afskaffet

Afskaffet is a Danish term meaning “abolished,” formed as the past participle of the verb afskaffe (to abolish). In modern Danish it is used as both a past participle and an adjective to indicate that a law, rule, institution, penalty, or practice has been ended or repealed. It can appear predicatively, as in Loven er afskaffet (The law has been abolished), or attributively, as in et afskaffet forbud (an abolished ban). When used attributively, the form generally agrees with the noun it modifies.

Etymology and usage notes: afskaffe is built from af- (away, off) and skaffe (to procure, obtain), with a semantic shift over time toward meaning to remove or end. The resulting participle afskaffet developed to describe completed abolition. In Danish, afskaffet is standard for describing completed eliminations; the related noun is afskaffelse, meaning abolition or repeal. In Norwegian Bokmål the mutual equivalent is avskaffet, illustrating a closely related but differently spelled form in another Scandinavian language.

Related forms and variants: The verb afskaffe (to abolish) yields several related terms, including afskaffelse (abolition) and the passive construction er blevet afskaffet or har afskaffet, depending on stylistic preference. The concept is commonly used in legal, political, and administrative contexts to mark the ending of laws, penalties, or established practices.

See also: afskaffelse, afskaffe, avskaffet (Norwegian variant), abolition.

Examples: The government announced that the old tax would be afskaffet. The policy is now avskaffet in Norwegian contexts.