lussekatt

Swedish

FWOTD – 13 December 2022

Alternative forms

lussikatt

Etymology

Possibly a compound of Lucifer (“Lucifer; The Devil”) +‎ katt (“cat”), later folk etymological lusse- (“St. Lucy's Day”) +‎ katt (“cat”). Compare with synonym dövelskatt (literally “devil-cat”). From the medieval Germanic belief that the Devil went around in the shape of a cat to punish children. The saffron-golden and sun-shaped bun was then given to well-behaved children as a form of warding.^[1]^[2] First attested in 1898.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /ˈlɵsɛˌkat/, [ˈlɵ̞̂sːɛ̠k̟ʰâ̠t̪ː]
Rhymes: -atː
Hyphenation: lusse‧katt

Noun

lussekatt c (countable)

A Swedish bun made with raisins and saffron, in a wide variety of shapes but commonly s-shaped, often served on St. Lucy's Day.
- 2016, Negra Efendic, Jag var precis som du:
  I hemkunskapen bakar vi lussekatter som jag tar med mig hem.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
(strictly) A specific shape of this bread, somewhat resembling two swirly, back-to-back Cs.
Synonyms: julkuse, lussekuse, saffranskuse

Declension

Declension of *lussekatt*
		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	lussekatt	lussekatts
singular	definite	lussekatten	lussekattens
plural	indefinite	lussekatter	lussekatters
plural	definite	lussekatterna	lussekatternas

Synonyms

dyvelkatt c
döbelskatt c
dövelskatt c
julkuse c
lussebulle c
lussekuse c
saffransbulle c
saffranskuse c

References

^ “Lucka 14: Varför heter det lussekatt?”, in Språkkonsulterna‎^[1] (in Swedish), 14 December 2016: “Faktum är att förledet lusse- kanske inte har något med lucia att göra heller. Det är möjligt att det kommer från Lucifer, alltså djävulen. ― The fact is that the prefix "lusse-" might not have anything to do with Lucia either. It is possible that it comes from Lucifer, meaning the devil.”
^ “Det julas för lussekatten”, in Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore‎^[2] (in Swedish), 13 November 2022: “I äldre tid kallades lussekatten i de västra delarna av Sverige för dövelskatt eller dyvelskatt, alltså ’djävulskatt’. Det kan möjligen kopplas till en tysk tradition där Christkindlein eller Kinken Jes (Jesusbarnet) i juletid delar ut duiveskater (bullar) till snälla barn. ― In earlier times, the lussekatt in the western parts of Sweden was called dövelskatt or dyvelskatt, meaning "devil's cat." This may possibly be linked to a German tradition where Christkindlein or Kinken Jes (the Christ Child) distributes duiveskater (buns) to well-behaved children during Christmas.”

[1] “Lucka 14: Varför heter det lussekatt?”, in Språkkonsulterna‎^[1] (in Swedish), 14 December 2016: “Faktum är att förledet lusse- kanske inte har något med lucia att göra heller. Det är möjligt att det kommer från Lucifer, alltså djävulen. ― The fact is that the prefix "lusse-" might not have anything to do with Lucia either. It is possible that it comes from Lucifer, meaning the devil.”

[2] “Det julas för lussekatten”, in Swedish Institute for Language and Folklore‎^[2] (in Swedish), 13 November 2022: “I äldre tid kallades lussekatten i de västra delarna av Sverige för dövelskatt eller dyvelskatt, alltså ’djävulskatt’. Det kan möjligen kopplas till en tysk tradition där Christkindlein eller Kinken Jes (Jesusbarnet) i juletid delar ut duiveskater (bullar) till snälla barn. ― In earlier times, the lussekatt in the western parts of Sweden was called dövelskatt or dyvelskatt, meaning "devil's cat." This may possibly be linked to a German tradition where Christkindlein or Kinken Jes (the Christ Child) distributes duiveskater (buns) to well-behaved children during Christmas.”

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