stokken

Stokken is a noun form used in Norwegian and Danish to refer to a long, slender piece of wood or other material that functions as a pole, rod, or staff. The base form is stokk, and stokken is the definite form used when speaking of a particular stick or staff.

Common senses include walking sticks, staffs for guiding livestock, tent poles, handles for tools, and components of equipment such as flags, crutches, or scaffolding poles. In historical and ceremonial contexts, staffs or staves carry symbolic meanings and may be borne by leaders, clergy, or participants in processions.

In contemporary language, stokken can also appear in figurative uses to denote support or guiding principles, depending on the context. The term is primarily a general designation for a flexible, rod-like object rather than a specific type of stick, with more precise terms used for particular kinds of sticks in everyday speech.

The word is closely related to cognate terms in other Germanic languages that refer to sticks or supports, reflecting a common semantic field across the family of related languages.