Skam
/skɑːm/noun
A Norwegian word meaning “shame,” best known in English as the title of the Norwegian teen-drama series.
Did you know?The title uses an old Germanic word cognate with English “shame,” preserving a linguistic link between modern Scandinavian pop culture and early Germanic ideas of dishonor.
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Germanic
PGmc
*skamō
“Shame, disgrace, or a sense of dishonor”
Old Norse
Old Norse
skömm
“Shame, disgrace, or dishonor”
Middle Norwegian
Norwegian
skam
“Shame or humiliation”
Modern Norwegian
Norwegian
skam
“Shame; the title of the television series”
2015
Norwegian
Skam
“Title of the Norwegian television drama about adolescence, identity, and social pressure”
Modern English
English
Skam
“A proper-name loanword referring primarily to the Norwegian television series”