Zeitlicher

Zeitlicher is a German adjective meaning temporal or time-related. It is used to describe phenomena, processes, or relationships that occur in time. The word is formed from Zeit (time) plus the suffix -lich, typical for adjectives that denote properties.

In grammar, zeitlicher appears in inflected forms according to case, gender, number, and determiner. It is most commonly seen in forms such as zeitlicher (masculine singular in certain contexts), zeitliche (feminine or plural, or after definite articles), or zeitliches (neuter). A typical usage with an indefinite article is ein zeitlicher Abstand. With a definite article, the form changes to die zeitliche Abfolge or der zeitliche Verlauf, depending on case. In phrases like im zeitlichen Verlauf, the ending adapts to the dative after a fixed preposition.

Common collocations include zeitlicher Abstand (temporal distance), zeitliche Abfolge (temporal sequence), zeitlicher Verlauf (temporal course), zeitliche Dimension (temporal dimension), and zeitlicher Rahmen (temporal frame). These phrases appear across disciplines such as history, physics, linguistics, and philosophy to specify when events occur, how processes unfold over time, or how time-related relations are structured.

Zeitlicher contrasts with zeitlich as an adverb, which is used to describe something in a temporal sense rather than as a modifier of a noun. As a noun, the related concept is Temporalität, which denotes the nature or structure of time itself.

See also: Zeit, Temporalität, Chronologie, Temporalität.