opgang

Opgang is a polysemous term used in Dutch and in some Nordic languages, with senses connected to rise, ascent and access. The word derives from a formation meaning “to go up,” and appears in compounds as well as standalone uses.

In Dutch, opgang most often refers to an architectural feature: the part of a building that provides access to upper floors, typically the stairwell or entrance area shared by residents. In everyday use a building is described by its opgangen, for example when listing apartment blocks or common areas. Beyond the architectural sense, opgang also denotes rise or upturn in a more general or figurative sense, for instance in phrases about economic or social development, such as an “opgang” of prosperity, and in proverbial expressions like “opgang en ondergang” (rise and fall). It also occurs in compound terms related to celestial events, most notably zonsopgang (sunrise) and maanopgang (moonrise).

In Danish and Norwegian, cognate forms oppgang/opgang are used similarly to denote a staircase or an entrance hall within a building. In these languages the term can also carry the broader sense of a rise or upturn, depending on context.

Usage notes:

- The form and article can vary with dialect and language (e.g., de opgang, en opgang in Dutch; oppgang/opgang in Danish/Norwegian).

- The word commonly appears in compounds for celestial events and idiomatic expressions about growth or decline.

See also: zonsopgang, maanopgang, opgang en ondergang.