samhällenens

Samhällenens is a Swedish morphological form that denotes possession related to the plural noun samhällen, meaning societies. It functions as a genitive form used when referring to something that belongs to or concerns more than one society. In standard Swedish, possessive forms are typically realized with the suffix -s. For indefinite plurals, the genitive is usually samhällens, while for definite plurals the possessive is samhällenas (as in samhällenas utveckling). The form samhällenens is relatively uncommon in contemporary standard Swedish and is often considered nonstandard or archaic, potentially appearing as a spelling variation in older texts or in dialectal writing.

Usage notes: The choice between samhällens and samhällenas depends on whether the noun is indefinite or definite. In practice, Swedish writers most commonly use samhällens when the reference is indefinite (the societies’ views, the societies’ structures) and samhällenas when the definite plural is intended. Some writers may encounter samhällenens in historical sources or stylistic contexts, but it is not the prevailing norm in modern formal Swedish.

Examples: samhällens mångfald (the diversity of the societies), samhällens ekonomi (the economies of the societies), samhällenas utveckling (the development of the societies).

Etymology: The form combines samhälle 'society' with the plural suffix -n to form samhällen, then the possessive suffix -s. The result is a genitive construction used to convey belonging or relation to multiple societies.

See also: samhälle, samhällenas, genitive (Swedish), Swedish grammar.