The Word Collection

Examples of words from the word collection

pornogrosserer, Noun 1978

In the word collection you can find linguistic evidence of historical events and social debates that have taken place since 1955. Among other things, you can find many words that start with porno- dating from the years around the release of pornography in Denmark in 1969. Here you can find, among other things, the word pornogrosserer, which is used in an article from 1978 that deals with the fact that the magazine Weekend Sex has gone bankrupt.

Other words from this period are, for example, pornobølge (porn wave), pornogris (porn pig), pornofabrikation (pornography production) and pornotid (porn time).

poptimist, Noun 1966

The word poptimist is used in a newspaper article from 1966. The article is about the war in Vietnam and uses the word poptimist to describe a particular state of mind; a mixture of pessimism and optimism.

Poptimist is a so-called telescope word; a word that is formed by two words being, so to speak, pushed into each other like the tubes in a telescope antenna. In poptimist, the first letter of pessimism is combined with the word optimist. More recent examples of telescope words are, for example, Brexit, vlog and burkini.

agurketidsdebattør, Noun 1995

The Danish word agurketid (cucumber time) has been known in print since 1897. The word probably comes from the German Sauregurkenzeit, which is believed to originate from traders in Berlin who used the term to describe the quiet time in the summer when the cucumbers ripened and were pickled and sold to the Berliners.

Today, agurketid is used to describe a period in the summer when the media may have difficulty finding something to write about.

About the project "Ordsamlingen.dk"

The Danish Language Council has been collecting new words and phrases since its establishment in 1955, and today the Language Council's word collection contains approximately 1.1 million word slips divided into approximately 475,000 different words. Each word slip not only indicates the individual word, but also an authentic piece of text that shows the word in use and indicates its meaning.

The Danish Language Council has received support from the A.P. Møller and Wife Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation for General Purposes of DKK 2 million and from the Shipowner Carsten Brebøl's Public Benefit Foundation of DKK 200,000 for the Ordsamlingen.dk project.

The project represents both a future-proofing of important cultural heritage, an accessibility of Danish language history for all interested parties and a significant contribution to the Danish research infrastructure.

At the end of the project (expected in 2026), it will be possible for everyone to access the complete word collection on the website ordsamlingen.dk.

The word collection isn’t open to visitors. And the Danish Language Council isn’t open to visitors either.

But during SPROGENSE in early May, the Danish Language Council opens its doors for guided tours.

About the Danish Language Council

The Danish Language Council is a state research institution under the Ministry of Culture. The Council was established in 1955 and has three main tasks:

• To monitor the development of the Danish language, for example by registering new words
• To answer questions about Danish language and language use
• To determine Danish orthography and edit and publish the official Danish dictionary of orthography, cf. the Orthography Act

Since 2019, the Danish Language Council has been located in Bogense on North Funen.

You can read more about the Council's tasks and organization here.

SPROGENSE – a friendly, hands on language festival in Bogense

On the first Friday and Saturday of May, Bogense turns into a welcoming language festival where everyone is invited. The cosy streets and the old harbour buzz with language – in conversations, debates, activities, workshops, experiences and music.

You can also enjoy a series of timely, entertaining talks focusing on the richness of language, its challenges and its possibilities. SPROGENSE is a warm celebration of all things language, with shared knowledge and time to dive deeper.

At SPROGENSE, you can go behind the scenes at the Danish Language Council and hear about current projects.