Overstekende

Overstekende is the present participle of the Dutch verb oversteken, meaning to cross. In Dutch, it is typically used as an adjective describing someone or something that is in the act of crossing, rather than as a standalone noun. For example, overstekende voetganger refers to a pedestrian who is crossing a street.

Common collocations include overstekende voetganger(s), overstekende dieren (animals crossing), and occasionally overstekende reizigers in descriptions of people passing through a crossing. The form agrees with the noun in number and gender: een overstekende voetganger (singular) and twee overstekende voetgangers (plural).

Grammatical note: as a participle, overstekende is declined to match the noun it modifies. In practice it frequently replaces a relative clause in descriptive text, e.g., de voetganger die aan het oversteken is can be written more compactly as de overstekende voetganger, though the latter is most natural in written rather than spoken language.

Usage and context: in traffic safety and traffic law discussions, overstekende voetgangers denotes pedestrians who are crossing, and drivers are expected to yield. Signs and warnings in Dutch often refer to overstekende voetgangers to alert road users to potential crossing pedestrians, especially near schools, intersections, or residential areas.

Etymology: overstekende is formed from over- (across) and steken (to stab or to cross), with oversteken meaning to cross something, such as a street or river. The term is common in everyday language as well as in traffic-related discourse.