Opkaldet

Opkaldet is a Danish term that can function in linguistic and literary contexts rather than as a single, well-defined concept. In its primary sense, opkaldet is the definite form of the neuter noun opkald, which refers to an invocation, summons, or act of calling someone or something. The word thus appears in passages that describe rites, ceremonies, or ceremonial calls, and it can be translated as “the invocation” or “the calling.”

In addition, opkaldet can appear as a definite form of a past participle used adjectivally in older or literary Danish, meaning “called” or “named” when referring to a person or thing. In such usages, it helps form epithet-like phrases that identify someone by a characteristic produced through naming or invocation. Because Danish grammar distinguishes between indefinite and definite forms, opkaldet commonly occurs within sentences that specify a particular invocation or named item.

Usage of opkaldet is most often found in historical, religious, or literary registers rather than in contemporary everyday speech. It appears in dictionaries and studies of Danish word formation as an example of how nouns for acts (invocation, calling) interact with definite forms, and how participial adjectives historically build descriptive phrases.

Etymologically, opkald stems from kalde (to call, to name) with the productive prefix op- and the noun-forming process that yields opkald, while opkaldet shows the definite singular ending typical of Danish neuter nouns. The term thus sits at the intersection of grammar, semantics, and historical usage.

See also: Danish grammar, past participles, epithets, invocations, Danish lexicon.