Norwegian

Proper noun

Helvete

1. a gorge located in the valley of Espedalen in Sør-Fron and Gausdal municipalities

From the time when mining industry was existent in Espedalen; coined as a result of the hardships involved when crossing the valley with horse and sleigh, thereby making it a "****". A local folk tale also claims that a priest who was visiting the valley once stated that (Norwegian Nynorsk): No er eg visst den einaste presten i Noregs land som kan seie han har vore i Helvete, og som har sloppe heil-skinna ut att. ("Now I am probably the only priest in the lands of Norway who can say that he has been in ****, and has escaped it safe and sound.")

References

• website describing the valley

Norwegian Bokmål

Noun

helvete n (virtually never inflected); genitive helvetes

1. ****; a place of suffering for the damned.

   Noen tror de fordømte kommer til helvete.

   Some people believe that the damned are sent to ****. (literally "that the damned come to ****")

   I kveld står jeg her i Kristi sted, jeg taler sikkert til mange i kveld som vet de er uomvendte. Du vet at om du stupte død om på gulvet i dette øyeblikk, så stupte du like i helvete. from Norwegian Wikiquote, said by Ole Hallesby (1879 - 1961)

   Tonight I stand here in Christ's stead, it's for sure that I am speaking to many who know they are not converted tonight. You know that if you fell dead to the floor in this very moment, you would fall straight to ****.

2. A place, or a circumstance, connected with great suffering in life.

   Jeg drar aldri til det stedet igjen, det var et helvete.

   I'm never going to that place again, it was like ****.

Derived terms

• gjøre helvete hett for
• gå til helvete
• veien til helvete er brolagt med gode forsetter

Synonyms

place of suffering

Etymology 2

From the noun

Interjection

helvete

1. ****!, ****!, damn!

   Helvete, hva gikk galt?

   Damn it, what went wrong?

   **** i helvete!

   Damn (it)!

   Dra til helvete!

   Go to ****!

   Hva i helvetet er det du vil?

   What the **** do you want?

Synonyms

• ****
• satan

Derived terms

• helvetes
• inn i helvete
• hva i helvete
• dra til helvete

See also

• helvede
• helvetes

References

• “helvete” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• “helvete” in The Bokmål Dictionary.

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology 1

From Old Norse helvíti ("****"), compound word of hel, Hel ("the goddess of the realm of the dead") (itself from Proto-Germanic *haljō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‎(“to cover, hide, conceal”)) and víti ("punishment"). Compare Swedish helvete, Danish helvede, Icelandic helvíti, Old High German hellawîzi, Old Saxon helliwiti and Old English hellewite.

Noun

helvete n (virtually never inflected); genitive helvetes

1. ****; a place of suffering for the damned.

   Somme trur dei fordømde kjem til helvete.

   Some people believe that the damned are sent to ****. (literally "that the damned comes to ****")

   No er eg visst den einaste presten i Noregs land som kan seie han har vore i Helvete, og som har sloppe heil-skinna ut att. article in the Norwegian Nynorsk edition of Wikipedia

   Now I am probably the only priest in the lands of Norway who can say that he has been in ****, and has escaped it safe and sound.

2. A place, or a circumstance, connected with great suffering in life.

   Eg dreg aldri til den staden igjen, han var eit helvete.

   I'm never going to that place again, it was like ****.

Derived terms

• gjere helvete heitt for
• gå til helvete
• vegen til helvete er brulagt med gode føremål

Synonyms

place of suffering

Etymology 2

From the noun

Interjection

helvete

1. ****!, ****!, damn!

   Helvete, kva gjekk galt?

   Damn it, what went wrong?

   **** i helvete!

   Damn (it)!

   Dra til helvete!

   Go to ****!

   Kva i helvetet er det du vil?

   What the **** do you want?

Synonyms

• ****
• satan

Derived terms

• helvetes
• inn i helvete
• kva i helvete
• dra til helvete

See also

• helvetes

References

• “helvete” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• “helvete” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Etymology

From Old Norse helvíti, from hel (itself from Proto-Germanic *haljō, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *ḱel- ‎(“to cover, hide, conceal”)) + víti. In old Norse mythology, the god Loke had a daughter called Hel, who ruled the death realm, Niefelheim. Helvete is a combination of her name and the Old Norse word víti, meaning "punishment". Helvete thus means, the punishment of Hel. Compare Norwegian helvete, Danish helvede, Icelandic helvíti.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈhɛlvɛˌtɛ/, /ˈhɛlveːˌtɛ/

Noun

helvete n

1. ****; the place where sinners are said to go after death, according to some religions.
2. A place, or a circumstance, connected with great suffering in life.

Declension

Interjection

helvete

1. a curse