Lijkend

Lijkend is a Dutch word that functions as the present participle or adjective form of the verb lijken, which means to seem or to resemble. It denotes that something is resembling or appearing to be something else. In usage, it can describe likeness or similarity in descriptive or analytical contexts.

The form lij kend / lijkend is used to introduce likeness in participial phrases, often in literary, decorative, or critical writing. For example, a statement might refer to a “beeld lijkend op een historisch figuur” to indicate that the statue resembles a historical figure. The participle can also appear in reduced relative clauses to express resemblance within a broader description. In standard modern Dutch, the present participle is written as lijkend (often seen as lijkend in older texts); both spellings convey the same meaning in practice.

Etymology goes back to the verb lijken, and the sense of appearance or resemblance is common across related Germanic languages. The meaning of lijkend is wholly about appearance or likeness, not about substance or authorship.

Usage notes: Lijkend is relatively formal and more likely to appear in literature, art criticism, or scholarly writing than in everyday speech. It is distinct from the noun lijk, which means corpse; the two are homographs but clearly distinguished by context.

Related terms include gelijken (to resemble), gelijkend (similar), vergelijkbaar (comparable), and soortgelijk (similar). The core idea centers on resemblance, not identity, making lijkend a precise tool for describing likeness in Dutch prose.