meerderen

Meerderen is a Dutch verb meaning to increase in number or amount, to multiply, or to propagate. The form is built from meer, meaning more, and the common infinitive suffix -eren. Etymologically the word traces back to Middle Dutch and is part of a family of Germanic terms related to growth and enlargement. The term is used across domains to describe growth or expansion, including demography, statistics, economics, planning, and logistics. In these contexts, meerderen indicates that a quantity or level has become larger than previously recorded.

In horticulture and botany, meerderen is used to refer to the propagation of plants to increase stock. The word is thus applied to the process of multiplying plant material by methods such as cuttings, layering, or division, depending on species and technique. In everyday horticultural writing, more specific terms for propagation are often used, but meerderen remains a general, formal way to express plant multiplication.

Usage notes: meerderen tends to appear in formal or technical writing. In many everyday contexts, speakers may prefer vermeerderen or verhogen to express increases in numbers, amounts, or levels, depending on nuance. The related noun forms include vermeerdering, used to refer to the act or result of increasing, and meeder?in, though usage varies by region and register. The term is commonly contrasted with vermenigvuldigen (to multiply) and met meer uitbreiding is to describe expansion or growth more broadly.

See also: vermeerdering, vermeerdering van stemmen, vermeerdering van bevolkingsaantal, vermeerderen, vermenigvuldigen.