Editing Nissedal (section)

=== Etymology ===
[[Image:F C Lund morsbonde 01.jpg|thumb|left|165px|A man in a traditional red hat by F. C. Lund.]]
The municipality (originally the [[prestegjeld|parish]]) is named after the Nissedalen valley ({{langx|non|Nizidalr}}) since the first [[Nissedal Church]] was built in the valley. Nissedal was first mentioned in a written source in the 1300s under the name ''Nizudal''. The current written form first emerged in the 1400s.<ref name="OTTur">{{Cite book |last=Tveit |first=Olav Jakob |url=https://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2018082307092 |title=Turguide Nissedal |publisher=Friluftsrådet Sør |year=2016 |isbn=9788299853774 |language=nn}}</ref>{{rp|4}} The first element of the municipal name comes from the local lake [[Nisser]], which was historically spelled ''Nizir''. The first element is the lake name comes from the local river {{lang|non|Nið}}, the old name for the river [[Nidelva (Agder)|Nidelva]]. The last element of the lake name is {{wikt-lang|non|sær}} which means "inland sea" or "large lake". Thus it is "the inland sea that feeds the river Nidelva". The last element of the municipal name is {{wikt-lang|non|dalr}} which means "[[valley]]" or "dale".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rygh |first=Oluf |url=https://www.nb.no/items/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2006120600018 |title=Norske gaardnavne: Bratsbergs amt |date=1914 |publisher=W. C. Fabritius & sønners bogtrikkeri |edition=7 |location=Kristiania, Norge |pages=372–373 |language=no |authorlink=Oluf Rygh}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Cleasby |first1=Richard |title=Icelandic-English Dictionary |last2=Vigfusson |first2=Gudbrand |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1874 |location=Oxford |page=95}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Stemshaug |first=Ola |title=Norsk stadnamngransking |publisher=Samlaget |year=1973 |isbn=8252101607 |page=117 |language=no}}</ref>

Today, the name Nissedal refers to three geographical areas: 1) the municipality of Nissedal, 2) the Nissedal parish in the [[Church of Norway]] which includes the villages on both sides of the lake [[Nisser]], and 3) the villages of Nordbygda and Kyrkjebygda that are jointly referred to as "Nissedal village".<ref name="OTNisser">{{Cite book |last=Tveit |first=Olav Jakob |url=https://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-nb_digibok_2020112748519 |title=Nisser med bygdene rundt Vrådal - Nissedal - Treungen |publisher=Bokbyen Forlag |year=2017 |isbn=9788283160505 |location=Tvedestrand, Norge |language=nn}}</ref>{{rp|82}}