gegessen

Gegessen is the past participle of the German verb essen, meaning “to eat.” It is used with the auxiliary haben to form perfect tenses, as in Ich habe gegessen or Wir haben schon gegessen. In subordinate clauses, the participle remains at the end, e.g., Nachdem ich gegessen hatte, ging ich.

Beyond its role in perfect tenses, gegessen can function as a participial adjective in attributive or predicative position to indicate that something has been eaten. Examples include das gegessene Brot or eine schon gegessene Mahlzeit. In fixed expressions, the phrase Die Sache ist gegessen is used to mean that the matter is settled or finished.

Pronunciation is approximately gegessen with the emphasis on the second syllable: [ɡəˈɡɛsən]. In terms of grammar, the present tense forms of essen follow the irregular paradigm (ich esse, du isst, er isst), while gegessen remains the past participle used in compound tenses.

Etymology and related forms: gegessen is formed with the ge- prefix attached to the verb essen. It derives from the same root as essen, tracing back to Old High German esse(n) and to Proto-Germanic etaną. Related verbs and concepts include verzehren, speisen, and the separable verb auffressen/aufessen, whose participles are aufgegessen and so on.

Summary: Gegessen is a central German past participle used to express completed eating actions, appears in various tenses with haben, can be used adjectivally, and features in idiomatic expressions about finished matters.