lewende

Lewende is a term used in Afrikaans and, less consistently, in Frisian-influenced or historical Dutch contexts to mean "living" or "alive." In Afrikaans it functions as an attributive adjective before nouns to describe living beings or life-related concepts, for example lewende wesens (living beings) or lewende plante (living plants). The form is standard in Afrikaans; in Standard Dutch the common equivalent is levende. In contemporary Dutch you would typically not use lewende, except perhaps in older texts, regional spellings, or as a loan from Afrikaans.

Etymology and morphology: Lewende is the -ende present-participle adjective derived from the verb leven, related to cognates in other Germanic languages that express life or vitality. It shares its root with forms in Dutch, English, and German that denote living or being alive.

Usage notes: In Afrikaans literature and biology, lewende is used to distinguish living from non-living or dead entities (toon vir lewend en dood). Adjectives in Afrikaans generally do not rely on gender or number agreement to a strong extent, so lewende remains the form before nouns. When used predicatively, it conveys a state of being alive or vital.

See also: levend, levende, lewende (Afrikaans), lewende in Frisian contexts; related Germanic cognates such as lebend (German) and alive in English.