antalighet

Antalighet is a noun used in Norwegian and Swedish to denote the quantity, amount, or magnitude of something. It covers the notion of how much of a substance there is or how many items exist, and it can refer to both discrete counts and continuous measures. In everyday language, speakers more often use antall for countable items or mengde/mängd for bulk amounts; antalighet tends to appear in more formal, technical, or philosophical contexts or in dictionary definitions.

Etymology and form: The word is formed from the root antal, meaning number, with the suffix -ighet, which creates abstract nouns indicating a state or quality. This creates a general concept word rather than a specific tally. Cognate forms appear in both Norwegian and Swedish, reflecting shared Germanic roots.

Usage and nuance: Antalighet is typically encountered in written, formal, or theoretical discussions about quantity as a concept—such as in philosophy, statistics, or linguistics—where the focus is on the extent or magnitude rather than on exact counts. In practical usage, specialists may prefer more precise terms like antall for numbers of individual items, or mengde/mängd for amounts of a substance or bulk. The term thus signals a broader sense of quantity and is less common in everyday speech.

See also: antall, antal, mängd, mängd (quantity), kvantitet.