Skiftena

Skiftena is a plural form in Swedish (and related Nordic languages) deriving from the noun skifte, which broadly means a division, reallocation, or change. The term is used in different contexts to refer to distinct concepts that share the idea of separation or reorganization.

In everyday language, skiftena often refers to work shifts or duty periods in workplaces such as factories, hospitals, or other services. When scheduling is described, skiftena denote the successive periods a worker is assigned to, for example day shifts, evening shifts, or night shifts, and they may rotate according to a given timetable or shift pattern.

In a historical and agricultural context, skifte refers to a systematic reallocation or consolidation of farmland. The term is closely associated with land-reform movements in Sweden (and to some extent in Denmark) during the 18th and 19th centuries, known as laga skifte (lawful shift) and storskiftet (great shift). These reforms aimed to reduce fragmentation of fields, consolidate scattered plots into larger, more productive parcels, and reorganize village land tenure. The resulting parcels were referred to as skiftena and often marked a transition from the old open-field system to more modern forms of farming.

Etymologically, skifte comes from Old Norse and Proto-Germanic roots meaning to shift or change, a sense preserved in its use for both scheduling and land division. The exact meaning of skiftena depends on the regional or historical context.

See also: skifte, laga skifte, storskifte.