Häckar

Häckar is a Swedish word with several related uses in language and culture. As a noun form, it is the plural of häck, meaning hedges—rows of shrubs or trees used in gardening, boundary marking and landscape design. Häckar commonly appear in descriptions of urban and rural planning, horticulture and traditional Swedish gardens, where they serve functions such as windbreaks, privacy screens and wildlife corridors.

As a verb form, häckar is the present-tense conjugation of häcka, which in an ecological context means to nest, breed or brood (typically of birds). In that sense häckar is used in ornithological reports and natural-history writing to indicate ongoing nesting activity. The word is pronounced roughly "heckar."

Etymologically, häck traces back to Germanic roots and is related to Middle Low German hecke and comparable words in other Germanic languages for hedges and enclosures. Häckar also appears occasionally as an element in Swedish place names and as a family name, though such uses are relatively uncommon.

Usage notes: context determines whether häckar refers to physical hedges or to the act of nesting; surrounding words and grammatical markers usually make the meaning clear. The term figures in practical guides to gardening as well as in ecological surveys and birdwatching literature.