gejagt

Gejagt is the past participle of the German verb jagen, meaning to hunt or to chase. It is used in various grammatical constructions to indicate that hunting or pursuit has occurred, and it can function as part of compound tenses or as an adjective.

In standard German, gejagt appears with auxiliary haben to form perfect tenses, as in Er hat den Hund gejagt (He has hunted/chased the dog). In the passive voice, the participle appears with werden: Der Fuchs wird gejagt (The fox is being hunted) or Der Fuchs wurde gejagt (The fox was hunted). As an adjective, gejagt describes someone or something under pursuit or pressure, for example, ein gejagter Mann (a hunted man) or von der Presse gejagt (hounded by the press).

Gejagt can carry literal or figurative meaning. Literally, it describes animals or people engaged in the act of being hunted or chased. Figuratively, it is used to convey a sense of relentless pursuit, threat, or campaign against someone, such as political opponents who feel attacked or a company facing aggressive scrutiny.

Etymologically, gejagt derives from the German verb jagen, which belongs to the Germanic language family and forms its past participles with the ge- prefix. The related Dutch form is gejaagd, not gejagt, reflecting a parallel but distinct spelling in another language.

Gejagt is primarily a German spelling and usage. In Dutch, the corresponding past participle is gejaagd, highlighting a language-specific variation for the same root concept of pursuit or hunting. See also jagen, gejaagd.