Startår

Startår is a Scandinavian compound word formed from "start" (beginning) and "år" (year), used to denote the year in which an event, period, project, organization or activity begins. The term appears in administrative records, databases, biographies, project documentation and cultural or historical descriptions to indicate the commencement date expressed as a calendar year.

In practical use, startår serves as a basic chronological marker. For organizations and businesses it often refers to the founding year; in employment or education records it indicates the year a position or program started; in project management and research it marks the initial year of a project phase. Startår is typically paired with an end year (sluttår, sluttår or endår) or with duration to provide temporal context.

Notation and interpretation vary by context and locale. In structured data, startår may be represented as a four-digit Gregorian calendar year; in historical contexts it can be approximate, uncertain, or tied to non-Gregorian calendars. Clear specification of whether the startår refers to calendar year, fiscal year, academic year, or season is important for accurate interpretation.

Related concepts include inception date, founding year, commencement date and effective date. As a descriptive label, startår helps organize temporal information, support chronology, and enable sorting and filtering in records and databases.