besiegter

Besiegter is a German term derived from the verb besiegen, meaning "to defeat." It can function as an adjective meaning "defeated" or as a noun meaning "the defeated one." As an adjective, it declines with gender, number, and case (for example, ein besiegter Gegner; eine besiegte Mannschaft; die besiegten Gegner). As a noun, it is capitalized: der Besiegte (masculine), die Besiegte (feminine), das Besiegte (neuter); the plural is die Besiegten.

Origin and formation: Besiegter is formed from the past participle besiegt, with the nominalizing suffix -er, a common pattern in German to denote a person associated with an action (the defeated one). This makes it parallel to other agent nouns created from verbs.

Usage: The term appears in military, sports, and literary contexts. It can carry a neutral or formal tone and is somewhat more literary or historical than everyday speech, where Verlierer (loser) or Unterlegene are more common. The opposite concept is Sieger (the winner). In adjectival use, you encounter phrases like ein besiegter Gegner or die besiegten Truppen, while as a noun you would say Der Besiegte gab die Waffen nieder.

Examples: Der Besiegte legte die Waffen nieder. Nach der Schlacht standen die besiegten Soldaten am Rand. Ein besiegter Gegner gab schließlich auf.

See also: Sieger, Niederlage, Unterlegener.