Slaat

Slaat is the third-person singular present tense form of the Dutch verb slaan, which means to strike, hit, or beat with a physical blow. The verb also covers wider senses such as to drive or press something with force, to strike a clock (as in the clock striking the hour), and in some contexts to make a decisive impact or to defeat someone or something in competition. The form slaat appears in many everyday expressions, from violent contexts to colloquial phrases about impact or timing.

Morphology and usage: Slaan is a strong (irregular) verb. The present tense forms are ik sla, jij slaat, hij/zij/het slaat, wij slaan, jullie slaan, zij slaan. The simple past tense is sloeg, with the past participle geslagen. In perfect constructions, Dutch typically uses hebben: ik heb geslagen, hij heeft geslagen. In some fixed phrases referring to clocks, one says de klok slaat twaalf (the clock strikes twelve), with past forms as de klok sloeg twaalf and occasionally de klok heeft twaalf geslagen in certain contexts.

Etymology and relations: Slaan derives from Proto-Germanic roots common to other Germanic languages. It is cognate with German schlagen and English slay/slain, reflecting a shared semantic core of striking or defeating. The Dutch evolution preserves the broad, forceful sense of the root across several related meanings.

See also: The noun slag (the blow, impact, or a strike) derives from the same root and appears in many Dutch expressions describing forceful action. Slaan also participates in numerous idioms and phrasal expressions related to impact, timing, and competition.