høje

Høje is a Danish word with several related uses in language and place names. As an adjective, høje is the plural form of høj and is used to describe objects that are high, tall, or elevated when talking about multiple items, for example høje bygninger or høje bakker. As a noun, høje can also mean hills, heights, or mounds in the plural sense, referring to raised landforms rather than a single hill.

In toponymy and geographic description, høje frequently appears in Danish place names to indicate elevated terrain. The element is common in regional naming and can signal hilly or elevated landscapes in a given area. The best-known example in contemporary administration is Høje-Taastrup Municipality, located in the Capital Region of Denmark west of Copenhagen. This and other names reflect historical descriptions of the landscape at the time the places were named.

Etymology and linguistic context place høje within the North Germanic family of languages. The word is related to cognates in neighboring languages, such as Swedish hög or höga and Norwegian høy or høye, all tracing back to a common root meaning height, hill, or mound in the ancestral language. Across Danish, Norwegian, and Swedish, these forms show how the concept of height and raised land has been a persistent element in place names and everyday description.