kjærring (or kjerring) married woman, wife or old woman. Female, definite ending -a. From old norse kerling, from karl according to my dictionary. The common understanding is that it comes from kjær “dear”. Not originally offensive, it has become so, specifically in the “old woman” meaning. Older men will still use it as an affectionate term for their wife, though to most women of the post-feminist era it smacks of patronising and/or demeaning undertones. Using it about someone other than your wife is now pretty much solely derrogatory, in a fight between two women the closest equivivalent to di kjærring! in English would be “you bitch!”
Voice on the stereo: Kim Larsen – Papirsklip