Smittade

Smittade is a Swedish verb form derived from the verb smitta, meaning to infect. It is used in active voice in the past tense to indicate that someone or something caused an infection. Examples: "Viruset smittade tusentals människor" (The virus infected thousands of people) and "Hon smittade flera personer med influensa" (She infected several people with influenza). In passive constructions, the corresponding form is smittades, as in "Flera patienter smittades av viruset" (Several patients were infected by the virus). The past participle form used with auxiliary verbs is smittat, as in "har smittat" (has infected).

Etymology and related languages

The word smitta belongs to the Swedish language and has cognates in other Scandinavian languages, such as Norwegian smitte and Danish smitte, with the same core meaning. The term is part of a broader Germanic lexical field dealing with infection and transmission. While the precise historical development is complex, the family resemblance across Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish is clear, reflecting shared roots in concepts of contagion and disease transmission.

Usage and related terms

Smitta is commonly used in medical, public health, and everyday contexts to describe the act of causing infection. Related terms include smittad (infected, in adjective form), smittsam (contagious), smittspridning (transmission of infection), smittbärare (carrier), and smittskydd (infection control). Distinctions between active and passive voice, and between the past tense smittade versus the passive smittades, are important for precise grammatical meaning.

See also

Smitta; smittad; smittsam; smittspridning; smittbärare; smittskydd.