abzeichnet

Abzeichnen is a German verb with several related meanings. The primary sense is technical drawing: to transfer or reproduce a drawing onto another sheet or surface by tracing, in order to create a precise outline. In architectural, engineering, and graphic workflows, abzeichnen refers to copying lines from a master drawing onto a blank sheet, producing a tracing known as the Abzeichnung.

In everyday language the term also has a figurative use: sich abzeichnen means to become evident or likely, to emerge as a trend or result. For example, it is common to say that a pattern or outcome zeichnet sich ab, indicating that it is starting to show itself.

Grammatically, abzeichnen is a separable verb. In present tense it is written as er zeichnet ab, ich zeichne ab, etc.; in the perfect it becomes ich habe abgezeichnet, and the simple past is ich zeichnete ab. The base form used for references is abzeichnen, while abzeichnet is the third-person singular present form.

The noun form Abzeichnung denotes the act or result of tracing, i.e., the traced drawing or the tracing process itself. Related terms include nachzeichnen (to trace again or copy by tracing) and überzeichnen (to redraw or to outline over existing lines). In German-speaking contexts, abzeichnen appears in both technical and ordinary discourse, reflecting its mixed practical and figurative uses.

In summary, abzeichnen centers on copying or outlining through tracing in a drawing context, with a broader metaphorical use to describe something that begins to become apparent.