låg

Låg is a word used in North Germanic languages, most prominently Swedish, with at least two distinct functions. As an adjective, låg means "low" or "not high," describing height, level, or intensity. As a verb form, låg is the past tense of the verb ligga, meaning "to lie" in the sense of being in a horizontal position. For example, in Swedish one would say that a book låg on the table, illustrating the past-tense use of the verb.

Etymology and related forms: The form is part of a common Germanic heritage and has cognates in related languages. It traces to ancient roots connected with horizontal position or low height, and the word appears in some form across the North Germanic family, with spelling and conjugation varying by language.

Usage notes: When used as an adjective, låg describes something with low height, low temperature, low energy, or low intensity, and it agrees with the noun it modifies in gender and number according to standard Swedish grammar. As a verb, låg functions as the simple past tense of ligga and is used with intransitive sense, where the subject is in a resting, horizontal state. While the English equivalents differ in tense and aspect (lay/laid vs lie/lay/lain), svenska uses låg for the raw past tense of lying down.

Cross-linguistic context: The word or its cognates appear in other North Germanic languages with similar meanings, though exact spelling, pronunciation, and grammatical behavior can differ. It is part of everyday vocabulary and also appears in fixed phrases and descriptive expressions.

See also: ligga, ligge, lay, low.