Scandinavian

American  

[skan-duh-ney-vee-uhn] / ˌskæn dəˈneɪ vi ən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Scandinavia, its inhabitants, or their languages.

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noun

1. a native or inhabitant of Scandinavia.

2. the group of languages composed of Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Old Norse, Swedish, and the language of the Faeroe Islands; North Germanic. Scand, Scand.

Other Word Forms

• anti-Scandinavian adjective
• non-Scandinavian adjective
• pro-Scandinavian adjective

Etymology

Origin of Scandinavian

First recorded in 1775–85; Scandinavi(a) + -an

Example Sentences

“What about climate change?” a man with a Scandinavian accent asked.

From Literature

The Scandinavian nation sent thousands of troops to serve in the global war on terror, and lost more soldiers per capita than any North Atlantic Treaty Organization ally in Afghanistan.

From The Wall Street Journal

I went to the island's modest-looking parliament, the body of it built in a Scandinavian style with wooden slats and painted the same burnished red as the Greenlandic flags fluttering by the entrance.

From BBC

Famously stoic Scandinavians have cultivated concepts like "hygge" -- or coziness -- to get them through the long winter nights.

From Barron's

Mr. Puryear absorbed Scandinavian principles of design while studying printmaking at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Stockholm.

From The Wall Street Journal