ögonblicken

Ögonblicken is a Swedish noun meaning a brief period of time, typically translated as “the moment” or “the moments” in context. It is the definite form of the word ögonblick, which comes from a compound of öga (eye) and blick (glance), reflecting the sense of a fleeting instant or a single look. In ordinary usage, ett ögonblick refers to a moment in time, and phrases like i ett ögonblick mean “in a moment” or “in an instant.”

The definite form ögonblicken is used when the moment or moments are specified or known from context. The term can express both literal and figurative moments, and it often appears in narrative and descriptive prose to mark a short, decisive interval or a turn of events. Ögonblicken can also be employed metaphorically to signal a turning point or a significant but brief period of experience.

In cross-linguistic terms, ögonblick is cognate with the German Augenblick, which shares the same literal root and broad sense of a fleeting instant. The concept has parallels in many languages, where a single instant is treated as a potentially decisive or memorable interval.

See also: Augenblick (German).