avtjänad

avtjänad is a Swedish term used to describe something that has been completed by serving a period of time, most commonly a sentence or period of service. It is the past participle of the verb avtjäna, meaning to serve out or to complete a required period. The word is primarily found in formal or official contexts such as legal, administrative, and bureaucratic writing.

The core meaning of avtjänad is that the specified service or punishment has been fulfilled. Typical collocations include avtjänat straff (time served, a sentence that has been completed), avtjänad tid (time served), and avtjänad tjänst (completed service). The form agrees with the noun it modifies, for example ett avtjänat straff or straffet är avtjänat in predicative use.

In practice, avtjänad signals a completed state rather than ongoing or future expectations. It appears most often in court summaries, prison administration records, and personnel or veteran-related documentation. The term is relatively formal and may be less common in everyday speech, where more general phrasing like “tiden är avverkad” or “tjänsten är fullgjord” might be used instead.

Originating from av- plus tjänna, the word reflects a common pattern in Swedish for indicating cessation or completion of a duty. While its primary association is with legal and official contexts, avtjänad can be understood in broader terms as describing any period of service that has been finished.