gebreekde

Gebreekde is a term found in Dutch-language contexts that is not part of modern standard Dutch vocabulary. In scholarly and historical sources it is sometimes described as an archaic or dialectal form relating to the past participle of the verb breken, meaning broken or damaged. In contemporary usage, the standard past participle is gebroken, and gebreekde is rarely encountered outside older texts or regional varieties.

Etymology and orthography

The form derives from the common Dutch prefix ge- attached to the verb stem breek (to break). In older or regional spellings, the participial ending -de could appear, producing forms that resemble gebreekde. Because Dutch spelling conventions have since standardized different suffixes for participles, gebreekde today is understood chiefly as a historical or dialectal variant rather than a productive modern form.

Usage and attestations

Gebreekde is most often cited in historical documents, regional dialect dictionaries, or linguistic analyses that examine early modern Dutch and its variants. When it does appear, it functions adjectivally or predicatively to denote something that has been broken or damaged, similar in meaning to gebroken, but its usage is atypical in contemporary writing. Modern Dutch speakers would normally use gebroken in such contexts.

Relation to standard Dutch

As a non-standard or archaic form, gebreekde does not have a defined role in contemporary standard Dutch grammar. It is primarily of interest to historians of the Dutch language, dialectology, and philology, who study older texts and regional spellings to understand how the language has evolved.

See also: gebroken, breken, Dutch dialects, historical Dutch orthography.