Daily Ancestorhusmand
Husmand (modern husmann) means a cotter: a man who rented a cottage and often a small plot on a farm, usually owing work to the farmer.
Husmænd existed in Norway from about 1600 into the early 1900s. A husmand with land worked a small plot called a plass, while one without land had only his house; the plass was part of the main farm and had no farm number of its own. NAOB describes the classic husmand as using a piece of a gaardmand's land and owing him labor.
Because the plass had no number, the 1801 census usually leaves out the names of such holdings, while from 1865 they are listed under the main farm.
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How to cite this page
Daily Ancestor. "husmand." Dictionary of Old Record Words. https://dailyancestor.com/dictionary/norwegian/husmand. Last checked 2026-10-28.