genagelt

Genagelt is the past participle form of the German verb nageln, meaning to nail. In usage, genagelt functions as both a verbal participle and as an adjective describing something that has been secured with nails. The term literally translates to “nailed” and is most often encountered in technical or descriptive contexts related to carpentry and construction.

Etymology and form: The word is formed with the stem nagel (nail) plus the infinitive suffix -n and the prefix ge-, which marks the past participle in standard German. As a past participle, genagelt appears in perfect tense constructions with haben (e.g., ich habe genagelt) and in passive-like or adjectival positions (e.g., der Nagel ist genagelt, though more common phrasing in practice would often be “der Nagel ist in die Wand genagelt” or “in die Wand genagelt worden”).

Usage notes: In everyday German, genagelt is most frequently seen in sentences that describe a completed action, often with the prepositional object specifying what was nailed and where (for example, “Ich habe den Nagel in die Wand genagelt”). The expression is more colloquial or technical rather than literary, and more natural alternatives such as einschlagen (drive in) or befestigen (secure) are often used depending on context. The compound form festgenagelt is used to convey the sense of something being firmly or permanently fixed.

Related terms: nageln (to nail), der Nagel (the nail), festnageln (to nail down firmly; to fix). The phrase an den Nagel hängen, while idiomatic in German, is not a direct synonym of genagelt and has a distinct meaning related to ending or terminating something.

See also: Nagel, nageln, festnageln.