fuldkommen

fuldkommen is a Danish and Norwegian word meaning “completed,” “finished,” or “perfect.” Its literal sense is derived from the Old Norse terms fulr (full) + kunn (know, command), forming an adjective that indicates a state of being fully known or accomplished. In modern usage, it is primarily encountered in literary, biblical, or formal contexts rather than everyday conversation, where more common synonyms such as fuldendt (finished) or perfekt (perfect) may be preferred.

The word appears in the Danish National Bank’s dictionary (DBD) and the Norwegian dictionary Kunnskapsforlaget, where it is defined as “finished, complete, thorough.” In theological literature, fuldkommen is frequently used to describe a state of spiritual completeness or full realization of God’s will, particularly in Luther’s writings translated into Danish. In everyday Danish, the phrase "en fuldkommen løsning" (a perfect solution) can be used, though such usage is relatively rare in conversational speech.

Because of its specialized use, fuldkommen is not commonly listed in general English–Danish or Norwegian–English bilingual dictionaries. However, it is included in specialized lexical databases, such as the Danish Linguistic Data Consortium, and is occasionally seen in historical Danish texts from the 18th and 19th centuries. Its cognates across the Germanic family, like German "vollkommen" and English "complete," illustrate its shared Indo‑European roots.

Overall, fuldkommen remains a precise term within Danish and Norwegian vocabulary, chiefly applied in contexts that require a sense of full completion or absolute perfection.