Gewekt

Gewekt is a Dutch word that functions as the past participle of the verb wekken, meaning to wake or awaken. It is used to describe something that has been awakened, or to describe a person who has been awakened. In practice this appears in constructions such as hij heeft me gewekt (he woke me up) and in attributive phrases like gewekte belangstelling (aroused interest). In perfect tenses it combines with hebben, for example: ik heb hem gewekt.

Etymology and cognates: gewekt comes from the verb wekken, which is related to similar forms in other Germanic languages. Cognates include German wecken and English wake. The underlying root is traced back to Proto-Germanic origins, reflecting the common idea of arousing or waking.

Distinction from geweekt: Dutch also has the past participle geweekt, which is the past participle of weken, meaning to soak. Although they look similar, gewekt and geweekt belong to different verbs with different meanings. Geweekt is used for waking, while geweekt (with two e’s) is used for soaking or wetting substances, as in geweekt voedsel (soaked food) or geweekt garen (soaked yarn).

Usage and register: Gewekt is a standard, neutral term in everyday Dutch, found in both spoken and written language. It occurs in literal waking contexts as well as in figurative expressions such as gewekte belangstelling. The word may appear more frequently in formal or literary style, and in religious or rhetorical writing it might occur in phrases evoking awakening or revival.

See also: wekken, ontwaken, wake (foreign-language cognates).