existerande

Existerande is a Swedish adjective and present participle derived from the verb existera, meaning to exist. In contemporary Swedish, it is used to describe something that currently exists or is in existence. The term is common in formal, scientific, legal, and academic writing when distinguishing between elements that are real or currently present and those that are hypothetical, proposed, or non-existent.

Etymology and form: existerande originates from existera, which comes from the Latin existere, meaning to stand forth or exist. The -ande suffix marks the present participle form in Swedish, which functions adjectivally or as a modifier. As an attributive adjective, existerande agrees in gender and definiteness with the noun it modifies, for example existerande byggnader (existing buildings) or den existerande lagen (the existing law).

Usage notes: The term often appears in contexts where it is useful to separate the current, real case from what is possible or imagined. It can modify nouns across various domains, including science, policy, and architecture, as in existerande faktorer (existing factors) or existerande regler (existing regulations). In everyday speech, more common synonyms might be finns or som finns, but existerande emphasizes existence as a state rather than mere presence.

In summary, existerande is a standard Swedish word for describing something that exists, formed from existera with the participial suffix -ande, and used across formal and technical registers to specify current existence.