kriechenden

Kriechenden is the inflected attributive form of the German adjective kriechend, derived from the verb kriechen (to crawl or creep). It is used to describe something that moves or grows by creeping and is declined according to gender, number, and case. In everyday and scientific prose, kriechenden appears most often in plural contexts or after definite articles, where the ending -en is required.

In practice, the form appears in phrases such as die kriechenden Pflanzen (the creeping plants) or mit den kriechenden Formen (with the creeping forms). In singular usage after a definite article, other endings are used: der kriechende Wurm (the crawling worm) in masculine nominative singular; die kriechende Schlange (the crawling snake) in feminine nominative singular. The plural accusative or dative, with a definite article, similarly yields die kriechenden Würmer or mit den kriechenden Tieren.

Semantically, kriechenden covers a range of creeping or crawling motions and can describe animals, plants, or objects that spread along a surface or ground. It is also used metaphorically in literary or descriptive contexts to convey slow, ground-hugging movement or growth.

Etymology and relation to related forms: kriechenden is built from the verb kriechen, which is of Germanic origin. The base adjective kriechend corresponds to the present participle, while the -en ending marks inflection in plural or after certain determiners.

See also: kriechen; kriechend; related terms describing creeping or creeping-growth in botany, zoology, and descriptive prose.