gegründete

Gegründete is the past participle of the German verb gründen and functions as an attributive adjective meaning “founded” or “established.” It is used to indicate that a person, organization, city, or institution has been established in the past. In attributive position, the form gegründete appears with singular nouns when preceded by a definite article (der gegründete Verein, die gegründete Firma, das gegründete Unternehmen) and with the plural lyric der or die geg. The plural form is gegründeten (die gegründeten Firmen, die gegründe? typically die gegründeten Unternehmen). When no article is present, the strong endings apply (gegründeter Verein, gegründete Firma, gegründetes Unternehmen).

Gegründete commonly appears in descriptive or historical writing, corporate histories, and administrative contexts to specify that something has been established. It is distinct from the passive construction with the verb werden: das Unternehmen wurde gegründet (the company was founded). The phrase kann equivalently appear as ein gegründetes Unternehmen in contexts where a definite attribution is desired.

Etymology and related terms: gegründete derives from gründen, meaning to found or establish, with the typical German prefix ge- that marks participles. Related nouns include Gründung (founding) and Begründer/Gründer (founder). The form gegründete is part of standard adjective declension and follows the general rules of German grammar for attributive adjectives, with endings determined by gender, number, and article.

In usage, gegründete serves as a concise descriptor of entities that have a formal founding or establishment, complementing or replacing longer passive phrases in many writing contexts.