beheimaten

Beheimaten is a German verb meaning to provide a home for someone or something, or to establish someone or something as resident in a place. It is used transitively, as in Die Stadt beheimatet eine Universität (the city is home to a university). It can also describe where something is located, for example Das Museum ist in der Stadt beheimatet (the museum is housed in the city). Beheimaten can convey the sense of settling in or hosting in a more permanent way, including the idea of making a place a new home for people or institutions.

Etymology and form: The term derives from be- plus heim, meaning home. The prefix be- adds a sense of effect or inclusion. The word is attested in regional and standard varieties of German since the Middle High German period, and it is used both in finite forms (beheimatet, beheimatest) and as a participle in compound constructions (ist beheimatet).

Usage notes: In formal or descriptive writing, beheimaten is common for institutions, organizations, or facilities that are based in a location, such as cities, museums, companies, or universities. It can also describe a natural or ecological relationship, for example a region beheimatet certain species. In biology or ecology, Beheimatung refers to the hosting or resident relationship of an organism within a particular habitat or host.

See also: Heimat, heimisch, Unterkunft, Sitz.