Bevolken

Bevolken is a Dutch verb meaning to populate or to inhabit a place by people. It describes the act of making a region or settlement occupied, often through historical settlement, migration, or demographic change. The term is used in both geographic and demographic contexts to indicate that an area gains residents or becomes inhabited.

In usage, bevolken can appear in passive constructions and in active forms. Examples: De kuststreek werd in de zeventiende eeuw bevolkt door vissers en handelaren. Nieuwe immigranten bevolkten de stad. Tegenwoordig wordt de regio bevolkt door een diverse gemeenschap. The verb is commonly followed by nouns such as gebied, streek, regio, stad, land, or volk.

Grammatical notes: bevolken is a regular Dutch verb with the stem bevolk-. Present tense forms include ik bevolk, jij bevolkt, hij bevolkt, wij bevolken, jullie bevolken, zij bevolken. The past tense is bevolkte for all persons except the plural/ik, and the past participle is bevolkt. The prefix be- attached to volk (people) indicates a transitive, causative-like sense typical of several Dutch verbs.

Related terms and concepts include bevolking (the population) and bevolkingsdichtheid (population density), bevolkingsgroei (population growth), and bevolkingsstatistiek (demographic statistics). Bevolken contrasts with woorden als koloniseren (colonize) and migreren (migrate), which describe broader or different processes of movement and settlement.