avfärdades

Avfärdades is a Swedish verb form meaning “was departing” or “set off,” used to describe the act of leaving a place to begin a journey. It is the simple past tense (preterite) of the verb avfärdas, which conveys the initiation of travel or movement away from a location. The infinitive is avfärdas, the past participle avfärdats, and the present tense form is avfärdas in all persons (jag avfärdas, du avfärdas, han avfärdas, etc.). The present participle is avfärdande.

Etymology and sense

The word combines av- (a prefix indicating separation, off or away) with färdas (to travel). Färdas derives from older forms of travel-related verbs in the Scandinavian languages, linked to the sense of moving from one place to another. Avfärdas therefore emphasizes the act of beginning a journey or leaving a location rather than simply moving.

Usage

Avfärdas and its past tense avfärdades appear mainly in formal, journalistic, or narrative prose, especially when describing ships, convoys, military units, or individuals departing from a port, base, or city. It often appears in reports of organized departures or historical accounts of events that involved a departure. For example: Skeppet avfärdades från hamnen tidigt i morse. (The ship departed from the harbor early this morning.)

Relation to related terms

Related verbs include färdas (to travel) and avgå (to leave or depart, often used for people in a formal sense). Avfärdas tends to focus on the act of setting out rather than the act of arrival.