Aanstelt

Aanstelt is a historical or dialectal Dutch verb form that appears in some older texts as a third-person singular present tense of the verb aanstellen, meaning to appoint or designate. In contemporary standard Dutch, the present tense is formed as hij stelt aan, with the prefix separated in ordinary usage. The spelling aanstelt is therefore largely archaic or regional and is seldom encountered in modern writing.

Etymology and spelling patterns: aanstellen combines the prefix aan- with stellen (to place or set). Variants in older Dutch orthography sometimes featured an -t ending in the third-person singular present, yielding aanstelt, before standardization shifted toward steller constructions such as stelt aan. The past tense and past participle follow the regular patterns of aanstellen (stelde aan / aangesteld).

Usage and context: Aanstelt is mainly of historical interest and appears most often in studies of Early Modern Dutch, philological analyses, or regional dialect literature. In modern Dutch, one would use bijvoorbeeld: “hij stelt een ambassadeur aan” rather than “hij aanstelt een ambassadeur.” Writers reproducing historical texts may retain the archaic form for fidelity to the period’s spelling.

Relation to related terms: The primary related verb is aanstellen (to appoint, install, employ). Related nouns include aanstelling (appointment) and terms describing the act of appointing.

See also: aanstellen, aanstelling, appoint, Dutch verb conjugation, old Dutch orthography.

Note: Aanstelt as a standalone modern term is not standard in contemporary Dutch and is typically encountered only in historical or dialectal contexts.