øvre

Övre is a Swedish adjective meaning upper, higher, or top, used to designate the upper part of something in relation to another part. It appears in everyday language as well as technical terms, and is commonly contrasted with nedre, meaning lower. Examples include övre våningen (the upper floor) or övre delen av staden (the upper part of the city).

In grammar, övre precedes the noun it modifies and agrees with the noun’s definiteness and number. Typical forms include den övre våningen (the upper floor) and övre våningar (upper floors). The adjective is used in both general descriptions and specialized phrases, such as those found in architecture, geography, and anatomy.

Applications range from architectural descriptions, where övre refers to the upper storeys or levels, to geography, where it can indicate the upper reaches of a river or the upper portion of a landscape. In anatomy, compounds like övre extremitet describe the upper limb. The term is flexible across contexts, often signaling position, rank, or prominence within a set of two or more related parts.

Etymologically, övre derives from the preposition över meaning over, with adaptations to form an adjective indicating the higher position. It has cognates in other Scandinavian languages (for example, Norwegian øvre and Danish that share the same root).

See also: nedre, över, upper in other languages.