Mångsårligt

Mångsårligt is a Swedish adjective that historically describes something that lasts for several years or recurs across multiple years. In older texts it could refer to long-duration time spans or multi-annual processes, including agricultural or botanical contexts.

The word is likely a compound of mång- meaning “many” and a historically used form related to år, meaning “year.” The exact origin is not fully clear, and attested spellings or usages are scarce, which is part of why the term is mainly found in older or dialectal sources.

Today, mångsårligt is rarely used in standard Swedish and is primarily encountered in linguistic, philological, or historical writings. Its senses are primarily temporal—referring to a multi-year period—and, in agricultural or botanical contexts, to cycles or life histories that extend beyond a single year. In such domains it can emphasize long-term planning, extended growing cycles, or perennial development that unfolds over several years.

In translation or interpretation, mångsårligt is often rendered as “multi-year” or “multi-annual.” Some historical texts describe plans, contracts, or cultivation practices as mångsårligt to underline their duration or repeated annual phases.

See also: multi-year, perennial, crop rotation.