avskurna

Avskurna is a Swedish adjective and past participle meaning cut off, severed, or detached from a larger whole. It describes objects, body parts, or features that have been separated or removed. The word is formed from the prefix av- meaning off or away, combined with skära, which means to cut.

Grammatical use in Swedish involves agreement with the noun it modifies. For example, you can say den avskurna armen (the amputated arm) or avskurna grenar (cut branches). The form avskurna often appears in plural or definite contexts, while the base participle can appear as avskuren or avskuret in other gender or neuter forms, depending on the noun it describes. In practice, avskurna is commonly used for both literal severance (amputation, pruning, detachment) and figurative sense (detached parts of a group or system).

Common contexts include anatomy and medicine (avskurna eller amputera, severed limbs), horticulture (avskurna grenar, pruned branches), and geography or culture when describing landforms or social groups that have been cut off or separated (avskurna delar av landet). In literature, avskurna can convey themes of separation, loss, or fragmentation.

Etymology: avskurna derives from avskära, formed from av- plus skära, with avskurna functioning as a past participle used adjectivally. Related terms include avskära (to cut off) and skära av (to cut away).

See also: avskära, amputera, skära av.