stå

From Old Danish staa, either from an unattested Eastern Old Norse *stá or borrowed from Middle Low German stān. Ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stāną, cognate with German stehen, Dutch staan. Compare also Swedish stå, Norwegian Bokmål stå, English stand, Latin stāre, stō.

• IPA^(key):
• Rhymes: -ɑː

stå (imperative stå, infinitive at stå, present tense står, past tense stod, perfect tense har stået)

1. to stand
2. to be, appear (in a text), to say, to be written

   Hvor står det henne?

   Where is that written?

   Der står i Biblen, at ...

   It says in the Bible that ...

stå

1. standstill, halt

Only used in these expressions:

• i stå
• gå i stå
• sætte i stå

Noun use of the verb stå.

• stande (obsolete in both Bokmål and in Nynorsk)

stå

1. (only idiomatic, not inflected) stop up, stop short, break down

   Forhandlingene gikk i stå.

   The negotations broke down.

2. (only in specific cases) a stand

   Store stå.

   A standing area for spectators at Bislett stadion in Oslo, literally: "the great stand"

3. (slang, not inflected) erection, hard-on

stop up, stop short, break down

erection

• ståpikk
• ereksjon

From Old Norse standa; compare with Swedish stå, Danish stå, English stand, Latin stāre, stō.

stå (present tense står, past tense sto or stod, past participle stått, passive infinitive stås, present participle stående, imperative stå)

1. to stand.

   Bussen var så full at han måtte stå.

   The bus was so full he had to stand.

   Stå stille, sa jeg!

   I said, stand still!

2. to be, be located.

   Det står en vase på bordet.

   There is a vase on the table.

3. to stand still, be stopped

   Toget stod i ti minutter grunnet strømbrudd.

   The train was stopped for ten minutes due to a power failure.

4. to take place, happen

   Når står bryllupet?

   When is the wedding?

   Slaget ved Waterloo stod i 1815.

   The battle of Waterloo took place in 1815.

5. to reach, be at

   Vannspruten stod langt over brygga.

   The spurt of water reached way over the pier.

6. to be written, to say

   Tror du ikke på meg? Det står i avisen.

   Don't you believe me? It says so in the paper.

7. (tests and exams) to pass

   Hvordan gikk det, stod du til eksamen?

   How did it go, did you pass your exam. (literally: "how did it go, did you stand to the exam?")

8. to be in a certain situation or condition

   Minst 175.000 nordmenn står uten fastlege.

   At least 175.000 Norwegians are without a primary care provider.

   Leiligheten står tom.

   The apartment is empty (in the sense that it is out of use).

to stand

to be located

to stand still, be stopped

to take place, happen

to reach, be at

• “stå” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• “stå” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “stand”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

• åst, såt

• (verb): standa, stande (non-standard since 2012)

From Old Norse standa, from Proto-Germanic *standaną. The infinitive stå and present tense står, could be derived irregularly from standa, but are likely derived from an Eastern Scandinavian variant. This could have come from an unattested (Eastern) Old Norse form *stá, or from the Middle Low German form stān. Both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stāną, which like *standaną, ultimately derives from the Proto-Indo-European root *steh₂- (“to stand (up)”). The noun derives from the verb. Compare Swedish stå, Danish stå, English stand, Latin stāre, stō.

• IPA^(key): /stoː/

stå (present tense står, past tense stod, past participle stått, passive infinitive ståast, present participle ståande, imperative stå)

1. (intransitive) to stand

   Bussen var så full at han måtte stå.

   The bus was so full, he had to stand.

   Stå stille, sa eg!

   Stand still, I said!

2. (intransitive) to be, be located

   Det står ei vase på bordet.

   There is a vase on the table.

3. (intransitive) to stand still, be stopped

   Toget stod i ti minutt grunna straumbrot.

   The train was stopped for ten minutes due to a power outage.

4. (intransitive) to take place, happen

   Når står bryllaupet?

   When is the wedding?

   Slaget ved Waterloo stod i 1815.

   The battle of Waterloo took place in 1815.

5. (intransitive) to reach, be at

   Vasspruten stod langt over brygga.

   The spurt of water reached way over the pier.

6. (intransitive) to be written, to say

   Trur du ikkje på meg? Det står i avisa.

   Don't you believe me? It says so in the newspaper.

7. (intransitive, with a preposition) to pass (tests, exams, classes)

   Antonym: stryke

   Korleis gjekk det? Stod du til eksamen?

   How did it go? Did you pass your exam

   (literally, “How did it go? Did you stand to the exam?”)

   Eg stod på eksamen!

   I passed the exam!

