afleidt

Afleidt is a Dutch verb form associated with the verb afleiden. In standard modern Dutch, the present tense third-person singular is written as leidt af rather than as a single word afleidt. The base verb afleiden is separable, and its conjugation follows the pattern ik leid af, jij leidt af, hij leidt af, wij leiden af, etc. The form afleidt may appear in older texts or as a common misspelling, but it is not the normative spelling in contemporary usage.

Afleiden has several related meanings. In logic and language, it means to deduce or infer something from data or premises; a typical construction is uit deze gegevens leidt men af dat … For example: Uit deze cijfers leidt men af dat de markt zal groeien. In mathematics is afleiden the act of differentiating a function, though the present-tense form is normally written as leidt af (not afleidt) in standard sentences. The result in calculus is the afgeleide (the derivative). In the area of word formation, afleiden can also mean to derive a word from another; the past participle is afgeleid, and the noun afleiding corresponds to derivation or a detour, depending on context.

Usage notes emphasize that afleiden generally appears in phrases where the verb’s object is derived from or inferred from another source. Writers often encounter the separated form leidt af in everyday and technical Dutch; afleidt should be avoided in formal writing unless reflecting a nonstandard or historical spelling.

See also: afleiding, afgeleid, afleiden.