avledningar

Avledning (plural avledningar) is a term used in linguistics to describe the way new words are formed from a base form by adding affixes or by combining elements. The process of creating such derived words is called avledning, and the new words produced are avledningar. Derivation is distinguished from inflection: inflection alters a word's grammatical form without creating a new lexeme, while avledning often changes meaning and/or word class.

Derivational processes can involve prefixes, suffixes, or internal changes, and may yield nouns, adjectives, verbs, or adverbs from a common base. The resulting avledningar are usually semantically related to the base form, and they map a family of related words within the lexicon. In dictionaries, grammars, and language-learning materials, avledningar are analyzed to show how a language builds its vocabulary and to illustrate productive word-formation rules.

Outside linguistics, the word avledning may be used more generally to refer to the act of deriving something from something else or to a derivation in a mathematical or logical sense, depending on context. However, in Swedish technical usage the primary sense is linguistic derivation, and other senses are expressed with more specific terms.

Studying avledningar can help users understand patterning in a language, identify cognates, and improve vocabulary acquisition as part of lexicography or language education.