foregående

Foregående is a Norwegian adjective meaning previous or preceding. It is used to describe something that has occurred earlier within a defined time frame, sequence, or discourse. Foregående is most common in written Norwegian, including reports, legal texts, and journalism. In everyday speech its synonyms, such as forrige or tidligere, are more common, while foregående conveys a more formal tone and immediacy in relation to the current context.

Etymology: The word combines fore- meaning before with gående, the present participle of gå (to go). The result is "that which has gone before" and is used to point to what precedes within a given frame.

Usage: Common with time phrases like foregående uke, foregående måned, foregående år, and with references to a preceding section, chapter, or item. In legal, administrative, and academic writing it is standard. It can also link events to earlier ones in a narrative, but its formal tone makes it less common in casual conversation. Eksempler: foregående år var veksten høy. I foregående kapittel beskrives metodene.

See also: forrige, tidligere. These terms share overlapping senses but vary in formality and nuance, with foregående favoring a formal, context-bound sense of what has already occurred.