Beskylde

Beskylde is a Danish verb meaning to accuse or to blame someone for a wrongdoing. It is used to attribute fault or responsibility to another person, often in contexts ranging from everyday disagreements to formal accusations. The word is widely used in both spoken and written Danish and can carry varying degrees of formality depending on the context.

Etymology and usage notes: Beskylde is formed with the prefix be- attached to the root skylde, a verb with senses connected to blame, responsibility, or fault. The construction is common in Danish for creating verbs that express attributing an action or quality to someone. The term can take both active and passive voice forms, and it also appears in noun forms such as beskyldning or beskyldelse, meaning “an accusation.”

Conjugation and examples: In present tense, the form is beskylder (Jeg beskylder, du beskylder, han/hun beskylder). The simple past is beskyldte (Jeg beskyldte ham for tyveri). The past participle is beskyldt, used in perfect tenses (Han har beskyldt ham; Han er blevet beskyldt). The passive present is bliver beskyldt (Han bliver beskyldt for bedrageri), and the passive past is blev beskyldt (Han blev beskyldt for snyd).

Nuance and context: Beskylde emphasizes asserting that someone committed a fault or crime. It differs from ankage (to file a formal legal accusation) and from beskyldelse (the noun “accusation”). In everyday language, beskylde can express blame without implying formal legal action, while in legal contexts ankla­gen is more common.

See also: Beskyldning, beskyldelse, anklage, skyld, skyldig. Cognates exist in Norwegian and Swedish with similar meaning.