slås

Slås is a verb used in Danish and Norwegian (and understood in other Scandinavian languages) with several related meanings tied to striking, fighting, and claiming or closing with force. It derives from the Old Norse verb slá, meaning to strike, and has developed into senses that cover physical combat, verbal or ideological contention, and forceful closure of objects.

In the sense of conflict, slås denotes that people or groups engage in a fight or struggle, either physically or figuratively. It is commonly used with om to indicate competition for something, as in power or influence, and its form often appears in constructions describing rivalries or disputes.

In a mechanical or physical sense, slås can describe a forceful action that makes something move or shut, such as a door slamming shut: døren slås igen. This usage emphasizes a sudden, forcible action and is frequently found in descriptions of events or weather effects.

Slås is related to other forms of the verb slå and to the reflexive form slåss, which explicitly means to fight. The noun slag is connected to blows, while slagsmål means a fight or brawl. These terms help distinguish between the act of fighting (slåss, slagsmål) and the act of striking or closing with force (slås in its mechanical sense).

Etymologically, slås traces back to Old Norse slá and has cognates in other Scandinavian languages, such as Swedish and Norwegian, where similar forms and meanings persist. In contemporary usage, slås appears frequently in journalism and everyday speech to describe power struggles, sports rivalries, or physical altercations.