Sammenfall

Sammenfall is a Scandinavian noun, primarily used in Norwegian and Danish, that denotes the coming together or concurrence of things. Literally composed of sammen ("together") and fall ("fall"), the term can be translated into English as coincidence, concurrence, overlap, or collapse depending on context.

In everyday language sammenfall commonly describes a coincidence or concurrence of events, for example an unexpected overlap in timing or circumstance. Phrases such as "et sammenfall av omstendigheter" (a coincidence of circumstances) illustrate this use. In literary and journalistic contexts it is often used to emphasize simultaneity or alignment between developments.

In technical or physical contexts sammenfall may refer to a collapse or subsidence, such as the falling in of a structure or ground. In academic writing the word can be applied metaphorically to indicate overlap or convergence between theories, data sets, or ideas.

Etymology is transparent from its components and the word is productive in compounds and descriptive phrases. Usage varies by field and register; synonyms include tilfeldighet (coincidence) when referring to chance alignments, and kollaps or sammenbrudd when describing structural failure, though nuances differ. As with many polysemous words, context determines whether sammenfall conveys mere coincidence, meaningful concurrence, or physical collapse.