dokumentiert

Dokumentiert is the past participle of the German verb dokumentieren, meaning to document, record, or provide evidence. It functions both as a participle in compound tenses (ich habe dokumentiert) and as an adjective preceding a noun (ein dokumentierter Bericht, dokumentierte Daten). As an adjective, it declines according to gender, case, and number: ein dokumentierter Bericht; eine dokumentierte Datei; dem dokumentierten Bericht.

Etymology and formation: The noun Dokument comes from Latin documentum and reached German via French and other routes, while the verb dokumentieren is formed from the noun with the -ieren suffix, a common pattern for German verbs meaning “to make or to cause to be.” The sense of the term has grown with the development of systematic record-keeping in science, administration, journalism, and technology, where documentation is a standard practice to ensure traceability and verifiability.

Usage and nuance: In modern German, dokumentiert often signals that information, observations, or materials have been officially recorded, archived, or verified. It is frequently used in scientific papers, technical documentation, legal or administrative contexts, and data practices. Common phrases include dokumentierte Ergebnisse (documented results), dokumentierte Quellen (documented sources), and dokumentierte Prozesse (documented processes). Related terms include Dokument (document) and Dokumentation (documentation), which describe the object or the process of recording information.