ingezegend

Ingezegend is a Dutch term used as an adjective to describe a person, object, place, or event that has undergone a formal blessing or consecration by a religious authority. In such contexts, the blessing is believed to confer a recognized status of sanctity, protection, or approval by the community.

The term appears to derive from the prefix in- combined with gezegend, the past participle of zegenen to bless. In modern Dutch usage the form ingezegend is relatively rare; most common is gezegend or gewijd for "consecrated." Ingezegend emphasizes the completed rite and its official character.

In religious texts and liturgy, ingezegend may describe objects (an ingezegend relic), spaces (a ingezegend chapel), or people (an ingezegend elder) after a rite. In secular writing, it can be used metaphorically to signal communal endorsement or legitimacy, not necessarily implying supernatural effects.

Differences between denominations exist; Catholic and some Protestant contexts use formal blessing rituals, whereas other communities may reserve such terminology for special ceremonies. The term is more common in historical or regional Dutch than in standard contemporary usage.

Related topics include blessing, blessing ceremony, consecration, sanctification, and zegenen.