observée

Observée is the feminine singular form of the past participle of the French verb observer. It functions as both a past participle in compound tenses and as an adjective meaning “that has been observed” or “noted,” and it can modify a noun accordingly.

As a past participle, observée agrees with the subject in passive constructions with the auxiliary être: for example, La cible a été observée. As with many French past participles, agreement also occurs when the auxiliary is avoir if the direct object precedes the participle: les observations qu’elle a observées montrent que… Here the direct object observations precedes the participle, so it takes the feminine plural form observées.

As an attributive or predicative adjective, observée agrees with the noun it describes: une espèce observée, des espèces observées; in a phrase such as données observées, it describes the noun donnée and follows standard gender and number agreement rules.

In scientific and observational writing, observée is frequently used to indicate that data, phenomena, or subjects have been recorded or monitored: les résultats observés, les échantillons observés. The form is the feminine counterpart of observé (m.s.), observés (m.p.), and observées (f.p.) and is widely encountered in fields such as linguistics, biology, astronomy, and report language.

Etymology traces to observer, via Old French observer, from Latin observare, meaning to watch, heed, or note. Related terms include observer, observation, and observatoire.