uppslags

Uppslags is a bound morpheme used in Swedish to indicate lookup or reference in lexicography and library contexts. It commonly appears in compounds such as uppslagsord and uppslagsverk, where it signals that a word or topic is intended for lookup in a reference work rather than in general prose. The form derives from the verb slå upp, meaning to look up or open a book to a page, and it carries the sense of indexing or accessing a reference entry.

Uppslagsord refers to the headword or entry form under which a dictionary or encyclopedia article is organized. It is the lemma that users search for, and the accompanying definition or article is built around that form. Uppslagsverk denotes reference works that compile such entries, including dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other compendia designed for lookup rather than narrative reading. In practice, uppslags terms play a central role in how information is organized, retrieved, and cross-referenced within these works.

In everyday language, uppslags is not typically used as a standalone noun; it functions as a productive prefix or fragment that qualifies other nouns to denote a reference or lookup function. Similar terminology exists in related Scandinavian languages, such as oppslagsord in Norwegian and opslagsord in Danish, with a parallel meaning related to headwords and reference entries in their respective dictionaries or encyclopedias.