maximalen

Maximalen is the inflected form of the German adjective maximal, meaning “maximum” or “the most,” used in contexts where the noun is definite and the adjective carries a weak ending. It most commonly appears in plural phrases such as die maximalen Werte (the maximal values) or die maximalen Kosten (the maximal costs). The form indicates that the noun is definite and that the adjective is declined according to the standard weak declension in German.

In practice, maximalen can be encountered in formal and everyday language, especially in technical or mathematical writing when describing upper bounds, limits, or extreme cases that are specified by a definite noun. For example, a text might refer to die maximalen Belastungen eines Bauteils (the maximal loads of a component) or die maximalen Unterschiede zwischen zwei Messungen (the maximal differences between two measurements).

Linguistically, maximalen is part of the larger paradigm of the adjective maximal, which derives from Latin maximum via the Germanic inheritances that shaped the modern German word stock. The suffix -en in maximalen is the typical weak ending used after definite articles in the plural and in some singular determinations, depending on case and gender.

Maximalen does not denote a separate, standalone concept or theory; rather, it is a grammatical form used to modify nouns meaningfully and precisely when the reference is definite and quantified. Related terms include maximal, Maximum, and maximal Werte, which appear in similar contexts with differing declension patterns across languages.