Glossary entry (derived from question below)
Jun 20, 2009 00:12
14 yrs ago
Danish term
tankespredt
Danish to English
Social Sciences
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
A writer described one of his early teachers as "en meget laerd mand, ja, muligvis et geni, men temmelig kejtet og tankespredt og til tider noget vranten og pedantisk." I'm unsure of the precise meaning of "tankespredt" (since I can't find it in any Danish dictionary I've checked), but I've tentatively translated the sentence as: "...a very learned man, indeed possibly a genius, but somewhat awkward and [scatterbrained/forgetful??????] and sometimes a bit surly and pedantic."
Proposed translations
(English)
| 4 +4 | absent-minded |
Anne Parelius
|
References
| Ordbog over det danske sprog |
Mette Melchior
|
Proposed translations
+4
36 mins
Anne Parelius
Canada
Canada
Specializes in field
Canada
Reliable
Native in: Norwegian 
Works in: Norwegian to English, English to Norwegian, Danish to English
Related KudoZ points
:
4
Selected
absent-minded
I think that will be the correct description of someone who has his thought processes on less mundane things.
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Mange tak!"
Reference comments
7 hrs
Mette Melchior
Sweden
Sweden
Native in Danish
Works in field
Sweden
Your link to well-written Danish texts
Native in: Danish
Works in: English to Danish, Spanish to Danish, Danish, and 2 more.
Related KudoZ points
:
8
Reference:
Ordbog over det danske sprog
The word appears in "Ordbog over det danske sprog", which covers Danish from 1700 to 1950 and is available online. You can see the entry here: http://ordnet.dk/ods/opslag?id=571132&liste=alfa
There isn't much of an explanation in this particular entry, but the dictionary gives "distræt" and "adspredt" as synonyms. So literally, someone with "scattered thoughts" ;-)
(This dictionary is also included on the language portal sproget.dk, where you can search several Danish dictionaries simultaneously)
There isn't much of an explanation in this particular entry, but the dictionary gives "distræt" and "adspredt" as synonyms. So literally, someone with "scattered thoughts" ;-)
(This dictionary is also included on the language portal sproget.dk, where you can search several Danish dictionaries simultaneously)
Reference:
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