Skuldens

Skuldens is a term that appears in Dutch language sources primarily in historical or legal contexts. In standard modern Dutch, the ordinary words for debt are schuld (singular) and schulden (plural). The form schuldens is encountered mainly as an archaic or stylistic variant and not as a common everyday usage. When it does appear, it is typically understood as related to the concept of debt or liabilities, sometimes functioning as a possessive or attributive form in older texts, meaning something akin to “belonging to the debt” or “the debts’ …” in a phrase.

Etymology and form: schuldens is connected to the noun schuld, which denotes financial debt or an obligation. The suffix -ens is characteristic of older Dutch and related Germanic inflection patterns, and its appearance is typically confined to historical documents or specialized legal language rather than contemporary prose.

Usage: In contemporary Dutch, writers and speakers generally avoid schuldens in favor of clear constructions such as de schulden (the debts) or van de schulden (of the debts). When schuldens is found in legal manuscripts or historical texts, it is often part of phrasing that reflects archaic punctuation or syntax rather than current practice.

Relation to related terms: The ordinary parallel terms are schuld (debt) and schulden (debts). In broader discussions, schuldens may be contrasted with concepts such as liability, insolvency, and debt management.

See also: Schuld, Schulden, Liability, Insolvency, Debt.