oversigt

Oversigt is a Danish noun meaning overview, survey, or synopsis. It refers to a concise presentation of the main points of a subject, project, or body of information, intended to give a high-level understanding without the details. The term is commonly used in education, business, administration, journalism, and planning to summarize complex material.

Etymology and form: Oversigt is a compound of over- meaning “across” or “above” and sigt (view, sight, aim). The combination conveys the idea of a view from above or a broad, overall perspective. The word has long been part of Danish, with related forms in other Scandinavian languages and Germanic languages.

Usage and contexts: An oversigt can stand alone as a brief summary or accompany more detailed material, such as an oversigt over forløbet (overview of the course) or an oversigt over regnskabet (overview of the accounts). It is also used in cartography and planning, for example in oversigtskort, meaning an overview map showing the general layout of a region. In academic and professional writing, an oversigt helps readers grasp structure, key points, and relationships before diving into specifics.

Related terms and cognates: In Norwegian Bokmål the equivalent is oversikt, and in Swedish översikt. Danish synonyms include resumé, sammendrag, and kortfattet gennemgang, though oversigt emphasizes a high-level, synthesized view rather than a detailed account.

See also: overview, summary, outline, synopsis.