färdar

Färdar is the present tense form of the Swedish verb färda. The core meaning of färda is to set forth on a journey, to travel, or (transitively) to convey someone or something to a destination, such as people or goods being moved. In contemporary Swedish, the intransitive sense of traveling is more commonly expressed with färdas, while färda appears mainly in older, formal, or literary contexts and can carry a sense of initiating or carrying out an action toward a destination.

Etymology and related terms

The verb färda is closely linked to the noun färd (a journey or voyage) and to the verb fara (to go or to travel). Its etymology traces back to Old Norse fara and to Proto-Germanic roots related to the English fare and far, reflecting the broad idea of moving from one place to another. The noun färd and related terms are commonly used in Swedish to discuss travel, journeys, and transport.

Usage notes

Färda and its present tense färdar are relatively rare in everyday modern Swedish, where färdas is the preferred form for general travel. Färda may appear in historical writing, legal language, or poetry, and can occur in phrases that emphasize setting out or transporting something rather than simply moving about. As with many older verbs, its exact usage can vary by era and stylistic register.

See also

Färd (journey), resa (to travel), färja (to ferry), fara (to go). References to färda and its forms can be found in standard Swedish dictionaries and linguistic references such as the Svenska Akademiens ordlista (SAOL).