Dödsoffer

Dödsoffer is a Swedish term that denotes people who have died as a result of a specific incident or series of incidents. It is used in journalism, statistics, and historical writing to refer to the victims who have died, as opposed to those who were injured or survived.

Etymology: The word is a compound of död (dead) and offer (victim). The noun is used to refer to an individual victim or to the collective group of victims in a given event.

Usage: Dödsoffer covers deaths caused by military action, natural disasters, accidents, crime, or terrorism. In practice, the term is often used when focusing on people (for example, “två dödsoffer i olyckan”) and may be accompanied by numbers such as “ett antal dödsoffer” or “antalet dödsoffer.” The related term dödsfall is typically used for the event or the total death toll rather than the people themselves.

Statistics and reporting: In ongoing crises or after notable events, authorities and media may publish counts of dödsoffer. The term emphasizes individual lives, while dödsfall is more common for describing the overall death count.

See also: dödsfall; offer.