Younker

Danish
Dutch
French
German
Spanish
Swedish

Etymology

While it certainly is possible that the English picked up the word younker from the Dutch, its origin is the Middle [Age] Low German "jonc herre", literally meaning "young master". Originally used to designate a country squire especially in Prussia. It is known in Swedish from 1520 in the form "junker".

Röding translates the Dutch "jonker" with the German "Auflaufer", English "younker" and Swedish "löpare", the German and Swedish words meaning runner or messenger. The term does not seem to have a special nautical meaning in German, Dutch or Swedish.

Updated 1998-06-29 by Lars Bruzelius

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