Stammarna

Stammarna is the definite plural form of the Swedish noun stam, which has several related meanings. The term is used in botany, anthropology, genealogy and everyday language, and its exact sense depends on context.

In biology and forestry, stammarna refers to the trunks or main stems of trees and larger plants. For example, stammarna of a forest consist of the vertical trunks that support the canopy. In this sense, stam describes the structural part of a plant rather than its branches or leaves.

In anthropology, ethnography and genealogy, stamm can denote a tribal group, clan or a family lineage. Stammarna then refers to multiple such groups or lineages within a region or among a population. The usage often appears in historical or sociocultural descriptions of how populations are organized or relate to one another.

In everyday language, stam is used more broadly to express ideas of origin, root or main line, though in precise scholarly writing these senses may be distinguished from the more concrete meanings of trunk or tribe. The definite plural form stammarna is common in both descriptive and comparative passages.

Etymology and related terms: stam comes from Old Norse and is related to the German Stamm and the English stem, reflecting a common Indo-European root for “trunk,” “stem,” or “main line.” Related Swedish terms include stamträd (family tree), släkt (kin), and gren (branch).

See also: stam, stamträd, stamm, släkt, grenar.