björntjänst

Swedish

noun
Definitions
  • a disservice, a mistaken kindness, a misguided helpfulness, an attempted favor which turns out to be detrimental, or at least causes more damage than it helps

Etymology

Compound from Swedish björn (bear) + Swedish tjänst (service, favor).

Origin

Swedish

tjänst

Gloss

service, favor

Timeline

Distribution of cognates by language

Geogrpahic distribution of cognates

Cognates and derived terms