en (Norwegian Bokmål)
Where does "en" come from?
The Norwegian word 'en' traces its origins back to the Proto-Indo-European *h₁óynos, which simply meant 'one.' This root evolved into the Proto-Germanic *ainaz and subsequently into the Old Norse 'einn' before settling into its modern form. It is a linguistic relative of many Germanic words for 'one,' including the English word 'an'.
Full etymology tree
- en (Norwegian Bokmål), 'one'
- inherited einn (Old Norse), 'one'
- inherited *ainaz (Proto-Germanic), 'one'
- inherited *h₁óynos (Proto-Indo-European), 'one'
- derived *éy (Proto-Indo-European)
- inherited *h₁óynos (Proto-Indo-European), 'one'
- inherited *ainaz (Proto-Germanic), 'one'
- inherited einn (Old Norse), 'one'
Ancestors
- einn (Old Norse)
- *ainaz (Proto-Germanic)
- *h₁óynos (Proto-Indo-European)
Descendants and derived words
- endimensjonal (Norwegian Bokmål)
- ene (Norwegian Bokmål)
- enegget (Norwegian Bokmål)
- enhet (Norwegian Bokmål)
- enkel (Norwegian Bokmål)
- enslig (Norwegian Bokmål)
- enstemmig (Norwegian Bokmål)
- entydig (Norwegian Bokmål)
Updated July 2026
Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris