bevölkern

Bevölkern is a German verb meaning to populate a place with people or to form a population in a given area. It denotes the act of inhabiting and settling an area by human beings. The verb is transitive and typically takes a place as its direct object; in passive constructions the agent can be introduced with von, as in Die Stadt wurde von Römern bevölkert.

Etymology is straightforward: bevölkern is formed from the noun Volk (people) with the prefix Be- and the usual -ern verb ending, and it is closely related to the noun Bevölkerung (population).

Usage notes: bevölkern is commonly used in historical, demographic, or descriptive contexts. It often emphasizes the presence and composition of the population rather than the act of founding a settlement. It can describe who inhabited a place at a given time. By contrast, besiedeln focuses more on the act of establishing a settlement or colonizing a region; a place can be besiedelt (settled) even if the specific groups are not emphasized in the same way as with bevölkern.

Examples: Römer bevölkerten die Stadt. Die Insel wurde von Piraten bevölkert. The same place can later be described as bevölkert by various groups or changed by new waves of inhabitants.

See also: Bevölkerungen, Bevölkerungsentwicklung, Besiedeln, Bevoelkerung.