Längsten

Längsten is a Swedish term that functions as the target of a discussion about the superlative of the adjective lång, meaning “the longest.” In Swedish grammar, adjectives take different forms depending on gender, number, and definiteness of the noun they modify. The standard modern inflections for long are often illustrated with these common forms: the adverbial superlative längst (as in hon sprang längst, she ran the farthest), and the attributive/definite form längsta used before a definite noun, such as den längsta vägen (the longest road) or de längsta vägarna (the longest roads).

The exact form you choose depends on the noun phrase. For en-words (common gender) in definite position, the typical construction is den längsta vägen or den längsta bilen. For plural definite nouns, de längsta vägarna or de längsta bilarna. The form längst is primarily used as the adverbial or predicative superlative, as in en väg är längst i jämförelse eller han är längst i klassen.

Längsten itself is not a standard modern Swedish inflection form for everyday usage. It is rarely seen as a standalone form and may appear as a dialectal variant or as a mistaken reading of längsta or längst. In contemporary usage, most writers would use längst for adverbial purposes or längsta/längsta vägen, längsta bilarna, etc., depending on definiteness and number.

Etymologically, läng is related to Old Norse langr and the broader Germanic root for long, giving rise to the modern Swedish long-related forms.