January 25, 2019

OPROMJE- to tidy up

I recently learned a new Frisian word just in time for all the renewed interest in Marie Kondo... opromje, which means "to clean up" or "to tidy up."

opromje
to tidy up
[awp-RAWM-yuh]

It's interesting to me, as an English-speaker, how the word has a connection to the root rom ("space," "vastness," "roomy"), a connection which we don't have in our own language. 

Another word where we can see that bond is ferromming, meaning "relief," "solace," or "expansion." This makes so much sense: when something is a relief, it gives you a renewed feeling of space and freedom!

Rom roughly rhymes with "bomb" and is the emphasized syllable in the other words. [fuh-RAWM-ing], [awp-RAWM-yuh].

It is worth adding that rom has another meaning: fame or glory. For example, the provincial anthem describes it Fryske lân fol eare en rom... the Frisian land full of honor and glory. 

The verb romje has a number of different meanings. It can mean "to praise" or "to commend." However, it can also mean "to clear out," "to leave," or "to abandon."

It fjild romje...

To leave the field...
[UHT FYEHLT RAWM-yuh]

To conclude, here is a picture of a beautifully expansive field that I took on a bike ride to Boalsert from Snits: