törre

Tørre is a Nordic word with related uses in Danish and Norwegian. It appears as both a verb meaning to dry something and as an adjective describing the absence of moisture.

As a verb, tørre denotes the action of removing moisture from objects or surfaces. In Danish and Norwegian, related verb forms are used to describe the process of drying, drying off, or making something dry.

As an adjective, tørre means dry. In Danish, the word forms differ by number: tør is used for the singular and tørre for the plural in ordinary descriptive contexts. For example, a single cup can be described as tør, while multiple fruits can be described as tørre. In Norwegian, a similar meaning exists and the word is used in comparable ways, though exact inflection can vary by dialect and standard form.

Etymology and cognates: tørre belongs to the North Germanic language family. It is cognate with the Swedish torr, and with Danish tør and Norwegian tørr/tør depending on dialect and standard spelling. The shared root expresses moisture absence across these languages. A closely related form is tørke, which means drought in several Nordic languages.

Usage and notes: tørre commonly appears in everyday descriptions of moisture, drying tasks, and related phrases. Its understanding is aided by recognizing the distinction between the verb form (to dry) and the adjective form (dry). The word is distinct from tørke, which refers to drought rather than the moisture state of a particular object.

See also: dryness, drought, language-specific nouns for moisture. References are typically Danish and Norwegian dictionaries or Nordic etymology resources.