omfattade

Omfattade is a Swedish verb form derived from omfatta, meaning to include, to comprise or to cover. In ordinary use it denotes that something has a certain scope or extent; for example, kursen omfattade tre terminer (the course encompassed three terms). The word can also express that a larger range has been included within something, such as an report that encompasses several topics.

As a verb, omfattade is the simple past tense (preterite) of omfatta. Its present tense is omfattar, the supine or perfect participle is omfattat, and the past participle used as an adjective is omfattad. In practice, the verb is used to describe what a subject covered in time, space, or content, e.g., studierna omfattade många ämnen. In everyday writing, omfatta is common in formal and semiformal contexts to indicate scope or extent.

Etymologically, omfatta combines prefixet om- with fatta, a verb related to grasping or taking in. The prefix reinforces the sense of taking in or including everything within a boundary. The concept is closely related to nouns and adjectives such as omfattning (scope, extent) and omfattande (extensive, comprehensive). While omfattad can function as a past-participle adjective, the more frequent adjective for meaning “extensive” is omfattande.

Usage notes: omfattade is widely used in administrative, academic, and journalistic Swedish to describe the reach of programs, studies, laws, or surveys. It is often contrasted with innefatta, which emphasizes containing or comprising elements more than the overall scope.

See also: omfatta, omfattning, omfattande.