bevölkert

Bevölkert is a German adjective and the past participle of the verb bevölkern, meaning inhabited or populated. It describes an area that has residents or a presence of people, often in a geographic, historical, or demographic context.

Etymology and form: The word is built from the prefix be- combined with Volk (people) and the suffix -ern, yielding bevölkern, to populate or settle a place with people. As an adjective, bevölkert and its inflected forms (bevölkerte, bevölkertes, bevölkerten) describe the state of a location being populated. In compounds one frequently finds phrases such as bevölkerte Gebiete, bevölkerte Inseln or bevölkerte Regionen.

Usage: Bevölkert is used in geography, history, and demography to indicate that a region has a population. It is more formal or descriptive than everyday bewohnt, and it can emphasize the historical process of settlement as well as the present state. The passive voice is common, e.g., Die Insel wurde bevölkert. Related terms include Besiedlung (settlement), Bevölkerung (population), and Bevölkerungsdichte (population density).

See also: Besiedlung, Bevölkerung, Bevölkerungsdichte, Bevölkerungsentwicklung, Besiedeln.

Examples: Eine bevölkerte Insel implies that people live there. Ein bevölkertes Gebiet bezeichnet ein Gebiet mit einer Anwohnerschaft. Historisch kann von einer Bevölkerungsentwicklung gesprochen werden, wenn eine Region allmählich bevölkert wurde.