Anfügung

Anfügung is a German noun (die Anfügung) that refers to an attachment or enclosure added to a document. It denotes material that accompanies a main text, such as copies of contracts, lists of documents, maps, or other supplementary items. In administrative, legal, and archival contexts, an Anfügung identifies what is appended to or accompanying the principal document.

The term is historically linked to the act of adding something to a record. It is formed from the prefix an- and a root related to fügen (to add or attach). In modern usage, the preferred terms for the same idea are usually Anlage, Beilage, or Anhang. Anfügung remains recognizable in historical or formal documents and may appear in archival descriptions or older legal writings to designate appended materials.

Usage and nuance

- Anfügung is most often encountered in formal, bureaucratic, or historical texts rather than in everyday language.

- It generally refers to a specific attached item or set of items within a file or dossier, rather than to the broader category of attachments.

- In contemporary writing, writers commonly replace Anfügung with Anlage (attachment in a contract or file) or Beilage (enclosure in correspondence).

Overall, Anfügung functions as a precise term for appended materials within a handled document, but it is less common in modern daily German.