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Definition of andersen

andersen

/ˈændərsən/
An · der · sen
Plural:Andersens
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andersen Lexical Profile

• noun

1

Hans Christian Andersen (1805–1875), a celebrated Danish author, poet, and fairy-tale writer renowned worldwide for classic children's stories such as 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Ugly Duckling', and 'The Emperor's New Clothes'.

Example

"Generations of children have grown up reading the timeless fairy tales of Andersen."

2

A patronymic surname of Danish and Norwegian origin meaning 'son of Anders'.

Example

"The archive contained records of several nineteenth-century Danish immigrants with the surname Andersen."

• Nearby Words

andante
andean
anders
andersen
andes
andorra
andorra la vella

Word Origin & Etymology

Borrowed from Danish and Norwegian patronymic surnames meaning 'son of Anders', where Anders is the Scandinavian equivalent of Andrew, ultimately from Ancient Greek Andreas ('manly').

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020
Data source: Google Books Ngram Viewer

Cite this Entry

Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Andersen. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 5, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/andersen
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