determinierte

Determinierte is a German verb form that appears in the simple past (Präteritum) of the verb determinieren, which means to determine, to decide, or to specify. The form determinierte is used in the first-person singular (ich determinierte) and in the third-person singular (er determinierte, sie determinierte) in formal narrative or written texts. Because deze form can be identical for different subjects in the singular, context typically clarifies who performed the action.

Determinieren is a regular verb, commonly used in everyday language as well as in technical contexts such as science, mathematics, law, and engineering. In mathematics, determinieren can mean to determine a value, identify a solution, or specify parameters within a model or data set. In general prose, determinieren can describe the act of deciding or fixing conditions after analysis.

A related but distinct term is Determinante, the German noun for determinant, a scalar value associated with a square matrix. Although etymologically connected through the Latin root determinare (to bound or fix), determinierte (the verb form) and Determinante (the noun) refer to different grammatical or mathematical concepts. Detailing this distinction helps avoid confusion in texts that mix narrative past forms with technical terminology.

Etymology traces determinieren to Latin determinare, via Germanic language development, with adoption into scientific and formal registers in the modern era. The normal present tense determinieren is widely used in contemporary German, while determinierte appears mainly in past-tense narration or reported speech. In modern usage, detemination tasks in mathematics more often employ the noun Determinante and related terminology rather than the verb form determinierte.