vittra
Swedish
editEtymology 1
editBorrowed from German wittern (“to scent”), verwittern (“to erode”), both from Middle High German weter (“weather”). Compare Danish forvitre and Norwegian Nynorsk forvitra.
Verb
editvittra (present vittrar, preterite vittrade, supine vittrat, imperative vittra)
- (sometimes with bort (“away”) or other particles) to break down into small particles (often of mountains and the like, through natural processes), to weather
- Synonym: (completely) förvittra
- to pick up a scent; to smell (also figuratively)
- Han såg att hunden vittrade något
- He could tell the dog was picking up some scent
- Laget vittrade blod när motståndarlagets bästa spelare utvisades
- The team smelt blood when the best player in the opposing team was sent off
Usage notes
edit- Sometimes used figuratively similar to how wither would be used in English in (sense 1), though vissna is closer to the literal meaning.
- See vittring to get a sense of how (sense 2) might be used.
Conjugation
editConjugation of vittra (weak)
Active | Passive | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
Infinitive | vittra | vittras | ||
Supine | vittrat | vittrats | ||
Imperative | vittra | — | ||
Imper. plural1 | vittren | — | ||
Present | Past | Present | Past | |
Indicative | vittrar | vittrade | vittras | vittrades |
Ind. plural1 | vittra | vittrade | vittras | vittrades |
Subjunctive2 | vittre | vittrade | vittres | vittrades |
Participles | ||||
Present participle | vittrande | |||
Past participle | vittrad | |||
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs. |
Related terms
editSee also
editEtymology 2
editNoun
editvittra c
- (folklore) a mythological, underground-dwelling creature from Scandinavian folklore
Declension
editDeclension of vittra | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Singular | Plural | |||
Indefinite | Definite | Indefinite | Definite | |
Nominative | vittra | vittran | vittror | vittrorna |
Genitive | vittras | vittrans | vittrors | vittrornas |
See also
editReferences
edit- vittra in Svensk ordbok (SO)
- vittra in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
- vittra in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
- vittra in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)