opplyste

Opplyste is a Norwegian word that primarily appears as a verb form and, less commonly, as an adjective. As a verb, opplyste is the simple past tense of opplyse, meaning to illuminate, to light up, or to inform. In this sense it denotes an action completed in the past, such as “Han opplyste rommet med en lampe” or “Avisen opplyste leserne om nyhetene.”

Semantically, opplyse can refer to lighting a physical space or to providing information. The word is formed by the prefix opp- and lyse (“to light”), with the past-tense suffix -te, yielding opplyste in the past tense. The root also gives opplysning (“enlightenment,” “information”) and related terms such as opplysningsperioden.

Grammatical note: As a verb, opplyste is widely used in past statements. As an adjective, the standard modern form is opplyst, as in et opplyst rom (“an illuminated room”). The attributive form opplyste is rarely used in contemporary Norwegian and is typically found in older texts or dialects.

See also: opplysning, opplysningstiden, opplyse.