svag

Svag is a term found in several North Germanic languages, most commonly Swedish, Danish, and Norwegian, where it means weak or not strong. As an adjective it describes a lack of physical strength, vitality, or force, and it can be used metaphorically for weak arguments, weak signals, or weak flavors. The word also forms common adverbial and noun derivatives in these languages, and it appears in everyday speech as well as in technical or literary contexts.

Etymology and cognates: Svag originates from a Proto-Germanic root, traditionally reconstructed as *swakaz, and is cognate with English weak, German schwach, Dutch zwak, and related forms in other Germanic languages. The root spread across the North Germanic languages with parallel meanings and similar spelling, though exact inflection and usage vary by language.

Forms and usage: In Swedish the base form is svag; the adverbial form is svagt, and the comparative and superlative are svagare and svagast. The noun for weakness is svaghet. In Danish the forms include svag and svagt, with svaghed as the noun for weakness. In Norwegian Bokmål the standard adjective is svak, with svakt as the adverbial form and svakhet as the noun; comparative and superlative forms appear as svakere and svakest. Across these languages the core meaning remains consistent: a lack of strength, effectiveness, or resilience.

See also: Weak (English).