different between hygge vs cosy

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Danish hygge or Norwegian hygge.

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?h???/, /?hu???/, /?hju???/

Noun

hygge (uncountable)

1. (chiefly Britain) Cosiness, conviviality. [from 21st c.]
   • 2016, Charlotte Higgins, The Guardian, 22 November:

     According to this now vast popular literature, the creation of an atmosphere of hygge is aided by gløgg (mulled wine), meatballs and cardamom buns.

Translations

Adjective

hygge

1. (chiefly Britain) Cosy, convivial. [from 21st c.]
   • 2015, Helen Russell, The Year of Living Danishly, Icon Books Ltd (?ISBN):

     ‘So, where are they all? What's everyone doing?’

     ‘They're getting hygge,’ she tells me, making a noise that sounds a little like she has something stuck in her throat.

Usage notes

• Used in Danish or Norwegian contexts.

Danish

Etymology

From Old Danish hyggæ (“to think”), from Old Norse hyggja (“to think”), from Proto-Germanic *hugjan? (“to think, reconsider”).The modern meaning has been taken over from Norwegian in the 19th century.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /hyk?/, [?hy???]

Noun

hygge c (singular definite hyggen, not used in plural form)

1. cosiness

Inflection

Verb

hygge

1. (intransitive) to have a good time
2. (intransitive) to make it comfortable, cozy (with the preposition om)
3. (reflexive) to have a good time, enjoy oneself

Derived terms

• uhyggelig
• hyggelig
• hyggestund
• hyggekrog
• en hyggelig fætter
• hyggesnak

References

• “hygge” in Den Danske Ordbog
• “hygge” in Ordbog over det danske Sprog
• https://www.kbh-sprogcenter.dk/da/blog/dansk-hygge/

Norwegian Nynorsk

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /²h??.??/ (example of pronunciation)

Etymology 1

From Old Norse hyggja f.

Noun

hygge f (definite singular hygga, indefinite plural hygger, definite plural hyggene)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Noun

hygge n (definite singular hygget, indefinite plural hygge, definite plural hygga)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Etymology 2

From Old Norse verb hyggja.

Verb

hygge (present tense hygger, past tense hygde, supine hygd or hygt, past participle hygd, present participle hyggande, imperative hygg)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Alternative forms

• hygga (a-infintive), hyggje (j-infix), hyggja (a-infinitive and j-infix)

References

• “hygge” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

English

Alternative forms

The spelling cosy predominates in British English, and cozy in American English.

• cozy (North America)
• cosie (Scotland)
• cozie
• cosey (archaic)
• cozey

Etymology

From Scots cosie, from Old Scots colsie, but ultimate derivation is unknown. Possibly of North Germanic origin, such as Norwegian kose seg (“to have a cozy time”), from Old Norse kose sig, from koselig, koslig, perhaps ultimately from Old High German k?sa; see modern German kosen (“to cuddle”).

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /?k??zi/
• (US) enPR: k?'-z?, IPA^(key): /?ko?zi/
• Rhymes: -??zi

Adjective

cosy (comparative cosier, superlative cosiest)

1. Affording comfort and warmth; snug; social
   • 1785, Robert Burns, Holy Fair - While some are cozie i' the neuk, / An' forming assignations / To meet some day
   • 1836, Charles Dickens, The Pickwick Papers, ch 30 - after Mr. Bob Sawyer had informed him that he meant to be very cosy, and that his friend Ben was to be one of the party, they shook hands and separated

   Synonym: snug

   Hyponym: gemütlich

Derived terms

• cosy up, cozy up

Translations

Noun

cosy (plural cosies)

1. A padded or knit covering put on an item to keep it warm, especially a teapot or egg.
2. A padded or knit covering for any item (often an electronic device such as a laptop computer).
3. A work of crime fiction in which sex and violence are downplayed or treated humorously, and the crime and detection take place in a small, socially intimate community.

Derived terms

• tea cosy, tea cozy
• egg cosy, egg cozy

Translations

Verb

cosy (third-person singular simple present cosies, present participle cosying, simple past and past participle cosied)

1. To become snug and comfortable.
2. To become friendly with.

   He spent all day cosying up to the new boss, hoping for a plum assignment.

References

• Oxford English Dictionary, 1884–1928, and First Supplement, 1933.
• Annandale, C., Ogilvie, J. (1907). The Student's English Dictionary. Ireland: Blackie, p. 164

Anagrams

• Coys, Soc'y, coys

French

Etymology

From English

Adjective

cosy (plural cosys)

1. correlation

Noun

cosy m (uncountable)

1. correlation