Abgestorbener

Abgestorbener is the masculine nominative singular form of the German adjective derived from the verb absterben, meaning to die or to wither away. It denotes something that has died or withered and is used in both biological and figurative contexts. The form appears when an attributive adjective modifies a masculine noun, as in ein abgestorbener Ast or der abgestorbene Zweig, with the endings varying by article and gender: eine abgestorbene Pflanze, das abgestorbene Gehäuse.

In addition to its adjectival use, abgestorbener can function as a substantivized form: der Abgestorbene, referring to a person who has died. This noun form is capitalized and is common in formal writing, obituaries, or narrative descriptions. The plural is die Abgestorbenen. The substantivized form emphasizes the individual as a deceased person, rather than merely describing the state of dying.

The term is widely used in botany and horticulture to describe plant parts that have died or ceased to live, for example abgestorbene Blätter or abgestorbene Zweige. In these contexts, it functions like a standard descriptive adjective and is declined according to gender, number, and case, e.g., ein abgestorbener Stamm, eine abgestorbene Wurzel, das abgestorbene Gehäuse.

Usage notes: abgestorbener is neutral in tone and context, suitable for scientific, literary, and informal writing. Distinctions exist between its adjectival use and the substantivized form, which shifts emphasis from a state to the individual who has died.