gekreuzt

Gekreuzt is the past participle of the German verb kreuzen, meaning to cross or intersect. In the perfect tense it is used with haben: Ich habe die Straßen gekreuzt; Wir haben zwei Flüsse gekreuzt. As an adjective or participial modifier it describes something that is arranged in a crossing or that has been crossed, for example gekreuzte Linien, gekreuzte Schwerter, or gekreuzte Wege.

Morphology and usage: Gekreuzt follows the regular formation with the ge- prefix and the -t ending. When used attributively or predicatively it is declined like an adjective: ein gekreuzter Weg, zwei gekreuzte Pfade, die gekreuzten Linien. In everyday language the verb kreuzen is common for physical crossing, while überkreuzen is sometimes used for crossing something over or crossing arms.

Contexts and examples: In navigation, geography or maps, gekreuzt can describe intersecting routes or boundaries, e.g., gekreuzte Straßen. In heraldry and iconography it denotes objects placed in a cross shape, such as gekreuzte Schwerter. The term also appears in descriptive or literary prose to denote completed crossing actions or items that form a cross pattern.

Notes: Gekreuzt is distinct from überkreuzt, which is often used for crossing that is done in a crisscross or over-and-under sense (for example arms crossing). The word remains common in written German for describing past crossing actions or cross-shaped arrangements.