föregående

Föregående is a Swedish adjective meaning "previous" or "preceding." It describes something that comes before another item in a sequence, time, or order. The term is common in everyday language as well as in formal or technical writing, and it often appears in contexts such as calendars, publications, and navigational interfaces, for example föregående månad (the previous month), föregående sida (the previous page), föregående år (the previous year).

Origin and form: Föregående derives from the verb föregå, "to precede." The -ande suffix forms an adjective denoting something that precedes. In syntax it behaves as an attributive adjective, typically placed before the noun it modifies and agreeing with it in number and definiteness (for example föregående vecka).

Usage notes: In contrast to näst(a) (next), föregående emphasizes what has already come before. It is common in written and formal Swedish, and used in contexts such as references to earlier periods, prior sections, or preceding items in a list. In digital interfaces, föregående is a standard label for a button that moves to the previous item; its opposite is näst(a).

Related terms: Föregångare means a predecessor or forerunner and is used to refer to someone or something that comes before a later development, rather than to a position in a sequence. While related in meaning, föregående and föregångare are used in different grammatical and contextual ways.