ålders

Ålders is a Swedish bound form that appears mainly in compound words related to age. It derives from the noun ålder (age) and is used as the form ålders- in front of another noun to create age-related terms. Common examples are åldersgrupp (singular: åldersgrupp; plural: åldersgrupper), åldersgräns, and ålderspension. In these compounds the meaning is typically “of age” or “age-related.”

Etymologically, ålders comes from ålder with the suffix -s, a productive prefix in Swedish that forms age-related nouns and adjectives. It is not usually used alone as a stand-alone word; rather it marks a semantic field in compounds and is attached to nouns to indicate a relationship to age.

Usage notes include that ålders- compounds are common in legal, medical, and social contexts, such as describing age groups, age limits, or pension schemes. Stand-alone ålders is rare outside of fixed expressions or as part of a proper name. When used as a surname, Ålders occurs in Swedish-speaking contexts but is uncommon, and it is not widely represented in international name registries.

Overall, Ålders functions as a linguistic tool to denote age-related concepts within Swedish vocabulary, primarily through compound formations rather than as an independent lexical item. Related terms include ålder, åldersgrupp, åldersgräns, ålderspension, and age-related adjectives.