degn

English translation: village schoolteacher

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Danish term or phrase:degn
English translation:village schoolteacher
Entered by: Timoshka

17:53 Jul 4, 2014
Danish to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Education / Pedagogy
Danish term or phrase: degn
I'm unsure of how this term is translated when it refers to someone connected with a Danish secondary school (Realskole) in the 19th century. Most dictionaries simply translate the word as "parish clerk," but this doesn't work with the context. I did find one source that translated the word as "sexton," and one online source included the following: "degne (lærere)." So is "degn" simply an obsolete word for teacher/instructor?
Timoshka
Local time: 08:41
village schoolteacher
Explanation:
I think the nearest you will get is a village schoolteacher (as they taught where there was no other school) or possibly a junior schoolteacher, if he is in a school after 1814.

The word does actually come from the same root as deacon, and they were associated with the social side of the church´s work - caring for the poor and the sick, widows and orphans.

Since the clergy were often the most highly educated members of rural communities, teaching the children became the responsibility of the ´degn´.

It might be a slightly patronising or humorous word for a schoolmaster, especially in modern use.
Selected response from:

Christine Andersen
Denmark
Local time: 14:41
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3village schoolteacher
Christine Andersen


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village schoolteacher


Explanation:
I think the nearest you will get is a village schoolteacher (as they taught where there was no other school) or possibly a junior schoolteacher, if he is in a school after 1814.

The word does actually come from the same root as deacon, and they were associated with the social side of the church´s work - caring for the poor and the sick, widows and orphans.

Since the clergy were often the most highly educated members of rural communities, teaching the children became the responsibility of the ´degn´.

It might be a slightly patronising or humorous word for a schoolmaster, especially in modern use.


Christine Andersen
Denmark
Local time: 14:41
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 87
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