Erkannter

Erkannter is a German adjective formed from the verb erkennen, meaning to recognize or identify. In usage, erkannter describes something or someone that has been identified, recognized, or acknowledged, often by an authority or within an official context. The term is common in formal, legal, or law-enforcement language, where identification plays a central role.

In practice, erkannter is typically placed before a noun, with the article determining its exact ending. For example, with an indefinite article in the masculine nominative, one would say ein erkannter Täter (an identified/offender). With a definite article, der erkannte Täter (the identified offender) is used. The form changes according to gender, case, and number, following standard German adjective declension patterns. The word is closely related to, but not fully interchangeable with, synonyms such as identifiziert (identified) or anerkannt (recognized or acknowledged in a broader sense). Aerkanntheiten can imply different nuances: identifiziert emphasizes the act of identification; anerkannt stresses general recognition or approval.

Etymologically, erkannter derives from erkennen (to recognize/identify) via the past participle erkannt, used attributively as an adjective in its declined forms. In contemporary German, erkannter appears most often in police reports, court documents, and news reporting, where precise identification of a person or object is relevant.

See also: erkennen; identifizieren; anerkennen; erkannter Täter in legal or investigative contexts.