Kreuzte

Kreuzte is the simple past tense (Präteritum) form of the German verb kreuzen, which means to cross, intersect, or traverse. It is used in narrative or formal writing to indicate a completed crossing or crossing-related action. In the Präteritum, kreuzte appears for ich and er/sie/es; the other persons use du kreuztest, wir kreuzten, ihr kreuztet, sie/Sie kreuzten. The past participle is gekreuzt. The verb is built from the noun Kreuz (cross) with the common -en verb ending, and it shares roots with cognate verbs in other Germanic languages. Etymologically, kreuzen derives from older Germanic forms related to the concept of a cross, with its development tied to the noun Kreuz and related terms in historical German.

In usage, kreuzte can describe physically crossing an object or space, as in ich kreuzte mir die Finger, während ich auf das Ergebnis wartete, or er kreuzte die Beine, während er wartete. It can also appear in more literal or figurative crossings, such as two lines crossing in a diagram: Eine Linie kreuzte eine andere. In narrative text, kreuzte serves as a straightforward past-tense marker and is common in historical or descriptive prose. It contrasts with überqueren in some contexts, where überqueren emphasizes crossing a barrier (like a street or river), while kreuzen has a broader range of uses, including crossing paths, intersecting lines, or crossing symbols.

See also Kreuz, Kreuzung, kreuzen.