neergedaald

Neergedaald is a Dutch past participle and adjective formed from the verb neerdalen, meaning to descend or to come down. The form neergedaald is used with the auxiliary zijn in perfect tenses (for example, Het vliegtuig is neergedaald) and can also function attributively to describe something that has descended.

Etymology and grammar: Neerdalen combines the directional prefix neer- with dalen (to descend). The past participle is formed with ge-, yielding neergedaald. When used before a noun, the phrase de neergedaalde … is common, for instance de neergedaalde temperatuur. The participle can describe physical descent (an aircraft, a person, objects) as well as figurative or quantitative declines (neergedaalde prijzen, neergedaalde temperatuur).

Usage: In journalism, science, and everyday language, neergedaald conveys a completed downward movement. It contrasts with ongoing descent, which might be expressed with dalen or aan het dalen zijn. Examples include: Het vliegtuig is neergedaald op de landingsbaan. De neergedaalde temperatuur maakte de avond koud. De neergedaalde prijzen leidde tot een stijging van de verkoop.

See also: dalen (to descend), gedaald (descended, the single-word past participle used in other contexts). The term is primarily used in Dutch-language contexts and appears in both technical descriptions and narrative prose to indicate a downward movement or decline that has occurred.