   (literally, “I stood on the exam!”)

   Eg stod i faget òg.

   I passed the class as well.

   (literally, “I passed in the class as well.”)

(to stand):

(to be located):

(to stand still, be stopped):

(to take place, happen):

(to reach, be at):

stå m (definite singular ståen, indefinite plural ståar, definite plural ståane)

1. (only, idiomatic, not inflected) stop up, stop short, break down

   Forhandlingane gjekk i stå.

   The negotiations broke down.

2. (slang) erection, hard-on
3. (only in specific cases) a stand

   Store stå

   A standing area for spectators at Bislett stadion in Oslo, literally: "the great stand"

(stop up, stop short, breakdown):

(erection):

• ståpikk
• ereksjon

• “stå” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.
• “stå”, in Norsk Ordbok: ordbok over det norske folkemålet og det nynorske skriftmålet, Oslo: Samlaget, 1950-2016
• “stå” in The Ordnett Dictionary
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “stand”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

• såt, åst

From Old Swedish stā, possibly from an unattested eastern Old Norse stá, or via early Middle Low German stān. Both ultimately from Proto-Germanic *stāną, from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-. Or from earlier Swedish stånda, from Old Swedish staanda, standa, stonda, from Old Norse standa, from Proto-Germanic *stāną, from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-. In any case from Proto-Indo-European *steh₂-.

Compare German stehen, Dutch staan, Danish stå, Norwegian Bokmål stå, English stand, Latin stāre, stō.

• IPA^(key): /stoː/
• Rhymes: -oː

stå (present står, preterite stod, supine stått, imperative stå)

1. stand; be in an upright position
   • 1904, Selma Lagerlöf, Herr Arnes penningar‎:

     Då sir Archie gick förbi Elsalill, lade han sin hand på hennes för att få veta om det verkligen var en död, som stod där.

     When sir Archie passed Elsalill he put his hand on hers to make sure if it really was a dead one that was standing there.

   • 1930, Agnes von Krusenstjerna, Kvinnogatan‎:

     En dag hade de stått över de ångande baljorna och gnott kläderna, heta i ansiktena av den varma och fuktiga luften.

     One day they had been standing over the steaming tubs scrubbing the clothes with their faces hot from the warm and humid air.

2. (of machinery) be at a standstill, not be running
3. (of events) be held, take place, happen
   • 1906, Selma Lagerlöf, Nils Holgerssons underbara resa‎:

     "Vad står nu på?" frågade förargåsen.

     'Now what is up?' asked the leader goose.

4. be written down
   • 1912, August Strindberg, Ett halvt ark papper‎:

     Där stod det, hela denna vackra historia, som avspeglats på den korta tiden av två år; allt han ville glömma stod där; ett stycke mänskoliv på ett halvt ark papper.

     "There it was written, this entire beautiful story that had taken place in just two short years; all he wanted to forget was written there; a piece of a human life on half a sheet of paper.

5. (reflexive) to last, to keep (not spoil)

   Synonym: hålla

   Mjölken står sig längre i kylskåpet

   The milk lasts longer in the fridge

6. (reflexive) to hold up, to stand up

   Den gamla teorin står sig än

   The old theory still holds up

   Den står sig väl i konkurrensen

   It stands up well to the competition

7. (reflexive) to make it (not succumb or the like)

   Med en stor frukost så står man sig till lunch

   A big breakfast will see you through to lunch

• The verb stå is often used in constructions such as stå och [another verb]. These constructions impart some of the same sense that is commonly expressed in English through the use of a present participle, that is they show that it is an ongoing activity. Constructions with verbs that originally meant "stand" also happen in other languages; compare Spanish estar (“to be”), which is a cognate and also originally meant "to stand" (although it does not carry that meaning anymore). The standing as such is a minor issue:
  • Vad står du och glor på? ― What are you staring at?
  • Han bara står och mumlar ― He is just mumbling

• Note that the verbs sitta (“to sit”) and ligga (“to lie down”) may be used in a similar manner if the activity is taking place sitting or lying down.

• The past participle (stånden) is virtually obsolete; it is only used occasionally in modern-day use.

• The old supine ståndit is almost universally replaced by stått.
  • The same goes for the archaic imperative statt (from Old Norse statt), which is replaced by stå. Compare gack, old imperative of gå.

• In speech it is rather common to use stog as past tense, which is formed by analogy with slå (past tense slog). This form is generally considered nonstandard, however.

• stad
• stånd
• stanna
• städ

• stå in Svensk ordbok (SO)
• stå in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• stå in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• Svensk MeSH

• tås, åts