onderschreven

Onderschreven is a Dutch term formed as the past participle of the verb onderschrijven, which means to subscribe, endorse, or sign beneath a document. In modern Dutch, it is primarily encountered in formal or legal contexts to refer to the people who have signed a document, that is, the undersigned. The phrase is often used in documents to introduce statements or declarations made by those signatories, for example: De onderschreven verklaren hierbij dat de informatie juist is.

In everyday usage, the more common formal alternative to indicate signatories is ondergetekenden, but onderschreven can still appear, particularly in older texts or stylistic variations. The form may also appear in broader language to express that something has been endorsed or subscribed to by a group, though in many contexts such sense is more frequently conveyed with het woord onderschreven in a wider sense or with andere formuleringen.

Etymologically, onderschrijven combines onder (under) with schrijven (to write), reflecting the historical practice of signing a document at the bottom. Over time, the meaning has shifted toward the sense of endorsing or agreeing to the content, rather than merely writing underneath. In contemporary Dutch, readers should distinguish the usage of onderschreven from ondertekend (signed) and from undergetekende forms, which are more common when naming signatories in official texts.

In sum, onderschreven denotes those who have signed or endorsed a document, and, in legal and formal prose, it functions as a marker for the group of signatories or endorsers.