mennlig

Mennlig is a historical or archaic Norwegian adjective meaning male or masculine. In modern Norwegian, the standard term is mannlig, and mennlig is now primarily encountered in linguistic discussion or in older texts as a variant spelling. The form is generally regarded as obsolete or dialectal outside specialized scholarship.

Etymology and form sit within the same Germanic root as other -lig adjectives. It is built from mann meaning man and the suffix -lig meaning like or having the quality of. The word thus functions to describe male gender or masculine traits, but its use declined as the standard orthography shifted to mannlig.

Historical usage and attestations show mennlig in old Norwegian texts, including legal, ecclesiastical, and scholarly writings from earlier centuries. In this historical sense, it overlapped with or appeared alongside the standard mannlig, particularly in texts produced during periods of Danish-Norwegian linguistic influence.

Modern status and usage note that mennlig is not used in contemporary, everyday Norwegian. When discussing language history, etymology, or old documents, scholars may cite mennlig as a historical variant. For current language use, mannlig remains the appropriate everyday term to denote masculine gender or characteristics.

See also

- Mannlig

- Masculine (grammatical gender)

- Human/ menneskelig (for contrast with non-gendered or human-focused terms in Norwegian)