Adäquate

Adäquate is a term found in German-language usage that conveys the sense of being adequate, sufficient, or appropriate for a given purpose. In standard German, the base adjective is adäquat, with inflected forms such as adäquate (feminine singular, after an indefinite article) and adäquater (masculine singular). The capitalized form Adäquate can appear when the word is used as a proper noun, a brand name, or a coined title, but it is not a common standalone noun in ordinary writing.

Etymology and cognates: Adäquat derives from the Latin adequatus, through Old French or directly into German, sharing a root with the English word adequate. The common thread across these languages is the notion of something made equal to a standard or meeting a required level.

Usage: The term is used to describe whether something meets a stated standard, requirement, or expectation. Examples include phrases like “eine adäquate Lösung” (an adequate solution) or “adäquate Maßnahme” (an appropriate measure). In translations, adäquat/adäquate often corresponds to the English “adequate” or “appropriate,” depending on context and tone. It can carry connotations of sufficiency without implying excellence.

Notes: When encountered as a capitalized name, Adäquate typically signals branding or a specific project, not a general grammatical form. Without context, it is best understood as the German adjective/adverb meaning adequate.

See also: Adequate; Adequacy; Angemessenheit; Appropriateness.