hun er litt rar, eller hva?She's a bit odd, or what?
    Knask eller knep?Trick or treat?
    Jeg veit ikke om han er dum eller frekk.I don't know if he's stupid or rude.
    Organisasjonen er usikker på om det er en god idé eller ikke.The organisation is unsure as to whether it's a good idea or not.

Norwegian Nynorsk

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Etymology

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From Old Norse ella, ellar, from Proto-Germanic *aljaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos.

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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eller

  1. or

References

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Swedish

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Alternative forms

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Etymology

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From Old Swedish ælla, ællar, from Old Norse ella, ellar, from Proto-Germanic *aljaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂élyos.

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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eller

  1. or
    att vara eller inte vara
    to be or not to be
    • 1974, Lasse Tennander, “Ska vi gå hem till dig [Shall We Go to Your Place ["home to you" – idiomatic]]”, in Allting som ni gör kan jag göra bättre [Anything You Do, I Can Do Better [a cover album]]‎[1], performed by Magnus Uggla:
      Ska vi gå hem till dig eller hem till mig, eller var och en hem till sitt? Ska vi göra som dom andra och ägna oss åt varandra, eller ska var och en sköta sitt?
      Shall we go to your place ["home to you" – idiomatic] or to my place [home to me], or each one ["each and one" – idiomatic] home to theirs [nominalized – neuter gender is used when there is no concrete referent, like in impersonal constructions and here, as a rule of thumb]? Shall we do like the others and spend time on each other [engage in each other as an activity – doesn't have the connotations of "devote"], or shall each one mind [take care of] theirs [nominalized]?
  2. nor
    Han sade varken ja eller nej
    He said neither yes nor no

Phrase

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eller

  1. or what?
    Skämtade hon eller?
    Was she joking or what?
    Ska du med eller?
    Are you joining or what?
    Är du go eller?
    Are you a swell guy or what? (regional, stereotypical phrase, Göteborg)

Derived terms

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References

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Anagrams

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