Meaning & use
Norseman
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
a person from Scandinavia, especially one who lived during the Viking Age and traveled, traded, or raided by sea.
Grammar: Countable and usually capitalized; the plural is irregular: one Norseman, two Norsemen.
Patterns
- a Norseman from Norway
- Norsemen settled in something
A Norseman from Norway led the small group of settlers.
The museum has tools and weapons that Norsemen left behind.
In the story, a Norseman sails west in search of new land.
nouncountableold-fashionedliterary
a man from Norway or another Scandinavian country, in older or literary use.
Grammar: Old-fashioned and literary; today say Norwegian, Dane, or Swede when you mean a modern person.
Patterns
- a tall Norseman
- Norsemen of the north
In the old poem, a tall Norseman guards the gate.
Nineteenth-century writers often described Norwegians simply as Norsemen.
Word forms
| plural | Norsemen |
|---|
Common combinations
- a Norseman from Norway
- A Norseman from Norway settled on this island.
- Norsemen settled in …
- Norsemen settled in parts of northern Britain.
- Norsemen raided the coast
- Norsemen raided the coast in the ninth century.
- a band of Norsemen
- A band of Norsemen sailed up the river.
- Norsemen and their ships
- The exhibit is about Norsemen and their ships.
Synonyms and how they differ
- Viking
- More common today and often suggests raiding and warfare, while Norseman is a wider word for a Scandinavian person of that period.
- Scandinavian
- A modern word for anyone from Norway, Sweden, or Denmark; use it for present-day people, not for the Viking Age.
- Northman
- An older literary word with much the same meaning; it sounds more archaic than Norseman.
Word family
Commonly confused: Norseman or Norman? Norseman or Norwegian?
Norseman vs Norman
A Norman was a descendant of Vikings who settled in northern France; the Normans invaded England in 1066. Norseman refers to the earlier Scandinavian people themselves.
Norseman vs Norwegian
Norwegian means a person from modern Norway. Norseman is a historical term and can also cover Danes and Swedes of the Viking Age.
Practice
Which sentence uses the plural correctly?
Choose one answer.
The plural of Norseman is Norsemen, with a change from -man to -men, as in 'two Norsemen arrived by boat'. 'Norsemans' wrongly adds -s, 'Norseman' is singular, and 'Norsesmen' is not a word.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Norseman”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.