Torp (architecture)
![](../I/m/Dan_Anderssons_torp.jpg)
A very typical Swedish torp. Writer Dan Andersson lived in this one.
In Scandinavian languages (mostly Swedish) torp means a small dwelling, such as a cottage, with a small leased farm area cultivated by its inhabitants, similar to a croft.
Today, most of those still existing in Scandinavia serve as summer homes for city dwellers.
The word is cognate to Anglo Saxon Thorp or Thorpe and also exists as surname or a place name.
In Danish and Norwegian the common noun for an inhabitant of a torp is husmann/husmand – a man with a house. Husmenn used to own their houses, but not the land.
Torp is also sometimes used as a surname in Scandinavia.