avbild

Avbild is a Swedish noun meaning image, depiction, or representation. It is closely related to the verb avbilda, to depict, and to the noun avbildning, depiction. The form avbild tends to appear in formal or scholarly language, especially in art history, photography, and legal or catalog contexts, where it can refer to a depicted subject or to the act of depicting.

Etymology and sense

The word is built from the prefix av- and bild, meaning image or likeness. Historically, avbild conveys the idea of rendering or presenting something in a pictorial form.

Usage

In practice, avbild appears in discussions of visual culture and representation. Examples are phrases describing illustrations in a book, or the depiction of a figure in a painting, photograph, or sculpture. It forms part of a broader semantic field that includes bild (image), avbildning (depiction), and avbilda (to depict). In museum labels, catalog entries, or copyright discussions, avbild may be used to specify the produced image of a subject.

Variants and related terms

Related terms include avbildning (depiction), avbildad (depicted, as an adjective from the verb), and avbilda (to depict). Synonyms or closely related terms include bild, illustration, representation, and in portrait-specific contexts, porträtt. Distinctions are subtle and often influenced by register: avbild tends to emphasize the rendered likeness rather than the original object.

See also

avbilda, avbildning, bild.

References

Swedish dictionaries and lexicons, such as Svenska Akademiens ordlista and Nationalencyklopedin, provide definitions and usage notes for avbild and related forms.