gestohlene

Gestohlene is a German adjective and past participle form derived from stehlen, meaning to steal. It is used to describe objects that have been taken without permission and thus belong to the category of stolen property. In ordinary usage, it appears in phrases such as gestohlene Gegenstände (stolen items) or gestohlene Ware (stolen goods).

Grammatical use and examples

As an adjective, gestohlen- takes inflection according to gender, number, and case. Examples include der gestohlene Gegenstand (the stolen object), die gestohlene Tasche (the stolen bag), and das gestohlene Auto (the stolen car). In plural: die gestohlenen Gegenstände (the stolen items). The form gestohlene can also occur in feminine singular and plural contexts, depending on the article and case.

Noun use

In some contexts, das Gestohlene may be used as a noun to refer collectively to stolen property, though this usage is less common than the adjectival phrase with a following noun.

Legal context

The term is frequently encountered in police reports, court documents, and journalism to identify property involved in theft cases. In German criminal law, theft (Diebstahl) is defined in section 242 of the Strafgesetzbuch (StGB), and references to gestohlene Gegenstände or gestohlene Güter relate to property that was unlawfully taken and may be subject to seizure or restitution within legal proceedings.

Related terms

Common collocations include gestohlene Gegenstände, gestohlene Ware, and gestohlene Güter. Related legal concepts include Diebstahl, Beutegut (booty or stolen goods), and Diebesgut.

Overview

Gestohlene is a neutral linguistic term used to label property that has been stolen, functioning primarily in descriptive and legal contexts to distinguish rightful ownership from unlawful possession.