Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

gissel m, n ‎(definite singular gisselen or gisselet or gislet, indefinite plural gisler or gissel, definite plural gislene or gisla)

1. a hostage

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Old Norse gísl

Noun

gissel m ‎(definite singular gisselen, indefinite plural gislar, definite plural gislane)

1. a hostage

Swedish

Etymology

Old Swedish gisl and the older gesl, having feminine gender. Used in the 1541 Bible translation with the plural gisslar. Corresponding to Old Norse geisli, related to Old Norse geirr ‎(“spear”), Old English ger ‎(“spear”) and English gear. Cognates include Icelandic geisli, German Geißel, Dutch gesel.

Noun

gissel n

1. a scourge, a whip, a rod
2. a pain
3. a torturer, an adversary, a critic

Declension

Related terms

• gissla

Synonyms

• plåga
• piska
• spö
• stav

References

• gissel in Elof Hellquist, Svensk etymologisk ordbok (1st ed., 1922)