älta

See also: Appendix:Variations of "alta" and ælta

Swedish

Etymology

According to Nationalencyklopedins ordbok, the noun definition is attested since 1635, originally meaning "something". The verb comes from the Old Swedish ælta (“to drive, to hunt; to stir, to knead”), from Old Norse elta (“to drive, hunt, knead”), from Proto-Germanic *alatjaną (“to drive, move”), related to Ancient Greek ἐλαύνω (elaúnō, “to drive”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɛlˌta/

Noun

älta c

1. (archaic, colloquial) General term for several child diseases, especially the rickets.

Declension

Declension of älta

		nominative	genitive
singular	indefinite	älta	ältas
	definite	ältan	ältans
plural	indefinite	—	—
	definite	—	—

Verb

älta (present ältar, preterite ältade, supine ältat, imperative älta)

1. to repeatedly ponder over or discuss an issue without reaching a constructive solution; to brood, to harp

   Hon ältade alltid gamla misstag när hon var deprimerad.

   She always brooded old mistakes when she was depressed.

2. to vigorously stir or knead something

   Du måste älta murbruket tills det får en jämn konsistens.

   You have to work the mortar until it has an even consistency.

Conjugation

Conjugation of älta (weak)

	Active		Passive
Infinitive	älta		ältas
Supine	ältat		ältats
Imperative	älta		—
Imper. plural1	älten		—
	Present	Past	Present	Past
Indicative	ältar	ältade	ältas	ältades
Ind. plural1	älta	ältade	ältas	ältades
Subjunctive2	älte	ältade	ältes	ältades
	Participles
Present participle	ältande
Past participle	ältad
1 Archaic. 2 Dated. See the appendix on Swedish verbs.

Related terms

• ältning

Further reading

• älta in Svensk ordbok.