gerettete

Gerettete is a German word formed from the verb retten, meaning to save or rescue. It functions mainly as an adjective meaning “rescued” or “saved,” and it can be capitalized and used as a noun to refer to people who have been rescued. The form gerettete appears in attributive position with definite articles and varies with gender, number, and case.

As an attributive adjective, gerettete agrees with the noun it describes. With a definite article, the endings are uniform in the singular: der gerettete Mann, die gerettete Frau, das gerettete Kind. In the plural, the form changes to die geretteten Menschen. In contexts without a definite article, endings differ: ein geretteter Mann, eine gerettete Frau, ein gerettetes Kind, die geretteten Männer/Frauen/Kinder.

Gerettete can also be used as a noun when capitalized, referring to the rescued people as a group or as individuals. In this nominalized form, the masculine singular is der Gerettete, the feminine singular die Gerettete, and the plural die Geretteten. This usage emphasizes the status of people who have been saved in a particular situation.

Etymology and usage notes: gerettete derives from the verb retten with the standard German past participle formation (ge- prefix and -t ending). It is closely related to synonyms such as gerettet and gerettetwerden, depending on stylistic choice. The term is common in reporting about disasters, wars, emergencies, and rescue narratives, as well as in literary contexts.

See also: Rettung, Rettungskräfte, Rettungsdienst.