Gemalen

Gemalen is a Dutch term with multiple meanings, used in different contexts. It can refer to the plural of gemaal, meaning pumping stations used for water management, and it can also function as the past participle and an adjective meaning ground or milled, as in foods and spices.

As a noun, gemalen denotes pumping stations. In the Netherlands, gemalen are critical infrastructure for draining land, preventing floods, and maintaining safe water levels in polders and along the coast. They range from historic windmill-powered facilities to modern electrically driven pumps, often operated by regional water boards. These installations are part of a broader system of dikes, canals, and sluices designed to manage water in a country with substantial low-lying areas. The capacity of gemalen is typically measured in cubic meters per second and is adjusted to weather conditions and land use.

As an adjective, gemalen means ground or milled. It is used to describe products that have been processed by grinding. Common applications include gemalen koffie (ground coffee), gemalen peper (ground pepper), and gemalen specerijen (ground spices). The term can appear in phrases such as versgemalen koffie (freshly ground coffee), contrasting with whole or unground forms.

Etymology at the core lies in malen, to grind, with gemalen functioning as the past participle and, when used as an adjective, as a descriptor of processed, ground material. The word also shares a spelling boundary with its plural noun form gemalen, which can lead to contextual interpretation based on sentence meaning.