gubbe

Danish

Etymology

From either Norwegian gubbe or Swedish gubbe.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈɡubə]

Noun

gubbe c (singular definite gubben, plural indefinite gubber)

1. (humorous) An old man, geezer, geriatric

   Synonyms: olding, gamling

Declension

Declension of gubbe

common gender	singular		plural
	indefinite	definite	indefinite	definite
nominative	gubbe	gubben	gubber	gubberne
genitive	gubbes	gubbens	gubbers	gubbernes

References

• “gubbe” in Den Danske Ordbog

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Unknown, but some believe it to be a shortening of the word godbonde (“good farmer, husband”), also thought to be borrowed directly from Swedish gubbe. Probably akin to the Nynorsk verb guve (“to stand crouching”), which is from Old Norse gaupn (“something bent”).

Noun

gubbe m (definite singular gubben, indefinite plural gubber, definite plural gubbene)

1. An old man, geezer, husband, man of the house (lovingly or derogatory)

   En hvithåret gubbe gikk forbi.

   A white-haired old man walked by.

   Jeg skal spørre gubben.

   I'll ask the man of the house.

   Hva er det den gamle gubben vil nå, da?

   What does the old geezer want now?

2. A stick of dynamite

   Noen kasta gubber mot butikken min!

   Someone threw dynamite sticks at my store!

3. (colloquial, definite) father, old man

   Er gubben hjemme?

   Is the old man (your father) home?

Synonyms

• (old man): gamling, gråskjegg, knark, metusalem, olding

References

• “gubbe” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “gubbe” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Unknown. Compare Swedish gubbe.

Noun

gubbe m (definite singular gubben, indefinite plural gubbar, definite plural gubbane)

1. An old man, geezer, husband, man of the house (lovingly or derogatory)

   Ein kvithåra gubbe gjekk forbi.

   A white-haired old man walked by.

   Eg skal spørja gubben

   I'll ask the man of the house.

   Kva er det den gamle gubben vil no, då?

   What does the old geezer want now?

2. A stick of dynamite

   Nokon kasta gubbar mot butikken min!

   Someone threw dynamite sticks at my store!

Synonyms

• (old man): gamling, gråskjegg, knark, metusalem, olding

Derived terms

• tregubbe

References

• “gubbe” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

Swedish

Swedish Wikipedia has an article on:

gubbe

Wikipedia ^sv

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɡɵbːˌɛ/
• Rhymes: -²ɵbɛ

Noun

gubbe c

1. (informal, sometimes derogatory) an older or elderly man

   Gå rakt fram, mot gubbarna där borta

   Go straight ahead, towards those old men over there

   gubbar och gummor

   old men and women

2. (informal) one's husband

   Jag gick till teatern med min gubbe

   I went to the theater with my husband

3. (informal, by extension, often endearing) a young boy; a little man, a little guy

   lilla gubben

   little man

4. (informal) a (male) character (especially in a game or artwork), a guy (referred to generically)

   Hur många gubbar ska jag anfalla med?

   How many guys/units should I attack with?

   ett plattformsspel med en gubbe som hoppar

   a platformer with a guy that jumps

   samla på Warhammer-gubbar

   collect Warhammer miniatures

   Hon gillade att rita konstiga gubbar

   She liked to draw strange characters

5. (colloquial) a cheeky attempt

   Nej du [used as a vocative here]! Den gubben går inte!

   Nope! Not falling for that one!

6. (dialectal) a small lump
7. (slang) one gram (of an illegal drug)
   • 2021, Diamant Salihu, Tills alla dör [Until everyone dies], Mondial, →ISBN, page 79:

     Fem »gubbar« på 0,8 gram styck kunde lätt gömmas i fickan. Han sålde en »gubbe« kokain för mellan 800 och 1 000 kronor.

     Five 0.8 gram pieces could easily be hidden in one's pocket. He sold one "gram" of cocaine for between 800 and 1 000 kronor.

Usage notes

• Sometimes used ironically to refer to friends, regardless of age, especially in the plural (similar to old chap in English).
• The collocation "gammal gubbe" is common towards the elderly end of the scale (or when emphasizing age, in a sometimes derogatory sense).
• Another (jocular) colloquial plural is gubbs.

Declension

Declension of gubbe

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	gubbe	gubbes
	definite	gubben	gubbens
plural	indefinite	gubbar	gubbars
	definite	gubbarna	gubbarnas

Derived terms

• dynamitgubbe (“stick of dynamite”)
• farsgubbe (“dad, old man”)
• flyttgubbe (“mover”)
• ful gubbe (“dirty old man”)
• fullgubbe
• gubbaktig
• gubben i lådan (“jack-in-the-box”)
• gubben i månen (“the man in the moon”)
• gubbig
• gubbjävel
• gubbkeps (“flat cap”)
• gubbröra
• gubbsjuk
• gubbslem
• gubbsnygg (“old man handsome”)
• gubbstrutt
• gubbtjyv
• halmgubbe (“straw man”)
• hänga gubbe (“hangman (game)”)
• jordgubbe (“strawberry”)
• korvgubbe
• krutgubbe
• lyktgubbe
• pepparkaksgubbe (“gingerbread man”)
• sjutton gubbar
• snuskgubbe
• snögubbe (“snowman”)
• sopgubbe (“garbage man”)
• sömngubbe (“sleep (in the corner of the eye)”)
• tomtegubbe
• äckelgubbe

Descendants

• → Finnish: gube

See also

• gamling
• gumma

References

• gubbe in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• gubbe in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• gubbe in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• Slangopedia