[#37069] Can someone please translate this for me?

[Gjest Nancy Hashka]

I don't speak Norwegian and I don't understand what my great-grandfather's occupation was. The 1900 census says he was: dagarbeider ved møllebrug. What does this mean?

[Gjest Åse K. Kristiansen,]

It means days worker at a mill. He worked day by day, not week or month.

[Gjest Gry Vibeke Ertvaag]

Hello Nancy!I guess someone with expertise should answer, but here's my attempt:Dag- arbeider = day -employee (gets work if they need him that day)Mølle = millBrug (old for 'bruk'), cant't think of the right word,Sagbruk is still used as a word, that can be translated to 'lumbermill' according to my 16 year old son.Was this of any help?Regards, Gry

[Gjest Kurt Østbye]

'dagarbeider ved møllebrug' Day-worker at a mill Day-worker probably means that he was working only at daytime and not at night shifts. Mill could be lumber mill or a mill grinding barley, wheat, etc. into flour.

[Gjest Jan Peter Wiborg]

A Day-worker har nothing to do about working daytime or night...A Day-worker was a person without permanent work, so your man was doing casual work at the mill.Jan Peter

[Gjest Ivar S. Ertesvåg]

I agree with Jan Peter (5) on 'dagarbeider'. Regarding 'møllebrug': 'mølle' is basically the same word as 'mill' in english: 'A building designed and fitted with machinery for the grinding of corn into flour' or 'An apparatus for grinding corn' (citing the Oxford English Dictionary). This is still (with few exceptions) the meaning in Norwegian. However, in English this word has got a much wider usage for a variety of activities involving some kind of circular motion (saw-mill, steel-mill, paper-mill, ...). This makes the translation to 'mill' inaccurate.'-bruk' indicates that this is an industrial enterprise.

[Gjest Kurt Østbye]

There is no doubt that 'dagarbeider' is also used for the staff that were 'on call' working during peaks, seasons, etc. In mines, it is used for staff working 'up in the day(light)' as opposed to those working underground.

[Gjest Ivar S. Ertesvåg]

To (7): may be correct - but apparently not relevant here. I this case, he was working at a 'møllebruk', not a mine.

[Gjest Tor Rustad]

Nancy; if you put the 1900-link here probably someone can tell you what kind of 'møllebrug' your Great grandfather was working at.If you don't get the answer you should create a new subject, giving the area and asking for the mill.If you have luck you'll also get moere info,maybe a picture?In fact;,many places in Norway the meaning could also be a sawmill