väsen

Væsen is a Danish noun with several related meanings that reflect existence, essence, and organized bodies. In everyday language it often denotes a living being or creature, roughly equivalent to being or creature in English.

In philosophical and theological writing, væsen is used to mean essence or substance—the fundamental nature of a thing, its what-it-is beyond appearances. The term can appear in discussions of ontology to distinguish between phenomena and underlying reality.

In administrative and legal contexts, væsen can denote an organized body or institution, such as a public agency or government office. In this sense the word emphasizes the entity as a defined unit within a system, rather than a single person.

The Danish word has cognates in other Scandinavian languages; Norwegian uses vesen with similar meanings. The etymology traces back to Old Norse and related Germanic roots connected to being or existence.

Plurals and usage notes: væsen can take the plural væsener when referring to multiple beings. The intended sense is determined by context: a living being, the essential nature of something, or a formal organization. The term is more common in formal or literary usage for its philosophical and bureaucratic senses, while in everyday speech the concrete words for person or creature are often preferred.