Adskille

Adskille is a verb used in Danish and Norwegian that means to separate or detach something from something else. It can refer to physical separation, such as dividing components or isolating a substance, as well as to distinguishing differences between items or groups. The related noun adskillelse denotes the act or result of separation.

Etymology and forms: The word combines ad- (apart) with skil(le) (to split) and has cognates across the Scandinavian languages. In Danish and Norwegian the infinitive is adskille. The present tense is adskiller, the simple past is adskilte, and the past participle is adskilt. The term is used across everyday language and technical contexts, with adskilt functioning as an adjective or participle.

Usage: Adskille appears in both casual and technical speech. It covers physical actions, such as adskille affald into separate streams, or adskille two substances in a mixture. It also means to distinguish or separate ideas, criteria, or groups in analysis or planning. In organizational contexts it can describe dividing responsibilities or functions between units. The noun adskillelse expresses the process or result of the separation.

See also: adskilt, adskillelse, skilje, separation. In practice, the term is common in discussions of waste management, chemistry, manufacturing, and data analysis in Danish- and Norwegian-speaking contexts.