War, law & rule

ombudsman

Old Norse umboðsmaðr was a man acting on someone's commission; Sweden's 1809 constitution created a justitieombudsman to watch over officials. Denmark copied the office in 1955 and New Zealand in 1962, and the Swedish name went round the world with it — into German, French, Spanish, Russian and Japanese.

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The road to English

From Old Norse to Icelandic

From Old Norse to Danish

From Old Norse to Norwegian

From English to German

From English to French

From English to Dutch

From English to Spanish

From English to Japanese

From English to Russian

1200Old Norse

Hops are evenly spaced; labels show the year each form is first attested.

ombudsman

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