Avfärda

Avfärda is a Swedish verb associated with removing or reducing color from a substance. In most contemporary usage, the standard infinitive form is avfärga, meaning to decolorize or to bleach. Avfärda may appear as a dialectal or less common variant, and many dictionaries primarily list avfärga as the correct form. The concept is that color is taken away or lightened, rather than added.

The term is used across several domains. In textiles and paper, avfärgning refers to processes that remove existing dye to achieve a lighter shade or to prepare material for new coloring. In hair care, avfärgning describes bleaching to remove natural or synthetic pigment. In art restoration, avfärgning or avfärgningstekniker may denote procedures to strip or reduce color from pigments to study underlying layers or to restore appearance.

Etymology and scope: av- is a prefix meaning removal, and färga means to color. Combined, avfärga literally means to remove color. The word is closely related to färga (to color) and avfärgning (the act of decolorizing). While avfärga is the preferred form in modern usage, avfärda can appear in older texts, regional speech, or as a misspelling.

Usage notes: The choice between avfärga and related terms such as bleka or avfärgning depends on context and material. Chemical decolorization often uses oxidizing agents like hydrogen peroxide or chlorine-based compounds, while dyeing work may require careful control to avoid damage.

See also: färga, avfärgning, blekning, färgning.