Wohltätigen

Wohltätigen is a German verb that means to do good to someone, to benefit someone through benevolent acts, or to render aid. In modern usage it is relatively rare and is typically found in historical, religious, or literary contexts. The related adjective wohltätig means benevolent or charitable, and the noun Wohltätigkeit denotes benevolence or charitable activity; Wohltäter refers to a benefactor.

Etymology and orthography: The term stems from wohl “well” and tätigen, related to tun “to do.” It appears in older orthography as Wohlthätig; the modern form is Wohltätig, with the verb in the infinitive wohltätigen. In contemporary texts the form with the earlier “th” has largely disappeared outside historical quotations.

Usage and register: Because it is formal or archaic, wohltätigen is most likely to appear in religious discourse, historic writing, or poetic language. In everyday speech and contemporary prose, speakers more commonly express the idea with phrases such as etwas Gutes tun or Wohltätigkeit erweisen rather than using the verb directly.

Conjugation and forms: As a regular verb, wohltätigen follows standard German conjugation patterns. Examples of present tense forms include ich wohltätige, du wohltätigst, er wohltätigt, wir wohltätigen, ihr wohltätigt, sie wohltätigen; the perfect tense is hat wohltätigt, and the past participle is wohltätigt.

See also: Wohltätigkeitsorganisation (charity organization), Wohltätigkeit (benevolence/charity), Wohltäter (benefactor).