Dødt

Dødt is the neuter singular form of the Norwegian adjective dødd? No, dødt is the neuter form of the adjective død, meaning dead or lifeless. It is used to describe singular neuter nouns, typically when the noun’s gender is neuter (et-ord). For example, et dødt tre means a dead tree.

In contrast, the masculine and feminine indefinite form is død, as in en død mann or en død kvinne. The definite forms follow the standard Norwegian patterns: den døde mannen (the dead man) for masculine, det døde treet (the dead tree) for neuter, and de døde personene (the dead people) for plural. When describing plural neuter or plural nouns in the indefinite form, døde is used, as in døde trær (dead trees).

The word dødt is widely used in everyday language, scientific and technical contexts, and in news reporting to describe living beings that have died or inanimate things that are lifeless. It can also appear in figurative expressions to describe something that is no longer active or effective, such as dødt materiale (dead material) or dødt språk (a dead language), though the latter is often expressed with more specific terminology depending on context.

Etymology traces dødt to the Danish/Norwegian common root dø (to die) and its past participle form, with cognates in other Scandinavian languages, such as Swedish dött and Danish dødt. The construction mirrors general Scandinavian adjective patterns, where the neuter form accompanies et- nouns.

Overall, dødt functions as a standard grammatical variant of the adjective dø d in Norwegian, reserved for neuter nouns and used across a wide range of descriptive and figurative contexts to denote lifelessness or absence of vitality.