# Norwegian: av gårde



## The_Red_Lion

Hi all,

What does *av gårde* mean? Here is an example:

Real Madrids keeper Ikér Casillas sto langt ute, og Acuna sendte av gårde en fantastisk lobb fra 40 meter.

Which basically means:

Real Madrid's keeper Ikér Casillas stood a long way out, and Acuna sent (av gårde) a fantastic lob from 40 metres.

But I don't understand what av gårde is adding to the sentence.

Cheers.


----------



## oskhen

The_Red_Lion said:


> Hi all,
> 
> What does *av gårde* mean? Here is an example:
> 
> Real Madrids keeper Ikér Casillas sto langt ute, og Acuna sendte av gårde en fantastisk lobb fra 40 meter.
> 
> Which basically means:
> 
> Real Madrid's keeper Ikér Casillas stood a long way out, and Acuna sent (av gårde) a fantastic lob from 40 metres.
> 
> But I don't understand what av gårde is adding to the sentence.
> 
> Cheers.


 

"Av gårde" basically means "away"; "he sent away". It is to be found in some expressions, like " han sendte av gårde" or "han drog av gårde" ("he travelled/went away"). But I agree that in most instances it seems fairly superfluous and doesn't really add much. It might be used alone, though, like in "han er av gårde i Afrika" (He is away in Africa")


By the way: I think it literally means "off of the farm".


----------



## The_Red_Lion

Ok thanks a lot for that oskhen. Your explanation is very good.


----------



## darkmatter

This probably makes no sense at all, but is "av gårde" in any way related to "avant-gaurde?"


----------



## Lemminkäinen

No. "Av gårde" is a dative expression that has its roots in Norse, while "avant-garde" is French. There might be some relation between the Norse "garðr" and "garde", but the two expressions are not related.


----------



## Pteppic

If I may be a little nitpicky, I think "off" could be an alternative translation, at least in some cases, like "Acuna sent off a fantastic lob" and "he's off (somewhere) in Africa".


----------



## Wilma_Sweden

Lemminkäinen said:


> There might be some relation between the Norse "garðr" and "garde", but the two expressions are not related.


Gård (=farm) is related to yard, and Lat. hortus, while garde is related to vård (=care), ward and guard. 

/Wilma


----------



## Andreas_Jensen

Is "av gårde" used a lot in Norway? In Denmark it's hardly used anymore... Only in a popular childrens song about three robbers that goes:

"Nu ligger mørket over land, i byen sover alle mand, vi drager _af gårde_ med sæk og med spand, både Kasper og Jesper og Jonathan"

Basically they're leaving their home to go stealing...


----------



## kirsitn

Andreas_Jensen said:


> Is "av gårde" used a lot in Norway? In Denmark it's hardly used anymore...



Yes, I would say it's a common expression in Norwegian.


----------



## Wilma_Sweden

Andreas_Jensen said:


> Is "av gårde" used a lot in Norway? In Denmark it's hardly used anymore... Only in a popular childrens song about three robbers that goes:
> 
> "Nu ligger mørket over land, i byen sover alle mand, vi drager _af gårde_ med sæk og med spand, både Kasper og Jesper og Jonathan"
> 
> Basically they're leaving their home to go stealing...


... and that's from aNorwegian book from 1955 by Thorbjørn Egner, who also wrote the songs, which may or may not influence the Danish lyrics. A childhood favourite, indeed! 

The phrase, av gårde, is not used in Swedish, though. Iväg would be used in the contexts above, and a similar expression, åstad, also exists (stad = sted, stead).

/Wilma


----------



## Andreas_Jensen

Wilma_Sweden said:


> ... and that's from aNorwegian book from 1955 by Thorbjørn Egner, who also wrote the songs, which may or may not influence the Danish lyrics. A childhood favourite, indeed!
> 
> The phrase, av gårde, is not used in Swedish, though. Iväg would be used in the contexts above, and a similar expression, åstad, also exists (stad = sted, stead).
> 
> /Wilma



Had no idea that book was Norwegian!  Then it might be a "norwegianism", since it's not used anywhere else, as far as I know. 

In Denmark the usual expression as "afsted" which is equal to the Swedish variant (but that doesn't fit in the song).


----------



## Wilma_Sweden

Andreas_Jensen said:


> In Denmark the usual expression as "afsted" which is equal to the Swedish variant (but that doesn't fit in the song).


True, it doesn't 'flow'... Swedish version: Nu är det mörkt kring stad och land, nu sover folk så gott de kan. Då drar vi iväg med vår säck och vår spann, både Kasper och Jesper och Jonatan.

/Wilma


----------



## Andreas_Jensen

Well, now I want the Norwegian version   And it's not off-topic as it will have to include "av gårde" ;-)


----------



## kirsitn

http://members.fortunecity.com/christing/kardemommeby/rovervise.htm


----------

