dykdalb

Swedish

Construction of a traditional dykdalb.
Above: waterline.
Under: sea bed sediment.

Mooring by a modern dykdalb.

Alternative forms

• (archaic) diktal, diktalb, duc d'albe

Etymology

Unknown origin. Possibly either:

• Borrowed from French duc d’Albe (“Duke of Alba”), referring to Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, who is said to have used them in the 16th century. However; according to SAOB this is a questionable claim, and the Nationalencyklopedin say it is folk etymological.
• Partial calque of Dutch duken + dallen (“dive + valley”).

By surface analysis, dyk (“dive”) +‎ dalb (–). First attested in 1791. Compare Danish duc d'albe and Dutch dukdalf.

Noun

dykdalb c

1. (nautical) A dolphin; a structure for mooring boats or to protect other structures in ports and shipping lanes.
   • 2019 October 15, Sanna Wikström, “Lastfartyg förlorade kontrollen i Göta älv [Cargo ship lost control in Göta river]”, in Expressen:

     Man lyckades återfå kontrollen, men förlorade den snart igen. Vid det tillfället körde man in i en dykdalb i älven, skriver Ttela.

     They managed to regain control, but soon lost it again. On that occasion, they drove into a dolphin in the river, writes Ttela.

   • 2021 June 22, Michael Ståhl, “Tre års arbete i hamn: ”Full funktion nästa vecka” [Three years of work in port: "Full function next week"]”, in Ölandsblader:

     Det formella beslutet togs hösten 2017 och idag – en massa sten senare – är projektet i princip i mål med bland annat nya vågbrytare i norr och söder, dykdalb, två bryggor i den nya södra hamnbassängen, större hamnplan samt ett i sista minuten-inhopp: […]

     The formal decision was taken in the autumn of 2017 and today – a lot of stones later – the project is basically finished with, among other things, new breakwaters in the north and south, dolphin, two piers in the new southern harbor basin, a larger harbor plane and a last-minute entry: […]

2. (figurative) An anchor; a person who gives stability or security.

   Synonym: klippa

   • 2015 September 16, Julia Lundin, “Leifby gör P3 Dokumentär om Sjöberg-skandalen [Leifby makes P3 Documentary about the Sjöberg scandal]”, in Resumé:

     Jag känner mig trygg som har Karin med mig i detta, hon kan radio och har gjort flera P3 dokumentärer tidigare, hon är projektets dykdalb.

     I feel safe having Karin with me in this, she knows radio and has made several P3 documentaries in the past, she is the project's anchor.

   • 2022 July 21, “Leifby: Tittarna får Hård-valuta för licenspengarna [Leifby: The viewers get Hård/Hard currency for the license money]”, in Aftonbladet:

     SVT har ett gäng reportrar på plats, André Pops är ankare i studion men sändningarnas dykdalb är Jacob Hård.

     SVT has a bunch of reporters on site, André Pops is the [sport] anchor in the studio but the broadcast's mooring post is Jacob Hård.

References

• dykdalb in Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL)
• dykdalb in Svenska Akademiens ordbok (SAOB)
• dykdalb in Svenskt nautiskt lexikon (1920)