redsel

Norwegian Bokmål

A child expressing fear or dread during nighttime.

Etymology

From Old Norse hræzla (“dread, fear”), from hræða (“to frighten, be afraid of”) (with the suffix -sla), from Proto-Germanic *hrēdijaną.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈrɛtsəl/, /ˈrɛdsəl/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -əl
• Hyphenation: red‧sel

Noun

redsel m (definite singular redselen, indefinite plural redsler, definite plural redslene)

1. (uncountable) fear, dread; horror (a strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion or feeling caused by actual or perceived danger or threat)

   Synonyms: forferdelse, gru, skrekk

   • 1872, Henrik Ibsen, Kongs-Emnerne, page 102:

     rædsel for straf og dom

     fear of punishment and judgment

   • 1877, Henrik Ibsen, Samfundets støtter, page 171:

     jeg har en rædsel for al denne skikkelighed!

     I have a fear that this decency!

   • 1881, Henrik Ibsen, Gengangere, page 164:

     [hun] stirrer på ham i målløs rædsel

     [she] stares at him in speechless horror

   • 1917, Knut Hamsun, Markens Grøde II, page 222:

     spil er ikke overmot, det er ikke engang mot, det er rædsel

     games are not courage, it is not even courage, it is fear

   • 1917, Knut Hamsun, Markens Grøde II, page 162:

     Inger avviste denne tanke med rædsel

     Inger rejected this thought with horror

   • 2002, Vibeke Løkkeberg, Purpur:

     et øyeblikk følte han en lammende redsel

     for a moment he felt a paralyzing fear

   • 1997, Ketil Bjørnstad, Veien til Dhaka, page 317:

     jeg glemmer aldri redselen i øynene dine da jeg fortalte deg at jeg var gravid

     I will never forget the fear in your eyes when I told you I was pregnant

2. (countable) a fear, dread; horror (a sense of fear induced by something or someone)

   Synonyms: gru, grufullhet

   • 1926, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Samlede Digte I, page 41:

     skal denne mur mine tanker slaa, saadan med sne-is og rædsel staa

     let this wall strike my thoughts, so with snow-ice and horror stand

   • 1875, Henrik Ibsen, Catilina, page 33:

     hvad siger du? O, rædsel!

     what do you say? Oh, horror!

   • 1872, Henrik Ibsen, Kongs-Emnerne, page 113:

     der vil komme en rædselens tid over landet

     there will come a time of horror over the land

   • 1885, Henrik Ibsen, Brand, page 93:

     ville må du stærk og glad igennem alle rædslers rad

     would you have to be strong and happy through the wheel of all horrors

   • 1907, Bernt Lie, Mot Overmagt, page 230:

     det var en rædsel at høre

     that was dreadful to hear

   • 1922, Nils Kjær, Samlede Skrifter II, page 75:

     [jeg svermer for] ægteskabet med alle dets rædsler

     [I swarm for] marriage with all its horrors

   • 1936, Adresseavisen, page 85:

     krigens redsler

     the horrors of war

   • 1994, Karsten Alnæs, Sabina:

     redslene fra Flanderns skyttergraver og Atlanterhavets ubåter

     the horrors of Flanders' trenches and Atlantic submarines

   • 2003, Toril Brekke, Brostein, page 328:

     redslene under en brann i byen

     the horrors of a city fire

References

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

Anagrams

• sedler, sleder